Search results for: ISO 14001:2015

Authors: Neha P. Amin, Maliha Zainib, Sean Parker, Malcolm Mattes

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Purpose/Objectives: Combination immunotherapy (IT) and radiation therapy (RT) is an actively growing field of clinical investigation due to promising findings of synergistic effects from immune-mediated mechanisms observed in preclinical studies and clinical data from case reports of abscopal effects. While there are many ongoing trials of combined IT-RT, there are still limited data on toxicity and outcome optimization regarding RT dose, fractionation, and sequencing of RT with IT. Nivolumab (NIVO), an anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibody, has been rapidly adopted in the clinic over the past 2 years, resulting in more patients being considered for concurrent RT-NIVO. Knowledge about the toxicity profile of combined RT-NIVO is important for both the patient and physician when making educated treatment decisions. The acute toxicity profile of concurrent RT-NIVO was analyzed in this study. Materials/Methods: A retrospective review of all consecutive patients who received NIVO from 1/2015 to 5/2017 at 4 separate centers within two separate institutions was performed. Those patients who completed a course of RT from 1 day prior to initial NIVO infusion through 1 month after last NIVO infusion were considered to have received concurrent therapy and included in the subsequent analysis. Descriptive statistics are reported for patient/tumor/treatment characteristics and observed acute toxicities within 3 months of RT completion. Results: Among 261 patients who received NIVO, 46 (17.6%) received concurrent RT to 67 different sites. The median f/u was 3.3 (.1-19.8) months, and 11/46 (24%) were still alive at last analysis. The most common histology, RT prescription, and treatment site included non-small cell lung cancer (23/46, 50%), 30 Gy in 10 fractions (16/67, 24%), and central thorax/abdomen (26/67, 39%), respectively. 79% (53/67) of irradiated sites were treated with 3D-conformal technique and palliative dose-fractionation. Grade 3, 4, and 5 toxicities were experienced by 11, 1, and 2 patients, respectively. However all grade 4 and 5 toxicities were outside of the irradiated area and attributed to the NIVO alone, and only 4/11 (36%) of the grade 3 toxicities were attributed to the RT-NIVO. The irradiated site in these cases included the brain [2/10 (20%)] and central thorax/abdomen [2/19 (10.5%)], including one unexpected grade 3 pancreatitides following stereotactic body RT to the left adrenal gland. Conclusions: Concurrent RT-NIVO is generally well tolerated, though with potentially increased rates of severe toxicity when irradiating the lung, abdomen, or brain. Pending more definitive data, we recommend counseling patients on the potentially increased rates of side effects from combined immunotherapy and radiotherapy to these locations. Future prospective trials assessing fractionation and sequencing of RT with IT will help inform combined therapy recommendations.

Keywords: combined immunotherapy and radiation, immunotherapy, Nivolumab, toxicity of concurrent immunotherapy and radiation

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Authors: Bartosz Piechowicz, Stanislaw Sadlo, Przemyslaw Grodzicki, Magdalena Podbielska

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Apples are popular fruits. They are eaten freshly and/or after processing. For instance Golden Delicious is an apple variety commonly used in production of foods for babies and toddlers. It is no wonder that complex analyses of the pesticide residue levels in those fruits have been carried out since eighties, and continued for the next years up to now. The results obtained were presented, usually as a teamwork, at the scientific sessions organised by the (IOR) Institute of Plant Protection-National Research Institute in Poznań and published in Scientific Works of the Institute (now Progress in Plant Protection/ Postępy w Ochronie Roślin) or Journal of Plant Protection Research, and in many non-periodical publications. These reports included studies carried out by IOR Laboratories in Poznań, Sośnicowice, Rzeszów and Bialystok. First detailed studies on the presence of pesticide residues in apple fruits by the laboratory in Rzeszów were published in 1991 in the article entitled 'The presence of pesticides in apples of late varieties from the area of south-eastern Poland in the years 1986-1989', in Annals of National Institute of Hygiene in Warsaw. These surveys gave the scientific base for business contacts between the Polish company Alima and the American company Gerber. At the beginning of XXI century, in Poland, systematic and complex studies on the deposition of pesticide residues in apples were initiated. First of all, the levels of active ingredients of plant protection products applied against storage diseases at 2-3 weeks before the harvest were determined. It is known that the above mentioned substances usually generate the highest residue levels. Also, the assessment of the fungicide residues in apples during their storage in controlled atmosphere and during their processing was carried out. Taking into account the need of actualisation the Maximum Residue Levels of pesticides, in force in Poland and in other European countries, and rationalisation of the ways of their determination, a lot of field tests on the behaviour of more important fungicides on the mature fruits just before their harvesting, were carried out. A rate of their disappearance and mathematical equation that showed the relationship between the residue level of any substance and the used dose, have been determined. The two parameters have allowed to evaluate the Maximum Residue Levels (MRLs) of pesticides, which were in force at that time, and to propose a coherent model of their determination in respect to the new substances. The obtained results were assessed in terms of the health risk for adult consumers and children, and to such determination of terms of treatment that mature apples could meet the rigorous level of 0.01 mg/kg.

Keywords: apple, disappearance, health risk, MRL, pesticide residue, research

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Authors: M. Iqbal Hossain, Azharul Islam Khan, S. M. Rafiqul Islam, Tahmeed Ahmed

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Objective: Moderate acute malnutrition (MAM) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in under-5 children of low-income countries. Approximately 14.6% of all under-5 mortality worldwide is attributed to MAM with >3 times increased risk of death compared to well-nourished peers. Prevalence of MAM among under-5 children in Bangladesh is ~12% (~1.7 million). Providing a diet containing adequate nutrients is the mainstay of treatment of children with MAM. It is now possible to process fish into fish peptides with longer shelf-life without refrigerator, known as ‘Fish Surimi peptide’ and this could be an attractive alternative to supply fish protein in the diet of children in low-income countries like Bangladesh. We conducted this study to assess the acceptability of Fish Surimi peptide given with various foods/meals in 2-5 years old children with MAM. Design/methods: Fish Surimi peptide is broken down from white fish meat using plant-derived enzyme and the ingredient is just fish meat consisted of 20 different kinds of amino acids including nine essential amino acids. In a convenience sample of 34 children we completed the study ward of Dhaka Hospital of icddr,b in Bangladesh during November 2014 through February 2015. For each child the study was for two consecutive days: i.e. direct observation of food intake of two lunches and two suppers. In a randomly and blinded manner and cross over design an individual child received Fish Surimi peptide (5g at lunch and 5g at supper) mixed meal [e.g. 30g rice and 30g dahl (thick lentil soup) or 60g of a vegetables-lentil-rice mixed local dish known as khichuri in one day and the same meal on other day without any Fish Surimi peptide. We observed the completeness and eagerness of eating and any possible side effect (e.g. allergy, vomiting, diarrhea etc.) over these two days. Results: The mean±SD age of the enrolled children was 38.4±9.4 months, weight 11.22±1.41 kg, height 91.0±6.3 cm, and WHZ was -2.13±0.76. Their mean±SD total feeding time (minutes) for lunch was 25.4±13.6 vs. 20.6±11.1 (p=0.130) and supper was 22.3±9.7 vs. 19.7±11.2 (p=0.297), and total amount (g) of food eaten in lunch and supper was found similar 116.1±7.0 vs. 117.7±8.0 (p=3.01) in A (Fish Surimi) and B group respectively. Score in Hedonic scale by mother on test of food given to children at lunch or supper was 3.9±0.2 vs. 4.0±0.2 (p=0.317) and on overall acceptance (including the texture, smell, and appearance) of food at lunch or supper was 3.9±0.2 vs. 4.0±0.2 (p=0.317) for A and B group respectively. No adverse event was observed in any food group during the study period. Conclusions: Fish Surimi peptide may be a cost effective supplementary food, which should be tested by appropriately designed randomized community level intervention trial both in wasted children and stunted children.

Keywords: protein-energy malnutrition, moderate acute malnutrition, weight-for-height z-score, mid upper arm circumference, acceptability, fish surimi peptide, under-5 children

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Authors: Sara Honarparast, Omar Chaallal

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Reinforced concrete (RC) coupled shear walls (CSWs) are very effective structural systems in resisting lateral loads due to winds and earthquakes and are particularly used in medium- to high-rise RC buildings. However, most of existing old RC structures were designed for gravity loads or lateral loads well below the loads specified in the current modern seismic international codes. These structures may behave in non-ductile manner due to poorly designed joints, insufficient shear reinforcement and inadequate anchorage length of the reinforcing bars. This has been the main impetus to investigate an appropriate strengthening method to address or attenuate the deficiencies of these structures. The objective of this paper is to twofold: (i) evaluate the seismic performance of existing reinforced concrete coupled shear walls under reversed cyclic loading; and (ii) investigate the seismic performance of RC CSWs strengthened with externally bonded (EB) carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) sheets. To this end, two CSWs were considered as follows: (a) the first one is representative of old CSWs and therefore was designed according to the 1941 National Building Code of Canada (NBCC, 1941) with conventionally reinforced coupling beams; and (b) the second one, representative of new CSWs, was designed according to modern NBCC 2015 and CSA/A23.3 2014 requirements with diagonally reinforced coupling beam. Both CSWs were simulated using ANSYS software. Nonlinear behavior of concrete is modeled using multilinear isotropic hardening through a multilinear stress strain curve. The elastic-perfectly plastic stress-strain curve is used to simulate the steel material. Bond stress–slip is modeled between concrete and steel reinforcement in conventional coupling beam rather than considering perfect bond to better represent the slip of the steel bars observed in the coupling beams of these CSWs. The old-designed CSW was strengthened using CFRP sheets bonded to the concrete substrate and the interface was modeled using an adhesive layer. The behavior of CFRP material is considered linear elastic up to failure. After simulating the loading and boundary conditions, the specimens are analyzed under reversed cyclic loading. The comparison of results obtained for the two unstrengthened CSWs and the one retrofitted with EB CFRP sheets reveals that the strengthening method improves the seismic performance in terms of strength, ductility, and energy dissipation capacity.

Keywords: carbon fiber reinforced polymer, coupled shear wall, coupling beam, finite element analysis, modern code, old code, strengthening

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Authors: Judson P. LaGrone

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Simulation-based education in curricula was once a luxurious component of nursing programs but now serves as a vital element of an individual’s learning experience. A debriefing occurs after the simulation scenario or clinical experience is completed to allow the instructor(s) or trained professional(s) to act as a debriefer to guide a reflection with a purpose of acknowledging, assessing, and synthesizing the thought process, decision-making process, and actions/behaviors performed during the scenario or clinical experience. Debriefing is a vital component of the simulation process and educational experience to allow the learner(s) to progressively build upon past experiences and current scenarios within a safe and welcoming environment with a guided dialog to enhance future practice. The aim of this integrative review was to assess current practices of debriefing models in simulation-based education for health care professionals and students. The following databases were utilized for the search: CINAHL Plus, Cochrane Database of Systemic Reviews, EBSCO (ERIC), PsycINFO (Ovid), and Google Scholar. The advanced search option was useful to narrow down the search of articles (full text, Boolean operators, English language, peer-reviewed, published in the past five years). Key terms included debrief, debriefing, debriefing model, debriefing intervention, psychological debriefing, simulation, simulation-based education, simulation pedagogy, health care professional, nursing student, and learning process. Included studies focus on debriefing after clinical scenarios of nursing students, medical students, and interprofessional teams conducted between 2015 and 2020. Common themes were identified after the analysis of articles matching the search criteria. Several debriefing models are addressed in the literature with similarities of effectiveness for participants in clinical simulation-based pedagogy. Themes identified included (a) importance of debriefing in simulation-based pedagogy, (b) environment for which debriefing takes place is an important consideration, (c) individuals who should conduct the debrief, (d) length of debrief, and (e) methodology of the debrief. Debriefing models supported by theoretical frameworks and facilitated by trained staff are vital for a successful debriefing experience. Models differed from self-debriefing, facilitator-led debriefing, video-assisted debriefing, rapid cycle deliberate practice, and reflective debriefing. A reoccurring finding was centered around the emphasis of continued research for systematic tool development and analysis of the validity and effectiveness of current debriefing practices. There is a lack of consistency of debriefing models among nursing curriculum with an increasing rate of ill-prepared faculty to facilitate the debriefing phase of the simulation.

Keywords: debriefing model, debriefing intervention, health care professional, simulation-based education

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Authors: Nabiha Bouafia, Asma Ben Cheikh, Asma Ammar, Olfa Ezzi, Mohamed Mahjoub, Khaoula Meddeb, Imed Chouchene, Hamadi Boussarsar, Mansour Njah

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Background: Hospital acquired infections (HAI) cause significant morbidity, mortality, length of stay and hospital costs, especially in the intensive care unit (ICU), because of the debilitated immune systems of their patients and exposure to invasive devices. The aims of this study were to determine the rate and the risk factors of HAI in an ICU of a university hospital in Tunisia. Materials/Methods: A prospective study was conducted in the 8-bed adult medical ICU of a University Hospital (Sousse Tunisia) during 14 months from September 15th, 2015 to November 15th, 2016. Patients admitted for more than 48h were included. Their surveillance was stopped after the discharge from ICU or death. HAIs were defined according to standard Centers for Disease Control and Prevention criteria. Risk factors were analyzed by conditional stepwise logistic regression. The p-value of < 0.05 was considered significant. Results: During the study, 192 patients had admitted for more than 48 hours. Their mean age was 59.3± 18.20 years and 57.1% were male. Acute respiratory failure was the main reason of admission (72%). The mean SAPS II score calculated at admission was 32.5 ± 14 (range: 6 - 78). The exposure to the mechanical ventilation (MV) and the central venous catheter were observed in 169 (88 %) and 144 (75 %) patients, respectively. Seventy-three patients (38.02%) developed 94 HAIs. The incidence density of HAIs was 41.53 per 1000 patient day. Mortality rate in patients with HAIs was 65.8 %( n= 48). Regarding the type of infection, Ventilator Associated Pneumoniae (VAP) and central venous catheter Associated Infections (CVC AI) were the most frequent with Incidence density: 14.88/1000 days of MV for VAP and 20.02/1000 CVC days for CVC AI. There were 5 Peripheral Venous Catheter Associated Infections, 2 urinary tract infections, and 21 other HAIs. Gram-negative bacteria were the most common germs identified in HAIs: Multidrug resistant Acinetobacter Baumanii (45%) and Klebsiella pneumoniae (10.96%) were the most frequently isolated. Univariate analysis showed that transfer from another hospital department (p= 0.001), intubation (p < 10-4), tracheostomy (p < 10-4), age (p=0.028), grade of acute respiratory failure (p=0.01), duration of sedation (p < 10-4), number of CVC (p < 10-4), length of mechanical ventilation (p < 10-4) and length of stay (p < 10-4), were associated to high risk of HAIS in ICU. Multivariate analysis reveals that independent risk factors for HAIs are: transfer from another hospital department: OR=13.44, IC 95% [3.9, 44.2], p < 10-4, duration of sedation: OR= 1.18, IC 95% [1.049, 1.325], p=0.006, high number of CVC: OR=2.78, IC 95% [1.73, 4.487], p < 10-4, and length of stay in ICU: OR= 1.14, IC 95% [1.066,1.22], p < 10-4. Conclusion: Prevention of nosocomial infections in ICUs is a priority of health care systems all around the world. Yet, their control requires an understanding of epidemiological data collected in these units.

Keywords: healthcare associated infections, incidence, intensive care unit, risk factors

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Authors: Catelyn Coyle, Helena Kwakwa

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Objective: As novel and better tolerated therapies become available, effective HCV testing and care models become increasingly necessary to not only identify individuals with active infection but also link them to HCV providers for medical evaluation and treatment. Our aim is to describe an effective HCV testing and linkage to care model piloted in a network of five community health centers located in Philadelphia, PA. Methods: In October 2012, National Nursing Centers Consortium piloted a routine opt-out HCV testing model in a network of community health centers, one of which treats HCV, HIV, and co-infected patients. Key aspects of the model were medical assistant initiated testing, the use of laboratory-based reflex test technology, and electronic medical record modifications to prompt, track, report and facilitate payment of test costs. Universal testing on all adult patients was implemented at health centers serving patients at high-risk for HCV. The other sites integrated high-risk based testing, where patients meeting one or more of the CDC testing recommendation risk factors or had a history of homelessness were eligible for HCV testing. Mid-course adjustments included the integration of dual HIV testing, development of a linkage to care coordinator position to facilitate the transition of HIV and/or HCV-positive patients from primary to specialist care, and the transition to universal HCV testing across all testing sites. Results: From October 2012 to June 2015, the health centers performed 7,730 HCV tests and identified 886 (11.5%) patients with a positive HCV-antibody test. Of those with positive HCV-antibody tests, 838 (94.6%) had an HCV-RNA confirmatory test and 590 (70.4%) progressed to current HCV infection (overall prevalence=7.6%); 524 (88.8%) received their RNA-positive test result; 429 (72.7%) were referred to an HCV care specialist and 271 (45.9%) were seen by the HCV care specialist. The best linkage to care results were seen at the test and treat the site, where of the 333 patients were current HCV infection, 175 (52.6%) were seen by an HCV care specialist. Of the patients with active HCV infection, 349 (59.2%) were unaware of their HCV-positive status at the time of diagnosis. Since the integration of dual HCV/HIV testing in September 2013, 9,506 HIV tests were performed, 85 (0.9%) patients had positive HIV tests, 81 (95.3%) received their confirmed HIV test result and 77 (90.6%) were linked to HIV care. Dual HCV/HIV testing increased the number of HCV tests performed by 362 between the 9 months preceding dual testing and first 9 months after dual testing integration, representing a 23.7% increment. Conclusion: Our HCV testing model shows that integrated routine testing and linkage to care is feasible and improved detection and linkage to care in a primary care setting. We found that prevalence of current HCV infection was higher than that seen in locally in Philadelphia and nationwide. Intensive linkage services can increase the number of patients who successfully navigate the HCV treatment cascade. The linkage to care coordinator position is an important position that acts as a trusted intermediary for patients being linked to care.

Keywords: HCV, routine testing, linkage to care, community health centers

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Authors: Michael McCann

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Managerial theories propose that, in joint stock companies, executives may be tempted to waste excess free cash on unprofitable projects to keep control of resources. In order to conceal their projects' poor performance, they may seek to engage in earnings management. On the one hand, managers may manipulate earnings upwards in order to post ‘good’ performances and safeguard their position. On the other, since managers pursuit of unrewarding investments are likely to lead to low long-term profitability, managers will use negative accruals to reduce current year’s earnings, smoothing earnings over time in order to conceal the negative effects. Agency models argue that boards of directors are delegated by shareholders to ensure that companies are governed properly. Part of that responsibility is ensuring the reliability of financial information. Analyses of the impact of board characteristics, particularly board independence on the misuse of free cash flow and earnings management finds conflicting evidence. However, existing characterizations of board independence do not account for such directors gaining firm-specific knowledge over time, influencing their monitoring ability. Further, there is little analysis of the influence of the relative experience of independent directors and executives on decisions surrounding the use of free cash. This paper contributes to this literature regarding the heterogeneous characteristics of boards by investigating the influence of independent director tenure on earnings management and the relative tenures of independent directors and Chief Executives. A balanced panel dataset comprising 51 companies across 11 annual periods from 2005 to 2015 is used for the analysis. In each annual period, firms were classified as conducting earnings management if they had discretionary accruals in the bottom quartile (downwards) and top quartile (upwards) of the distributed values for the sample. Logistical regressions were conducted to determine the marginal impact of independent board tenure and a number of control variables on the probability of conducting earnings management. The findings indicate that both absolute and relative measures of board independence and experience do not have a significant impact on the likelihood of earnings management. It is the level of free cash flow which is the major influence on the probability of earnings management. Higher free cash flow increases the probability of earnings management significantly. The research also investigates whether board monitoring of earnings management is contingent on the level of free cash flow. However, the results suggest that board monitoring is not amplified when free cash flow is higher. This suggests that the extent of earnings management in companies is determined by a range of company, industry and situation-specific factors.

Keywords: corporate governance, boards of directors, agency theory, earnings management

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Authors: E. Calil, L. A. Pereira

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The acquisition of orthography is a complex process, involving both lexical and grammatical questions. This learning occurs simultaneously with the domain of multiple textual aspects (e.g.: graphs, punctuation, etc.). However, most of the research on orthographic acquisition focus on this acquisition from an autonomous point of view, separated from the process of textual production. This means that their object of analysis is the production of words selected by the researcher or the requested sentences in an experimental and controlled setting. In addition, the analysis of the Spelling Problems (SP) are identified by the researcher on the sheet of paper. Considering the perspective of Textual Genetics, from an enunciative approach, this study will discuss the SPs recognized by dyads of newly literate students, while they are writing a text collaboratively. Six proposals of textual production were registered, requested by a 2nd year teacher of a Portuguese Primary School between January and March 2015. In our case study we discuss the SPs recognized by the dyad B and L (7 years old). We adopted as a methodological tool the Ramos System audiovisual record. This system allows real-time capture of the text in process and of the face-to-face dialogue between both students and their teacher, and also captures the body movements and facial expressions of the participants during textual production proposals in the classroom. In these ecological conditions of multimodal registration of collaborative writing, we could identify the emergence of SP in two dimensions: i. In the product (finished text): SP identification without recursive graphic marks (without erasures) and the identification of SPs with erasures, indicating the recognition of SP by the student; ii. In the process (text in progress): identification of comments made by students about recognized SPs. Given this, we’ve analyzed the comments on identified SPs during the text in progress. These comments characterize a type of reformulation referred to as Commented Oral Erasure (COE). The COE has two enunciative forms: Simple Comment (SC) such as ' 'X' is written with 'Y' '; or Unfolded Comment (UC), such as ' 'X' is written with 'Y' because...'. The spelling COE may also occur before or during the SP (Early Spelling Recognition - ESR) or after the SP has been entered (Later Spelling Recognition - LSR). There were 631 words entered in the 6 stories written by the B-L dyad, 145 of them containing some type of SP. During the text in progress, the students recognized orally 174 SP, 46 of which were identified in advance (ESRs) and 128 were identified later (LSPs). If we consider that the 88 erasure SPs in the product indicate some form of SP recognition, we can observe that there were twice as many SPs recognized orally. The ESR was characterized by SC when students asked their colleague or teacher how to spell a given word. The LSR presented predominantly UC, verbalizing meta-orthographic arguments, mostly made by L. These results indicate that writing in dyad is an important didactic strategy for the promotion of metalinguistic reflection, favoring the learning of spelling.

Keywords: collaborative writing, erasure, learning, metalinguistic awareness, spelling, text production

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Authors: Sunil Kumar, Rajesh Sharma

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Toxic epidermal necrolysis, pruritis, rashes, lichen planus like eruption, hyper pigmentation of skin are rare toxic effects of choloroquine used over a long time. Skin and mucus membrane hyper pigmentation is generally of a bluish black or grayish color and irreversible after discontinuation of the drug. According to Ayurveda, Dushivisha is the name given to any poisonous substance which is not fully endowed with the qualities of poison by nature (i.e. it acts as an impoverished or weak poison) and because of its mild potency, it remains in the body for many years causing various symptoms, one among them being discoloration of skin.The objective of this case report is to investigate the effect of Ayurvedic management of chloroquine induced hyper-pigmentation on the line of treatment of Dushivisha. Case Report: A 26-year-old female was suffering from hyper-pigmentation of the skin over the neck, forehead, temporo-mandibular joints, upper back and posterior aspect of both the arms since 8 years had history of taking Chloroquine came to Out Patient Department of National Institute of Ayurveda, Jaipur, India in Jan. 2015. The routine investigations (CBC, ESR, Eosinophil count) were within normal limits. Punch biopsy skin studied for histopathology under hematoxylin and eosin staining showed epidermis with hyper-pigmentation of the basal layer. In the papillary dermis as well as deep dermis there were scattered melanophages along with infiltration by mononuclear cells. There was no deposition of amyloid-like substances. These histopathological findings were suggestive of Chloroquine induced hyper-pigmentation. The case was treated on the line of treatment of Dushivisha and was given Vamana and Virechana (therapeutic emesis and purgation) every six months followed by Snehana karma (oleation therapy) with Panchatikta Ghrit and Swedana (sudation). Arogyavardhini Vati -1 g, Dushivishari Vati 500 mg, Mahamanjisthadi Quath 20 ml were given twelve hourly and Aragwadhadi Quath 25 ml at bed time orally. The patient started showing lightening of the pigments after six months and almost complete remission after 12 months of the treatment. Conclusion: This patient presented with the Dushivisha effect of Chloroquineandwas administered two relevant procedures from Panchakarma viz. Vamana and Virechana. Both Vamana and Virechanakarma here referred to Shodhana karma (purification procedures) eliminates accumulated toxins from the body. In this process, oleation dislodge the toxins from the tissues and sudation helps to bring them to the alimentary tract. The line of treatment did not target direct hypo pigmentary effects; rather aimed to eliminate the Dushivisha. This gave promising results in this condition.

Keywords: Ayurveda, chloroquine, Dushivisha, hyper-pigmentation

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Authors: Aakriti Chetan Shah, Elle Sein

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Background/purpose: Group B Streptococcus(GBS) is the leading cause of severe early onset infection in newborns, with the incidence of Early Onset Group B Streptococcus (EOGBS) in the UK and Ireland rising from 0.48 to 0.57 per 1000 births from 2000 to 2015. A WHO study conducted in 2017, has shown that 38.5% of cases can result in stillbirth and infant deaths. This is an important problem to consider as 20% of women worldwide have GBS colonisation and can suffer from these detrimental effects. Current Royal College of Obstetricians and Midwives (RCOG) guidelines do not recommend bacteriological screening for pregnant women due to its low sensitivity in antenatal screening correlating with the neonate having GBS but advise a patient information leaflet be given to pregnant women. However, a Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch (HSIB) 2019 learning report found that only 50% of trusts and health boards reported giving GBS information leaflets to all pregnant mothers. Therefore, this audit aimed to assess current practices of information dissemination about GBS at Chelsea & Westminster (C&W) Hospital. Methodology: A quantitative cross-sectional study was carried out using a questionnaire based on the RCOG GBS guidelines and the HSIB Learning report. The study was conducted in antenatal clinics at Chelsea & Westminster Hospital, from 29th January 2021 to 14th February 2021, with twenty-two practicing obstetricians and midwives participating in the survey. The main outcome measure was the proportion of obstetricians and midwives who disseminate information about GBS to pregnant women, and the reasons behind why they do or do not. Results: 22 obstetricians and midwives responded with 18 complete responses. Of which 12 were obstetricians and 6 were midwives. Only 17% of clinical staff routinely inform all pregnant women about GBS, and do so at varying timeframes of the pregnancy, with an equal split in the first, second and third trimester. The primary reason for not informing women about GBS was influenced by three key factors: Deemed relevant only for patients at high risk of GBS, lack of time in clinic appointments and no routine NHS screening available. Interestingly 58% of staff in the antenatal clinic believe it is necessary to inform all women about GBS and its importance. Conclusion: It is vital for obstetricians and midwives to inform all pregnant women about GBS due to the high prevalence of incidental carriers in the population, and the harmful effects it can cause for neonates. Even though most clinicians believe it is important to inform all pregnant women about GBS, most do not. To ensure that RCOG and HSIB recommendations are followed, we recommend that women should be given this information at 28 weeks gestation in the antenatal clinic. Proposed implementations include an information leaflet to be incorporated into the Mum and Baby app, an informative video and end-to-end digital clinic documentation to include this information sharing prompt.

Keywords: group B Streptococcus, early onset sepsis, Antenatal care, Neonatal morbidity, GBS

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Authors: Roengchai Tansuchat, Wassanai Wattanutchariya, Aree Wiboonpongse

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Parboiled rice is one of the most important food grains and classified in cereal and cereal product. In 2015, parboiled rice was traded more than 14.34 % of total rice trade. The major parboiled rice export countries are Thailand and India, while many countries in Africa and the Middle East such as Nigeria, South Africa, United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia, are parboiled rice import countries. In the global rice market, parboiled rice pricing differs from white rice pricing because parboiled rice is semi-processing product, (soaking, steaming and drying) which affects to their color and texture. Therefore, parboiled rice export pricing does not depend only on the trade volume, length of grain, and percentage of broken rice or purity but also depend on their rice seed attributes such as color, whiteness, consistency of color and whiteness, and their texture. In addition, the parboiled rice price may depend on the country of origin, and other attributes, such as certification mark, label, packaging, and sales locations. The objectives of this paper are to study the attributes of parboiled rice sold in different countries and to evaluate the relationship between parboiled rice price in different countries and their attributes by using hedonic pricing model. These results are useful for product development, and marketing strategies development. The 141 samples of parboiled rice were collected from 5 major parboiled rice consumption countries, namely Nigeria, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Spain. The physicochemical properties and optical properties, namely size and shape of seed, colour (L*, a*, and b*), parboiled rice texture (hardness, adhesiveness, cohesiveness, springiness, gumminess, and chewiness), nutrition (moisture, protein, carbohydrate, fat, and ash), amylose, package, country of origin, label are considered as explanatory variables. The results from parboiled rice analysis revealed that most of samples are classified as long grain and slender. The highest average whiteness value is the parboiled rice sold in South Africa. The amylose value analysis shows that most of parboiled rice is non-glutinous rice, classified in intermediate amylose content range, and the maximum value was found in United Arab Emirates. The hedonic pricing model showed that size and shape are the key factors to determine parboiled rice price statistically significant. In parts of colour, brightness value (L*) and red-green value (a*) are statistically significant, but the yellow-blue value (b*) is insignificant. In addition, the texture attributes that significantly affect to the parboiled rice price are hardness, adhesiveness, cohesiveness, and gumminess. The findings could help both parboiled rice miller, exporter and retailers formulate better production and marketing strategies by focusing on these attributes.

Keywords: hedonic pricing model, optical properties, parboiled rice, physicochemical properties

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Authors: Anar Koli

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After the Paris agreement in 2015, a comprehensive initiative both from the developed and developing countries towards the adaptation to climate change is emerging. The Global Environmental Facility (GEF), which is financing a global portfolio of adaptation projects and programs in over 124 countries is playing a significant role to a new financing framework that included the concept of “climate-resilient development”. However, both the adaptation and sustainable development paradigms remain continuously contested, especially the role of the multilateral institutions with their technical and financial assistance to the developing world. Focusing on the adaptation initiatives of the GEF, this study aims to understand to what extent the global multilateral institutions, particularly the GEF is contributing to the climate-resilient development. From the political ecology perspective, the argument of this study is that the global financial framework is highly politicized, and understanding the contribution of the global institutions of the global climate change needs to be related both from the response and causal perspectives. A holistic perspective, which includes the contribution of the GEF as a response to the climate change and as well the cause of global climate change, are needed to understand the broader environment- political economic relation. The study intends to make a critical analysis of the way in which the political economy structure and the environment are related along with the social and ecological implications. It does not provide a narrow description of institutional responses to climate change, rather it looks at how the global institutions are influencing the relationship of the global ecologies and economies. This study thus developed a framework combining the global governance and the political economy perspective. This framework includes environment-society relation, environment-political economy linkage, global institutions as the orchestra, and division between the North and the South. Through the analysis of the GEF as the orchestra of the global governance, this study helps to understand how GEF is coordinating the interactions between the North and the South and responding the global climate resilient development. Through the other components of the framework, the study explains how the role of the global institutions is related to the cause of the human induced global climate change. The study employs a case study based on both the quantitative and qualitative data. Along with the GEF reports and data sets, this study draws from an eclectic range of literature from a range of disciplines to explain the broader relation of the environment and political economy. Based on a case study on GEF, the study found that the GEF has positive contributions in bringing developing countries’ capacity in terms of sustainable development goal, local institutional development. However, through a critical holistic analysis, this study found that this contribution to the resilient development helps the developing countries to conform the fossil fuel based capitalist political economy. The global governance institution is contributing both to the pro market based environment society relation and, to the consequences of this relation.

Keywords: climate change adaptation, global environmental facility (GEF), political economy, the north -south relation

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Authors: Deden Misbahudin Muayyad, Lavlimatria Esya

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Up to the month of June 2015, Indonesia has 12 Islamic Commercial Banks, 22 Islamic Business Unit, 327 offices in 33 provinces. The initial purpose of the establishment of Islamic financial institutions is to achieve and the welfare of the people in this world and in the hereafter. To realize these goals, the Islamic financial institutions in every kind of aspect of product development and in terms of operations should be based on maqashid sharia, namely keeping the faith, keep the soul, keep the sense, maintain the property, keeping the offspring. To see whether Islamic banking grounded in maqasid sharia, the Islamic banking performance measurements based on the principles of maqasid sharia. Banking performance measurement is not only focusing on profit and other financial measures, but put other values of banks reflects the size of the benefit of non-profit in accordance with the bank's objectives. The measurement using the measurement of financial performance called maqasid sharia index. Maqasid syariah index is a model of Islamic banking performance measurement in accordance with the objectives and characteristics of Islamic banking. Maqasid syariah index was developed based on three main factors, namely the education of individuals, the creation of justice, the achievement of well-being, where the three factors were in accordance with the common goal of maqasid sharia is achieving prosperity and avoid evil. Maqasid syariah index shows that maqasid sharia approach can be a strategic alternative approach to describe how good the performance of the banking system and it can be implemented in the comprehensive policy strategy. This study uses a model of performance measurement framework based on maqasid syariah, in addition to financial performance measures that already exist. Methods to develop the idea of a performance measurement framework of Islamic banking by maqasid sharia is the Sekaran method. Operationally, the methods have now able to describe the elements that will be measured by this study. This is done by observing the behavior of the dimensions illustrated through a concept that has been set. These dimensions translate into derivative elements that can be observed and more scalable, so it can establish measurement indices. This research is descriptive quantitative. Techniques are being made to collect data in this paper is by using purposive sampling method, with 12 Islamic Commercial Banks that qualify as research samples. The financial data taken at 12 banks was sourced from the annual financial statements the period 2008 to 2012 with consideration of the database and ease of access to data. The ratio measured in this study only 7 ratio used in determining the performance of Islamic banking, namely: four ratio refers to the sharia objectives related to education. three ratio while again referring to sharia objectives related to the achievement of welfare. While other ratios associated with justice can not be used in this study because of the limited data used. Total overall calculation of performance indicators and performance ratios on each goal for each bank describes the maqasid syariah index.

Keywords: Islamic banking, Maslahah, maqashid syariah, maqashid syariah index

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Authors: Sajana Suwal, Ganesh R. Nhemafuki

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Evaluation of ground response under earthquake shaking is crucial in geotechnical earthquake engineering. Damage due to seismic excitation is mainly correlated to local geological and geotechnical conditions. It is evident from the past earthquakes (e.g. 1906 San Francisco, USA, 1923 Kanto, Japan) that the local geology has strong influence on amplitude and duration of ground motions. Since then significant studies has been conducted on ground motion amplification revealing the importance of influence of local geology on ground. Observations from the damaging earthquakes (e.g. Nigata and San Francisco, 1964; Irpinia, 1980; Mexico, 1985; Kobe, 1995; L’Aquila, 2009) divulged that non-uniform damage pattern, particularly in soft fluvio-lacustrine deposit is due to the local amplification of seismic ground motion. Non-uniform damage patterns are also observed in Kathmandu Valley during 1934 Bihar Nepal earthquake and recent 2015 Gorkha earthquake seemingly due to the modification of earthquake ground motion parameters. In this study, site effects resulting from amplification of soft soil in Kathmandu are presented. A large amount of subsoil data was collected and used for defining the appropriate subsoil model for the Kathamandu valley. A comparative study of one-dimensional total-stress equivalent linear and non-linear site response is performed using four strong ground motions for six sites of Kathmandu valley. In general, one-dimensional (1D) site-response analysis involves the excitation of a soil profile using the horizontal component and calculating the response at individual soil layers. In the present study, both equivalent linear and non-linear site response analyses were conducted using the computer program DEEPSOIL. The results show that there is no significant deviation between equivalent linear and non-linear site response models until the maximum strain reaches to 0.06-0.1%. Overall, it is clearly observed from the results that non-linear site response model perform better as compared to equivalent linear model. However, the significant deviation between two models is resulted from other influencing factors such as assumptions made in 1D site response, lack of accurate values of shear wave velocity and nonlinear properties of the soil deposit. The results are also presented in terms of amplification factors which are predicted to be around four times more in case of non-linear analysis as compared to equivalent linear analysis. Hence, the nonlinear behavior of soil prevails the urgent need of study of dynamic characteristics of the soft soil deposit that can specifically represent the site-specific design spectra for the Kathmandu valley for building resilient structures from future damaging earthquakes.

Keywords: deep soil, equivalent linear analysis, non-linear analysis, site response

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Authors: Debdatta Mukherjee, Abhiman Das, Amit Garg

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In recent years, there is a growing interest about corporate social responsibility of firms in both academic literature and business world. Since business forms a part of society incorporating socio-environment concerns into its value chain, activities are vital for ensuring mutual sustainability and prosperity. But, until now most of the works have been either descriptive or normative rather than positivist in tone. Even the few ones with a positivist approach have mostly studied the link between corporate financial performance and corporate social performance. However, these studies have been severely criticized by many eminent authors on grounds that they lack a theoretical basis for their findings. They have also argued that apart from corporate financial performance, there must be certain other crucial influences that are likely to determine corporate social performance of firms. In fact, several studies have indicated that firms operating in distinct national institutions show significant variations in the corporate social responsibility practices that they undertake. This clearly suggests that the institutional context of a country in which the firms operate is a key determinant of corporate social performance of firms. Therefore, this paper uses an institutional framework to understand why corporate social performance of firms vary across countries. It examines the impact of country level institutions on corporate social performance using a sample of 3240 global publicly-held firms across 33 countries covering the period 2010-2015. The country level institutions include public institutions, private institutions, markets and capacity to innovate. Econometric Analysis has been mainly used to assess this impact. A three way panel data analysis using fixed effects has been used to test and validate appropriate hypotheses. Most of the empirical findings confirm our hypotheses and the economic significance indicates the specific impact of each variable and their importance relative to others. The results suggest that institutional determinants like ethical behavior of private institutions, goods market, labor market and innovation capacity of a country are significantly related to the corporate social performance of firms. Based on our findings, few implications for policy makers from across the world have also been suggested. The institutions in a country should promote competition. The government should use policy levers for upgrading home demands, like setting challenging yet flexible safety, quality and environment standards, and framing policies governing buyer information, providing innovative recourses to low quality goods and services and promoting early adoption of new and technologically advanced products. Moreover, the institution building in a country should be such that they facilitate and improve the capacity of firms to innovate. Therefore, the proposed study argues that country level institutions impact corporate social performance of firms, empirically validates the same, suggest policy implications and attempts to contribute to an extended understanding of corporate social responsibility and corporate social performance in a multinational context.

Keywords: corporate social performance, corporate social responsibility, institutions, markets

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Authors: Jayashree And Gajjam

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Intellectual humility (IH) is defined as a virtuous mean between intellectual arrogance and intellectual self-diffidence by the ‘Doxastic Account of IH’ studied, researched and developed by western scholars not earlier than 2015 at the University of Edinburgh. Ancient Indian philosophical texts or the Upanisads written in the Sanskrit language during the later Vedic period (circa 600-300 BCE) have long addressed the virtue of being humble in several stories and narratives. The current research paper questions and revisits these character traits in an Indian context following an experimental method. Based on the subjective reports of more than 400 Indian teenagers and adults, it argues that while a few traits of IH (such as trustworthiness, respectfulness, intelligence, politeness, etc.) are panhuman and pancultural, a few are not. Some attributes of IH (such as proper pride, open-mindedness, awareness of own strength, etc.) may be taken for arrogance by the Indian population, while other qualities of Intellectual Diffidence such as agreeableness, surrendering can be regarded as the characteristic of IH. The paper then gives the reasoning for this discrepancy that can be traced back to the ancient Indian (Upaniṣadic) teachings that are still prevalent in many Indian families and still anchor their views on IH. The name Upanisad itself means ‘sitting down near’ (to the Guru to gain the Supreme knowledge of the Self and the Universe and setting to rest ignorance) which is equivalent to the three traits among the BIG SEVEN characterized as IH by the western scholars viz. ‘being a good listener’, ‘curious to learn’, and ‘respect to other’s opinion’. The story of Satyakama Jabala (Chandogya Upanisad 4.4-8) who seeks the truth for several years even from the bull, the fire, the swan and waterfowl, suggests nothing but the ‘need for cognition’ or ‘desire for knowledge’. Nachiketa (Katha Upanisad), a boy with a pure mind and heart, follows his father’s words and offers himself to Yama (the God of Death) where after waiting for Yama for three days and nights, he seeks the knowledge of the mysteries of life and death. Although the main aim of these Upaniṣadic stories is to give the knowledge of life and death, the Supreme reality which can be identical with traits such as ‘curious to learn’, one cannot deny that they have a lot more to offer than mere information about true knowledge e.g., ‘politeness’, ‘good listener’, ‘awareness of own limitations’, etc. The possible future scope of this research includes (1) finding other socio-cultural factors that affect the ideas on IH such as age, gender, caste, type of education, highest qualification, place of residence and source of income, etc. which may be predominant in current Indian society despite our great teachings of the Upaniṣads, and (2) to devise different measures to impart IH in Indian children, teenagers, and younger adults for the harmonious future. The current experimental research can be considered as the first step towards these goals.

Keywords: ethics and virtue epistemology, Indian philosophy, intellectual humility, upaniṣadic texts in ancient India

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Authors: Henry Gonzalo Acurio Flores, Alvaro Nicolas Corral Naveda, Juan Francisco Fonseca Palacios

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In Ecuador, subventions on fossil fuels for the road transportation sector have always been part of its economy throughout time, mainly because of demagogy and populism from political leaders. It is clearly seen that the government cannot maintain the subsidies anymore due to its commercial balance and its general state budget; subsidies are a key barrier to implementing the use of cleaner technologies. However, during the last few months, the elimination of subsidies has been done gradually with the purpose of reaching international prices. It is expected that with this measure, the population will opt for other means of transportation, and in a certain way, it will promote the use of private electric vehicles and public, e.g., taxis and buses (urban transport). Considering the three main elements of sustainable development, an analysis of the social, economic, and environmental impacts of eliminating subsidies will be generated at the country level. To achieve this, four scenarios will be developed in order to determine how the subsidies will contribute to the promotion of electro-mobility. 1) A Business as Usual BAU scenario; 2) the introduction of 10 000 electric vehicles by 2025; 3) the introduction of 100 000 electric vehicles by 2030; 4) the introduction of 750 000 electric vehicles by 2040 (for all the scenarios buses, taxis, lightweight duty vehicles, and private vehicles will be introduced, as it is established in the National Electro Mobility Strategy for Ecuador). The Low Emissions Analysis Platform (LEAP) will be used, and it will be suitable to determine the cost for the government in terms of importing derivatives for fossil fuels and the cost of electricity to power the electric fleet that can be changed. The elimination of subventions generates fiscal resources for the state that can be used to develop other kinds of projects that will benefit Ecuadorian society. It will definitely change the energy matrix, and it will provide energy security for the country; it will be an opportunity for the government to incentivize a greater introduction of renewable energies, e.g., solar, wind, and geothermal. At the same time, it will also reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from the transportation sector, considering its mitigation potential, which as a result, will ameliorate the inhabitant quality of life by improving the quality of air, therefore reducing respiratory diseases associated with exhaust emissions, consequently, achieving sustainability, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and complying with the agreements established in the Paris Agreement COP 21 in 2015. Electro mobility in Latin America and the Caribbean can only be achieved by the implementation of the right policies at the central government, which need to be accompanied by a National Urban Mobility Policy (NUMP) and can encompass a greater vision to develop holistic, sustainable transport systems at local governments.

Keywords: electro mobility, energy, policy, sustainable transportation

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Authors: Amin Salighehdar, Ziwen Ye, Mingzhe Liu, Ionut Florescu, Alan F. Blumberg

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Storm surge is an abnormal water level caused by a storm. Accurate prediction of a storm surge is a challenging problem. Researchers developed various ensemble modeling techniques to combine several individual forecasts to produce an overall presumably better forecast. There exist some simple ensemble modeling techniques in literature. For instance, Model Output Statistics (MOS), and running mean-bias removal are widely used techniques in storm surge prediction domain. However, these methods have some drawbacks. For instance, MOS is based on multiple linear regression and it needs a long period of training data. To overcome the shortcomings of these simple methods, researchers propose some advanced methods. For instance, ENSURF (Ensemble SURge Forecast) is a multi-model application for sea level forecast. This application creates a better forecast of sea level using a combination of several instances of the Bayesian Model Averaging (BMA). An ensemble dressing method is based on identifying best member forecast and using it for prediction. Our contribution in this paper can be summarized as follows. First, we investigate whether the ensemble models perform better than any single forecast. Therefore, we need to identify the single best forecast. We present a methodology based on a simple Bayesian selection method to select the best single forecast. Second, we present several new and simple ways to construct ensemble models. We use correlation and standard deviation as weights in combining different forecast models. Third, we use these ensembles and compare with several existing models in literature to forecast storm surge level. We then investigate whether developing a complex ensemble model is indeed needed. To achieve this goal, we use a simple average (one of the simplest and widely used ensemble model) as benchmark. Predicting the peak level of Surge during a storm as well as the precise time at which this peak level takes place is crucial, thus we develop a statistical platform to compare the performance of various ensemble methods. This statistical analysis is based on root mean square error of the ensemble forecast during the testing period and on the magnitude and timing of the forecasted peak surge compared to the actual time and peak. In this work, we analyze four hurricanes: hurricanes Irene and Lee in 2011, hurricane Sandy in 2012, and hurricane Joaquin in 2015. Since hurricane Irene developed at the end of August 2011 and hurricane Lee started just after Irene at the beginning of September 2011, in this study we consider them as a single contiguous hurricane event. The data set used for this study is generated by the New York Harbor Observing and Prediction System (NYHOPS). We find that even the simplest possible way of creating an ensemble produces results superior to any single forecast. We also show that the ensemble models we propose generally have better performance compared to the simple average ensemble technique.

Keywords: Bayesian learning, ensemble model, statistical analysis, storm surge prediction

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Authors: Hidehiro Endo, Taizo Shigemichi

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Introduction & Objectives: In 2008, the revised course of study for elementary schools was published by MEXT, and from the beginning of the academic year of 2011-2012, foreign language activities (English lessons) became mandatory for 5th and 6th graders in Japanese elementary schools. Foreign language activities are currently offered once a week for approximately 50 minutes by elementary school teachers, assistant language teachers who are native speakers of English, volunteers, among others, with the purpose of helping children become accustomed to functional English. However, the new policy has disclosed a myriad of issues in conducting foreign language activities since the majority of the current elementary school teachers has neither English teaching experience nor English proficiency. Nevertheless, converting foreign language activities into English, as a subject in Japanese elementary schools (for 5th and 6th graders) from 2020 is what MEXT currently envisages with the purpose of reforming English education in Japan. According to their new proposal, foreign language activities will be mandatory for 3rd and 4th graders from 2020. Consequently, gaining better access to English learning opportunities becomes one of the primary concerns even in early childhood education. Thus, in this project, we aim to explore some nursery schools’ attempts at providing toddlers with online English lessons via Skype. The main purpose of this project is to look deeply into what roles online English lessons in the nursery schools play in guiding nursery school children to enjoy learning the English language as well as to acquire English communication skills. Research Methods: Setting; The main research site is a nursery school located in the northern part of Japan. The nursery school has been offering a 20-minute online English lesson via Skype twice a week to 7 toddlers since September 2015. The teacher of the online English lessons is a male person who lives in the Philippines. Fieldwork & Data; We have just begun collecting data by attending the Skype English lessons. Direct observations are the principal components of the fieldwork. By closely observing how the toddlers respond to what the teacher does via Skype, we examine what components stimulate the toddlers to pay attention to the English lessons. Preliminary Findings & Expected Outcomes: Although both data collection and analysis are ongoing, we found that the online English teacher remembers the first name of each toddler and calls them by their first name via Skype, a technique that is crucial in motivating the toddlers to actively participate in the lessons. In addition, when the teacher asks the toddlers the name of a plastic object such as grapes in English, the toddlers tend to respond to the teacher in Japanese. Accordingly, the effective use of Japanese in teaching English for nursery school children need to be further examined. The anticipated results of this project are an increased recognition of the significance of creating English language learning opportunities for nursery school children and a significant contribution to the field of early childhood education.

Keywords: teaching children, English education, early childhood education, nursery school

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Authors: Tinnaphop Sinsomboonthong

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The hashtag, #LoveWins, has been widely used for celebrating the victory of the LGBTQ movement since June 2015 when the US Supreme Court enacted the rights of same-sex marriage. Nowadays, the hashtag is generally used among active social media users in many countries, including Thailand. Amidst the political conflict between advocates of the junta-backed legislation related to same-sex marriage laws, known as ‘Thailand’s Civil Partnership Draft Bills,’ and its detractors, the hashtag becomes crucial for Thailand’s 2019 national election season and shortly afterward as it was one of the most crucial parts of a political campaign to rebrand many political parties’ image, create an LGBT-friendly atmosphere and neutralize the bi-polarized politics of the law. The use of the hashtag is, therefore, not just an online entertainment but a politico-discursive tool, used by many actors for many purposes. Behind the confrontation between supporters and opposers of the law, the hashtag is used by both sides to highlight the Western-centric normativity of homosexual love, closely associated with Eurocentric modernity and heteronormativity. As an online ethnographical study, this paper aims to analyze how #LoveWins is used among Thai social media users in late 2018 to mid-2019 and how it is signified by Thai social media users during the Drafted-Bills period and the 2019 national election. A number of preliminary surveys of data on Twitter were conducted in December 2018 and, more intensely, in January 2019. Later, the data survey was officially conducted twice during February and April 2019, while the data collection was done during May-June 2019. Only public posts on Twitter that include the hashtag, #LoveWins, or any hashtags quoting ‘love’ and ‘wins’ are the main targets of this research. As a result of this, the use of the hashtag can be categorized into three levels, including banal decoration, homosexual love celebration, and colonial discourse on homosexual love. Particularly in the third type of the use of the hashtag, discourse analysis is applied to reveal that this hashtag is closely associated with the discourse of development and modernity as most of the descriptive posts demonstrate aspirations to become more ‘developed and modernized’ like many Western countries and Taiwan, the LGBT capital in Asia. Thus, calls for the ‘right to homosexual love’ and the ‘right to same-sex marriage’ in Thailand are shaped and formulated within the discursive linkage between modernity, development, and love. Also, the use of #LoveWins can be considered as a de-queering process of love as only particular types of gender identity, sexual orientation, and relationships that reflect Eurocentric modernity and heteronormativity are acceptable and advocated. Due to this, more inclusive queer loves should be supported rather than a mere essentialist-traditionalist homosexual love. Homonormativity must be deconstructed, and love must no longer be reserved for only one particular type of relationship that is standardized from/by the West. It must become more inclusive.

Keywords: #LoveWins, homosexual love, LGBT rights, same-sex marriage

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Authors: Ligang Wang, Theodoros Damartzis, Stefan Diethelm, Jan Van Herle, François Marechal

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Biogas production from anaerobic digestion of organic sludge from wastewater treatment as well as various urban and agricultural organic wastes is of great significance to achieve a sustainable society. Two upgrading approaches for cleaned biogas can be considered: (1) direct H₂ injection for catalytic CO₂ methanation and (2) CO₂ separation from biogas. The first approach usually employs electrolysis technologies to generate hydrogen and increases the biogas production rate; while the second one usually applies commercially-available highly-selective membrane technologies to efficiently extract CO₂ from the biogas with the latter being then sent afterward for compression and storage for further use. A straightforward way of utilizing the captured CO₂ is on-site catalytic CO₂ methanation. From the perspective of system complexity, the second approach may be questioned, since it introduces an additional expensive membrane component for producing the same amount of methane. However, given the circumstance that the sustainability of the produced biogas should be retained after biogas upgrading, renewable electricity should be supplied to drive the electrolyzer. Therefore, considering the intermittent nature and seasonal variation of renewable electricity supply, the second approach offers high operational flexibility. This indicates that these two approaches should be compared based on the availability and scale of the local renewable power supply and not only the technical systems themselves. Solid-oxide electrolysis generally offers high overall system efficiency, and more importantly, it can achieve simultaneous electrolysis of CO₂ and H₂O (namely, co-electrolysis), which may bring significant benefits for the case of CO₂ separation from the produced biogas. When taking co-electrolysis into account, two additional upgrading approaches can be proposed: (1) direct steam injection into the biogas with the mixture going through the SOE, and (2) CO₂ separation from biogas which can be used later for co-electrolysis. The case study of integrating SOE to a wastewater treatment plant is investigated with wind power as the renewable power. The dynamic production of biogas is provided on an hourly basis with the corresponding oxygen and heating requirements. All four approaches mentioned above are investigated and compared thermo-economically: (a) steam-electrolysis with grid power, as the base case for steam electrolysis, (b) CO₂ separation and co-electrolysis with grid power, as the base case for co-electrolysis, (c) steam-electrolysis and CO₂ separation (and storage) with wind power, and (d) co-electrolysis and CO₂ separation (and storage) with wind power. The influence of the scale of wind power supply is investigated by a sensitivity analysis. The results derived provide general understanding on the economic competitiveness of SOE for sustainable biogas upgrading, thus assisting the decision making for biogas production sites. The research leading to the presented work is funded by European Union’s Horizon 2020 under grant agreements n° 699892 (ECo, topic H2020-JTI-FCH-2015-1) and SCCER BIOSWEET.

Keywords: biogas upgrading, solid-oxide electrolyzer, co-electrolysis, CO₂ utilization, energy storage

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Authors: Maturos Chongchaikit, Sitthikorn Sumalee, Nopphawan Chimroylarp, Nongluck Manowaluilou, Thapanee Thammetha

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The 2015 Kasetsart University Research Plan, which was funded by the National Research Institutes: TRF – NRCT, comprises four sub-research projects on the development of three OER websites and on their usage study by students in international programs. The goals were to develop the open educational resources (OER) in the form of websites that will promote three key skills of quality learning and achievement: Academic English, Educational Research, and ICT Literacy, to graduate students in international programs of Thailand. The statistics from the Office of Higher Education showed that the number of foreign students who come to study in international higher education of Thailand has increased respectively by 25 percent per year, proving that the international education system and institutes of Thailand have been already recognized regionally and globally as meeting the standards. The output of the plan: the OER websites and their materials, and the outcome: students’ learning improvement due to lecturers’ readiness for open educational media, will ultimately lead the country to higher business capabilities for international education services in ASEAN Community in the future. The OER innovation is aimed at sharing quality knowledge to the world, with the adoption of Creative Commons Licenses that makes sharing be able to do freely (5Rs openness), without charge and leading to self and life-long learning. The research has brought the problems on the low usage of existing OER in the English language to develop the OER on three specific skills and try them out with the sample of 100 students randomly selected from the international graduate programs of top 10 Thai universities, according to QS Asia University Rankings 2014. The R&D process was used for product evaluation in 2 stages: the development stage and the usage study stage. The research tools were the questionnaires for content and OER experts, the questionnaires for the sample group and the open-ended interviews for the focus group discussions. The data were analyzed using frequency, percentage, mean and SD. The findings revealed that the developed websites were fully qualified as OERs by the experts. The students’ opinions and satisfaction were at the highest levels for both the content and the technology used for presentation. The usage manual and self-assessment guide were finalized during the focus group discussions. The direct participation according to the concept of 5Rs Openness Activities through the provided tools of OER models like MERLOT and OER COMMONS, as well as the development of usage manual and self-assessment guide, were revealed as a key approach to further extend the output widely and sustainably to the network of users in various higher education institutions.

Keywords: open educational resources, international education services business, academic English, educational research, ICT literacy, international graduate program, OER

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Authors: Julia Gontar, Natalia Buderatskaya, Igor Ilyin, Olga Parnitskaya, Sergey Lavrynenko, Eduard Kapustin, Ekaterina Ilyina, Yana Lakhno

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Introduction: It is well known that oocytes obtained from older reproductive women have accumulated mitochondrial DNA mutations, which negatively affects the morphology of a developing embryo and may lead to the birth of a child with mitochondrial disease. Special techniques have been developed to allow a donor oocyte cytoplasmic transfer with the parents’ biological nuclear DNA retention. At the same time, it is important to understand whether the procedure affects the future embryonic chromosome sets as the nuclear DNA is the transfer subject in this new complex procedure. Material and Methods: From July 2015 to July 2016, the investigation was carried out in the Medical Centre IGR. 34 donor oocytes (group A) were used for the manipulation with the aim of donating cytoplasm: 21 oocytes were used for zygotes pronuclear transfer and oocytes 13 – for the spindle transfer. The mean age of the oocyte donors was 28.4±2.9 years. The procedure was performed using Nikon Ti Eclipse inverted microscope equipped with the micromanipulators Narishige system (Japan), Saturn 3 laser console (UK), Oosight imaging systems (USA). For the preimplantation genetic screening (PGS) blastocyst biopsy was performed, trophectoderm samples were diagnosed using fluorescent in situ hybridization on chromosomes 9, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, 21, 22, X, Y. For comparison of morphological characteristics and euploidy, was chosen a group of embryos (group B) with the amount of 121 blastocysts obtained from 213 oocytes, which were gotten from the donor programs of assisted reproductive technologies (ART). Group B was not subjected to donor oocyte cytoplasmic transfer procedure and studied on the above mentioned chromosomes. Statistical analysis was carried out using the criteria t, x^2 at a significance levels p<0.05, p<0.01, p<0.001. Results: After the donor cytoplasm transfer process the amount of the third day developing embryos was 27 (79.4%). In this stage, the group B consisted of 189 (88.7%) developing embryos, and there was no statistically significant difference (SSD) between the two groups (p>0.05). After a comparative analysis of the morphological characteristics of the embryos on the fifth day, we also found no SSD among the studied groups (p>0.05): from 34 oocytes exposed to manipulation, 14 (41.2%) blastocysts was obtained, while the group B blastocyst yield was 56.8% (n=121) from 213 oocytes. The following results were obtained after PGS performing: in group A euploidy in studied chromosomes were 28.6%(n=4) blastocysts, whereas in group B this rate was 40.5%(n=49), 28.6%(n=4) and 21.5%(n=26) of mosaic embryos and 42.8%(n=6) and 38.0%(n=46) aneuploid blastocysts respectively were identified. None of these specified parameters had an SSD (p>0.05). But attention was drawn by the blastocysts in group A with identified mosaicism, which was chaotic without any cell having euploid chromosomal set, in contrast to the mosaic embryos in group B where identified chaotic mosaicism was only 2.5%(n=3). Conclusions: According to the obtained results, there is no direct procedural effect on the chromosome in embryos obtained following donor oocyte cytoplasmic transfer. Thus, the technology introduction will enhance the infertility treating effectiveness as well as avoiding having a child with mitochondrial disease.

Keywords: donor oocyte cytoplasmic transfer, embryos’ chromosome set, oocyte spindle transfer, pronuclear transfer

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Authors: Reeden Bicomong

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Ecotourism activities, though geared towards conservation efforts, still put pressures against the natural state of the environment. Influx of visitors that goes beyond carrying capacity of the ecotourism site, the wastes generated, greenhouse gas emissions, are just few of the potential negative impacts of a not well-managed ecotourism activities. According to Girard and Nocca (2017) tourism produces many negative impacts because it is configured according to the model of linear economy, operating on a linear model of take, make and dispose (Ellen MacArthur Foundation 2015). With the influx of tourists in an ecotourism area, more wastes are generated, and if unregulated, natural state of the environment will be at risk. It is in this light that a study on waste analysis and classification study in five different ecotourism sites of Samal Island, Philippines was conducted. The major objective of the study was to analyze the amount and content of wastes generated from ecotourism sites in Samal Island, Philippines and make recommendations based on the circular economy perspective. Five ecotourism sites in Samal Island, Philippines was identified such as Hagimit Falls, Sanipaan Vanishing Shoal, Taklobo Giant Clams, Monfort Bat Cave, and Tagbaobo Community Based Ecotourism. Ocular inspection of each ecotourism site was conducted. Likewise, key informant interview of ecotourism operators and staff was done. Wastes generated from these ecotourism sites were analyzed and characterized to come up with recommendations that are based on the concept of circular economy. Wastes generated were classified into biodegradables, recyclables, residuals and special wastes. Regression analysis was conducted to determine if increase in number of visitors would equate to increase in the amount of wastes generated. Ocular inspection indicated that all of the five ecotourism sites have their own system of waste collection. All of the sites inspected were found to be conducting waste separation at source since there are different types of garbage bins for all of the four classification of wastes such as biodegradables, recyclables, residuals and special wastes. Furthermore, all five ecotourism sites practice composting of biodegradable wastes and recycling of recyclables. Therefore, only residuals are being collected by the municipal waste collectors. Key informant interview revealed that all five ecotourism sites offer mostly nature based activities such as swimming, diving, site seeing, bat watching, rice farming experiences and community living. Among the five ecotourism sites, Sanipaan Vanishing Shoal has the highest average number of visitors in a weekly basis. At the same time, in the wastes assessment study conducted, Sanipaan has the highest amount of wastes generated. Further results of wastes analysis revealed that biodegradables constitute majority of the wastes generated in all of the five selected ecotourism sites. Meanwhile, special wastes proved to be the least generated as there was no amount of this type was observed during the three consecutive weeks WACS was conducted.

Keywords: Circular economy, ecotourism, sustainable development, WACS

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Authors: Rakesh Mishra

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India’s Demography has always amazed the world because of its unprecedented outcomes in the presence of multifaceted socioeconomic and geographical characteristics. Being the first one to implement family panning in 1952, it occupies 2nd largest population of the world, with some of its state like Uttar Pradesh contributing 5th largest population to the world population surpassing Brazil. Being the one with higher in number it is more prone to the demographic disparity persisting into its territories brought upon by the inequalities in availability, accessibility and attainability of socioeconomic and various other resources. Fifth goal of Millennium Development Goal emphasis to improve maternal and child health across the world as Children’s development is very important for the overall development of society and the best way to develop national human resources is to take care of children. The target is to reduce the infant deaths by three quarters between 1990 and 2015. Child health status depends on the care and delivery by trained personnel, particularly through institutional facilities which is further associated with the status of the mother. However, delivery in institutional facilities and delivery by skilled personnel are rising slowly in India. The main objective of the present study is to measure the child health status on based on the educational and occupational background of the women in India. Study indicates that women education plays a very crucial role in deciding the health of the new born care and access to family planning, but the women autonomy indicates to have mixed results in different states of India. It is observed that rural women are 1.61 times more likely to exclusive breastfed their children compared to urban women. With respect to Hindu category, women belonging to other religious community were 21 percent less likely to exclusive breastfed their child. Taking scheduled caste as reference category, the odds of exclusive breastfeeding is found to be decreasing in comparison to other castes, and it is found to be significant among general category. Women of high education status have higher odds of using family planning methods in most of the southern states of India. By and large, girls and boys are about equally undernourished. Under nutrition is generally lower for first births than for subsequent births and consistently increases with increasing birth order for all measures of nutritional status. It is to be noted that at age 12-23 months, when many children are being weaned from breast milk, 30 percent of children are severely stunted and around 21 percent are severely underweight. So, this paper presents the evidence on the patterns of prevailing child health status in India and its states with reference to the mother socioeconomics and biological characteristics and examines trends in these, and discusses plausible explanations.

Keywords: immunization, exclusive breastfeeding, under five mortality, binary logistic regression, ordinal regression and life table

Procedia PDF Downloads 238

Authors: Kristine Nore, Alexander Severnisen, Petter Arnestad, Dimitris Kraniotis, Roy Rossebø

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Natural materials like wood, absorb and release moisture. Thus wood can buffer indoor climate. When used wisely, this buffer potential can be used to counteract the outer climate influence on the building. The mass of moisture used in the buffer is defined as the potential hygrothermal mass, which can be an energy storage in a building. This works like a natural heat pump, where the moisture is active in damping the diurnal changes. In Norway, the ability of wood as a material used for climate buffering is tested in several buildings with the extensive use of wood, including supermarkets. This paper defines the potential of hygrothermal mass in a supermarket building. This includes the chosen ventilation strategy, and how the climate impact of the building is reduced. The building is located above the arctic circle, 50m from the coastline, in Valnesfjord. It was built in 2015, has a shopping area, including toilet and entrance, of 975 m². The climate of the area is polar according to the Köppen classification, but the supermarket still needs cooling on hot summer days. In order to contribute to the total energy balance, wood needs dynamic influence to activate its hygrothermal mass. Drying and moistening of the wood are energy intensive, and this energy potential can be exploited. Examples are to use solar heat for drying instead of heating the indoor air, and raw air with high enthalpy that allow dry wooden surfaces to absorb moisture and release latent heat. Weather forecasts are used to define the need for future cooling or heating. Thus, the potential energy buffering of the wood can be optimized with intelligent ventilation control. The ventilation control in Valnesfjord includes the weather forecast and historical data. That is a five-day forecast and a two-day history. This is to prevent adjustments to smaller weather changes. The ventilation control has three zones. During summer, the moisture is retained to dampen for solar radiation through drying. In the winter time, moist air let into the shopping area to contribute to the heating. When letting the temperature down during the night, the moisture absorbed in the wood slow down the cooling. The ventilation system is shut down during closing hours of the supermarket in this period. During the autumn and spring, a regime of either storing the moisture or drying out to according to the weather prognoses is defined. To ensure indoor climate quality, measurements of CO₂ and VOC overrule the low energy control if needed. Verified simulations of the Valnesfjord building will build a basic model for investigating wood as a climate regulating material also in other climates. Future knowledge on hygrothermal mass potential in materials is promising. When including the time-dependent buffer capacity of materials, building operators can achieve optimal efficiency of their ventilation systems. The use of wood as a climate regulating material, through its potential hygrothermal mass and connected to weather prognoses, may provide up to 25% energy savings related to heating, cooling, and ventilation of a building.

Keywords: climate buffer, energy, hygrothermal mass, ventilation, wood, weather forecast

Procedia PDF Downloads 179

Authors: Tanima Bhattacharya, Joy Sen

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To transform a space into a better livable and sustainable zone, United Nations Summit in New York 2015, has decided upon 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) that approach directly to achieve inclusive, people-centric, sustainable developments. Though sustainability has been majorly constructed by four pillars, namely, Ecological, Economic, Social and Cultural, but it is essentially reduced to economic and ecological consideration in the context of developing countries. Therefore, in most cases planning has reduced its ambit to concentrate around the tangible infrastructure, ignoring the fundamentals of socio-cultural heritage. With the accentuating hype of infrastructural augmentation, lack of emphasis of traditional concerns like ethnicity and social connection have further diluted the situation, disintegrating cultural continuity. As cultural continuity lacks its cohesion, it’s growing absence increasingly acts as a catalyst to degrade the heritage structures, spaces around and linking these structures, and the ability of stakeholders in identifying themselves rooted in that particular space. Hence, this paper will argue that sustainability depends on the people and their interaction with their surroundings, their culture and livelihood. The interaction between people and their surroundings strengthen community building and social interaction that abides by stakeholders reverting back to their roots. To assess the socio-cultural sustainability of the city of Kolkata, two study areas are selected, namely, an old settlement from the northern part of the city of Kolkata (KMA), imbued with social connection, age-old cultural and ethnic bonding and, another cluster of new high-rises coming up in the Newtown area having portions of planned city extension on the eastern side of the city itself. Whereas, Newtown prioritizes the surging post-industrial trends of economic aspiration and ecological aspects of urban sustainability; the former settlements of northern Kolkata still continue to represent the earliest community settlement of the British-colonial-cum native era and even the pre-colonial era, permeated with socio-cultural reciprocation. Thus, to compare and assess the inlayed organizational structure of both the spaces in the two cases, selected areas have been surveyed to portray their current imageability. The argument of this paper is structured in 5parts. First, an introduction of the idea has been forwarded, Secondly, a literature review has been conducted to ground the proposed ideas, Thirdly, methodology has been discussed and appropriate case study areas have been selected, Fourthly, surveys and analyses has been forwarded and lastly, the paper has arrived at a set of conclusions by suggesting a threefold development to create happy, healthy and sustainable community.

Keywords: art innovation, current scenario assessment, heritage, imageability, socio-cultural sustainability

Procedia PDF Downloads 112

Authors: Bengan Simbarashe Manwere

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The entire African continent, comprising 55 countries, holds a 2% share of the global carbon market. The World Bank attributes the continent’s insignificant share and participation in the carbon market to the limited access to electricity. Approximately 800 million people spread across 47 African countries generate as much power as Spain, with a population of 45million. Only South Africa and North Africa have carbon-reduction investment opportunities on the continent and dominate the 2% market share of the global carbon market. On the back of the 2015 Paris Agreement, South Africa signed into law the Carbon Tax Act 15 of 2019 and the Customs and Excise Amendment Act 13 of 2019 (Gazette No. 4280) on 1 June 2019. By these laws, South Africa was ushered into the league of active global carbon market players. By increasing the cost of production by the rate of R120/tCO2e, the tax intentionally compels the internalization of pollution as a cost of production and, relatedly, stimulate investment in clean technologies. The first phase covered the 1 June 2019 – 31 December 2022 period during which the tax was meant to escalate at CPI + 2% for Scope 1 emitters. However, in the second phase, which stretches from 2023 to 2030, the tax will escalate at the inflation rate only as measured by the consumer price index (CPI). The Carbon Tax Act provides for carbon allowances as mitigation strategies to limit agents’ carbon tax liability by up to 95% for fugitive and process emissions. Although the June 2019 Carbon Tax Act explicitly makes provision for a carbon trading scheme (CTS), the carbon trading regulations thereof were only finalised in December 2020. This points to a delay in the establishment of a carbon trading scheme (CTS). Relatedly, emitters in South Africa are not able to benefit from the 95% reduction in effective carbon tax rate from R120/tCO2e to R6/tCO2e as the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) has not yet finalized the establishment of the market for trading carbon credits. Whereas most carbon trading schemes have been designed and constructed from the beginning as new tailor-made systems in countries the likes of France, Australia, Romania which treat carbon as a financial product, South Africa intends, on the contrary, to leverage existing trading infrastructure of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) and the Clearing and Settlement platforms of Strate, among others, in the interest of the Paris Agreement timelines. Therefore the carbon trading scheme will not be constructed from scratch. At the same time, carbon will be treated as a commodity in order to align with the existing institutional and infrastructural capacity. This explains why the Carbon Tax Act is silent about the involvement of the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA).For South Africa, there is need to establish they equilibrium stability of the CTS. This is important as South Africa is an innovator in carbon trading and the successful trading of carbon credits on the JSE will lead to imitation by early adopters first, followed by the middle majority thereafter.

Keywords: carbon trading scheme (CTS), Johannesburg stock exchange (JSE), carbon tax act 15 of 2019, South Africa

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Authors: Anderson Braga Mendes, Wallington Felipe de Almeida, Cicero Medeiros da Silva

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This study aimed to assess the lifespan of the fish transposition system of the Itaipu Power Plant (Brazil/Paraguay) by using 3D hydrodynamic modeling and Churchill trapping effiency in order to identify the sedimentological equilibrium configuration in the main pond of the Piracema Channel, which is part of a 10 km hydraulic circuit that enables fish migration from downstream to upstream (and vice-versa) the Itaipu Dam, overcoming a 120 m water drop. For that, bottom data from 2002 (its opening year) and 2015 were collected and analyzed, besides bed material at 12 stations to the purpose of identifying their granulometric profiles. The Shields and Yalin and Karahan diagrams for initiation of motion of bed material were used to determine the critical bed shear stress for the sedimentological equilibrium state based on the sort of sediment (grain size) to be found at the bottom once the balance is reached. Such granulometry was inferred by analyzing the grosser material (fine and medium sands) which inflows the pond and deposits in its backwater zone, being adopted a range of diameters within the upper and lower limits of that sand stratification. The software Delft 3D was used in an attempt to compute the bed shear stress at every station under analysis. By modifying the input bathymetry of the main pond of the Piracema Channel so as to the computed bed shear stress at each station fell within the intervals of acceptable critical stresses simultaneously, it was possible to foresee the bed configuration of the main pond when the sedimentological equilibrium is reached. Under such condition, 97% of the whole pond capacity will be silted, and a shallow water course with depths ranging from 0.2 m to 1.5 m will be formed; in 2002, depths ranged from 2 m to 10 m. Out of that water path, the new bottom will be practically flat and covered by a layer of water 0.05 m thick. Thus, in the future the main pond of the Piracema Channel will lack its purpose of providing a resting place for migrating fish species, added to the fact that it may become an insurmountable barrier for medium and large sized specimens. Everything considered, it was estimated that its lifespan, from the year of its opening to the moment of the sedimentological equilibrium configuration, will be approximately 95 years–almost half of the computed lifespan of Itaipu Power Plant itself. However, it is worth mentioning that drawbacks concerning the silting in the main pond will start being noticed much earlier than such time interval owing to the reasons previously mentioned.

Keywords: 3D hydrodynamic modeling, Churchill trapping efficiency, fish crossing system, Itaipu power plant, lifespan, sedimentological equilibrium

Procedia PDF Downloads 207