Search results for: fast inoculum adaptation

Authors: H. Nacef, L. Larous

Abstract:

Salin soils occupy about 7% of land area; they are characterized by unsuitable physical conditions for the growth of living organisms. However, researches showed that some microorganisms especially fungi are able to grow and adapt to such extreme conditions; it is due to their ability to develop different physiological mechanisms in their adaptation. The aim of this study is to identify qualitatively the osmolytes that the biotechnological important fungus A. oryzae accumulated and/or produced in its adaptation, which they were detected by Thin-layer chromatography technique (TLC) using several systems, from different media (Wheat brane, MNM medium and MM medium). The results showed that The moderately halotolerant fungus A. oryzae, accumulates mixture of molecules, containing polyols and sugars , some amino acids in addition to some molecules which were not defined. Wheat bran was the best medium for the extraction of these molecules, where the proportion was 85.71%, followed by MNM medium 64.28%, then the minimum medium MM 14.28%. Properties of osmolytes are becoming increasingly useful in molecular biology, agriculture pharmaceutical, medicinal, and biotechnological interests.

Keywords: salinity, aspergillus oryzae, halo tolerance, osmolytes, compatible solutes

Procedia PDF Downloads 391

Authors: Mohammed S. Al-Rawi, J. Bastos, J. Rodriguez

Abstract:

Object detection and object recognition are essential components of every computer vision system. Despite the high computational complexity and other problems related to numerical stability and accuracy, Zernike moments of 2D images (ZMs) have shown resilience when used in object recognition and have been used in various image analysis applications. In this work, we propose a novel method for computing ZMs via Fast Fourier Transform (FFT). Notably, this is the first algorithm that can generate ZMs up to extremely high orders accurately, e.g., it can be used to generate ZMs for orders up to 1000 or even higher. Furthermore, the proposed method is also simpler and faster than the other methods due to the availability of FFT software and/or hardware. The accuracies and numerical stability of ZMs computed via FFT have been confirmed using the orthogonality property. We also introduce normalizing ZMs with Neumann factor when the image is embedded in a larger grid, and color image reconstruction based on RGB normalization of the reconstructed images. Astonishingly, higher-order image reconstruction experiments show that the proposed methods are superior, both quantitatively and subjectively, compared to the q-recursive method.

Keywords: Chebyshev polynomial, fourier transform, fast algorithms, image recognition, pseudo Zernike moments, Zernike moments

Procedia PDF Downloads 237

Authors: A. Bayat, R. Bello-Mendoza, D. G. Wareham

Abstract:

Two major categories of green waste are fruit and vegetable (FV) waste and garden and yard (GY) waste. Although, anaerobic digestions (AD) is able to manage FV waste; there is less confidence in the conditions for AD to handle GY wastes (grass, leaves, trees and bush trimmings); mainly because GY contains lignin and other recalcitrant organics. GY in the dry state (TS ≥ 15 %) can be digested at mesophilic temperatures; however, little methane data has been reported under thermophilic conditions, where conceivably better methane yields could be achieved. In addition, it is suspected that at lower solids concentrations, the methane yield could be increased. As such, the aim of this research is to find the temperature and solids concentration conditions that produce the most methane; under two different temperature regimes (mesophilic, thermophilic) and three solids states (i.e. 'dry', 'semi-dry' and 'wet'). Twenty liters of GY waste was collected from a public park located in the northern district in Tehran. The clippings consisted of freshly cut grass as well as dry branches and leaves. The GY waste was chopped before being fed into a mechanical blender that reduced it to a paste-like consistency. An initial TS concentration of approximately 38 % was achieved. Four hundred mL of anaerobic inoculum (average total solids (TS) concentration of 2.03 ± 0.131 % of which 73.4% were volatile solid (VS), soluble chemical oxygen demand (sCOD) of 4.59 ± 0.3 g/L) was mixed with the GY waste substrate paste (along with distilled water) to achieve a TS content of approximately 20 %. For comparative purposes, approximately 20 liters of FV waste was ground in the same manner as the GY waste. Since FV waste has a much higher natural water content than GY, it was dewatered to obtain a starting TS concentration in the dry solid-state range (TS ≥ 15 %). Three samples were dewatered to an average starting TS concentration of 32.71 %. The inoculum was added (along with distilled water) to dilute the initial FV TS concentrations down to semi-dry conditions (10-15 %) and wet conditions (below 10 %). Twelve 1-L batch bioreactors were loaded simultaneously with either GY or FV waste at TS solid concentrations ranging from 3.85 ± 1.22 % to 20.11 ± 1.23 %. The reactors were sealed and were operated for 30 days while being immersed in water baths to maintain a constant temperature of 37 ± 0.5 °C (mesophilic) or 55 ± 0.5 °C (thermophilic). A maximum methane yield of 115.42 (L methane/ kg VS added) was obtained for the GY thermophilic-wet AD combination. Methane yield was enhanced by 240 % compared to the GY waste mesophilic-dry condition. The results confirm that high temperature regimes and small solids concentrations are conditions that enhance methane yield from GY waste. A similar trend was observed for the anaerobic digestion of FV waste. Furthermore, a maximum value of VS (53 %) and sCOD (84 %) reduction was achieved during the AD of GY waste under the thermophilic-wet condition.

Keywords: anaerobic digestion, thermophilic, mesophilic, total solids concentration

Procedia PDF Downloads 109

Authors: Flavia Schuler Gomes, Cristina Brito Dias, Emily Schuler

Abstract:

One of the emerging themes in modern society is migration. What in the past was a route mostly traveled by men, is currently carried out by women and even children. In this sense, the objective of this research was to understand the experiences and repercussions of the migration in the life of young Brazilians who went to Switzerland. The specific objectives were: to know the causes and consequences of migration; how was the adaptation in the country in emotional and educational terms; as how the interviewees feel the impact of living with two cultures simultaneously. The research had a qualitative methodology. The participants were eight young men and women, between the ages of 18 and 25, who migrated to Switzerland as a child. The instrument used was interview technique of life history. The collected data were analyzed through the thematic content analysis. The results indicate that the young people migrated to accompany their mothers; in terms of nationality, two participants feel completely Swiss, and six believe they share Swiss and Brazilian aspects. None of the participants followed an academic career, having secondary education.

Keywords: adaptation, children, culture, migration

Procedia PDF Downloads 145

Authors: Feyza Gökce, Jochen Gensichen, Antonius Schneider, Karolina de Valerio, Gabriele Pitschel-Walz

Abstract:

People with depressive symptoms often first consult a General Practitioner (GP) before making use of other treatment options. The present study shows the adaptation and evaluation of a psychoeducational program for patients with depressive symptoms that are treated by GPs in Bavaria, Germany. The adaptation of an existing psychoeducational program, that is used in inpatient psychiatric settings, was performed in exchange with experts (psychotherapists, general practitioners, and a patient representative). As a result, a program consisting of 4 psychoeducational sessions was developed, which is carried out in individual settings in GP practices by the practitioners themselves. This program will be compared to treatment as usual that patients with depression receive by GPs. Data is collected at 3 measurement points (baseline, 3-months-follow-up, 6-months-follow-up) using different questionnaires (BDI-II, D-Lit-R German, FERUS, PAM13-D, PHQ-9, GAD-7, PHQ-15, PC-PTSD-5). In addition to the change in depressive symptoms, changes in depression knowledge, self-efficacy, and patient activation will be analyzed, and the feasibility of the program and the subjective benefit for GPs and patients will be assessed. By now, 84 patients have been recruited by 20 cluster-randomized GP practices, with 73.5% of the participants being female and 26.5% being males. The average age was M= 50.1 (SD= 14.67) years. The change in depression symptoms over the 3-month period will be compared between the two study conditions by using a linear mixed model by the end of data collection (December 2023). The subjective benefit for the patients and GPs will be assessed via feedback questionnaires. Results will be presentable by the beginning of 2024 and will provide indications for further development and barriers to the implementation of such a program for GP practices.

Keywords: depression, general practice, psychoeducation, primary care

Procedia PDF Downloads 41

Authors: Shilan Rahmani Azr, Siavash Emtiyaz

Abstract:

Recent development in computing and communicative technologies leads to much easier mobile accessibility to the information. Users can access to the information in different places using various deceives in which the care variety of abilities. Meanwhile, the format and details of electronic documents are changing each day. In these cases, a mismatch is created between content and client’s abilities. Recently the service-oriented content adaption has been developed which the adapting tasks are dedicated to some extended services. In this method, the main problem is to choose the best appropriate service among accessible and distributed services. In this paper, a method for determining the optimal path to the best services, based on the quality control parameters and user preferences, is proposed using max heap tree. The efficiency of this method in contrast to the other previous methods of the content adaptation is related to the determining the optimal path of the best services which are measured. The results show the advantages and progresses of this method in compare of the others.

Keywords: service-oriented content adaption, QoS, max heap tree, web services

Procedia PDF Downloads 230

Authors: Zenaide Carvalho da Silva, Leandro Rodrigues Ferreira, Andrey Ricardo Pimentel

Abstract:

Learning styles (LS) refer to the ways and forms that the student prefers to learn in the teaching and learning process. Each student has their own way of receiving and processing information throughout the learning process. Therefore, knowing their LS is important to better understand their individual learning preferences, and also, understand why the use of some teaching methods and techniques give better results with some students, while others it does not. We believe that knowledge of these styles enables the possibility of making propositions for teaching; thus, reorganizing teaching methods and techniques in order to allow learning that is adapted to the individual needs of the student. Adapting learning would be possible through the creation of online educational resources adapted to the style of the student. In this context, this article presents the structure of a learning object interface adaptation based on the LS. The structure created should enable the creation of the adapted learning object according to the student's LS and contributes to the increase of student’s motivation in the use of a learning object as an educational resource.

Keywords: adaptation, interface, learning object, learning style

Procedia PDF Downloads 371

Authors: Jin-Sup Kim, Se-Hwan Choi, Jae-Young Lee

Abstract:

A 8-bit CMOS capacitor array is designed for using in electrically steerable passive array radiator (ESPAR). The proposed capacitor array shows the fast response time in rising and falling characteristics. Compared to other works in silicon-on-insulator (SOI) or silicon-on-sapphire (SOS) technologies, it shows a comparable tuning range and switching time with low power consumption. Using the 0.18um CMOS, the capacitor array features a tuning range of 1.5 to 12.9 pF at 2.4GHz. Including the 2X4 decoder for control interface, the Chip size is 350um X 145um. Current consumption is about 80 nA at 1.8 V operation.

Keywords: CMOS capacitor array, ESPAR, SOI, SOS, switching time

Procedia PDF Downloads 565

Authors: Rugang Tian

Abstract:

In this study, we generated whole-genome sequence (WGS) data from110 native cattle. Together with whole-genome sequences from world-wide cattle populations, we estimated the genetic diversity and population genetic structure of different cattle populations. Our findings revealed clustering of cattle groups in line with their geographic locations. We identified noticeable genetic diversity between indigenous cattle breeds and commercial populations. Among all studied cattle groups, lower genetic diversity measures were found in commercial populations, however, high genetic diversity were detected in some local cattle, particularly in Rashoki and Mongolian breeds. Our search for potential genomic regions under selection in native cattle revealed several candidate genes related with immune response and cold shock protein on multiple chromosomes such as TRPM8, NMUR1, PRKAA2, SMTNL2 and OXR1 that are involved in energy metabolism and metabolic homeostasis.

Keywords: cattle, whole-genome, population structure, adaptation

Procedia PDF Downloads 21

Authors: Rohit Kamal, Devaki Perumal Rajaram, Rajam Krishna, Sai Kumar Pindagiri, Silas Danielraj

Abstract:

Introduction: According to WHO, Global health observatory at least 2.8 million people die each year because of obesity and overweight. This is mainly because of the adverse metabolic effects of obesity and overweight on blood pressure, lipid profile especially cholesterol and insulin resistance. To achieve optimum health WHO has set the BMI in the range of 18.5 to 24.9 kg/m2. Due to modernization of life style, physical exercise in the form of work is no longer a possibility and hence an effective way to burn out calories to achieve the optimum BMI is the need of the hour. Studies have shown that exercising for more than 60 minutes /day helps to maintain the weight and to reduce the weight exercise should be done for 90 minutes a day. Moderate exercise for about 30 min is essential for burning up of calories. People with low endurance fail to perform even the low intensity exercise for minimal time. Hence, it is necessary to find out some effective method to increase the endurance time. Methodology: This study was approved by the Institutional Ethical committee of our college. After getting written informed consent, 25 apparently healthy males between the age group 18-20 years were selected. Subjects are with muscular disorder, subjects who are Hypertensive, Diabetes, Smokers, Alcoholics, taking drugs affecting the muscle strength. To determine the endurance time: Maximum voluntary contraction (MVC) was measured by asking the participants to squeeze the hand grip dynamometer as hard as possible and hold it for 3 seconds. This procedure was repeated thrice and the average of the three reading was taken as the maximum voluntary contraction. The participant was then asked to squeeze the dynamometer and hold it at 70% of the maximum voluntary contraction while hearing fast tempo music which was played for about ten minutes then the participant was asked to relax for ten minutes and was made to hold the hand grip dynamometer at 70% of the maximum voluntary contraction while hearing slow tempo music. To avoid the bias of getting habituated to the procedure the order of hearing for the fast and slow tempo music was changed. The time for which they can hold it at 70% of MVC was determined by using a stop watch and that was taken as the endurance time. Results: The mean value of the endurance time during fast and slow tempo music was compared in all the subjects. The mean MVC was 34.92 N. The mean endurance time was 21.8 (16.3) seconds with slow tempo music which was more then with fast tempo music with which the mean endurance time was 20.6 (11.7) seconds. The preference was more for slow tempo music then for fast tempo music. Conclusion: Music when played during exercise by some unknown mechanism helps to increase the endurance time by alleviating the symptoms of lactic acid accumulation.

Keywords: endurance time, fast tempo music, maximum voluntary contraction, slow tempo music

Procedia PDF Downloads 276

Authors: Kashif Jabbar

Abstract:

Milk adulteration is a global concern, and the current study was plan to synthesize Selenium nanoparticles by green method using plant extract of garlic, Allium Sativum, and to characterize Selenium nanoparticles through different analytical techniques and to apply Selenium nanoparticles as fast and easy technique for the detection of salicylic acid in milk. The highly selective, sensitive, and quick interference green synthesis-based sensing of possible milk adulterants i.e., salicylic acid, has been reported here. Salicylic acid interacts with nanoparticles through strong bonding interactions, hence resulting in an interruption within the formation of selenium nanoparticles which is confirmed by UV-VIS spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and x-ray diffraction. This interaction in the synthesis of nanoparticles resulted in transmittance wavelength that decrease with the increasing amount of salicylic acid, showing strong binding of selenium nanoparticles with adulterant, thereby permitting in-situ fast detection of salicylic acid from milk having a limit of detection at 10-3 mol and linear coefficient correlation of 0.9907. Conclusively, it can be draw that colloidal selenium could be synthesize successfully by garlic extract in order to serve as a probe for fast and cheap testing of milk adulteration.

Keywords: adulteration, green synthesis, selenium nanoparticles, salicylic acid, aggregation

Procedia PDF Downloads 46

Authors: Pronob Kumar Mozumder, M. Abdur Rob Mollah

Abstract:

This research was conducted in two coastal locations of Bangladesh from February, 2013 to January, 2014.The objective of this research was to assess the potential vulnerabilities of climate change on local ecosystem and people and to identify and recommend local level adaptation strategies to climate change. Focus group discussions, participatory rural appraisal, interviewing local elderly people were conducted. Perceptions about climate change indicate that local people are experiencing impacts of climate change. According to local people, temperature, cyclone, rain, water-logging, siltation, salinity, erosion, and flash flood are increasing. Vulnerability assessment revealed that local people are variously affected by abnormal climate related disasters. This is jeopardizing their livelihoods, risking their lives, health, and their assets. This prevailing climatic situation in the area is also impacting their environmental conditions, biodiversity and natural resources, and their economic activities. The existing adaptation includes using traditional boat and mobile phone while fishing and making house on high land and lower height. Proposed adaptation for fishing boat are using more than 60 feet length with good timber, putting at least 3 longitudinal bar along upper side, using enough vertical side bars. The homestead measures include use of cross bracing of wall frame, roof tying with extra-post by ropes and plantation of timber tree against wind.

Keywords: community level vulnerabilities, climate change, Cox’s Bazar-Teknaf Coastal Area, Bangladesh

Procedia PDF Downloads 499

Authors: Pradeep Lamichhane, Nima Pourali, E. V. Rebrov, Volker Hessel

Abstract:

Nitrogen fixation is critical for plants for the biosynthesis of protein and nucleic acid. Most of our atmosphere is nitrogen, yet plants cannot directly absorb it from the air, and natural nitrogen fixation is insufficient to meet the demands. This experiment used a fast-modulated surface-confined atmospheric pressure plasma created by a 6 kV (peak-peak) sinusoidal power source with a repetition frequency of 68 kHz to fix nitrogen. Plasmas have been proposed for excitation of nitrogen gas, which quickly oxidised to NOX. With different N2/O2 input ratios, the rate of NOX generation was investigated. The rate of NOX production was shown to be optimal for mixtures of 60–70% O2 with N2. To boost NOX production in plasma, metal oxide catalysts based on TiO2 were coated over the dielectric layer of a reactor. These results demonstrate that nitrogen activation was more advantageous in surface-confined plasma sources because micro-discharges formed on the sharp edges of the electrodes, which is a primary function attributed to NOX synthesis and is further enhanced by metal oxide catalysts. The energy-efficient and sustainable NOX synthesis described in this study will offer a fresh perspective for ongoing research on green nitrogen fixation techniques.

Keywords: nitrogen fixation, fast-modulated, surface-confined, sustainable

Procedia PDF Downloads 71

Authors: H. van Rensburg, B. Adcock, B. Al Mansouri

Abstract:

This paper discusses the impact of pedagogical and learning differences on Arabic international students’ (AIS) learning when they come to study in Australia. It describes the difference in teaching and learning methods between the students’ home countries in the Arabic world and Australia. There are many research papers that discuss the general experiences of international students in the western learning systems, including Australia. However, there is little research conducted specifically about AIS learning in Australia. Therefore, the data was collected through in-depth, semi-structured interviews with AIS who are learning at an Australian regional university in Queensland. For that reason, this paper contributes to fill a gap by reporting on the learning experiences of AIS in Australia and, more specifically, on the AIS’ pedagogical experiences. Not only discussing the learning experiences of AIS, but also discussing the cultural adaptation using the Oberg’s cultural adaptation model. This paper suggests some learning strategies that may benefit AIS and academic lecturers when teaching students from a completely different culture and language.

Keywords: arabic international students, cultural adaption, learning differences, learning systems

Procedia PDF Downloads 573

Authors: Varvara Tyurina

Abstract:

In the age of globalization Internet communication as a new format of interactions have become an integral part of our daily routine. Internet environment allows for new conditions and provides participants to a communication act with extra communication tools which can be used on Internet forums or in chat rooms. As a result communicants tend to alternate their behavior patterns in contrast to those practiced in live communication. It is not yet clear which communication strategies participants to Internet communication abide by and what determines their choices. Given the continually changing environment of a forum or a chat the behavior of a communicant can be interpreted in terms of autopoiesis theory which sees adaptation as the major tool for coexistence between the living system and its niche. Each communication act is seen as interaction between the communicant (i.e. the living system) and the overall environment of the forum (i.e. the niche) rather than one particular interlocutor. When communicating via the Internet participants are believed to aim at reaching a balance between themselves and the environment of a forum or a chat. The research focuses on unveiling the adaptation strategies employed by a communicant in particular cases and looks into the reasons they are employed. There is a correlation between language faculty of the communicants and the strategies they opt for when communicating on Internet forums and in chat rooms. The research included an experiment with a sample of Russian-English asymmetric bilinguals aged 16-25. Respondents were given two texts of equivalent contents, but of different language complexity. They had to respond to the texts as if they were making a reciprocal comment at a forum. It has been revealed that when communicants realize that their language faculty is not sufficient to understand the initial text they tend to amend their communication strategy in order to maintain the balance with the niche (remain involved in the communication). Most common strategies for responding to a difficult-to-understand text were self-presentation, veiling poor language faculty and response evasion. The research has so far focused on a very narrow aspect of correlation between language faculty and communication behavior, namely the syntactic and lexicological complexity of initial texts. It is essential to conduct a series of experiments that dwell on other characteristics of the texts to determine the range of cases when language faculty determines the choice of adaptation strategy.

Keywords: adaptation, communication strategies, internet communication, verbal interaction, autopoiesis theory

Procedia PDF Downloads 331

Authors: Massra M. Sabeima, Myriam lamolle, Mohamedade Farouk Nanne

Abstract:

Adapting the learning resources of an e-learning system to the characteristics of the learners is an important aspect to consider when designing an adaptive e-learning system. However, this adaptation is not a simple process; it requires the extraction, analysis, and modeling of user information. This implies a good representation of the user's profile, which is the backbone of the adaptation process. Moreover, during the e-learning process, collaboration with similar users (same geographic province or knowledge context) is important. Productive collaboration motivates users to continue or not abandon the course and increases the assimilation of learning objects. The contribution of this work is the following: we propose an adaptive e-learning semantic platform to recommend learning resources to learners, using ontology to model the user profile and the course content, furthermore an implementation of a multi-agent system able to progressively generate the learning graph (taking into account the user's progress, and the changes that occur) for each user during the learning process, and to synchronize the users who collaborate on a learning object.

Keywords: adaptative learning, collaboration, multi-agent, ontology

Procedia PDF Downloads 145

Authors: Akella Amarendra Babu, Rama Devi Yellasiri, Natukula Sainath

Abstract:

Where human beings can easily learn and adopt pronunciation variations, machines need training before put into use. Also humans keep minimum vocabulary and their pronunciation variations are stored in front-end of their memory for ready reference, while machines keep the entire pronunciation dictionary for ready reference. Supervised methods are used for preparation of pronunciation dictionaries which take large amounts of manual effort, cost, time and are not suitable for real time use. This paper presents an unsupervised adaptation model for building agile and dynamic pronunciation dictionaries online. These methods mimic human approach in learning the new pronunciations in real time. A new algorithm for measuring sound distances called Dynamic Phone Warping is presented and tested. Performance of the system is measured using an adaptation model and the precision metrics is found to be better than 86 percent.

Keywords: pronunciation variations, dynamic programming, machine learning, natural language processing

Procedia PDF Downloads 146

Authors: Fawehinmi Olabisi Alaba, O. R. Adeniyi

Abstract:

Farming households faces lots of disaster which contribute to endemic poverty. Anticipated increases in extreme weather events will exacerbate this. Primary data was administered to farming household using multi-stage random sampling technique. The result of the analysis shows that majority of the respondents (69.9%) are male, have mean household size, years of formal education and age of 5±1.14, 6±3.41, and 51.06±10.43 respectively. The major (48.9%) type of disaster experienced is flooding. Major coping mechanism adopted is sourcing for support from family and friends. Age, education, experience, access to extension agent, and mitigation control method contribute significantly to vulnerability to disaster. The major adaptation method (62.3%) is construction of drainage. The study revealed that the coping mechanisms employed may become less effective as increasingly fragile livelihood systems struggle to withstand disaster shocks. Thus there is need for training of the farmers on measures to adapt to mitigate the shock from disasters.

Keywords: adaptation, disasters, flooding, vulnerability

Procedia PDF Downloads 234

Authors: S. Bouharati, F. Allag, M. Belmahdi, M. Bounechada

Abstract:

In terms of ecology forecast effects of desertification, the purpose of this study is to develop a predictive model of growth and adaptation of species in arid environment and bioclimatic conditions. The impact of climate change and the desertification phenomena is the result of combined effects in magnitude and frequency of these phenomena. Like the data involved in the phytopathogenic process and bacteria growth in arid soil occur in an uncertain environment because of their complexity, it becomes necessary to have a suitable methodology for the analysis of these variables. The basic principles of fuzzy logic those are perfectly suited to this process. As input variables, we consider the physical parameters, soil type, bacteria nature, and plant species concerned. The result output variable is the adaptability of the species expressed by the growth rate or extinction. As a conclusion, we prevent the possible strategies for adaptation, with or without shifting areas of plantation and nature adequate vegetation.

Keywords: climate changes, dry soil, phytopathogenicity, predictive model, fuzzy logic

Procedia PDF Downloads 296

Authors: Emilia Hunt, Sally C. Reynolds, Fiona Coward, Fabio Parracho Silva, Philip Hopley

Abstract:

Ecological niche modeling is widely used in conservation studies, but application to the extinct hominin species is a relatively new approach. Being able to understand what ecological niches were occupied by respective hominin species provides a new perspective into influences on evolutionary processes. Niche separation or overlap can tell us more about specific requirements of the species within the given timeframe. Many of the ancestral species lived through enormous climate changes: glacial and interglacial periods, changes in rainfall, leading to desertification or flooding of regions and displayed impressive levels of adaptation necessary for their survival. This paper reviews niche modeling methodologies and their application to hominin studies. Traditional conservation methods might not be directly applicable to extinct species and are not comparable to hominins. Hominin niche also includes aspects of technologies, use of fire and extended communication, which are not traditionally used in building conservation models. Future perspectives on how to improve niche modeling for extinct hominin species will be discussed.

Keywords: hominin niche, climate change, evolution, adaptation, ecological niche modelling

Procedia PDF Downloads 160

Authors: Maryam Taheri, Mehdi Jahanfar, Kenji Ogino

Abstract:

Fast drying traffic marking paint comprising a solvent-borne resin, a filler, a pigment and a solvent that is especially suitable for colder ambient (temperatures near freezing) applications, where waterborne traffic paint cannot be used. Acrylic resins based on methyl methacrylate, butyl acrylate, acrylic acid, and styrene were synthesized in different solvents using organic peroxide initiators such as peroxyester, peroxyketal, dialkylperoxide and azo. After polymerization, the molecular weight (Mw), polydispersity index= PDI (Mw/Mn), viscosity, total residual monomer and APHA color were evaluated and results of organic peroxide initiators (t- butyl and t-amyl derivatives) were also compared with the azo initiator. The Mw, PDI, viscosity, mass conversation and APHA color of resins with t-amyl derivatives of organic peroxide initiators are very proper. The results of the traffic marking paints test such as non-volatile matter, no- pick- up time, hiding power, resistance to wear and water resistance study that produced with these resins also confirm this.

Keywords: fast drying traffic marking paint, acrylic resin, organic peroxide initiator, peroxyester, peroxyketal, dialkylperoxide and azo initiator

Procedia PDF Downloads 177

Authors: Martial Amou

Abstract:

This study was carried out to assess the situation of households’ livelihood under a changing climate pattern in the Zio district of Togo, West Africa. The study examined three important aspects: (i) assessment of households’ livelihood situation under a changing climate pattern, (ii) farmers’ perception and understanding of local climate change, (iii) determinants of adaptation strategies undertaken in cropping pattern to climate change. To this end, secondary sources of data, and survey data collected from 235 farmers in four villages in the study area were used. Adapted conceptual framework from Sustainable Livelihood Framework of DFID, two steps Binary Logistic Regression Model and descriptive statistics were used in this study as methodological approaches. Based on Sustainable Livelihood Approach (SLA), various factors revolving around the livelihoods of the rural community were grouped into social, natural, physical, human, and financial capital. Thus, the study came up that households’ livelihood situation represented by the overall livelihood index in the study area (34%) is below the standard average households’ livelihood security index (50%). The natural capital was found as the poorest asset (13%) and this will severely affect the sustainability of livelihood in the long run. The result from descriptive statistics and the first step regression (selection model) indicated that most of the farmers in the study area have clear understanding of climate change even though they do not have any idea about greenhouse gases as the main cause behind the issue. From the second step regression (output model) result, education, farming experience, access to credit, access to extension services, cropland size, membership of a social group, distance to the nearest input market, were found to be the significant determinants of adaptation measures undertaken in cropping pattern by farmers in the study area. Based on the result of this study, recommendations are made to farmers, policy makers, institutions, and development service providers in order to better target interventions which build, promote or facilitate the adoption of adaptation measures with potential to build resilience to climate change and then improve rural livelihood.

Keywords: climate change, rural livelihood, cropping pattern, adaptation, Zio District

Procedia PDF Downloads 300

Authors: Chandragouda R. Patil, K. S. Jagadeesh, S. D. Kalolgi

Abstract:

Biofertilizers containing live microbial cells can mobilize one or more nutrients to plants when applied to either seed or rhizosphere. They form an integral part of nutrient management strategies for sustainable production of agricultural crops. Annually, about 22 tons of lignite-based biofertilizers are being produced and supplied to farmers at the Institute of Organic Farming, University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad, Karnataka state India. Although carrier based biofertilizers are common, they have shorter shelf life, poor quality, high contamination, unpredictable field performance and high cost of solid carriers. Hence, liquid formulations are being developed to increase their efficacy and broaden field applicability. An attempt was made to develop liquid formulation of strains of Rhizobium NC-92 (Groundnut), Azospirillum ACD15 both nitrogen-fixing biofertilizers and Pseudomonas striata an efficient P-solubilizing bacteria (PSB). Different concentration of amendments such as additives (glycerol and polyethylene glycol), adjuvants (carboxyl methyl cellulose), gum arabica (GA), surfactant (polysorbate) and trehalose specifically for Azospirillum were found essential. Combinations of formulations of Rhizobium and PSB for groundnut and Azospirillum and PSB for maize were evaluated under field conditions to determine the optimum level of inoculum required. Each biofertilizer strain was inoculated at the rate of 2, 4, 8 ml per kg of seeds and the efficacy of each formulation both individually and in combinations was evaluated against the lignite-based formulation at the rate of 20 g each per kg seeds and a un-inoculated set was included to compare the inoculation effect. The field experiment had 17 treatments in three replicates and the best level of inoculum was decided based on net returns and cost: benefit ratio. In peanut, the combination of 4 ml of Rhizobium and 2 ml of PSB resulted in the highest net returns and higher cost to benefit ratio of 1:2.98 followed by treatment with a combination of 2 ml per kg each of Rhizobium and PSB with a B;C ratio of 1:2.84. The benefits in terms of net returns were to the extent of 16 percent due to inoculation with lignite based formulations while it was up to 48 percent due to the best combination of liquid biofertilizers. In maize combination of liquid formulations consisting of 4 ml of Azospirillum and 2 ml of PSB resulted in the highest net returns; about 53 percent higher than the un-inoculated control and 20 percent higher than the treatment with lignite based formulation. In both the crops inoculation with lignite based formulations significantly increased the net returns over un-inoculated control while levels higher or lesser than 4 ml of Rhizobium and Azospirillum and higher or lesser than 2 ml of PSB were not economical and hence not optimal for these two crops.

Keywords: Rhizobium, Azospirillum, phosphate solubilizing bacteria, liquid formulation, benefit-cost ratio

Procedia PDF Downloads 466

Authors: Salah Alrabeei, Mohammad Yousuf

Abstract:

The goal of option pricing theory is to help the investors to manage their money, enhance returns and control their financial future by theoretically valuing their options. Modeling option pricing by Black-School models with jumps guarantees to consider the market movement. However, only numerical methods can solve this model. Furthermore, not all the numerical methods are efficient to solve these models because they have nonsmoothing payoffs or discontinuous derivatives at the exercise price. In this paper, the exponential time differencing (ETD) method is applied for solving partial integrodifferential equations arising in pricing European options under Merton’s and Kou’s jump-diffusion models. Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) algorithm is used as a matrix-vector multiplication solver, which reduces the complexity from O(M2) into O(M logM). A partial fraction form of Pad`e schemes is used to overcome the complexity of inverting polynomial of matrices. These two tools guarantee to get efficient and accurate numerical solutions. We construct a parallel and easy to implement a version of the numerical scheme. Numerical experiments are given to show how fast and accurate is our scheme.

Keywords: Integral differential equations, , L-stable methods, pricing European options, Jump–diffusion model

Procedia PDF Downloads 116

Authors: D. S. Fardhyanti, M. Megawati, H. Prasetiawan, U. Mediaty

Abstract:

Currently, fossil fuel is supplying most of world’s energy resources. However, fossil fuel resources are depleted rapidly and require an alternative energy to overcome the increasing of energy demands. Bio-oil is one of a promising alternative renewable energy resources which is converted from biomass through pyrolysis or fast pyrolysis process. Bio-oil is a dark liquid fuel, has a smelling smoke and usually obtained from sugar cane, wood, coconut shell and any other biomass. Sugar cane content analysis showed that the content of oligosaccharide, hemicellulose, cellulose and lignin was 16.69%, 25.66%, 51.27% and 6.38% respectively. Sugar cane is a potential sources for bio-oil production shown by its high content of cellulose. In this study, production of bio-oil from sugar cane bagasse was investigated via fast pyrolysis reactor. Fast pyrolysis was carried out at 500 °C with a heating rate of 10 °C and 1 hour holding time at pyrolysis temperature. Physical properties and chemical composition of bio-oil were analyzed. The viscosity, density, calorific value and molecular weight of produced bio-oil was 3.12 cp, 2.78 g/cm3, 11,048.44 cals/g, and 222.67 respectively. The Bio-oil chemical composition was investigated using GC-MS. Percentage value of furfural, phenol, 3-methyl 1,2-cyclopentanedione, 5-methyl-3-methylene 5-hexen-2-one, 4-methyl phenol, 4-ethyl phenol, 1,2-benzenediol, and 2,6-dimethoxy phenol was 20.76%, 16.42%, 10.86%, 7.54%, 7.05%, 7.72%, 5.27% and 6.79% respectively.

Keywords: bio-oil, pyrolysis, bagasse, sugar cane, gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy

Procedia PDF Downloads 112

Authors: Nada Mohamed, Abdel Aziz Mohamed

Abstract:

Climate change in coastal areas is a global issue that can be felt on local scale and will be around for decades and centuries to come to an end; it also has critical risks on the city’s economy, communities, and the natural environment. One of these changes that cause a huge risk on coastal cities is the sea level rise (SLR). SLR is a result of scarcity and reduction in global environmental system. The main cause of climate change and global warming is the countries with high development index (HDI) as Japan and Germany while the medium and low HDI countries as Egypt does not have enough awareness and advanced tactics to adapt with this changes that destroy urban areas and cause loss in land and economy. This is why Climate Resilience is one of the UN sustainable development goals 2030, which is calling for actions to strengthen climate change resilience through mitigation and adaptation. For many reasons, adaptation has received less attention than mitigation and it is only recently that adaptation has become a focal global point of attention. This adaption can be achieved through some actions such as upgrading the use and the design of the land, adjusting business and activities of people, and increasing community understanding of climate risks. To reach the adaption goals, and we have to apply a strategic pathway to Climate Resilience, which is the Urban Bioregionalism Paradigm. Resiliency has been framed as persistence, adaptation, and transformation. Climate Resilience decision support system includes a visualization platform where ecological, social, and economic information can be viewed alongside with specific geographies that's why Urban Bioregionalism is a socio-ecological system which is defined as a paradigm that has potential to help move social attitudes toward environmental understanding and deepen human-environment connections within ecological development. The research aim is to achieve an adaptive integrated urban development model throughout the analyses of tactics and strategies that can be used to adapt urban areas and coastal communities to the challenges of climate changes especially SLR and also simulation model using advanced technological software for a coastal city corridor to elaborates the suitable strategy to apply.

Keywords: climate resilience, sea level rise, SLR, coastal resilience, adaptive development simulation

Procedia PDF Downloads 104

Authors: Mediha B. Sılaydın Aydın, Emine D. Kahraman

Abstract:

One of the important impacts of climate change is the sea level rise. Turkey is a peninsula, so the coastal areas of the country are threatened by the problem of sea level rise. Therefore, the urbanized coastal areas are highly vulnerable to climate change. At the aim of enhancing spatial resilience of urbanized areas, this question arises: What should be the priority intervention subject in the urban planning process for a given city. To answer this question, by focusing on the problem of sea level rise, this study aims to determine spatial vulnerability typologies and levels of Turkey coastal cities based on morphological, physical and social characteristics. As a method, spatial vulnerability of coastal cities is determined by two steps as level and type. Firstly, physical structure, morphological structure and social structure were examined in determining spatial vulnerability levels. By determining these levels, most vulnerable areas were revealed as a priority in adaptation studies. Secondly, all parameters are also used to determine spatial typologies. Typologies are determined for coastal cities in order to use as a base for urban planning studies. Adaptation to climate change is crucial for developing countries like Turkey so, this methodology and created typologies could be a guide for urban planners as spatial directors and an example for other developing countries in the context of adaptation to climate change. The results demonstrate that the urban settlements located on the coasts of the Marmara Sea, the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean respectively, are more vulnerable than the cities located on the Black Sea’s coasts to sea level rise.

Keywords: climate change, coastal cities, vulnerability, urban land use planning

Procedia PDF Downloads 283

Authors: Adnan A. Y. Mustafa

Abstract:

In this paper we present a quick technique to measure the similarity between binary images. The technique is based on a probabilistic mapping approach and is fast because only a minute percentage of the image pixels need to be compared to measure the similarity, and not the whole image. We exploit the power of the Probabilistic Matching Model for Binary Images (PMMBI) to arrive at an estimate of the similarity. We show that the estimate is a good approximation of the actual value, and the quality of the estimate can be improved further with increased image mappings. Furthermore, the technique is image size invariant; the similarity between big images can be measured as fast as that for small images. Examples of trials conducted on real images are presented.

Keywords: big images, binary images, image matching, image similarity

Procedia PDF Downloads 163

Authors: Godwin Dennison, C. E. Boulind, O. Gould, B. de Lacy Costello, J. Allison, P. White, P. Ewings, A. Wicaksono, N. J. Curtis, A. Pullyblank, D. Jayne, J. A. Covington, N. Ratcliffe, N. K. Francis

Abstract:

Background: Colorectal symptoms are common but only infrequently represent serious pathology, including colorectal cancer (CRC). A large number of invasive tests are presently performed for reassurance. We investigated the feasibility of urinary volatile organic compound (VOC) testing as a potential triage tool in patients fast-tracked for assessment for possible CRC. Methods: A prospective, multi-centre, observational feasibility study was performed across three sites. Patients referred on NHS fast-track pathways for potential CRC provided a urine sample which underwent Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS), Field Asymmetric Ion Mobility Spectrometry (FAIMS) and Selected Ion Flow Tube Mass Spectrometry (SIFT-MS) analysis. Patients underwent colonoscopy and/or CT colonography and were grouped as either CRC, adenomatous polyp(s), or controls to explore the diagnostic accuracy of VOC output data supported by an artificial neural network (ANN) model. Results: 558 patients participated with 23 (4.1%) CRC diagnosed. 59% of colonoscopies and 86% of CT colonographies showed no abnormalities. Urinary VOC testing was feasible, acceptable to patients, and applicable within the clinical fast track pathway. GC-MS showed the highest clinical utility for CRC and polyp detection vs. controls (sensitivity=0.878, specificity=0.882, AUROC=0.884). Conclusion: Urinary VOC testing and analysis are feasible within NHS fast-track CRC pathways. Clinically meaningful differences between patients with cancer, polyps, or no pathology were identified therefore suggesting VOC analysis may have future utility as a triage tool. Acknowledgment: Funding: NIHR Research for Patient Benefit grant (ref: PB-PG-0416-20022).

Keywords: colorectal cancer, volatile organic compound, gas chromatography mass spectrometry, field asymmetric ion mobility spectrometry, selected ion flow tube mass spectrometry

Procedia PDF Downloads 55

Authors: I. Shuro

Abstract:

The crystal structure of Tin Sulfide prepared by certain chemical methods is investigated using High-Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (HRTEM), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) methods. An anomalous HRTEM Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) exhibited a central scatter of diffraction spots, which is surrounded by secondary clusters of spots arranged in a hexagonal pattern around the central cluster was observed. FFT analysis has revealed a long lattice parameter and mostly viewed along a hexagonal axis where there many columns of atoms slightly displaced from one another. This FFT analysis has revealed that the metal sulfide has a long-range order interwoven chain of atoms in its crystal structure. The observed crystalline structure is inconsistent with commonly observed FFT patterns of chemically synthesized Tin Sulfide nanocrystals and thin films. SEM analysis showed the morphology of a myriad of multi-shaped crystals ranging from hexagonal, cubic, and spherical micro to nanostructured crystals. This study also investigates the presence of quasi-crystals as reflected by the presence of mixed local symmetries.

Keywords: fast fourier transform, high resolution transmission electron microscopy, tin sulfide, crystalline structure

Procedia PDF Downloads 113