scholarly journals Assessment of the Impact of Urbanization on Geoenvironmental Settings Using Geospatial Techniques: A Study of Panchkula District, Haryana

Geographies ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Shruti Kanga ◽  
Suraj Kumar Singh ◽  
Gowhar Meraj ◽  
Anup Kumar ◽  
Ruby Parveen ◽  
...  

Urbanization is an unavoidable process of social and economic growth in modern times. However, the speed with which urbanization is taking place produces complex environmental changes. It has affected the surface albedo and roughness of the soil, thereby modulating hydrological and ecological systems, which in turn has affected regional and local climate systems. In developing countries of South Asia, rampant and unplanned urbanization has created a complex system of adverse environmental scenarios. Similar is the case in India. The state of the urban environment across India is degrading so quickly that the long-term sustainability of its cities is endangered. Many metropolitan cities in India are witnessing the harmful impacts of urbanization on their land ecology. In this context, remote sensing and geographic information system (GIS) based assessments provide a comprehensive and effective analysis of the rate and the impact of urbanization. The present study focuses on understanding the spatiotemporal characteristics of urban growth and its implications on the geomorphology of the Panchkula District, Haryana, one of the fastest-growing urban centers in India. The study links the changes in land use/land cover (LULC) with the changing geomorphology of the study area using satellite remote sensing and GIS. The results showed that between 1980 and 2020, agricultural (+73.71%), built-up (+84.66%), and forest (+4.07%) classes of land increased in contrast to that of the fallow land (−76.80%) and riverbed (−50.86%) classes that have decreased in spatial extents. It has been observed that the hill geomorphological class had decreased in the area owing to conversion to industrial and built-up activities. Assessment of the environmental quality of cities involves multiple disciplines that call for a significant amount of scientific evaluation and strong decision making, and the present study shall lay down the baseline analysis of the impact of changing LULC on the geomorphological setup of the selected urban center.

2020 ◽  
Vol 59 (12) ◽  
pp. 2041-2055
Author(s):  
R. Bassett ◽  
P. J. Young ◽  
G. S. Blair ◽  
F. Samreen ◽  
W. Simm

AbstractLagos, Nigeria, is rapidly urbanizing and is one of the fastest-growing cities in the world, with a population that is increasing at almost 500 000 people per year. Yet the impacts on Lagos’s local climate via its urban heat island (UHI) have not been well explored. Considering that the tropics already have year-round high temperatures and humidity, small changes are very likely to tip these regions over heat-health thresholds. Using a well-established model, but with an extended investigation of uncertainty, we explore the impact of Lagos’s recent urbanization on its UHI. Following a multiphysics evaluation, our simulations, against the background of an unusually warm period in February 2016 (during which temperatures regularly exceeded 36°C), show a 0.44°C ensemble-time-mean increase in nighttime UHI intensity between 1984 and 2016. The true scale of the impact is seen spatially as the area over which ensemble-time-mean UHIs exceed 1°C was found to increase steeply from 254 km2 in 1984 to 1572 km2 in 2016. The rate of warming within Lagos will undoubtedly have a high impact because of the size of the population (12+ million) already at risk from excess heat. Significant warming and modifications to atmospheric boundary layer heights are also found in rural areas downwind, directly caused by the city. However, there is limited long-term climate monitoring in Lagos or many similarly expanding cities, particularly in the tropics. As such, our modeling can only be an indication of this impact of urbanization, and we highlight the urgent need to deploy instrumentation.


Author(s):  
Rodrigo Cueva ◽  
Guillem Rufian ◽  
Maria Gabriela Valdes

The use of Customer Relationship Managers to foster customers loyalty has become one of the most common business strategies in the past years.  However, CRM solutions do not fill the abundance of happily ever-after relationships that business needs, and each client’s perception is different in the buying process.  Therefore, the experience must be precise, in order to extend the loyalty period of a customer as much as possible. One of the economic sectors in which CRM’s have improved this experience is retailing, where the personalized attention to the customer is a key factor.  However, brick and mortar experiences are not enough to be aware in how environmental changes could affect the industry trends in the long term.  A base unified theoretical framework must be taken into consideration, in order to develop an adaptable model for constructing or implementing CRMs into companies. Thanks to this approximation, the information is complemented, and the outcome will increment the quality in any Marketing/Sales initiative. The goal of this article is to explore the different factors grouped by three main domains within the impact of service quality, from a consumer’s perspective, in both on-line and off-line retailing sector.  Secondly, we plan to go a step further and extract base guidelines about previous analysis for designing CRM’s solutions focused on the loyalty of the customers for a specific retailing sector and its product: Sports Running Shoes.


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mads G. Jørgensen ◽  
Navid M. Toyserkani ◽  
Frederik G. Hansen ◽  
Anette Bygum ◽  
Jens A. Sørensen

AbstractThe impact of breast cancer-related lymphedema (BCRL) on long-term quality of life is unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of BCRL on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) up to 10 years after breast cancer treatment. This regional population-based study enrolled patients treated for breast cancer with axillary lymph node dissection between January 1st 2007 and December 31th 2017. Follow up and assessments of the included patients were conducted between January 2019 and May 2020. The study outcome was HRQoL, evaluated with the Lymphedema Functioning, Disability and Health Questionnaire, the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand Questionnaire and the Short Form (36) Health Survey Questionnaire. Multivariate linear logistic regression models adjusted for confounders provided mean score differences (MDs) with 95% confidence intervals in each HRQoL scale and item. This study enrolled 244 patients with BCRL and 823 patients without BCRL. Patients with BCRL had significantly poorer HRQoL than patients without BCRL in 16 out of 18 HRQoL subscales, for example, in physical function (MDs 27, 95%CI: 24; 30), mental health (MDs 24, 95%CI: 21; 27) and social role functioning (MDs 20, 95%CI: 17; 23). Age, BMI, BCRL severity, hand and dominant arm affection had only minor impact on HRQoL (MDs < 5), suggesting a high degree of inter-individual variation in coping with lymphedema. This study showed that BCRL is associated with long-term impairments in HRQoL, especially affecting the physical and psychosocial domains. Surprisingly, BCRL diagnosis rather than clinical severity drove the largest impairments in HRQoL.


Rheumatology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 60 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosie Barnett ◽  
Anita McGrogan ◽  
Matthew Young ◽  
Charlotte Cavill ◽  
Mandy Freeth ◽  
...  

Abstract Background/Aims  Axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) is a chronic rheumatic condition, characterised by inflammatory back pain - often associated with impaired function and mobility, sleep disturbance, fatigue, and reduced quality of life. Despite the vast advances in pharmacological treatments for axSpA over the last few decades, physical activity and rehabilitation remain vital for effective disease management. At the Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases in Bath (RNHRD), the 2-week inpatient axSpA rehabilitation programme has been integral to axSpA care since the 1970’s. Prior research has demonstrated significant short-term improvements in spinal mobility (BASMI), function (BASFI) and disease activity (BASDAI) following course attendance. However, the long-term outcomes are yet to be evaluated in this unique cohort. Methods  Since the early 1990’s, clinical measures of spinal mobility, function and disease activity have been routinely collected at the RNHRD at all clinical appointments through administration of the BASMI, BASFI and BASDAI, respectively. Dates of attending the axSpA course and standard clinical and treatment follow-up data were also collected. Multiple linear regression models were used to investigate the impact of course attendance on final reported BASMI, BASDAI and BASFI scores (final score=most recent). Length of follow-up was defined as time between first and last recorded BASMI. Results  Of the 203 patients within the Bath SPARC200 cohort, 77.8% (158/203) had attended at least one rehabilitation course throughout follow-up. 70.0% (140/203) of patients were male. The mean duration of follow-up was 13.5 years (range 0-35 years); 28.1% (57/203) of individuals with 20+ years of follow-up. Course attendance (yes versus no) significantly reduced final BASMI score by 0.84 (p = 0.001, 95%CI -1.31 to -0.37) and final BASDAI score by 0.74 (p = 0.018, 95%CI -1.34 to -0.13). Although course attendance reduced final BASFI by 0.45 (95%CI -1.17 to 0.28), this relationship did not reach significance (p = 0.225). Whilst minimally clinically important difference (MCID) is, to our knowledge, yet to be defined for BASMI, MCIDs were achieved long-term for both BASDAI and BASFI - defined by van der Heijde and colleagues in 2016 as 0.7 and 0.4 for BASDAI and BASFI, respectively. Conclusion  These results provide novel evidence to support the integral role of education, physical activity and rehabilitation in the management of axSpA. Future work should investigate additional outcomes of critical importance to patients and clinicians, such as fatigue, quality of life and work productivity. Furthermore, a greater understanding of the factors that confound these outcomes may provide insights into those patients who may most benefit from attending a 2-week rehabilitation course. In addition to facilitating identification of those patients who may require additional clinical support. Disclosure  R. Barnett: None. A. McGrogan: None. M. Young: None. C. Cavill: None. M. Freeth: None. R. Sengupta: Honoraria; Biogen, Celgene, AbbVie, Novartis, MSD. Grants/research support; Novartis, UCB.


Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 1387
Author(s):  
Oswaldo Sebastian Peñaherrera-Pulla ◽  
Carlos Baena ◽  
Sergio Fortes ◽  
Eduardo Baena ◽  
Raquel Barco

Cloud Gaming is a cutting-edge paradigm in the video game provision where the graphics rendering and logic are computed in the cloud. This allows a user’s thin client systems with much more limited capabilities to offer a comparable experience with traditional local and online gaming but using reduced hardware requirements. In contrast, this approach stresses the communication networks between the client and the cloud. In this context, it is necessary to know how to configure the network in order to provide service with the best quality. To that end, the present work defines a novel framework for Cloud Gaming performance evaluation. This system is implemented in a real testbed and evaluates the Cloud Gaming approach for different transport networks (Ethernet, WiFi, and LTE (Long Term Evolution)) and scenarios, automating the acquisition of the gaming metrics. From this, the impact on the overall gaming experience is analyzed identifying the main parameters involved in its performance. Hence, the future lines for Cloud Gaming QoE-based (Quality of Experience) optimization are established, this way being of configuration, a trendy paradigm in the new-generation networks, such as 4G and 5G (Fourth and Fifth Generation of Mobile Networks).


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 960-960
Author(s):  
Sara Luck ◽  
Katie Aubrecht

Abstract Nursing home facilities are responsible for providing care for some of the most vulnerable groups in society, including the elderly and those with chronic medical conditions. In times of crisis, such as COVID-19 or other pandemics, the delivery of ‘regular’ care can be significantly impacted. In relation to COVID-19, there is an insufficient supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) to care for residents, as PPE not only protects care staff but also residents. Nursing homes across the United States and Canada have also taken protective measures to maximize the safety of residents by banning visitors, stopping all group activities, and increasing infection control measures. This presentation shares a research protocol and early findings from a study investigating the impact of COVID-19 on quality of care in residential long-term care (LTC) in the Canadian province of New Brunswick. This study used a qualitative description design to explore what contributes to quality of care for residents living in long-term care, and how this could change in times of crisis from the perspective of long-term care staff. Interviews were conducted with a broad range of staff at one LTC home. A semi-structured interview guide and approach to thematic analysis was framed by a social ecological perspective, making it possible to include the individual and proximal social influences as well as community, organizations, and policy influencers. Insights gained will improve the understanding of quality of care, as well as potential barriers and facilitators to care during times of crisis.


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