Search results for: Geographical Information System (GIS) for assets management

Authors: Hellen L. De Castro e Silva, Ana A. Robles Aguilar, Erik Meers

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Digestates are residual by-products, rich in nutrients and trace elements, which can be used as organic fertilisers on soils. However, due to the non-digestibility of these elements and reduced dry matter during the anaerobic digestion process, metal concentrations are higher in digestates than in feedstocks, which might hamper their use as fertilisers according to the threshold values of some country policies. Furthermore, there is uncertainty regarding the required assimilated amount of these elements by some crops, which might result in their bioaccumulation. Therefore, further processing of the digestate to obtain safe fertilizing products has been recommended. This research aims to analyze the effect of applying the hydrothermal carbonization process to manure-derived digestates as a thermal treatment to reduce the bioavailability of heavy metals in mono and co-digestates derived from pig manure and maize from contaminated land in France. This study examined pig manure collected from a novel stable system (VeDoWs, province of East Flanders, Belgium) that separates the collection of pig urine and feces, resulting in a solid fraction of manure with high up-concentration of heavy metals and nutrients. Mono-digestion and co-digestion processes were conducted in semi-continuous reactors for 45 days at mesophilic conditions, in which the digestates were dried at 105 °C for 24 hours. Then, hydrothermal carbonization was applied to a 1:10 solid/water ratio to guarantee controlled experimental conditions in different temperatures (180, 200, and 220 °C) and residence times (2 h and 4 h). During the process, the pressure was generated autogenously, and the reactor was cooled down after completing the treatments. The solid and liquid phases were separated through vacuum filtration, in which the solid phase of each treatment -hydrochar- was dried and ground for chemical characterization. Different fractions (exchangeable / adsorbed fraction - F1, carbonates-bound fraction - F2, organic matter-bound fraction - F3, and residual fraction – F4) of some heavy metals (Cd, Cr, Ni, and Cr) have been determined in digestates and derived hydrochars using the modified Community Bureau of Reference (BCR) sequential extraction procedure. The main results indicated a difference in the heavy metals fractionation between digestates and their derived hydrochars; however, the hydrothermal carbonization operating conditions didn’t have remarkable effects on heavy metals partitioning between the hydrochars of the proposed treatments. Based on the estimated potential ecological risk assessment, there was one level decrease (considerate to moderate) when comparing the HMs partitioning in digestates and derived hydrochars.

Keywords: heavy metals, bioavailability, hydrothermal treatment, bio-based fertilisers, agriculture

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Authors: Matias Hargreaves, Martin Del Valle, Diego Rodriguez, Riveros Jose Luis

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Trough years, all kind of social development projects have tried to solve social problems such as hunger, poverty, malnutrition, food insecurity, among others, with poor success. Both private and state initiatives have invested resources in several countries and communities. Nevertheless, most of these initiatives are scientific or external developers-centered, with a lack of local participation. This compromises the sustainability of any intervention and also leads to a poor empowerment of local community. The participatory approach aims to rescue and enhance the local knowledge since it recognizes that this kind of problems are better known by native actors. The objective of the study was to describe the role played by the community empowerment on food security improvement in the NGO “O Viveiro” (15°43'37.77"S; 32°46'27.53"E) and Barrio Broma village (15°43'58.78"S; 32°46'7.27"E) in Chitima, Mozambique. A center for training in goat livestock and orchard was build. A community orchard was co-constructed between foreign technicians and local actors. The prototype was installed in February, 2016 by the technician team and local community with 16 m2 as a nursery garden. Two orchard workshops were conducted in order to design a sustainable productive model which mixes both local and technological approaches. Two goat meat workshops were conducted in order to describe local methods and train the community to conduce their own techniques with high sanitary and productive standards. Technician team stayed in Mozambique until May, 2016. The quorum for the orchard workshops was 20 and 14 persons respectively, which represents 100% and 70%of the total requested quorum (20). For the goat meat workshops were 4 and 5 persons, which representa80% and 100% of the total requested quorum (5). Until August, 2016, the orchard is 3.219 m2 and it grows several vegetables as beans, chili pepper, garlic, onion, tomatoes, lettuce, sweet potato, yuca potato, cabbage, eggplant, papaya trees, mango, and cassava. The process of increasing in size and diversification of vegetables grown was led entirely by the local community. In connection with this, the local community started to harvest and began to sell the vegetable products at the local market. At the meat goat workshops, local participants rescued a local knowledge by describing and practicing a traditional way to process goat meat by drying it outdoors and then doing a smoked treatment. This information might contribute to describe the level of empowerment of this community, and thus give evidence of acceptance of foreign intervention for improving their own proceedings and traditions.

Keywords: children malnutrition, food security, Local community, participatory approach

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Authors: Eleanor Nel

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Research output is an indicator of institutional performance (and quality), resulting in increased pressure on academic institutions to perform in the research arena. Research output is further utilised to obtain research funding. Resultantly, academic institutions face significant pressure from governing bodies to provide evidence on the return for research investments. Research output has thus become a substantial discourse within institutions, mainly due to the processes linked to evaluating research output and the associated allocation of research funding. This focus on research outputs often surpasses the development of robust, widely accepted tools to additionally measure research impact at institutions. A publication writing programme, for enhancing research output, was launched at a South African university in 2011. Significant amounts of time, money, and energy have since been invested in the programme. Although participants provided feedback after each session, no formal review was conducted to evaluate the research output directly associated with the programme. Concerns in higher education about training costs, learning results, and the effect on society have increased the focus on value for money and the need to improve training, research performance, and productivity. Furthermore, universities rely on efficient and reliable monitoring and evaluation systems, in addition to the need to demonstrate accountability. While publishing does not occur immediately, achieving a return on investment from the intervention is critical. A multi-method study, guided by the New World Kirkpatrick Model (NWKM), was conducted to determine the impact of the publication writing programme for the period of 2011 to 2018. Quantitative results indicated a total of 314 academics participating in 72 workshops over the study period. To better understand the quantitative results, an open-ended questionnaire and semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine participants from a particular faculty as a convenience sample. The purpose of the research was to collect information to develop a comprehensive framework for impact evaluation that could be used to enhance the current design and delivery of the programme. The qualitative findings highlighted the critical role of a multi-stakeholder strategy in strengthening support before, during, and after a publication writing programme to improve the impact and research outputs. Furthermore, monitoring on-the-job learning is critical to ingrain the new skills academics have learned during the writing workshops and to encourage them to be accountable and empowered. The NWKM additionally provided essential pointers on how to link the results more effectively from publication writing programmes to institutional strategic objectives to improve research performance and quality, as well as what should be included in a comprehensive evaluation framework.

Keywords: evaluation, framework, impact, research output

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Authors: Ajit Singh, Waliur Rahaman, Parmanand Sharma, Laluraj C. M., Lavkush Patel, Bhanu Pratap, Vinay Kumar Gaddam, Meloth Thamban

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The Himalayan glaciers are the potential source of perennial water supply to Asia’s major river systems like the Ganga, Brahmaputra and the Indus. In order to improve our understanding about the source of precipitation and hydrograph components in the interior Himalayan glaciers, it is important to decipher the sources of moisture and their contribution to the glaciers in this river system. In doing so, we conducted an extensive pilot study in a Sutri Dhaka glacier, western Himalaya during 2014-15. To determine the moisture sources, rain, surface snow, ice, and stream meltwater samples were collected and analyzed for stable oxygen (δ¹⁸O) and hydrogen (δD) isotopes. A two-component hydrograph separation was performed for the glacier stream using these isotopes assuming the contribution of rain, groundwater and spring water contribution is negligible based on field studies and available literature. To validate the results obtained from hydrograph separation using above method, snow and ice melt ablation were measured using a network of bamboo stakes and snow pits. The δ¹⁸O and δD in rain samples range from -5.3% to -20.8% and -31.7% to -148.4% respectively. It is noteworthy to observe that the rain samples showed enriched values in the early season (July-August) and progressively get depleted at the end of the season (September). This could be due to the ‘amount effect’. Similarly, old snow samples have shown enriched isotopic values compared to fresh snow. This could because of the sublimation processes operating over the old surface snow. The δ¹⁸O and δD values in glacier ice samples range from -11.6% to -15.7% and -31.7% to -148.4%, whereas in a Sutri Dhaka meltwater stream, it ranges from -12.7% to -16.2% and -82.9% to -112.7% respectively. The mean deuterium excess (d-excess) value in all collected samples exceeds more than 16% which suggests the predominant moisture source of precipitation is from the Western Disturbances. Our detailed estimates of the hydrograph separation of Sutri Dhaka meltwater using isotope hydrograph separation and glaciological field methods agree within their uncertainty; stream meltwater budget is dominated by glaciers ice melt over snowmelt. The present study provides insights into the sources of moisture, controlling mechanism of the isotopic characteristics of Sutri Dhaka glacier water and helps in understanding the snow and ice melt components in Chandra basin, Western Himalaya.

Keywords: D-excess, hydrograph separation, Sutri Dhaka, stable water isotope, western Himalaya

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Authors: Ananya Pal, Neelakshi Sarkar, Debraj Saha, Dipanwita Das, Subhashish Kamal Guha, Bibhuti Saha, Runu Chakravarty

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Presently, tenofovir disoproxil fumurate (TDF) is the most effective anti-viral agent for the treatment of hepatitis B virus (HBV) in individuals co-infected with HIV and HBV as TDF has activity to suppress both wild-type and lamivudine (3TC)-resistant HBV. However, suboptimal response to TDF was reported in HIV-HBV co-infected individuals with prior 3TC therapy from different countries recently. The incidence of 3TC-resistant HBV strains is quite high in HIV-HBV co-infected patients experiencing long-term anti-retroviral therapy (ART) in eastern India. In spite of this risk, most of the patients with long-term 3TC treatment are continued with the same anti-viral agent in this country. Only a few have received TDF in addition to 3TC in the ART regimen since TDF has been available in India for the treatment of HIV-infected patients in 2012. In this preliminary study, we investigated the virologic and biochemical parameters among HIV-HBV co-infected patients who are non-responders to 3TC treatment during the continuation of 3TC or TDF add-on to 3TC in their ART regimen. Fifteen HIV-HBV co-infected patients who experienced long-term 3TC (mean duration months 36.87 ± 24.08 months) were identified with high HBV viremia ( > 20,000 IU/ml) or harbouring 3TC-resistant HBV. These patients receiving ART from School of Tropical Medicine Kolkata, the main ART centre in eastern India were followed-up semi-annually for next three visits. Different virologic parameters including quantification of plasma HBV load by real-time PCR, detection of hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) by commercial ELISA and anti-viral resistant mutations by sequencing were studied. During three follow-up among study subjects, 86%, 47%, and 43% had 3TC-mono-therapy (mean treatment-duration 41.54±18.84, 49.67±11.67, 54.17±12.37 months respectively) whereas 14%, 53%, and 57% experienced TDF in addition to 3TC (mean treatment duration 4.5±2.12, 16.56±11.06, and 23±4.07 months respectively). Mean CD4 cell-count in patients receiving 3TC was tended to be lower during third follow-up as compared to the first and the second [520.67±380.30 (1st), 454.8±196.90 (2nd), and 397.5±189.24 (3rd) cells/mm3) and similar trend was seen in patients experiencing TDF in addition to 3TC [334.5±330.218 (1st), 476.5±194.25 (2nd), and 461.17±269.89 (3rd) cells/mm3]. Serum HBV load was increased during successive follow-up of patients with 3TC-mono-therapy. Initiation of TDF lowered serum HBV-load among 3TC-non-responders at the time of second visit ( < 2,000 IU/ml), interestingly during third follow-up, mean HBV viremia increased >1 log IU/ml (mean 3.56±2.84 log IU/ml). Persistence of 3TC-resistant double and triple mutations was also observed in both the treatment regimens. Mean serum alanine aminotransferase remained elevated in these patients during this follow-up study. Persistence of high HBV viraemia and 3TC-resistant mutation in HBV during the continuation of 3TC might lead to major public health threat in India. The inclusion of TDF in the ART regimen of 3TC non-responder HIV-HBV co-infected patients showed adverse treatment response in terms of virologic and biochemical parameters. Therefore, serious attention is necessary for proper management of long-term 3TC experienced HIV-HBV co-infected patients with high HBV viraemia or 3TC-resistant HBV mutants in India.

Keywords: HBV, HIV, TDF, 3TC-resistant

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Authors: Honey Bryant, Elvina Chu

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Stroke is the leading cause of disability in adults in Canada and directly related to depression, anxiety, and sleep disorders; with an estimated annual cost of $50 billion in health care. Strokes not only impact the individual but society as a whole. Current stroke rehabilitation does not include Music Therapy, although it has success in clinical research in the use of stroke rehabilitation. This study examines the use of neurologic music therapy (NMT) in conjunction with stroke rehabilitation to improve sleep quality, reduce stress levels, and promote neurogenesis. Existing research on NMT in stroke is limited, which means any conclusive information gathered during this study will be significant. My novel hypotheses are a.) stroke patients will become less depressed and less anxious with improved sleep following NMT. b.) NMT will reduce stress levels and promote neurogenesis in stroke patients admitted for rehabilitation. c.) Beneficial effects of NMT will be sustained at least short-term following treatment. Participants were recruited from the in-patient stroke rehabilitation program at Providence Care Hospital in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. All participants-maintained stroke rehabilitation treatment as normal. The study was spilt into two groups, the first being Passive Music Listening (PML) and the second Neurologic Music Therapy (NMT). Each group underwent 10 sessions of intensive music therapy lasting 45 minutes for 10 consecutive days, excluding weekends. Psychiatric Assessments, Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), Hospital Anxiety & Depression Rating Scale (HADS), and Music Engagement Questionnaire (MusEQ), were completed, followed by a general feedback interview. Physiological markers of stress were measured through blood pressure measurements and heart rate variability. Serum collections reviewed neurogenesis via Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and stress markers of cortisol levels. As this study is still on-going, a formal analysis of data has not been fully completed, although trends are following our hypotheses. A decrease in sleepiness and anxiety is seen upon the first cohort of PML. Feedback interviews have indicated most participants subjectively felt more relaxed and thought PML was useful in their recovery. If the hypothesis is supported, larger external funding which will allow for greater investigation of the use of NMT in stroke rehabilitation. As we know, NMT is not covered under Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP), so there is limited scientific data surrounding its uses as a clinical tool. This research will provide detailed findings of the treatment of neuropsychiatric aspects of stroke. Concurrently, a passive music listening study is being designed to further review the use of PML in rehabilitation as well.

Keywords: music therapy, psychotherapy, neurologic music therapy, passive music listening, neuropsychiatry, counselling, behavioural, stroke, stroke rehabilitation, rehabilitation, neuroscience

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Authors: Mark Darius Juszczak

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While epistemology, as a sub-field of philosophy, is generally concerned with theoretical questions about the nature of knowledge, the explosion in digital media technologies has resulted in an exponential increase in the storage and transmission of human information. That increase has resulted in a particular non-linear dynamic – digital epistemological functions are radically altering how and what we know. Neither the rate of that change nor the consequences of it have been well studied or taken into account in developing state-level strategies for epistemological functions. At the current time, US Federal policy, like that of virtually all other countries, maintains, at the national state level, clearly defined boundaries between various epistemological agencies - agencies that, in one way or another, mediate the functional use of knowledge. These agencies can take the form of patent and trademark offices, national library and archive systems, departments of education, departments such as the FTC, university systems and regulations, military research systems such as DARPA, federal scientific research agencies, medical and pharmaceutical accreditation agencies, federal funding for scientific research and legislative committees and subcommittees that attempt to alter the laws that govern epistemological functions. All of these agencies are in the constant process of creating, analyzing, and regulating knowledge. Those processes are, at the most general level, epistemological functions – they act upon and define what knowledge is. At the same time, however, there are no high-level strategic epistemological directives or frameworks that define those functions. The only time in US history where a proxy state-level epistemological strategy existed was between 1961 and 1969 when the Kennedy Administration committed the United States to the Apollo program. While that program had a singular technical objective as its outcome, that objective was so technologically advanced for its day and so complex so that it required a massive redirection of state-level epistemological functions – in essence, a broad and diverse set of state-level agencies suddenly found themselves working together towards a common epistemological goal. This paper does not call for a repeat of the Apollo program. Rather, its purpose is to investigate the minimum structural requirements for a national state-level epistemological strategy in the United States. In addition, this paper also seeks to analyze how the epistemological work of the multitude of national agencies within the United States would be affected by such a high-level framework. This paper is an exploratory study of this type of framework. The primary hypothesis of the author is that such a function is possible but would require extensive re-framing and reclassification of traditional epistemological functions at the respective agency level. In much the same way that, for example, DHS (Department of Homeland Security) evolved to respond to a new type of security threat in the world for the United States, it is theorized that a lack of coordination and alignment in epistemological functions will equally result in a strategic threat to the United States.

Keywords: strategic security, epistemological functions, epistemological agencies, Apollo program

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Authors: Enrico Dorigatti

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The growing pile of hazardous e-waste produced especially by those developed and wealthy countries gets relentlessly bigger, composed of the EEDs (Electric and Electronic Device) that are often thrown away although still well functioning, mainly due to (programmed) obsolescence. As a consequence, e-waste has taken, over the last years, the shape of a frightful, uncontrollable, and unstoppable phenomenon, mainly fuelled by market policies aiming to maximize sales—and thus profits—at any cost. Against it, governments and organizations put some efforts in developing ambitious frameworks and policies aiming to regulate, in some cases, the whole lifecycle of EEDs—from the design to the recycling. Incidentally, however, such regulations sometimes make the disposal of the devices economically unprofitable, which often translates into growing illegal e-waste trafficking—an activity usually undertaken by criminal organizations. It seems that nothing, at least in the near future, can stop the phenomenon of e-waste production and accumulation. But while, from a practical standpoint, a solution seems hard to find, much can be done regarding people's education, which translates into informing and promoting good practices such as reusing and repurposing. This research argues that circuit bending—an activity rooted in neo-materialist philosophy and post-digital aesthetic, and based on repurposing EEDs into novel music instruments and sound generators—could have a great potential in this. In particular, it asserts that circuit bending could expose ecological, environmental, and social criticalities related to the current market policies and economic model. Not only thanks to its practical side (e.g., sourcing and repurposing devices) but also to the artistic one (e.g., employing bent instruments for ecological-aware installations, performances). Currently, relevant literature and debate lack interest and information about the ecological aspects and implications of the practical and artistic sides of circuit bending. This research, therefore, although still at an early stage, aims to fill in this gap by investigating, on the one side, the ecologic potential of circuit bending and, on the other side, its capacity of sensitizing people, through artistic practice, about e-waste-related issues. The methodology will articulate in three main steps. Firstly, field research will be undertaken—with the purpose of understanding where and how to source, in an ecologic and sustainable way, (discarded) EEDs for circuit bending. Secondly, artistic installations and performances will be organized—to sensitize the audience about environmental concerns through sound art and music derived from bent instruments. Data, such as audiences' feedback, will be collected at this stage. The last step will consist in realising workshops to spread an ecologically-aware circuit bending practice. Additionally, all the data and findings collected will be made available and disseminated as resources.

Keywords: circuit bending, ecology, sound art, sustainability

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Authors: Brock Liden, Eric Janowitz

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Introduction: Diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) affects 70% of individuals with diabetes1. DPN causes a loss of protective sensation, which can lead to tissue damage and diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) formation2. These ulcers can result in infections and lower-extremity amputations of toes, the entire foot, and the lower leg. Even after a DFU is healed, recurrence is common, with 49% of DFU patients developing another ulcer within a year and 68% within 5 years3. This case series examines the use of sensory insoles and newly available plantar data (pressure, temperature, step count, adherence) and remote patient monitoring in patients at risk of DFU. Methods: Participants were provided with custom-made sensory insoles to monitor plantar pressure, temperature, step count, and daily use and were provided with real-time cues for pressure offloading as they went about their daily activities. The sensory insoles were used to track subject compliance, ulceration, and response to feedback from real-time alerts. Patients were remotely monitored by a qualified healthcare professional and were contacted when areas of concern were seen and provided coaching on reducing risk factors and overall support to improve foot health. Results: Of the 40 participants provided with the sensory insole system, 4 presented with a DFU. Based on flags generated from the available plantar data, patients were contacted by the remote monitor to address potential concerns. A standard clinical escalation protocol detailed when and how concerns should be escalated to the provider by the remote monitor. Upon escalation to the provider, patients were brought into the clinic as needed, allowing for any issues to be addressed before more serious complications might arise. Conclusion: This case series explores the use of innovative sensory technology to collect plantar data (pressure, temperature, step count, and adherence) for DFU detection and early intervention. The results from this case series suggest the importance of sensory technology and remote patient monitoring in providing proactive, preventative care for patients at risk of DFU. This robust plantar data, with the addition of remote patient monitoring, allow for patients to be seen in the clinic when concerns arise, giving providers the opportunity to intervene early and prevent more serious complications, such as wounds, from occurring.

Keywords: diabetic foot ulcer, DFU prevention, digital therapeutics, remote patient monitoring

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Authors: Sanjay K. Behera, Debasish Saha, Paramesh Gadige, Ranjini Bandyopadhyay

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The zero shear viscosity (η₀) of a suspension of hard sphere colloids characterized by a significant polydispersity (≈10%) increases with increase in volume fraction (ϕ) and shows a dramatic increase at ϕ=ϕg with the system entering a colloidal glassy state. Fragility which is the measure of the rapidity of approach of these suspensions towards the glassy state is sensitive to its size polydispersity and stiffness of the particles. Soft poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) particles deform in the presence of neighboring particles at volume fraction above the random close packing volume fraction of undeformed monodisperse spheres. Softness, therefore, enhances the packing efficiency of these particles. In this study PNIPAM particles of a nearly constant swelling ratio and with polydispersities varying over a wide range (7.4%-48.9%) are synthesized to study the effects of polydispersity on the dynamics of suspensions of soft PNIPAM colloidal particles. The size and polydispersity of these particles are characterized using dynamic light scattering (DLS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). As these particles are deformable, their packing in aqueous suspensions is quantified in terms of effective volume fraction (ϕeff). The zero shear viscosity (η₀) data of these colloidal suspensions, estimated from rheometric experiments as a function of the effective volume fraction ϕeff of the suspensions, increases with increase in ϕeff and shows a dramatic increase at ϕeff = ϕ₀. The data for η₀ as a function of ϕeff fits well to the Vogel-Fulcher-Tammann equation. It is observed that increasing polydispersity results in increasingly fragile supercooled liquid-like behavior, with the parameter ϕ₀, extracted from the fits to the VFT equation shifting towards higher ϕeff. The observed increase in fragility is attributed to the prevalence of dynamical heterogeneities (DHs) in these polydisperse suspensions, while the simultaneous shift in ϕ₀ is ascribed to the decoupling of the dynamics of the smallest and largest particles. Finally, it is observed that the intrinsic nonlinearity of these suspensions, estimated at the third harmonic near ϕ₀ in Fourier transform oscillatory rheological experiments, increases with increase in polydispersity. These results are in agreement with theoretical predictions and simulation results for polydisperse hard sphere colloidal glasses and clearly demonstrate that jammed suspensions of polydisperse colloidal particles can be effectively fluidized with increasing polydispersity. Suspensions of these particles are therefore excellent candidates for detailed experimental studies of the effects of polydispersity on the dynamics of glass formation.

Keywords: dynamical heterogeneity, effective volume fraction, fragility, intrinsic nonlinearity

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Authors: Satendra Pal Singh, Dalip Kr. Kakru, Jyoti Mishra, Rajesh Thakur, Tarana Sarwat

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COVID-19 is still an intrigue as far as morbidity or mortality is concerned. The rate of recovery varies from person to person, & it depends upon the accessibility of the healthcare system and the roles played by the physicians and caregivers. It is envisaged that with the passage of time, people would become immune to this virus, and those who are vulnerable would sustain themselves with the help of vaccines. The proposed study deals with the severeness of COVID-19 is associated with some specific biomarkers linked to correlate age and gender. We will be assessing the overall homeostasis of the persons who were affected by the coronavirus infection and also of those who recovered from it. Some people show more severe effects, while others show very mild symptoms, however, they show low CT values. Thus far, it is unclear why the new strain of Covid has different effects on different people in terms of age, gender, and ABO blood typing. According to data, the fatality rate with heart disease was 10.5 percent, 7.3 percent were diabetic, and 6 percent who are already infected from other comorbidities. However, some COVID-19 cases are worse than others & it is not fully explainable as of date. Overall data show that the ABO blood group is effective or prone to the risk of SARS-COV2 infection, while another study also shows the phenotypic effects of the blood group related to covid. It is an accepted fact that females have more strong immune systems than males, which may be related to the fact that females have two ‘X’ chromosomes, which might contain a more effective immunity booster gene on the X chromosome, and are capable to protect the female. Also specific sex hormones also induce a better immune response in a specific gender. This calls for in-depth analysis to be able to gain insight into this dilemma. COVID-19 is still not fully characterized, and thus we are not very familiar with its biology, mode of infection, susceptibility, and overall viral load in the human body. How many virus particles are needed to infect a person? How, then, comorbidity contribute to coronavirus infection? Since the emergence of this virus in 2020, a large number of papers have been published, and seemingly, vaccines have been prepared. But still, a large number of questions remain unanswered. The proneness of humans for infection by covid-19 needs to be established to be able to develop a better strategy to fight this virus. Our study will be on the Impact of demography on the Severity of covid-19 infection & at the same time, will look into gender-specific sensitivity of Covid-19 and the Operational variation of different biochemical markers in Covid-19 positive patients. Besides, we will be studying the co-relation, if any, of COVID severity & ABO Blood group type and the occurrence of the most common blood group type amongst positive patience.

Keywords: coronavirus, ABO blood group, age, gender

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Authors: Acacia A. Salomão, Willian L. Gomes da Silva, Gustavo G. Shimamoto, Matthieu Tubino

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Biodiesel physical and chemical properties depend on the raw material composition used in its synthesis. Saturated fatty acid esters confer high oxidative stability, while unsaturated fatty acid esters improve the cold flow properties. In this study, an alternative vegetal source - the macauba kernel oil - was used in the biodiesel synthesis instead of conventional sources. Macauba can be collected from native palm trees and is found in several regions in Brazil. Its oil is a promising source when compared to several other oils commonly obtained from food products, such as soybean, corn or canola oil, due to its specific characteristics. However, the usage of biodiesel made from macauba oil alone is not recommended due to the difficulty of producing macauba in large quantities. For this reason, this project proposes the usage of blends of the macauba oil with conventional oils. These blends were prepared by mixing the macauba biodiesel with biodiesels obtained from soybean, corn, and from residual frying oil, in the following proportions: 20:80, 50:50 e 80:20 (w/w). Three parameters were evaluated, using the standard methods, in order to check the quality of the produced biofuel and its blends: oxidative stability, cold filter plugging point (CFPP), and iodine value. The induction period (IP) expresses the oxidative stability of the biodiesel, the CFPP expresses the lowest temperature in which the biodiesel flows through a filter without plugging the system and the iodine value is a measure of the number of double bonds in a sample. The biodiesels obtained from soybean, residual frying oil and corn presented iodine values higher than 110 g/100 g, low oxidative stability and low CFPP. The IP values obtained from these biodiesels were lower than 8 h, which is below the recommended standard value. On the other hand, the CFPP value was found within the allowed limit (5 ºC is the maximum). Regarding the macauba biodiesel, a low iodine value was observed (31.6 g/100 g), which indicates the presence of high content of saturated fatty acid esters. The presence of saturated fatty acid esters should imply in a high oxidative stability (which was found accordingly, with IP = 64 h), and high CFPP, but curiously the latter was not observed (-3 ºC). This behavior can be explained by looking at the size of the carbon chains, as 65% of this biodiesel is composed by short chain saturated fatty acid esters (less than 14 carbons). The high oxidative stability and the low CFPP of macauba biodiesel are what make this biofuel a promising source. The soybean, corn and residual frying oil biodiesels also have low CFPP, but low oxidative stability. Therefore the blends proposed in this work, if compared to the common biodiesels, maintain the flow properties but present enhanced oxidative stability.

Keywords: biodiesel, blends, macauba kernel oil, stability oxidative

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Authors: Shivayogi Charantimath

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Radiotherapy and chemotherapy are effective for treating malignancies but are associated with side effects like oral mucositis. Chlorhexidine gluconate is one of the most commonly used mouthwash in prevention of signs and symptoms of mucositis. Evidence shows that chlorhexidine gluconate has side effects in terms of colonization of bacteria, bad breadth and less healing properties. Thus, it is essential to find a suitable alternative therapy which is more effective with minimal side effects. Curcumin, an extract of turmeric is gradually being studied for its wide-ranging therapeutic properties such as antioxidant, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antitumor, antimicrobial, antiseptic, chemo sensitizing and radio sensitizing properties. The present study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy and safety of topical curcumin gel on radio-chemotherapy induced oral mucositis in cancer patients. The aim of the study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of curcumin gel in the management of oral mucositis in cancer patients undergoing radio chemotherapy and compare with chlorhexidine. The study was conducted in K.L.E. Society’s Belgaum cancer hospital. 40 oral cancer patients undergoing the radiochemotheraphy with oral mucositis was selected and randomly divided into two groups of 20 each. The study group A [20 patients] was advised Cure next gel for 2 weeks. The control group B [20 patients] was advised chlorhexidine gel for 2 weeks. The NRS, Oral Mucositis Assessment scale and WHO mucositis scale were used to determine the grading. The results obtained were calculated by using SPSS 20 software. The comparison of grading was done by applying Mann-Whitney U test and intergroup comparison was calculated by Wilcoxon matched pairs test. The NRS scores observed from baseline to 1^st and 2^nd week follow up in both the group showed significant difference. The percentage of change in erythema in respect to group A was 63.3% for first week and for second week, changes were 100.0% with p = 0.0003. The changes in Group A in respect to erythema was 34.6% for 1^st week and 57.7% in second week. The intergroup comparison was significant with p value of 0.0048 and 0.0006 in relation to group A and group B respectively. The size of the ulcer score was measured which showed 35.5% [P=0.0010] of change in Group A for 1^st and 2^nd week showed totally reduction i.e. 103.4% [P=0.0001]. Group B showed 24.7% change from baseline to 1^st week and 53.6% for 2^nd week follow up. The intergroup comparison with Wilcoxon matched pair test was significant with p=0.0001 in group A. The result obtained by WHO mucositis score in respect to group A shows 29.6% [p=0.0004] change in first week and 75.0% [p=0.0180] change in second week which is highly significant in comparison to group B. Group B showed minimum changes i.e. 20.1% in 1^st week and 33.3% in 2^nd week. The p value with Wilcoxon was significant with 0.0025 in Group A for 1^st week follow up and 0.000 for 2^nd week follow up. Curcumin gel appears to an effective and safer alternative to chlorhexidine gel in treatment of oral mucositis.

Keywords: curcumin, chemotheraphy, mucositis, radiotheraphy

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Authors: Sandra Figueiredo, Alexandra Pereira, Ana Oliveira, Idia Brito, Ivaniltan Jones, Joana Moreira, Madalena Silva, Maria Paraíba, Milene Silva, Tânia Pinho

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In the present society, we are facing behaviours mainly in young individuals that might be considered trends of culture or psychopathology. Both contexts are challenges for Education, Psychology and Health. This paper examines nine case studies specifically in Educational Psychology with the main goal to identify and define phenomena contexts in school culture, the psychopathology involved and to present a psychological intervention for each case. The research was conducted by university students in the period of March 2017-June 2017, in Portugal, and the childhood was focused. The case studies explored the cyberbullying; the bullying - victims and bullies’ perspectives; the obsessive compulsive disorder; perception and inclusion of children from homoparental families; inclusion of foreign students in the higher education system; blindness and the inclusion in physical curricular activities; influence of doc-reality and media in attitudes and self-esteem; and the morningness and eveningness types learning in the same school timetables. The university students were supervised during their research analysis and two methods were available for the intervention research study: the meta-analysis and the empirical study. In the second phase, the pedagogical intervention was designed for the different educational contexts in analysis, especially concerning the school environments. The evidence of literature and the empirical studies showed new trends of school’ behaviours and educational disturbances that require further research and effective (and adequate to age, gender, nationality and culture) pedagogical instruments. Respecting the instruments, on the one hand, to identify behaviors, habits or pathologies and highlight the role and training of teachers, psychologists and health professionals, on the other hand, to promote the early intervention and to enhance healthy child development and orientation of the families. To respond to both milestones, this paper present nine pedagogical techniques and measures that will be discussed on their impact concerning advances for the psychological and educational intervention, centered in the individual and in the new generations of family’ cultures.

Keywords: behaviour, culture trends, educational intervention, psychopathology, obsessive compulsive disorder, cyberbullying, bullying, homoparental families, sleep influence, blindness and sports at school, inclusion of foreign students, media influence in behaviour

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Authors: Rajkumar Ghosh

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Jhakri Thrust (JT) coeval of Sarahan Thrust (ST) was later considered to be part of Chaura Thrust (CT). The Main Central Thrust (MCT) delimits the southern extreme of Higher Himalaya, whereas the northern boundary defines by South Tibetan Detachment System (STDS). STDS is parallel set of north dipping extensional faults. The activation timing of MCT and STDS. MCT activated in two parts (MCT-L during 15- 0.7 Ma, and MCT-U during 25-14 Ma). Similarly, STDS triggered in two parts (STDS-L during 24-12 Ma, and STDS-U during 19-14 Ma). The activation ages for MBT and MFT. Besides, the MBT occurred during 11-9 Ma, and MFT followed as <2.5 Ma. There are two mylonitised zones (zone of S-C fabric) found under the microscope. Dynamic and bulging recrystallization and sub-grain formation was documented under the optical microscope from samples collected from these zones. The varieties of crenulated schistosity are shown in photomicrographs. In a rare and uncommon case, crenulation cleavage and sigmoid Muscovite were found together side-by-side. Recrystallized quartzo-feldspathic grains exist in between crenulation cleavages. These thin-section studies allow three possible hypotheses for such variations in crenulation cleavages. S/SE verging meso- and micro-scale box folds around Chaura might be a manifestation of some structural upliftment. Near Chaura, kink folds are visible. Prominent asymmetric shear sense indicators in augen mylonite are missing in meso-scale but dominantly present under the microscope. The main foliation became steepest (range of dip ~ 65 – 80 º) at this place. The aim of this section is to characterize the box fold and its signature in the regional geology of Himachal Himalaya. Grain Boundary Migration (GBM) associated temperature range (400–750 ºC) from microstructural studies in grain scale along Jhakri-Wangtu transect documented. Oriented samples were collected from the Jhakri-Chaura transect at a regular interval of ~ 1km for strain analysis. The Higher Himalayan Out-of-Sequence Thrust (OOST) in Himachal Pradesh is documented a decade ago. The OOST in other parts of the Himalayas is represented as a line in between MCTL and MCTU. But In Himachal Pradesh area, OOST activated the MCTL as well as in between a zone located south of MCTU. The expectations for strain variation near the OOST are very obvious. But multiple sets of OOSTs may produce a zigzag pattern of strain accumulation for this area and figure out the overprinting structures for multiple sets of OOSTs.

Keywords: Chaura Thrust, out-of-sequence thrust, Main Central Thrust, Sarahan Thrust

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Authors: Olena Kavats, Dmitry Khramov, Kateryna Sergieieva, Vladimir Vasyliev, Iurii Kavats

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Geoinformation technologies of space agromonitoring are a means of operative decision making support in the tasks of managing the agricultural sector of the economy. Existing technologies use satellite images in the optical range of electromagnetic spectrum. Time series of optical images often contain gaps due to the presence of clouds and haze. A geoinformation technology is created. It allows to fill gaps in time series of optical images (Sentinel-2, Landsat-8, PROBA-V, MODIS) with radar survey data (Sentinel-1) and use information about agrometeorological conditions of the growing season for individual monitoring years. The technology allows to perform crop classification and mapping for spring-summer (winter and spring crops) and autumn-winter (winter crops) periods of vegetation, monitoring the dynamics of crop state seasonal changes, crop yield forecasting. Crop classification is based on supervised classification algorithms, takes into account the peculiarities of crop growth at different vegetation stages (dates of sowing, emergence, active vegetation, and harvesting) and agriculture land state characteristics (row spacing, seedling density, etc.). A catalog of samples of the main agricultural crops (Ukraine) is created and crop spectral signatures are calculated with the preliminary removal of row spacing, cloud cover, and cloud shadows in order to construct time series of crop growth characteristics. The obtained data is used in grain crop growth tracking and in timely detection of growth trends deviations from reference samples of a given crop for a selected date. Statistical models of crop yield forecast are created in the forms of linear and nonlinear interconnections between crop yield indicators and crop state characteristics (temperature, precipitation, vegetation indices, etc.). Predicted values of grain crop yield are evaluated with an accuracy up to 95%. The developed technology was used for agricultural areas monitoring in a number of Great Britain and Ukraine regions using EOS Crop Monitoring Platform (https://crop-monitoring.eos.com). The obtained results allow to conclude that joint use of Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 images improve separation of winter crops (rapeseed, wheat, barley) in the early stages of vegetation (October-December). It allows to separate successfully the soybean, corn, and sunflower sowing areas that are quite similar in their spectral characteristics.

Keywords: geoinformation technology, crop classification, crop yield prediction, agricultural monitoring, EOS Crop Monitoring Platform

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Authors: Ruwandika Perera

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Even though the Sri Lankan government provides a reasonable level of support for students at all levels of the school system, for example, free education, textbooks, school uniforms, subsidized public transportation, and school meals, low participation in learning among secondary students is an issue warranting investigation, particularly in low socio-economic districts. This study attempted to determine the levels of motivation and engagement amongst students in a number of schools in two low socio-economic districts of Sri Lanka. This study employed quantitative research design in an attempt to determine levels of motivation and engagement amongst Sri Lankan secondary school students. Motivation and Engagement Scale-Junior School (MES-JS) was administered among 100 Sinhala-medium and 100 Tamil-medium eighth-grade students (50 students from each gender). The mean age of the students was 12.8 years. Schools were represented by type 2 government schools located in Monaragala and Nuwara Eliya districts in Sri Lanka. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted to measure the construct validity of the scale. Since this did not provide a robust solution, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was conducted. Four factors were identified; Failure Avoidance and Anxiety (FAA), Positive Motivation (PM), Uncertain Control (UC), and Positive Engagement (PE). An independent-samples t-test was conducted to compare PM, PE, FAA, and UC in gender and ethnic groups. There was no significant difference identified for PE, FAA, and UC scales based upon gender. These results indicate that for the participants in this study, there were no significant differences based on gender in the levels of failure avoidance and anxiety, uncertain control, and positive engagement in the school experience. But, the result for the PM scale was close to significant, indicating there may be differences based on gender for positive motivation. A significant difference exists for all scales based on ethnicity, with the mean result for the Tamil students being significantly higher than that for the Sinhala students. These results indicate those Sinhala-medium students’ levels of positive motivation and positive engagement in learning was lower than Tamil-medium students. Also, these results indicate those Tamil-medium students’ levels of failure avoidance, anxiety, and uncertain control was higher than Sinhala-medium students. It could be concluded that male students levels of PM were significantly lower than female students. Also, Sinhala-medium students’ levels of PM and PE was lower than Tamil-medium students, and Tamil-medium students levels of FAA and UC was significantly higher than Sinhala-medium students. Thus, there might be particular school-related conditions affecting this situation, which are related to early adolescents’ motivation and engagement in learning.

Keywords: early adolescents, engagement, low socio-economic districts, motivation

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Authors: Naohiro Nakamura, Takuya Kinoshita, Hiroshi Fukuyama

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The 2011 off The Pacific Coast of Tohoku Earthquake caused considerable damage to wide areas of eastern Japan. A large number of earthquake observation records were obtained at various places. To design more earthquake-resistant buildings and improve earthquake disaster prevention, it is necessary to utilize these data to analyze and evaluate the behavior of a building during an earthquake. This paper presents an earthquake response simulation analysis (hereafter a seismic response analysis) that was conducted using data recorded during the main earthquake (hereafter the main shock) as well as the earthquakes before and after it. The data were obtained at a high-rise steel-reinforced concrete (SRC) building in the bay area of Tokyo. We first give an overview of the building, along with the characteristics of the earthquake motion and the building during the main shock. The data indicate that there was a change in the natural period before and after the earthquake. Next, we present the results of our seismic response analysis. First, the analysis model and conditions are shown, and then, the analysis result is compared with the observational records. Using the analysis result, we then study the effect of soil-structure interaction on the response of the building. By identifying the characteristics of the building during the earthquake (i.e., the 1st natural period and the 1st damping ratio) by the Auto-Regressive eXogenous (ARX) model, we compare the analysis result with the observational records so as to evaluate the accuracy of the response analysis. In this study, a lumped-mass system SR model was used to conduct a seismic response analysis using observational data as input waves. The main results of this study are as follows: 1) The observational records of the 3/11 main shock put it between a level 1 and level 2 earthquake. The result of the ground response analysis showed that the maximum shear strain in the ground was about 0.1% and that the possibility of liquefaction occurring was low. 2) During the 3/11 main shock, the observed wave showed that the eigenperiod of the building became longer; this behavior could be generally reproduced in the response analysis. This prolonged eigenperiod was due to the nonlinearity of the superstructure, and the effect of the nonlinearity of the ground seems to have been small. 3) As for the 4/11 aftershock, a continuous analysis in which the subject seismic wave was input after the 3/11 main shock was input was conducted. The analyzed values generally corresponded well with the observed values. This means that the effect of the nonlinearity of the main shock was retained by the building. It is important to consider this when conducting the response evaluation. 4) The first period and the damping ratio during a vibration were evaluated by an ARX model. Our results show that the response analysis model in this study is generally good at estimating a change in the response of the building during a vibration.

Keywords: ARX model, response analysis, SRC building, the 2011 off the Pacific Coast of Tohoku Earthquake

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Authors: Haidy Weliam Megaly Gouda

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Dermatology is often a neglected specialty in low-resource settings despite the high morbidity associated with skin disease. This becomes even more significant when associated with HIV infection, as dermatological conditions are more common and aggressive in HIV-positive patients. African countries have the highest HIV infection rates, and skin conditions are frequently misdiagnosed and mismanaged because of a lack of dermatological training and educational material. The frequent lack of diagnostic tests in the African setting renders basic clinical skills all the more vital. This project aimed to improve the diagnosis and treatment of skin disease in the HIV population in a district hospital in Malawi. A basic dermatological clinical tool was developed and produced in collaboration with local staff and based on available literature and data collected from clinics. The aim was to improve diagnostic accuracy and provide guidance for the treatment of skin disease in HIV-positive patients. A literature search within Embassy, Medline and Google Scholar was performed and supplemented through data obtained from attending 5 Antiretroviral clinics. From the literature, conditions were selected for inclusion in the resource if they were described as specific, more prevalent, or extensive in the HIV population or have more adverse outcomes if they develop in HIV patients. Resource-appropriate treatment options were decided using Malawian Ministry of Health guidelines and textbooks specific to African dermatology. After the collection of data and discussion with local clinical and pharmacy staff, a list of 15 skin conditions was included, and a booklet was created using the simple layout of a picture, a diagnostic description of the disease and treatment options. Clinical photographs were collected from local clinics (with full consent of the patient) or from the book ‘Common Skin Diseases in Africa’ (permission granted if fully acknowledged and used in a not-for-profit capacity). This tool was evaluated by the local staff alongside an educational teaching session on skin disease. This project aimed to reduce uncertainty in diagnosis and provide guidance for appropriate treatment in HIV patients by gathering information into one practical and manageable resource. To further this project, we hope to review the effectiveness of the tool in practice.

Keywords: prevalence and pattern of skin diseases, impact on quality of life, rural Nepal, interventions, quality switched ruby laser, skin color river blindness, clinical signs, circularity index, grey level run length matrix, grey level co-occurrence matrix, local binary pattern, object detection, ring detection, shape identification

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Authors: Hafsa Kamran, Asma Afreen, Zaheer Ahmed

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Internet addiction, an emerging mental health disorder from last two decades, is manifested by the inability in the controlled use of internet leading to academics, social, physiological and/or psychological difficulties. The present study aimed to assess the levels of internet addiction among university students in Lahore and to explore the effects of internet addiction on their dietary behavior and lifestyle. It was an analytical cross-sectional study. Data was collected from October to December 2016 from students of four universities selected through two-stage sampling method. The numbers of participants were 500 and 13 questionnaires were rejected due to incomplete information. Levels of Internet Addiction (IA) were calculated using Young Internet Addiction Test (YIAT). Data was also collected on students’ demographics, lifestyle factors and dietary behavior using self-reported questionnaire. Data was analyzed using SPSS (version 21). Chi-square test was applied to evaluate the relationship between variables. Results of the study revealed that 10% of the population had severe internet addiction while moderate Internet Addiction was present in 42%. High prevalence was found among males (11% vs. 8%), private sector university students (p = 0.008) and engineering students (p = 0.000). The lifestyle habits of internet addicts were significantly of poorer quality than normal users (p = 0.05). Internet addiction was found associated with lesser physically activity (p = 0.025), had shorter duration of physical activity (p = 0.016), had more disorganized sleep pattern (p = 0.023), had less duration of sleep (p = 0.019), reported being more tired and sleepy in class (p = 0.033) and spending more time on internet as compared to normal users. Severe and moderate internet addicts also found to be more overweight and obese than normal users (p = 0.000). The dietary behavior of internet addicts was significantly poorer than normal users. Internet addicts were found to skip breakfast more than a normal user (p = 0.039). Common reasons for meal skipping were lack of time and snacking between meals (p = 0.000). They also had increased meal size (p = 0.05) and habit of snacking while using the internet (p = 0.027). Fast food (p = 0.016) and fried items (p = 0.05) were most consumed snacks, while carbonated beverages (p = 0.019) were most consumed beverages among internet addicts. Internet Addicts were found to consume less than recommended daily servings of dairy (p = 0.008) and fruits (p = 0.000) and more servings of meat group (p = 0.025) than their no internet addict counterparts. In conclusion, in this study, it was demonstrated that internet addicts have unhealthy dietary behavior and inappropriate lifestyle habits. University students should be educated regarding the importance of balanced diet and healthy lifestyle, which are critical for effectual primary prevention of numerous chronic degenerative diseases. Furthermore, it is necessary to raise awareness concerning adverse effects of internet addiction among youth and their parents.

Keywords: dietary behavior, internet addiction, lifestyle, university students

Procedia PDF Downloads 191

Authors: Karima Chaabna, Sohaila Cheema, Amit Abraham, Hekmat Alrouh, Ravinder Mamtani, Javaid I. Sheikh

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We aimed to assess the production of systematic reviews (SRs) that synthesize observational studies discussing population health issues in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Two independent reviewers systematically searched MEDLINE through PubMed. Between 2008-2016, 5,747 articles (reviews, systematic reviews, and meta-analyses) were identified. Following a multi-stage screening process, 387 SRs (with or without meta-analysis) on population health issues in the MENA were included in our overview. Citation numbers for each SR were retrieved from Google Scholar. Impact factor of the journal during the publication year for the included SRs was retrieved from the Institute of Scientific Information’s Journal Citation Report. We conducted linear regression analysis to assess time trends of number of publications according to SRs’ characteristics. We characterized a linear statistically significant increase in the annual numbers of SRs that summarize observational studies on the MENA population health (p-value<0.0001, R2=0.95), from 15 in 2008 to 81 in 2016. Our analysis reveals also linear statistically significant increases in numbers of SRs published by authors affiliated to institutions located inside MENA and/or neighboring countries (N=113, p-value < 0.0001, R²=0.90), by authors located outside MENA (N=155, p-value=0.0007, R²=0.82), and by collaborating authors affiliated to institutions located outside MENA and inside the region and/or in MENA’s neighboring countries (total number of SRs (N)= 119, p-value=0.0004, R²=0.85). Furthermore, these SRs were published in journals with an IF ranging from 0 to 47.8 (median=2.1). Linear statistically significant increases in numbers of published SRs were demonstrated in journals’ impact factor (IF) categories (IF=[0-2[: R²=0.79, p-value=0.0012; IF=[2-4[:R²=0.86, p-value=0.0003; and IF=[4-6[:R²=0.53, p-value=0.026). Additionally, annual numbers of citations to the SRs varied between 0 and 471 (median=7). While each year, a couple of SRs were getting more than 50 annual citations, there were linear statistically significant increases in numbers of published SRs with an annual number of citations at [0-10[(R²=0.89, p-value=0.00014) and at [10-50[ (R²=0.76, p-value=0.0021). Between 2008-2016, increasingly SRs that summarize observational studies on population health issues in the MENA were published. Authors of these SRs were located inside and/or outside the MENA region and an increasing number of collaborations were seen. Increasing numbers of SRs were predominantly observed in journals with an IF between zero and six. Interestingly, SRs covering MENA region countries were being increasingly cited, indicating an escalation of interest in this region’s population health issues.

Keywords: bibliometric, citation, impact factor, Middle East and North Africa, population health, systematic review

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Authors: Daiva Skuciene

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The Baltic States turned to free market and capitalism after independency. The new socioeconomic system, democracy and priorities about the welfare of citizens formed. The researches show that Baltic states choose the neoliberal development. Related to this neoliberal path, a few questions arouse: how do people evaluate the results of such policy and socioeconomic development? What are their priorities? And what are the values of the Baltic societies that support neoliberal policy? The purpose of this research – to analyze the socioeconomic context and the priorities and the values of the Baltics societies related to neoliberal regime. The main objectives are: firstly, to analyze the neoliberal socioeconomic features and results; secondly, to analyze people opinions and priorities about the results of neoliberal development; thirdly, to analyze the values of the Baltic societies related to the neoliberal policy. For the implementation of the purpose and objectives, the comparative analyses among European countries are used. The neoliberal regime was defined through two indicators: the taxes on capital income and expenditures on social protection. The socioeconomic outcomes of neoliberal welfare regime are defined through the Gini inequality and at risk of the poverty rate. For this analysis, the data of 2002-2013 of Eurostat were used. For the analyses of opinion about inequality and preferences on society, people want to live in, the preferences for distribution between capital and wages in enterprise data of Eurobarometer in 2010-2014 and the data of representative survey in the Baltic States in 2016 were used. The justice variable was selected as a variable reflecting the evaluation of socioeconomic context and analyzed using data of Eurobarometer 2006-2015. For the analyses of values were selected: solidarity, equality, and individual responsibility. The solidarity, equality was analyzed using data of Eurobarometer 2006-2015. The value “individual responsibility” was examined by opinions about reasons of inequality and poverty. The survey of population in the Baltic States in 2016 and data of Eurobarometer were used for this aim. The data are ranged in descending order for understanding the position of opinion of people in the Baltic States among European countries. The dynamics of indicators is also provided to examine stability of values. The main findings of the research are that people in the Baltics are dissatisfied with the results of the neoliberal socioeconomic development, they have priorities for equality and justice, but they have internalized the main neoliberal narrative- individual responsibility. The impact of socioeconomic context on values is huge, resulting in a change in quite stable opinions and values during the period of the financial crisis.

Keywords: neoliberal, inequality and poverty, solidarity, individual responsibility

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Authors: Marina Bubalo, Davor Romić, Stjepan Husnjak, Helena Bakić

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Even though European Council Directive 91/676/EEC known as Nitrates Directive was adopted in 1991, the issue of water quality preservation in areas of intensive agricultural production still persist all over Europe. High nitrate nitrogen concentrations in surface and groundwater originating from diffuse sources are one of the most important environmental problems in modern intensive agriculture. The fate of nitrogen in soil, surface and groundwater in agricultural area is mostly affected by anthropogenic activity (i.e. agricultural practice) and hydrological and climatological conditions. The aim of this study was to identify impact of land use, soil type, soil vulnerability to pollutant percolation, and natural aquifer vulnerability to nitrate occurrence in surface and groundwater within an intensive agricultural area. The study was set in Varaždin County (northern Croatia), which is under significant influence of the large rivers Drava and Mura and due to that entire area is dominated by alluvial soil with shallow active profile mainly on gravel base. Negative agricultural impact on water quality in this area is evident therefore the half of selected county is a part of delineated nitrate vulnerable zones (NVZ). Data on water quality were collected from 7 surface and 8 groundwater monitoring stations in the County. Also, recent study of the area implied detailed inventory of agricultural production and fertilizers use with the aim to produce new agricultural land use database as one of dominant parameters. The analysis of this database done using ArcGIS 10.1 showed that 52,7% of total County area is agricultural land and 59,2% of agricultural land is used for intensive agricultural production. On the other hand, 56% of soil within the county is classified as soil vulnerable to pollutant percolation. The situation is similar with natural aquifer vulnerability; northern part of the county ranges from high to very high aquifer vulnerability. Statistical analysis of water quality data is done using SPSS 13.0. Cluster analysis group both surface and groundwater stations in two groups according to nitrate nitrogen concentrations. Mean nitrate nitrogen concentration in surface water – group 1 ranges from 4,2 to 5,5 mg/l and in surface water – group 2 from 24 to 42 mg/l. The results are similar, but evidently higher, in groundwater samples; mean nitrate nitrogen concentration in group 1 ranges from 3,9 to 17 mg/l and in group 2 from 36 to 96 mg/l. ANOVA analysis confirmed statistical significance between stations that are classified in the same group. The previously listed parameters (land use, soil type, etc.) were used in factorial correspondence analysis (FCA) to detect importance of each stated parameter in local water quality. Since stated parameters mostly cannot be altered, there is obvious necessity for more precise and more adapted land management in such conditions.

Keywords: agricultural area, nitrate, factorial correspondence analysis, water quality

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Authors: Kristina Amaleviciute, Ieva Jokubauskaite, Alvyra Slepetiene, Jonas Volungevicius, Inga Liaudanskiene

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The main task of this research was to investigate the chemical composition of the differently used soil in profiles. To identify the differences in the soil were investigated organic carbon (SOC) and its fractional composition: dissolved organic carbon (DOC), mobile humic acids (MHA) and C to N ratio of natural and anthropogenically affected Luvisols. Research object: natural and anthropogenically affected Luvisol, Akademija, Kedainiai, distr. Lithuania. Chemical analyses were carried out at the Chemical Research Laboratory of Institute of Agriculture, LAMMC. Soil samples for chemical analyses were taken from the genetics soil horizons. SOC was determined by the Tyurin method modified by Nikitin, measuring with spectrometer Cary 50 (VARIAN) in 590 nm wavelength using glucose standards. For mobile humic acids (MHA) determination the extraction procedure was carried out using 0.1 M NaOH solution. Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) was analyzed using an ion chromatograph SKALAR. pH was measured in 1M H2O. N total was determined by Kjeldahl method. Results: Based on the obtained results, it can be stated that transformation of chemical composition is going through the genetic soil horizons. Morphology of the upper layers of soil profile which is formed under natural conditions was changed by anthropomorphic (agrogenic, urbogenic, technogenic and others) structure. Anthropogenic activities, mechanical and biochemical disturbances destroy the natural characteristics of soil formation and complicates the interpretation of soil development. Due to the intensive cultivation, the pH values of the curve equals (disappears acidification characteristic for E horizon) with natural Luvisol. Luvisols affected by agricultural activities was characterized by a decrease in the absolute amount of humic substances in separate horizons. But there was observed more sustainable, higher carbon sequestration and thicker storage of humic horizon compared with forest Luvisol. However, the average content of humic substances in the soil profile was lower. Soil organic carbon content in anthropogenic Luvisols was lower compared with the natural forest soil, but there was more evenly spread over in the wider thickness of accumulative horizon. These data suggest that the organization of geo-ecological declines and agroecological increases in Luvisols. Acknowledgement: This work was supported by the National Science Program ‘The effect of long-term, different-intensity management of resources on the soils of different genesis and on other components of the agro-ecosystems’ [grant number SIT-9/2015] funded by the Research Council of Lithuania.

Keywords: agrogenization, dissolved organic carbon, luvisol, mobile humic acids, soil organic carbon

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Authors: Hamza Benzerrouk, Alexander Nebylov

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In classical GNSS/INS integration designs, the loosely coupled approach uses the GNSS derived position and the velocity as the measurements vector. This design is suboptimal from the standpoint of preventing GNSSoutliers/outages. The tightly coupled GPS/INS navigation filter mixes the GNSS pseudo range and inertial measurements and obtains the vehicle navigation state as the final navigation solution. The ultra‐tightly coupled GNSS/INS design combines the I (inphase) and Q(quadrature) accumulator outputs in the GNSS receiver signal tracking loops and the INS navigation filter function intoa single Kalman filter variant (EKF, UKF, SPKF, CKF and HCKF). As mentioned, EKF and UKF are the most used nonlinear filters in the literature and are well adapted to inertial navigation state estimation when integrated with GNSS signal outputs. In this paper, it is proposed to move a step forward with more accurate filters and modern approaches called Cubature and High Degree cubature Kalman Filtering methods, on the basis of previous results solving the state estimation based on INS/GNSS integration, Cubature Kalman Filter (CKF) and High Degree Cubature Kalman Filter with (HCKF) are the references for the recent developed generalized Cubature rule based Kalman Filter (GCKF). High degree cubature rules are the kernel of the new solution for more accurate estimation with less computational complexity compared with the Gauss-Hermite Quadrature (GHQKF). Gauss-Hermite Kalman Filter GHKF which is not selected in this work because of its limited real-time implementation in high-dimensional state-spaces. In ultra tightly or a deeply coupled GNSS/INS system is dynamics EKF is used with transition matrix factorization together with GNSS block processing which is well described in the paper and assumes available the intermediary frequency IF by using a correlator samples with a rate of 500 Hz in the presented approach. GNSS (GPS+GLONASS) measurements are assumed available and modern SPKF with Cubature Kalman Filter (CKF) are compared with new versions of CKF called high order CKF based on Spherical-radial cubature rules developed at the fifth order in this work. Estimation accuracy of the high degree CKF is supposed to be comparative to GHKF, results of state estimation are then observed and discussed for different initialization parameters. Results show more accurate navigation state estimation and more robust GNSS receiver when Ultra Tightly Coupled approach applied based on High Degree Cubature Kalman Filter.

Keywords: GNSS, INS, Kalman filtering, ultra tight integration

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Authors: Sally Naji, Julie Gwilliam

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

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

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Authors: Ogemdi Chinwendu Anika, Anna Strzelecka, Yadira Bajón-Fernández, Raffaella Villa

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Anaerobic digestion (AD) has been used since time in memorial to take care of organic wastes in the environment, especially for sewage and wastewater treatments. Recently, the rising demand/need to increase renewable energy from organic matter has caused the AD substrates spectrum to expand and include a wider variety of organic materials such as agricultural residues and farm manure which is annually generated at around 140 billion metric tons globally. The problem, however, is that agricultural wastes are composed of materials that are heterogeneous and too difficult to degrade -particularly lignin, that make up about 0–40% of the total lignocellulose content. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of varying concentrations of lignin on biogas yields and their subsequent response to a commercial yeast-based bioadditive in batch anaerobic digesters. The experiments were carried out in batches for a retention time of 56 days with different lignin concentrations (200 mg, 300 mg, 400 mg, 500 mg, and 600 mg) treated to different conditions to first determine the concentration of the bioadditive that was most optimal for overall process improvement and yields increase. The batch experiments were set up using 130 mL bottles with a working volume of 60mL, maintained at 38°C in an incubator shaker (150rpm). Digestate obtained from a local plant operating at mesophilic conditions was used as the starting inoculum, and commercial kraft lignin was used as feedstock. Biogas measurements were carried out using the displacement method and were corrected to standard temperature and pressure using standard gas equations. Furthermore, the modified Gompertz equation model was used to non-linearly regress the resulting data to estimate gas production potential, production rates, and the duration of lag phases as indicatives of degrees of lignin inhibition. The results showed that lignin had a strong inhibitory effect on the AD process, and the higher the lignin concentration, the more the inhibition. Also, the modelling showed that the rates of gas production were influenced by the concentrations of the lignin substrate added to the system – the higher the lignin concentrations in mg (0, 200, 300, 400, 500, and 600) the lower the respective rate of gas production in ml/gVS.day (3.3, 2.2, 2.3, 1.6, 1.3, and 1.1), although the 300 mg increased by 0.1 ml/gVS.day over that of the 200 mg. The impact of the yeast-based bioaddition on the rate of production was most significant in the 400 mg and 500 mg as the rate was improved by 0.1 ml/gVS.day and 0.2 ml/gVS.day respectively. This indicates that agricultural residues with higher lignin content may be more responsive to inhibition alleviation by yeast-based bioadditive; therefore, further study on its application to the AD of agricultural residues of high lignin content will be the next step in this research.

Keywords: anaerobic digestion, renewable energy, lignin valorisation, biogas

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Authors: Gaston Bacquet

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The purpose of this research is to explore how language and culture shape a learner’s identity as they immerse themselves in the world of second language learning and how teachers can assist in the process of identity construction within a classroom setting. The study will be conducted as an in-classroom ethnography, using a qualitative methods approach and analyzing students’ experiences as language learners, their degree of investment, inclusion/exclusion, and attitudes, both towards themselves and their social context; the research question the study will attempt to answer is: What kind of pedagogical interventions are needed to help language learners in the process of identity construction so they can offset unequal conditions of power and gain further social inclusion? The following methods will be used for data collection: i) Questionnaires to investigate learners’ attitudes and feelings in different areas divided into four strands: themselves, their classroom, learning English and their social context. ii) Participant observations, conducted in a naturalistic manner. iii) Journals, which will be used in two different ways: on the one hand, learners will keep semi-structured, solicited diaries to record specific events as requested by the researcher (event-contingent). On the other, the researcher will keep his journal to maintain a record of events and situations as they happen to reduce the risk of inaccuracies. iv) Person-centered interviews, which will be conducted at the end of the study to unearth data that might have been occluded or be unclear from the methods above. The interviews will aim at gaining further data on experiences, behaviors, values, opinions, feelings, knowledge and sensory, background and demographic information. This research seeks to understand issues of socio-cultural identities and thus make a significant contribution to knowledge in this area by investigating the type of pedagogical interventions needed to assist language learners in the process of identity construction to achieve further social inclusion. It will also have applied relevance for those working with diverse student groups, especially taking our present social context into consideration: we live in a highly mobile world, with migrants relocating to wealthier, more developed countries that pose their own particular set of challenges for these communities. This point is relevant because an individual’s insight and understanding of their own identity shape their relationship with the world and their ability to continue constructing this relationship. At the same time, because a relationship is influenced by power, the goal of this study is to help learners feel and become more empowered by increasing their linguistic capital, which we hope might result in a greater ability to integrate themselves socially. Exactly how this help will be provided will vary as data is unearthed through questionnaires, focus groups and the actual participant observations being carried out.

Keywords: identity construction, second-language learning, investment, second-language culture, social inclusion

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Authors: Temitope L. Baiyegunhi, Christopher Baiyegunhi, Kuiwu Liu, Oswald Gwavava

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Diagenesis is the most important factor that affects or impact the reservoir property. Despite the fact that published data gives a vast amount of information on the geology, sedimentology and lithostratigraphy of the Ecca Group in the Karoo Basin of South Africa, little is known of the diagenesis of the potentially feasible shales and sandstones of the Ecca Group. The study aims to provide a general account of the diagenesis of sandstones and mudstone of the Ecca Group. Twenty-five diagenetic textures and structures are identified and grouped into three regimes or stages that include eogenesis, mesogenesis and telogenesis. Clay minerals are the most common cementing materials in the Ecca sandstones and mudstones. Smectite, kaolinite and illite are the major clay minerals that act as pore lining rims and pore-filling cement. Most of the clay minerals and detrital grains were seriously attacked and replaced by calcite. Calcite precipitates locally in pore spaces and partly or completely replaced feldspar and quartz grains, mostly at their margins. Precipitation of cements and formation of pyrite and authigenic minerals as well as little lithification occurred during the eogenesis. This regime was followed by mesogenesis which brought about an increase in tightness of grain packing, loss of pore spaces and thinning of beds due to weight of overlying sediments and selective dissolution of framework grains. Compaction, mineral overgrowths, mineral replacement, clay-mineral authigenesis, deformation and pressure solution structures occurred during mesogenesis. During rocks were uplifted, weathered and unroofed by erosion, this resulted in additional grain fracturing, decementation and oxidation of iron-rich volcanic fragments and ferromagnesian minerals. The rocks of Ecca Group were subjected to moderate-intense mechanical and chemical compaction during its progressive burial. Intergranular pores, matrix micro pores, secondary intragranular, dissolution and fractured pores are the observed pores. The presence of fractured and dissolution pores tend to enhance reservoir quality. However, the isolated nature of the pores makes them unfavourable producers of hydrocarbons, which at best would require stimulation. The understanding of the space and time distribution of diagenetic processes in these rocks will allow the development of predictive models of their quality, which may contribute to the reduction of risks involved in their exploration.

Keywords: diagenesis, reservoir quality, Ecca Group, Karoo Supergroup

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Authors: Marike Venter de Villiers, Alicia Kruger

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The rapid development of the Internet has facilitated the proliferation of online stores. It has, therefore, become a pertinent issue for online retailers to provide the ultimate experience to customers in an attempt to maintain market share in this competitive landscape. Experiential marketing refers to the sensory dimensions that consumers experience when being faced with a purchase decision, such as getting them to sense, feel, think, act, and relate. The goal of experiential marketing is to provide a holistic experience for customers that allow them to engage in an activity where they may be motivated to purchase the concept behind the product. Creating a unique online experience holds several benefits to brands such as increased customer satisfaction, increased revisit intention, and higher levels of customer loyalty. Although several studies have explored the topic of experiential marketing in an online context, a lack of research exists on South African consumers, an emerging economy that is often overlooked globally. More specifically, the present study focused on professional females and their perceptions of experiential marketing when shopping for fashion products online. The main purpose of this study was to investigate the experiential factors that influence the online purchase intention of fashion products among female professionals. Furthermore, this study aimed to achieve the following objectives: firstly, to gain insight into key website characteristics that consumers value when shopping online for fashion products; secondly, to apply Pine and Gilmore’s (1989) Four Realms of an Experience (entertainment, education, esthetics, and escapism) to ground the study; and thirdly, to gain in-depth insight into the importance of these dimensions and identifying sub-categories that fashion marketers can use to enhance consumers’ online experience. By means of a qualitative study, a focus group was conducted comprising six professional females by using semi-structured questions. Respondents were selected using convenience sampling, and the results were analyzed using thematic analysis. The present research suggests that three of the four realms of experience influence purchase intention of fashion products online, namely, escapism, esthetics, and education. The fourth dimension, pleasure, was present but to a lesser degree. In other words, ‘escapism’ provides online shoppers with a sense of emotional and intellectual pleasure, while ‘esthetics’ refers to the website design, functionality, and product range, and ‘education’ comprises the product information such as the quality, fabric, price and available sizes. The findings of this study provide fashion marketers with insight into how they can maximize on experiential marketing when selling fashion products online. It further provides strategies and techniques for creating an enhanced online experience that ultimately may lead to increased purchase intention.

Keywords: experiential marketing, fashion, online, retail

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