**Author details**

Constantin Zwergel and Constantin S. von Kaisenberg\* Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Medicine, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany

\*Address all correspondence to<EMAIL_ADDRESS>
© 2019 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

**47**

*Maternal and Fetal Risks in Higher Multiple Cesarean Deliveries*

at cesarean with maternal and neonatal morbidity for women with multiple prior cesarean deliveries. European Journal of Obstetrics,

2015;**191**:121-124

Gynecology, and Reproductive Biology.

[10] Clark EA, Silver RM. Long-term maternal morbidity associated with repeat cesarean delivery. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

[11] Silver RM. Delivery after previous

2011;**205**(6 Suppl):S2-S10

2010;**34**(4):258-266

Reports. 2017;**7**:44093

cesarean: Long-term maternal outcomes. Seminars in Perinatology.

[12] Motomura K et al. Scientific

[13] Biler A et al. Is it safe to have multiple repeat cesarean sections? A high volume tertiary care center experience. Pakistan Journal of Medical

Sciences. 2017;**33**(5):1074-1079

[15] Abdelazim I, Alanwar A, Svetlana S, Sakiyeva K, Farghali M, Mohamed M, et al. Complications associated with higher order compared to lower order cesarean sections. The Journal of Maternal-Fetal & Neonatal Medicine. 21 Nov. 2018:1-161. DOI: 10.1080/14767058.2018.1551352. [Epub

[16] Rashid M, Rashid RS. Higher order repeat caesarean sections: How safe are five or more? BJOG.

[17] Landon MB et al. Risk of uterine rupture with a trial of labor in women

2004;**111**(10):1090-1094

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[14] Cook JR, Knight M, Dhanjal MK. Multiple repeat caesarean section in the UK: Incidence and consequences to mother and child. A national, prospective cohort study—Authors' reply. BJOG. 2013;**120**(9):1155

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.86334*

[1] World Health Organization Human Reproduction Programme. WHO statement on caesarean section rates. Reproductive Health Matters.

[2] MacDorman MF, Menacker F, Declercq E. Cesarean birth in the United States: Epidemiology, trends, and outcomes. Clinics in Perinatology.

[3] Kaplanoglu M et al. Effect of multiple repeat cesarean sections on maternal morbidity: Data from Southeast Turkey. Medical Science

[4] Cook JR et al. Multiple repeat caesarean section in the UK: Incidence and consequences to mother and child. A national, prospective, cohort study.

[5] Ozcan S et al. Multiple repeat cesarean delivery is associated with increased maternal morbidity irrespective of placenta accreta. European Review for Medical and Pharmacological Sciences.

[6] Zia S, Rafique M. Intra-operative complications increase with successive number of cesarean sections: Myth or fact? Obstetrics & Gynecology Science.

[7] Marshall NE, Fu R, Guise JM. Impact of multiple cesarean deliveries on

maternal morbidity: A systematic review. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. 2011;**205**(3):262 e1-262 e8

[8] Arlier S et al. Incidence of adhesions and maternal and neonatal morbidity after repeat cesarean section. Archives

of Gynecology and Obstetrics.

[9] Palatnik A, Grobman WA. The association of skin-incision type

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*Maternal and Fetal Risks in Higher Multiple Cesarean Deliveries DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.86334*


**8. Immunization in pregnancy**

high vaccine coverage; this disadvantage has been reduced but not eliminated by using booster doses of reduced antigenic vaccine (ap) [31–33]. The duration of protection, however,

The introduction of pertussis vaccines, especially acellular ones, has certainly resulted in a strong containment of the incidence of disease, as a result of a gradual increase in vaccine coverage in

However, the illusion of having found a suitable tool to solve a relevant public health problem such as pertussis was short-lived. Since the early 2000s, a rise in pertussis incidence has been observed in several geographic areas, even where high vaccine coverage has been achieved for a long time [35]. This scenario underlines the need to identify a vaccine strategy that prevents the circulation of infection in all age groups and that, above all, helps to prevent illness

For several years, the cocoon strategy, which foresees the protection of infants in the first months of life through vaccination of the mother in postpartum and of the family contacts as potential sources of infection, has been considered a promising strategy of vaccination [2].

The rationale of this approach is related to fact that the source of infection for the newborn is represented by parents (5–55% of cases), grandparents (6–8%), and siblings (up to 20%) [36, 37].

However, it is necessary to consider that the maximum immunological response to vaccination does not occur within 14 days after the administration of a booster dose and, for this reason,

Anyway, the cocooning was recommended in the early 2000s in some developed countries and

This strategy has not been completely successful for several reasons [41]: the poor effectiveness, due to the large number of subjects to be vaccinated in order to prevent a single case of pertussis; the inadequate acceptance by family and close contacts of the newborn, especially if there is no pertussis epidemic ongoing (which leads to a perceived low risk); the difficulty in reaching all potential candidates for vaccination, especially if large families are involved; the

A study conducted in Italy has calculated the number needed to vaccinate (NNV) within the cocoon strategy, that is, the number of people to be vaccinated in order to prevent one hospitalization due to pertussis in 1 year in children <12 months old. The NNV was very high, ranging

The difficulties in implementing the cocoon strategy, its related high costs, and the not completely satisfactory results achieved, lead to the design of a new approach, which is currently

postpartum immunization does not allow to immediately protect the mother [38].

high economic resources needed to implement such a program in all newborns.

between 5404 and 9289, depending on the considered variables [42].

considered the main strategy: woman's vaccination during pregnancy.

tends to decrease, regardless of the administration of whole or acellular vaccine [34].

in infants who have the highest risk of severe and even deadly complications.

most Western countries.

68 Pertussis - Disease, Control and Challenges

**7. Cocoon strategy**

since 2005 by ACIP [39, 40].

Vaccination of pregnant women with dTpa vaccine is nowadays considered the best strategy for the protection of <2 months of age infants, which are a high-risk cohort being too young to be vaccinated.

However, vaccination during pregnancy has been considered for a long time a negligible option because of the difficulty to assess its effectiveness and safety.

The rationale for vaccination in pregnancy with a single dose of dTap is to provide protection against pertussis to the baby in his first months of life through the transplacental passage of maternal antibodies. One of the concerns firstly considered was the possible interference of maternal antibodies on the child's ability to mount an adequate immune response to pediatric DTaP or to other conjugated vaccines containing tetanus or diphtheria toxoids. Other concerns were related to the lack of data on safety and potential teratogenicity. However, now it is well known that there are no potentially serious adverse events in either the mother or the fetus following vaccination during pregnancy [43, 44]. One of the issues for the development of recommendations addressed to immunization of women during pregnancy and lactation is the lack of studies to make evidence-based decisions. Most of the available data on vaccine safety are derived from passive surveillance records. According to the CDC, the risk of a fetus following mother's vaccination during pregnancy is only theoretical. However, when considering vaccination, it is important to distinguish between live and inactivated vaccines. In particular, there is no theoretical reason to suspect that inactivated, bacterial or toxoid vaccines (pertussis one included), are associated with an increased risk of adverse events when given during pregnancy or lactation [45].

As of 2008 [46], the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommended that pregnant women not previously vaccinated with dTap should receive a dose in the immediate postpartum period prior to hospital discharge; could receive dTap even a 2-year interval after a previous dose of dT vaccine; should receive dT during pregnancy as protection against tetanus and diphtheria when indicated; could postpone dT vaccine during pregnancy and replace it with dTap vaccine in the immediate postpartum period, if sufficient protection against tetanus and diphtheria was already available. In conclusion, although there were no contraindications for the administration of dTap vaccine during pregnancy, healthcare professionals had to evaluate risks and benefits before deciding to administer dTap to a pregnant woman.

Subsequently, an analysis was performed comparing immunization in pregnancy to postpartum vaccination in terms of impact, effectiveness, and costs [47]. Vaccination during pregnancy turned out to allow to prevent more cases of disease, hospitalization, and death than the postpartum approach for two reasons: first, because protection is achieved for both the mother and the child at birth; second, because vaccination, when performed during the third trimester of gestation, optimizes the transplacental transfer of maternal antibodies to the fetus, ensuring protection for the newborn during his first months of life.

Based on this evidence, ACIP [48] recommended in 2011 the use of dTpa to all pregnant women who had not previously received the vaccine. The vaccine has to be administered between the end of the second and the beginning of the third trimester, preferably after the 20th week. If the vaccine has not been given during pregnancy, one dose of dTap should be given immediately after delivery. In 2012, the recommendation was extended to all women at each new pregnancy, regardless of their previous vaccination status [48].

in the immediate postpartum, before discharge from the hospital, for mothers who have not

Pertussis Immunization in Pregnancy: A Review http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.72085 71

In Canada, the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) recommends that all women who have not received a dose of dTpa vaccine after 26 weeks of pregnancy should be encouraged to undergo vaccination. In particular circumstances, such as in an epidemic situation, all women over the 26th gestation week may be offered dTap regardless of their previous

Since 2013, in New Zealand, vaccination is recommended for every new pregnancy between the 28th and 38th week of gestation [58]. In Australia, the guidelines in the latest edition of "The Australian Immunization Handbook" recommend a booster dose for all women in the third

In Europe, following the 2012 epidemic, the United Kingdom launched an immunization program for pregnant women offering vaccination between the 16th and 32nd week of gestation [60]. Belgium (week 24–32), Ireland (week 27–36), Czech Republic (week 28–36) [61], and Italy

Although the impact of pertussis has been considerably reduced since the introduction of vaccination programs in the 1950s, the disease continues to be a public health issue, especially in

The spread of *B. pertussis* in the cohort of infants is facilitated by the circulation of the pathogen among older age groups (where cases are often atypical and misdiagnosed) that easily become sources of infection for unvaccinated children. The shift of the disease to the older age groups is related to waning immunity occurring after both natural infection and immunization.

It is therefore necessary to implement vaccination strategies taking into account the most vulnerable groups. On one hand, it is recommended to administer booster doses with dTpa vaccine every 10 years to maintain effective immune protection in previously vaccinated population. On the other hand, it is necessary to adopt a preventive strategy addressed to younger babies, already starting immunization in the prenatal age. Women's vaccination in the third trimester of pregnancy appears to be an effective tool as it allows, through the transplacental passage of specific antibodies, newborn's protection in the first few months of life,

For a more complete protection of the infant, it would be desirable to simultaneously promote the cocoon strategy, immunizing all members of the family and those who will be in close contact with the newborn, to avoid the transmission of the bacterium by these subjects.

Given the new epidemiological situation and on the basis of the scientific evidence, vaccination in the third trimester of pregnancy is currently recommended in several countries such as

the United States, Canada, Australia and other European countries (UK, Italy, etc.).

received dTap in pregnancy or for those with an unknown vaccination status [48].

trimester of each pregnancy (preferably between the 28th and the 32nd week) [59].

(after the 28th week) [62] recommend vaccination in pregnancy.

at least until he reaches the right age to start immunization.

immunological condition [57].

**9. Conclusions**

children in their first months of life.

This indication was based on the results of some studies which showed that the production of protective antibodies after vaccination is maximum in the first month and is much lower even after less than 1 year; after 1 year, the antibody protection provided by the mother is no longer sufficient to protect the baby in his first months of life, unless vaccination is made during pregnancy. It has been confirmed that dTap administration should preferably take place during the second trimester of gestation, especially between the 27th and 36th week [49, 50], although a study conducted by Abu Raya et al. has shown that avidity of IgG antibodies against *Bordetella pertussis* is greater if vaccination is performed between the 27th and 30th week of gestation [51, 52].

Recently, an observational perspective study [53] has been conducted in Switzerland to evaluate the best time for maternal vaccination in order to adequately protect preterm infants who, among newborns, are a group even more susceptible and at risk. Antibody levels, expressed as geometric mean titers, were evaluated in preterm children born from two cohorts of women vaccinated with dTap, one in the second and one in the third trimester. The results showed a significantly higher level of antibodies in infants born from mothers vaccinated in the second compared to those vaccinated in the third trimester. One possible explanation is that immunization during the second trimester allows a longer transfer time and a higher accumulation of antibodies in newborns This is the first study showing the benefits of maternal immunization in the second trimester for preterm infants. Noteworthy, these interesting results have to be validated as it is well known that the placental transfer of antibodies is greatly effective during the last trimester of pregnancy.

There is no evidence of adverse effects on the fetus after maternal vaccination with inactivated or toxoid vaccines, and coadministration of dTap and flu vaccines is allowed, and it is safe in pregnancy and can optimize the immune response [54, 55].

A study conducted in New Zealand evaluated the safety of dTap vaccine administered during pregnancy; a cohort of 403 newborns was followed for 6–12 months after birth (84% of whom completed a 12-months follow-up), monitoring over time the onset of possible adverse effects related to vaccination. Several parameters such as gestational age at birth, growth parameters, evidence of congenital abnormalities, immunization status, timeliness of immunization, and possible appearance of pertussis infection after birth were considered. The study showed that there were no significant differences in birth weight, gestational age at birth, congenital anomalies or altered growth parameters, comparing newborns from immunized or unvaccinated mothers. No cases of pertussis occurred in the cohort studied, in spite of the high rates of disease in the community and there were no adverse events related to vaccination. Therefore, these data can be added to the growing pool of evidence that dTap vaccine administration during pregnancy is an adequate and safe strategy to reduce the impact of pertussis in infants [56].

In the United States, the CDC recommends a dose of dTap at each pregnancy, between the 27th and 36th week of gestation (preferably between 28th and 32th). dTap vaccine is also recommended in the immediate postpartum, before discharge from the hospital, for mothers who have not received dTap in pregnancy or for those with an unknown vaccination status [48].

In Canada, the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) recommends that all women who have not received a dose of dTpa vaccine after 26 weeks of pregnancy should be encouraged to undergo vaccination. In particular circumstances, such as in an epidemic situation, all women over the 26th gestation week may be offered dTap regardless of their previous immunological condition [57].

Since 2013, in New Zealand, vaccination is recommended for every new pregnancy between the 28th and 38th week of gestation [58]. In Australia, the guidelines in the latest edition of "The Australian Immunization Handbook" recommend a booster dose for all women in the third trimester of each pregnancy (preferably between the 28th and the 32nd week) [59].

In Europe, following the 2012 epidemic, the United Kingdom launched an immunization program for pregnant women offering vaccination between the 16th and 32nd week of gestation [60]. Belgium (week 24–32), Ireland (week 27–36), Czech Republic (week 28–36) [61], and Italy (after the 28th week) [62] recommend vaccination in pregnancy.


*4.5. Migration (Scratch-Wound Assay)*

The HepG2 cells were seeded in 6-well plates with a cell population of 1 × 10 5 cells/well in complete DMEM/F12 medium and allowed to attach overnight in a CO2 incubator. The media was aspirated with DMEM/F12 with 25% charcoal-stripped FCS for 24 h. After the cells attained confluence, a scratch line was made in the centers of the wells using a sterile tip. The wells were then gently washed with serum-free DMEM/F12 medium and treated again with either DMSO or EO containing DMEM/F12 medium for another 24 h [37]. The scratch-line recovery was recorded using an Optika inverted microscope (200× magnification).

#### *4.6. Invasion (Transwell Assay)*

The transwell invasion assay was evaluated using a matrigel-coated 12-well Boyden chamber (8 μm PET; Corning, NY, USA), following the methodology described previously by Hanieh et al. (2016) [46], where 4 × 104 cells were cultured in the upper chamber in 600 μL of serum-free DMEM medium with EO. In the lower chamber, 800 μL of DMEM medium with 10% FBS were added.


**MASS TRANSFER - ADVANCEMENT IN PROCESS MODELLING**

Edited by **Marek Solecki**

#### **Mass Transfer - Advancement in Process Modelling**

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/59640 Edited by Marek Solecki

#### **Contributors**

Sandile Motsa, Rafał Rakoczy, Abdelraheem Mahmoud Aly, Mitsuteru Asai, Ahlem Arfaoui, Badie I. Morsi, Omar M. Basha, Amira Abdelrasoul, Huu Doan, Ali Lohi, Chil-Hung Cheng, Maria Angelica Barros, Roberto Parreiras Tavares, Marek Solecki, Monika Solecka, Pen-Chi Chiang, Shu-Yuan Pan, Leôncio Diógenes Tavares Câmara

#### **© The Editor(s) and the Author(s) 2015**

The moral rights of the and the author(s) have been asserted.

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First published in Croatia, 2015 by INTECH d.o.o. eBook (PDF) Published by IN TECH d.o.o. Place and year of publication of eBook (PDF): Rijeka, 2019. IntechOpen is the global imprint of IN TECH d.o.o. Printed in Croatia

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Mass Transfer - Advancement in Process Modelling Edited by Marek Solecki p. cm. ISBN 978-953-51-2192-3 eBook (PDF) ISBN 978-953-51-6394-7


**About the Editor**

#### **Hans J. Haubold**

Hans J. Haubold studied physics at the Technical University, Chemnitz, Germany, and received a Ph.D. in 1980 and a D.Sc. in 1984, both on topics of stellar astrophysics. From 1974 to 1991, he worked at the Institute for Astrophysics, Potsdam, Germany, in the position of Professor of Theoretical Astrophysics. In 1988, he accepted a post at the United Nations Programme on Space Applications, Office for Outer Space Affairs, United Nations, New York, USA (relocated to the United Nations Office at Vienna, Austria, in 1993). Research interest in astrophysics, physics, mathematics, history of physics, and space education. Since 1983, he is also a Professor at the Centre for Mathematical and Statistical Sciences, Pala, Kerala, India. He edited more than 10 volumes of workshop proceedings, and is a co-author of more than 10 books and 350 papers.


**Conflict of interest**

*Parasitology and Microbiology Research*

programme.

TAS successfully.

surgeries [28].

**7. Conclusion**

diseases in the same eco-endemic regions [35].

make the programme effective and successful [37].

as to cover >80% at-risk population. It is required to have continued IEC activities, community engagement and all-round support [27]. It is really a huge operational and logistical challenge to cover about 650 million populations for the MDA

In June 2018, in the 10th GPELF meeting at New Delhi, India, the government of India launched Accelerated Plan for Lymphatic Filariasis Elimination (APELF). A triple-drug therapy or IDA (IVM, DEC and ALB) along with community engagement has been planned for accelerating the LF elimination in India [28, 29]. As a pilot project, IDA has been rolled out successfully across four districts in India. These districts are Arwal in Bihar (20 December 2018), Simdega in Jharkhand (10 January 2019), Nagpur in Maharashtra (20 January 2019) and Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh (20 February 2019). A total of 8.07 million people out of 10.7 million vulnerable people (75.4%) were benefitted with the IDA medicines. The IDA approach is to be scaled up in all endemic districts to eliminate LF by 2021. It is expected that with triple-drug combination, if effective, actual drug compliance is achieved; the MDA districts may qualify for TAS and also clear the

Another important issue is asymptomatic cases in children age group. In some endemic areas, about 30% of children have acquired LF by the age of 4 years either with the presence of Mf or *W. bancrofti* antigen in their blood [30]. Similarly, in a *B. malayi* area in Kerala, asymptomatic Mf has been demonstrated in children through LSG [31]. LF parasites in human do not have animal reservoirs. But human dirofilariasis, i.e. zoonotic transmission to human, cannot be ruled out. This thing should be kept in mind after successful ELF in human [32]. There are other issues of management of acute and chronic filariasis cases and treatment of adenolymphangitis (ADL) cases with antibiotics since the majority of acute episodes are bacterial origin. The APELF provides free morbidity management and disability prevention services through kits and corrective

Vector surveillance is another important tool to facilitate in instituting vector control measures as well as to assess the infection in vectors in the areas. Xenomonitoring, in other words, the presence of Mf larvae in vector mosquitoes, is a method to assess the effectiveness of the post-MDA and TAS. Specific PCR technique is applied [33]. Recently Khatri et al. screened the presence of *W. bancrofti* L3-specific *Ssp1* gene in trapped mosquitoes by PCR in certain districts in Maharashtra and Karnataka. This indicated that MDA needed to be strengthened [33]. Scaling up xenomonitoring is a big challenge in existing infrastructure with weak strength of skilled entomologists. At present IVM has been planned to introduce in all LF endemic districts in India covering many districts endemic for malaria also. IVM introduction in context of malaria control is towards targeting their vector populations [34]. It is important to assess the impact of other coexistent

India is on a very strong ground to achieve lymphatic elimination [19]. Several efforts are now in place. The total disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) lost due to LF is around 2.06 million, resulting in an annual wage loss of US \$811 million [36]. A special emphasis has been given on the general hygiene and environmental management of mosquito vectors under the *Swachh Bharat Mission* (Clean India Movement) and also to provide special incentive under the *Ayushman Bharat* to

**328**

The authors declare no conflict of interest.


3.1 Mutual diffusion

S kB

Non-Equilibrium Particle Dynamics

Finally, we have

2.2.3 Shannon's entropy

outcomes.

(i.e., entropy per object) are

and their ratio is

82

scoin kB

The system entropies of the coin and the dice are

Sdice Scoin

entropy ratio, 7.754, is higher than the ratio of available states, 3.

¼ � ∑ 2 k¼1

> sdice kB

¼ 6 � ln 6 2 � ln 2 ¼ 3 �

pk ln pk ¼ � ∑

¼ � ∑ 6 k¼1 � 1 6 ln 1

≃ N ln ð Þ� N=e ∑

namic state k. Gibbs introduced a form of entropy as

m k¼0

Nk ln ð Þ¼� N=e N ∑

m k¼0

where pk ¼ Nk=N exists as the probability of finding the system in thermody-

m k¼0 pk ln pk

pk ln pk

pk ln pk

pi log bpi (13)

¼ ln 2 ¼ 0:6931

m k¼0

S ¼ �kBN ∑

sG ¼ �kB ∑

which is equal to the system entropy per object or particle, denoted as

N ¼ �kB ∑

sG ¼ S

In information theory, Shannon's entropy is defined as [2]

SSh ¼ � ∑ i

As the digital representation of integers is binary, the base b is often set as two. Note that Shannon's entropy is identical to Gibbs entropy, if Boltzmann's constant kB is discarded and the natural logarithm ln ¼ log e is replaced by log 2. Entropy only takes into account the probability of observing a specific event, so the information it encapsulates is information about the underlying probability distribution, not the meaning of the events themselves. Example 3 deals with tossing a coin or a dice and how the entropy S increases with respect to the number of available

Example 3: Let's consider two conventional examples, i.e., a coin and a dice. Their Gibbs entropy values

6 ¼ ln 6 ¼ 1:791

ln 2 ¼ 3 � 2:5850 ¼ 7:754>3

2 k¼1 1 2 � ln 1 2

Scoin=kB ¼ 2 � 0:6931 ¼ 1:386

Sdice=kB ¼ 6 � 1:791 ¼ 10:750

ln 2 � 3

where three indicates the ratio of the number of available cases of a dice (6) to that of a coin (2). The

m k¼0

Nk N  � ln Nk N

> Diffusion is often driven by the concentration gradient referred to as ∇c, typically in a finite volume, temperature, and pressure. As temperature increases, molecules gain kinetic energy and diffuse more actively in order to position evenly within the volume. A general driving force for isothermal diffusion exists as a gradient of the chemical potential ∇μ between regions of higher and lower concentrations.

> As shown in Figure 1, diffusion of solute molecules after removing the mid-wall is spontaneous. Initially, two equal-sized rectangular chambers A and B are separated by an impermeable wall between them. The thickness of the mid-wall is negligible in comparison to the box length; in each chamber of A and B, the same amount of water is contained. Chamber A contains seawater of salt concentration 35,000 ppm, and chamber B contains fresh water of zero salt concentration. If the separating wall is removed slowly enough not to disturb the stationary solvent medium but fast enough to initialize a sharp concentration boundary between the

Figure 1.

Diffusion in a rectangular container consisting of two equal-sized chambers A and B (a) before and (b) after the mid-wall is removed.

two concentration regions, then the concentration in B increases as much as that in A decreases because mass is neither created nor annihilated inside the container. This spontaneous mixing continues until both concentrations become equal and, hence, reach a thermodynamic equilibrium consisting of a half-seawater/half-fresh water concentration throughout the entire box. Diffusion occurs wherever and whenever the concentration gradient exists, and diffusive solute flux is represented using Fick's law as follows [3, 4]:

$$J\_s = -D\frac{\mathbf{d}c}{\mathbf{d}\mathbf{x}} \quad \text{in} \quad \mathbf{1} - D \tag{14}$$

3.3 Diffusion pictures

diffusion called self-diffusion.

position is

85

3.3.1 Self-diffusion and random walk

their seemingly random movements, then

Now let us calculate a mean of x2:

because Δx has a 50:50 chance of þl and �l:

cule and absolutely zero anywhere else: c ¼ V�1

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.86607

Fundamentals of Irreversible Thermodynamics for Coupled Transport

Several pictures of diffusion phenomena are discussed in the following section, which give probabilistic and deterministic viewpoints. If one considers an ideal situation where there exists only one salt molecule in a box filled with solvent (e.g., water) of finite T, P, and V. Since the sole molecule exists, there is no concentration gradient. Mathematically, the concentration is infinite at the location of the mole-

position of the solute and r is an arbitrary location within the volume. However, the following question arises. Why does a single molecule diffuse without experiencing any collisions in the absence of other molecules? The answer is that the solvent medium consists of a number of (water) molecules having a size of an order of O 10�10 m. The salt molecule will suffer a tremendous number of collisions with solvent molecules of a certain kinetic energy at temperature T. Since each of these collisions can be thought of as producing a jump of the molecule, the molecule must be found at a distance from its initial position where the diffusion started. In this case, the molecule undergoes Brownian motion. Note that the single molecule collides only with solvent molecules while diffusing, which exists as a type of

A particle initially located at r0 has equal probabilities of 1/6 to move in ð Þ �x; �y; �z directions. For mathematical simplicity, we restrict ourselves to 1D random walk of a dizzy individual, who moves to the right or to the left with a 50:50 chance. Initially (at time t ¼ 0), the individual is located at x0 ¼ 0 and starts moving in a direction represented by Δx ¼ �l where þl and �l indicate the right and left distances that the individual travels with an equal probability, respectively.

where Δx1 can be þl or �l. At the time of the second step, t2 ¼ t1 þ Δt ¼ 2Δt, the

where Δx2 ¼ �l. At tn ¼ nΔt (n ≫ 1), the position may be expressed as

xn ¼ Δx1 þ Δx2 þ ⋯ þ Δxn�1 þ Δxn ¼ ∑

h i xn ¼ ∑ n i¼1

h i Δx ¼ þð Þl 1

If there are a number of dizzy individuals and we can determine an average for

2 þ �ð Þl 1

At the next step, t1 ¼ t0 þ Δt ¼ Δt, the individual's location is found at

δð Þ r � r0 where r0 is an initial

x1 ¼ x0 þ Δx1 ¼ Δx1 (19)

x2 ¼ x1 þ Δx2 ¼ Δx1 þ Δx2 (20)

n i¼1

h i Δxi ¼ nh i Δx ¼ 0 (22)

2 ¼ 0 (23)

Δxi (21)

or

$$J\_s = -D\nabla c \quad \text{in } \mathfrak{Z} - D \tag{15}$$

where D is diffusion coefficient (also often called diffusivity) of a unit of m2=s. A length scale of diffusion can be estimated by ffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi Dδt p where δt is a representative time interval. In molecular motion, δt can be interpreted as a time duration required for a molecule to move as much as a mean free path (i.e., a statistical averaged distance between two consecutive collisions).

### 3.2 Stokes-Einstein diffusivity

When the solute concentration is low so that interactions between solutes are negligible, the diffusion coefficient, known as the Stokes-Einstein diffusivity, may be given by

$$D\_0 = \frac{k\_B T}{6\pi\eta a} \tag{16}$$

where kB is the Boltzmann constant, η is the solvent viscosity1 , and a is the (hydrodynamic) radius of solute particles. Stokes derived hydrodynamic force that a stationary sphere experiences when it is positioned in an ambient flow [5]:

$$F\_H = \mathfrak{G}\pi\eta av$$

where v represents a uniform fluid velocity, which can be interpreted as the velocity of a particle relative to that of an ambient fluid. FH is linearly proportional to v, and its proportionality 6πηa is the denominator of the right-hand side of Eq. (16). Einstein used the transition probability of molecules from one site to the another, and Langevin considered the molecular collisions as random forces acting on a solute (see Section 3.3 for details). Einstein and Langevin independently derived the same equation as (16) of which the general form can be rewritten as

$$D\_0 = \frac{k\_B T}{(2d)\pi\eta} \tag{18}$$

where d is the spatial dimension of the diffusive system (i.e., d ¼ 1, 2, and3 for 1D, 2D, and 3D spaces).

1 Greek symbol μ is also often used for viscosity in fluid mechanics literature. In this book, chemical potential is denoted as μ.

Fundamentals of Irreversible Thermodynamics for Coupled Transport DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.86607


**3. Drought and water stress in Northern Africa**

Northern African region is characterized by considerable demographic growth. Northern Africa has hot semi-arid and arid desert climates and low rainwater. This region is predicted to face rising temperatures and decreasing rainfall. The recurrent droughts whose frequency has increased over the past 40 years can lead to water stress situations. While the overexploitation of available natural water reserves can exacerbate the consequences of droughts and thus leading to high depletion in its groundwater reserves.

## **3.1 Egypt**

Egypt's climate is extremely dry and receives a very low amount of rainwater because Egypt is predominantly desert [7]. Water resources in Egypt are limited and

### **Table 1.**

*Northern Africa's population 1960–2021 [1].*

around 98% of Egypt's water reserves originate outside of its borders. Main Egypt's freshwater reserves are the Nile River which provides the region with around 93% of its water demand, precipitation, and ground water [8]. Climate change and its effects (droughts) in Egypt are predicted to make more stress on water reserves.

Nile River - Because the rainwater in Egypt is very scarce, more than 95% of Egyptians live along the Nile or in its teeming delta for all water needs. However, the Nile River's land is threatened by climate change vulnerability which is expected to rise the frequency and intensity of floods and drought incidences in Egypt. Actually, the Nile River is predicted to decline by 40−60% of its current flow. Therefore, agricultural areas in Egypt have been subject to extensive and increasing water scarcity [9].

Rainwater – Egypt's agricultural land is concentrated in a narrow strip along the coast where more amount of rainfall, and continuously declines southward [10]. Egypt has a mild winter season in the form of scattered showers along coastal areas. The mean annual rainfall is between 0 mm in the desert to 200 mm in the north coastal region with an annual average of about 12 mm. The total amount of rainwater may reach 1.8 billion m3 per year [11]. It is predicted that the mean annual precipitation will decline not only in Egypt but also in almost Mediterranean African countries. Furthermore, changes in precipitation patterns combined with sea level rise may further lead to decline in agriculture production and cause more stress on Nile River.

Groundwater is a vital resource especially in desert areas, besides providing drinking water groundwater is used for irrigation to grow crops and also has several other purposes. Groundwater ranks as the second source of natural water resources, after the Nile and constitutes around 12% of water supplies [12]. Egypt's groundwater aquifers are considered a non-renewable resource and they are of variable importance for exploitation. The increasing demand for Egypt's water reserves has placed groundwater resources under widespread pressure subjecting it to several issues such as depletion of its water quantity and degradation of its water quality. Different human activities such as the seepage of rainwater, irrigation and drainage and other effluents commonly affect not only the quantity of groundwater resources but also its chemical water quality [13]. On the North Coast of Egypt, there is a threat of saltwater intrusion into coastal aquifers which is caused by water withdrawals from coastal aquifers and up-coming near coastal discharge/pumping wells. On the other hand, Egypt faces several serious risks from climate change that impacts almost Egypt's groundwater recharge rates and thus affects the availability of fresh groundwater (decrease in amount of precipitation and overexploitation of aquifers).

## **3.2 Algeria**

Algeria is the biggest country in Northern Africa. The southern region forms about 80 per cent of Algeria's land which is almost entirely the Sahara Desert with an arid climate. However, the northern part of Algeria's territory is less arid. More than 34% of Algerian people are living in rural areas and most of them are concentrated in coastal zone [14]. During the past century, Algeria has been subject to frequent periods of drought which has clearly led to the degradation of the water reserve (quantitative and qualitative) in northwestern and central plains. Thus, these droughts have an adverse impact on meeting the water needs of all socio-economic sectors especially agriculture; posing a significant risk to farms and leading to yield reduction.

Rainwater - Temperatures in Algeria rise during the last decades and can become more acute than expected, with an important decrease in annual rainfall, sometimes various persistent droughts. Reduced rainfall is about 18 to 27% and the dry season has increased by two months during the last century [15].

Groundwater - The rainfall deficit has resulted in a decrease in the water volumes stored in dams. This situation of insufficient freshwater to satisfy requirements and droughts events in Northern Algeria continue to cause significant risks and widespread pressure on most aquifers; resulting in groundwater-level decline which may reach around 20 m or more in certain aquifers [16].

## **3.3 Morocco**

Climate is varying considerably across Morocco's northern to southern areas. The northern coast-central areas have Mediterranean climates characterized by hot, dry summers and cool, wet winters.  In the south and west parts, the climate is Saharan. Droughts are becoming more frequent and severe in Morocco and impact negatively water resources and agricultural production [17]. Mean annual temperature has increased by 0.8°C (1960–2005) [18].

Rainwater - Morocco is commonly characterized by extremely high spatial−temporal rainfall variability. The northwest part of Morocco receives more precipitation than others. The mean annual precipitation varies considerably; the relief areas can receive approximately 800 mm of rain per year. Nevertheless, the adjacent plains areas can extremely receive 300 mm of rainwater per year [19]. Due to climate variability observed over the past decades in Morocco (1960−2005), Mean annual rainfall has decreased with an amount ranging between 3% and 30%, with a drop of 26% in the north-western region of the country [18]. In fact, Morocco suffers from its worst drought over the past 40 years with low precipitation resulting in at least ~50 per cent overexploitation of aquifers.

Groundwater stretches more than 80,000 square kilometers and represents around 20% of Morocco's water reserves [20]. Morocco has ninety-six aquifers, twenty-one of which are deep and seventy-five shallows. Morocco faces its worst drought in last four decades resulting in (1) decline in rainfall, (2) decline in River flows which reached approximately 20% within the periods 1970–2006 and 1950–2006 and more than 70% in certain parts of Morocco and also (3) depletion of groundwater aquifers [21] ranging between 0.5 and 2 m per year (low groundwater recharge and over-expansion of agricultural activities) [22]. The Mikkes basin is an example of Moroccan basin. It is situated in the North-central of Morocco and had a high depletion in its water reserves: a rainfall deficit reached 76% (1970−1979 and 1980−2000); this high

rainfall deficit had led to overexploitation of Mikkes aquifers and thereby springs and River flows depletion [23–27]. Furthermore, Morocco's aquifers groundwater quality assessment shows a deterioration, as a result of combined pressures of climate change (seawater intrusion) and human activities (nitrate pollution).

## **3.4 Tunisia**

Tunisia is situated between Algeria (on the west and southwest) and Libya on the southeast (**Figure 1**). Tunisia's climate varies with location: The north region is with a sub-humid to semi-arid climate. The central part is with semi-arid to arid climate and the southern part has a desert climate. Tunisia is vulnerable to climate change resulting rise in temperature, a reduction in rainwater and sea level rise. Over the past decades, temperature increased by approximately 0.4°C per decade. In southern Tunisia, droughts become increasingly more intense and frequent, while Tunisia's Mediterranean coast has been treated with rising sea level and flooding [28]. Between 1900 and 2000, the mean annual temperature increased by around 1.4°C [29].

Rainwater - As Tunisia is bound on the northeast by the Mediterranean Sea, on the south - the southwest by the Sahara (**Figure 1**), the precipitation is variable from the north to south and from east to west. Northern Tunisia is the rainiest part as mean annual rainfall reaches more than 400 mm in the extreme north and 1500 mm in the extreme northwest. However, the centre of Tunisia has average precipitation ranging between 150 and 300 mm [30]. The Tunisian southeast is characterized by an arid Mediterranean climate, with average precipitation varying between 100 and 200 mm per year [31]. Actually, precipitation amounts have changed in Tunisia during the 20th century and the region has experienced several severe droughts. Since the fifties, the annual totals of precipitation have declined by 0.5% per year in northern Tunisia [32].

Groundwater - As Tunisia has been suffering from increased recurrent and frequent droughts which led to high rainwater decline. Many farms rely on wells (groundwater) to fulfil their water needs. This will most likely extend to the over-use of groundwater resources where many aquifers are already experienced; putting more pressure on groundwater means that the rate of pumping is greater than the rate of infiltration. Consequently, the level of certain aquifers drops so much and thus many wells run dry. Actually, by 2030, the overexploitation of Tunisian coastal aquifer (due to agricultural activities) will drop from 28% [33] and 50% of coastal aquifers and will be salinized due to sea-level rise [34]. Therefore, this country needs urgent and practices approaches for better water management to avoid more water reserve deteriorations.

## **3.5 Libya**

Libya is a country located in North Africa and it is the fourth-largest one in all African continents (**Figure 2**). About 95% of Libya consists of desert (the Sahara) and under 2% of the land is arable. Libya has two distinct climates: One in the south is characterized by hot arid Sahara climate and the other is influenced by the Mediterranean Sea resulting moderated climate. Climate change has many effects including rising temperatures and more severe frequent droughts and floods. The limited natural resources (water and soils), the desert lands and the drought events are all the main drivers which will force Libyan farmers to abandon their farms amidst water stress and therefore the yields of rainfed agriculture will be severely low.

Rainwater - Libya is one of the driest regions on Earth with no permanent rivers flowing through its boundaries. About 96% of Libyan land surface receives annual precipitation which cannot reach an amount of 100 mm. Less than 2% of the Libya region receives enough rain to support agriculture, and only a narrow ribbon along the coast receives more than 100 mm of rain per year. Furthermore, the effects of global climate change in Libya include more rising in temperatures, a drop in precipitation amount which is already very low and prolonged period of droughts which will produce increased aridity. For the 66 years (1945−2010), temperature data in Libya showing that the mean annual temperature has risen [35].

Groundwater freshwater reserves in Libya originate from 4 aquifers: Kufra, Sirt, Morzuk and Hamada that provides over 90% of Libya's water. These aquifers are likely to be even more important as drought increases and rainfall decreases. Increase in drought tendency is a principal factor in lack of rainwater (or water availability). This water scarcity is expected to cause more aquifers depletion (quantitative and qualitative) in the region. The intensive extraction of groundwater (GW) in coastal aquifers is causing a reduction in the availability of freshwater outflow to the sea and creates local water table depression, causing saltwater intrusion [36], resulting in deterioration in groundwater quality.


**3.2 Food**

OTA has a widespread diffusion, and it has in fact been detected in agricultural commodities, livestock products and processed food (Abrunhosa et al., 2010).

The main OTA contamination concerns cereals and their products, listed in Table 4, which include food and beverages for human consumption, but also by-products that are usually utilized as animal feeds. Ochratoxin contamination can occur from temperate to tropical climates, from hot and wet climatic conditions to low temperature environments, and affects numerous countries: Northern America, Northern and Western Europe, African countries, South Asia and South America (Battaccone et al., 2010; Cabanes et al., 2010; El Khoury & Atoui, 2010; Moss, 2002b). Vega et al. (2009) suggests that cereals should be considered a major source of OTA contamination, as 50% of human daily intake of this mycotoxin is due to the consumption of different cereal derived products.

Table 4. Cereals contaminated by OTA (Abrunhosa et al., 2010; Scudamore et al., 2003).

Cereals may be colonized by both *Aspergillus* and *Penicillium*. The two fungal species do not invade the crop in the field, but mainly do in the post-harvest phase. Considering that the main abiotic factors that influence mould growth and OTA production are water availability and temperature, cereals should be dried quickly after harvesting and maintained at a lower moisture content than 14.5% during storage to avoid OTA contamination (Magan & Aldred, 2005). OTA is mainly concentrated in the seed coat, which is often used for animal feeding. Moreover, on-farm production and the storage of barley and wheat with a high moisture content increases the risk of mould growth and toxin production (Scudamore et al., 2003). Some cereal processing, like malting, malt fermentation, bread production and feed extrusion, can contribute significantly to reduce OTA concentration in the final food products (Baxter et al., 2001; Scott et al., 1995; Scudamore et al., 2003). Other practices can increase OTA values; for example, cracked grains and cereal cleanings are often the most contaminated fractions and are usually directed for feed proposes (Scudamore et al., 2003).

Wine is considered the second source of the human consumption of OTA. Many works have highlighted the presence of considerable levels of this toxin in wines, musts and grape juices. This occurrence has been explained by the fact that grapes are contaminated in the vineyard by various ochratoxigenic species, belonging above all to the *Aspergillus* section *Nigri* genus (*A. carbonarius* and *A. niger* aggregates) and that OTA production increases rapidly with the maturation stage. Thus, the date of the grape harvest would have an important effect on the OTA content in grapes and their derived products (Cabanes et al., 2002; El Khoury et al., 2006).

OTA contamination of many other raw agricultural products has been well documented; such a contamination occurs in a variety of food and feeds, such as coffee beans, pulses, spices, meat and cheese products (Wolff et al., 2000).

#### **3.3 Toxicity**

178 Food Industrial Processes – Methods and Equipment

OTA has a widespread diffusion, and it has in fact been detected in agricultural

The main OTA contamination concerns cereals and their products, listed in Table 4, which include food and beverages for human consumption, but also by-products that are usually utilized as animal feeds. Ochratoxin contamination can occur from temperate to tropical climates, from hot and wet climatic conditions to low temperature environments, and affects numerous countries: Northern America, Northern and Western Europe, African countries, South Asia and South America (Battaccone et al., 2010; Cabanes et al., 2010; El Khoury & Atoui, 2010; Moss, 2002b). Vega et al. (2009) suggests that cereals should be considered a major source of OTA contamination, as 50% of human daily intake of this mycotoxin is due

> **cereals**  Corn (grains, gluten); Rice; Wheat; Barley; Oats; Rye; Sorghum; Millet **cereal products for human consumption**  Beer; Baby food; Breakfast cereals; Bread **cereal feed products**  Cracked grains; Cereal cleanings; Wheat bran; Corn bran; Rice bran

Table 4. Cereals contaminated by OTA (Abrunhosa et al., 2010; Scudamore et al., 2003).

Cereals may be colonized by both *Aspergillus* and *Penicillium*. The two fungal species do not invade the crop in the field, but mainly do in the post-harvest phase. Considering that the main abiotic factors that influence mould growth and OTA production are water availability and temperature, cereals should be dried quickly after harvesting and maintained at a lower moisture content than 14.5% during storage to avoid OTA contamination (Magan & Aldred, 2005). OTA is mainly concentrated in the seed coat, which is often used for animal feeding. Moreover, on-farm production and the storage of barley and wheat with a high moisture content increases the risk of mould growth and toxin production (Scudamore et al., 2003). Some cereal processing, like malting, malt fermentation, bread production and feed extrusion, can contribute significantly to reduce OTA concentration in the final food products (Baxter et al., 2001; Scott et al., 1995; Scudamore et al., 2003). Other practices can increase OTA values; for example, cracked grains and cereal cleanings are often the most contaminated fractions and are usually directed for feed proposes (Scudamore et al., 2003). Wine is considered the second source of the human consumption of OTA. Many works have highlighted the presence of considerable levels of this toxin in wines, musts and grape juices. This occurrence has been explained by the fact that grapes are contaminated in the vineyard by various ochratoxigenic species, belonging above all to the *Aspergillus* section *Nigri* genus (*A. carbonarius* and *A. niger* aggregates) and that OTA production increases rapidly with the maturation stage. Thus, the date of the grape harvest would have an important effect on the OTA content in grapes and their derived products (Cabanes et al.,

OTA contamination of many other raw agricultural products has been well documented; such a contamination occurs in a variety of food and feeds, such as coffee beans, pulses,

commodities, livestock products and processed food (Abrunhosa et al., 2010).

to the consumption of different cereal derived products.

2002; El Khoury et al., 2006).

spices, meat and cheese products (Wolff et al., 2000).

**3.2 Food**

OTA can have several effects, such as nephrotoxic, hepatotoxic, neurotoxic, teratogenic and immunotoxic effects on several species of animals, and can cause kidney and liver tumours in mice and rats; OTA toxicity varies depending on the sex, the species and the cellular type of the tested animal (El Khoury & Atoui, 2010).

Nephropathy is the main toxic effect of OTA; it is potentially nephrotoxic in all nonruminant mammals (Ribelin et al., 1978). OTA plays an important role in the etiology of porcine nephropathy (Elling et al., 1985).

The administration of OTA at gestation period in rats induced many malformations in the central nervous system. OTA can be regarded as a possible cause of certain lesions as well as damage at the cerebral level. OTA seems to be highly toxic for the nervous cells and able to reach the neural tissue (Soleas et al., 2001).

OTA is a potent teratogen for laboratory animals. It can cross the placenta and accumulate in fetal tissue, causing various morphological anomalies. It has been reported to elicit prenatal dysmorphogenesis in rats, mice, hamsters and chick embryos (El Khoury & Atoui, 2010).

OTA also has an immunosuppressor effect. Necroses of lymphoid tissues has been reported, and humoral and cellular immunity affections have also been described (Creppy et al., 1991; Holmberg et al., 1988). OTA seems to play a role in the inhibition of proliferation of the peripheral T and B lymphocytes and stops the production of interleukin 2 (IL2) and its receptors (Lea et al., 1989). Moreover, it blocks the activity of killer cells as well as the production of interferon (Pfohl-Leszkowicz & Castegnaro, 1999). OTA is taken as an important immunosupressor agent, in fact it is considered to be the cause of lymphopenia, regression of the thymus, and suppression of the immunity response (Petzinger & Weidenbach, 2002).

 Hepatocellular tumors, renal cell tumors, hepatomas, and hyperplastic hepatic nodules have been observed in male mice (Huff et al., 1992). OTA has been correlated with hepatocellular and renal-cell carcinomas and adenomas in mice and rats (El Khoury & Atoui, 2010). On the other hand there are no adequate studies of the relationship between exposure to OTA and human cancer; incidence and mortality from urothelial urinary tract tumours have been correlated with the geographical distribution of Balkan endemic nephropathy in Bulgaria and Yugoslavia (Feier & Tofana, 2009).


2.2.2. Individual Factors

Age and gender were included as determinants in this study. In addition, respondents reported on their health status, which was measured via the Health Status subscale [29,30]. This measure consists of five items which are rated on a five-point Likert-type scale. Middle school students responded to the following questions: "I am in good physical health", "My body is in good physical shape", "I am a well-exercised person", "My body needs a lot of work in be in excellent physical shape", and "My physical health is in need of attention." The response options were as follows: Not at all characteristic of me; slightly characteristic of me; somewhat characteristic of me; moderately characteristic of me; and very characteristic of me. Two items were reverse-coded before analysis. We summed all items and higher scores indicated that respondents had greater physical health status. In this study, this scale had a Cronbach's alpha of 0.67 (*M* = 16.23; *SD* = 3.63; ranging from 6 to 25).


**8. Proprioceptive imagery**

Proprioceptive processing is part of the haptic system. In particular, proprioceptive imagery involves the ability to generate organic images based on body sensations, such as the

How fMRI Technology Contributes to the Advancement of Research in Mental Imagery: A Review 339

ensure that the acoustic scanner noise did not lead to interferences with the auditory perception and imagery conditions, the primary auditory cortex was not activated (Bunzeck et al., 2005). This pattern of results shows that when imaging environmental sounds the topdown process is initiated mostly by the inferior frontal gyrus and insular regions, and

Still, the fMRI literature on musical imagery, with the exception of Kraemer et al. (2005), showed no activation of the primary auditory cortex, even when enrolling musicians. Given the pattern of activation yielded by musical imagery, an associative network independent of primary sensory-motor and auditory activity is likely representing the cortical elements most intimately linked to music production. In addition, considering that both amateurs and professional musicians did not report any activation in the primary auditory cortex, and that motor areas were not recruited, either, during musical imagery involving mental performances, it is highly probable that these areas become tightly coupled with executed activities during musical training. Finally, given that musical imagery in professional musicians revealed more anterior cerebellar activations, it is possible to conclude that musical imagery involves the recruitment of stored movement programs of sequential finger

The extent to which the primary motor cortex is involved in motor imagery remains unclear. However, recent fMRI studies have highlighted the importance of the supplementary motor area, which seems to be involved in suppressing the activity of the primary motor cortex, and consequently, movements that are not intended to be performed. This would mean that

Regarding olfactory imagery, fMRI results are in line with behavioral findings: if images of smells are cued by verbal labels it is hard to detect the activation of the primary olfactory cortex. On the contrary, if odors are perceptually encoded, it is possible to find activation in the piriform cortex when generating images of smells. However, the activity in the olfactory primary cortex was found to be modulated by the hedonic pattern of stimuli to be imagined, and by expertise in generating or using olfactory images. This means that olfactory imagery may activate olfactory areas under specific conditions, basically when people really evoke

The literature on gustatory, tactile, and proprioceptive imagery is more consistent. All three of these modalities seem to rely on the primary sensory cortices. Nevertheless, given the scarcity of studies carried out on these imagery systems, especially on the proprioceptive

In conclusion, fMRI technique has helped to clarify the neural circuits of mental imagery, but a lot a work needs to be still done. For example, the role of certain cortical areas remains unclear, as does the connectivity among cortices in mental imagery. Research is trying to clarify this issue in respect to the motor imagery modality, but it should also be addressed in respect to the others. It is also important to explore the common cortical networks involved in all imagery modalities to clarify the extent to which mental imagery relies on non-sensory cortices. Indirectly, this information would contribute to improve our understanding of the imagery debate, as having access to the common areas shared by all imagery modalities provides an understanding of the extent to which imagery involves propositional encoding. Currently, only Olivetti Belardinelli et al. (2001, 2004b) have attempted to investigate this issue. Though there has been some difference in terms of anatomical extension, results revealed that the generation of images in all sensory modalities activated the left inferior temporal cortex (including the left fusiform gyrus) and the bilateral inferior parietal lobule.

motor imagery and motor execution do not rely on the same neural network.

manages to activate only secondary auditory areas.

movements (Lotze et al., 2003).

images of smells.

imagery, any conclusion would be premature.

sensations of hungry, thirsty, cold, drunkenness, etc. Very few fMRI studies were devoted to proprioceptive imagery. Olivetti Belardinelli et al. (2004a) did not show any activation of the primary somatosensory cortex during proprioceptive imagery, whereas Olivetti Belardinelli et al. (2009) revealed that high vivid participants activated the right post-central gyrus (BA 2/3) during proprioceptive imagery in comparison with low-vivid participants.


**1. Introduction**

World rice production especially in Southeast Asia and tropical Asia is highly vulnerable to climate change. Rice production systems contribute to global climate change through emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2 ), methane (CH4 ), and N2 O gases to the atmosphere and simultaneously are affected by the changed climatic variables. Rice is the major cereal crop for more than half of the world's population and its production needs to be increased 40% by the end of the 2030s to meet the increasing demand for the expanding population [1], which may further accelerate

million ha of cropland, where approximately 80 million ha were managed under continuous flood irrigation and contributed to 75% of the world's rice production [3]. China and India, most densely populated countries in the world, account for 20.0 and 28.5% of the global rice area, respectively [4]. In China, approximately 90% of the rice fields are irrigated [5], while in India, more than 46% of the rice fields are irrigated [6]. Unfortunately, the irrigated rice

[7]. Therefore, IRRI is promoting water-saving alternate wetting and drying techniques for

O) depending on soil organic matter status, land use and cropping intensity, irrigation water and drainage management practices, soil microbial populations and their activities, soil properties, and climatic variables. The management practices such as tillage operations, leveling, plant residue incorporation, irrigation frequency and standing water levels, drainage system, and organic and inorganic soil amendments followed in rice farming influence the amount of CH4

processes depending on soil aerobic (oxygenated) and anaerobic conditions (**Figure 1b**).

off relationship observed which is largely dependent on paddy soil water level, redox status, soil organic matter content, and external sources of organic and inorganic soil amendments.

and N2

with calcium carbide, phospho-gypsum, and silicate fertilizer amendments under continuous and intermittent irrigations, respectively [8]. However, biochar amendments increased the

O), have been contributing to about 80% to the current global radiative forcing [9]. Agricultural activities contribute to approximately 20% of the present concentrations of atmo-

toward global warming with almost 25-fold higher global warming potential than carbon

270 ppb in the pre-industrial period to 1853 and 328.9 ppb in 2016, respectively [12]. China, the largest rice-producing country, accounts for about 28% of global rice production [4] and

O gases, which simultaneously increased rice yield [8].

and N2

and N2

O emissions are low under flooded fields, while CH4

farming acts as one of the main sources of anthropogenic CH4

Rice paddy fields act as a source of greenhouse gases such as methane (CH4

improving water use efficiency, while reducing CH4

O emitted to the atmosphere. Generally, CH4

soil conditions (**Figure 1a**), while N2

Ali et al. reported that the total GWP of CH4

and N2

**2. Climatic change and greenhouse gas emissions**

Greenhouse gases (GHGs), mainly carbon dioxide (CO2

spheric GHGs [10], especially the emissions of CH4

global-warming potentials (GWP) of 25 and 298 CO2

dioxide [11]. The concentrations of atmospheric CH4

time horizon. Apart from the water vapor, CH4

) and nitrous oxide (N2

O emissions to the atmosphere [2]. In 2012, worldwide rice production covered 163

Management of Paddy Soil towards Low Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sustainable Rice…

emission to the atmosphere

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.83548

91

emissions are high, a trade-

), and nitrous oxide

O from paddy fields [9]. Methane

O have increased from 722 and

is a major greenhouse gas contributing 20%

) and nitrous oxides

production in the rice rhizosphere.

gas is produced under flooded or anoxic

O gases was decreased by 7–27% and 6–34%

O gas is produced through nitrification and denitrification

), methane (CH4

O) are the two most important GHGs from agriculture, with

CH4

(N2

and N2

(N2

(CH4

Typically, N2

overall GWP of CH4

and N2

**Figure 1.** (a) Schematic diagram of methane production, oxidation, and emission from rice paddy field and (b) schematic diagram of N2 O, NO, and N2 emissions from rice paddy field.

are affected by the changed climatic variables. Rice is the major cereal crop for more than half of the world's population and its production needs to be increased 40% by the end of the 2030s to meet the increasing demand for the expanding population [1], which may further accelerate CH4 and N2 O emissions to the atmosphere [2]. In 2012, worldwide rice production covered 163 million ha of cropland, where approximately 80 million ha were managed under continuous flood irrigation and contributed to 75% of the world's rice production [3]. China and India, most densely populated countries in the world, account for 20.0 and 28.5% of the global rice area, respectively [4]. In China, approximately 90% of the rice fields are irrigated [5], while in India, more than 46% of the rice fields are irrigated [6]. Unfortunately, the irrigated rice farming acts as one of the main sources of anthropogenic CH4 emission to the atmosphere [7]. Therefore, IRRI is promoting water-saving alternate wetting and drying techniques for improving water use efficiency, while reducing CH4 production in the rice rhizosphere.

Rice paddy fields act as a source of greenhouse gases such as methane (CH4 ) and nitrous oxides (N2 O) depending on soil organic matter status, land use and cropping intensity, irrigation water and drainage management practices, soil microbial populations and their activities, soil properties, and climatic variables. The management practices such as tillage operations, leveling, plant residue incorporation, irrigation frequency and standing water levels, drainage system, and organic and inorganic soil amendments followed in rice farming influence the amount of CH4 and N2 O emitted to the atmosphere. Generally, CH4 gas is produced under flooded or anoxic soil conditions (**Figure 1a**), while N2 O gas is produced through nitrification and denitrification processes depending on soil aerobic (oxygenated) and anaerobic conditions (**Figure 1b**).

Typically, N2 O emissions are low under flooded fields, while CH4 emissions are high, a tradeoff relationship observed which is largely dependent on paddy soil water level, redox status, soil organic matter content, and external sources of organic and inorganic soil amendments. Ali et al. reported that the total GWP of CH4 and N2 O gases was decreased by 7–27% and 6–34% with calcium carbide, phospho-gypsum, and silicate fertilizer amendments under continuous and intermittent irrigations, respectively [8]. However, biochar amendments increased the overall GWP of CH4 and N2 O gases, which simultaneously increased rice yield [8].