GSTF Digital Library (GSTF-DL): Open Journal Systems (Global Science and Technology Forum)
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Reading Infrastructural Problems Within The Dispute Of Istanbul’s Skyline
No full textIf the term “infrastructure†is assessed beyond its common associations, it can be defined as “all the capital assets used for public welfare framed in a system that comprises financial and legal regulations. Within the current agenda of Istanbul, the topic of interest for this article is the impressionist dispositive driven by the conceptual couple “historical silhouette†as an urban merit that suggests a priority of specific historical and cultural phenomena and reduces urban infrastructural challenges to a single plane and various projections of this dispositive on the debate of Istanbul, silhouette and infrastructure. What is to be investigated is the emergence of this conceptual couple as a discourse that accompanies the interpretation of specific architectural phenomena and its construction as an urban myth
Perceptions of HIV Pre-Exposure Chemoprophylaxis among HIV-Negative, Post-Incarcerated, African American MSM
Get PDFAims: To explore barriers and facilitators to using and adhering to Truvada, among HIV-negative, post-incarcerated, African American men who have sex with men (MSM). Background: African American MSM represent only 2% of the U.S. population, yet account for 73% of new HIV infections among African American men. Truvada was FDA approved in 2012 for chemoprophylaxis in HIV-negative persons at high HIV risk. According to CDC guidelines, Truvada is most efficacious when used daily in addition to consistent condom use from the beginning to end of sex, and with 2-3 month medical checks and counseling. Methods: In this qualitative ethnographic study we used convenience and snowball sampling. Participants were recruited from Men’s Central Jail in Los Angeles in collaboration with the Center for Health Justice. Data were gathered using semi-structured questions in one and one half hour, audio-recorded, focus group sessions. Analysis: Transcripts were analyzed using AtlasTi qualitative software. Findings: 1. HIV-related stigma continues in African American communities 2. Post-incarcerated HIV-negative African American MSM may not consistently use or adhere to Truvada 3. Use of Truvada may mean that the user is HIV positive or gay, and 4. African American MSM may not use condoms with Truvada. 5. Truvada should be given to men who are incarcerated
Nutrient Supply Capacity Determination for Acid Soils Planted with Vegetables Using the Double Pot Technique
Get PDFA double pot technique experiment was conducted to determine the nutrient supplying capacity of five acid soils planted with three vegetables such as cabbage (Brassica oleracea), maize (Zea mays) and tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.). The soils used in the study were taken from Kibangay, Bukidnon; Mapayag, Bukidnon; Kapatagan, Davao del Sur; Claveria, Misamis Oriental and Cabintan, Leyte representing the acid soils of southern Philippines planted to vegetables. Results of the nutrient omission trials showed that the three vegetables tested have varying responses to five different soils as affected by nutrient availability. In most soils, regardless of vegetable planted, nitrogen (N) availability was the most critical nutrient affecting vegetable production followed by phosphorus (P) in the case of Cabintan and potassium (K) for Mapayag, Kibangay, Kapatagan and Claveria, respectively. This valuable diagnostic tool offers a cheap and simple method of assessing the nutrient supplying capacity of the various soils tested
Evaluation of Soil Compaction and Sealant Application for Compacted Earthen Liners
Get PDFThe open earthen pond system is a cost effective system for the production of microalgae and aquaculture products. Studies are required in the development of compacted earthen liners as cost-effective lining technologies to avoid negative impacts on water resources and human health. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of different levels of compaction and application of a polyacrylamide polymer as a soil sealant on the hydraulic conductivity of soil. Three soils collected from the existing pond sites were packed into aluminum cores (5 cm diameter), proctor molds (10 cm diameter) and stock pots (60 cm diameter) prior to saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ks) determination using the constant head method. A negative relationship was obtained between Ks and compaction for sandy loam, sandy clay loam and loam soils. The application of the soil sealant to compacted soil cores, proctor molds and stock pots did not decrease the Ks to the value of 1 x 10-9 m/s or lower to meet the regulatory criteria of compacted clay liners. The dry bulk density versus Ks curves indicate that sandy loam and sandy clay loam soils should be compacted to 1.82 and 1.69 g/cm3, respectively in soil cores and 2.40 and 1.59 g/cm3 in soil molds respectively to meet the regulatory criteria. The puddling experiments with sandy loam and loam soils in the stock pot also showed decreases in soil hydraulic conductivity as finer particles settle out of suspension in the soil pores. These experiments showed that sandy clay loam and loam soil can be compacted to decrease the Ks below the regularity criteria for clay liners. More experiments particularly in small ponds are needed to validate the results of the laboratory experiments
Examining the Moderating Effects of Organizational Identification between Human Resource Practices and Employee Turnover Intentions in Indian Hospitality Industry
Get PDFThis paper presents an employee turnover intention model, which examines the effects of frontline employees’ perceptions of human resource practices (recruitment, selection, training, career growth opportunities, performance appraisal and compensation) on employee turnover intention in Indian hospitality firms. Using this model as a framework, the role of organizational identification in the aforementioned relationship is explored. Hierarchical linear regression analyses demonstrated that selection and compensation practices have significant effects on employee turnover intention. Organizational identification moderates the relationship between selection practices and employee turnover intention. The paper concludes with implications for managers in hospitality industry and some future research directions
Tar Decomposition at low Temperatures within staged Gasification Reactors-first Approach towards Mechanisms and Background
No full textThe reduction or decomposition of tar in biomass derived fuel gases is one of the biggest challenges in its utilization for power generation. The floating-fixed-bed technology demonstrated a reduction of tars within the floating-bed reduction reactor (FBRR) of >99% reaching less than 50mg/m3 of tar even before cleaning the product gas. In order to gain more details about the mechanisms being involved in tar release and tar decomposition and to find an explanation for the good product gas quality of this gasification system, different studies conducted directly at a gasification pilot plant and studies concerning tar reduction mechanisms are summarized and compared in this work
The Association and Dissociation Tendencies of the Coaxial and Non- Coaxial Components of Shear Strength of Soils to Environment
Get PDFSoil is rock on its way to ocean. It undergoes many changes during the travel. The important factors which influence the geo-technical behavior of soil are : Grain size and Shape, Gradation, Water, Parent rock materials and Environment. The Geo-technical behavior of fine grains in soil is highly complex than coarse grains. A pure cohesive soil has pure shear or coaxial shear component only. A pure friction soil has Non-coaxial or simple shear component only. Normally a soil sample is a mixture of coarse and fine grains. The shear strength is shared between coaxial and non-coaxial component of the total shear strength of soil. The environment influences the Geo-technical behavior of soil. The coaxial and non-coaxial components of shear strength (coax and non-coax) of soil accepts and adjusts to reach a new equilibrium in stability. In this paper the association and dissociation of coax and non-coax with environmental conditions starting from laboratory and ending in marine environment through examples, illustrations and documented, reliable data available in literature
Geotechnical Properties of Kanto Alluvial Soils based on Geochemical Survey
Get PDFChemical properties of pore water in soils have a great influence on interparticle bonding among clayey particles and, as a result, not only on their soil structure but also on their geotechnical properties. In this study, we analyzed ionic compositions in pore water extracted from alluvial soils deposited under different sedimentary environments in Kanto lowland area, Japan, and investigated the effect of the chemical compositions of pore water on the geotechnical properties such as compressibility and sensitivity. The following results were obtained: The ion concentrations of pore water measured by different extraction methods showed that the concentration of Na+ by the dilution method was higher than that by the centrifugation method, while the concentrations of Ca2+, Cl- and SO42- by the dilution method are significantly smaller than those by centrifugation method. The centrifugation method was recommended for evaluating geochemistry of the soils since the rotation speeds in the centrifugation method did not significantly affect the pore-water compositions. The geotechnical properties were highly related to the ion concentrations of pore water. Higher compression index and sensitivity were observed for the alluvial soils with higher monovalent/divalent ion ratio. In addition, more strong dependency of monovalent/divalent ion ratio on geotechnical properties was obtained for the alluvial soils with plasticity index larger than 30
Frailty Approach to Age at First Birth in Uttar Pradesh-India
No full textIn Indian State of Uttar-Pradesh, there is always pressure among newly-wed to conceive early and have births. Research studies have documented relationship between age at first birth & fertility, besides the socio-demographic factors that influence them. Study aims answering such relationships by the use of frailty models. Indian fertility is characterized as too-early-too-fast. By age-30 majority women would have completed the childbearing. Forty percent of the women had first birth below 18 while 95% experienced before reaching age 26. Births at younger age are reflection on poor enforcement of child-marriage restraint act-18 for girls & 21 for boys. The data is from NFHS-3[3]. The frailty model capturing the unobserved heterogeneity in the event time is preferred over the standard survival models. For the current study, inverse Gaussian with log-logistic baseline-hazard is used, as it fits the data well. Age at marriage and women’s literacy significantly determines the Age at First Birth. The model also predicts significant frailty with variance parameter 0.1
Mothers’ Knowledge Regarding Neonatal Baby Care
Get PDFNeonatal mortality is a major problem, all over the world especially, in the developing countries. The aim of this study was to determine the knowledge of mothers, who were admitted to the postnatal ward of Teaching Hospital Kurunegala regarding the neonatal baby care. This descriptive cross sectional study was carried out in the post-natal ward, at the Teaching Hospital in Kurunegala (North Western Province), Sri Lanka. The data was collected by interviewing 246 post-natal mothers, aged 15 – 45 years, who were in the post-natal ward, during the period of 18th April to 2nd May 2011. The mean age of the sample was 26 years. Nearly half of mothers (48.4%) completed education up to O/L. The percentage of mothers who completed education up to secondary and higher education level was 41.3%. A considerable proportion of mothers were unemployed (86%). Half of them had one child. The percentage of postnatal mothers, who had two children, is 30%. Others had more than two children.Education level was found to be positively and significantly associated with knowledge regarding neonatal care. Additionally, occupation and age too were found to be significantly associated with knowledge level. Parity did not show a significant association with maternal knowledge regarding neonatal care as expected. The results showed that mothers’ knowledge and practices regarding breast feeding was at a satisfactory level in mothers selected to the sample population. But knowledge of mothers was not at a satisfactory level regarding umbilical cord care. More than half of them were in less than average knowledge level. It was found that mothers’ knowledge of prevention of neonatal hypothermia was poor. A large proportion of them (45.52%) were in the poor knowledge group and 42.27% of them were in very poor knowledge group. The results showed clearly that mothers’ knowledge of prevention of neonatal hypothermia was the most deficient knowledge field of mothers who lived in Kurunegala area. Maternal knowledge of breastfeeding was the only satisfactory knowledge field from these three areas for mother who lived in Kurunegala area. The study showed in majority of mothers, adequate knowledge and practices regarding neonatal care were lacking. Especially, in the field of prevention of neonatal hypothermia and care for the neonatal umbilical cord