Search results for: isolation loss

Authors: Sarah Faulkner, Patrick Faulkner, Caroline Ellison

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Improved mental and physical health, community connection, and increased life satisfaction has been strongly associated with bike riding for those with and without a disability. However, much evidence suggests that people living with a disability face increased barriers to engaging in cycling compared to members of the general population. People with an intellectual disability often live more sedentary and socially isolated lives that negatively impact their mental and physical health, as well as life satisfaction. This paper is based on preliminary findings from a three-year intervention cycling project funded by the South Australian Government. The cycling project was developed in partnership with community stakeholders that provided weekly instruction, training, and support to individuals living with intellectual disabilities to increase their capacity in cycling. This project aimed to support people living with intellectual disabilities to foster and facilitate improved physical and mental health, confidence, and independence and enhance social networking through their engagement in community cycling. The program applied principles of social role valorisation (SRV) theory as its guiding framework. Preliminary data collected is based on qualitative interviews with over 50 program participants, results from two participant wellness questionnaires, as well as a perceptually regulated exercise test administered throughout the project implementation. Preliminary findings are further supplemented with ethnographic analyses by the researchers who took a phenology of life experience approach. Preliminary findings of the program suggest a variety of social motivations behind participants' desire to learn cycling that acknowledges previous barriers to engagement and cycling’s role to address feelings of loneliness and social isolation. Meaningful health benefits can be achieved as demonstrated by increases in predicted V02 max measures, suggesting that physical intervention can not only improve physical health outcomes but also provide a variety of other social benefits. Initial engagement in the project has demonstrated an increase in participants' sense of confidence, well-being, and physical fitness. Implementation of the project in partnership with a variety of community stakeholders has identified a number of critical factors and processes necessary for future service replication, sustainability, and success. Findings from this intervention study contribute to the development of a knowledge base on how best to support individuals living with an intellectual disability to partake in bike riding and increase positive outcomes associated with their capacity building, social interaction, increased physical activity, physical health, and mental well-being. The initial findings of this study provide critical academic insights into the social and physical benefits of cycling for people living with a disability, as well as practical advice for future human service applications.

Keywords: cycling, disability, social inclusion, capacity building

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Authors: Yunita Ratih Wijayanti, Dwi Rahmawati, Turniningtyas Ayu Rahmawati

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Gresik is one of the districts in East Java Province, Indonesia. Gresik Regency has three major rivers, namely Bengawan Solo River, Brantas River, and Lamong River. Lamong River is a tributary of Bengawan Solo River. Flood disasters that occur in Gresik Regency are often caused by the overflow of the Lamong River. The losses caused by the flood were very large and certainly detrimental to the affected people. Therefore, to be able to minimize the impact caused by the flood, it is necessary to take preventive action. However, before taking preventive action, it is necessary to have information regarding potential inundation areas and water levels at various points. For this reason, a flood simulation model is needed. In this study, the simulation was carried out using the Geographic Information System (GIS) method with the help of Global Mapper software. The approach used in this simulation is to use a topographical approach with Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) data. DEMs data have been widely used for various researches to analyze hydrology. The results obtained from this flood simulation are the distribution of flood inundation and water level. The location of the inundation serves to determine the extent of the flooding that occurs by referring to the 50-100 year flood plan, while the water level serves to provide early warning information. Both will be very useful to find out how much loss will be caused in the future due to flooding in Gresik Regency so that the Gresik Regency Regional Disaster Management Agency can take precautions before the flood disaster strikes.

Keywords: flood hazard, simulation model, potential inundation, global mapper, Gresik Regency

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Authors: Ying-Chang Yu, Yuan-Lung Lo

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Building ventilation performance is an important indicator of indoor comfort. However, in addition to the geometry of the building or the proportion of the opening, the ventilation performance is also very much related to the actual wind pressure of the building. There are more and more contemporary building designs built with multi-layer exterior envelope. Due to ventilation and view observatory requirement, the porous outer layer of the building is commonly adopted and has a significant wind damping effect, causing the phenomenon of actual wind pressure loss. However, the relationship between the wind damping effect and the actual wind pressure is not linear. This effect can make the indoor ventilation of the building rationalized to reasonable range under the condition of high wind pressure, and also maintain a good amount of ventilation performance under the condition of low wind pressure. In this study, wind tunnel experiments were carried out to simulate the different wind pressures flow through the porous outer layer, and observe the actual wind pressure strength engage with the window layer to find the decreasing relationship between the damping effect of the porous shell and the wind pressure. Experiment specimen scale was designed to be 1:50 for testing real-world building conditions; the study found that the porous enclosure has protective shielding without affecting low-pressure ventilation. Current study observed the porous skin may damp more wind energy to ease the wind pressure under high-speed wind. Differential wind speed may drop the pressure into similar pressure level by using porous skin. The actual mechanism and value of this phenomenon will need further study in the future.

Keywords: multi-layer facade, porous media, wind damping, wind tunnel test, building ventilation

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Authors: Yasir Karabacak

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Objective: The aim of periodontal therapy is to control and eliminate inflammation in order halt disease progression. The initial periodontal therapy (IPT) including scaling and root planing (SRP) can control periodontal disease in most cases of periodontitis; also maintaining good oral hygiene by the patient is fundamental. The aim of this case report is to present IPT and to present 3-month follow-up results in a patient with periodontitis. Materials and Methods IPT of a 63-year-old non-smoker male with generalized periodontitis is presented. The patient had no history of systemic disease. The intraoral examination reveals marked gingival inflammation as well as plaque accumulation and significant calculus deposits. On radiographic examination, severe bone loss was evident. The patient was diagnosed with generalized advanced periodontitis. Initial periodontal therapy including oral hygiene instructions and quadrant-based SRP under local anesthesia was performed using hand and ultrasonic instruments. No antibiotics were prescribed. The patient was recalled 4 weeks after IPT. Results Favorable clinical improvement was obtained. Gingival inflammation was resolved significantly. A reduction of the mean probing depth from 2.4 mm at baseline to 1.9 mm was observed. The patient presented with a good standard of oral hygiene. The plaque scores decreased from 54.0% at baseline to 17.0%. In addition, the percentage of sites with bleeding on probing decreased from 80.0% at baseline to 44.0%. The patient was scheduled for maintenance therapy every three months. Conclusion: The level of oral hygiene has a great impact on periodontal treatment outcome and supports periodontal therapy properly.

Keywords: initial periodontal, therapy and follow-up in a periodontitis, patient, a case report

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Authors: R. Begum, M. M. R. Jahangir, M. Jahiruddin, M. R. Islam, M. M. Rahman, M. B. Hossain, P. Hossain

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Quantifying carbon (C) sequestration in soils is necessary to help better understand the effect of agricultural practices on the C cycle. The estimated contribution of agricultural carbon dioxide (CO₂) and methane (CH₄) to global warming potential (GWP) has a wide range. The underlying causes of this huge uncertainty are the difficulties to predict the regional CO₂ and CH₄ loss due to the lack of experimental evidence on CO₂ and CH₄ emissions and associated drivers. The CH₄ and CO₂ emissions were measured in irrigated wheat in subtropical floodplain soils which have been under two soil disturbance levels (strip vs. conventional tillage; ST vs. CT being both with 30% residue retention) and three N fertilizer rates (60, 100, and 140% of the recommended N fertilizer dose, RD) in annual wheat (Triticum aestivum)-mungbean (Vigna radiata)-rice (Oryza sativa L) for seven consecutive years. The highest CH₄ and CO₂ emission peak was observed on day 3 after urea application in both tillages except CO₂ flux in CT. Nitrogen fertilizer application rate significantly influenced mean and cumulative CH₄ and CO₂ fluxes. The CH₄ and CO₂ fluxes decreased in an optimum dose of N fertilizer except for ST for CH₄. The CO₂ emission significantly showed higher emission at minimum (60% of RD) fertilizer application at both tillages. Soil microbial biomass carbon (MBC), organic carbon (SOC), Particulate organic carbon (POC), permanganate oxidisable carbon (POXC), basal respiration (BR) were significantly higher in ST which were negative and significantly correlated with CO₂. However, POC and POXC were positively and significantly correlated with CH₄ emission.

Keywords: carbon dioxide emissions, methane emission, nitrogen rate, tillage

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Authors: Leo Nnamdi Ozurumba-Dwight

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Single-cell genomic analytical systems have proved to be a platform to isolate bulk cells into selected single cells for genomic, proteomic, and related metabolomic studies. This is enabling systematic investigations of the level of heterogeneity in a diverse and wide pool of cell populations. Single cell technologies, embracing techniques such as high parameter flow cytometry, single-cell sequencing, and high-resolution images are playing vital roles in these investigations on messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) molecules and related gene expressions in tracking the nature and course of disease conditions. This entails targeted molecular investigations on unit cells that help us understand cell behavoiur and expressions, which can be examined for their health implications on the health state of patients. One of the vital good sides of single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA seq) is its probing capacity to detect deranged or abnormal cell populations present within homogenously perceived pooled cells, which would have evaded cursory screening on the pooled cell populations of biological samples obtained as part of diagnostic procedures. Despite conduction of just single-cell transcriptome analysis, scRNAseq now permits comparison of the transcriptome of the individual cells, which can be evaluated for gene expressional patterns that depict areas of heterogeneity with pharmaceutical drug discovery and clinical treatment applications. It is vital to strictly work through the tools of investigations from wet lab to bioinformatics and computational tooled analyses. In the precise steps for scRNAseq, it is critical to do thorough and effective isolation of viable single cells from the tissues of interest using dependable techniques (such as FACS) before proceeding to lysis, as this enhances the appropriate picking of quality mRNA molecules for subsequent sequencing (such as by the use of Polymerase Chain Reaction machine). Interestingly, scRNAseq can be deployed to analyze various types of biological samples such as embryos, nervous systems, tumour cells, stem cells, lymphocytes, and haematopoietic cells. In haematopoietic cells, it can be used to stratify acute myeloid leukemia patterns in patients, sorting them out into cohorts that enable re-modeling of treatment regimens based on stratified presentations. In immunotherapy, it can furnish specialist clinician-immunologist with tools to re-model treatment for each patient, an attribute of precision medicine. Finally, the good predictive attribute of scRNAseq can help reduce the cost of treatment for patients, thus attracting more patients who would have otherwise been discouraged from seeking quality clinical consultation help due to perceived high cost. This is a positive paradigm shift for patients’ attitudes primed towards seeking treatment.

Keywords: immunotherapy, transcriptome, re-modeling, mRNA, scRNA-seq

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Authors: Safak Akdemir

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The main purpose of this research is to evaluate the relationships between childhood traumas and dissociative experiences, self-perceptions and early maladaptive schemas in male convicts convicted of sexual assault crimes in prison. In our study, male convicts in prison for the crime of sexual assault constitute the experimental group, and the participants matched with this experimental group in terms of education, age and gender constitute the control group. The experimental group of the research consists of 189 male individuals who are convicted in the Ministry of Justice, General Directorate of Prisons, Istanbul/Maltepe L Type Closed Prison. The control group of this study consists of 147 adult males matched with the experimental group in terms of age, gender and education parameters. A total of 336 adult male individuals are included in the sample of this study. 46% of the experimental group were convicted of only sexual assault, 54% of them were convicted of both sexual assault and murder, injury and drug crimes. Total of five data collection tools, namely the Personal Information Form created by S. A. & E. O., Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), the Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES), the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES), and the Young Schema Questionnaire-Short Form (YSQ-SF3), were completed. DES cut-off score of 99 (52.39%) of 189 convicts in the experimental group and 12 (8.17%) of 147 people in the control group was found to be 30 and above, and this result indicates the presence of pathological dissociative experiences. 180 (95.23%) of the sexual assault convicts in the experimental group had at least one childhood trauma, 154 (81.48%) were emotional neglect, 140 (74.07%) were emotional abuse, 121 (64.02%) were physical neglect, 91 (4814%) physical abuse and 70 (37.03%) sexual abuse. 168 (88.88%) of the experimental group reported multiple type of trauma and 12 (6.34%) reported single type of trauma. While the childhood traumas, isolation, abandonment and emotional deprivation schema levels of the convicts with a DES cut-off score of 30 and above are higher than the convicts with a DES cut-off score of 30 and above, their self-esteem is lower than this group. Experimental group while childhood traumas, dissociative experiences and early maladaptive schemas are higher than the control group, their self-esteem levels are lower. Dissociative experiences, abandonment and emotional deprivation early maladaptive schemas are more common in convicts aged between 18-30 years compared to convicts aged 31 and over. In addition, dissociative experiences and early maladaptive schemas of male convicts who reported physical and sexual abuse were higher than those who did not report physical and sexual abuse, while their self-esteem was at a lower level. As a result, in terms of psychotraumatology and clinical forensic psychology, dissociative disorders developed under the influence of chronic childhood traumas, with clinical interviews and psychometric measurements to be made in terms of forensic psychiatry; it is of fundamental importance to evaluate it in terms of neurosis-psychosis distinction, disability retirement, custody, malpractice, criminal and legal capacity criteria.

Keywords: crime, sexual assault, criminology, rape crimes, dissocitative disorders, maladative schemas

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Authors: Ashish Bohre, Blaž Likozar, Saikat Dutta, Dionisios G. Vlachos, Basudeb Saha

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Graphene oxide, decorated with surface oxygen functionalities, has emerged as a sustainable alternative to precious metal catalysts for many reactions. Herein, we report for the first time that graphene oxide becomes super active for C-C coupling upon incorporation of multilayer crystalline features, highly oxidized surface, Brønsted acidic functionalities and defect sites on the surface and edges via modified oxidation. The resulting improved graphene oxide (IGO) demonstrates superior activity to commonly used framework zeolites for upgrading of low carbon biomass furanics to long carbon chain aviation fuel precursors. A maximum 95% yield of C15 fuel precursor with high selectivity is obtained at low temperature (60 C) and neat conditions via hydroxyalkylation/alkylation (HAA) of 2-methylfuran (2-MF) and furfural. The coupling of 2-MF with carbonyl molecules ranging from C3 to C6 produced the precursors of carbon numbers 12 to 21. The catalyst becomes inactive in the 4th cycle due to the loss of oxygen functionalities, defect sites and multilayer features; however, regains comparable activity upon regeneration. Extensive microscopic and spectroscopic characterization of the fresh and reused IGO is presented to elucidate high activity of IGO and to establish a correlation between activity and surface and structural properties. Kinetic Monte Carlo (KMC) and density functional theory (DFT) calculations are presented to further illustrate the surface features and the reaction mechanism.

Keywords: methacrylic acid, itaconic acid, biomass, monomer, solid base catalyst

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Authors: N. G. Klivleyeva, T. I. Glebova, G. V. Lukmanova, S. B. Bayseit, S. Z. Taubaeva, M. K. Kalkozhaeva

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The role of viral diseases in the general infectious disease incidence increases every year and requires special attention to the problem of interpreting the etiology of infectious agents. Influenza and acute respiratory viral infections are one of the most pressing public health issues. In the period 2012-2014, collection of 419 nasal swabs and 150 blood sera has been carried out in the patient care institutions of the various Kazakhstan regions from patients with symptoms of ARVI and pneumonia. Primary identification of biosamples for the presence of influenza viral antigens in enzyme immunoassay on nitrocellulose membrane gave positive results in 125 swabs (29.8%). Biosample screening in immunofluorescence test revealed the presence of influenza viral antigens against A/H1 in 63 samples (15.0%), A/H3 – in 70 samples (16.7%) and type B – in 9 samples (2.1%). As a result of primary infection, and successive passages in chick embryos and MDCK cell cultures, 38 HAAg were isolated from 419 samples with a clear cytopathic effect and hemagglutination titre in MDCK cell culture within 1:2-1:4, in CE - 1:8-1:256. The infectivity of isolates in chicken embryos were 3.5-6.5 lg EID50/0.2, in MDCK cell culture – 2.5-6.5 lg PFU/ml. Identification of 28 isolates was carried out in inhibition reactions of hemagglutinating activity and neuraminidase activity, showed their belonging to the influenza virus: 26 strains to A/H1N1, one - to A/H3N2, and one - to type B. Serological examination of blood sera for the presence of specific antibodies being an indirect evidence of the performed isolation and contributing to the timely interpretation of the disease etiology in the epidemics takes an important place in the comprehensive study of influenza viruses circulating among people. Serological analyzes were carried out in HAI assay using a kit consisting of 12 reference strains obtained from the WHO centre for reference and research on Influenza (CDC, Atlanta, USA) and three Kazakhstan (A/Almaty/347/09 (H1N1v), A/Almaty/462/11 (H3N2) and B/Almaty/414/10) human influenza viruses that are stored in the laboratory collection. The results of serological analysis of 150 blood sera showed that antihaemagglutinins against the A/H3N2 virus serosubtype were found in 46 samples (49.4%) out of 93 sera collected in 2012-2013. The antibody titres were within 1:160-1:320. 19 sera (20.4%) were seropositive against influenza A/H1N1 virus, the antibodies were observed in titres of 1:20-1:40. Six sera (6.4%) were positive against the influenza A/H1N1+A/H3N2 virus (mixed infection); the antibodies were recorded in titres of 1:20-1:40. Antihaemagglutinins against influenza type B virus were detected only in five sera (5.4%). The results of analysis of 57 sera collected in 2014 showed that antihaemagglutinins against A/H3N2 virus subtype were detected in 32 blood sera (56.1%) in titres of 1:160-1:640. Ten sera (17.5%) were seropositive against A/H1N1 virus; antihaemagglutinins against influenza type B virus were not detected. Therefore, virological and serological studies have shown that in Kazakhstan, as well as in the world, the influenza viruses A/H1N1, A/H3N2 and influenza B viruses were actively circulating during the epidemic seasons in 2012-2014.

Keywords: influenza, MDCK cell, serological analysis, virus

Procedia PDF Downloads 162

Authors: Dhruv J. Limaye, Hanga Galfalvy, Cheick A. Sissoko, Yung-yu Huang, Chunanning Tang, Ying Liu, Shu-Chi Hsiung, Andrew J. Dwork, Gorazd B. Rosoklija, Victoria Arango, Lewis Brown, J. John Mann, Maura Boldrini

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Memory and emotion require hippocampal cell viability and connectivity and are disrupted in major depressive disorder (MDD). Applying shotgun proteomics and stereological quantification of neural progenitor cells (NPCs), intermediate neural progenitors (INPs), and mature granule neurons (GNs), to postmortem human hippocampus, identified differentially expressed proteins (DEPs), and fewer NPCs, INPs and GNs, in untreated MDD (uMDD) compared with non-psychiatric controls (CTRL) and antidepressant-treated MDD (MDDT). DEPs lower in uMDD vs. CTRL promote mitosis, differentiation, and prevent apoptosis. DEPs higher in uMDD vs. CTRL inhibit the cell cycle, and regulate cell adhesion, neurite outgrowth, and DNA repair. DEPs lower in MDDT vs. uMDD block cell proliferation. We observe group-specific correlations between numbers of NPCs, INPs, and GNs and an abundance of proteins regulating mitosis, differentiation, and apoptosis. Altered protein expression underlies hippocampus cellular and volume loss in uMDD, supports a trophic effect of antidepressants, and offers new treatment targets.

Keywords: proteomics, hippocampus, depression, mitosis, migration, differentiation, mitochondria, apoptosis, antidepressants, human brain

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Authors: Matthew Fleet, Savannah Elliott

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Background: This study investigates the use of teaching and learning to meet the needs of deaf children in the UK PE curriculum. Research has illustrated that deaf students in mainstream schools do not receive sufficient support from teachers in lessons. This research examines the impact of different types of hearing loss and its implications within Physical Education (PE) in secondary schools. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to highlight challenges PE teachers face and make recommendations for more inclusive learning environments for deaf students. The aims and objectives of this research are: to critically analyse the current situation for deaf students accessing the PE curriculum, by identifying barriers deaf students face; to identify the challenges for PE teachers in providing appropriate support for deaf students; to provide recommendations for deaf awareness training, to enhance PE teachers’ understanding and knowledge. Method: Semi-structured interviews collected data from both PE teachers and deaf students, to examine: the support available and coping mechanisms deaf students use when they do not receive support; strategies PE teachers use to provide support for deaf students; areas for improvement and potential strategies PE teachers can apply to their practice. Results & Conclusion: The findings from the study concluded that PE teachers were inconsistent in providing appropriate support for deaf students in PE lessons. Evidence illustrated that PE teachers had limited exposure to deaf awareness training. This impacted on their ability to support deaf students effectively. Communication was a frequent barrier for deaf students, affecting their ability to retain and learn information. Also, the use of assistive technology was found to be compromised in practical PE lessons.

Keywords: physical education, deaf, inclusion, education

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Authors: Francesco Scarpati

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Because of their long history, ranging from ancient times to the present day, European cities feature many historical layers, whose single identities are represented by traces surviving in the urban design. However, urban transformations, in particular, the ones that have been produced by the property speculation phenomena of the 20th century, often compromised the readability of these traces, resulting in a loss of the historical identities of the single layers. The purpose of this research is, therefore, a reflection on the theme of the reenactment of the historical memory in the stratified European contexts and on how contemporary architecture can help to reveal past signs of the cities. The research work starts from an analysis of a series of emblematic examples that have already provided an original solution to the described problem, going from the architectural detail scale to the urban and landscape scale. The results of these analyses are then applied to the case study of the city of Naples, as an emblematic example of a stratified city, with an ancient Greek origin; a city where it is possible to read most of the traces of its transformations. Particular consideration is given to the trace of the medieval walls of the city, which a long time ago clearly divided the city itself from the outer fields, and that is no longer readable at the current time. Finally, solutions and methods of intervention are proposed to ensure that the trace of the walls, read as a boundary, can be revealed through the contemporary project.

Keywords: contemporary project, historic memory, historic urban contexts, medieval walls, naples, stratified cities, urban traces

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Authors: Esmaeil Asadzadeh, Mehtab Alam

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Well documented records of the past failures of the structures reveals that the progressive collapse of structures is one of the major reasons for dramatic human loss and economical consequences. Progressive collapse is the failure mechanism in which the structure fails gradually due to the sudden removal of the structural elements. The sudden removal of some structural elements results in the excessive redistributed loads on the others. This sudden removal may be caused by any sudden loading resulted from local explosion, impact loading and terrorist attacks. Hyperbolic thin walled concrete shell structures being an important part of nuclear and thermal power plants are always prone to such terrorist attacks. In concrete structures, the gradual failure would take place by generation of initial cracks and its propagation in the supporting columns along with the tower shell leading to the collapse of the entire structure. In this study the mechanism of progressive collapse for such high raised towers would be simulated employing the finite element method. The aim of this study would be providing clear conceptual step-by-step descriptions of various procedures for progressive collapse analysis using commercially available finite element structural analysis software’s, with the aim that the explanations would be clear enough that they will be readily understandable and will be used by practicing engineers. The study would be carried out in the following procedures: 1. Provide explanations of modeling, simulation and analysis procedures including input screen snapshots; 2. Interpretation of the results and discussions; 3. Conclusions and recommendations.

Keywords: progressive collapse, cooling towers, finite element analysis, crack generation, reinforced concrete

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Authors: Muganyizi Jonas Bisheko, G. Rejikumar

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Reducing post-harvest losses could be a sustainable solution to enhance the food and income security of smallholder farmers in developing countries. While various research institutions have come up with a number of innovative post-harvest technologies for reducing post-harvest losses, most of them have not been extensively adopted by smallholder farmers. Despite this gap, the synthesized information about the major constraints of post-harvest technology is scarce. This study has been conducted to fill this gap and show the implications of the findings for future post-harvest research. The developed search strategy retrieved 2201 studies. However, after excluding duplicates, title, abstract and full article screening, a total of 41 documents were identified. The major findings are: (i) there is an outstanding deficiency of systematic evidence of the effect of climate change, off-farm income and sources of post-harvest information on the adoption of improved post-harvest technologies; (ii) there is very limited information on adoption constraints pertaining to matters of policy, rules and regulations; (iii) there is very thin literature on behavioral constraints associated with limited adoption of improved post-harvest technologies; (iv) most of the studies focused on post-harvest storage technologies (47%) followed by overall post-harvest management practices (25%), processing technologies (19%) and packaging technologies (3%). Much of the information was found on Cereals (58%), especially maize (44%); (v) geographically, Sub-Saharan Africa accounted for 79% of the reviewed interventions, while South Asia occupied only 21%. The findings of this review are intended to guide various post-harvest technologists and decision-makers in addressing the challenge of huge post-harvest losses.

Keywords: constraints, post-harvest loss, post-harvest technology , smallholder farmer

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Authors: Julius Denafas, Irina Kliopova, Gintaras Denafas

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Three opportunities for implementation of industrial ecology principles in the real industrial production of c-Si solar cells and modules are presented in this study. It includes: material flow dematerialisation, product modification and industrial symbiosis. Firstly, it is shown how the collaboration between R&D institutes and industry helps to achieve significant reduction of material consumption by a) refuse from phosphor silicate glass cleaning process and b) shortening of silicon nitride coating production step. Secondly, it was shown how the modification of solar module design can reduce the CO2 footprint for this product and enhance waste prevention. It was achieved by implementing a frameless glass/glass solar module design instead of glass/backsheet with aluminium frame. Such a design change is possible without purchasing new equipment and without loss of main product properties like efficiency, rigidity and longevity. Thirdly, industrial symbiosis in the solar cell production is possible in such case when manufacturing waste (silicon wafer and solar cell breakage) also used solar modules are collected, sorted and supplied as raw-materials to other companies involved in the production chain of c-Si solar cells. The obtained results showed that solar cells produced from recycled silicon can have a comparable electrical parameters like produced from standard, commercial silicon wafers. The above mentioned work was performed at solar cell producer Soli Tek R&D in the frame of H2020 projects CABRISS and Eco-Solar.

Keywords: manufacturing, process optimisation, recycling, solar cells, solar modules, waste prevention

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Authors: Obinna K. Ihesiulor, Krishna Shankar, Paul Smith, Alan Fien

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Excessive fretting wear at the taper-trunnion junction (trunnionosis) apparently contributes to the high failure rates of hip implants. Implant wear and corrosion lead to the release of metal particulate debris and subsequent release of metal ions at the taper-trunnion surface. This results in a type of metal poisoning referred to as metallosis. The consequences of metal poisoning include; osteolysis (bone loss), osteoarthritis (pain), aseptic loosening of the prosthesis and revision surgery. Follow up after revision surgery, metal debris particles are commonly found in numerous locations. Background: A stable connection between the femoral ball head (taper) and stem (trunnion) is necessary to prevent relative motions and corrosion at the taper junction. Hence, the importance of component assembly cannot be over-emphasized. Therefore, the aim of this study is to determine the influence of head-stem junction assembly by press fitting and the subsequent disengagement/disassembly on the connection strength between the taper ball head and stem. Methods: CoCr femoral heads were assembled with High stainless hydrogen steel stem (trunnion) by Push-in i.e. press fit; and disengaged by Pull-out test. The strength and stability of the two connections were evaluated by measuring the head pull-out forces according to ISO 7206-10 standards. Findings: The head-stem junction strength linearly increases with assembly forces.

Keywords: wear, modular hip prosthesis, taper head-stem, force assembly and disassembly

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Authors: Sarra Boughaba

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The α-aminophosphonates have received considerable attention in organic and medicinal chemistry because of their structural resemblance with α-amino acids. They are used as antitumor agents, anti-inflammatory and antibiotics. As a result, a number of procedures have been developed for their synthesis. However, many of these methods suffer from some disadvantages such as long reaction times, environmental pollution caused by utilization of organic solvents, and expensive catalyst. On the other hand, thiazole components, particularly 2-aminothiazole is an important class of heterocyclic compounds. They appear in the structure of natural products and biologically actives compounds, thiamine (vitamin-B), and some antibiotics drugs (penicillin, micrococcin). In the past few years, heteropolyacids have received great attention as environmentally benign catalysts for organic synthetic processes, they possess unique physicochemical properties, such as super-acidity, high thermal and chemical stability, ability to accept and release electrons and high proton mobility, and the possibility of varying their acidity and oxidizing potential. In this study, an efficient and eco-friendly process has been developed for the synthesis of α-aminophosphonates containing aminothiazole moiety via Kabachnik-Field reaction catalyzed by H₆P₂W₁₈O₆₂.14H₂O as reusable catalyst, by condensation of aromatic aldehydes, 2-aminothiazole and triethylphosphite under free conditions. The X-ray crystallographic data of obtained compounds were provided. The main advantages of our protocol include the absence of solvent in the reaction, easy work-up, short reaction time, atom-economy and reusability of catalyst without significant loss of its activity.

Keywords: aminophosphonates, green synthesis, H₆P₂W₁₈O₆₂.14H₂O catalyst, x-ray study

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Authors: Rabie Fadil, Parshuram Aarotale, Shubha Majumder, Bijay Guargain

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Hemorrhage is the loss of blood from the circulatory system and leading cause of battlefield and postpartum related deaths. Early detection of hemorrhage remains the most effective strategy to reduce mortality rate caused by traumatic injuries. In this study, we investigated the physiological changes via non-invasive cardiac signals at rest and under different hemorrhage conditions simulated through graded lower-body negative pressure (LBNP). Simultaneous electrocardiogram (ECG), photoplethysmogram (PPG), blood pressure (BP), impedance cardiogram (ICG), and phonocardiogram (PCG) were acquired from 10 participants (age:28 ± 6 year, weight:73 ± 11 kg, height:172 ± 8 cm). The LBNP protocol consisted of applying -20, -30, -40, -50, and -60 mmHg pressure to the lower half of the body. Beat-to-beat heart rate (HR), systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and mean aerial pressure (MAP) were extracted from ECG and blood pressure. Systolic amplitude (SA), systolic time (ST), diastolic time (DT), and left ventricle Ejection time (LVET) were extracted from PPG during each stage. Preliminary results showed that the application of -40 mmHg i.e. moderate stage simulated hemorrhage resulted significant changes in HR (85±4 bpm vs 68 ± 5bpm, p < 0.01), ST (191 ± 10 ms vs 253 ± 31 ms, p < 0.05), LVET (350 ± 14 ms vs 479 ± 47 ms, p < 0.05) and DT (551 ± 22 ms vs 683 ± 59 ms, p < 0.05) compared to rest, while no change was observed in SA (p > 0.05) as a consequence of LBNP application. These findings demonstrated the potential of cardiac signals in detecting moderate hemorrhage. In future, we will analyze all the LBNP stages and investigate the feasibility of other physiological signals to develop a predictive machine learning model for early detection of hemorrhage.

Keywords: blood pressure, hemorrhage, lower-body negative pressure, LBNP, machine learning

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Authors: Ahmed Mozamel, Kemal Yildizli

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Due to mechanical energy losses and a competitive of minimizing these losses and increases the machine efficiency, the need for contactless gearing system has raised. In this work, one stage of mechanical planetary gear transmission system integrated with one stage of magnetic planetary gear system is designed as a two-stage hybrid gearbox system. The permanent magnets internal energy in the form of the magnetic field is used to create meshing between contactless magnetic rotors in order to provide self-system protection against overloading and decrease the mechanical loss of the transmission system by eliminating the friction losses. Classical methods, such as analytical, tabular method and the theory of elasticity are used to calculate the planetary gear design parameters. The finite element method (ANSYS Maxwell) is used to predict the behaviors of a magnetic gearing system. The concentric magnetic gearing system has been modeled and analyzed by using 2D finite element method (ANSYS Maxwell). In addition to that, design and manufacturing processes of prototype components (a planetary gear, concentric magnetic gear, shafts and the bearings selection) of a gearbox system are investigated. The output force, the output moment, the output power and efficiency of the hybrid gearbox system are experimentally evaluated. The viability of applying a magnetic force to transmit mechanical power through a non-contact gearing system is presented. The experimental test results show that the system is capable to operate continuously within the range of speed from 400 rpm to 3000 rpm with the reduction ratio of 2:1 and maximum efficiency of 91%.

Keywords: hybrid gearbox, mechanical gearboxes, magnetic gears, magnetic torque

Procedia PDF Downloads 136

Authors: Panasbodee Thachaopas, Duangdorm Gamnerdsap, Waraporn Inthip, Arissara Pungpa

Abstract:

LDD’s IM Farm or Land Development Department’s Integrated Management Farm is the agricultural simulation application developed by Land Development Department relies on actual data in simulation game to grow 12 cash crops which are rice, corn, cassava, sugarcane, soybean, rubber tree, oil palm, pineapple, longan, rambutan, durian, and mangosteen. Launching in simulation game, players could select preferable areas for cropping from base map or Orthophoto map scale 1:4,000. Farm management is simulated from field preparation to harvesting. The system uses soil group, and present land use database to facilitate player to know whether what kind of crop is suitable to grow in each soil groups and integrate LDD’s data with other agencies which are soil types, soil properties, soil problems, climate, cultivation cost, fertilizer use, fertilizer price, socio-economic data, plant diseases, weed, pest, interest rate for taking on loan from Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC), labor cost, market prices. These mentioned data affect the cost and yield differently to each crop. After completing, the player will know the yield, income and expense, profit/loss. The player could change to other crops that are more suitable to soil groups for optimal yields and profits.

Keywords: agricultural simulation, smart farmer, web application, factors of agricultural production

Procedia PDF Downloads 185

Authors: Sepideh Jabbari Behnam, Shadabeh Gashtasbi Iraei, Elnaz Mohsenin, MohammadAli Aghajani

Abstract:

Urban neighborhoods, as important urban forming cells, play a key role in creating urban texture and integrated form. Nowadays, most of neighborhood divisions are based on urban management systems but without considering social issues and the other aspects of urban life. This can cause problems such as providing inappropriate services for city dwellers, the loss of local identity and etc. In this regard for regenerating of such neighborhoods, it is essential to locate neighborhood centers with appropriate access and services for all residents. The main objective of this article is reaching to the location of neighborhood centers in a way that, most of issues relating to the physical features (such as the form of access network and texture permeability and etc.) and other qualities such as land uses, densities and social and economic features can be done simultaneously. This paper attempts to use methods of spatial analysis in order to surveying spatial structure and space syntax of urban textures and Urban Network Analysis Systems. This can be done by one of GIS toolbars which is named UNA (Urban Network Analysis) with the use of its five functions (include: Reach, Betweenness, Gravity, Closeness, Straightness).These functions were written according to space syntax theory and offer its relating output. This paper tries to locate and evaluate the optimal location of neighborhood centers in order to create local centers. This is done through weighing of each of these functions and taking into account of spatial features.

Keywords: evaluate optimal location, Local centers, location of neighborhood centers, Spatial analysis, Urban network

Procedia PDF Downloads 443

Authors: Pawitchaya Srijaiwong, Surin Khomfoi

Abstract:

There are several solutions to supply electricity to an island in Thailand such as diesel generation, submarine power cable, and renewable energy power generation. However, each alternative has its own limitation like fuel and pollution of diesel generation, submarine power cable length resulting in loss of cable and cost of investment, and potential of renewable energy in the local area. This paper shows microgrid system which is a new alternative for power supply to an island. It integrates local power plant from renewable energy, energy storage system, and microgrid controller. The suitable renewable energy power generation on an island is selected from geographic location and potential evaluation. Thus, photovoltaic system and hydro power plant are taken into account. The capacity of energy storage system is also estimated by transient stability study in order to supply electricity demand sufficiently under normal condition. Microgrid controller plays an important role in conducting, communicating and operating for both sources and loads on an island so that its functions are discussed in this study. The conceptual design of microgrid operation is investigated in order to analyze the reliability and power quality. The result of this study shows that microgrid is able to operate in parallel with the main grid and in case of islanding. It is applicable for electricity supply to an island and a remote area. The advantages of operating microgrid on an island include the technical aspect like improving reliability and quality of power system and social aspects like outage cost saving and CO₂ reduction.

Keywords: energy storage, islanding, microgrid, renewable energy

Procedia PDF Downloads 308

Authors: Allyne Topaz

Abstract:

Intraoral dehiscence compromises free fibula flaps following mandibular reconstruction. Salivary contamination risks thrombosis of microvascular anastomosis and hardware infection. The superficial temporal artery islandized flap (STAIF) offers an efficient, non-microsurgical reconstructive option for regaining intraoral competency for a time sensitive complication. Methods: The STAIF flap is based on the superficial temporal artery coursing along the anterior hairline. The flap is mapped with assistance of the doppler probe. The width of the skin paddle is taken based on the ability to close the donor site. The flap is taken down to the level of the zygomatic arch and tunneled into the mouth. Results: We present a case of a patient who underwent mandibular reconstruction with a free fibula flap after a traumatic shotgun wound. The patient developed repeated intraoral dehiscence following failed local buccal and floor of mouth flaps leading to salivary contamination of the flap and hardware. The intraoral dehiscence was successfully salvaged on the third attempt with a STAIF flap. Conclusions: Intraoral dehiscence creates a complication requiring urgent attention to prevent loss of free fibula flap after mandibular reconstruction. The STAIF is a non-microsurgical option for restoring intraoral competency. This robust, axially vascularized skin paddle may be split for intra- and extra-oral coverage, as needed and can be an important tool in the reconstructive armamentarium.

Keywords: free fibula flap, intraoral dehiscence, mandibular reconstruction, superficial temporal artery islandized flap

Procedia PDF Downloads 117

Authors: Kunthida Kulprateepunya, Napat Boontiam, Bunthita Phuasa, Chatsuda Kankayant, Bantoeng Polsawat, Sumran Poontong

Abstract:

Frailty is the thin line between good health and illness. The syndrome is more common in the elderly who transition from strong to weak. (Vulnerability). Fragility can prevent and promote healthy recovery before it goes into disability. This research and development aim to analyze the situation analysis of frailty of the elderly, develop a program, and evaluate the effect of a health promotion program to prevent and solve the problem of frailty among the elderly. The research consisted of 3 phases: 1) analysis of the frailty situation, 2) development of a model, 3) evaluation of the effectiveness of the model. Samples were 328, 122 elderlies using the multi-stage random sampling method. The research instrument was a frailty questionnaire use of the five symptoms, the main characteristics were muscle weakness, slow walking, low physical activity. Fatigue and unintentional weight loss, criteria frailty use more than or equal to three or more symptoms are frailty. Data were analyzed by descriptive and t-test dependent test statistics. The findings showed three parts. First, frailty in the elderly was 23.05 percentage and 56.70% pre-frailty. Second, it was development of a health promotion program to prevent and solve the problem of frailty the elderly with a combination of Nine-Square Exercise, Elastic Band Exercise, Elastic Coconut Shell. Third, evaluation of the effectiveness of the model by comparison of the elderly's get up and go test, the average time before using the program was 14.42 and after using the program was 8.57. It was statistically significant at the .05 level. In conclusion, the findings can used to develop guidelines to promote the health of the frailty elderly.

Keywords: elderly, fragile, nine-square exercise, elastic coconut shell

Procedia PDF Downloads 90

Authors: F. Deng, R. Sanchez, A. Beltran, S. Maestre

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The high nutritional value associated with seafood is related to the presence of essential trace elements. Moreover, seafood is considered an important source of energy, proteins, and long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids. Generally, seafood is consumed cooked. Consequently, the nutritional value could be degraded. Seafood, such as fish, shellfish, and seaweed, could be considered as one of the main iodine sources. The deficient or excessive consumption of iodine could cause dysfunction and pathologies related to the thyroid gland. The main objective of this work is to evaluated iodine stability in hake (Merluccius) undergone different culinary techniques. The culinary process considered were: boiling, steaming, microwave cooking, baking, cooking en papillote (twisted cover with the shape of a sweet wrapper) and coating with a batter of flour and deep-frying. The determination of iodine was carried by Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS). Regarding sample handling strategies, liquid-liquid extraction has demonstrated to be a powerful pre-concentration and clean-up approach for trace metal analysis by ICP techniques. Extraction with tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH reagent) was used as a sample preparation method in this work. Based on the results, it can be concluded that the stability of iodine was degraded with the cooking processes. The major degradation was observed for the boiling and microwave cooking processes. The content of iodine in hake decreased up to 60% and 52%, respectively. However, if the boiling cooking liquid is preserved, this loss that has been generated during cooking is reduced. Only when the fish was cooked by following the cooking en papillote process the iodine content was preserved.

Keywords: cooking process, ICP-MS, iodine, hake

Procedia PDF Downloads 124

Authors: Rogelio Omar Corona-Núñez, Alma Mendoza-Ponce

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The Tropical Dry Forest not only is one of the most important tropical ecosystems in terms of area, but also it is one of the most degraded ecosystems. However, little is known about the degradation impacts on carbon stocks, therefore in carbon emissions. There are different studies which explain its deforestation dynamics, but there is still a lack of understanding of how they correlate to carbon losses. Recently different authors have built current biomass maps for the tropics and Mexico. However, it is not clear how well they predict at the local scale, and how they can be used to estimate carbon emissions. This study quantifies the forest net carbon losses by comparing the potential carbon stocks and the different current biomass maps in the Southern Pacific coast in Oaxaca, Mexico. The results show important differences in the current biomass estimates with not a clear agreement. However, by the aggregation of the information, it is possible to infer the general patterns of biomass distribution and it can identify the driving forces of the carbon emissions. This study estimated that currently ~44% of the potential carbon stock estimated for the region is still present. A total of 6,764 GgC has been emitted due to deforestation and degradation of the forest at a rate of above ground biomass loss of 66.4 Mg ha-1. Which, ~62% of the total carbon emissions can be regarded as being due to forest degradation. Most of carbon losses were identified in places suitable for agriculture, close to rural areas and to roads while the lowest losses were accounted in places with high water stress and within the boundaries of the National Protected Area. Moreover, places not suitable for agriculture, but close to the coast showed carbon losses as a result of urban settlements.

Keywords: above ground biomass, deforestation, degradation, driving forces, tropical deciduous forest

Procedia PDF Downloads 158

Authors: Hala Demerdash, Ola M. Zanaty, Emad Eldin Arida

Abstract:

Background: This study investigated the micoRNA expression changes induced by Sevoflurane and Propofol and their effects on liver functions. Patients and methods: The study was designed as randomized controlled study, carried out on 200 adult patients, scheduled for major surgeries under general anesthesia (GA). Patients were randomly divided into four groups; groups SC and PC included chronic hepatitis C (CHC) patients where SC group are patients receiving Sevoflurane, and PC group are patients receiving Propofol anesthesia. While S and P groups included non- hepatitis patients; S group are patients receiving Sevoflurane and P group are patients receiving Propofol. Anesthesia in Group S and SC patients was maintained by sevoflurane, while anesthesia in Group P and PC patients was maintained by propofol infusion. Blood samples were analyzed for PT, PTT and liver enzymes. Serum samples were analyzed for microRNA before and after surgery. Results: Results show miRNA-122 and miRNA-21 were absent in serum of S and P groups in pre-operative samples. However, they were expressed in SC and PC groups. In post-operative samples; miRNA-122 revealed an increased expression in all groups; with more exaggerated response in SC group. On the other hand miRNA-21 revealed increased expression in both SC and PC groups; a slight expression in S group with absent expression in P group. There was a post-operative negative correlation between miR-122 and ALT (r=-0.46) in SC group and (r=-0.411) in PC group and positive correlation between ALT and miR-21 (r=0.335) in SC group and (r=0.379) in PC group. The amount of blood loss was positively correlated with miR-122 (r=0.366) in SC group and (r=0.384) in PC group. Conclusion: Propofol anesthesia is safer than Sevoflurane anesthesia in patients with CHC. Sevoflurane and Propofol anesthesia affect miRNA expression in both CHC and non-hepatitis patients.

Keywords: anesthesia, chronic hepatitis C, micoRNA, propofol, sevoflurane

Procedia PDF Downloads 323

Authors: Warda L. Panondi, Norihiro Izumi

Abstract:

Sedimentation is a significant threat to the sustainability of reservoirs and their watershed. In the Philippines, the Pulangi watershed experienced a high sediment loss mainly due to land conversions and plantations that showed critical erosion rates beyond the tolerable limit of -10 ton/ha/yr in all of its sub-basin. From this event, the prediction of runoff volume and sediment yield is essential to examine using the country's soil conservation techniques realistically. In this research, the Pulangi watershed was modeled using the soil water assessment tool (SWAT) to predict its watershed basin's annual runoff and sediment yield. For the calibration and validation of the model, the SWAT-CUP was utilized. The model was calibrated with monthly discharge data for 1990-1993 and validated for 1994-1997. Simultaneously, the sediment yield was calibrated in 2014 and validated in 2015 because of limited observed datasets. Uncertainty analysis and calculation of efficiency indexes were accomplished through the SUFI-2 algorithm. According to the coefficient of determination (R2), Nash Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE), King-Gupta efficiency (KGE), and PBIAS, the calculation of streamflow indicates a good performance for both calibration and validation periods while the sediment yield resulted in a satisfactory performance for both calibration and validation. Therefore, this study was able to identify the most critical sub-basin and severe needs of soil conservation. Furthermore, this study will provide baseline information to prevent floods and landslides and serve as a useful reference for land-use policies and watershed management and sustainability in the Pulangi watershed.

Keywords: Pulangi watershed, sediment yield, streamflow, SWAT model

Procedia PDF Downloads 182

Authors: Deepika, Kashika Kapoor, Nistha Khanna, Lakshmi, Archna Kumar

Abstract:

Plant-parasitic nematodes cause major loss in global food production and destroying at least 21.3% of food annually. About 4100 species of plant-parasitic nematodes are reported, out of this, Meloidogyne species is prominent and worldwide in distribution. Observing the harmful effects of chemical based nematicides, there is a great need for an eco-friendly, highly efficient, sustainable control measure for Meloidogyne. Therefore, In vitro study was carried out to observe the impact of volatile cues obtained from the Tagetes erecta leaves on plant parasitic nematodes. Volatile cues were collected from marigold leaves. For chemical characterization, GCMS (Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry) profiling was conducted. VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds) profile of marigold indicated the presence of several types of alkanes, alkenes varying in number and quantity. Status of nematodes population by counting the live and dead individuals after applying a definite volume (100µl) of extract was recorded at different concentrations (100%, 50%, 25%) with contrast of control (hexane) during different time durations i.e.,24hr, 48hr and 72hr. Result indicated that mortality increases with increasing time (72hr) and concentration (100%) i.e., 50%. Thus, application of prominent compound present in Marigold in pure form may be tested individually or in combination to find out the most efficient active compound/s, which may be highly useful in eco-friendly management of targeted plant parasitic nematode.

Keywords: plant-parasitic nematode, meloidogyne, tagetes erecta, volatile organic compounds

Procedia PDF Downloads 139

Authors: Georgi Vendramin, Aurea Lúcia, Yamamoto, Carlos Itsuo, Souza Melegari, N. Samuel

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This article describes the development of a model that uses a method where openings are represented by single glass and double glass. The model is based on a healthy balance equations purely theoretical and empirical data. Simplified equations are derived through a synthesis of the measured data obtained from meteorological stations. The implementation of the model in a design tool integrated buildings is discussed in this article, to better punctuate the requirements of comfort and energy efficiency in architecture and engineering. Sustainability, energy efficiency, and the integration of alternative energy systems and concepts are beginning to be incorporated into designs for new buildings and renovations to existing buildings. Few means have existed to effectively validate the potential performance benefits of the design concepts. It was used a method of degree-days for an assessment of the energy performance of a building showed that the design of the architectural design should always be considered the materials used and the size of the openings. The energy performance was obtained through the model, considering the location of the building Central Park Shopping Mall, in the city of Cascavel - PR. Obtained climatic data of these locations and in a second step, it was obtained the coefficient of total heat loss in the building pre-established so evaluating the thermal comfort and energy performance. This means that the more openings in buildings in Cascavel – PR, installed to the east side, they may be higher because the glass added to the geometry of architectural spaces will cause the environment conserve energy.

Keywords: sustainable design, energy modeling, design validation, degree-days methods

Procedia PDF Downloads 395