Search results for: upper middle income localities

Authors: Shittu Bisi Agnes

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Ebola virus Diseases outbreak in Nigeria caused a lot of concerns considering the mode of transmission and no known cure discovered. Therefore a lot of safety measures were taken which eventually led to the eradication of the virus in Nigeria. This therefore attempted to determine the various safety measures, how socio-economic characteristic of the people affected adherence to safety measures. And provide reasonable recommendations for total eradication of the virus, future outbreak and general environmental safety Data were collected with the aid of well structured questionnaires and administered 180 randomly selected of the state and oral interview was also utilize. Data collected were analysed using both descriptive tools and inferential statistics vis-a-vis regression analysis. Finding showed that 70.5% was strongly adhere to almost all the measures, 15.2% was fairly advent, 3% was poorly observing the selected measures while 1.3% was in different. 65% of the respondents was strongly aware of the advent of ebola virus diseases, 20% was fairly in awareness, 8.5% was poorly in awareness while 6.55% was in aware of any disease outbreak. Safety measures put forwards were; hand washing, use of hand sanitize-rs, no shaking of hands non-consumption of wildlife games(Bush Meat) and general health and environmental safety measures. It was recommended that policy instrument to increase peoples income will accelerate eradication of diseases as this will enable households to pay for monetary safety measures, health and environmental education, in form of talk shop, workshop, lectures could be organised at the political ward levels, schools, market women, religious bodies functional unions and mass media.

Keywords: ebola diseases, pay, safety, outbreak

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Authors: V. K. Gupta, Tejeet Singh

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In many whisker reinforced composites, anisotropy may result due to material flow during processing operations such as forging, extrusion etc. The consequence of anisotropy, introduced during processing of disc material, has been investigated on the steady state creep deformations of the rotating disc. The disc material is assumed to undergo plastic deformations according to Hill’s anisotropic criterion. Steady state creep has been analyzed in a constant thickness rotating disc made of functionally graded 6061Al-SiCw (where the subscript ‘w’ stands for whisker) using Hill’s The content of reinforcement (SiCw) in the disc is assumed to decrease linearly from the inner to outer radius. The stresses and strain rates in the disc are estimated by solving the force equilibrium equation along with the constitutive equations describing multi-axial creep. The results obtained for anisotropic FGM disc have been compared with those estimated for isotropic FGM disc having the same average whisker content. The anisotropic constants, appearing in Hill’s yield criterion, have been obtained from the available experimental results. The results show that the presence of anisotropy reduces the tangential stress in the middle of the disc but near the inner and outer radii the tangential stress is higher when compared to isotropic disc. On the other hand, the steady state creep rates in the anisotropic disc are reduced significantly over the entire disc radius, with the maximum reduction observed at the inner radius. Further, in the presence of anisotropy the distribution of strain rate becomes relatively uniform over the entire disc, which may be responsible for reducing the extent of distortion in the disc.

Keywords: anisotropy, creep, functionally graded composite, rotating disc

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Authors: Aly Kassem, Eman Sapet, Eman Abdelbaset, Hosam Mahmoud

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Objective: Hypertension is an important public health challenge being one of the most common worldwide disease-affecting human. Our aim is to study the clinical characteristics, therapeutic regimens, treatment compliance, and risk factors in a sector of of hypertensive patients at Sohag City. Subject and Methods: A cross sectional study; conducted in Sohag city; it involved 520 patients; males (45.7 %) and females (54.3 %). Their ages ranged between 35-85 years. BP measurements, BMI, blood glucose, Serum creatinine, urine analysis, serum Lipids, blood picture and ECG were done all the studied patients. Results: Hypertension presented more between non-smokers (72.55%), females (54.3%), educated patients (50.99%) and patients with low SES (54.9%). CAD presented in (51.63%) of patients, while laboratory investigations showed hyperglycaemia in (28.7%), anemia in (18.3%), high serum creatinine level in (8.49%) and proteinuria in (10.45%) of patient. Adequate BP control was achieved in (49.67%); older patients had lower adequacy of BP control in spite of the extensive use of multiple-drug therapy. Most hypertensive patients had more than one coexistent CV risk factor. Aging, being a female (54.3%), DM (32.3%), family history of hypertension (28.7%), family history of CAD (25.4%), and obesity (10%) were the common contributing risk factors. ACE-inhibitors were prescribed in (58.16%), Beta-blockers in (34.64%) of the patients. Monotherapy was prescribed for (41.17%) of the patients. (75.81%) of patients had regular use of their drug regimens. (49.67%) only of patients had their condition under control, the number of drugs was inversely related to BP control. Conclusion: Hypertensive patients in Sohag city had a profile of high CV risks, and poor blood pressure control particularly in the elderly. A multidisciplinary approach for routine clinical check-up, follow-up, physicians and patients training, prescribing simple once-daily regimens and encouraging life style modifications are recommended. Anti hypertensives, hypertension, elderly patients, risk factors, treatment compliance.

Keywords: anti hypertensives, hypertension, elderly patients, risk factors, treatment compliance

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Authors: Kamyar Moradi

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Background: There is mixed evidence regarding the association between recreational cannabinoid use and memory performance. One of the major reasons for the present controversy is different cannabinoid use-related covariates that influence the cognitive status of an individual. Adjustment of these confounding variables provides accurate insight into the real effects of cannabinoid use on memory status. In this study, we sought to investigate the association between recent recreational cannabinoid use and memory performance while correcting the model for other possible covariates such as demographic characteristics and duration, and amount of cannabinoid use. Methods: Cannabinoid users were assigned to two groups based on the results of THC urine drug screen test (THC+ group: n = 110, THC- group: n = 410). THC urine drug screen test has a high sensitivity and specificity in detecting cannabinoid use in the last 3-4 weeks. The memory domain of NIH Toolbox battery and brain MRI volumetric measures were compared between the groups while adjusting for confounding variables. Results: After Benjamini-Hochberg p-value correction, the performance in all of the measured memory outcomes, including vocabulary comprehension, episodic memory, executive function/cognitive flexibility, processing speed, reading skill, working memory, and fluid cognition, were significantly weaker in THC+ group (p values less than 0.05). Also, volume of gray matter, left supramarginal, right precuneus, right inferior/middle temporal, right hippocampus, left entorhinal, and right pars orbitalis regions were significantly smaller in THC+ group. Conclusions: this study provides evidence regarding the acute effect of recreational cannabis use on memory performance. Further studies are warranted to confirm the results.

Keywords: brain MRI, cannabis, memory, recreational use, THC urine test

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Authors: Cristina-Corina Bențea, Teodora-Mihaela Iconomescu, Laurențiu-Gabriel Talaghir, Claudiu Mereuță, Anamaria Berdilă

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The study aims to examine the relationships between motor abilities, self-evaluation of athletic competence, and demographic characteristics in a sample of late-childhood participants. Defined as physical elements that enable the movements, motor skills are classified according to movement precision as gross and fine motor skills. Across their development, children enhance their ability to coordinate the limbs to produce different actions. In educational settings, they perform various instructional activities that involve the improvement of their athletic prowess and are taught how to strengthen their gross and fine motor abilities. Also, in relation to their activities, children tend to evaluate themselves differently across the various domains of their life. Starting from childhood, athletic competence is one of the area-specific evaluations of competence that refers to one’s ability to do well at sports, including outdoor games. Method: The sample consisted of fifty-eight primary school children, thirty girls, and twenty-eight boys, with ages between 8-10 years. The Bruininks-Oseretsky test of motor proficiency was used to assess both gross and fine motor skills in eight specific areas (fine motor precision, fine motor integration, manual dexterity, bilateral coordination, balance, running speed and agility, upper-limb coordination, strength). Athletic competence self-perceived was assessed with one of the six subscales of the Self-Perception Profile for Children. Results: Were examined both the relationships between each motor skills scale and subscales and between motor skills and general self-perceived athletic competence. Results indicated correlations between the athletic competence and four motor skills subscales depending on the gender and age of the children. The findings of the study were discussed related to the possibility to improve children's physical proficiency in educational settings according to the level of self-perceived athletic competence.

Keywords: gross motor skills, fine motor skills, athletic competence, self-evaluation, children, education

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Authors: Mirco Tarozzi, Giacomo Pignagnoli, Andrea Benedetti

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Structural systems are often subjected to degradation processes due to different kind of phenomena like unexpected loadings, ageing of the materials and fatigue cycles. This is true especially for bridges, in which their safety evaluation is crucial for the purpose of a design of planning maintenance. This paper discusses the experimental evaluation of the stiffness reduction from frequency changes due to uniform damage scenario. For this purpose, a 1:4 scaled bridge has been built in the laboratory of the University of Bologna. It is made of concrete and its cross section is composed by a slab linked to four beams. This concrete deck is 6 m long and 3 m wide, and its natural frequencies have been identified dynamically by exciting it with an impact hammer, a dropping weight, or by walking on it randomly. After that, a set of loading cycles has been applied to this bridge in order to produce a uniformly distributed crack pattern. During the loading phase, either cracking moment and yielding moment has been reached. In order to define the relationship between frequency variation and loss in stiffness, the identification of the natural frequencies of the bridge has been performed, before and after the occurrence of the damage, corresponding to each load step. The behavior of breathing cracks and its effect on the natural frequencies has been taken into account in the analytical calculations. By using a sort of exponential function given from the study of lot of experimental tests in the literature, it has been possible to predict the stiffness reduction through the frequency variation measurements. During the load test also crack opening and middle span vertical displacement has been monitored.

Keywords: concrete bridge, damage detection, dynamic test, frequency shifts, operational modal analysis

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Authors: Simran Ballani

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The purpose of this paper is to call education professionals to implement etiquette and public speaking skills for preschoolers, primary, middle and higher school students. In this paper the author aims to present importance of etiquette learning and public speaking curriculum for preschoolers, reflect on experiences from implementation of the curriculum and discuss the effect of the said implementation on higher education/global job market. Author’s aim to introduce this curriculum was to provide children with innovative learning and all around development. This training of soft skills at kindergarten level can have a long term effect on their social behaviors which in turn can contribute to professional success once they are ready for campus recruitment/global job markets. Additionally, if preschoolers learn polite, appropriate behavior at early age, it will enable them to become more socially attentive and display good manners as an adult. It is easier to nurture these skills in a child rather than changing bad manners at adulthood. Preschool/Kindergarten education can provide the platform for children to learn these crucial soft skills irrespective of the ethnicity, economic or social background they come from. These skills developed at such early years can go a long way to shape them into better and confident individuals. Unfortunately, accessibility of the etiquette learning and public speaking skill education is not standardized in pre-primary or primary level and most of the time embedding into the kindergarten curriculum is next to nil. All young children should be provided with equal opportunity to learn these soft skills which are essential for finding their place in job market.

Keywords: Early Childhood Learning, , public speaking, , confidence building, , innovative learning

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Authors: E. T. El Shenawy, O. N. A. Esmail, Adel A. Elbaset, Hesham F. A. Hamed

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Generation of the electrical energy based on photovoltaic (PV) technology has been increased over the world due to either the continuous reduction in the traditional energy sources in addition to the pollution problems related to their usage, or the clean nature and safe usage of the PV technology. Also, PV systems can generate clean electricity in the site of use without any transmission, which can be considered cost effective than other generation systems. The performance of the PV system is highly affected by the amount of solar radiation incident on it. Completely or partially shaded PV systems can affect its output. The PV system can be shaded by trees, buildings, dust, incorrect system configuration, or other obstacles. The present paper studies the effect of the partial shading on the performance of a thin film PV module under climatic conditions of Cairo, Egypt. This effect was measured and evaluated according to practical measurement of the characteristic curves such as current-voltage and power-voltage for two identical PV modules (with and without shading) placed at the same time on one mechanical structure for comparison. The measurements have been carried out for the following shading patterns; half cell (bottom, middle, and top of the PV module); complete cell; and two adjacent cells. The results showed that partially shading the PV module changes the shapes of the I-V and P-V curves and produces more than one maximum power point, that can disturb the traditional maximum power point trackers. Also, the output power from the module decreased according to the incomplete solar radiation reaching the PV module due to shadow patterns. The power loss due shading was 7%, 22%, and 41% for shading of half-cell, one cell, and two adjacent cells of the PV module, respectively.

Keywords: I-V measurements, PV module characteristics, PV module power loss, PV module shading

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Authors: Feng Huang, Carlos G. Ochoa, Haitao Zhao

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Poyang Lake, the largest freshwater lake in China, is located at the middle-lower reaches of the Yangtze River basin. It has great value in socioeconomic development and is internationally recognized as an important lacustrine and wetland ecosystem with abundant biodiversity. Impacted by ongoing climate change and anthropogenic activities, especially the regulation of the Three Gorges Reservoir since 2003, Poyang Lake has experienced significant water regime evolution, resulting in challenges for the management of water resources and the environment. Quantifying the contribution of hydrologic and topographic changes to water regime alteration is necessary for policymakers to design effective adaption strategies. Long term hydrologic data were collected and the back-propagation neural networks were constructed to simulate the lake water level. The impacts of hydrologic and topographic changes were differentiated through scenario analysis that considered pre-impact and post-impact hydrologic and topographic scenarios. The lake water regime was characterized by hydrologic indicators that describe monthly water level fluctuations, hydrologic features during flood and drought seasons, and frequency and rate of hydrologic variations. The results revealed different contributions of hydrologic and topographic changes to different features of the lake water regime.Noticeable changes were that the water level declined dramatically during the period of reservoir impoundment, and the drought was enhanced during the dry season. The hydrologic and topographic changes exerted a synergistic effect or antagonistic effect on different lake water regime features. The findings provide scientific reference for lacustrine and wetland ecological protection associated with water regime alterations.

Keywords: back-propagation neural network, scenario analysis, water regime, Poyang Lake

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Authors: Susana Aragoneses Garrido

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Every day, the roads are scenery of numerous accidents involving vehicles, producing thousands of deaths and serious injuries all over the world. Investigations have revealed that Human Factors (HF) are one of the main causes of road accidents in modern societies. Distracted driving (including external or internal aspects of the vehicle), which is considered as a human factor, is a serious and emergent risk to road safety. Consequently, a further analysis regarding this issue is essential due to its transcendence on today’s society. The objectives of this investigation are the detection and assessment of the HF in order to provide solutions (including a better vehicle design), which might mitigate road accidents. The methodology of the project is divided in different phases. First, a statistical analysis of public databases is provided between Spain and The UK. Second, data is classified in order to analyse the major causes involved in road accidents. Third, a simulation between different paths and vehicles is presented. The causes related to the HF are assessed by Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA). Fourth, different car models are evaluated using the Rapid Upper Body Assessment (RULA). Additionally, the JACK SIEMENS PLM tool is used with the intention of evaluating the Human Factor causes and providing the redesign of the vehicles. Finally, improvements in the car design are proposed with the intention of reducing the implication of HF in traffic accidents. The results from the statistical analysis, the simulations and the evaluations confirm that accidents are an important issue in today’s society, especially the accidents caused by HF resembling distractions. The results explore the reduction of external and internal HF through the global analysis risk of vehicle accidents. Moreover, the evaluation of the different car models using RULA method and the JACK SIEMENS PLM prove the importance of having a good regulation of the driver’s seat in order to avoid harmful postures and therefore distractions. For this reason, a car redesign is proposed for the driver to acquire the optimum position and consequently reducing the human factors in road accidents.

Keywords: analysis vehicles, asssesment, ergonomics, car redesign

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Authors: Nabil Ahmed Kamal Badawy, Ali Falah Alhajraf, Mawaheb Falah Alsamdan

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Objectives: To estimate the prevalence of self-medication with over-the-counter pain relievers (acetaminophen, ibuprofen, and aspirin) among Kuwaiti citizens above the age of 16 years old and describe their patterns of use, perceived awareness of, and concerns about the drugs’ potential side effects. Design: A descriptive cross-sectional questionnaire-based survey. Setting: Samples were selected from the six Kuwaiti governorates. Subjects: The data were collected over a four-month period in 2012, from 850 subjects who identified as Kuwaiti citizens. These subjects were recruited using stratified random sampling. Results: Overall, a 67% response rate was obtained. In total, 68% (573) of the respondents reported the use of over-the-counter pain relievers. Women, middle-aged or single individuals, and those who had completed higher education used these drugs more than any other subgroup (p<0.05). We found evidence of inappropriate use of these drugs, with 15% (88) of the consumers using them almost daily. Further, 19% (111) of the consumers exceeded the recommended dosage at least once. Not only were 81% of the consumers unaware of the potential side effects, but also more than 61% were not concerned about them. Women were more knowledgeable than men regarding the maximum dose (p=0.036, OR 1.49, CI 1.03–2.17). Consumers with higher levels of education did not show distinct knowledge regarding the maximum allowed dose of the drugs (p=0.252, OR 1.71, CI 0.68-4.25). Conclusion: The results showed a high prevalence of self-medication with over-the-counter pain relievers among Kuwaiti citizens. The subjects showed marked unawareness and a lack of concern regarding the potential complications resulting from the inappropriate use of these analgesics. This demonstrates the need for educational interventions directed toward both patients and health care workers.

Keywords: awareness of side effects, concern, patterns of use, prevalence

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Authors: Abdullah Al-Alaian, Ahmad Al-Enzi, Hasan Al-Herz, Ahmad Bakri, Shant Tatorian, Amr Nounou

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Kuwait is a country that has an imbalanced economy since most of its national outcome comes from the oil trade. It is so risky for a country to be dependent on a single source for income, and this increases the need to diversify its economy. In addition, according to the Public Authority for Industry, the contribution of the industrial sector to the current Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Kuwait is low which is about 4.33%. Therefore, the development of the industrial sector can be one of the means to diversify the economy and increase the industry's contribution to the national outcome. This is in accordance with Kuwait’s vision of 2035 which aims at increasing the contribution of the industrial sector to the GDP to 12%. In order to do so, this study aims at proposing a strategic plan that will accomplish certain objectives when implemented. It is based on analyzing the industrial sectors in Kuwait taking into consideration studying the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats facing them. At the same time, it tends to gain from the experience of leading models and neighboring countries regarding the development of the industrial sector. In this study, the SWOT analysis technique will be conducted on all industrial sectors based on evaluation criteria in which it is determined whether any of them has a potential for improvement or not. In other words, it is determined whether the sectors are able to compete locally, regionally, or globally. Based on the results of the SWOT analysis, certain sectors will be chosen, assessed based on an assessment scheme, and their potentials for improvement will be aligned with the overall objectives. To ensure the achievement of the study’s objectives, an action plan will be proposed regarding recommendations for the related authorities, and for entrepreneurs. In addition, monitoring tools are going to be provided for the purpose of periodically checking the progress made in the implementation of the plan.

Keywords: industrial sector, SWOT analysis, productivity, competitiveness, GDP, Kuwait, economy

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Authors: Tamrat Tesfaye, Bruce Sithole, Deresh Ramjugernath

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Worldwide, the poultry–processing industry generates large quantities of feather by-products that amount to 40 billion kilograms annually. The feathers are considered wastes although small amounts are often processed into valuable products such as feather meal and fertilizers. The remaining waste is disposed of by incineration or by burial in controlled landfills. Improper disposal of these biological wastes contributes to environmental damage and transmission of diseases. Economic pressures, environmental pressures, increasing interest in using renewable and sustainable raw materials, and the need to decrease reliance on non-renewable petroleum resources behove the industry to find better ways of dealing with waste feathers. A closer look at the structure and composition of feathers shows that the whole part of a chicken feather (rachis and barb) can be used as a source of a pure structural protein called keratin which can be exploited for conversion into a number of high-value bio products. Additionally, a number of technologies can be used to convert other biological components of feathers into high value added products. Thus, conversion of the waste into valuable products can make feathers an attractive raw material for the production of bio products. In this review, possible applications of chicken feathers in a variety of technologies and products are discussed. Thus, using waste feathers as a valuable resource can help the poultry industry to dispose of the waste feathers in an environmentally sustainable manner that also generates extra income for the industry. Their valorisation can result in their sustainable conversion into high-value materials and products on the proviso of existence or development of cost-effective technologies for converting this waste into the useful products.

Keywords: biodegradable product, keratin, poultry waste, feathers, valorisation

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Authors: Sonia Lippke, Eric Rost, Volker Cihlar

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Objective: To examine the interrelation of physical activity with work-related variables in older individuals to determine pathways to promote the maintenance of an aging workforce’s ability and motivation to work. Design/methodology/approach: An interview-study was conducted with N=5,002 community-dwelling people aged 55 to 70 years (for T1). N=2,501 (50%) were interviewed 3 years later again (T2). Correlation-, Chi²-, MANOVA and moderated mediation analyses were performed. Findings: The less people worked, the more physically active they were. Working was only related to calendar age but not to subjective age. Men and women only differed in working hours and an interaction of gender and pension regarding working hours and subjective health revealed: Controlled for calendar age, the amount of worked hours while receiving pension was about the same in men and women, however, men worked significantly more hours if they did not receive pension. The relationship between physical activity and worked hours was mediated by life investment and subjective health in women, and by subjective health in men. Practical implications: Developing good health through performing physical activity should be done as part of work-place health promotion or by work organization and HR management to enable, and motivate older individuals to work even when receiving pension. Thus, such initiates should not only offered for younger and middle aged employees. Physical activity and company-facilitated sports activities can be an integral part in this. Originality/value: This is the first study testing these mechanisms in this age group, indicating the importance of not only understanding physical activity as a time challenge to work but also the potential to protect workability and to work aside from receiving pension.

Keywords: life investment, moderated mediation, physical activity, older workers, subjective health

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Authors: Bui Duc Sinh

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Ecotourism in national parks seemed to be one of the options in the conservation of the natural resources and to improve the living condition of local communities. However, ecotourism development will be useless if it lacks the perception and support of local communities and appropriate ecotourism strategies. The aims of this study were to measure residents’ perception and satisfaction towards ecotourism impacts and their attitudes for ecotourism development in Cuc Phuong National Park; to assess the current ecotourism strategies based on ecotourism criteria and then to provide recommendations on ecotourism development strategies. The primary data were collected through personal observations, in-depth interviews with residents and national park staffs, and from surveys on households in all of the five communes in the Cuc Phuong National Park. The results depicted that local communities were aware of ecotourism impacts and had positive attitudes toward ecotourism development, and were satisfied of ecotourism development. However, higher perception rate was found on specific groups such as the young, the high income and educated, and those with jobs related to ecotourism. The study revealed the issues of concerns about the current ecotourism development strategies in Cuc Phuong National Park. The major hindrances for ecotourism development were lack of local participation and unattractive ecotourism services. It was also suggested that Cuc Phuong National Park should use ecotourism criteria to implement ecotourism activities sustainably and to harmonize the sharing of benefits amongst the stakeholders. The approaches proposed were to: create local employment through reengineering, improve the ecotourism quality, appropriate tourism benefits to the stakeholders, and carry out education and training programs. Furthermore, the results of the study helped tour operators and tourism promoters aware the real concerns, issues on current ecotourism activities in Cuc Phuong National Park.

Keywords: ecotourism, ecotourism impact, local community, national park

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Authors: U. Tumaini, J. Msuya

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Food insecurity is a worrying challenge worldwide with sub-Saharan Africa including Tanzania being the most affected. Although factors that influence household food access security status and ways of coping with such factors have been examined, little has been reported on how these coping strategies vary along the urban-rural continuum especially in medium-sized towns. The purpose of this study was to identify food insecurity coping strategies employed by households and assess whether they are similar along the urban-rural continuum. The study was cross-sectional in design whereby a random sample of 279 households was interviewed using structured questionnaire. Data were analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 20 software. It was revealed that the proportion of households relying on less preferred and quality foods, eating fewer meals per day, undertaking work for food or money, performing farm and off-farm activities, and selling fall back assets was higher in rural settings compared to urban and peri-urban areas. Similarly, more households in urban and peri-urban areas cope with food access insecurity by having strict food budgets compared to those in rural households (p ≤ 0.001). The study concludes that food insecurity coping strategies vary significantly from one spatial entity to another. It is thereby recommended that poor, particularly rural households should be supported to diversify their income-generating activities not only for food security purposes during times of food shortage but also as businesses aimed at increasing their household incomes.

Keywords: food coping strategies, household food insecurity, medium-sized towns, urban-rural continuum

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Authors: Iis Diatin, Yani Hadiroseyani, Muhammad Mujahid, Ahmad Teduh, Juang R. Matangaran

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One of silica quarry managed by a mining company is located at Sukabumi District of West Java Province Indonesia with an area of approximately 70 hectares. Since 2013 this company stopped the mining activities. The company tries to restore the ecosystem post-mining with rehabilitation activities such as reclamation and revegetation of their ex-mining area. After three years planting the area the trees grown well. Not only planting some tree species but also some cover crop has covered the soil surface. There are two settling ponds located in the middle of the ex-mining area. Those settling pond were built in order to prevent the effect of acid mine drainage. Acid mine drainage (AMD) or the acidic water is created when sulphide minerals are exposed to air and water and through a natural chemical reaction produce sulphuric acid. AMD is the main pollutant at the open pit mining. The objective of the research was to analyze the effect of revegetation on water quality change at the settling pond. The physical and chemical of water quality parameter were measured and analysed at site and at the laboratory. Physical parameter such as temperature, turbidity and total organic matter were analyse. Also heavy metal and some other chemical parameter such as dissolved oxygen, alkalinity, pH, total ammonia nitrogen, nitrate and nitrite were analysed. The result showed that the acidity of first settling pond was higher than that of the second settling pond. Both settling pond water’s contained heavy metal. The turbidity and total organic matter were the parameter of water quality which become better after revegetation.

Keywords: acid mine drainage, ex-mining area, revegetation, settling pond, water quality

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Authors: Idowu Kemi Ruth, Adeyemo Adedayo Akinade, Iyanda Adegboyega Ibukun, Idowu Olubukola Precious Akinade

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Liveability and mortality rate is a germane aspect of product performance that cannot be overlooked in poultry production, while the disease is a major threat in the poultry industry which can cause a major loss for the farmer and a reduction in the total income generated from the stock. Therefore, efforts must be made to enhance the health status of chickens to reduce mortality. The study was conducted to investigate the effect of different biotic additives (prebiotic, probiotic and synbiotic ) on the performance of Noiler females at the growing phase (forty-nine days) till the point of the first egg across the biotic additive. A total of one hundred and twenty-eight female Noiler were used for the experiment. Experimental treatment consisted of prebiotic, probiotic, synbiotic and control at the inclusion rate of a gram into a kilogram of feed. Parameters measured are Feed intake, feed conversion ratio, the weight of the first egg, age of the first egg and livability. Data collected were subjected to a one-way analysis of variance. The result obtained revealed a better growth performance across the treatments than the control group with the least final weight at nineteen weeks of point of lay. Prebiotic treatment had the best age at first lay on day one hundred and thirty seven followed by other treatments on day one hundred and fifty four. However, the size of the eggs was not significantly influenced by the biotic additive. Hence, the experiment can be concluded that the inclusion of different biotic additives influenced the growth performance; likewise, the Prebiotic had a significant effect on the age of first laying in Noiler chicken, and livability was a hundred percent throughout the duration of the experiment.

Keywords: prebiotic, probiotic, synbiotic, noiler

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Authors: Marta Skwarecka, Patrycja Bloch, Rafal Walkusz, Oliwia Urbanowicz, Grzegorz Zielinski, Sabina Zoledowska, Dawid Nidzworski

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Upper respiratory tract infections are one of the most common reasons for visiting a general doctor. Streptococci are the most common bacterial etiological factors in these infections. There are many different types of Streptococci and infections vary in severity from mild throat infections to pneumonia. For example, S. pyogenes mainly contributes to acute pharyngitis, palatine tonsils and scarlet fever, whereas S. Streptococcus pneumoniae is responsible for several invasive diseases like sepsis, meningitis or pneumonia with high mortality and dangerous complications. There are only a few diagnostic tests designed for detection Streptococci from the infected throat of patients. However, they are mostly based on lateral flow techniques, and they are not used as a standard due to their low sensitivity. The diagnostic standard is to culture patients throat swab on semi selective media in order to multiply pure etiological agent of infection and subsequently to perform antibiogram, which takes several days from the patients visit in the clinic. Therefore, the aim of our studies is to develop and implement to the market a Point of Care device for the rapid identification of Streptococcus pyogenes and Streptococcus pneumoniae with simultaneous identification of antibiotic resistance genes. In the course of our research, we successfully selected genes for to-species identification of Streptococci and genes encoding antibiotic resistance proteins. We have developed a reaction to amplify these genes, which allows detecting the presence of S. pyogenes or S. pneumoniae followed by testing their resistance to erythromycin, chloramphenicol and tetracycline. What is more, the detection of β-lactamase-encoding genes that could protect Streptococci against antibiotics from the ampicillin group, which are widely used in the treatment of this type of infection is also developed. The test is carried out directly from the patients' swab, and the results are available after 20 to 30 minutes after sample subjection, which could be performed during the medical visit.

Keywords: antibiotic resistance, Streptococci, respiratory infections, diagnostic test

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Authors: Hamzeh Awad

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Disability is considered to be a worldwide complex phenomenon which rising at a phenomenal rate and caused by many different factors. Chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes can lead to mobility disability in particular and disability in general. The ICF is an integrative bio-psycho-social model of functioning and disability and considered by the World Health Organization (WHO) to be a reference for disability classification using its categories and core set to classify disorder’s functional limitations. Specialist programs at Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz Humanitarian City (SBAHC) are providing both inpatient and outpatient services have started to implement the ICF and use it as a problem solving tool in Rehab. Diabetes is leading contributing factor for disability and considered epidemic in several Gulf countries including the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), where its prevalence continues to increase dramatically. Metabolic disorders, mainly diabetes are not well covered in Rehab field. The purpose of this study is present to research and clinical rehabilitation field of DREAM and ICF as a framework in clinical and research setting in Rehab service. Also, shed the light on using the ICF as problem solving tool at SBAHC. There are synergies between disability causes and wider public health priorities in relation to both chronic disease and disability prevention. Therefore, there is a need for strong advocacy and understanding of the role of ICF as a reference in Rehab settings in Middle East if we wish to seize the opportunity to reverse current trends of acquired disability in the region.

Keywords: international classification of functioning, disability and health (ICF), prototype, rehabilitation and diabetes

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Authors: Yogi Sirodz Gaos, Irvan Wiradinata

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In the 500 kW Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) power plant in Indonesia, an AFT (according to the Tubular Exchanger Manufacturers Association – TEMA) type shell and tube heat exchanger device is used as a pre-heating system for the ORC’s hot water circulation system. The pre-heating source is a waste heat recovery of the brine water, which is tapped from a geothermal power plant. The brine water itself has 5 MWₜₕ capacities, with average temperature of 170ᵒC, and 7 barg working pressure. The aim of this research is to examine the performance of the heat exchanger in the ORC system in a 500 kW ORC power plant. The data for this research were collected during the commissioning on the middle of December 2016. During the commissioning, the inlet temperature and working pressure of the brine water to the shell and tube type heat exchanger was 149ᵒC, and 4.4 barg respectively. Furthermore, the ΔT for the hot water circulation of the ORC system to the heat exchanger was 27ᵒC, with the inlet temperature of 140ᵒC. The pressure in the hot circulation system was dropped slightly from 7.4ᵒC to 7.1ᵒC. The flow rate of the hot water circulation was 80.5 m³/h. The presentation and discussion of a case study on the performance of the heat exchanger on the 500 kW ORC system is presented as follows: (1) the heat exchange duty is 2,572 kW; (2) log mean temperature of the heat exchanger is 13.2ᵒC; (3) the actual overall thermal conductivity is 1,020.6 W/m².K (4) the required overall thermal conductivity is 316.76 W/m².K; and (5) the over design for this heat exchange performance is 222.2%. An analysis of the heat exchanger detailed engineering design (DED) is briefly discussed. To sum up, this research concludes that the shell and tube heat exchangers technology demonstrated a good performance as pre-heating system for the ORC’s hot water circulation system. Further research need to be conducted to examine the performance of heat exchanger system on the ORC’s hot water circulation system.

Keywords: shell and tube, heat exchanger, organic Rankine cycle, performance, commissioning

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Authors: Noraini Idris, Imelda Albert Gisip

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Women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all level of decisionmaking process are essential in order to achieve sustainable development goals by 2030. This paper discusses how women in Malaysia generally still find themselves under-represented in political institutions. Leaders from various political parties in Malaysia were all on the same page in their commitment to achieve the target of fielding 30 percent women candidates in election which in turn will increase female representation in the country’s legislative bodies. However, despite their pledge on making equal opportunities to women in decision making process, the 30 percent target has yet to be achieved be it in the federal election nor respective state elections in thirteen states conducted throughout the country until now. Sabah’s political landscape with regards to women leaders’ representation in politic mirrors that at the federal level. During the 15th Parliamentary General Election which was conducted in November 2022, despite Sabah Women’s significant numbers as voters in the electoral rolls which recorded 49.36 percent (833,847 women voters); only 17.6 percent or 21 women candidates out of 119 candidates in Sabah were fielded by the political parties contesting in the election. Sabah has 25 parliamentary seats. Out of 31 women members of Parliament who won the 15th General Election, only 3 women members of Parliament are from Sabah. Even in the 2020 Sabah State Election only nine (9) percent of the candidates or 43 women out of the 447 total candidates were fielded. The current Sabah State legislative Assembly saw only eight (8) percent or 7 women Assemblymen out of 79 Assemblymen in the legislative body. The number of female leaders in the legislative body in Malaysia has never exceeded 15 percent with the highest being 14.86 percent in the Lower House (Dewan Rakyat), 14.42 percent in the Upper House (Dewan Senat) and merely 8 percent in the Sabah State legislative Assembly. Thus, this paper will further discuss the strategies to tackle women leaders underrepresentation in politics particularly in Sabah, Malaysia and to provide suggestions to overcome this issue.

Keywords: women, leaders, politic, Sabah, Malaysia

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Authors: Ishmael Obaeko Iwara

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The Point of Sale (POS) cash and cashless semi-formal business has emerged as a significant driver of employment in countries like Nigeria and Kenya, similar to other micro and small-scale enterprises. This business model enables individuals to establish cash in/out outlets, offering entrepreneurs and small business owners a lucrative opportunity to generate additional income. However, the benefits extend beyond employment, as the POS model has become an integral part of the payment system in these countries. It facilitates convenient fund transfers, cash deposits, and withdrawals for individuals residing in both urban and rural areas. Given South Africa's high youth unemployment rate and limited banking services in rural households, coupled with a vibrant informal business economy akin to Nigeria and Kenya, the POS model potentially presents a business opportunity for the unemployed and serves as a banking solution for remote communities. Nonetheless, its implementation within South Africa's entrepreneurial landscape remains a subject of contention. Through qualitative research employing a participatory community-led action research approach, this study analyzes feedback, critiques, and potential interventions from various stakeholders, including business actors, grassroots communities, financial institutions, and policymakers. The findings offer crucial insights into the challenges associated with the adoption of the POS model and suggest mitigating factors to facilitate its successful implementation.

Keywords: grassroots entrepreneurs, rural households, POS banking, youth employment

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Authors: Laura Angulo, Petra Salamon, Martin Banse, Frederic Storkamp

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Fisheries subsidies are focus on reduce management costs or deliver income benefits to fishers. In 2015, total fishery budgetary transfers in 31 OECD countries represented 35% of their total landing value. However, subsidies to fishing have adverse effects on trade and it has been claimed that they may contribute directly to overfishing. Therefore, this paper analyses to what extend fisheries subsidies may 1) influence capture production facing quotas and 2) affect price dynamics. The study uses the fish module in AGMEMOD (Agriculture Member States Modelling, details see Chantreuil et al. (2012)) which covers eight fish categories (cephalopods; crustaceans; demersal marine fish; pelagic marine fish; molluscs excl. cephalopods; other marine finfish species; freshwater and diadromous fish) for EU member states and other selected countries developed under the SUCCESS project. This model incorporates transfer payments directly linked to fisheries operational costs. As aquaculture and wild fishery are not included within the WTO Agreement on Agriculture, data on fisheries subsidies is obtained from the OECD Fisheries Support Estimates (FSE) database, which provides statistics on budgetary transfers to the fisheries sector. Since support has been moving from budgetary transfers to General Service Support Estimate the last years, subsidies in capture production may not present substantial effects. Nevertheless, they would still show the impact across countries and fish categories within the European Union.

Keywords: AGMEMOD, budgetary transfers, EU Member States, fish model, fisheries support estimate

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Authors: Ghimire K., Mehta R. S., Parajuli P., Chettri R.

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Background: Malnutrition is a common hallmark of Human Immuno Virus (HIV) disease. It plays a synergistic role in immunosuppression which is initiated by Human Immuno Virus itself, and malnutrition forms an independent risk factor for disease progression. Objectives: The objective of the study is to assess the nutritional status of the people living with Human Immuno Virus/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome attending the Anti-Retro viral Treatment Clinic and find the association of nutritional status with different socio-demographic variables. Methods: A total of 101 people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) were selected by convenient sampling technique. The study was conducted at the ART clinic of BPKIHS. A subjective global assessment tool was used for data collection. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used for data analysis. Results: The study demonstrated that the mean age of the respondents was 40.97+8.650 years. 65.3% were well-nourished, and 34.7% of the participants were mildly/moderately malnourished, whereas none of them were severely malnourished. BMI was statistically significant with education status, family income, and duration of illness of the participants, and nutritional status was statistically significant with gender, marital status, education status, and family history of HIV. Conclusion: On the basis of the result, it can be concluded that more than half of the respondents were well nourished. Gender, marital status, and education are associated with nutritional status.

Keywords: nutritional status, people living with HIV/AIDS, ART treatment, Nepal

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Authors: Shihab Aldin Al Riyami, Khosrow Ebrahim, Sajad Ahmadizad

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Hemodynamic changes and ventricular loading during exercise lead to left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy. In athletes, volume load induces enlargement of the LV internal diameter and a proportional increase of wall thickness; while, pressure load would induce thickening of the ventricular wall. These adaptations are not similar in all athletes and are related to the types of sport. Volleyball players have different types of activity and roles based on their playing. Therefore, their physiological adaptations and requirements are different. The aim of the current study was to investigate the LV adaptationsinelite volleyball players based on their playing position. Sixty male elite volleyball players (age, 30.55±3.64 years)from Brazil, Serbia, Poland, Iran, Colombia, Cameroon, Japan, Egypt, Qatar, and Tunisia were investigated (from all five volleyball play positions). All participants had the experience of at least 3 years of participation at a professional level and international tournaments. LV characteristics were evaluated and measured using the echocardiography technique. Statistical analyses revealed significant differences (P<0.05)among the five groups of players forLV internal dimension (LVID), posterior wall thickness (PWT), and intact ventricular septum (IVS). Post-hoc analysis showed that opposite position players had significant higher value of LVID, PWT, and IVS when compared with other players, including outside hitter, middle blocker, setter, and libero (p<0.05). Additionally, in libero players, PWT was significantly lower when compared with other players (p<0.05). Based on the findings of the present study, it is concluded that LV adaptations in volleyball players are related to their playing position and that the opposite players had the highest LV adaptations when compared to other positions.

Keywords: athletes, cardiac adaptations, echocardio graphy, heart, sport

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Authors: Neel K. Shah

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Passive flow control on aerofoils has largely been achieved through the use of protrusions such as vane-type vortex generators. Consequently, innovative flow-control concepts should be explored in an effort to improve current component performance. Therefore, experimental research has been performed at The University of Manchester to evaluate the flow-control effectiveness of a vortex generator made in the form of a surface indentation. The surface indentation has a trapezoidal planform. A spanwise array of indentations has been applied in a convergent orientation around the maximum-thickness location of the upper surface of a NACA-0015 aerofoil. The aerofoil has been tested in a two-dimensional set-up in a low-speed wind tunnel at an angle of attack (AoA) of 3° and a chord-based Reynolds number (Re) of ~2.7 x 105. The baseline model has been found to suffer from a laminar separation bubble at low AoA. The application of the indentations at 3° AoA has considerably shortened the separation bubble. The indentations achieve this by shedding up-flow pairs of streamwise vortices. Despite the considerable reduction in bubble length, the increase in leading-edge suction due to the shorter bubble is limited by the removal of surface curvature and blockage (increase in surface pressure) caused locally by the convergent indentations. Furthermore, the up-flow region of the vortices, which locally weakens the pressure recovery around the trailing edge of the aerofoil by thickening the boundary layer, also contributes to this limitation. Due to the conflicting effects of the indentations, the changes in the pressure-lift and pressure-drag coefficients, i.e., cl,p and cd,p, are small. Nevertheless, the indentations have improved cl,p and cd,p beyond the uncertainty range, i.e., by ~1.30% and ~0.30%, respectively, at 3° AoA. The wake measurements show that turbulence intensity and Reynolds stresses have considerably increased in the indented case, thus implying that the indentations increase the viscous drag on the model. In summary, the convergent indentations are able to reduce the size of the laminar separation bubble, but conversely, they are not highly effective in reducing cd,p at the tested Reynolds number.

Keywords: aerofoil flow control, laminar separation bubbles, low Reynolds-number flows, surface indentations

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Authors: Mayowa A. Sofowora, Seraphin D. Eyono Obono

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The use of information and communication technologies such as computers, mobile phones and the internet is becoming prevalent in today’s world; and it is facilitating access to a vast amount of data, services, and applications for the improvement of people’s lives. However, this prevalence of ICTs is hampered by the problem of low income levels in developing countries to the point where people cannot timeously replace or repair their ICT devices when damaged or lost; and this problem serves as a motivation for this study whose aim is to examine the perceptions of teachers on the reliability of cellphones when used for teaching and learning purposes. The research objectives unfolding this aim are of two types: objectives on the selection and design of theories and models, and objectives on the empirical testing of these theories and models. The first type of objectives is achieved using content analysis in an extensive literature survey, and the second type of objectives is achieved through a survey of high school teachers from the ILembe and Umgungudlovu districts in the KwaZuluNatal province of South Africa. Data collected from this questionnaire based survey is analysed in SPSS using descriptive statistics and Pearson correlations after checking the reliability and validity of the questionnaire. The main hypothesis driving this study is that there is a relationship between the demographics and the attribution identity of teachers on one hand, and their perceptions on the reliability of cellphones on the other hand, as suggested by existing literature; except that attribution identities are considered in this study under three angles: intention, knowledge and ability, and action. The results of this study confirm that the perceptions of teachers on the reliability of cellphones for teaching and learning are affected by the school location of these teachers, and by their perceptions on learners’ cellphones usage intentions and actual use.

Keywords: attribution, cellphones, e-learning, reliability

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Authors: Avinash

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Rural Jharkhand has attracted lesser attention in the field of agrarian studies in India, despite more than eighty percent of its rural population being directly dependent on agriculture as their primary source of livelihood. The limited studies on agrarian issues in Jharkhand have focused predominantly on the subsistence nature of agriculture and low crop productivity. There has also not been much research on agrarian social relations between ‘tribe’ and ‘non-tribe’ communities in the region. This paper is an attempt to understand changing agrarian social relations between tribal and non-tribal communities relating them to different kinds of agrarian transitions taking place in two districts of Jharkhand - Palamu and Khunti. In the Palamu region, agrarian relations are dominated by the presence and significant population size of Hindu high caste land owners, whereas in the Khunti region, agrarian relations are characterized by the population size and dominance of tribes and lower caste land owner cum cultivators. The agrarian relations between ‘upper castes’ and ‘tribes’ in these regions are primarily related to agricultural daily wage labour. However, the agrarian social relations between Dalits and tribal people take the form of ‘communal system of labour exchange’ and ‘household-based labour’. In addition, the ethnographic study of the region depicts steady agrarian transitions (especially shift from indigenous to ‘High Yielding Variety’ (HYV) paddy seeds and growing vegetable cultivation) where ‘Non-Governmental Organizations’ (NGOs) and agricultural input manufacturers and suppliers are playing a critical role in agrarian transitions as intermediaries. While agricultural productivity still remains low, both the regions are witnessing slow but gradual agrarian transitions. Rural-urban linkages in the form of seasonal labour migration are creating capital and technical inflows that are transforming agricultural activities. This study describes and interprets the above changes through the lens of ‘regional rurality’.

Keywords: agrarian transitions, rural Jharkhand, regional rurality, tribe and non-tribe

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Authors: Mitiku Tefera

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Background: Meconium-stained amniotic fluid is one of the primary causes of birth asphyxia. Each year, over five million neonatal deaths occur worldwide due to meconium-stained amniotic fluid, with 90% of these deaths due to birth asphyxia. In Ethiopia meconium-stained amniotic fluid is under investigated, specifically in North Shoa Zone Amhara region Ethiopia. Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the magnitude of meconium-stained amniotic fluid and associated factors among women who gave birth in the North Shoa Zone Hospital’s Amhara Region, Ethiopia, in 2022. Methods: An institutional-based, cross-sectional study was conducted among 628 women who gave birth at North Shoa Zone Hospitals, Amhara, Ethiopia. The study was conducted from 08/June-08/August 2022. Two-stage cluster sampling was used to recruit study participants. The data was collected by using a structured interview-administered questionnaire and chart review. The collected data was entered into Epi-Data Version 4.6 and exported to SPSS Version 25. Logistics regression was employed, and a p-value <0.05 was considered significant. Result: The magnitude of meconium-stained amniotic fluid was 30.3%. Women presented with normal hematocrit level 83% less likely develop meconium-stained amniotic fluid. Women had mid-upper arm circumference value was less than 22.9cm(AOR=1.9; 95% CI;1.18-3.20), obstructed labor(AOR=3.6; 95% CI;1.48-8.83), prolonged labor ≥ 15hr (AOR=7.5; 95% CI ;7.68-13.3), the premature rapture of the membrane (AOR=1.7; 95% CI; 3.22-7.40), fetal tachycardia(AOR=6.2; 95% CI; 2.41-16.3) and Bradycardia (AOR=3.1; 95% CI;1.93-5.28) were significant association with meconium stained amniotic fluid. Conclusion: The magnitude of meconium-stained amniotic fluid, which was high. In this study, MUAC value <22.9 cm, obstructed and prolonged labor, PROM, bradycardia, and tachycardia were factors associated with meconium-stained amniotic fluid. A follow-up study and pooled similar articles will be mentioned for better evidence, enhancing intrapartum services and strengthening early detection of meconium-stained amniotic fluid for the health of the mother and baby.

Keywords: women, meconium-staned amniotic fluid, magnitude, Ethiopia

Procedia PDF Downloads 111