Search results for: Fisheries data quality

Authors: Junaid Hamid Bhat

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Background: Musculoskeletal disorders are one of the main causes of occupational illness. Mechanisms and the factors like repetitive work, physical effort and posture, endangering the risk of musculoskeletal disorders would now appear to have been properly identified. Teacher’s exposure to work-related musculoskeletal disorders appears to be insufficiently described in the literature. Little research has investigated the prevalence and risk factors of musculoskeletal disorders in teaching profession. Very few studies are available in this regard and there are no studies evident in India. Purpose: To determine the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders and to identify and measure the association of such risk factors responsible for developing musculoskeletal disorders among school teachers. Methodology: An observational cross sectional study was carried out. 500 school teachers from primary, middle, high and secondary schools were selected, based on eligibility criteria. A signed consent was obtained and a self-administered, validated questionnaire was used. Descriptive statistics was used to compute the statistical mean and standard deviation, frequency and percentage to estimate the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders among school teachers. The data analysis was done by using SPSS version 16.0. Results: Results indicated higher pain prevalence (99.6%) among school teachers during the past 12 months. Neck pain (66.1%), low back pain (61.8%) and knee pain (32.0%) were the most prevalent musculoskeletal complaints of the subjects. Prevalence of shoulder pain was also found to be high among school teachers (25.9%). 52.0% subjects reported pain as disabling in nature, causing sleep disturbance (44.8%) and pain was found to be associated with work (87.5%). A significant association was found between musculoskeletal disorders and sick leaves/absenteeism. Conclusion: Work-related musculoskeletal disorders particularly neck pain, low back pain, and knee pain, is highly prevalent and risk factors are responsible for the development of same in school teachers. There is little awareness of musculoskeletal disorders among school teachers, due to work load and prolonged/static postures. Further research should concentrate on specific risk factors like repetitive movements, psychological stress, and ergonomic factors and should be carried out all over the country and the school teachers should be studied carefully over a period of time. Also, an ergonomic investigation is needed to decrease the work-related musculoskeletal disorder problems. Implication: Recall bias and self-reporting can be considered as limitations. Also, cause and effect inferences cannot be ascertained. Based on these results, it is important to disseminate general recommendations for prevention of work-related musculoskeletal disorders with regards to the suitability of furniture, equipment and work tools, environmental conditions, work organization and rest time to school teachers. School teachers in the early stage of their careers should try to adapt the ergonomically favorable position whilst performing their work for a safe and healthy life later. Employers should be educated on practical aspects of prevention to reduce musculoskeletal disorders, since changes in workplace and work organization and physical/recreational activities are required.

Keywords: work related musculoskeletal disorders, school teachers, risk factors funding, medical and health sciences

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Authors: Befekadu Urga Wakayo

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Introduction: Bacterial infections represent major human and animal health problems in Ethiopia. In the face of poor antibiotic regulatory mechanisms, development of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) to commonly used drugs has become a growing health and livelihood threat in the country. Monitoring and control of AMR demand close coloration between human and veterinary services as well as other relevant stakeholders. However, risk of AMR transfer from animal to human population’s remains poorly explored in Ethiopia. This systematic research literature review attempted to give an overview on AMR challenges of bovine mastitis bacteria in Ethiopia. Methodology: A web based research literature search and analysis strategy was used. Databases are considered including; PubMed, Google Scholar, Ethiopian Veterinary Association (EVA) and Ethiopian Society of Animal Production (ESAP). The key search terms and phrases were; Ethiopia, dairy, cattle, mastitis, bacteria isolation, antibiotic sensitivity and antimicrobial resistance. Ultimately, 15 research reports were used for the current analysis. Data extraction was performed using a structured Microsoft Excel format. Frequency AMR prevalence (%) was registered directly or calculated from reported values. Statistical analysis was performed on SPSS – 16. Variables were summarized by giving frequencies (n or %), Mean ± SE and demonstrative box plots. One way ANOVA and independent t test were used to evaluate variations in AMR prevalence estimates (Ln transformed). Statistical significance was determined at p < 0.050). Results: AMR in bovine mastitis bacteria was investigated in a total of 592 in vitro antibiotic sensitivity trials involving 12 different mastitis bacteria (including 1126 Gram positive and 77 Gram negative isolates) and 14 antibiotics. Bovine mastitis bacteria exhibited AMR to most of the antibiotics tested. Gentamycin had the lowest average AMR in both Gram positive (2%) and negative (1.8%) bacteria. Gram negative mastitis bacteria showed higher mean in vitro resistance levels to; Erythromycin (72.6%), Tetracycline (56.65%), Amoxicillin (49.6%), Ampicillin (47.6%), Clindamycin (47.2%) and Penicillin (40.6%). Among Gram positive mastitis bacteria higher mean in vitro resistance was observed in; Ampicillin (32.8%), Amoxicillin (32.6%), Penicillin (24.9%), Streptomycin (20.2%), Penicillinase Resistant Penicillin’s (15.4%) and Tetracycline (14.9%). More specifically, S. aurues exhibited high mean AMR against Penicillin (76.3%) and Ampicillin (70.3%) followed by Amoxicillin (45%), Streptomycin (40.6%), Tetracycline (24.5%) and Clindamycin (23.5%). E. coli showed high mean AMR to Erythromycin (78.7%), Tetracycline (51.5%), Ampicillin (49.25%), Amoxicillin (43.3%), Clindamycin (38.4%) and Penicillin (33.8%). Streptococcus spp. demonstrated higher (p =0.005) mean AMR against Kanamycin (> 20%) and full sensitivity (100%) to Clindamycin. Overall, mean Tetracycline (p = 0.013), Gentamycin (p = 0.001), Polymixin (p = 0.034), Erythromycin (p = 0.011) and Ampicillin (p = 0.009) resistance increased from the 2010’s than the 2000’s. Conclusion; the review indicated a rising AMR challenge among bovine mastitis bacteria in Ethiopia. Corresponding, public health implications demand a deeper, integrated investigation.

Keywords: antimicrobial resistance, dairy cattle, Ethiopia, Mastitis bacteria

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Authors: Emmanuel A. David, Rebecca O. Soremekun, Roseline I. Aderemi-Williams

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Background: The complexities involved in the management of diabetes mellitus require a multi-dimensional, multi-professional collaborative and continuous care by health care providers and a substantial self-care by the patients in order to achieve desired treatment outcomes. The effect of pharmacists’ care in the management of diabetes in resource-endowed nations is well documented in literature, but randomised-controlled assessment of the impact of pharmacist-led care among patients with diabetes in resource-limited settings like Nigeria and sub-Saharan Africa countries is scarce. Objective: To evaluate the impact of Pharmacist-led care on glycaemic control in patients with uncontrolled type 2 diabetes, using a randomised-controlled study design Methods: This study employed a prospective randomised controlled design, to assess the impact of pharmacist-led care on glycaemic control of 108 poorly controlled type 2 diabetic patients. A total of 200 clinically diagnosed type 2 diabetes patients were purposively selected using fasting blood glucose ≥ 7mmol/L and tested for long term glucose control using Glycated haemoglobin measure. One hundred and eight (108) patients with ≥ 7% Glycated haemoglobin were recruited for the study and assigned unique identification numbers. They were further randomly allocated to intervention and usual care groups using computer generated random numbers, with each group containing 54 subjects. Patients in the intervention group received pharmacist-structured intervention, including education, periodic phone calls, adherence counselling, referral and 6 months follow-up, while patients in usual care group only kept clinic appointments with their physicians. Data collected at baseline and six months included socio-demographic characteristics, fasting blood glucose, Glycated haemoglobin, blood pressure, lipid profile. With an intention to treat analysis, Mann-Whitney U test was used to compared median change from baseline in the primary outcome (Glycated haemoglobin) and secondary outcomes measure, effect size was computed and proportion of patients that reached target laboratory parameter were compared in both arms. Results: All enrolled participants (108) completed the study, 54 in each study. Mean age was 51±11.75 and majority were female (68.5%). Intervention patients had significant reduction in Glycated haemoglobin (-0.75%; P<0.001; η2 = 0.144), with greater proportion attaining target laboratory parameter after 6 months of care compared to usual care group (Glycated haemoglobin: 42.6% vs 20.8%; P=0.02). Furthermore, patients who received pharmacist-led care were about 3 times more likely to have better glucose control (AOR 2.718, 95%CI: 1.143-6.461) compared to usual care group. Conclusion: Pharmacist-led care significantly improved glucose control in patients with uncontrolled type 2 diabetes mellitus and should be integrated in the routine management of diabetes patients, especially in resource-limited settings.

Keywords: glycaemic control , pharmacist-led care, randomised-controlled trial , type 2 diabetes mellitus

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Authors: Sharon Hovav, Ilya Levner, Oren Nahum, Istvan Szabo

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In modern large-scale logistic centers (e.g., big automated warehouses), complex logistic operations performed by human staff (pickers) need to be coordinated with the operations of automated facilities (robots, conveyors, cranes, lifts, flow racks, etc.). The efficiency of advanced logistic centers strongly depends on optimizing picking technologies in synch with the facility/product layout, as well as on optimal distribution of material flows (products) in the system. The challenge is to develop a mathematical operations research (OR) tool that will optimize system cost-effectiveness. In this work, we propose a model that describes an automatic logistic center consisting of a set of workstations located at several galleries (floors), with each station containing a known number of flow racks. The requirements of each product and the working capacity of stations served by a given set of workers (pickers) are assumed as predetermined. The goal of the model is to maximize system efficiency. The proposed model includes two echelons. The first is the setting of the (optimal) number of workstations needed to create the total processing/logistic system, subject to picker capacities. The second echelon deals with the assignment of the products to the workstations and flow racks, aimed to achieve maximal throughputs of picked products over the entire system given picker capacities and budget constraints. The solutions to the problems at the two echelons interact to balance the overall load in the flow racks and maximize overall efficiency. We have developed an operations research model within each echelon. In the first echelon, the problem of calculating the optimal number of workstations is formulated as a non-standard bin-packing problem with capacity constraints for each bin. The problem arising in the second echelon is presented as a constrained product-workstation-flow rack assignment problem with non-standard mini-max criteria in which the workload maximum is calculated across all workstations in the center and the exterior minimum is calculated across all possible product-workstation-flow rack assignments. The OR problems arising in each echelon are proved to be NP-hard. Consequently, we find and develop heuristic and approximation solution algorithms based on exploiting and improving local optimums. The LC model considered in this work is highly dynamic and is recalculated periodically based on updated demand forecasts that reflect market trends, technological changes, seasonality, and the introduction of new items. The suggested two-echelon approach and the min-max balancing scheme are shown to work effectively on illustrative examples and real-life logistic data.

Keywords: logistics center, product-workstation, assignment, maximum performance, load balancing, fast algorithm

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Authors: John Farr Rothrock

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Although migraine traditionally has been assumed to convey a relative decrease in libido, sexual activity and sexual performance, recent data have suggested that the female migraine population is far from homogenous in this regard. We sought to determine the levels of libido, sexual activity and sexual performance in the female migraine patient population both generally and according to clinical phenotype. In this single-blind study, a consecutive series of sexually active new female patients ages 25-55 initially presenting to a university-based headache clinic and having a >1 year history of migraine were asked to complete anonymously a survey assessing their sexual histories generally and as they related to their headache disorder and the 19-item Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI). To serve as 2 separate control groups, 100 sexually active females with no history of migraine and 100 female migraineurs from the general (non-clinic) population but matched for age, marital status, educational background and socioeconomic status completed a similar survey. Over a period of 3 months, 188 consecutive migraine patients were invited to participate. Twenty declined, and 28 of the remaining 160 potential subjects failed to meet the inclusion criterion utilized for “sexually active” (ie, heterosexual intercourse at a frequency of > once per month in each of the preceding 6 months). In all groups younger age (p<.005), higher educational level attained (p<.05) and higher socioeconomic status (p<.025) correlated with a higher monthly frequency of intercourse and a higher likelihood of intercourse resulting in orgasm. Relative to the 100 control subjects with no history of migraine, the two migraine groups (total n=232) reported a lower monthly frequency of intercourse and recorded a lower FSFI score (both p<.025), but the contribution to this difference came primarily from the chronic migraine (CM) subgroup (n=92). Patients with low frequency episodic migraine (LFEM) and mid frequency episodic migraine (MFEM) reported a higher FSFI score, higher monthly frequency of intercourse, higher likelihood of intercourse resulting in orgasm and higher likelihood of multiple active sex partners than controls. All migraine subgroups reported a decreased likelihood of engaging in intercourse during an active migraine attack, but relative to the CM subgroup (8/92=9%), a higher proportion of patients in the LFEM (12/49=25%), MFEM (14/67=21%) and high frequency episodic migraine (HFEM: 6/14=43%) subgroups reported utilizing intercourse - and orgasm specifically - as a means of potentially terminating a migraine attack. In the clinic vs no-clinic groups there were no significant differences in the dependent variables assessed. Research subjects with LFEM and MFEM may report a level of libido, frequency of intercourse and likelihood of orgasm-associated intercourse that exceeds what is reported by age-matched controls free of migraine. Many patients with LFEM, MFEM and HFEM appear to utilize intercourse/orgasm as a means to potentially terminate an acute migraine attack.

Keywords: migraine, female, libido, sexual activity, phenotype

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Authors: Mark Kennedy, E. Bantugon, Noruane A. Daileg

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Leaks arising from aircraft fuel tanks is a protracted problem for the aircraft manufacturers, operators, and maintenance crews. It principally arises from stress, structural defects, or degraded sealants as the aircraft age. It can be ignited by different sources, which can result in catastrophic flight and consequences, exhibiting a major drain both on time and budget. In order to mitigate and eliminate this kind of problem, the researcher produced an experimental sealant having a base material of natural tree resin, the Pili Tree Resin. Aside from producing an experimental sealant, the main objective of this research is to analyze its physical, chemical, mechanical, thermal, and rheological properties, which is beneficial and effective for specific aircraft parts, particularly the integral fuel tank. The experimental method of research was utilized in this study since it is a product invention. This study comprises two parts, specifically the Optimization Process and the Characterization Process. In the Optimization Process, the experimental sealant was subjected to the Flammability Test, an important test and consideration according to 14 Code of Federal Regulation Appendix N, Part 25 - Fuel Tank Flammability Exposure and Reliability Analysis, to get the most suitable formulation. Followed by the Characterization Process, where the formulated experimental sealant has undergone thirty-eight (38) different standard testing including Organoleptic, Instrumental Color Measurement Test, Smoothness of Appearance Test, Miscibility Test, Boiling Point Test, Flash Point Test, Curing Time, Adhesive Test, Toxicity Test, Shore A Hardness Test, Compressive Strength, Shear Strength, Static Bending Strength, Tensile Strength, Peel Strength Test, Knife Test, Adhesion by Tape Test, Leakage Test), Drip Test, Thermogravimetry-Differential Thermal Analysis (TG-DTA), Differential Scanning Calorimetry, Calorific Value, Viscosity Test, Creep Test, and Anti-Sag Resistance Test to determine and analyze the five (5) material properties of the sealant. The numerical values of the mentioned tests are determined using product application, testing, and calculation. These values are then used to calculate the efficiency of the experimental sealant. Accordingly, this efficiency is the means of comparison between the experimental and commercial sealant. Based on the results of the different standard testing conducted, the experimental sealant exceeded all the data results of the commercial sealant. This result shows that the physicochemical-mechanical, thermal, and rheological properties of the experimental sealant are far more effective as an aircraft integral fuel tank sealant alternative in comparison to the commercial sealant. Therefore, Pili Tree possesses a new role and function: a source of ingredients in sealant production.

Keywords: Aircraft Integral Fuel Tank, Physicochemi-mechanical, Pili Tree Resin, Properties, Rheological, Sealant, Thermal

Procedia PDF Downloads 259

Authors: Mitsuhiro Hirai, Satoshi Ajito, Nobutaka Shimizu, Noriyuki Igarashi, Hiroki Iwase, Shinichi Takata

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Sugars and polyols are known to be bioprotectants preventing such as protein denaturation and enzyme deactivation and widely used as a nontoxic additive in various industrial and medical products. The mechanism of their protective actions has been explained by specific bindings between biological components and additives, changes in solvent viscosities, and surface tension and free energy changes upon transfer of those components into additive solutions. On the other hand, some organisms having tolerances against extreme environment produce stress proteins and/or accumulate sugars in cells, which is called cryptobiosis. In particular, trehalose has been drawing attention relevant to cryptobiosis under external stress such as high or low temperature, drying, osmotic pressure, and so on. The function of cryptobiosis by trehalose has been explained relevant to the restriction of the intra-and/or-inter-molecular movement by vitrification or from the replacement of water molecule by trehalose. Previous results suggest that the structure and interaction between sugar and water are a key determinant for understanding cryptobiosis. Recently, we have shown direct evidence that the protein hydration (solvation) and structural stability against chemical and thermal denaturation significantly depend on sugar species and glycerol. Sugar and glycerol molecules tend to be preferentially or weakly excluded from the protein surface and preserved the native protein hydration shell. Due to the protective action of the protein hydration shell by those molecules, the protein structure is stabilized against chemical (guanidinium chloride) and thermal denaturation. The protective action depends on sugar species. To understand the above trend and difference in detail, it is essentially important to clarify the characteristics of solutions containing those additives. In this study, by using wide-angle X-ray scattering technique covering a wide spatial region (~3-120 Å), we have clarified structures of sugar solutions with the concentration from 5% w/w to 65% w/w. The sugars measured in the present study were monosaccharides (glucose, fructose, mannose) and disaccharides (sucrose, trehalose, maltose). Due to observed scattering data with a wide spatial resolution, we have succeeded in obtaining information on the internal structure of individual sugar molecules and on the correlation between them. Every sugar gradually shortened the average inter-molecular distance as the concentration increased. The inter-molecular interaction between sugar molecules was essentially showed an exclusive tendency for every sugar, which appeared as the presence of a repulsive correlation hole. This trend was more weakly seen for trehalose compared to other sugars. The intermolecular distance and spread of individual molecule clearly showed the dependence of sugar species. We will discuss the relation between the characteristic of sugar solution and its protective action of biological materials.

Keywords: hydration, protein, sugar, X-ray scattering

Procedia PDF Downloads 132

Authors: Giulia Bonaldo, Alberto Vaccheri, Ottavio D'Annibali, Domenico Motola

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The Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) was shown to be the cause of different types of carcinomas, first of all of the cervical intraepithelial neoplasia. Since the early 80s to today, thanks first to the preventive screening campaigns (pap-test) and following to the introduction of HPV vaccines on the market; the number of new cases of cervical cancer has decreased significantly. The HPV vaccines currently approved are three: Cervarix® (HPV2 - virus type: 16 and 18), Gardasil® (HPV4 - 6, 11, 16, 18) and Gardasil 9® (HPV9 - 6, 11, 16, 18, 31, 33, 45, 52, 58), which all protect against the two high-risk HPVs (6, 11) that are mainly involved in cervical cancers. Despite the remarkable effectiveness of these vaccines has been demonstrated, in the recent years, there have been many complaints about their risk-benefit profile due to Adverse Events Following Immunization (AEFI). The purpose of this study is to provide a support about the ongoing discussion on the safety profile of HPV vaccines based on real life data deriving from spontaneous reports of suspected AEFIs collected in the Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS). VAERS is a freely-available national vaccine safety surveillance database of AEFI, co-administered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA). We collected all the reports between January 2007 to December 2017 related to the HPV vaccines with a brand name (HPV2, HPV4, HPV9) or without (HPVX). A disproportionality analysis using Reporting Odds Ratio (ROR) with 95% confidence interval and p value ≤ 0.05 was performed. Over the 10-year period, 54889 reports of AEFI related to HPV vaccines reported in VAERS, corresponding to 224863 vaccine-event pairs, were retrieved. The highest number of reports was related to Gardasil (n = 42244), followed by Gardasil 9 (7212) and Cervarix (3904). The brand name of the HPV vaccine was not reported in 1529 cases. The two events more frequently reported and statistically significant for each vaccine were: dizziness (n = 5053) ROR = 1.28 (CI95% 1.24 – 1.31) and syncope (4808) ROR = 1.21 (1.17 – 1.25) for Gardasil. For Gardasil 9, injection site pain (305) ROR = 1.40 (1.25 – 1.57) and injection site erythema (297) ROR = 1.88 (1.67 – 2.10) and for Cervarix, headache (672) ROR = 1.14 (1.06 – 1.23) and loss of consciousness (528) ROR = 1.71 (1.57 – 1.87). In total, we collected 406 reports of death and 2461 cases of permanent disability in the ten-year period. The events consisting of incorrect vaccine storage or incorrect administration were not considered. The AEFI analysis showed that the most frequently reported events are non-serious and listed in the corresponding SmPCs. In addition to these, potential safety signals arose regarding less frequent and severe AEFIs that would deserve further investigation. This already happened with the referral of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for the adverse events POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome) and CRPS (Complex Regional Pain Syndrome) associated with anti-papillomavirus vaccines.

Keywords: adverse drug reactions, pharmacovigilance, safety, vaccines

Procedia PDF Downloads 141

Authors: Quentin C.P. Bourgogne, Vanessa Bouchart, Pierre Chevrier, Emmanuel Dattoli

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This study presents an experimental and theoretical work conducted on a PolyPhenylene Sulfide reinforced with 40%wt of short glass fibers (PPS GF40) and its matrix. Thermoplastics are widely used in the automotive industry to lightweight automotive parts. The replacement of metallic parts by thermoplastics is reaching under-the-hood parts, near the engine. In this area, the parts are subjected to high temperatures and are immersed in cooling liquid. This liquid is composed of water and glycol and can affect the mechanical properties of the composite. The aim of this work was thus to quantify the evolution of mechanical properties of the thermoplastic composite, as a function of temperature and liquid aging effects, in order to develop a reliable design of parts. An experimental campaign in the tensile mode was carried out at different temperatures and for various glycol proportions in the cooling liquid, for monotonic and cyclic loadings on a neat and a reinforced PPS. The results of these tests allowed to highlight some of the main physical phenomena occurring during these solicitations under tough hydro-thermal conditions. Indeed, the performed tests showed that temperature and liquid cooling aging can affect the mechanical behavior of the material in several ways. The more the cooling liquid contains water, the more the mechanical behavior is affected. It was observed that PPS showed a higher sensitivity to absorption than to chemical aggressiveness of the cooling liquid, explaining this dominant sensitivity. Two kinds of behaviors were noted: an elasto-plastic type under the glass transition temperature and a visco-pseudo-plastic one above it. It was also shown that viscosity is the leading phenomenon above the glass transition temperature for the PPS and could also be important under this temperature, mostly under cyclic conditions and when the stress rate is low. Finally, it was observed that soliciting this composite at high temperatures is decreasing the advantages of the presence of fibers. A new phenomenological model was then built to take into account these experimental observations. This new model allowed the prediction of the evolution of mechanical properties as a function of the loading environment, with a reduced number of parameters compared to precedent studies. It was also shown that the presented approach enables the description and the prediction of the mechanical response with very good accuracy (2% of average error at worst), over a wide range of hydrothermal conditions. A temperature-humidity equivalence principle was underlined for the PPS, allowing the consideration of aging effects within the proposed model. Then, a limit of improvement of the reachable accuracy was determinate for all models using this set of data by the application of an artificial intelligence-based model allowing a comparison between artificial intelligence-based models and phenomenological based ones.

Keywords: aging, analytical modeling, mechanical testing, polymer matrix composites, sequential model, thermomechanical

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Authors: Ekaterina Malova

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Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is a chronic illness requiring immense lifestyle changes to reduce the chance of life-threatening complications. Moving to a college may be the first time for a young adult with T1D to take responsibility for all the aspects of their diabetes care. In addition, people with T1D constantly face stigmatization and discrimination as a result of their health condition, which puts additional pressure on young adults with T1D. Hence, omissions in diabetes self-care often occur during the time of transition to college when both the social and physical environment of young adults changes drastically and contribute to the fact that emerging young adults remain one of the age groups with the highest hemoglobin levels and poorest diabetes control. However, despite potential severe health risks caused by a lack of proper diabetes self-care, little is known about the experiences of emerging adults embarking on a higher education journey as this population. Thus, young adults with type 1 diabetes are a 'forgotten group,' meaning that their experiences are rarely addressed by researchers. Given that self-disclosure and information-seeking can be challenging for individuals with stigmatized illnesses, online platforms like YouTube have become a popular medium of self-disclosure and information-seeking for people living with T1D. Thus, this study aims to provide an analysis of experiences that college students with T1D choose to share with the general public online and explore the nature of information being communicated by college students with T1D to the online community in personal narratives posted on YouTube. A systematic approach was used to retrieve a video sample by searching YouTube with keywords 'type 1 diabetes' and 'college,' with results ordered by relevance. A total of 18 videos were saved. Video lengths ranged from 2 to 28 minutes. The data were coded using NVivo. Video transcripts were coded and analyzed utilizing the thematic analysis method. Three key themes emerged from thematic analysis: 1) Advice, 2) Personal experience, and 3) Things I wish everyone knew about T1D. In addition, Theme 1 was divided into subtopics to differentiate between the most common types of advice: 1) Overcoming stigma and b) Seeking social support. The identified themes indicate that two groups of the population can potentially benefit from watching students’ video testimonies: 1) lay public and 2) other students with T1D. Given that students in the videos reported a lack of T1D education in the lay public, such video narratives can serve important educational purposes and reduce health stigma, while perceived similarity and identification with students in the videos may facilitate the transition of health information to other individuals with T1D and positively affect their diabetes routine. Thus, online video narratives can potentially serve both educational and persuasive purposes, empowering students with T1D to stay in control of T1D while succeeding academically.

Keywords: type 1 diabetes, college students, health communication, transition period

Procedia PDF Downloads 133

Authors: Mindaugas Liaudanskas, Darius Kviklys, Kristina Zymonė, Raimondas Raudonis, Jonas Viškelis, Norbertas Uselis, Pranas Viškelis, Valdimaras Janulis

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Apples are among the most commonly consumed fruits in the world. Based on data from the year 2014, approximately 84.63 million tons of apples are grown per annum. Apples are widely used in food industry to produce various products and drinks (juice, wine, and cider); they are also used unprocessed. Apples in human diet are an important source of different groups of biological active compounds that can positively contribute to the prevention of various diseases. They are a source of various biologically active substances – especially vitamins, organic acids, micro- and macro-elements, pectins, and phenolic, triterpenic, and other compounds. Triterpenic compounds, which are characterized by versatile biological activity, are the biologically active compounds found in apples that are among the most promising and most significant for human health. A specific analytical procedure including sample preparation and High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) analysis was developed, optimized, and validated for the detection of triterpenic compounds in the samples of different apples, their peels, and flesh from widespread apple cultivars 'Aldas', 'Auksis', 'Connel Red', 'Ligol', 'Lodel', and 'Rajka' grown in Lithuanian climatic conditions. The conditions for triterpenic compound extraction were optimized: the solvent of the extraction was 100% (v/v) acetone, and the extraction was performed in an ultrasound bath for 10 min. Isocratic elution (the eluents ratio being 88% (solvent A) and 12% (solvent B)) for a rapid separation of triterpenic compounds was performed. The validation of the methodology was performed on the basis of the ICH recommendations. The following characteristics of validation were evaluated: the selectivity of the method (specificity), precision, the detection and quantitation limits of the analytes, and linearity. The obtained parameters values confirm suitability of methodology to perform analysis of triterpenic compounds. Using the optimised and validated HPLC technique, four triterpenic compounds were separated and identified, and their specificity was confirmed. These compounds were corosolic acid, betulinic acid, oleanolic acid, and ursolic acid. Ursolic acid was the dominant compound in all the tested apple samples. The detected amount of betulinic acid was the lowest of all the identified triterpenic compounds. The greatest amounts of triterpenic compounds were detected in whole apple and apple peel samples of the 'Lodel' cultivar, and thus apples and apple extracts of this cultivar are potentially valuable for use in medical practice, for the prevention of various diseases, for adjunct therapy, for the isolation of individual compounds with a specific biological effect, and for the development and production of dietary supplements and functional food enriched in biologically active compounds. Acknowledgements. This work was supported by a grant from the Research Council of Lithuania, project No. MIP-17-8.

Keywords: apples, HPLC, triterpenic compounds, validation

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Authors: Danjuma Bawa

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This paper aimed at exploring the capabilities of Location-Allocation model in complementing the strides of the existing physical planning models in the location and distribution of facilities for regional consumption. The paper was designed to provide a blueprint to the Nigerian government and other donor agencies especially the Fertilizer Distribution Initiative (FDI) by the federal government for the revitalization of the terrorism ravaged regions. Theoretical underpinnings of central place theory related to spatial distribution, interrelationships, and threshold prerequisites were reviewed. The study showcased how Location-Allocation Model (L-AM) alongside Central Place Theory (CPT) was applied in Geographic Information System (GIS) environment to; map and analyze the spatial distribution of settlements; exploit their physical and economic interrelationships, and to explore their hierarchical and opportunistic influences. The study was purely spatial qualitative research which largely used secondary data such as; spatial location and distribution of settlements, population figures of settlements, network of roads linking them and other landform features. These were sourced from government ministries and open source consortium. GIS was used as a tool for processing and analyzing such spatial features within the dictum of CPT and L-AM to produce a comprehensive spatial digital plan for equitable and judicious location and distribution of fertilizer deports in the study area in an optimal way. Population threshold was used as yardstick for selecting suitable settlements that could stand as service centers to other hinterlands; this was accomplished using the query syntax in ArcMapTM. ArcGISTM’ network analyst was used in conducting location-allocation analysis for apportioning of groups of settlements around such service centers within a given threshold distance. Most of the techniques and models ever used by utility planners have been centered on straight distance to settlements using Euclidean distances. Such models neglect impedance cutoffs and the routing capabilities of networks. CPT and L-AM take into consideration both the influential characteristics of settlements and their routing connectivity. The study was undertaken in two terrorism ravaged Local Government Areas of Adamawa state. Four (4) existing depots in the study area were identified. 20 more depots in 20 villages were proposed using suitability analysis. Out of the 300 settlements mapped in the study area about 280 of such settlements where optimally grouped and allocated to the selected service centers respectfully within 2km impedance cutoff. This study complements the giant strides by the federal government of Nigeria by providing a blueprint for ensuring proper distribution of these public goods in the spirit of bringing succor to these terrorism ravaged populace. This will ardently at the same time help in boosting agricultural activities thereby lowering food shortage and raising per capita income as espoused by the government.

Keywords: central place theory, GIS, location-allocation, network analysis, urban and regional planning, welfare economics

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Authors: Moh'd Anwer Al-Shboul

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Jordan Customs (JC) has been established to achieve objectives that must be consistent with the guidance of the wise leadership and its aspirations toward tomorrow. Therefore, it has developed several needed tools to provide a distinguished service to simplify work procedures and used modern technologies. A supply chain (SC) consists of all parties that are involved directly or indirectly in order to fulfill a customer request, which includes manufacturers, suppliers, shippers, retailers and even customer brokers. Within each firm, the SC includes all functions involved in receiving a filling a customers’ requests; one of the main functions include customer service. JC and global SCs are evolving into dynamic environment, which requires flexibility, effective communication, and team management. Thus, human resources (HRs) insight in these areas are critical for the effective development of global process network. The importance of HRs has increased significantly due to the role of employees depends on their knowledge, competencies, abilities, skills, and motivations. Strategic planning in JC began at the end of the 1990’s including operational strategy for Human Resource Management and Development (HRM&D). However, a huge transformation in human resources happened at the end of 2006; new employees’ regulation for customs were prepared, approved and applied at the end of 2007. Therefore, many employees lost their positions, while others were selected based on professorial recruitment and selection process (enter new blood). One of several policies that were applied by human resources in JC department is job rotation. From the researcher’s point of view, it was not based on scientific basis to achieve its goals and objectives, which at the end leads to having a significant negative impact on the Organizational Performance (OP) and weak job rotation approach. The purpose of this study is to call attention to re-review the applying process and procedure of job rotation that HRM directorate is currently applied at JC. Furthermore, it presents an overview of managing the HRs in the SC network that affects their success. The research methodology employed in this study was described as qualitative by conducting few interviews with managers, internal employee, external clients and reviewing the related literature to collect some qualitative data from secondary sources. Thus, conducting frequently and unstructured job rotation policy (i.e. monthly) will have a significant negative impact on JC performance as a whole. The results of this study show that the main impacts will affect on three main elements in JC: (1) internal employees' performance; (2) external clients, who are dealing with customs services; and finally, JC performance as a whole. In order to implement a successful and perfect job rotation technique at JC in a scientific way and to achieve its goals and objectives; JCs should be taken into consideration the proposed solutions and recommendations that will be presented in this study.

Keywords: efficiency, supply chain, human resources, job rotation, organizational performance, Jordan customs

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Authors: Abida Mariam, Anwaar Ahmed, Asif Ahmad, Muhammad Sheeraz Ahmad, Muhammad Akram Khan, Muhammad Mazahir

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The plant olive (Olea europaea L.) is known for its commercial significance due to nutritional and health benefits. Pakistan is ranked 4th among countries who import olive oil whereas, 70% of edible oil is imported to fulfil the needs of the country. There exists great potential for Olea europaea cultivation in Pakistan. The popularity and cultivation of olive fruit has increased in recent past due to its high socio-economic and health significance. There exist almost negligible data on the chemical composition of extra virgin olive oil extracted from cultivars grown in Pothwar, an area with arid climate conducive for growth of olive trees. Keeping in view these factors a study has been conducted to characterize the olive oil extracted from olive cultivars collected from Pothwar regions of Pakistan for their nutritional potential and value addition. Ten olive cultivars (Gemlik, Coratina, Sevillano, Manzanilla, Leccino, Koroneiki, Frantoio, Arbiquina, Earlik and Ottobratica) were collected from Barani Agriculture Research Institute, Chakwal. Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) was extracted by cold pressing and centrifuging of olive fruits. The highest amount of oil was yielded in Coratina (23.9%) followed by Frantoio (23.7%), Koroneiki (22.8%), Sevillano (22%), Ottobratica (22%), Leccino (20.5%), Arbiquina (19.2%), Manzanilla (17.2%), Earlik (14.4%) and Gemllik (13.1%). The extracted virgin olive oil was studied for various physico- chemical properties and fatty acid profile. The Physical and chemical properties i.e., characteristic odor and taste, light yellow color with no foreign matter, insoluble impurities (≤0.08), fee fatty acid (0.1 to 0.8), acidity (0.5 to 1.6 mg/g acid), peroxide value (1.5 to 5.2 meqO2/kg), Iodine value (82 to 90), saponification value (186 to 192 mg/g) and unsaponifiable matter (4 to 8g/kg), ultraviolet spectrophotometric analysis (k232 and k270), showed values in the acceptable range, established by PSQCA and IOOC set for extra virgin olive oil. Olive oil was analyzed by Near Infra-Red spectrophotometry (NIR) for fatty acids sin olive oils which were found as: palmitic, palmitoleic, stearic, oleic, linoleic and alpha-linolenic. Major fatty acid was Oleic acid in the highest percentage ranging from (55 to 66.1%), followed by linoleic (10.4 to 20.4%), palmitic (13.8 to 19.5%), stearic (3.9 to 4.4%), palmitoleic (0.3 to 1.7%) and alpha-linolenic (0.9 to 1.7%). The results were significant with differences in parameters analyzed for all ten cultivars which confirm that genetic factors are important contributors in the physico-chemical characteristics of oil. The olive oil showed superior physical and chemical properties and recommended as one of the healthiest forms of edible oil. This study will help consumers to be more aware of and make better choices of healthy oils available locally thus contributing towards their better health.

Keywords: characterization, extra virgin olive oil, oil yield, fatty acids

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Authors: James G. Matthew, Seonmin Huh, Frank X. Bennett

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English for Specific Purposes, ESP, aims to equip learners with necessary English language skills. Many ESP programs address language skills for job performance, including reading job related documents and oral proficiency. Within ESP is English for occupational purposes, EOP, which centers around developing communicative competence for the globalized workplace. Many ESP and EOP courses lack the content needed to assist students to progress at work, resulting in the need to create lexical compilation for different professions. It is important to teach communicative competence and soft skills for real job-related problem situations and address the complexities of the real world to help students to be successful in their professions. ESP and EOP research is therefore trying to balance both profession-specific educational contents as well as international multi-disciplinary language skills for the globalized workforce. The current study will build upon the existing discussion by developing pedagogy to assist students in their career through developing a strong practical command of relevant English vocabulary. Our research question focuses on the pedagogy two professors incorporated in their English for employment courses. The current study is a qualitative case study on the modes of teaching delivery for EOP in South Korea. Two foreign professors teaching at two different universities in South Korea volunteered for the study to explore their teaching practices. Both professors’ curriculums included the components of employment-related concept vocabulary, business presentations, CV/resume and cover letter preparation, and job interview preparation. All the pre-made recorded video lectures, live online class sessions with students, teachers’ lesson plans, teachers’ class materials, students’ assignments, and midterm and finals video conferences were collected for data analysis. The study then focused on unpacking representative patterns in their teaching methods. The professors used their strengths as native speakers to extend the class discussion from narrow and restricted conversations to giving students broader opportunities to practice authentic English conversation. The methods of teaching utilized three main steps to extend the conversation. Firstly, students were taught concept vocabulary. Secondly, the vocabulary was then combined in speaking activities where students had to solve scenarios, and the students were required to expand on the given forms of words and language expressions. Lastly, the students had conversations in English, using the language learnt. The conversations observed in both classes were those of authentic, expanded English communication and this way of expanding concept vocabulary lessons into extended conversation is one representative pedagogical approach that both professors took. Extended English conversation, therefore, is crucial for EOP education.

Keywords: concept vocabulary, english as a foreign language, english for employment, extended conversation

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Authors: Ralph Nyadu-Addo, Francis Matambalya, Utz Dornberger

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The global music industry is a multi-billion dollar sector. The potential of Africa’s music industry is widely recognised in the socio-economic development milieu. It has impacted positively on several sectors including most especially the tourism, media and information, communication technology (ICT) among others. It is becoming increasingly clear that even in Africa (as demonstrated in Nigeria) that in addition to its intrinsic value, the sector has significant economic returns. UNCTAD observed, the creative industries offer some of the best prospects for high growth in least developed countries. The statistics from Africa may be far lower than similar sectors in developed countries but it goes to give further credence to several UNCTAD publications which say the creative industry is under researched and its potential under-estimated but holds the key to its rapid development The emerging creative economy (music in particular) has become a leading component of economic growth, employment, trade, innovation, and social cohesion in many countries. In line with these developments, the Ghana government recognizes the potential that the Creative Industries have to shape and reinforce Ghana’s economic growth. Creative sectors, particularly music, tend to rely less on sophisticated infrastructure or capital-intensive investment. Potential is particularly abundant in Africa, where musical creativity is rich, diverse, well-loved, and constantly evolving while drawing on strong traditions. The development of a popular music industry thus represents low-hanging fruit for most African economies says the World Bank. As we shift towards economic diversification using the creative industry, value is increasingly created at the intersection of arts, business and technology. Cultural and creative entrepreneurs are leading this trend. It is one of the areas where value is captured within the country as emerging trends have shown in Nigeria and Ghana among others. Yet, evidence shows that the potential of the cultural and creative sectors remains largely untapped. Furthermore, its socio-economic impact remains under-researched in many developing countries and its dynamics unknown. Despite its huge influence on music repertoire across the globe, most countries in Africa have not historically been significant markets for the international music industry. Today, that is beginning to change. Generally, reliable and adequate literature about music in the sub-region is difficult to obtain. The growing interests in academia and business cycles about a reliable data on the growing music industry in developing countries have called for an urgent need to undertake this research. Research questions: i. Who are the major stakeholders in the music value chain in Ghana? ii. How much of value is captured domestically iii. What is the economic impact of the Ghanaian music industry iv. How has the advent of ICT (internet) impacted on the music landscape? Research sources will be mainly through interviews of major stakeholders, baseline study of the industry by KPMG and content analysis of related newspapers and magazines.

Keywords: economic impact, information communications technology (ICT), music-industry, value chain

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Authors: Oscar Nieto-Garzón, Angélica Lozano

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In urban areas, on-road freight transportation creates several social and environmental externalities. Then, it is crucial that freight transport considers not only economic aspects, like retailer distribution cost reduction and service improvement, but also environmental effects such as global CO2 and local emissions (e.g. Particulate Matter, NOX, CO) and noise. Inadequate infrastructure development, high rate of urbanization, the increase of motorization, and the lack of transportation planning are characteristics that urban areas from developing countries share. The Metropolitan Area of Mexico City (MAMC), the Metropolitan Area of São Paulo (MASP), and Bogota are three of the largest urban areas in Latin America where air pollution is often a problem associated with emissions from mobile sources. The effect of the lockdown due to COVID-19 was analyzedfor these urban areas, comparing the same period (January to August) of years 2016 – 2019 with 2020. A strong reduction in the concentration of primary criteria pollutants emitted by road traffic were observed at the beginning of 2020 and after the lockdown measures.Daily mean concentration of NOx decreased 40% in the MAMC, 34% in the MASP, and 62% in Bogota. Daily mean ozone levels increased after the lockdown measures in the three urban areas, 25% in MAMC, 30% in the MASP and 60% in Bogota. These changes in emission patterns from mobile sources drastically changed the ambient atmospheric concentrations of CO and NOX. The CO/NOX ratioat the morning hours is often used as an indicator of mobile sources emissions. In 2020, traffic from cars and light vehicles was significantly reduced due to the first lockdown, but buses and trucks had not restrictions. In theory, it implies a decrease in CO and NOX from cars or light vehicles, maintaining the levels of NOX by trucks(or lower levels due to the congestion reduction). At rush hours, traffic was reduced between 50% and 75%, so trucks could get higher speeds, which would reduce their emissions. By means an emission model, it was found that an increase in the average speed (75%) would reduce the emissions (CO, NOX, and PM) from diesel trucks by up to 30%. It was expected that the value of CO/NOXratio could change due to thelockdownrestrictions. However, although there was asignificant reduction of traffic, CO/NOX kept its trend, decreasing to 8-9 in 2020. Hence, traffic restrictions had no impact on the CO/NOX ratio, although they did reduce vehicle emissions of CO and NOX. Therefore, these emissions may not adequately represent the change in the vehicle emission patterns, or this ratio may not be a good indicator of emissions generated by vehicles. From the comparison of the theoretical data and those observed during the lockdown, results that the real NOX reduction was lower than the theoretical reduction. The reasons could be that there are other sources of NOX emissions, so there would be an over-representation of NOX emissions generated by diesel vehicles, or there is an underestimation of CO emissions. Further analysis needs to consider this ratioto evaluate the emission inventories and then to extend these results forthe determination of emission control policies to non-mobile sources.

Keywords: COVID-19, emissions, freight transport, latin American metropolis

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Authors: M. Sirhan, S. Bekhor, A. Sidess

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In-service pavements deteriorate with time due to traffic wheel loads, environment, and climate conditions. Pavement deterioration leads to a reduction in their serviceability and structural behavior. Consequently, proper maintenance and rehabilitation (M&R) are necessary actions to keep the in-service pavement network at the desired level of serviceability. Due to resource and financial constraints, the pavement management system (PMS) prioritizes roads most in need of maintenance and rehabilitation action. It recommends a suitable action for each pavement based on the performance and surface condition of each road in the network. The pavement performance and condition are usually quantified and evaluated by different types of roughness-based and stress-based indices. Examples of such indices are Pavement Serviceability Index (PSI), Pavement Serviceability Ratio (PSR), Mean Panel Rating (MPR), Pavement Condition Rating (PCR), Ride Number (RN), Profile Index (PI), International Roughness Index (IRI), and Pavement Condition Index (PCI). PCI is commonly used in PMS as an indicator of the extent of the distresses on the pavement surface. PCI values range between 0 and 100; where 0 and 100 represent a highly deteriorated pavement and a newly constructed pavement, respectively. The PCI value is a function of distress type, severity, and density (measured as a percentage of the total pavement area). PCI is usually calculated iteratively using the 'Paver' program developed by the US Army Corps. The use of soft computing techniques, especially Artificial Neural Network (ANN), has become increasingly popular in the modeling of engineering problems. ANN techniques have successfully modeled the performance of the in-service pavements, due to its efficiency in predicting and solving non-linear relationships and dealing with an uncertain large amount of data. Typical regression models, which require a pre-defined relationship, can be replaced by ANN, which was found to be an appropriate tool for predicting the different pavement performance indices versus different factors as well. Subsequently, the objective of the presented study is to develop and train an ANN model that predicts the PCI values. The model’s input consists of percentage areas of 11 different damage types; alligator cracking, swelling, rutting, block cracking, longitudinal/transverse cracking, edge cracking, shoving, raveling, potholes, patching, and lane drop off, at three severity levels (low, medium, high) for each. The developed model was trained using 536,000 samples and tested on 134,000 samples. The samples were collected and prepared by The National Transport Infrastructure Company. The predicted results yielded satisfactory compliance with field measurements. The proposed model predicted PCI values with relatively low standard deviations, suggesting that it could be incorporated into the PMS for PCI determination. It is worth mentioning that the most influencing variables for PCI prediction are damages related to alligator cracking, swelling, rutting, and potholes.

Keywords: artificial neural networks, computer programming, pavement condition index, pavement management, performance prediction

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Authors: Sudikshya Bhandari, Jonathan K. London

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The earthquake of April 2015 was one of the biggest disasters in the history of Nepal. The epicenter was located near Barpak, north of the Gorkha district. Before the disaster, this settlement was a compact and homogeneous settlement manifesting its uniqueness through the social and cultural activities, and a distinct vernacular architecture. Narrow alleys with stone paved streets, buildings with slate roofs, and common spaces between the houses made this settlement socially, culturally, and environmentally cohesive. With the presence of micro hydro power plants, local economic activities enabled the local community to exist and thrive. Agriculture and animal rearing are the sources of livelihood for the majority of families, along with the booming homestays (where local people welcome guests to their home, as a business) and local shops. Most of these activities are difficult to find as the houses have been destroyed with the earthquake and the process of reconstruction has been transforming the outlook of the settlement. This study characterized the drastic transformation in Barpak post-earthquake, and analyzed the consequences of the reconstruction process. In addition, it contributes to comprehending a broader representation about unsustainability created by the lack of contextual post-disaster development. Since the research is based in a specific area, a case study approach was used. Sample houses were selected on the basis of ethnicity and house typology. Mixed methods such as key informant and semi structured interviews, focus groups, observations and photographs are used for the collection of data. The research focus is predominantly on the physical change of the house typology from vernacular to externally adopted designs. This transformation of the house entails socio-cultural changes such as social fragmentation with differences among the rich and the poor and decreases in the social connectivity within families and neighborhood. Families have found that new houses require more maintenance and resources that have increased their economic expenses. The study also found that the reconstructed houses are not thermally comfortable in the cold climate of Barpak, leading to the increased use of different sources of heating like electric heaters and more firewood. Lack of storage spaces for crops and livestock have discouraged them to pursue traditional means of livelihood and depend more on buying food from stores, ultimately making it less economical for most of the families. The transformation of space leading to the economic, social and cultural changes demonstrates the unsustainability of Barpak. Conclusions from the study suggest place based and inclusive planning and policy formations that include locals as partners, identifying the possible ways to minimize the impact and implement these recommendations into the future policy and planning scenarios.

Keywords: earthquake, Nepal, reconstruction, settlement, transformation

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Authors: Yohanna Panshak

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The impact of macroeconomic instability on economic growth and prosperity has been at forefront in many discourses among researchers and policy makers and has generated a lot of controversies over the years. This has generated series of research efforts towards understanding the remote causes of this phenomenon; its nature, determinants and how it can be targeted and mitigated. While others have opined that the root cause of macroeconomic flux in Nigeria is attributed to Oil-Price volatility, others viewed the issue as resulting from some constellation of structural constraints both within and outside the shores of the country. Research works of scholars such as [Akpan (2009), Aliyu (2009), Olomola (2006), etc] argue that oil volatility can determine economic growth or has the potential of doing so. On the contrary, [Darby (1982), Cerralo (2005) etc] share the opinion that it can slow down growth. The earlier argument rest on the understanding that for a net balance of oil exporting economies, price upbeat directly increases real national income through higher export earnings, whereas, the latter allude to the case of net-oil importing countries (which experience price rises, increased input costs, reduced non-oil demand, low investment, fall in tax revenues and ultimately an increase in budget deficit which will further reduce welfare level). Therefore, assessing the precise impact of oil price volatility on virtually any economy is a function of whether it is an oil-exporting or importing nation. Research on oil price volatility and its outcome on the growth of the Nigerian economy are evolving and in a march towards resolving Nigeria’s macroeconomic instability as long as oil revenue still remain the mainstay and driver of socio-economic engineering. Recently, a major importer of Nigeria’s oil- United States made a historic breakthrough in more efficient source of energy for her economy with the capacity of serving significant part of the world. This undoubtedly suggests a threat to the exchange earnings of the country. The need to understand fluctuation in its major export commodity is critical. This paper leans on the Renaissance growth theory with greater focus on theoretical work of Lee (1998); a leading proponent of this school who makes a clear cut of difference between oil price changes and oil price volatility. Based on the above background, the research seeks to empirically examine the impact oil-price volatility on government expenditure using quarterly time series data spanning 1986:1 to 2014:4. Vector Auto Regression (VAR) econometric approach shall be used. The structural properties of the model shall be tested using Augmented Dickey-Fuller and Phillips-Perron. Relevant diagnostics tests of heteroscedasticity, serial correlation and normality shall also be carried out. Policy recommendation shall be offered on the empirical findings and believes it assist policy makers not only in Nigeria but the world-over.

Keywords: oil-price, volatility, prosperity, budget, expenditure

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Authors: H. Alqunayeer, S. Zamir

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Blended learning, an ideal amalgamation of online learning and face to face traditional approach is a new approach that may result in outstanding outcomes in the realm of teaching and learning. The dexterity and effectiveness offered by e-learning experience cannot be guaranteed in a traditional classroom, whereas one-to-one interaction the essential element of learning that can only be found in a traditional classroom. In recent years, a spectacular expansion in the incorporation of technology in language teaching and learning is observed in many universities of Saudi Arabia. Some universities recognize the importance of blending face-to-face with online instruction in language pedagogy, Qassim University is one of the many universities adopting Blackboard Learning Management system (LMS). The university has adopted this new mode of teaching/learning in year 2015. Although the experience is immature; however great pedagogical transformations are anticipated in the university through this new approach. This paper examines the role of blended language learning with particular reference to the influence of Blackboard Learning Management System on the development of English language learning for EFL learners registered in Bachelors of English language program. This paper aims at exploring three main areas: (i) the present status of Blended learning in the educational process in Saudi Arabia especially in Qassim University by providing a survey report on the number of training courses on Blackboard LMS conducted for the male and female teachers at various colleges of Qassim University, (ii) a survey on teachers perception about the utility, application and the outcome of using blended Learning approach in teaching English language skills courses, (iii) the students’ views on the efficiency of Blended learning approach in learning English language skills courses. Besides, analysis of students’ limitations and challenges related to the experience of blended learning via Blackboard, the suggestion and recommendations offered by the language learners have also been thought-out. The study is empirical in nature. In order to gather data on the afore mentioned areas survey questionnaire method has been used: in order to study students’ perception, a 5 point Likert-scale questionnaire has been distributed to 200 students of English department registered in Bachelors in English program (level 5 through level 8). Teachers’ views have been surveyed with the help of interviewing 25 EFL teachers skilled in using Blackboard LMS in their lectures. In order to ensure the validity and reliability of questionnaire, the inter-rater approach and Cronbach’s Alpha analysis have been used respectively. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) has been used to analyze the students’ perception about the productivity of the Blended approach in learning English language skills. The analysis of feedback by Saudi teachers and students about the usefulness, ingenuity, and productivity of Blended Learning via Blackboard LMS highlights the need of encouraging and expanding the implementation of this new approach into the field of English language teaching in Saudi Arabia, in order to augment congenial learning aura. Furthermore, it is hoped that the propositions and practical suggestions offered by the study will be functional for other similar learning environments.

Keywords: blended learning, black board learning management system, English as foreign language (EFL) learners, EFL teachers

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Authors: Timothy Akinwande, Eddie Hui, Karien Dekker

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Housing the urban poor remains a persistent challenge, despite evident research attention over many years. It is, therefore, pertinent to investigate affordable housing provision challenges with novel approaches. For innovative solutions to affordable housing constraints, it is apposite to thoroughly examine housing solutions vis a vis the key elements of the housing supply value chain (HSVC), which are housing finance, housing construction and land acquisition. A pragmatic analysis will examine affordable housing solutions from demand and supply perspectives to arrive at consolidated solutions from bilateral viewpoints. This study thoroughly examined informal housing finance strategies of the urban poor and diligently investigated expert opinion on affordable housing finance solutions. The research questions were: (1) What mutual grounds exist between informal housing finance solutions of the urban poor and housing expert solutions to affordable housing finance constraints in developing economies? (2) What are effective approaches to affordable housing finance in developing economies from an integrated demand - supply perspective? Semi-structured interviews were conducted in the 5 largest slums of Lagos, Nigeria, with 40 informal settlers for demand-oriented solutions, while focus group discussion and in-depth interviews were conducted with 12 housing experts in Nigeria for supply-oriented solutions. Following a rigorous thematic, content and descriptive analyses of data using NVivo and Excel, findings ascertained mutual solutions from both demand and supply standpoints that can be consolidated into more effective affordable housing finance solutions in Nigeria. Deliberate finance models that recognise and include the finance realities of the urban poor was found to be the most significant supply-side housing finance solution, representing 25.4% of total expert responses. Findings also show that 100% of sampled urban poor engage in vocations where they earn little irregular income or zero income, limiting their housing finance capacities and creditworthiness. Survey revealed that the urban poor are involved in community savings and employ microfinance institutions within the informal settlements to tackle their housing finance predicaments. These are informal finance models of the urban poor, revealing common grounds between demand and supply solutions for affordable housing financing. Effective, affordable housing approach will be to modify, institutionalise and incorporate the informal finance strategies of the urban poor into deliberate government policies. This consolidation of solutions from demand and supply perspectives can eliminate the persistent misalliance between affordable housing demand and affordable housing supply. This study provides insights into mutual housing solutions from demand and supply perspectives, and findings are informative for effective, affordable housing provision approaches in developing countries. This study is novel in consolidating affordable housing solutions from demand and supply viewpoints, especially in relation to housing finance as a key component of HSVC. The framework for effective, affordable housing finance in developing economies from a consolidated viewpoint generated in this study is significant for the achievement of sustainable development goals, especially goal 11 for sustainable, resilient and inclusive cities. Findings are vital for future housing studies.

Keywords: affordable housing, affordable housing finance, developing economies, effective affordable housing, housing policy, urban poor, sustainable development goal, sustainable affordable housing

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Authors: Cinzia Russi, Chiyo Nishida

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Using data from online corpora (Spanish CREA, Italian CORIS), this paper examines the relatively understudied use of Spanish se and Italian si exemplified in (1) and (2), respectively. (1) El rojo es … el que se come a los demás. ‘The red (bottle) is the one that outshines/*eats the rest.’(2) … ebbe anche la saggezza di mangiarsi tutto il suo patrimonio. ‘… he even had the wisdom to squander/*eat all his estate.’ In these sentences, se/si accompanies the consumption verb comer/mangiare ‘to eat’, without which the sentences would not be interpreted appropriately. This se/si cannot readily be attributed to any of the multiple functions so far identified in the literature: reflexive, ergative, middle/passive, inherent, benefactive, and complete consumptive. In particular, this paper argues against the feasibility of a recent construction-based analysis of sentences like (1) and (2), which situates se/si within a prototype-based network of meanings all deriving from the central meaning of 'COMPLETE CONSUMPTION' (e.g., Alice se comió toda la torta/Alicesi è mangiata tutta la torta ‘John ate the whole cake’). Clearly, the empirical adequacy of such an account is undermined by the fact that the events depicted in the se/si-sentences at issue do not always entail complete consumption because they may lack an INCREMENTAL THEME, the distinguishing property of complete consumption. Alternatively, it is proposed that the sentences under analysis represent instances of verbal METAPHORICAL EXTENSION: se/si represents an explicit marker of this cognitive process, which has independently developed from the complete consumptive se/si, and the meaning extension is captured by the general tenets of Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT). Two conceptual domains, Source (DS) and target (DT), are related by similarity, assigning an appropriate metaphorical interpretation to DT. The domains paired here are comer/mangiare (DS) and comerse/mangiarsi (DT). The eating event (DS) involves (a) the physical process of xEATER grinding yFOOD-STUFF into pieces and swallowing it; and (b) the aspect of xEATER savoring yFOOD-STUFF and being nurtured by it. In the physical act of eating, xEATER has dominance and exercises his force over yFOOD-STUFF. This general sense of dominance and force is mapped onto DT and is manifested in the ways exemplified in (1) and (2), and many others. According to CMT, two other properties are observed in each pair of DS & DT. First, DS tends to be more physical and concrete and DT more abstract, and systematic mappings are established between constituent elements in DS and those in DT: xEATER corresponds to the element that destroys and yFOOD-STUFF to the element that is destroyed in DT, as exemplified in (1) and (2). Though the metaphorical extension marker se/si appears by far most frequently with comer/mangiare in the corpora, similar systematic mappings are observed in several other verb pairs, for example, jugar/giocare ‘to play (games)’ and jugarse/giocarsi ‘to jeopardize/risk (life, reputation, etc.)’, perder/perdere ‘to lose (an object)’ and perderse/perdersi ‘to miss out on (an event)’, etc. Thus, this study provides evidence that languages may indeed formally mark metaphor using means available to them.

Keywords: complete consumption value, conceptual metaphor, Italian si/Spanish se, metaphorical extension.

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Authors: Mikko Salminen, Niklas Ravaja

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Emotional intelligence (EI) consists of skills for monitoring own emotions and emotions of others, skills for discriminating different emotions, and skills for using this information in thinking and actions. EI enhances, for example, work outcomes and organizational climate. We suggest that the role and manifestations of EI should also be studied in real leadership situations, especially during the emotional, social interaction. Leadership is essentially a process to influence others for reaching a certain goal. This influencing happens by managerial processes and computer-mediated communication (e.g. e-mail) but also by face-to-face, where facial expressions have a significant role in conveying emotional information. Persons with high EI are typically perceived more positively, and they have better social skills. We hypothesize, that during social interaction high EI enhances the ability to detect other’s emotional state and controlling own emotional expressions. We suggest, that emotionally intelligent leader’s experience less stress during social leadership situations, since they have better skills in dealing with the related emotional work. Thus the high-EI leaders would be more able to enjoy these situations, but also be more efficient in choosing appropriate expressions for building constructive dialogue. We suggest, that emotionally intelligent leaders show more positive emotional expressions than low-EI leaders. To study these hypotheses we observed performance review discussions of 40 leaders (24 female) with 78 (45 female) of their followers. Each leader held a discussion with two followers. Psychophysiological methods were chosen because they provide objective and continuous data from the whole duration of the discussions. We recorded sweating of the hands (electrodermal activation) by electrodes placed to the fingers of the non-dominant hand to assess the stress-related physiological arousal of the leaders. In addition, facial electromyography was recorded from cheek (zygomaticus major, activated during e.g. smiling) and periocular (orbicularis oculi, activated during smiling) muscles using electrode pairs placed on the left side of the face. Leader’s trait EI was measured with a 360 questionnaire, filled by each leader’s followers, peers, managers and by themselves. High-EI leaders had less sweating of the hands (p = .007) than the low-EI leaders. It is thus suggested that the high-EI leaders experienced less physiological stress during the discussions. Also, high scores in the factor “Using of emotions” were related to more facial muscle activation indicating positive emotional expressions (cheek muscle: p = .048; periocular muscle: p = .076, almost statistically significant). The results imply that emotionally intelligent managers are positively relaxed during s social leadership situations such as a performance review discussion. The current study also highlights the importance of EI in face-to-face social interaction, given the central role facial expressions have in interaction situations. The study also offers new insight to the biological basis of trait EI. It is suggested that the identification, forming, and intelligently using of facial expressions are skills that could be trained during leadership development courses.

Keywords: emotional intelligence, leadership, performance review discussion, psychophysiology, social interaction

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Authors: Ipek Goktepe, Israa Elnemr, Hammad Asim, Hao Feng, Mosbah Kushad, Hee Park, Sheikha Alzeyara, Mohammad Alhajri

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Food safety management in Qatar is under the shared oversight of multiple agencies in two government ministries (Ministry of Public Health and Ministry of Municipality and Environment). Despite the increasing number and diversity of the food service establishments, no systematic food surveillance system is in place in the country, which creates a gap in terms of determining the food safety attitudes and practices applied in the food service operations. Therefore, this study seeks to partially address this gap through determination of food safety knowledge among food handlers, specifically with respect to food preparation and handling practices, and sanitation methods applied in food service providers (FSPs) and a major market in Doha, Qatar. The study covered a sample of 53 FSPs randomly selected out of 200 FSPs. Face-to-face interviews with managers at participating FSPs were conducted using a 40-questions survey. Additionally, 120 produce handlers who are in direct contact with fresh produce at the major produce market in Doha were surveyed using a questionnaire containing 21 questions. A written informed consent was obtained from each survey participant. The survey data were analyzed using the chi-square test and correlation test. The significance was evaluated at p ˂ 0.05. The results from the FSPs surveys indicated that the average age of FSPs was 11 years, with the oldest and newest being established in 1982 and 2015, respectively. Most managers (66%) had college degree and 68% of them were trained on the food safety management system known as HACCP. These surveys revealed that FSP managers’ training and education level were highly correlated with the probability of their employees receiving food safety training while managers with lower education level had no formal training on food safety for themselves nor for their employees. Casual sit-in and fine dine-in restaurants consistently kept records (100%), followed by fast food (36%), and catering establishments (14%). The produce handlers’ survey results showed that none of the workers had any training on safe produce handling practices. The majority of the workers were in the age range of 31-40 years (37%) and only 38% of them had high-school degree. Over 64% of produce handlers claimed to wash their hands 4-5 times per day but field observations pointed limited handwashing as there was soap in the settings. This observation suggests potential food safety risks since a significant correlation (p ˂ 0.01) between the educational level and the hand-washing practices was determined. This assessment on food safety culture through determination of food and produce handlers' level of knowledge and practices, the first of its kind in Qatar, demonstrated that training and education are important factors which directly impact the food safety culture in FSPs and produce markets. These findings should help in identifying the need for on-site training of food handlers for effective food safety practices in food establishments in Qatar.

Keywords: food safety, food safety culture, food service providers, food handlers

Procedia PDF Downloads 317

Authors: Federica Ceccoli

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Italy is undergoing one of its largest migratory waves, and Italian schools are reporting the highest numbers of multilingual students coming from immigrant families and speaking minority languages. For these pupils, who have not perfectly acquired their mother tongue yet, learning a second language may represent a burden on their linguistic development and may have some repercussions on their school performances and relational skills. These are some of the reasons why they have turned out to be those who have the worst grades and the highest school drop-out rates. However, despite these negative outcomes, it has been demonstrated that multilingual immigrant students frequently act as translators or language brokers for their peers or family members who do not speak Italian fluently. This activity has been defined as Child Language Brokering (hereinafter CLB) and it has become a common practice especially in minority communities as immigrants’ children often learn the host language much more quickly than their parents, thus contributing to their family life by acting as language and cultural mediators. This presentation aims to analyse the data collected by a research carried out during the school year 2014-2015 in the province of Ravenna, in the Northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna, among 126 immigrant students attending junior high schools. The purpose of the study was to analyse by means of a structured questionnaire whether multilingualism matched with language brokering experiences or not and to examine the perspectives of those students who reported having acted as translators using their linguistic knowledge to help people understand each other. The questionnaire consisted of 34 items roughly divided into 2 sections. The first section required multilingual students to provide personal details like their date and place of birth, as well as details about their families (number of siblings, parents’ jobs). In the second section, they were asked about the languages spoken in their families as well as their language brokering experience. The in-depth questionnaire sought to investigate a wide variety of brokering issues such as frequency and purpose of the activity, where, when and which documents young language brokers translate and how they feel about this practice. The results have demonstrated that CLB is a very common practice among immigrants’ children living in Ravenna and almost all students reported positive feelings when asked about their brokering experience with their families and also at school. In line with previous studies, responses to the questionnaire item regarding the people they brokered for revealed that the category ranking first is parents. Similarly, language-brokering activities tend to occur most often at home and the documents they translate the most (either orally or in writing) are notes from teachers. Such positive feelings towards this activity together with the evidence that it occurs very often in schools have laid the foundation for further projects on how this common practice may be valued and used to strengthen the linguistic skills of these multilingual immigrant students and thus their school performances.

Keywords: immigration, language brokering, multilingualism, students' points of view

Procedia PDF Downloads 161

Authors: Erol Bayraktarov, Asya Ilgun, Thomas Schickl, Alexandre Campo, Nicolis Stamatios

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Traditional means of harvesting honey are often stressful for honeybees. Each time honey is collected a portion of the colony can die. In consequence, the colonies’ resilience to environmental stressors will decrease and this ultimately contributes to the global problem of honeybee colony losses. As part of the project HIVEOPOLIS, we design and build a different kind of beehive, incorporating technology to reduce negative impacts of beekeeping procedures, including honey harvesting. A first step in maintaining more sustainable honey harvesting practices is to design honey storage frames that can automate the honey collection procedures. This way, beekeepers save time, money, and labor by not having to open the hive and remove frames, and the honeybees' nest stays undisturbed.This system shows promising features, e.g., high reliability which could be a key advantage compared to current honey harvesting technologies.Our original concept of fractional honey harvesting has been to encourage the removal of honey only from "safe" locations and at levels that would leave the bees enough high-nutritional-value honey. In this abstract, we describe the current state of our honey harvester, its technology and areas to improve. The honey harvester works by separating the honeycomb cells away from the comb foundation; the movement and the elastic nature of honey supports this functionality. The honey sticks to the foundation, because of the surface tension forces amplified by the geometry. In the future, by monitoring the weight and therefore the capped honey cells on our honey harvester frames, we will be able to remove honey as soon as the weight measuring system reports that the comb is ready for harvesting. Higher viscosity honey or crystalized honey cause challenges in temperate locations when a smooth flow of honey is required. We use resistive heaters to soften the propolis and wax to unglue the moving parts during extraction. These heaters can also melt the honey slightly to the needed flow state. Precise control of these heaters allows us to operate the device for several purposes. We use ‘Nitinol’ springs that are activated by heat as an actuation method. Unlike conventional stepper or servo motors, which we also evaluated throughout development, the springs and heaters take up less space and reduce the overall system complexity. Honeybee acceptance was unknown until we actually inserted a device inside a hive. We not only observed bees walking on the artificial comb but also building wax, filling gaps with propolis and storing honey. This also shows that bees don’t mind living in spaces and hives built from 3D printed materials. We do not have data yet to prove that the plastic materials do not affect the chemical composition of the honey. We succeeded in automatically extracting stored honey from the device, demonstrating a useful extraction flow and overall effective operation this way.

Keywords: honey harvesting, honeybee, hiveopolis, nitinol

Procedia PDF Downloads 89

Authors: Nuray Baltaci, Kursat Cagiltay

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University rankings which can be seen as nouveau topic are at the center of focus and followed closely by different parties. Students are interested in university rankings in order to make informed decisions about the selection of their candidate future universities. University administrators and academicians can utilize them to see and evaluate their universities’ relative performance compared to other institutions in terms of including but not limited to academic, economic, and international outlook issues. Local institutions may use those ranking systems, as TUBITAK (The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey) and YOK (Council of Higher Education) do in Turkey, to support students and give scholarships when they want to apply for undergraduate and graduate studies abroad. When it is considered that the ranking systems are concerned by this many different parties, the importance of having clear, easy to use and well-designed websites by ranking institutions will be apprehended. In this paper, a usability study for the websites of four different global university ranking institutions, namely Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU), Times Higher Education, QS and University Ranking by Academic Performance (URAP), was conducted. User-based approach was adopted and usability tests were conducted with 10 graduate students at Middle East Technical University in Ankara, Turkey. Before performing the formal usability tests, a pilot study had been completed to reflect the necessary changes to the settings of the study. Participants’ demographics, task completion times, paths traced to complete tasks, and their satisfaction levels on each task and website were collected. According to the analyses of the collected data, those ranking websites were compared in terms of efficiency, effectiveness and satisfaction dimensions of usability as pointed in ISO 9241-11. Results showed that none of the selected ranking websites is superior to other ones in terms of overall effectiveness and efficiency of the website. However the only remarkable result was that the highest average task completion times for two of the designed tasks belong to the Times Higher Education Rankings website. Evaluation of the user satisfaction on each task and each website produced slightly different but rather similar results. When the satisfaction levels of the participants on each task are examined, it was seen that the highest scores belong to ARWU and URAP websites. The overall satisfaction levels of the participants for each website showed that the URAP website has highest score followed by ARWU website. In addition, design problems and powerful design features of those websites reported by the participants are presented in the paper. Since the study mainly tackles about the design problems of the URAP website, the focus is on this website. Participants reported 3 main design problems about the website which are unaesthetic and unprofessional design style of the website, improper map location on ranking pages, and improper listing of the field names on field ranking page.

Keywords: university ranking, user-based approach, website usability, design

Procedia PDF Downloads 381

Authors: Amjad Ali Khan, Muhammad Ishaq Saqi, Kashif Ali

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The focus of hydrocarbon exploration in Pakistan has been primarily on conventional hydrocarbon resources. Directorate General Petroleum Concessions (DGPC) has taken the lead on the assessment of indigenous unconventional oil and gas resources, which has resulted in a ‘Shale Oil/Gas Resource Assessment Study’ conducted with the help of USAID. This was critically required in the energy-starved Pakistan, where the gap between indigenous oil & gas production and demand continues to widen for a long time. Exploration & exploitation of indigenous unconventional resources of Pakistan have become vital to meet our energy demand and reduction of oil and gas import bill of the country. This study has attempted to bridge a critical gap in geological information about the potential of shale gas & oil in Pakistan in the four formations, i.e., Sembar, Lower Goru, Ranikot and Ghazij in the Middle and Lower Indus Basins, which were selected for the study as for resource assessment for shale gas & oil. The primary objective of the study was to estimate and establish shale oil/gas resource assessment of the study area by carrying out extensive geological analysis of exploration, appraisal and development wells drilled in the Middle and Lower Indus Basins, along with identification of fairway(s) and sweet spots in the study area. The Study covers the Lower parts of the Middle Indus basins located in Sindh, southern Punjab & eastern parts of the Baluchistan provinces, with a total sedimentary area of 271,795 km2. Initially, 1611 wells were reviewed, including 1324 wells drilled through different shale formations. Based on the availability of required technical data, a detailed petrophysical analysis of 124 wells (21 Confidential & 103 in the public domain) has been conducted for the shale gas/oil potential of the above-referred formations. The core & cuttings samples of 32 wells and 33 geochemical reports of prospective Shale Formations were available, which were analyzed to calibrate the results of petrophysical analysis with petrographic/ laboratory analyses to increase the credibility of the Shale Gas Resource assessment. This study has identified the most prospective intervals, mainly in Sembar and Lower Goru Formations, for shale gas/oil exploration in the Middle and Lower Indus Basins of Pakistan. The study recommends seven (07) sweet spots for undertaking pilot projects, which will enable to evaluate of the actual production capability and production sustainability of shale oil/gas reservoirs of Pakistan for formulating future strategies to explore and exploit shale/oil resources of Pakistan including fiscal incentives required for developing shale oil/gas resources of Pakistan. Some E&P Companies are being persuaded to make a consortium for undertaking pilot projects that have shown their willingness to participate in the pilot project at appropriate times. The location for undertaking the pilot project has been finalized as a result of a series of technical sessions by geoscientists of the potential consortium members after the review and evaluation of available studies.

Keywords: conventional resources, petrographic analysis, petrophysical analysis, unconventional resources, shale gas & oil, sweet spots

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Authors: Nahed Mohamed Ismail, Bayomy Mostafa, Ahmed Abdel Kader, Ahmed Mohamed Azzam

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Effect of lining watercourses on the distribution and abundance of fresh water snails at two Egyptian governorates, Baheria (new reclaimed area) and Giza was studied. Seasonal survey in lined and unlined sites during two successive years was carried out. Samples of snails and water were collected from each examined site and the ecological conditions were recorded. The collected snails from each site were placed in plastic aquaria and transferred to the laboratory, where they were sorted out, identified, counted and examined for natural infection. The size frequency distribution was calculated for each snail species. Results revealed that snails were represented in all examined watercourses (lined and unlined) at the two tested habitats by 14 species. (Biomphalaria alexandrina, B. glabrata, Bulinus truncatus, Physa acuta. Helisoma duryi, Lymnaea natalensis, Planorbis planorbis, Cleopatra bulimoids, Lanistes carinatus, Bellamya unicolor, Melanoides tuberculata, Theodoxus nilotica, Succinia cleopatra and Gabbiella senaarensis). During spring, the percentage of live (45%) and dead (55%) snail species was extremely highly significant lower (p>0.001) in lined water bodies compared to the unlined ones (93.5% and 6.5%, respectively) in the examined sites at Baheria. At Giza, the percentage values of live snail species from all lined watercourses (82.6% and 60.2%, during winter and spring, respectively) was significantly lower (p>0.05 & p>0.01) than those in unlined ones (91.1% and 79%, respectively). Size frequency distribution of snails collected from the lined and unlined water bodies at Baheria and Giza governorates during all seasons revealed that during survey, snail populations were stable and the recruitment of young to adult was continuing for some species, where the recruits were observed with adults. However, there was no sign of small snails occurrence in case of B. glabrata and B. alexandrina during autumn, winter and spring and disappear during summer at Giza. Meanwhile they completely absent during all seasons at Baheria Governorate. Chemical analysis of some heavy metals of water samples collected from lined and unlined sites from Baheria and Giza governorates during autumn, winter and spring were approximately as the same in both lined and unlined water bodies. However, Zn and Fe were higher in lined sites (0.78±0.37and 17.4 ± 4.3, respectively) than that of unlined ones (0.4±0.1 and 10.95 ± 1.93, respectively) and Cu was absent in both lined and unlined sites during summer at Baheria governorate. At Giza, Cu and Pb were absent and Fe were higher in lined sites (4.7± 4.2) than that of unlined ones (2.5 ± 1.4) during summer. Statistical analysis showed that no significant difference in all physico-chemical parameters of water in lined and unlined water bodies at the two tested habitats during all seasons. However, it was found that the water conductivity and TDS showed a lower mean values in lined sites than those of unlined ones. Thus, the present obtained data support the concept of utilizing environmental modification such as lining of water courses to help in minimizing the population density of certain vector snails and consequently reduce the transmission of snails born diseases.

Keywords: lining, fresh water, snails, watercourses

Procedia PDF Downloads 231