Search results for: recycle aggregate

Authors: Nihal Kartaltepe Behram, Göksel Ataman, Dila Okçu

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With the development of foreign direct investments, the social, cultural, political and economic interactions between countries and institutions have become visible and they have become determining factors for the strategic structuring and market goals. In this context the purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of cultural distance and institutions on foreign direct investment choices in terms of location and investment model. For international establishments, the concept of culture, as well as the concept of cultural distance, is taken specifically into consideration, especially in the selection of methods for entering the market. In the researches and empirical studies conducted, a direct relationship between cultural distance and foreign direct investments is set and institutions and effective variable factors are examined at the level of defining the investment types. When the detailed calculation strategies and empirical researches and studies are taken into consideration, the most common methods for determining the direct investment model, considering the cultural distances, are full-ownership enterprises and joint ventures. Also, when all of the factors affecting the investments are taken into consideration, it was seen that the effect of institutions such as Government Intervention, Intellectual Property Rights, Corruption and Contract Enforcements is very important. Furthermore agglomeration is more intense and effective on the investment, compared to other factors. China has been selected as the target country, due to its effectiveness in world economy and its contributions to developing countries, which has commercial relationships with. Qualitative research methods are used for this study conducted, to measure the effects of determinative variable factors in the hypotheses of study, on the direct foreign investors and to evaluate the findings. In this study in-depth interview is used as a data collection method and the data analysis is made through descriptive analysis. Foreign Direct Investments are so reactive to institutions and cultural distance is identified by all interviews and analysis. On the other hand, agglomeration is the most strong determiner factor on foreign direct investors in Chinese Market. The reason of this factors, which comprise the sectorial aggregate, are not the strongest factors as agglomeration that the most important finding. We expect that this study became a beneficial guideline for developed and developing countries and local and national institutions’ strategic plans.

Keywords: China, cultural distance, Foreign Direct Investments, institutions

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Authors: Abdoulaye Maihatchi Ahamed, Zubin Arora, Benjamin Swobada, Jean-yves Lansot, Alexandre Chagnes

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Lithium-ion battery (LiB) is the technology of choice in the development of electric vehicles. But there are still many challenges, including the development of positive electrode materials exhibiting high cycle ability, high energy density, and low environmental impact. For this latter, LiBs must be manufactured in a circular approach by developing the appropriate strategies to reuse and recycle them. Presently, the recycling of LiBs is carried out by the pyrometallurgical route, but more and more processes implement or will implement the hydrometallurgical route or a combination of pyrometallurgical and hydrometallurgical operations. After producing the black mass by mineral processing, the hydrometallurgical process consists in leaching the black mass in order to uptake the metals contained in the cathodic material. Then, these metals are extracted selectively by liquid-liquid extraction, solid-liquid extraction, and/or precipitation stages. However, liquid-liquid extraction combined with precipitation/crystallization steps is the most implemented operation in the LiB recycling process to selectively extract copper, aluminum, cobalt, nickel, manganese, and lithium from the leaching solution and precipitate these metals as high-grade sulfate or carbonate salts. Liquid-liquid extraction consists in contacting an organic solvent and an aqueous feed solution containing several metals, including the targeted metal(s) to extract. The organic phase is non-miscible with the aqueous phase. It is composed of an extractant to extract the target metals and a diluent, which is usually aliphatic kerosene produced from the petroleum industry. Sometimes, a phase modifier is added in the formulation of the extraction solvent to avoid the third phase formation. The extraction properties of the diluent do not depend only on the chemical structure of the extractant, but it may also depend on the nature of the diluent. Indeed, the interactions between the diluent can influence more or less the interactions between extractant molecules besides the extractant-diluent interactions. Only a few studies in the literature addressed the influence of the diluent on the extraction properties, while many studies focused on the effect of the extractants. Recently, new low-carbon footprint aliphatic diluents were produced by catalytic dearomatisation and distillation of bio-based oil. This study aims at investigating the influence of the nature of the diluent on the extraction properties of three extractants towards cobalt, nickel, manganese, copper, aluminum, and lithium: Cyanex®272 for nickel-cobalt separation, DEHPA for manganese extraction, and Acorga M5640 for copper extraction. The diluents used in the formulation of the extraction solvents are (i) low-odor aliphatic kerosene produced from the petroleum industry (ELIXORE 180, ELIXORE 230, ELIXORE 205, and ISANE IP 175) and (ii) bio-sourced aliphatic diluents (DEV 2138, DEV 2139, DEV 1763, DEV 2160, DEV 2161 and DEV 2063). After discussing the effect of the diluents on the extraction properties, this conference will address the development of a low carbon footprint process based on the use of the best bio-sourced diluent for the production of high-grade cobalt sulfate, nickel sulfate, manganese sulfate, and lithium carbonate, as well as metal copper.

Keywords: diluent, hydrometallurgy, lithium-ion battery, recycling

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Authors: Despina Yiakoumi, Agathe Rouaix

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Laboratory experiments were run to investigate the impact of different design characteristics of the auctions, which have been implemented to procure capacity in the UK’s reformed electricity markets. The experiment studies competition among bidders in procurement multi-unit discrete descending clock auctions under different feedback policies and pricing rules. Theory indicates that feedback policy in combination with the two common pricing rules; last-accepted bid (LAB) and first-rejected bid (FRB), could affect significantly the auction outcome. Two information feedback policies regarding the bidding prices of the participants are considered; with feedback and without feedback. With feedback, after each round participants are informed of the number of items still in the auction and without feedback, after each round participants have no information about the aggregate supply. Under LAB, winning bidders receive the amount of the highest successful bid and under the FRB the winning bidders receive the lowest unsuccessful bid. Based on the theoretical predictions of the alternative auction designs, it was decided to run three treatments. First treatment considers LAB with feedback; second treatment studies LAB without feedback; third treatment investigates FRB without feedback. Theoretical predictions of the game showed that under FRB, the alternative feedback policies are indifferent to the auction outcome. Preliminary results indicate that LAB with feedback and FRB without feedback achieve on average higher clearing prices in comparison to the LAB treatment without feedback. However, the clearing prices under LAB with feedback and FRB without feedback are on average lower compared to the theoretical predictions. Although under LAB without feedback theory predicts the clearing price will drop to the competitive equilibrium, experimental results indicate that participants could still engage in cooperative behavior and drive up the price of the auction. It is showed, both theoretically and experimentally, that the pricing rules and the feedback policy, affect the bidding competitiveness of the auction by providing opportunities to participants to engage in cooperative behavior and exercise market power. LAB without feedback seems to be less vulnerable to market power opportunities compared to the alternative auction designs. This could be an argument for the use of LAB pricing rule in combination with limited feedback in the UK capacity market in an attempt to improve affordability for consumers.

Keywords: descending clock auctions, experiments, feedback policy, market design, multi-unit auctions, pricing rules, procurement auctions

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Authors: Walter W. Loo

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China declared the “zero discharge rules which leave no toxics into our living environment and deliver blue sky, green land and clean water to many generations to come”. The achievement of ZWD will provide conservation of water, soil and energy and provide drastic increase in Gross Domestic Products (GDP). Our society’s engine needs a major tune up; it is sputtering. ZWD is achieved in world’s space stations – no toxic air emission and the water is totally recycled and solid wastes all come back to earth. This is all done with solar power. These are all achieved under extreme temperature, pressure and zero gravity in space. ZWD can be achieved on earth under much less fluctuations in temperature, pressure and normal gravity environment. ZWD systems are not expensive and will have multiple beneficial returns on investment which are both financially and environmentally acceptable. The paper will include successful case histories since the mid-1970s. ZWD discharge can be applied to the following types of projects: nuclear and coal fire power plants with a closed loop system that will eliminate thermal water discharge; residential communities with wastewater treatment sump and recycle the water use as a secondary water supply; waste water treatment Plants with complete water recycling including water distillation to produce distilled water by very economical 24-hours solar power plant. Landfill remediation is based on neutralization of landfilled gas odor and preventing anaerobic leachate formation. It is an aerobic condition which will render landfill gas emission explosion proof. Desert development is the development of recovering soil moisture from soil and completing a closed loop water cycle by solar energy within and underneath an enclosed greenhouse. Salt-alkali land development can be achieved by solar distillation of salty shallow water into distilled water. The distilled water can be used for soil washing and irrigation and complete a closed loop water cycle with energy and water conservation. Heavy metals remediation can be achieved by precipitation of dissolved toxic metals below the plant or vegetation root zone by solar electricity without pumping and treating. Soil and groundwater remediation - abandoned refineries, chemical and pesticide factories can be remediated by in-situ electrobiochemical and bioventing treatment method without pumping or excavation. Toxic organic chemicals are oxidized into carbon dioxide and heavy metals precipitated below plant and vegetation root zone. New water sources: low temperature distilled water can be recycled for repeated use within a greenhouse environment by solar distillation; nano bubble water can be made from the distilled water with nano bubbles of oxygen, nitrogen and carbon dioxide from air (fertilizer water) and also eliminate the use of pesticides because the nano oxygen will break the insect growth chain in the larvae state. Three dimensional high yield greenhouses can be constructed by complete water recycling using the vadose zone soil as a filter with no farming wastewater discharge.

Keywords: greenhouses, no discharge, remediation of soil and water, wastewater

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Authors: Taif Rocky, Uttam Saha, Mahobul Islam

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With a rapid urbanisation in Bangladesh, waste management remains one of the core challenges. Turning municipal waste into biogas for mass usage is a solution that Bangladesh needs to adopt urgently. Practical Action with its commitment to challenging poverty with technological justice has piloted such idea in Gaibandha. The initiative received immense success and drew the attention of policy makers and practitioners. We believe, biogas from waste can highly contribute to meet the growing demand for energy in the country at present and in the future. Practical Action has field based experience in promoting small scale and innovative technologies. We have proven track record in integrated solid waste management. We further utilized this experience to promote waste to biogas at end users’ level. In 2011, we have piloted a project on waste to biogas in Gaibandha, a northern secondary town of Bangladesh. With resource and support from UNICEF and with our own innovative funds we have established a complete chain of utilizing waste to the renewable energy source and organic fertilizer. Biogas is produced from municipal solid waste, which is properly collected, transported and segregated by private entrepreneurs. The project has two major focuses, diversification of biogas end use and establishing a public-private partnership business model. The project benefits include Recycling of Wastes, Improved institutional (municipal) capacity, Livelihood from improved services and Direct Income from the project. Project risks include Change of municipal leadership, Traditional mindset, Access to decision making, Land availability. We have observed several outcomes from the initiative. Up scaling such an initiative will certainly contribute for sustainable cleaner and healthier urban environment and urban poverty reduction. - It reduces the unsafe disposal of wastes which improve the cleanliness and environment of the town. -Make drainage system effective reducing the adverse impact of water logging or flooding. -Improve public health from better management of wastes. -Promotes usage of biogas replacing the use of firewood/coal which creates smoke and indoor air pollution in kitchens which have long term impact on health of women and children. -Reduce the greenhouse gas emission from the anaerobic recycling of wastes and contributes to sustainable urban environment. -Promote the concept of agroecology from the uses of bio slurry/compost which contributes to food security. -Creates green jobs from waste value chain which impacts on poverty alleviation of urban extreme poor. -Improve municipal governance from inclusive waste services and functional partnership with private sectors. -Contribute to the implementation of 3R (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) Strategy and Employment Creation of extreme poor to achieve the target set in Vision 2021 by Government of Bangladesh.

Keywords: kitchen waste, secondary town, biogas, segregation

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Authors: Ilaria Barletta, Mahesh Mani, Björn Johansson

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The concept of sustainability encompasses economic, environmental, social and institutional considerations. Sustainable manufacturing (SM) is, therefore, a multi-faceted concept. It broadly implies the development and implementation of technologies, projects and initiatives that are concerned with the life cycle of products and services, and are able to bring positive impacts to the environment, company stakeholders and profitability. Because of this, achieving SM-related goals requires a holistic, life-cycle-thinking approach from manufacturing companies. Further, such an approach must rely on a logic of continuous improvement and ease of implementation in order to be effective. Currently, there exists in the academic literature no comprehensively structured frameworks that support manufacturing companies in the identification of the issues and the capabilities that can either hinder or foster sustainability. This scarcity of support extends to difficulties in obtaining quantifiable measurements in order to objectively evaluate solutions and programs and identify improvement areas within SM for standards conformance. To bridge this gap, this paper proposes the concept of a framework for assessing and continuously improving the sustainability of manufacturing companies. The framework addresses strategies and projects for SM and operates in three sequential phases: analysis of the issues, design of solutions and continuous improvement. A set of interviews, observations and questionnaires are the research methods to be used for the implementation of the framework. Different decision-support methods - either already-existing or novel ones - can be 'plugged into' each of the phases. These methods can assess anything from business capabilities to process maturity. In particular, the authors are working on the development of a sustainable manufacturing maturity model (SMMM) as decision support within the phase of 'continuous improvement'. The SMMM, inspired by previous maturity models, is made up of four maturity levels stemming from 'non-existing' to 'thriving'. Aggregate findings from the use of the framework should ultimately reveal to managers and CEOs the roadmap for achieving SM goals and identify the maturity of their companies’ processes and capabilities. Two cases from two manufacturing companies in Australia are currently being employed to develop and test the framework. The use of this framework will bring two main benefits: enable visual, intuitive internal sustainability benchmarking and raise awareness of improvement areas that lead companies towards an increasingly developed SM.

Keywords: life cycle management, continuous improvement, maturity model, sustainable manufacturing

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Authors: Paule Olivia Akotto

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The recent literature suggests spending between 50%-85% of oil rents. However, there are not yet clear guidelines for allocating this windfall in the public investment system, while most of the resource-rich countries fail to improve their intergenerational mobility. We study a design of the optimal spending system in Senegal, a low-income developing country featuring newly discovered oil fields and low intergenerational mobility. We build a dynamic general equilibrium model in which rural and urban (Dakar and other urban centers henceforth OUC) households face different health, education, and employment opportunities based on their location, affecting their intergenerational mobility. The model captures the relationship between oil rents, public investment, and multidimensional inequality of opportunity. The government invests oil rents in three broad sectors: health and education, road and industries, and agriculture. Through endogenous productivity externality and human capital accumulation, our model generates the predominant position of Dakar and OUC households in terms of access to health, education, and employment in line with Senegal data. Rural households are worse off in all dimensions. We compute the optimal spending policy under two sets of simulation scenarios. Under the current Senegal public investment strategy, which weighs more health and education investments, we find that the reform maximizing the decline in inequality of opportunity between households, frontloads investment during the first eight years of the oil exploitation and spends the perpetual value of oil wealth thereafter. We will then identify the marginal winners and losers associated with this policy and its redistributive implications. Under our second set of scenarios, we will test whether the Senegalese economy can reach better equality of opportunity outcomes under this frontloading reform, by allowing the sectoral shares of investment to vary. The trade-off will be between cutting human capital investment in favor of agricultural and productive infrastructure or increasing the former. We will characterize the optimal policy by specifying where the higher weight should be. We expect that the optimal policy of the second set strictly dominates in terms of equality of opportunity, the optimal policy computed under the current investment strategy. Finally, we will quantify this optimal policy's aggregate and distributional effects on poverty, well-being, and gender earning gaps.

Keywords: developing countries, general equilibrium, inequality of opportunity, oil rents

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Authors: Kathy Pain, Nalumino Akakandelwa

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The study explores the potential to fill a gap in health and wellbeing evidence for purposeful urban real estate asset management to make investment a powerful force for societal good. Part of a five-year programme investigating the root causes of unhealthy urban development funded by the United Kingdom Prevention Research Partnership (UKPRP), the study pilots the use of a systems mapping approach to identify drivers and barriers to the incorporation of health and wellbeing evidence in urban brownfield asset management decision-making. Urban real estate not only provides space for economic production but also contributes to the quality of life in the local community. Yet market approaches to urban land use have, until recently, insisted that neo-classical technology-driven efficient allocation of economic resources should inform acquisition, operational, and disposal decisions. Buildings in locations with declining economic performance have thus been abandoned, leading to urban decay. Property investors are recognising the inextricable connection between sustainable urban production and quality of life in local communities. The redevelopment and operation of brownfield assets recycle existing buildings, minimising embodied carbon emissions. It also retains established urban spaces with which local communities identify and regenerate places to create a sense of security, economic opportunity, social interaction, and quality of life. Social implications of urban real estate on health and wellbeing and increased adoption of benign sustainability guidance in urban production are driving the need to consider how they affect brownfield real estate asset management decisions. Interviews with real estate upstream decision-makers in the study, find that local social needs and impact analysis is becoming a commercial priority for large-scale urban real estate development projects. Evidence of the social value-added of proposed developments is increasingly considered essential to secure local community support and planning permissions, and to attract sustained inward long-term investment capital flows for urban projects. However, little is known about the contribution of population health and wellbeing to socially sustainable urban projects and the monetary value of the opportunity this presents to improve the urban environment for local communities. We report early findings from collaborations with two leading property companies managing major investments in brownfield urban assets in the UK to consider how the inclusion of health and wellbeing evidence in social valuation can inform perceptions of brownfield development social benefit for asset managers, local communities, public authorities and investors for the benefit of all parties. Using holistic case studies and systems mapping approaches, we explore complex relationships between public health considerations and asset management decisions in urban production. Findings indicate a strong real estate investment industry appetite and potential to include health as a vital component of sustainable real estate social value creation in asset management strategies.

Keywords: brownfield urban assets, health and wellbeing, social needs and impact, social valuation, sustainable real estate, systems mapping

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Authors: Carlos Y. Soto, Camila A. Lota, G. Astrid Garzón

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Bacterial biofilms cause an ongoing problem for food safety. They are formed when microorganisms aggregate to form a community that attaches to solid surfaces. Biofilms increase the resistance of pathogens to cleaning, disinfection and antibacterial products. This resistance gives rise to problems for human health, industry, and agriculture. At present, plant extracts rich in polyphenolics are being investigated as natural alternatives to degrade bacterial biofilms. The pomace of the tropical Berry Vaccinium meridionale S. contains high amounts of phenolic compounds. Therefore, in the current study, the antimicrobial and antibiofilm effects of extracts from the pomace of Vaccinium meridionale S. were tested on three foodborne pathogens: Enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7 (ATCC®700728TM), Staphylococcus aureus subsp. aureus (ATCC® 6538TM), and Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis (ATCC® 13076TM). Microwave-assisted extraction was used to extract polyphenols with aqueous methanol (80% v/v) at a solid to solvent ratio of 1:10 (w/v) for 20 min. The magnetic stirring was set at 400 rpm, and the microwave power was adjusted to 400 W. The antimicrobial effect of the extract was assessed by determining the half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) against the three food poisoning pathogens at concentrations ranging from 50 to 2,850 μg gallic acid equivalents (GAE)/mL of the extract. Biofilm inhibition was assessed using a crystal violet assay applying the same range of concentration. Three replications of the experiments were carried out, and all analyses were run in triplicate. IC50 values were determined using the GraphPad Prism8® program. Significant differences (P<0.05) among means were identified using one-factor analysis of variance (ANOVA) and the post-hoc least significant difference (LSD) test using the Statgraphics plus program, version 2.1.There was significant difference among the mean IC50 values for the tested bacteria. The IC50 for S. aureus was 48 ± 9 μg GAE/mL, followed by 123 ± 49 μg GAE/mL for Salmonella and 376 ± 32 μg GAE/mL for E. coli. The percent inhibition of the extract on biofilm formation was significantly higher for S. aureus (85.8  0.3), followed by E. coli (74.5  1.0) and Salmonella (53.6  9.7). These findings suggest that polyphenolic extracts obtained from the pomace of V. meridionale S. might be used as natural antimicrobial and anti-biofilm natural agents, effective against S. aureus, E. coli and Salmonella enterica.

Keywords: antibiofilm, antimicrobial, E. coli, S. aureus, salmonella, IC50, pomace, V. meridionale

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Authors: Priya Jaswal, Vivek, S. K. Sinha

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One of the most important and complicated factors influencing the functional performance of unpaved roads is traffic loading. The complexity of traffic loading is caused by the variable magnitude and frequency of load, which causes unpaved roads to fail prematurely. Unpaved roads are low-volume roads, and as peri-urbanization increases, unpaved roads act as a means to boost the rural economy. This has also increased traffic on unpaved roads, intensifying the issue of settlement, rutting, and fatigue failure. This is a major concern for unpaved roads built on poor subgrade soil, as excessive rutting caused by heavy loads can cause driver discomfort, vehicle damage, and an increase in maintenance costs. Some researchers discovered that when a consistent static load is exerted as opposed to a rapidly changing load, the rate of deformation of unpaved roads increases. Previously, some of the most common methods for overcoming the problem of rutting and fatigue failure included chemical stabilisation, fibre reinforcement, and so on. However, due to their high cost, engineers' attention has shifted to geotextiles which are used as reinforcement in unpaved roads. Geotextiles perform the function of filtration, lateral confinement of base material, vertical restraint of subgrade soil, and the tension membrane effect. The use of geotextiles in unpaved roads increases the strength of unpaved roads and is an economically viable method because it reduces the required aggregate thickness, which would need less earthwork, and is thus recommended for unpaved road applications. The majority of geotextiles used previously were polymeric, but with a growing awareness of sustainable development to preserve the environment, researchers' focus has shifted to natural fibres. Coir is one such natural fibre that possesses the advantage of having a higher tensile strength than other bast fibres, being eco-friendly, low in cost, and biodegradable. However, various researchers have discovered that the surface of coir fibre is covered with various impurities, voids, and cracks, which act as a plane of weakness and limit the potential application of coir geotextiles. To overcome this limitation, chemical surface modification of coir geotextiles is widely accepted by researchers because it improves the mechanical properties of coir geotextiles. The current paper reviews the effect of using treated coir geotextiles as reinforcement on the load-deformation behaviour of a two-layered unpaved road model.

Keywords: coir, geotextile, treated, unpaved

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Authors: Thair Mahmood Altaiee

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Because of the increasing population and the growing water requirements from the transboundary water resources within riparian countries in addition to un-proper management of these transboundary water resources, it is likely that a conflicts on the water will be occurred. So it is mandatory to search solutions to mitigate the action and probabilities of these undesired conflicts. One of the solutions for these crises may be sharing the riparian countries in the management of their transboundary water resources and share benefit. Effective cooperation on a transboundary river is any action by the riparian countries that lead to improve management of the river to their mutual acceptance. In principle, friendship dams constructed by riparian countries may play an important role in preventing conflicts like the Turkish-Syrian friendship dam on Asi river (Orontes), Iranian-Tukmenistan dam on Hariroud river, Bulgarian-Turkish dam on Tundzha river, Brazil-Paraguay dam on Parana river, and Aras dam between Iran and Azerbaijan. The objective of this study is to focus the light on the hydrological aspects of cooperation in constructing dams on the transboundary rivers, which may consider an option to prevent conflicts on water between the riparian countries. The various kinds of benefits and external impacts associated with cooperation in dams construction on the transboundary rivers with a real examples will be presented and analyzed. The hydrological benefit sharing from cooperation in dams construction, which type of benefit sharing mechanisms are applicable to dams, and how they vary were discussed. The study considered the cooperative applicability to dams on shared rivers according to selected case study of friendship dams in the world to illustrate the relevance of the cooperation concepts and the feasibility of such propose cooperation between Turkey and Iraq within the Tigris river. It is found that the opportunities of getting benefit from cooperation depend mainly on the hydrological boundary and location of the dam in relation to them. The desire to cooperate on dams construction on transboundary rivers exists if the location of a dam upstream will increase aggregate net benefits. The case studies show that various benefit sharing mechanisms due to cooperation in constructing friendship dams on the riparian countries border are possible for example when the downstream state (Iraq) convinces the upstream state (Turkey) to share building a dam on Tigris river across the Iraqi –Turkish border covering the cost and sharing the net benefit derived from this dam. These initial findings may provide guidance for riparian states engaged in and donors facilitating negotiation on dam projects on transboundary rivers.

Keywords: friendship dams, transboundary rivers, water cooperation, benefit sharing

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Authors: A. M. Merino-Lechuga, A. González-Caro, D. Suescum-Morales, E. Fernández-Ledesma, J. R. Jiménez, J. M. Fernández-Rodriguez

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Since the mid-19th century, the boom in the economy and industry has grown exponentially. This has led to an increase in pollution due to rising Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions and the accumulation of waste, leading to an increasingly imminent future scarcity of raw materials and natural resources. Carbon dioxide (CO₂) is one of the primary greenhouse gases, accounting for up to 55% of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions. The manufacturing of construction materials generates approximately 73% of CO₂ emissions, with Portland cement production contributing to 41% of this figure. Hence, there is scientific and social alarm regarding the carbon footprint of construction materials and their influence on climate change. Carbonation of concrete is a natural process whereby CO₂ from the environment penetrates the material, primarily through pores and microcracks. Once inside, carbon dioxide reacts with calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)2) and/or CSH, yielding calcium carbonates (CaCO3) and silica gel. Consequently, construction materials act as carbon sinks. This research investigated the effect of accelerated carbonation on the physical, mechanical, and chemical properties of two types of non-structural vibrated concrete pavers (conventional and draining) made from natural aggregates and two types of recycled aggregates from construction and demolition waste (CDW). Natural aggregates were replaced by recycled aggregates using a volumetric substitution method, and the CO₂ capture capacity was calculated. Two curing environments were utilized: a carbonation chamber with 5% CO₂ and a standard climatic chamber with atmospheric CO₂ concentration. Additionally, the effect of curing times of 1, 3, 7, 14, and 28 days on concrete properties was analyzed. Accelerated carbonation in-creased the apparent dry density, reduced water-accessible porosity, improved compressive strength, and decreased setting time to achieve greater mechanical strength. The maximum CO₂ capture ratio was achieved with the use of recycled concrete aggregate (52.52 kg/t) in the draining paver. Accelerated carbonation conditions led to a 525% increase in carbon capture compared to curing under atmospheric conditions. Accelerated carbonation of cement-based products containing recycled aggregates from construction and demolition waste is a promising technology for CO₂ capture and utilization, offering a means to mitigate the effects of climate change and promote the new paradigm of circular economy.

Keywords: accelerated carbonation, CO₂ curing, CO₂ uptake and construction and demolition waste., circular economy

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Authors: Emilio Galdeano-Gómez, Ángeles Godoy-Durán, Juan C. Pérez-Mesa, Laura Piedra-Muñoz

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Eco-efficiency is receiving ever-increasing interest as an indicator of sustainability, as it links environmental and economic performances in productive activities. In agriculture, these indicators and their determinants prove relevant due to the close relationships in this activity between the use of natural resources, which is generally limited, and the provision of basic goods to society. In this context, various analyses have focused on eco-efficiency by considering individual family farms as the basic production unit. However, not only must the measure of efficiency be taken into account, but also the existence of a series of factors which constitute socio-economic, political-institutional, and environmental determinants. Said factors have been studied to a lesser extent in the literature. The present work analyzes eco-efficiency at a micro level, focusing on small-scale family farms as the main decision-making units in horticulture in southeast Spain, a sector which represents about 30% of the fresh vegetables produced in the country and about 20% of those consumed in Europe. The objectives of this study are a) to obtain a series of eco-efficiency indicators by estimating several pressure ratios and economic value added in farming, b) to analyze the influence of specific social, economic and environmental variables on the aforementioned eco-efficiency indicators. The present work applies the method of Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), which calculates different combinations of environmental pressures (water usage, phytosanitary contamination, waste management, etc.) and aggregate economic value. In a second stage, an analysis is conducted on the influence of the socio-economic and environmental characteristics of family farms on the eco-efficiency indicators, as endogeneous variables, through the use of truncated regression and bootstrapping techniques, following Simar-Wilson methodology. The results reveal considerable inefficiency in aspects such as waste management, while there is relatively little inefficiency in water usage and nitrogen balance. On the other hand, characteristics, such as product specialization, the adoption of quality certifications and belonging to a cooperative do have a positive impact on eco-efficiency. These results are deemed to be of interest to agri-food systems structured on small-scale producers, and they may prove useful to policy-makers as regards managing public environmental programs in agriculture.

Keywords: data envelopment analysis, eco-efficiency, family farms, horticulture, socioeconomic features

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Authors: Ashenafi Beyene Fanta, Daniel Makina

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Economic theory predicts that finance promotes economic growth. Although the finance-growth link is among the most researched areas in financial economics, our understanding of the link between the two is still incomplete. This is caused by, among others, wrong econometric specifications, using weak proxies of financial development, and inability to address the endogeneity problem. Studies on the finance growth link in South Africa consistently report economic growth driving financial development. Early studies found that economic growth drives financial development in South Africa, and recent studies have confirmed this using different econometric models. However, the monetary aggregate (i.e. M2) utilized used in these studies is considered a weak proxy for financial development. Furthermore, the fact that the models employed do not address the endogeneity problem in the finance-growth link casts doubt on the validity of the conclusions. For this reason, the current study examines the finance growth link in South Africa using data for the period 1990 to 2011 by employing a generalized method of moments (GMM) technique that is capable of addressing endogeneity, simultaneity and omitted variable bias problems. Unlike previous cross country and country case studies that have also used the same technique, our contribution is that we account for the development of bond markets and non-bank financial institutions rather than being limited to stock market and banking sector development. We find that bond market development affects economic growth in South Africa, and no similar effect is observed for the bank and non-bank financial intermediaries and the stock market. Our findings show that examination of individual elements of the financial system is important in understanding the unique effect of each on growth. The observation that bond markets rather than private credit and stock market development promotes economic growth in South Africa induces an intriguing question as to what unique roles bond markets play that the intermediaries and equity markets are unable to play. Crucially, our results support observations in the literature that using appropriate measures of financial development is critical for policy advice. They also support the suggestion that individual elements of the financial system need to be studied separately to consider their unique roles in advancing economic growth. We believe that our understanding of the channels through which bond market contribute to growth would be a fertile ground for future research.

Keywords: bond market, finance, financial sector, growth

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Authors: Imed Feki, Faouzi Msahli

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Selection of relevant parameters from a high dimensional process operation setting space is a problem frequently encountered in industrial process modelling. This paper presents a method for selecting the most relevant fabric physical parameters for each sensory quality feature. The proposed relevancy criterion has been developed using two approaches. The first utilizes a fuzzy sensitivity criterion by exploiting from experimental data the relationship between physical parameters and all the sensory quality features for each evaluator. Next an OWA aggregation procedure is applied to aggregate the ranking lists provided by different evaluators. In the second approach, another panel of experts provides their ranking lists of physical features according to their professional knowledge. Also by applying OWA and a fuzzy aggregation model, the data sensitivity-based ranking list and the knowledge-based ranking list are combined using our proposed percolation technique, to determine the final ranking list. The key issue of the proposed percolation technique is to filter automatically and objectively the relevant features by creating a gap between scores of relevant and irrelevant parameters. It permits to automatically generate threshold that can effectively reduce human subjectivity and arbitrariness when manually choosing thresholds. For a specific sensory descriptor, the threshold is defined systematically by iteratively aggregating (n times) the ranking lists generated by OWA and fuzzy models, according to a specific algorithm. Having applied the percolation technique on a real example, of a well known finished textile product especially the stonewashed denims, usually considered as the most important quality criteria in jeans’ evaluation, we separate the relevant physical features from irrelevant ones for each sensory descriptor. The originality and performance of the proposed relevant feature selection method can be shown by the variability in the number of physical features in the set of selected relevant parameters. Instead of selecting identical numbers of features with a predefined threshold, the proposed method can be adapted to the specific natures of the complex relations between sensory descriptors and physical features, in order to propose lists of relevant features of different sizes for different descriptors. In order to obtain more reliable results for selection of relevant physical features, the percolation technique has been applied for combining the fuzzy global relevancy and OWA global relevancy criteria in order to clearly distinguish scores of the relevant physical features from those of irrelevant ones.

Keywords: data sensitivity, feature selection, fuzzy logic, OWA operators, percolation technique

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Authors: Pedro Mario Gonzalez Jimenez

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The novelties introduced by the last Notice on agreements of minor importance tighten the application of the ‘De minimis’ safe harbour in the European Union. However, the undetermined legal concept of effect on trade between the Member States becomes importance at the same time. Therefore, the current analysis that the jurist should carry out in the European Union to determine if an agreement appreciably restrict competition under Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union is double. Hence, it is necessary to know how to balance the significance in competition and the significance in effect on trade between the Member States. It is a crucial issue due to the negative delimitation of restriction of competition affects the positive one. The methodology of this research is rather simple. Beginning with a historical approach to the ‘De Minimis Rule’, their main problems and uncertainties will be found. So, after the analysis of normative documents and the jurisprudence of the Court of Justice of the European Union some proposals of ‘Lege ferenda’ will be offered. These proposals try to overcome the contradictions and questions that currently exist in the European Union as a consequence of the current legal regime of agreements of minor importance. The main findings of this research are the followings: Firstly, the effect on trade is another way to analyze the importance of an agreement different from the ‘De minimis rule’. In point of fact, this concept is singularly adapted to go through agreements that have as object the prevention, restriction or distortion of competition, as it is observed in the most famous European Union case-law. Thanks to the effect on trade, as long as the proper requirements are met there is no a restriction of competition under article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, even if the agreement had an anti-competitive object. These requirements are an aggregate market share lower than 5% on any of the relevant markets affected by the agreement and turnover lower than 40 million of Euros. Secondly, as the Notice itself says ‘it is also intended to give guidance to the courts and competition authorities of the Member States in their application of Article 101 of the Treaty, but it has no binding force for them’. This reality makes possible the existence of different statements among the different Member States and a confusing perception of what a restriction of competition is. Ultimately, damage on trade between the Member States could be observed for this reason. The main conclusion is that the significant effect on trade between Member States is irrelevant in agreements that restrict competition because of their effects but crucial in agreements that restrict competition because of their object. Thus, the Member States should propose the incorporation of a similar concept in their legal orders in order to apply the content of the Notice. Otherwise, the significance of the restrictive agreement on competition would not be properly assessed.

Keywords: De minimis rule, effect on trade, minor importance agreements, safe harbour

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Authors: Damiano Omari, Topirian Kerempe, Dibo Sama, Walter Wafula, Sharon Chepkoech, Chrispine Juma, Gilbert Kirui, Simon Mburu, Susan Keino

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The One Health concept was officially adopted by the international organizations and scholarly bodies in 1984. It aims at combining human, animal and environmental components to address global health challenges. Using collaborative efforts optimal health to people, animals, and the environment can be achieved. One health approach plays a significant approach role in prevention and control of zoonosis diseases. It has also been noted that 75% of new emerging human infectious diseases are zoonotic. In Kenya, one health has been embraced and strongly advocated for by One Health East and Central Africa (OHCEA). It was inaugurated on 17th of October 2010 at a historic meeting facilitated by USAID with participants from 7 public health schools, seven faculties of veterinary medicine in Eastern Africa and 2 American universities (Tufts and University of Minnesota) in addition to respond project staff. The study was conducted in Loitoktok Sub County, specifically in the Amboseli Ecosystem. The Amboseli ecosystem covers an area of 5,700 square kilometers and stretches between Mt. Kilimanjaro, Chyulu Hills, Tsavo West National park and the Kenya/Tanzania border. The area is arid to semi-arid and is more suitable for pastoralism with a high potential for conservation of wildlife and tourism enterprises. The ecosystem consists of the Amboseli National Park, which is surrounded by six group ranches which include Kimana, Olgulului, Selengei, Mbirikani, Kuku and Rombo in Loitoktok District. The Manyatta of study was Osiram Cultural Manyatta in Mbirikani group ranch. Apart from visiting the Manyatta, we also visited the sub-county hospital, slaughter slab, forest service, Kimana market, and the Amboseli National Park. The aim of the study was to identify the one health issues facing the community. This was done by a conducting a community needs assessment and prioritization. Different methods were used in data collection for the qualitative and numerical data. They include among others; key informant interviews and focus group discussions. We also guided the community members in drawing their Resource Map this helped identify the major resources in their land and also help them identify some of the issues they were facing. Matrix piling, root cause analysis, and force field analysis tools were used to establish the one health related priority issues facing community members. Skits were also used to present to the community interventions to the major one health issues. Some of the prioritized needs among the community were water scarcity and inadequate markets for their beadwork. The group intervened on the various needs of the Manyatta. For water scarcity, we educated the community on water harvesting methods using gutters as well as proper storage by the use of tanks and earth dams. The community was also encouraged to recycle and conserve water. To improve markets; we educated the community to upload their products online, a page was opened for them and uploading the photos was demonstrated to them. They were also encouraged to be innovative to attract more clients.

Keywords: Amboseli ecosystem, community interventions, community needs assessment and prioritization, one health issues

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Authors: T. Elrazaz

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This paper examines accrual and real earnings management by publicly listed targets around mergers and acquisitions. Prior literature shows that earnings management around mergers and acquisitions can have a significant economic impact because of the associated wealth transfers among stakeholders. More importantly, acting on behalf of their shareholders or pursuing their self-interests, managers of both targets and acquirers may be equally motivated to manipulate earnings prior to an acquisition to generate higher gains for their shareholders or themselves. Building on the grounds of information asymmetry, agency conflicts, stewardship theory, and the revelation principle, this study addresses the question of whether takeover targets employ accrual and real earnings management in the periods prior to the announcement of Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A). Additionally, this study examines whether acquirers are able to detect targets’ earnings management, and in response, adjust the acquisition premium paid in order not to face the risk of overpayment. This study uses an aggregate accruals approach in estimating accrual earnings management as proxied by estimated abnormal accruals. Additionally, real earnings management is proxied for by employing widely used models in accounting and finance literature. The results of this study indicate that takeover targets manipulate their earnings using accruals in the second year with an earnings release prior to the announcement of the M&A. Moreover, in partitioning the sample of targets according to the method of payment used in the deal, the results are restricted only to targets of stock-financed deals. These results are consistent with the argument that targets of cash-only or mixed-payment deals do not have the same strong motivations to manage their earnings as their stock-financed deals counterparts do additionally supporting the findings of prior studies that the method of payment in takeovers is value relevant. The findings of this study also indicate that takeover targets manipulate earnings upwards through cutting discretionary expenses the year prior to the acquisition while they do not do so by manipulating sales or production costs. Moreover, in partitioning the sample of targets according to the method of payment used in the deal, the results are restricted only to targets of stock-financed deals, providing further robustness to the results derived under the accrual-based models. Finally, this study finds evidence suggesting that acquirers are fully aware of the accrual-based techniques employed by takeover targets and can unveil such manipulation practices. These results are robust to alternative accrual and real earnings management proxies, as well as controlling for the method of payment in the deal.

Keywords: accrual earnings management, acquisition premium, real earnings management, takeover targets

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Authors: Nazia Muhsin, Tofael Ahamed, Ryozo Noguchi, Tomohiro Takigawa

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One of the most challenging issues to achieve sustainable development on food security is land use changes. The crisis of lands for agricultural production mainly arises from the unplanned transformation of agricultural lands to infrastructure development i.e. urbanization and industrialization. Land use without sustainability assessment could have impact on the food security and environmental protections. Bangladesh, as the densely populated country with limited arable lands is now facing challenges to meet sustainable food security. Agricultural lands are using for economic growth by establishing industries. The industries are spreading from urban areas to the suburban areas and using the agricultural lands. To minimize the agricultural land losses for unplanned industrialization, compact economic zones should be find out in a scientific approach. Therefore, the purpose of the study was to find out suitable sites for industrial growth by land suitability analysis (LSA) by using Geographical Information System (GIS) and multi-criteria analysis (MCA). The goal of the study was to emphases both agricultural lands and industries for sustainable development in land use. The study also attempted to analysis the agricultural land use changes in a suburban area by statistical data of agricultural lands and primary data of the existing industries of the study place. The criteria were selected as proximity to major roads, and proximity to local roads, distant to rivers, waterbodies, settlements, flood-flow zones, agricultural lands for the LSA. The spatial dataset for the criteria were collected from the respective departments of Bangladesh. In addition, the elevation spatial dataset were used from the SRTM (Shuttle Radar Topography Mission) data source. The criteria were further analyzed with factors and constraints in ArcGIS®. Expert’s opinion were applied for weighting the criteria according to the analytical hierarchy process (AHP), a multi-criteria technique. The decision rule was set by using ‘weighted overlay’ tool to aggregate the factors and constraints with the weights of the criteria. The LSA found only 5% of land was most suitable for industrial sites and few compact lands for industrial zones. The developed LSA are expected to help policy makers of land use and urban developers to ensure the sustainability of land uses and agricultural production.

Keywords: AHP (analytical hierarchy process), GIS (geographic information system), LSA (land suitability analysis), MCA (multi-criteria analysis)

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Authors: Kumar Divyendra

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Underwater Sensor Networks (UWSNs) have wide applications in areas such as water quality monitoring, marine wildlife management etc. A typical UWSN system consists of a set of sensors deployed randomly underwater which communicate with each other using acoustic links. RF communication doesn't work underwater, and GPS too isn't available underwater. Additionally Automated Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) are deployed to collect data from some special nodes called Cluster Heads (CHs). These CHs aggregate data from their neighboring nodes and forward them to the AUVs using optical links when an AUV is in range. This helps reduce the number of hops covered by data packets and helps conserve energy. We consider the three-dimensional model of the UWSN. Nodes are initially deployed randomly underwater. They attach themselves to the surface using a rod and can only move upwards or downwards using a pump and bladder mechanism. We use graph theory concepts to maximize the coverage volume while every node maintaining connectivity with at least one surface node. We treat the surface nodes as landmarks and each node finds out its hop distance from every surface node. We treat these hop-distances as coordinates and use them for AUV navigation. An AUV intending to move closer to a node with given coordinates moves hop by hop through nodes that are closest to it in terms of these coordinates. In absence of GPS, multiple different approaches like Inertial Navigation System (INS), Doppler Velocity Log (DVL), computer vision-based navigation, etc., have been proposed. These systems have their own drawbacks. INS accumulates error with time, vision techniques require prior information about the environment. We propose a method that makes use of the earth's magnetic field values for navigation and combines it with other methods that simultaneously increase the coverage volume under the UWSN. The AUVs are fitted with magnetometers that measure the magnetic intensity (I), horizontal inclination (H), and Declination (D). The International Geomagnetic Reference Field (IGRF) is a mathematical model of the earth's magnetic field, which provides the field values for the geographical coordinateson earth. Researchers have developed an inverse deep learning model that takes the magnetic field values and predicts the location coordinates. We make use of this model within our work. We combine this with with the hop-by-hop movement described earlier so that the AUVs move in such a sequence that the deep learning predictor gets trained as quickly and precisely as possible We run simulations in MATLAB to prove the effectiveness of our model with respect to other methods described in the literature.

Keywords: clustering, deep learning, network backbone, parallel computing

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Authors: Raj Chavan

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At present, the United States is home to more than 14,000 Water Resource Recovery Facilities (WRRFs), of which approximately 35% have implemented nutrient limits of some kind. These WRRFs contribute 10 to 15% of the total nutrient burden to surface rivers in the United States and account for approximately 1% of total power demand and 2% of total greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). There are several factors that have influenced the development of densification technologies in the direction of more compact and energy-efficient nutrient removal processes. Prior to surface water discharge, existing facilities that necessitate capacity expansion or biomass densification for greater treatability within the same footprint are being subjected to stricter nutrient removal requirements. Densification of activated sludge as a method for nutrient removal and process intensification at WRRFs has garnered considerable attention in recent times. The biological processes take place within the aerobic sediment granules, which form the basis of the technology. The possibility of generating granular sludge through continuous (or conventional) activated sludge processes (CAS) or densification of biomass through the transfer of activated sludge flocs to a denser biomass aggregate as an exceptionally efficient intensification technique has generated considerable interest. This presentation aims to furnish attendees with a foundational comprehension of densification through the illustration of practical concerns and insights. The subsequent subjects will be deliberated upon. What are some potential techniques for producing and preserving densified granules? What processes are responsible for the densification of biological flocs? How do physical selectors contribute to the process of biological flocs becoming denser? What viable strategies exist for the management of densified biological flocs, and which design parameters of physical selection influence the retention of densified biological flocs? determining operational solutions for floc and granule customization in order to meet capacity and performance objectives? The answers to these pivotal questions will be derived from existing full-scale treatment facilities, bench-scale and pilot-scale investigations, and existing literature data. By the conclusion of the presentation, the audience will possess a fundamental comprehension of the densification concept and its significance in attaining effective effluent treatment. Additionally, case studies pertaining to the design and operation of densification procedures will be incorporated into the presentation.

Keywords: densification, intensification, nutrient removal, granular sludge

Procedia PDF Downloads 31

Authors: Brooke Sweeney, David White, Felix Amparano, Nick A. Clark, Amy R. Beck, Mathew Lindquist, Lora Edwards, Julie Vandal, Jennifer Lisondra, Katie Cox, Renee Arensberg, Allen Cummins, Jazmine Cedeno, Jason D. Fraser, Kelsey Dean, Helena H. Laroche, Cristina Fernandez

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Background: National organizations call for standardized pre-surgical requirements and education to optimize postoperative outcomes. Since 2017 our surgery program has used defined protocols and educational curricula pre- and post-surgery. In response to patient outcomes, our educational content was refined to include quizzes to assess patient knowledge and surgical preparedness. We aim to optimize adolescent pre-bariatric surgery preparedness by improving overall aggregate pre-surgical assessment performance from 68% to 80% within 12 months. Methods: A multidisciplinary improvement team was developed within the weight management clinic (WMC) of our tertiary care, free-standing children’s hospital. A manual has been utilized since 2017, with limitations in consistent delivery and patient uptake of information. The curriculum has been improved to include quizzes administered during WMC visits prior to bariatric surgery. The initial outcome measure is the pre-surgical quiz score of adolescents preparing for bariatric surgery. Process measure was the number of questions answered correctly to test the questions. Baseline performance was determined by a patient assessment survey of pre-surgical preparedness at patient visits. Plan-Do-Study-Act cycles (PDSA) included: 1) creation and implementation of a refined curriculum, 2) development of 5 new quizzes based upon learning objectives, and 3) improving provider-lead teaching and quiz administration within clinic workflow. Run charts assessed impact over time. Results: A total of 346 quiz questions were administered to 34 adolescents. The outcome measure improved from a baseline mean of 68% to 86% following PDSA 2 cycles, and it was sustained. Conclusion/Implication: Patient/family comprehension of surgical preparedness improved with standardized education via team member-led teaching and assessment using quizzes during pre-surgical clinic visits. The next steps include launching redesigned teaching materials with modules correlated to quizzes and assessment of comprehension and outcomes post-surgically.

Keywords: bariatric surgery, adolescent, clinic, pre-bariatric training

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Authors: Luminita Marin, Dalila Belei, Carmen Dumea

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Aggregation induced emission (AIE) is an intriguing optical phenomenon recently evidenced by Tang and his co-workers, for which aggregation works constructively in the improving of light emission. The AIE challenging phenomenon is quite opposite to the notorious aggregation caused quenching (ACQ) of light emission in the condensed phase, and comes in line with requirements of photonic and optoelectronic devices which need solid state emissive substrates. This paper reports a series of ten new aggregation induced emission (AIE) low molecular weight compounds based on triazole and pyridine-N-oxide heterocyclic units bonded by short flexible chains, obtained by a „click” chemistry reaction. The compounds present extremely weak luminescence in solution but strong light emission in solid state. To distinguish the influence of the crystallinity degree on the emission efficiency, the photophysical properties were explored by UV-vis and photoluminescence spectroscopy in solution, water suspension, amorphous and crystalline films. On the other hand, the compound morphology of the up mentioned states was monitored by dynamic light scattering, scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy and polarized light microscopy methods. To further understand the structural design – photophysical properties relationship, single crystal X-ray diffraction on some understudy compounds was performed too. The UV-vis absorption spectra of the triazole water suspensions indicated a typical behaviour for nanoparticle formation, while the photoluminescence spectra revealed an emission intensity enhancement up to 921-fold higher of the crystalline films compared to solutions, clearly indicating an AIE behaviour. The compounds have the tendency to aggregate forming nano- and micro- crystals in shape of rose-like and fibres. The crystals integrity is kept due to the strong lateral intermolecular forces, while the absence of face-to-face forces explains the enhanced luminescence in crystalline state, in which the intramolecular rotations are restricted. The studied flexible triazoles draw attention to a new structural design in which small biologically friendly luminophore units are linked together by small flexible chains. This design enlarges the variety of the AIE luminogens to the flexible molecules, guiding further efforts in development of new AIE structures for appropriate applications, the biological ones being especially envisaged.

Keywords: aggregation induced emission, pyridine-N-oxide, triazole

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Authors: Danuta Barnat-Hunek

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The studies are devoted to assessing the effectiveness of hydrophobic and air entraining admixtures based on organ silicon compounds. Mortars with lightweight aggregate–perlite were the subjects of the investigation. The following laboratory tests were performed: density, open porosity, total porosity, absorptivity, capability to diffuse water vapour, compressive strength, flexural strength, frost resistance, sodium sulphate corrosion resistance and the thermal conductivity coefficient. The composition of the two mixtures of mortars was prepared: mortars without a hydrophobic admixture and mortars with cementitious waterproofing material. Surface hydrophobisation was produced on the mortars without a hydrophobic admixture using a methyl silicone resin, a water-based emulsion of methyl silicone resin in potassium hydroxide and alkyl-alkoxy-silane in organic solvents. The results of the effectiveness of hydrophobisation of mortars are the following: The highest absorption after 14 days of testing was shown by mortar without an agent (57.5%), while the lowest absorption was demonstrated by the mortar with methyl silicone resin (52.7%). After 14 days in water the hydrophobisation treatment of the samples proved to be ineffective. The hydrophobised mortars are characterized by an insignificant mass change due to freezing and thawing processes in the case of the methyl silicone resin – 1%, samples without hydrophobisation –5%. This agent efficiently protected the mortars against frost corrosion. The standard samples showed very good resistance to the pressure of sodium sulphate crystallization. Organosilicon compounds have a negative influence on the chemical resistance (weight loss about 7%). The mass loss of non-hydrophobic mortar was 2 times lower than mortar with the hydrophobic admixture. Hydrophobic and aeration admixtures significantly affect the thermal conductivity and the difference is mainly due to the difference in porosity of the compared materials. Hydrophobisation of the mortar mass slightly decreased the porosity of the mortar, and thus in an increase of 20% of its compressive strength. The admixture adversely affected the ability of the hydrophobic mortar – it achieved the opposite effect. As a result of hydrophobising the mass, the mortar samples decreased in density and had improved wettability. Poor protection of the mortar surface is probably due to the short time of saturating the sample in the preparation. The mortars were characterized by high porosity (65%) and water absorption (57.5%), so in order to achieve better efficiency, extending the time of hydrophobisation would be advisable. The highest efficiency was obtained for the surface hydrophobised with the methyl silicone resin.

Keywords: hydrophobisation, mortars, salt crystallization, frost resistance

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Authors: Sayantan Khanra, Rojers P. Joseph

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Background and Significance: This study is aimed at analyzing the role of demographic and service quality variables in the adoption and diffusion of e-government services among the users in India. The study proposes to examine the users' perception about e-Government services and investigate the key variables that are most salient to the Indian populace. Description of the Basic Methodologies: The methodology to be adopted in this study is Hierarchical Regression Analysis, which will help in exploring the impact of the demographic variables and the quality dimensions on the willingness to use e-government services in two steps. First, the impact of demographic variables on the willingness to use e-government services is to be examined. In the second step, quality dimensions would be used as inputs to the model for explaining variance in excess of prior contribution by the demographic variables. Present Status: Our study is in the data collection stage in collaboration with a highly reliable, authentic and adequate source of user data. Assuming that the population of the study comprises all the Internet users in India, a massive sample size of more than 10,000 random respondents is being approached. Data is being collected using an online survey questionnaire. A pilot survey has already been carried out to refine the questionnaire with inputs from an expert in management information systems and a small group of users of e-government services in India. The first three questions in the survey pertain to the Internet usage pattern of a respondent and probe whether the person has used e-government services. If the respondent confirms that he/she has used e-government services, then an aggregate of 15 indicators are used to measure the quality dimensions under consideration and the willingness of the respondent to use e-government services, on a five-point Likert scale. If the respondent reports that he/she has not used e-government services, then a few optional questions are asked to understand the reason(s) behind the same. Last four questions in the survey are dedicated to collect data related to the demographic variables. An indication of the Major Findings: Based on the extensive literature review carried out to develop several propositions; a research model is prescribed to start with. A major outcome expected at the completion of the study is the development of a research model that would help to understand the relationship involving the demographic variables and service quality dimensions, and the willingness to adopt e-government services, particularly in an emerging economy like India. Concluding Statement: Governments of emerging economies and other relevant agencies can use the findings from the study in designing, updating, and promoting e-government services to enhance public participation, which in turn, would help to improve efficiency, convenience, engagement, and transparency in implementing these services.

Keywords: adoption and diffusion of e-government services, demographic variables, hierarchical regression analysis, service quality dimensions

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Authors: Ismail Bamidele Afolabi, Abdulmujeeb Babatunde Aremu, Lawal Abdurraheem Maidoki, Nnodimele Onuigbo Atulomah

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Background: Hepatitis B virus infection remains a significant global public health challenge with infectivity as well as the potential for transmission more than 50 to 100 times that of HIV. Annually, global HBV-related mortality is linked primarily to cirrhosis and liver carcinoma. The ever-increasing endemicity of HBV among children under-5-years, owing to vertical transmission and its lingering chronicity in developing countries, will hamper the global efforts concertedly endorsed towards eliminating viral hepatitis as a global public health threat by 2030. Objective: This study assessed information motivation behavioral skills model constructs as predictors of HBV infection prevention practices among consenting expectant mothers attending antenatal care in Central Uganda as a focal point of intervention towards breaking materno-foetal transmission of HBV. Methods: A cross-sectional study with a quantitative data collection approach based on the constructs of the IMB model was used to capture data on the study variables among 385 randomly selected pregnant women between September and October 2020. Data derived from the quantitative instrument were transformed into weighted aggregate scores using SPSS version 26. ANOVA and regression analysis were done to ascertain the study hypotheses with a significance level set as (p ≤ 0.05). Results: Relatively 60% of the respondents were aged between 18 and 28. Expectant mothers with secondary education (42.3%) were predominant. Furthermore, an average but inadequate knowledge (X ̅=5.97±6.61; B=0.57; p<.001), incorrect perception (X ̅=17.10±18.31; B=0.97; p=.014), and good behavioral skills (X ̅=12.39±13.37; B=0.56; p<.001) for adopting prevention practices all statistically predicted the unsatisfactory level of prevention practices (X ̅=15.03±16.20) among the study respondents as measured on rating scales of 12, 33, 21 and 30 respectively. Conclusion: Evidence from this study corroborates the imperativeness of IMB constructs in reducing the burden of HBV infection in developing countries. Therefore, the inadequate HBV knowledge and misperception among obstetric populations necessitate personalized health education during antenatal visits and subsequent health campaigns in order to inform better prevention practices and, in turn, reduce the lingering chronicity of HBV infection in developing countries.

Keywords: behavioral skills, HBV infection, knowledge, perception, pregnant women, prevention practices

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Authors: E. H. Walsh, J. McMahon, M. P. Herring

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Post-primary school-based suicide prevention (PSSP) is a valuable avenue to reduce suicidal behaviours in adolescents. The aims of this meta-analysis and meta-regression were 1) to quantify the effect of PSSP interventions on adolescent suicide ideation (SI) and suicide attempts (SA), and 2) to explore how intervention effects may vary based on important contextual and intervention factors. This study provides further support to the benefits of PSSP by demonstrating lower suicide outcomes in over 30,000 adolescents following PSSP and mental health interventions and tentatively suggests that intervention effectiveness may potentially vary based on intervention factors. The protocol for this study is registered on PROSPERO (ID=CRD42020168883). Population, intervention, comparison, outcomes, and study design (PICOs) defined eligible studies as cluster randomised studies (n=12) containing PSSP and measuring suicide outcomes. Aggregate electronic database EBSCO host, Web of Science, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials databases were searched. Cochrane bias tools for cluster randomised studies demonstrated that half of the studies were rated as low risk of bias. The Egger’s Regression Test adapted for multi-level modelling indicated that publication bias was not an issue (all ps > .05). Crude and corresponding adjusted pooled log odds ratios (OR) were computed using the Metafor package in R, yielding 12 SA and 19 SI effects. Multi-level random-effects models accounting for dependencies of effects from the same study revealed that in crude models, compared to controls, interventions were significantly associated with 13% (OR=0.87, 95% confidence interval (CI), [0.78,0.96], Q18 =15.41, p=0.63) and 34% (OR=0.66, 95%CI [0.47,0.91], Q10=16.31, p=0.13) lower odds of SI and SA, respectively. Adjusted models showed similar odds reductions of 15% (OR=0.85, 95%CI[0.75,0.95], Q18=10.04, p=0.93) and 28% (OR=0.72, 95%CI[0.59,0.87], Q10=10.46, p=0.49) for SI and SA, respectively. Within-cluster heterogeneity ranged from no heterogeneity to low heterogeneity for SA across crude and adjusted models (0-9%). No heterogeneity was identified for SI across crude and adjusted models (0%). Pre-specified univariate moderator analyses were not significant for SA (all ps < 0.05). Variations in average pooled SA odds reductions across categories of various intervention characteristics were observed (all ps < 0.05), which preliminarily suggests that the effectiveness of interventions may potentially vary across intervention factors. These findings have practical implications for researchers, clinicians, educators, and decision-makers. Further investigation of important logical, theoretical, and empirical moderators on PSSP intervention effectiveness is recommended to establish how and when PSSP interventions best reduce adolescent suicidal behaviour.

Keywords: adolescents, contextual factors, post-primary school-based suicide prevention, suicide ideation, suicide attempts

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Authors: Tunde Ope-Davies

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Transmediality and platformization as online content-sharing protocols have continued to accentuate the growing impact of the unprecedented digital revolution across the world. The rapid transformation across all sectors as a result of this revolution has continued to spotlight the increasing importance of new media technologies in redefining and reshaping the rhythm and dynamics of our private and public discursive practices. Equally, social and political activities are being impacted daily through the creation and transmission of political discourse content through multi-channel platforms such as mobile telephone communication, social media networks and the internet. It has been observed that digital platforms have become central to the production, processing, and distribution of multimodal social data and cultural content. The platformization paradigm thus underpins our understanding of how digital platforms enhance the production and heterogenous distribution of media and cultural content through these platforms and how this process facilitates socioeconomic and political activities. The use of multiple digital platforms to share and transmit political discourse material synchronously and asynchronously has gained some exciting momentum in the last few years. Nigeria’s 2023 general elections amplified the usage of social media and other online platforms as tools for electioneering campaigns, socio-political mobilizations and civic engagement. The study, therefore, focuses on transmedia and platformed political discourse as a new strategy to promote political candidates and their manifesto in order to mobilize support and woo voters. This innovative transmedia digital discourse model involves a constellation of online texts and images transmitted through different online platforms almost simultaneously. The data for the study was extracted from the 2023 general elections campaigns in Nigeria between January- March 2023 through media monitoring, manual download and the use of software to harvest the online electioneering campaign material. I adopted a discursive-analytic qualitative technique with toolkits drawn from a computer-mediated multimodal discourse paradigm. The study maps the progressive development of digital political discourse in this young democracy. The findings also demonstrate the inevitable transformation of modern democratic practice through platform-dependent and transmedia political discourse. Political actors and media practitioners now deploy layers of social media network platforms to convey messages and mobilize supporters in order to aggregate and maximize the impact of their media campaign projects and audience reach.

Keywords: social media, digital humanities, political discourse, platformized discourse, multimodal discourse

Procedia PDF Downloads 52

Authors: Alberto Alfano, Sergio D’ambrosio, Darshankumar Parecha, Donatella Cimini, Chiara Schiraldi.

Abstract:

The main objective of this study regards the setup of an efficient small-scale platform for the conversion of local renewable waste materials, such as whey, into added-value products, thereby reducing environmental impact and costs deriving from the disposal of processing waste products. The buffalo milk whey derived from the cheese-making process, called second cheese whey, is the main by-product of the dairy industry. Whey is the main and most polluting by-product obtained from cheese manufacturing consisting of lactose, lactic acid, proteins, and salts, making whey an added-value product. In Italy, and in particular, in the Campania region, soft cheese production needs a large volume of liquid waste, especially during late spring and summer. This project is part of a circular economy perspective focused on the conversion of potentially polluting and difficult to purify waste into a resource to be exploited, and it embodies the concept of the three “R”: reduce, recycle, and reuse. Special focus was paid to the production of health-promoting biomolecules and biopolymers, which may be exploited in different segments of the food and pharmaceutical industries. These biomolecules may be recovered through appropriate processes and reused in an attempt to obtain added value products. So, ultrafiltration and nanofiltration processes were performed to fractionate bioactive components starting from buffalo milk whey. In this direction, the present study focused on the implementation of a downstream process that converts waste generated from food and food processing industries into added value products with potential applications. Owing to innovative downstream and biotechnological processes, rather than a waste product may be considered a resource to obtain high added value products, such as food supplements (probiotics), cosmeceuticals, biopolymers, and recyclable purified water. Besides targeting gastrointestinal disorders, probiotics such as Lactobacilli have been reported to improve immunomodulation and protection of the host against infections caused by viral and bacterial pathogens. Interestingly, also inactivated microbial (probiotic) cells and their metabolic products, indicated as parabiotic and postbiotics, respectively, have a crucial role and act as mediators in the modulation of the host’s immune function. To boost the production of biomass (both viable and/or heat inactivated cells) and/or the synthesis of growth-related postbiotics, such as EPS, efficient and sustainable fermentation processes are necessary. Based on a “zero-waste” approach, wastes generated from local industries can be recovered and recycled to develop sustainable biotechnological processes to obtain probiotics as well as post and parabiotic, to be tested as bioactive compounds against gastrointestinal disorders. The results have shown it was possible to recover an ultrafiltration retentate with suitable characteristics to be used in skin dehydration, to perform films (i.e., packaging for food industries), or as a wound repair agent and a nanofiltration retentate to recover lactic acid and carbon sources (e.g., lactose, glucose..) used for microbial cultivation. On the side, the last goal is to obtain purified water that can be reused throughout the process. In fact, water reclamation and reuse provide a unique and viable opportunity to augment traditional water supplies, a key issue nowadays.

Keywords: biotech process, downstream process, probiotic growth, from waste to product, buffalo whey

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Authors: Alice Civera, Mattia Cattaneo, Michele Meoli, Stefano Paleari

Abstract:

Despite the fact that more equal access to higher education has been an objective public policy for several decades, little is known about the effectiveness of alternative means for achieving such goal. Indeed, nowadays, high level of graduate population can be observed both in countries with the high and low level of fees, or high and low level of public expenditure in higher education. This paper surveys the extant literature providing some background on the economic concepts of the higher education market, and reviews key determinants of demand and supply. A theoretical model of aggregate demand and supply of higher education is derived, with the aim to facilitate the understanding of the challenges in today’s higher education systems, as well as the opportunities for development. The model is validated on some exemplary case studies describing the different relationship between the level of public investment and levels of graduate population and helps to derive general implications. In addition, using a two-stage least squares model, we build a macroeconomic model of supply and demand for European higher education. The model allows interpreting policies shifting either the supply or the demand for higher education, and allows taking into consideration contextual conditions with the aim of comparing divergent policies under a common framework. Results show that the same policy objective (i.e., increasing graduate population) can be obtained by shifting either the demand function (i.e., by strengthening student aid) or the supply function (i.e., by directly supporting higher education institutions). Under this theoretical perspective, the level of tuition fees is irrelevant, and empirically we can observe high levels of graduate population in both countries with high (i.e., the UK) or low (i.e., Germany) levels of tuition fees. In practice, this model provides a conceptual framework to help better understanding what are the external conditions that need to be considered, when planning a policy for increasing graduate population. Extrapolating a policy from results in different countries, under this perspective, is a poor solution when contingent factors are not addressed. The second implication of this conceptual framework is that policies addressing the supply or the demand function needs to address different contingencies. In other words, a government aiming at increasing graduate population needs to implement complementary policies, designing them according to the side of the market that is interested. For example, a ‘supply-driven’ intervention, through the direct financial support of higher education institutions, needs to address the issue of institutions’ moral hazard, by creating incentives to supply higher education services in efficient conditions. By contrast, a ‘demand-driven’ policy, providing student aids, need to tackle the students’ moral hazard, by creating an incentive to responsible behavior.

Keywords: graduates, higher education, higher education policies, tuition fees

Procedia PDF Downloads 132