Search results for: great lakes

Authors: Masooma Al-Balushi, Tamer Mohamed Atef

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The Sultanate of Oman is located on the South-eastern tip of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea and has borders with the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Yemen. Arabic is the official language. Islam is the official religion. Islam has a great impact on most Omanis, Shari’a law is the law of Oman. The tribal structure plays an essential role in the lives of Omanis. Most people in the Gulf States bear a tribal name rather than a family name. Religion, tribe, and family are highly influential in shaping individuals’ values and behaviors, and have a very noticeable influence on a person’s career choices. Tourism development has been given special attention by the Sultanate of Oman’s government aspiring that the industry would assist in creating direct job opportunities as well as boost the economy through provision of hard currency to improve the balance of payments. This study aims to assess the impact of socio-cultural and religious factors on Omanis employment in the hotel sector. The socio-cultural and religious factors have serious impacts on Omani employment in the hotel sector. Some employees are concerned about the source of income because of the idea that since the hotel business is based on activities such as serving alcohol and pork, gambling, and accommodating unmarried couples, their source of income would be questionable religion wise. For females, the designated job uniform and the interaction with males are major concerns. Ability to fulfil family obligations for married Omanis, and marriage opportunity for singles were other raised concerns. Whilst the future prosperity of the hotel industry depends on the quality of its people, in Oman, the hospitality industry has failed, for a number of reasons, to project an image that could generate interest amongst Omanis. Furthermore, the characteristics and the very nature of the hotel sector are in direct conflict with Islamic doctrines which are embedded in Omani life and society.

Keywords: culture, society, hotel, hospitality, Islam, Oman

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Authors: Xiaoming Zeng, Xiaozan Wang, Qinping Xu, Shaoxian Wang

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Research Purpose: In 2017, the high school physical education and health curriculum standard advocates modular teaching. This study aims to explore the impact of ‘sports module’ teaching on the physical quality of high school students. Research methods: 800 senior high school students (400 in the experimental group and 400 in the control group) were randomly divided into two groups. The experimental group carried out modular teaching of physical education, and the control group carried out conventional teaching mode for one semester. Before and after the experiment, the physical fitness of the subjects was tested, including vital capacity, 50 meters, standing long jump, sitting forward bending. Results: After the experiment, the vital capacity (t = -4.007, p < 0.01), 50 meters (t = 2.638, p < 0.01) and standing long jump (t = -4.067, p < 0.01) of the experimental group were significantly improved. High school sports modular teaching has special characteristics. It attaches great importance to the independent development of students' personality. Students can choose their favorite modules to develop various skills and actively participate in various sports activities in the classroom. The density and intensity of sports are greatly improved. Students' speed (50m run), cardiopulmonary endurance (vital capacity), sensitivity, and strength (standing long jump) scores are greatly improved and obviously improved in nature. But at the same time, it was found that the students' sitting forward flexion did not show significant improvement, which was caused by the lack of relevant equipment in school and the students' inattention to stretching after exercise or not doing regular exercise to promote flexibility. Conclusion: (1) ‘Sports module’ teaching can effectively improve the physical quality of high school students. It is mainly manifested in cardiopulmonary function, speed, and explosive power. (2) In the future, ‘sports module’ teaching should give full play to its advantages and add courses to improve students' flexibility.

Keywords: module teaching, physical quality, senior high school student, sports

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Authors: Ricky A. J. Syngkon, Santi Gopal Maji

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Decent work and inclusive economic growth, social development, environmental protection, eradication of poverty and hunger as well as clean water and sanitation are the rudiments of 2030 agenda of sustainable development goals of the United Nations. On the other hand, spirituality is deeply entwined in the fabric of daily lives that helps in shaping attitudes, opinions, and behaviors of common people and ensuring quality of lives and overall sustainable development through protection of environment and natural resources. Mawlynnong, a small village in North-Eastern part of India, is a vivid example of how spirituality influences the development of sense of community leading to upliftment of the economic conditions of the people. Mawlynnong as a small hamlet has been in existence for a couple of centuries and it was acknowledged as the cleanest village of Asia in 2004 by BBC and National Geographic and subsequently endorsed by UNESCO in 2006. Consequently, it has attracted large number of tourists over the years from India and other parts of the world. This paper tries to explore how spirituality leads to a sense of community and the economic benefits for the people. Further, this paper also tries to find out the answer whether such an informal collective effort is sustainable or not for achieving solidarity economy. The study is based on both primary and secondary data collected from the local people and the State Government records. The findings of the study indicate that over the last one and a half decade the tourist footfall has increased to a great extent in Mawlynnong and this has brought about a paradigm shift in the occupational structure of its inhabitants from plantation to service sector particularly tourism and tourism related activities. As a result, from the economic standpoint, it is observed that life is much better off now as compared to before. But from the socio-cultural standpoint, the study finds a drift in terms of the cohesiveness and community bonding which was the hallmark of this village. This drift puts a question mark about the sustainability of such practices and consequently the development of solidarity economy.

Keywords: spirituality, sense of community, economic welfare, solidarity economy, Mawlynnong village

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Authors: Ali Raza, Rizwan Latif, Syed Adnan Qasim, Imran Shafi

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Diesel engines are most efficient and reliable in terms of efficiency, reliability, and adaptability. Most of the research and development up till now have been directed towards High Speed Diesel Engine, for Commercial use. In these engines, objective is to optimize maximum acceleration by reducing exhaust emission to meet international standards. In high torque low speed engines, the requirement is altogether different. These types of engines are mostly used in Maritime Industry, Agriculture Industry, Static Engines Compressors Engines, etc. On the contrary, high torque low speed engines are neglected quite often and are eminent for low efficiency and high soot emissions. One of the most effective ways to overcome these issues is by efficient combustion in an engine cylinder. Fuel spray dynamics play a vital role in defining mixture formation, fuel consumption, combustion efficiency and soot emissions. Therefore, a comprehensive understanding of the fuel spray characteristics and atomization process in high torque low speed diesel engine is of great importance. Evaporation in the combustion chamber has a rigorous effect on the efficiency of the engine. In this paper, multiphase evaporation of fuel is modeled for high torque low speed engine using the CFD (computational fluid dynamics) codes. Two distinct phases of evaporation are modeled using modeling soft wares. The basic model equations are derived from the energy conservation equation and Naiver-Stokes equation. O’Rourke model is used to model the evaporation phases. The results obtained showed a generous effect on the efficiency of the engine. Evaporation rate of fuel droplet is increased with the increase in vapor pressure. An appreciable reduction in size of droplet is achieved by adding the convective heat effects in the combustion chamber. By and large, an overall increase in efficiency is observed by modeling distinct evaporation phases. This increase in efficiency is due to the fact that droplet size is reduced and vapor pressure is increased in the engine cylinder.

Keywords: diesel fuel, CFD, evaporation, multiphase

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Authors: Min Chang Shin, Byung Hun Jeong, Jeong Sik Han, Jung Hoon Park

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In modern times, as flight speeds have increased due to improvements in aircraft and missile engine performance, thermal loads have also increased. Because of the friction heat of air flow with high speed on the surface of the vehicle, it is not easy to cool the superheat of the vehicle by the simple air cooling method. For this reason, a cooling method through endothermic heat is attracting attention by using a fuel that causes an endothermic reaction in a high-speed vehicle. There are two main ways of cooling the fuel through the endothermic reaction. The first is physical heat absorption. When the temperature rises, there is a sensible heat that accompanies it. The second is the heat of reaction corresponding to the chemical heat absorption, which absorbs heat during the fuel decomposes. Generally, since the decomposition reaction of the fuel proceeds at a high temperature, it does not achieve a great efficiency in cooling the high-speed flight body. However, when the catalyst is used, decomposition proceeds at a low temperature thereby increasing the cooling efficiency. However, when the catalyst is used as a powder, the catalyst enters the engine and damages the engine or the catalyst can deteriorate the performance due to the sintering. On the other hand, when used in the form of pellets, catalyst loss can be prevented. However, since the specific surface of pellet is small, the efficiency of the catalyst is low. And it can interfere with the flow of fuel, resulting in pressure loss and problems with fuel injection. In this study, we tried to maximize the performance of the catalyst by preparing a hollow fiber type pellet for zeolite ZSM-5, which has a higher amount of heat absorption, than other conventional pellets. The hollow fiber type pellet was prepared by phase inversion method. The hollow fiber type pellet has a finger-like pore and sponge-like pore. So it has a higher specific surface area than conventional pellets. The crystal structure of the prepared ZSM-5 catalyst was confirmed by XRD, and the characteristics of the catalyst were analyzed by TPD/TPR device. This study was conducted as part of the Basic Research Project (Pure-17-20) of Defense Acquisition Program Administration.

Keywords: catalyst, endothermic reaction, high-speed vehicle cooling, zeolite, ZSM-5

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Authors: Uraib Sharaha, Guy Beck, Joseph Kapelushnik, Adam H. Agbaria, Itshak Lapidot, Shaul Mordechai, Ahmad Salman, Mahmoud Huleihel

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Infectious diseases cause a significant burden on the public health and the economic stability of societies all over the world for several centuries. A reliable detection of the causative agent of infection is not possible based on clinical features, since some of these infections have similar symptoms, including fever, sneezing, inflammation, vomiting, diarrhea, and fatigue. Moreover, physicians usually encounter difficulties in distinguishing between viral and bacterial infections based on symptoms. Therefore, there is an ongoing need for sensitive, specific, and rapid methods for identification of the etiology of the infection. This intricate issue perplex doctors and researchers since it has serious repercussions. In this study, we evaluated the potential of the mid-infrared spectroscopic method for rapid and reliable identification of bacterial and viral infections based on simple peripheral blood samples. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy is considered a successful diagnostic method in the biological and medical fields. Many studies confirmed the great potential of the combination of FTIR spectroscopy and machine learning as a powerful diagnostic tool in medicine since it is a very sensitive method, which can detect and monitor the molecular and biochemical changes in biological samples. We believed that this method would play a major role in improving the health situation, raising the level of health in the community, and reducing the economic burdens in the health sector resulting from the indiscriminate use of antibiotics. We collected peripheral blood samples from young 364 patients, of which 93 were controls, 126 had bacterial infections, and 145 had viral infections, with ages lower than18 years old, limited to those who were diagnosed with fever-producing illness. Our preliminary results showed that it is possible to determine the infectious agent with high success rates of 82% for sensitivity and 80% for specificity, based on the WBC data.

Keywords: infectious diseases, (FTIR) spectroscopy, viral infections, bacterial infections.

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Authors: Vusala Amirbayova Yusif

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As we know the formation of new composer’s schools is determined not with the national belonging, but firstly with the development of the national spirit and eternal traditions. The formation of ancient musical traditions with the classical European genre and forms stand in the center of music art with Azerbaijani written tradition. Though this duty is actual for the neighboring eastern countries (for example, Iran, Turkey, Arabian countries, India), it has not been realized in the same level in real creative practice. It is necessary to mention that, the symphonic mughams formed from the joining of Eastern mugham-magam and classical music forms of Western symphony have been greeted with amazement and it was valuable practice in national composer’s art. It is true that, the new examples of the genre were formed in the next years (S.Alasgarov, T.Bakikhanov and etc.) and F.Amirov came back to the genre of symphonic mugham as he created Gulustani-Bayati-Shiraz”in,-1970. New tendency has begun to show itself in the development of national symphonic genre. The new attitude for mugham traditions showed itself in symphonic creative work of A.Malikov, A.Alizada, M.Guliyev,V.Adigozalov. The voice of mugham mentality has entered the depth of the Azerbaijan symphony, has determined the meditation spirit, dramatist process and content. This movement has formed the new notion of “mugham mphonism” with new meaning by our musicologists. In the modern musical science, in addition to traditional methods and procedures, the formation of new theories and approaches caused to the further increase of scientific interest towards the problem of artistic content in the art of composition. The initiative has been made to have overall look on this important subject as an example of the creativity of FikratAmirov (1922-1984)and JovdatHaciyev(1917-2000), the great composers of Azerbaijan and to analyze his some symphonic works from this point of view in the current report. In this connection, main provisions of the new theoretical concept that were comprehensively annotated in the article of Russian musicologist V. Kholopova named "Special and non-special musical content" were used.

Keywords: content, composer, music, mugham symphony

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Authors: Naser Kazemi Eilaki, Carolyn Ahmer, Ilona Heldal, Bjarne Christian Hagen

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Older people and people with disabilities are recognized as at-risk groups when it comes to egress and travel from hazard zone to safe places. One's disability can negatively influence her or his escape time, and this becomes even more important when people from this target group live alone. This research deals with the fire safety of mentioned people's buildings by means of probabilistic methods. For this purpose, fire safety is addressed by modeling the egress of our target group from a hazardous zone to a safe zone. A common type of detached house with a prevalent plan has been chosen for safety analysis, and a limit state function has been developed according to the time-line evacuation model, which is based on a two-zone and smoke development model. An analytical computer model (B-Risk) is used to consider smoke development. Since most of the involved parameters in the fire development model pose uncertainty, an appropriate probability distribution function has been considered for each one of the variables with indeterministic nature. To achieve safety and reliability for the at-risk groups, the fire safety index method has been chosen to define the probability of failure (causalities) and safety index (beta index). An improved harmony search meta-heuristic optimization algorithm has been used to define the beta index. Sensitivity analysis has been done to define the most important and effective parameters for the fire safety of the at-risk group. Results showed an area of openings and intervals to egress exits are more important in buildings, and the safety of people would improve with increasing dimensions of occupant space (building). Fire growth is more critical compared to other parameters in the home without a detector and fire distinguishing system, but in a home equipped with these facilities, it is less important. Type of disabilities has a great effect on the safety level of people who live in the same home layout, and people with visual impairment encounter more risk of capturing compared to visual and movement disabilities.

Keywords: fire safety, at-risk groups, zone model, egress time, uncertainty

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Authors: Kofi Nkonkonya Mpuangnan, Samantha Govender, Hlengiwe Romualda Mhlongo

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In recent years, a noticeable and worrisome pattern has emerged in numerous developing nations which is a steady and persistent rise in unemployment rates. This escalation of economic struggles has become a cause of great concern for parents who, having invested significant resources in their children's education, harboured hopes of achieving economic prosperity and stability for their families through secure employment. To effectively tackle this pressing unemployment issue, it is imperative to adopt a holistic approach, and a pivotal aspect of this approach involves incorporating entrepreneurial education seamlessly into the entire educational system. In this light, the authors explored approaches to integrating entrepreneurial education into school curriculum focusing on the following questions. How can an entrepreneurial mindset among learners be promoted in school? And how far have pedagogical approaches improved entrepreneurship in schools? To find answers to these questions, a systematic literature review underpinned by Human Capital Theory was adopted. This method was supported by the three stages of guidelines like planning, conducting, and reporting. The data were specifically sought from publishers with expansive coverage of scholarly literature like Sage, Taylor & Francis, Emirate, and Springer, covering publications from 1965 to 2023. The search was supported by two broad terms such as promoting entrepreneurial mindset in learners and pedagogical strategies for enhancing entrepreneurship. It was found that acquiring an entrepreneurial mindset through an innovative classroom environment, resilience, and guest speakers and industry experts. Also, teachers can promote entrepreneurial education through the adoption of pedagogical approaches such as hands-on learning and experiential activities, role-playing, business simulation games and creative and innovative teaching. It was recommended that the Ministry of Education should develop tailored training programs and workshops aimed at empowering educators with the essential competencies and insights to deliver impactful entrepreneurial education.

Keywords: education, entrepreneurship, school curriculum, pedagogical approaches, integration

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Authors: Wadha Alqahtani

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In recent times, polymers have seen a great surge in interest in the field of medicine, particularly chemotherapeutics. One recent innovation is the conversion of polymeric materials into “polymeric nanoparticles”. These nanoparticles can be designed and modified to encapsulate and transport drugs selectively to cancer cells, minimizing collateral damage to surrounding healthy tissues, and improve patient quality of life. In this study, we have synthesized pseudo-branched polyester polymers from bio-based small molecules, including sorbitol, glutaric acid and a propargylic acid derivative to further modify the polymer to make it “click-able" with an azide-modified target ligand. Melt polymerization technique was used for this polymerization reaction, using lipase enzyme catalyst NOVO 435. This reaction was conducted between 90- 95 °C for 72 hours. The polymer samples were collected in 24-hour increments for characterization and to monitor reaction progress. The resulting polymer was purified with the help of methanol dissolving and filtering with filter paper then characterized via NMR, GPC, FTIR, DSC, TGA and MALDI-TOF. Following characterization, these polymers were converted to a polymeric nanoparticle drug delivery system using solvent diffusion method, wherein DiI optical dye and chemotherapeutic drug Taxol can be encapsulated simultaneously. The efficacy of the nanoparticle’s apoptotic effects were analyzed in-vitro by incubation with prostate cancer (LNCaP) and healthy (CHO) cells. MTT assays and fluorescence microscopy were used to assess the cellular uptake and viability of the cells after 24 hours at 37 °C and 5% CO2 atmosphere. Results of the assays and fluorescence imaging confirmed that the nanoparticles were successful in both selectively targeting and inducing apoptosis in 80% of the LNCaP cells within 24 hours without affecting the viability of the CHO cells. These results show the potential of using biodegradable polymers as a vehicle for receptor-specific drug delivery and a potential alternative for traditional systemic chemotherapy. Detailed experimental results will be discussed in the e-poster.

Keywords: chemotherapeutic drug, click chemistry, nanoparticle, prostat cancer

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Authors: Liang Cheng Chang, Wei Ju Huang, You Cheng Chen

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Investigation and research are keys for conjunctive use of surface and groundwater resources. The hydrogeological structure is an important base for groundwater analysis and simulation. Traditionally, the hydrogeological structure is artificially determined based on geological drill logs, the structure of wells, groundwater levels, and so on. In Taiwan, groundwater observation network has been built and a large amount of groundwater-level observation data are available. The groundwater level is the state variable of the groundwater system, which reflects the system response combining hydrogeological structure, groundwater injection, and extraction. This study applies analytical tools to the observation database to develop a methodology for the identification of confined and unconfined aquifers. These tools include frequency analysis, cross-correlation analysis between rainfall and groundwater level, groundwater regression curve analysis, and decision tree. The developed methodology is then applied to groundwater layer identification of two groundwater systems: Zhuoshui River alluvial fan and Pingtung Plain. The abovementioned frequency analysis uses Fourier Transform processing time-series groundwater level observation data and analyzing daily frequency amplitude of groundwater level caused by artificial groundwater extraction. The cross-correlation analysis between rainfall and groundwater level is used to obtain the groundwater replenishment time between infiltration and the peak groundwater level during wet seasons. The groundwater regression curve, the average rate of groundwater regression, is used to analyze the internal flux in the groundwater system and the flux caused by artificial behaviors. The decision tree uses the information obtained from the above mentioned analytical tools and optimizes the best estimation of the hydrogeological structure. The developed method reaches training accuracy of 92.31% and verification accuracy 93.75% on Zhuoshui River alluvial fan and training accuracy 95.55%, and verification accuracy 100% on Pingtung Plain. This extraordinary accuracy indicates that the developed methodology is a great tool for identifying hydrogeological structures.

Keywords: aquifer identification, decision tree, groundwater, Fourier transform

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Authors: Gonca Z. Tuncbilek

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Architectural research tends to define architecture in terms of its permanence. In this study, the term ‘temporality’ and its use in architectural discourse is re-visited. The definition, proposition, and efficacy of the temporality occur both in architecture and in its related knowledge. The temporary architecture not only fulfills the requirement of the architectural programs, but also plays a significant role in generating an environment of architectural discourse. In recent decades, there is a great interest on the temporary architectural practices regarding to the installations, exhibition spaces, pavilions, and expositions; inviting the architects to experience and think about architecture. The temporary architecture has a significant role among the architecture, the architect, and the architectural discourse. Experiencing the contemporary materials, methods and technique; they have proposed the possibilities of the future architecture. These structures give opportunities to the architects to a wide-ranging variety of freedoms to experience the ‘new’ in architecture. In addition to this experimentation, they can be considered as an agent to redefine and reform the boundaries of the architectural discipline itself. Although the definition of architecture is re-analyzed in terms of its temporality rather than its permanence; architecture, in reality, still relies on historically codified types and principles of the formation. The concept of type can be considered for several different sciences, and there is a tendency to organize and understand the world in terms of classification in many different cultures and places. ‘Type’ is used as a classification tool with/without the scope of the critical invention. This study considers theories of type, putting forward epistemological and discursive arguments related to the form of architecture, being related to historical and formal disciplinary knowledge in architecture. This study has been to emphasize the importance of the temporality in architecture as a creative tool to reveal the position within the architectural discourse. The temporary architecture offers ‘new’ opportunities in the architectural field to be analyzed. In brief, temporary structures allow the architect freedoms to the experimentation in architecture. While redefining the architecture in terms of temporality, architecture still relies on historically codified types (pavilions, exhibitions, expositions, and installations). The notion of architectural types and its varying interpretations are analyzed based on the texts of architectural theorists since the Age of Enlightenment. Investigating the classification of type in architecture particularly temporary architecture, it is necessary to return to the discussion of the origin of the knowledge and its classification.

Keywords: classification of architecture, exhibition design, pavilion design, temporary architecture

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Authors: Yang Gon Seo, Chang-Joon Kim, Dae Hyeok Kim

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It is estimated that 1.5 billion tires are produced worldwide each year which will eventually end up as waste tires representing a major potential waste and environmental problem. Pyrolysis has been great interest in alternative treatment processes for waste tires to produce valuable oil, gas and solid products. The oil and gas products may be used directly as a fuel or a chemical feedstock. The solid produced from the pyrolysis of tires ranges typically from 30 to 45 wt% and have high carbon contents of up to 90 wt%. However, most notably the solid have high sulfur contents from 2 to 3 wt% and ash contents from 8 to 15 wt% related to the additive metals. Upgrading tire pyrolysis products to high-value products has concentrated on solid upgrading to higher quality carbon black and to activated carbon. Hydrogen sulfide and ammonia are one of the common malodorous compounds that can be found in emissions from many sewages treatment plants and industrial plants. Therefore, removing these harmful gasses from emissions is of significance in both life and industry because they can cause health problems to human and detrimental effects on the catalysts. In this work, pyrolytic carbon black from waste tires was used to develop adsorbent with good adsorption capacity for removal of hydrogen and ammonia. Pyrolytic carbon blacks were prepared by pyrolysis of waste tire chips ranged from 5 to 20 mm under the nitrogen atmosphere at 600℃ for 1 hour. Pellet-type adsorbents were prepared by a mixture of carbon black, metal oxide and sodium hydroxide or hydrochloric acid, and their adsorption capacities were estimated by using the breakthrough curve of a continuous fixed bed adsorption column at ambient condition. The adsorbent was manufactured with a mixture of carbon black, iron oxide(III), and sodium hydroxide showed the maximum working capacity of hydrogen sulfide. For ammonia, maximum working capacity was obtained by the adsorbent manufactured with a mixture of carbon black, copper oxide(II), and hydrochloric acid.

Keywords: adsorbent, ammonia, pyrolytic carbon black, hydrogen sulfide, metal oxide

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Authors: Tamara Matevosyan

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In this globalized world, intercultural communication is becoming essential for understanding communication among people, for developing understanding of cultures, to appreciate the opportunities and challenges that each culture presents to people. Moreover, it plays an important role in developing an ideal personification to understand different behaviors in different cultures. Native speakers assimilate sociolinguistic knowledge in natural conditions, while it is a great problem for language learners, and in this context feature films reveal cultural peculiarities and involve students in real communication. As we know nowadays the key role of language learning is the development of intercultural competence as communicating with someone from a different cultural background can be exciting and scary, frustrating and enlightening. Intercultural competence is important in FL learning classroom and here feature films can perform as essential tools to develop this competence and overcome the intercultural gap that foreign students face. Current proposal attempts to reveal the correlation of the given culture and language through feature films. To ensure qualified, well-organized and practical classes on Intercultural Communication for language learners a number of methods connected with movie watching have been implemented. All the pre-watching, while watching and post-watching methods and techniques are aimed at developing students’ communicative competence. The application of such activities as Climax, Role-play, Interactive Language, Daily Life helps to reveal and overcome mistakes of cultural and pragmatic character. All the above-mentioned activities are directed at the assimilation of the language vocabulary with special reference to the given culture. The study dwells into the essence of culture as one of the core concepts of intercultural communication. Sometimes culture is not a priority in the process of language learning which leads to further misunderstandings in real life communication. The application of various methods and techniques with feature films aims at developing students’ cultural competence, their understanding of norms and values of individual cultures. Thus, feature film activities will enable learners to enlarge their knowledge of the particular culture and develop a fundamental insight into intercultural communication.

Keywords: climax, intercultural competence, interactive language, role-play

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Authors: Julio Jesus Salazar, Max Jesus De Lama

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The challenges of water management are aggravated by global change, which implies high complexity and associated uncertainty; water management is difficult because water networks cross domains (natural, societal, and political), scales (space, time, jurisdictional, institutional, knowledge, etc.) and levels (area: patches to global; knowledge: a specific case to generalized principles). In this context, we need to apply natural and non-natural measures to manage water and soil. The Basin Management Methodology considers multifunctional measures of natural water retention and erosion control and soil formation to protect water resources and address the challenges related to the recovery or conservation of the ecosystem, as well as natural characteristics of water bodies, to improve the quantitative status of water bodies and reduce vulnerability to floods and droughts. This method of water management focuses on the positive impacts of the chemical and ecological status of water bodies, restoration of the functioning of the ecosystem and its natural services; thus, contributing to both adaptation and mitigation of climate change. This methodology was applied in 7 interventions in the sub-basin of the Shullcas River in Huancayo-Junín-Peru, obtaining great benefits in the framework of the participation of alliances of actors and integrated planning scenarios. To implement the methodology in the sub-basin of the Shullcas River, a process called Climate Smart Territories (CST) was used; with which the variables were characterized in a highly complex space. The diagnosis was then worked using risk management and adaptation to climate change. Finally, it was concluded with the selection of alternatives and projects of this type. Therefore, the CST approach and process face the challenges of climate change through integrated, systematic, interdisciplinary and collective responses at different scales that fit the needs of ecosystems and their services that are vital to human well-being. This methodology is now replicated at the level of the Mantaro river basin, improving with other initiatives that lead to the model of a resilient basin.

Keywords: climate-smart territories, climate change, ecosystem services, natural measures, Climate Smart Territories (CST) approach

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Authors: Şenay Güngör, Emre Elbaşi, Beyda Sadikoğlu, Utku Eren Bağci, Ömer Uzunel

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One of the first places that comes to mind when it comes to tourism in Turkey is the Cappadocia Region. Due to its rich geological and geomorphological heritage, Cappadocia is one of the most visited destinations in the world. In fact, in the first half of 2023, the number of international tourists visiting Cappadocia exceeded 2 million. Considering that the economy of the Cappadocia region is largely based on tourism, it is understood that the quality and technology integration levels of the touristic services offered in the region are of great importance. In this context; as a result of the observations made in Kızılçukur, Meskendir, Güllüdere 1 and Güllüdere 2 valleys, where the important hiking routes of the Cappadocia Region are located, it has been observed that the digital level of the routes is insufficient. It has been observed that the telephone networks in the area are very low or have completely lost their signal strength. In addition, it was determined that the materials such as maps and brochures used by tourism agencies to introduce the valleys are simple and incomplete. It is thought that this situation negatively affects the tourists' orientation and touristic experience in the field. Eliminating these deficiencies identified in the field, improving the digital level of the above-mentioned hiking routes and increasing the added value in destinations are among the main objectives of our study. Within the scope of the study, a mobile application that can work both online and offline on hiking routes has been prepared. 3D modeling of Kızılçukur, Meskendir, Güllüdere 1 and Güllüdere 2 valleys were made using Geographical Information Systems (GIS). In addition, a website has been created to enable tourists to easily access all the above-mentioned information, visuals and technological applications related to the routes. As it is known, the effective use of information and communication technologies in touristic regions not only increases the satisfaction levels of tourists, but also positively affects the attraction of qualified tourists to the region. When the tangible and intangible outputs of this study are evaluated, it is thought that it will serve the social and economic development of the region and set an example for the digital transformation of other routes in the region.

Keywords: nevşehir, cappadocia, cappadocia valleys, trekking route

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Authors: Anteneh Wodaje Bayeh, Daniel Manaye Kabtamu, Chen-Hao Wang

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As one of the most promising electrochemical energy storage systems, vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFBs) have received increasing attention owing to their attractive features for largescale storage applications. However, their high production cost and relatively low energy efficiency still limit their feasibility. For practical implementation, it is of great interest to improve their efficiency and reduce their cost. One of the key components of VRFBs that can greatly influence the efficiency and final cost is the electrode, which provide the reactions sites for redox couples (VO²⁺/VO₂ + and V²⁺/V³⁺). Carbon-based materials are considered to be the most feasible electrode materials in the VRFB because of their excellent potential in terms of operation range, good permeability, large surface area, and reasonable cost. However, owing to limited electrochemical activity and reversibility and poor wettability due to its hydrophobic properties, the performance of the cell employing carbon-based electrodes remained limited. To address the challenges, we synthesized heteroatom-doped bimetallic oxide grown on the surface of carbon through the one-step approach. When applied to VRFBs, the prepared electrode exhibits significant electrocatalytic effect toward the VO²⁺/VO₂ + and V³⁺/V²⁺ redox reaction compared with that of pristine carbon. It is found that the presence of heteroatom on metal oxide promotes the absorption of vanadium ions. The controlled morphology of bimetallic metal oxide also exposes more active sites for the redox reaction of vanadium ions. Hence, the prepared electrode displays the best electrochemical performance with energy and voltage efficiencies of 74.8% and 78.9%, respectively, which is much higher than those of 59.8% and 63.2% obtained from the pristine carbon at high current density. Moreover, the electrode exhibit durability and stability in an acidic electrolyte during long-term operation for 1000 cycles at the higher current density.

Keywords: VRFB, VO²⁺/VO₂ + and V³⁺/V²⁺ redox couples, graphite felt, heteroatom-doping

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Authors: Frida Carrillo Morales, Maria Maricela Carrasco Yépez, Saúl Rojas Hernández

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Naegleria fowleri is the causative agent of primary amebic meningoencephalitis, this disease is acute and fulminant that affects humans. It has been reported that despite the existence of therapeutic options against this disease, its mortality rate is 97%. Therefore, the need arises to have vaccines that confer protection against this disease and, in addition to developing adjuvants to enhance the immune response. In this regard, in our work group, we obtained a peptide designed from the membrane protein MP2CL5 of Naegleria fowleri called Smp145 that was shown to be immunogenic; however, it would be of great importance to enhance its immunological response, being able to co-administer it with a non-toxic adjuvant. Therefore, the objective of this work was to carry out the bioinformatic design of a peptide of the Naegleria fowleri membrane protein MP2CL5 conjugated with a non-toxic modified adjuvant from the native A1 structure of Cholera Toxin. For which different bioinformatics tools were used to obtain a model with a modification in amino acid 61 of the A1 subunit of the CT (CTA1), to which the Smp145 peptide was added and both molecules were joined with a 13-glycine linker. As for the results obtained, the modification in CTA1 bound to the peptide produces a reduction in the toxicity of the molecule in in silico experiments, likewise, the prediction in the binding of Smp145 to the receptor of B cells suggests that the molecule is directed in specifically to the BCR receptor, decreasing its native enzymatic activity. The stereochemical evaluation showed that the generated model has a high number of adequately predicted residues. In the ERRAT test, the confidence with which it is possible to reject regions that exceed the error values was evaluated, in the generated model, a high score was obtained, which determines that the model has a good structural resolution. Therefore, the design of the conjugated peptide in this work will allow us to proceed with its chemical synthesis and subsequently be able to use it in the mouse meningitis protection model caused by N. fowleri.

Keywords: immunology, vaccines, pathogens, infectious disease

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Authors: Benbiao Song, Yan Gao, Zhuo Liu

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Geostatistical modeling is the key technic for reservoir characterization, the quality of geological models will influence the prediction of reservoir performance greatly, but few studies have been done to quantify the factors impacting geostatistical reservoir modeling accuracy. In this study, 16 fluvial prototype models have been established to represent different geological complexity, 6 cases range from 16 to 361 wells were defined to reproduce all those 16 prototype models by different methodologies including SIS, object-based and MPFS algorithms accompany with different constraint parameters. Modeling accuracy ratio was defined to quantify the influence of each factor, and ten realizations were averaged to represent each accuracy ratio under the same modeling condition and parameters association. Totally 5760 simulations were done to quantify the relative contribution of each factor to the simulation accuracy, and the results can be used as strategy guide for facies modeling in the similar condition. It is founded that data density, geological trend and geological complexity have great impact on modeling accuracy. Modeling accuracy may up to 90% when channel sand width reaches up to 1.5 times of well space under whatever condition by SIS and MPFS methods. When well density is low, the contribution of geological trend may increase the modeling accuracy from 40% to 70%, while the use of proper variogram may have very limited contribution for SIS method. It can be implied that when well data are dense enough to cover simple geobodies, few efforts were needed to construct an acceptable model, when geobodies are complex with insufficient data group, it is better to construct a set of robust geological trend than rely on a reliable variogram function. For object-based method, the modeling accuracy does not increase obviously as SIS method by the increase of data density, but kept rational appearance when data density is low. MPFS methods have the similar trend with SIS method, but the use of proper geological trend accompany with rational variogram may have better modeling accuracy than MPFS method. It implies that the geological modeling strategy for a real reservoir case needs to be optimized by evaluation of dataset, geological complexity, geological constraint information and the modeling objective.

Keywords: fluvial facies, geostatistics, geological trend, modeling strategy, modeling accuracy, variogram

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Authors: Şenay Güngör, Emre Elbaşi, Beyda Sadikğlu, Utku Eren Bağci, Ömer Uzunel

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One of the first places that comes to mind when it comes to tourism in Turkey is the Cappadocia Region. Due to its rich geological and geomorphological heritage, Cappadocia is one of the most visited destinations in the world. In fact, in the first half of 2023, the number of international tourists visiting Cappadocia exceeded 2 million. Considering that the economy of the Cappadocia region is largely based on tourism, it is understood that the quality and technology integration levels of the touristic services offered in the region are of great importance. In this context; as a result of the observations made in Kızılçukur, Meskendir, Güllüdere 1 and Güllüdere 2 valleys, where the important hiking routes of the Cappadocia Region are located, it has been observed that the digital level of the routes is insufficient. It has been observed that the telephone networks in the area are very low or have completely lost their signal strength. In addition, it was determined that the materials such as maps and brochures used by tourism agencies to introduce the valleys are simple and incomplete. It is thought that this situation negatively affects the tourists' orientation and touristic experience in the field. Eliminating these deficiencies identified in the field, improving the digital level of the above-mentioned hiking routes and increasing the added value in destinations are among the main objectives of our study. Within the scope of the study, a mobile application that can work both online and offline on hiking routes has been prepared. 3D modeling of Kızılçukur, Meskendir, Güllüdere 1 and Güllüdere 2 valleys were made using Geographical Information Systems (GIS). In addition, a website has been created to enable tourists to easily access all the above-mentioned information, visuals and technological applications related to the routes. As it is known, the effective use of information and communication technologies in touristic regions not only increases the satisfaction levels of tourists, but also positively affects the attraction of qualified tourists to the region. When the tangible and intangible outputs of this study are evaluated, it is thought that it will serve the social and economic development of the region and set an example for the digital transformation of other routes in the region.

Keywords: nevşehir, cappadocia, cappadocia valleys, tourism route

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Authors: Inigo de Miguel Beriain

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Genetic data of deceased persons are of great interest for both biomedical research and clinical use. This is due to several reasons. On the one hand, many of our diseases have a genetic component; on the other hand, we share genes with a good part of our biological family. Therefore, it would be possible to improve our response considerably to these pathologies if we could use these data. Unfortunately, at the present moment, the status of data on the deceased is far from being satisfactorily resolved by the EU data protection regulation. Indeed, the General Data Protection Regulation has explicitly excluded these data from the category of personal data. This decision has given rise to a fragmented legal framework on this issue. Consequently, each EU member state offers very different solutions. For instance, Denmark considers the data as personal data of the deceased person for a set period of time while some others, such as Spain, do not consider this data as such, but have introduced some specifically focused regulations on this type of data and their access by relatives. This is an extremely dysfunctional scenario from multiple angles, not least of which is scientific cooperation at the EU level. This contribution attempts to outline a solution to this dilemma through an alternative proposal. Its main hypothesis is that, in reality, health data are, in a sense, a rara avis within data in general because they do not refer to one person but to several. Hence, it is possible to think that all of them can be considered data subjects (although not all of them can exercise the corresponding rights in the same way). When the person from whom the data were obtained dies, the data remain as personal data of his or her biological relatives. Hence, the general regime provided for in the GDPR may apply to them. As these are personal data, we could go back to thinking in terms of a general prohibition of data processing, with the exceptions provided for in Article 9.2 and on the legal bases included in Article 6. This may be complicated in practice, given that, since we are dealing with data that refer to several data subjects, it may be complex to refer to some of these bases, such as consent. Furthermore, there are theoretical arguments that may oppose this hypothesis. In this contribution, it is shown, however, that none of these objections is of sufficient substance to delegitimize the argument exposed. Therefore, the conclusion of this contribution is that we can indeed build a general framework on the processing of personal data of deceased persons in the context of the GDPR. This would constitute a considerable improvement over the current regulatory framework, although it is true that some clarifications will be necessary for its practical application.

Keywords: collective data conceptual issues, data from deceased people, genetic data protection issues, GDPR and deceased people

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Authors: Sima Shakoorjavan, Dawid Stawski, Somaye Akbari

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In this study, great attempts have been made to initially modify polylactide (PLA) nonwoven surface with poly(amidoamine) (PAMMA) dendritic polymer to create amine active sites on PLA surface through aminolysis reaction. Further, layer-by-layer deposition of four layers of two weak polyelectrolytes, including PAMAM as polycation and polyacrylic acid (PAA) as polyanion on activated PLA, was monitored with turbidity analysis of waste-polyelectrolytes after each deposition step. The FTIR-ATR analysis confirmed the successful introduction of amine groups into PLA polymeric chains through the emerging peak around 1650 cm⁻¹ corresponding to N-H bending vibration and a double wide peak at around 3670-3170 cm⁻¹ corresponding to N-H stretching vibration. The adsorption-desorption behavior of (PAMAM) and poly (PAA) deposition was monitored by turbidity test. Turbidity results showed the desorption and removal of the previously deposited layer (second and third layers) upon the desorption of the next layers (third and fourth layers). Also, the importance of proper rinsing after aminolysis of PLA nonwoven fabric was revealed by turbidity test. Regarding the sample with insufficient rinsing process, higher desorption and removal of ungrafted PAMAM from aminolyzed-PLA surface into PAA solution was detected upon the deposition of the first PAA layer. This phenomenon can be due to electrostatic attraction between polycation (PAMAM) and polyanion (PAA). Moreover, the successful layer deposition through LBL was confirmed by the staining test of acid red 1 through spectrophotometry analysis. According to the results, layered PLA with four layers with PAMAM as the top layer showed higher dye absorption (46.7%) than neat (1.2%) and aminolyzed PLA (21.7%). In conclusion, the complicated adsorption-desorption behavior of dendritic polycation and linear polyanion systems was observed. Although desorption and removal of previously adsorbed layers occurred upon the deposition of the next layer, the remaining polyelectrolyte on the substrate is sufficient for the adsorption of the next polyelectrolyte through electrostatic attraction between oppositely charged polyelectrolytes. Also, an increase in dye adsorption confirmed more introduction of PAMAM onto PLA surface through LBL.

Keywords: surface modification, layer-by-layer technique, weak polyelectrolytes, adsorption-desorption behavior

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Authors: Oksana Koval, Stephen Nabareseh

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Talent attraction is identified as a top priority between 2015 – 2020 for Shared Service Centers (SSCs) based on an industry-wide studies. Due to market dynamics and the structure of labour force, shared service industries in Eastern and Central Europe strive for qualified graduates with appropriate and unique skills to occupy such job places. The inbuilt interest and course prescriptions undertaken by prospective job seekers determine whether SSCs will eventually admit such professionals. This paper assesses students’ overall perception of careers in the shared services industry and further diagnosis gender impact and influence on the job preferences among students. Questionnaires were distributed among students in the Czech Republic universities using an online mode. Respondents vary by study year, gender, age, course of study, and work preferences. A total of 1283 student responses has been analyzed using Stata data analytics software. It was discovered that over 70% of respondents who are aware of SSCs are quite ignorant of the job opportunities offered by the centers. While majority of respondents are interested in support positions (e.g. procurement specialist, planning specialist, human resource specialist, process improvement specialist and payroll specialist, etc.), around a third of respondents (32.8 percent) will decline a job offer from SSCs. The analysis also revealed that males are more likely than females to seek careers in international companies, hence, tend to be more favorable towards shared service jobs. Females, however, have stronger preferences towards marketing and PR jobs. The research results provide insights into the job aspirations of students interviewed. The findings provide a huge resource for recruitment agencies and shared service industries to renew and redirect their search for talents into SSCs. Based on the fact that great portion of respondents are planning to start their career within 6-12 months, the research provides important highlights for the talent attraction and recruitment strategies in the industry and provides a curriculum direction in academia.

Keywords: Czech Republic labour market, gender, talent attraction, shared service centers, students

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Authors: Carol N. Flores-Fernández, Guadalupe Espilco, Cynthia Esquerre, Amparo I. Zavaleta

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Saline environments represent a valuable source of enzymes with novel properties and particular features for application in food, pharmaceutical and chemical industry. This study focuses on the isolation and screening of hydrolase-producing bacteria from Chilca salterns and the evaluation of their biotechnological potential. Soil samples were collected from Chilca salterns in Peru. For the isolation, medium containing 0.2 % of yeast extract, 5 % of NaCl and 10 % of the soil sample was used. After 72 h of incubation at 37 °C, serial dilutions were made up to 10−12 dilutions, spread on agar plates with 0.5 % of yeast extract and 5 % of NaCl, and incubated at 37 °C for 48 h. Screening of hydrolase-producing bacteria was carried out for cellulases, amylases, lipases, DNase, and proteases on specific media. Moreover, protease-producing bacteria were tested using protein extracted from the following legumes as substrate: Glycine max, Lupinus mutabilis, Pisum sativum, Erythrina edulis, Cicer arietinum, Phaseolus vulgaris and Vicia faba. A total of 16 strains were isolated from soil samples. On the screening media; 75, 44, 81 and 50 % were cellulase, amylase, DNase and protease producers, respectively. Also, 19 % of the isolates produced all the hydrolytic enzymes above mentioned. Lipase producers were not found. The 37 % and 12 % of the strains grew at 20 % and 30 % of salt concentration, respectively. In addition, 75 % of the strains grew at pH range between 5 and 10. From the total of protease-producing bacteria, 100 % hydrolyzed Glycine max, Lupinus mutabilis, and Pisum sativum protein, while 87 % hydrolyzed Erythrina edulis and Cicer arietinum protein. Finally, 75 % and 50 % of the strains hydrolyzed Phaseolus vulgaris and Vicia faba protein, respectively. Hydrolase-producing bacteria isolated from Chilca salterns in Peru grew at high salt concentrations and wide range of pH. In addition, protease-producing bacteria hydrolyzed protein from different sources such as leguminous. These enzymes have great biotechnological potential and could be used for different industrial processes and applications.

Keywords: bacteria, extracellular, hydrolases, Peru, salterns

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Authors: Girma Y. Iyassu Menelik

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The international community has gone through indescribable atrocities resulting from acts of war. These atrocities turned Europe and Africa into a wilderness of bloodshed and crime. In the period 1960- 1970s Africa witnessed unprecedented and well-documented assaults on life and property. This necessitated the adoption, signing and ratification of the International Criminal Court, establishment of the International Court of Justice which is a great achievement for the protection and fulfilling of human rights in the context of international political instability. The ICC came as an important opportunity to advance justice for serious crimes committed in violation of international law. Thus the Rome statute has become a formidable contribution to peace and security. There are concerns that the ICC is targeting African states. However, the ICC cannot preside over cases that are not parties to the Rome statute unless the UN Security council refers the situation or the relevant state asks the court to become involved. The instable international political situation thus deals with criminal prosecutions where amnesty is not permissible or is strongly repudiated. The court has become important justice instruments for states that are unable or unwilling to fulfill their obligation to address legacies of massive human rights violations. The ICJ as a court has a twofold role; to settle legal disputes submitted to it by states, and to give advisory opinions on legal questions referred to it by duly authorized United Nations organs and specialized agencies. All members of the UN are ipso facto parties to the statute of the ICJ. The court gives advisory opinion on any legal question. These courts are the most appropriate fora to pronounce on international crimes and are in a better position to know and apply international law. Cases that have been brought to the courts include Rwanda’s genocide, Liberia’s Charles Taylor etc. The receptiveness and cooperation of the local populations are important to the courts and if the ICC and ICJ can provide appropriate protections for the physical and economic safety of victims then peace and human rights observance can be attained. This paper will look into the effectiveness and impediments of these courts in handling criminal and injustices in international politics as while as what needs to be done to strengthen the capacity of these courts.

Keywords: ICC, international politics, justice, UN security council, violence, protection, fulfilling

Procedia PDF Downloads 427

Authors: Fang Liu, JunShuai Xue, JiaJia Yao, GuanLin Wu, ZuMaoLi, XueYan Yang, HePeng Zhang, ZhiPeng Sun

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Terahertz spectra is in great demand since last two decades for many photonic and electronic applications. III-Nitride resonant tunneling diode is one of the promising candidates for portable and compact THz sources. Room temperature microwave oscillator based on GaN/AlN resonant tunneling diode was reported in this work. The devices, grown by plasma-assisted molecular-beam epitaxy on free-standing c-plane GaN substrates, exhibit highly repeatable and robust negative differential resistance (NDR) characteristics at room temperature. To improve the interface quality at the active region in RTD, indium surfactant assisted growth is adopted to enhance the surface mobility of metal atoms on growing film front. Thanks to the lowered valley current associated with the suppression of threading dislocation scattering on low dislocation GaN substrate, a positive peak current density of record-high 2.1 MA/cm2 in conjunction with a peak-to-valley current ratio (PVCR) of 1.2 are obtained, which is the best results reported in nitride-based RTDs up to now considering the peak current density and PVCR values simultaneously. When biased within the NDR region, microwave oscillations are measured with a fundamental frequency of 0.31 GHz, yielding an output power of 5.37 µW. Impedance mismatch results in the limited output power and oscillation frequency described above. The actual measured intrinsic capacitance is only 30fF. Using a small-signal equivalent circuit model, the maximum intrinsic frequency of oscillation for these diodes is estimated to be ~260GHz. This work demonstrates a microwave oscillator based on resonant tunneling effect, which can meet the demands of terahertz spectral devices, more importantly providing guidance for the fabrication of the complex nitride terahertz and quantum effect devices.

Keywords: GaN resonant tunneling diode, peak current density, microwave oscillation, intrinsic capacitance

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Authors: Ebim Matthew Abua

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In Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart (henceforth, TFA), the character Unoka is portrayed as a weakling and indolent person even when he was a creative artist, a talented musician, and a mathematician. His lack of achievement becomes the barometer for measuring his success. Right from time, music is considered to be of great significance because of its capacity to recreate and retell social events. To this end, music is both a social act and a creative art. As a social act, music is a discursive medium that exploits the dynamics of art in its evaluation of society. Music is so much a part of human existence that its presence in literature can help readers relate to fictional situations and characters. In this paper, the character Unoka is examined against the backdrop of his musical proclivities and his contributions to the overall development of TFA. Unfortunately, Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, a product of artistic creativity, portrays the personality of Unoka as lazy and uninspiring because he (Unoka) is a musician who is busy playing his flute and hardly doing anything productive. This paper is significant because it examines the literary and or linguistic depiction of Unoka and the aftermath of that depiction on the entire novel and, by extension, the larger society. Methodologically, this paper adopted the qualitative approach from the ethnography of communication (EOC), which is the analysis of communication within the wider context of the social and cultural practices and beliefs of the members of a particular culture or speech community. The aim of this qualitative research method includes the ability to discern which communication acts and/or codes are important to different groups, what types of meanings groups apply to different communication events, and how group members learn these codes to provide insight into particular communities. The study reveals that the people of Umuofia were mono-directional in their economy, and there was no room for diversification. One was either a farmer, or such a person was relegated to the background. Unoka, taking up a new challenge of diversifying the economy from the perspective of entertainment, was viewed as a misnomer. This study opens the door to other areas of studying Achebe’s epic novel apart from the critical works of literary artists that have been dished out over time.

Keywords: literature, popular culture, unoka, things fall apart

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Authors: German Hernandez-Alonso, Antonio Lazcano, Arturo Becerra

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Until today, viruses remain controversial and poorly understood; about their origin, this problem represents an enigma and one of the great challenges for the contemporary biology. Three main theories have tried to explain the origin of viruses: regressive evolution, escaped host gene, and pre-cellular origin. Under the perspective of the escaped host gene theory, it can be assumed a cellular origin of viral components, like protein RNA-binding domains. These universal distributed RNA-binding domains are related to the RNA metabolism processes, including transcription, processing, and modification of transcripts, translation, RNA degradation and its regulation. In the case of viruses, these domains are present in important viral proteins like helicases, nucleases, polymerases, capsid proteins or regulation factors. Therefore, they are implicated in the replicative cycle and parasitic processes of viruses. That is why it is possible to think that those domains present low levels of divergence due to selective pressures. For these reasons, the main goal for this project is to create a catalogue of the RNA-binding domains found in all the available viral proteomes, using bioinformatics tools in order to analyze its evolutionary process, and thus shed light on the general virus evolution. ProDom database was used to obtain larger than six thousand RNA-binding domain families that belong to the three cellular domains of life and some viral groups. From the sequences of these families, protein profiles were created using HMMER 3.1 tools in order to find distant homologous within greater than four thousand viral proteomes available in GenBank. Once accomplished the analysis, almost three thousand hits were obtained in the viral proteomes. The homologous sequences were found in proteomes of the principal Baltimore viral groups, showing interesting distribution patterns that can contribute to understand the evolution of viruses and their host-virus interactions. Presence of cellular RNA-binding domains within virus proteomes seem to be explained by closed interactions between viruses and their hosts. Recruitment of these domains is advantageous for the viral fitness, allowing viruses to be adapted to the host cellular environment.

Keywords: bioinformatics tools, distant homology, RNA-binding domains, viral evolution

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Authors: Fruzsina Pataki-Bittó, Edit Németh

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On the one hand, new technologies and communication tools improve employee productivity and accelerate information and knowledge transfer, while on the other hand, information overload and continuous interruptions make it even harder to concentrate at work. It is a great challenge for companies to find the right balance, while there is also an ongoing demand to recruit and retain the talented employees who are able to adopt the modern work style and effectively use modern communication tools. For this reason, this research does not focus on the objective measures of office interruptions, but aims to find those disruption factors which influence the comfort and job satisfaction of employees, and the way how they feel generally at work. The focus of this research is on how employees feel about the different types of interruptions, which are those they themselves identify as hindering factors, and those they feel as stress factors. By identifying and then reducing these destructive factors, job satisfaction can reach a higher level and employee turnover can be reduced. During the research, we collected information from depth interviews and questionnaires asking about work environment, communication channels used in the workplace, individual communication preferences, factors considered as disruptions, and individual steps taken to avoid interruptions. The questionnaire was completed by 141 office workers from several types of workplaces based in Hungary. Even though 66 respondents are working at Hungarian offices of multinational companies, the research is about the characteristics of the Hungarian labor force. The most important result of the research shows that while more than one third of the respondents consider office noise as a disturbing factor, personal inquiries are welcome and considered useful, even if in such cases the work environment will not be convenient to solve tasks requiring concentration. Analyzing the sizes of the offices, in an open-space environment, the rate of those who consider office noise as a disturbing factor is surprisingly lower than in smaller office rooms. Opinions are more diverse regarding information communication technologies. In addition to the interruption factors affecting the employees' job satisfaction, the research also focuses on the role of the offices in the 21^st century.

Keywords: information overload, interruption, job satisfaction, office environment, work efficiency

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Authors: Pomila Sharma

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The rapid urbanization in India was not accompanied by the establishment of waste water treatment facility at similar and same pace. The inland fresh water ecosystem is increasingly subjected to great stress from various human activities. Jalmahal Lake is located in Jaipur city of Rajasthan state; the lake was constructed about 400 years ago and surrounded by hills. The lake was approximately 139 hectare in full spread and has catchment area of 23.5 sq. kilometer. Out of the total catchment area approximate 40% falls inside dense urban area of Jaipur city. During the showers, the treated and untreated waste waters and runoff waters get mixed and enter the lake through the various influx channels, and the lake water quality gets affected by the inflow of waste water. The main objective of this work was to use the Moringa oleifera seeds as a natural adsorbent for the treatment of wastewater in lake. Moringa oleifera is a tropical, multipurpose tree whose seeds contain high-quality edible oil 40% by weight and water soluble, non-toxic protein that act as an effective coagulant for the removal of organic matter in water and waste water treatment. Laboratory Jar test procedure had been used for coagulation studies; an experiment runs using lake water. Water extracts/powder of Moringa seed applied to treat polluted water of lake. In present study various doses of Moringa oleifera seed coagulant viz. 100 mg/L, 200 mg/L, and 400 mg/L were taken and checked for the efficiency dose on treated and untreated polluted water. Turbidity and color removal is one of the important steps in a waste water treatment processes. The results indicate significant reduction in turbidity and color. Standard plate count was significantly reduced fecal coliform levels too. All parameters were reduced with the increased dose of Moringa oleifera. It was clear from the study Moringa oleifera seed was shown to be a potential bio-coagulant, for treatment of sewage laden polluted water in the lake.

Keywords: coagulant, Moringa oleifera, plate count, turbidity, wastewater

Procedia PDF Downloads 380