Environmental Influences on the Settlements Patterns of Communities in the Marshes of Iraq

In the field of residential community planning, one of the appropriate places to study the mutual influences between man and the environment, away from the influences, concepts and mechanisms of contemporary planning theories are isolated environments in rural areas, and the marshlands in Iraq represent one of these models. These areas still retain the planning patterns of residential communities for thousands of years. This research attempts to conduct a descriptive study of traditional settlement patterns, which relied on the capabilities of the surrounding areas to provide planning and architectural solutions based on the environmental factor. Establishing such a clear framework for these impacts can help in any future interventions or development processes in the region and ensure that any random or irregular interventions that may have occurred previously are not repeated. Which will preserve the components and sustainability of this ecosystem and maintain the harmony and integration between the elements of the architectural environment and the natural elements.

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Mitigation of the Water Crisis in Sub-Saharan Africa: Construction of Delocalized Water Collection and Retention Systems

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13041673 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (4) ◽

pp. 1673

Author(s):

Adolfo F. L. Baratta ◽

Laura Calcagnini ◽

Abdoulaye Deyoko ◽

Fabrizio Finucci ◽

Antonio Magarò ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Rural Areas ◽

Water Shortage ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Economic Activities ◽

Research Project ◽

Water Utility ◽

Research Areas ◽

Emilia Romagna Region ◽

Sub Saharan ◽

Surrounding Areas

This paper presents the results of a three-year research project aimed at addressing the issue of water shortage and retention/collection in drought-affected rural areas of Sub-Saharan Africa. The project consisted in the design, construction, and the upgrade of existing barrages near Kita, the regional capital of Kayes in Mali. The effort was led by the Department of Architecture of Roma Tre University in partnership with the Onlus Gente d’Africa (who handled the on-the-ground logistics), the Department of Architecture of the University of Florence and the École Supérieure d’Ingénierie, d’Architecture et d’Urbanisme of Bamako, Mali. The practical realization of the project was made possible by Romagna Acque Società delle Fonti Ltd., a water utility supplying drinking water in the Emilia-Romagna region (Italy) that provided the financing as well as the operational contribution of AES Architettura Emergenza Sviluppo, a nonprofit association operating in the depressed areas of the world. The completion of the research project resulted in the replenishment of reservoirs and renewed presence of water in the subsoil of the surrounding areas. Several economic activities such as fishing and rice cultivation have spawned from the availability of water. The monitoring of these results is still ongoing; however, it is already possible to assess some critical issues highlighted, especially with the progress of the COVID-19 pandemic in the research areas.

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A Cross Sectional Descriptive Study of Etiology and Clinical Pattern of Liver Abscess : 50 Cases

Chattagram Maa-O-Shishu Hospital Medical College Journal ◽

10.3329/cmoshmcj.v12i3.16713 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 12 (3) ◽

pp. 44-48

Author(s):

Joyabrata Das ◽

Subash Majumdar ◽

Subrata Das ◽

Saiem Nurul Anwar ◽

Hossain Ahmed ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Clinical Features ◽

Liver Abscess ◽

Rural Areas ◽

Descriptive Study ◽

Age Group ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Medical College ◽

Abdominal Abscesses ◽

One Year ◽

The Right

Background: The liver is the organ most subjected to the development of abscesses and made up 48 % of all visceral abscesses' and 7% of all intra abdominal abscesses. Liver abscess should be suspected when there is a combination of fever, leucocytosis, constitutional symptoms, and pain in the right upper quadrant, and tenderness over the liver or right lower rib cage. The liver is affected by a number of local and disseminated infections; their frequency and types vary considerably around the world. Parasitic disorders are more prevalent in developing countries. Methods: It was a cross-sectional descriptive study. The cases were taken from the admitted patients of Medicine unit of SMCH, Chittagong. The study was conducted over a period of one year with a sample size of 50 patients and sample was taken by purposive sampling. Results: Among 50 patients 40 (80%) were diagnosed as ALA and 10 (20%) were diagnosed as PLA. ALA cases are common in 21-30 years age group & PLA cases are more common in >50 years of age group. Majority of the cases were from rural area. Common clinical features were fever, abdominal pain, nausea and tender hepatomegaly. Diarrhea was present on admission in 7 (15.9%) patients of ALA. Anaemia was common in both but polymorphonuclear leucocytosis was moderate to severe in PLA. Microscopic examination of stool samples for E. Histolytica trophozoites was positive in 3 (7.5%) cases and cysts in 4(10%) cases. Nine patients had right sided pleural effusion. Conclusions: Clinical features are common in both ALA and PLA. Liver abscesses are more common in men and more prevalent in rural areas. ALA more commonly occurs in 21-30 years age group but can occur at any age. Pyogenic abscess is more common in older age group (>50 years) and E. Coli is the commonest organism. Chattagram Maa-O-Shishu Hospital Medical College Journal Volume 12, Issue 3, September 2013: 44-48

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Deagrarianisation of the Economic Structure and the Evolution of Rural Settlement Patterns in Poland

Land ◽

10.3390/land9120523 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 9 (12) ◽

pp. 523

Author(s):

Andrzej Rosner ◽

Monika Wesołowska

Keyword(s):

Rural Areas ◽

Settlement Patterns ◽

Economic Structure ◽

Rural Settlement ◽

Spatial Effects ◽

Central Statistical ◽

Central Statistical Office ◽

Second World

Since the Second World War, Poland has been undergoing an intensive process of transformation of the economic structure of rural areas, manifested, among other things, in the change in the occupational make-up of its inhabitants. The development of non-agricultural methods of management in rural areas has led to the emergence of multifunctional rural areas, where the role of agriculture as a source of income for the inhabitants is decreasing. There is a process of deagrarianisation of the economic structure, which has been indicated by many researchers as an unavoidable process, connected with the changes taking place in rural areas. One of the effects of this process are changes in rural settlement patterns. The aim of this article is to present the spatial effects of the deagrarianisation process in the Polish countryside, expressed in the changes in the rural settlement network. The authors used the statistical database of the Central Statistical Office (over 41 thousand records) to draw up the classification of rural areas by the nature of changes in population numbers in the period 1950–2011, which was compared with the research carried out as part of the Monitoring of Rural Development in Poland. The study confirmed that the factor behind the evolution of the rural settlement network is the process of decreasing agricultural demand for labour. As a consequence, there is a polarisation of localities into multifunctional rural localities, mainly headquarter villages and local government offices, and those with a predominantly agricultural function. On a supra-local scale, a process of polarisation of rural areas between a growing suburban population and a reducing peripheral location around large and medium-sized towns has been observed.

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Evaluating the satisfaction rate for affordable housing in non-gated residential area (NGR): the case of Al-Sharq housing project in Zarqa-Jordan

International Journal of Housing Markets and Analysis ◽

10.1108/ijhma-10-2019-0105 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽

Author(s):

Rami Khaled Al Shawabkeh ◽

Ahmad M. Alzouby ◽

Abdelmajeed Rjoub ◽

Mays Alsmadi ◽

Maram AlKhamaiseh ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Affordable Housing ◽

Questionnaire Survey ◽

Qualitative Method ◽

Gated Communities ◽

Content Type ◽

Residential Community ◽

Residential Communities ◽

Method Approach ◽

Practical Implications

Purpose Non-gated residential communities (NGR) are now becoming significant in Jordan resulting in an increase in low and medium-income areas. This study aims to investigate the sense of community at residential level within NGR by testing the characteristics presented in the first and largest non-gated community in Jordan (Al-Sharq project). Design/methodology/approach Such characteristics were identified via literary reviews and visual data collected through site visits, observation and photographs of the project's physical settings. This formed the basis of a questionnaire/survey that was distributed to the residents. This research depends on the mixed-method approach (qualitative and quantitative) to achieve the research objectives. The quantitative method involved the use of a questionnaire/survey, while the qualitative method undertook a comparative process using some statistical methods for the main characteristics. The results were analysed by using descriptive statistics, comprising frequency and factor analyses. Findings The study concludes with a framework consisting of suggestions and recommendations to remove the main constraints on improving the quality of life for the non-gated residential community. Practical implications The outcome of this study will influence the decisions made by the parties involved in urban development in Jordan when designing residential neighborhoods. Originality/value The significance of this paper is that while the majority of studies have been on the evaluation of gated communities in developing countries, there have only been a limited of studies specifically examining the experience of residents in those environments. Therefore, this paper contributes and adds to the existing knowledge in the development of non-gated communities in a developing country.

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Genetic and Environmental Sex Differences in Mental Rotation Ability: A Japanese Twin Study

Twin Research and Human Genetics ◽

10.1375/twin.14.5.437 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 14 (5) ◽

pp. 437-443 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Kunitake Suzuki ◽

Chizuru Shikishima ◽

Juko Ando

Keyword(s):

Sex Differences ◽

Mental Rotation ◽

Environmental Factor ◽

Genetic Factor ◽

Environmental Influence ◽

Environmental Influences ◽

Mental Rotation Test ◽

Small Influence ◽

Two Factors ◽

Explained Variance

Sex differences in mental rotation ability have been observed in many countries. A previous study of Finnish participants reported that genetic and environmental influences on mental rotation ability differ between sexes. In this study, we assessed genetic and environmental influences on variance in mental rotation ability in 649 Japanese twins using a mental rotation test. To explain the influence of sex on variance in mental rotation ability, we applied genetic analysis using the sex limitation model. The following two factors explained variance in mental rotation ability: (1) the additive genetic factor, which reflects the accumulated small influence of many genes, and (2) the unique environmental factor, which is a type of environmental factor that differs between co-twins. The shared environmental factor, a type of environmental factor common for co-twins, could not explain the variance in mental rotation ability. Furthermore, the additive genetic factor was the same between sexes (i.e., not qualitative sex differences for the additive genetic factor), indicating that the same genes affect mental rotation ability in both sexes. Despite this observation, the additive genetic influence was greater in males than in females. In contrast, the unique environmental influence was not different between sexes. Considering the current results and those of a previous study, the quantitative sex difference for the additive genetic influences in mental rotation ability may be universal, while the unique environmental differences may depend on the characteristics of specific populations.

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Mitigating the Urban Heat Island Effect in Megacity Tehran

Advances in Meteorology ◽

10.1155/2014/547974 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 2014 ◽

pp. 1-19 ◽

Cited By ~ 35

Author(s):

Sahar Sodoudi ◽

Parisa Shahmohamadi ◽

Ken Vollack ◽

Ulrich Cubasch ◽

A. I. Che-Ani

Keyword(s):

Urban Heat Island ◽

Rural Areas ◽

Heat Waves ◽

Mitigation Strategies ◽

Cooling Effect ◽

Heat Island ◽

Microscale Model ◽

Negative Effect ◽

Urban Heat ◽

Surrounding Areas

Cities demonstrate higher nocturnal temperatures than surrounding rural areas, which is called “urban heat island” (UHI) effect. Climate change projections also indicate increase in the frequency and intensity of heat waves, which will intensify the UHI effect. As megacity Tehran is affected by severe heatwaves in summer, this study investigates its UHI characteristics and suggests some feasible mitigation strategies in order to reduce the air temperature and save energy. Temperature monitoring in Tehran shows clear evidence of the occurrence of the UHI effect, with a peak in July, where the urban area is circa 6 K warmer than the surrounding areas. The mobile measurements show a park cool island of 6-7 K in 2 central parks, which is also confirmed by satellite images. The effectiveness of three UHI mitigation strategies high albedo material (HAM), greenery on the surface and on the roofs (VEG), and a combination of them (HYBRID) has been studied using simulation with the microscale model ENVI-met. All three strategies show higher cooling effect in the daytime. The average nocturnal cooling effect of VEG and HYBRID (0.92, 1.10 K) is much higher than HAM (0.16 K), although high-density trees show a negative effect on nocturnal cooling.

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Epidemiology and associated factors of atopic dermatitis in Malagasy children

Allergy Asthma & Clinical Immunology ◽

10.1186/s13223-019-0398-2 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 16 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

F. A. Sendrasoa ◽

I. M. Ranaivo ◽

N. H. Razanakoto ◽

M. Andrianarison ◽

O. Raharolahy ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Atopic Dermatitis ◽

Low Income ◽

Rural Areas ◽

Associated Factors ◽

Age Of Onset ◽

Descriptive Study ◽

History Of ◽

The Mean ◽

Urban And Rural Areas ◽

Duration Of Breastfeeding

Abstract Background Little is known about the epidemiology and associated factors of childhood AD in the markedly different, low-income, tropical environment like Madagascar. Methods We aim to assess the epidemiology and associated factors of AD in individuals fewer than 15 years of age in Antananarivo Madagascar. It was a retrospective and descriptive study over a period of 7 years (2010 to 2016) in children 6 months to 14 years in the Department of Dermatology, Joseph Raseta Befelatanana Antananarivo Madagascar. The diagnosis of AD was based on clinical data. Results The prevalence of AD was 5.6% in children aged 6 months to 14 years. The details of 151 cases of atopic dermatitis were analyzed. The mean age of patients was 4 years. There was a female preponderance (sex ratio: 0.7). A family history of AD was noted in 56 cases (37%). No association between breast-feeding and AD was found. The age of onset of AD was before the age of 3 months in 7.5% and between 6 months to 5 years in 70%. Children born in March (dry season) had the highest risk of AD. Consultations for AD increased during the winter (from July to October; p = 0.005). However, the prevalence of AD was similar in urban and rural areas. Conclusion Weather may have an impact on the prevalence of atopic dermatitis in Madagascar. No significant correlation was found between the duration of breastfeeding and AD, as well as urbanization.

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