Search results for: tensile test

Authors: Akano Benedict Ubawuike

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This study investigated the effects of pre-laboratory discussion on physics students’ acquisition of science process skills. The study design was quasi-experimental and purposive sampling technique was applied in selecting two schools in Kontagora Town for the research based on the availability of a good physics laboratory. Intact classes already grouped by the school for the sake of small laboratory space and equipment, comprising Thirty (30) students, 15 for experimental group in School A and 15 for control in school B were the subjects for the research. The instrument used for data collection was the lesson prepared for pre – practical discussion and researcher made Science Process Skill Test (SPST ) and two (2) research questions, and two (2) research hypotheses were developed to guide the study. The data collected were analyzed using means and t-Test statistics at 0.05 level of significance. The study revealed that pre-laboratory discussion was found to be more efficacious in enhancing students’ acquisition of science process skills. It also revealed that gender, had no significant effect on students’ acquisition of science process skills. Based on the findings, it was recommended among others that teachers should encourage students to develop interest in practical activities by engaging them in pre-laboratory discussion and providing instructional materials that will challenge them to be actively involved during practical lessons. It is also recommended that Ministries of Education and professional organizations like Science Teachers' Association of Nigeria (STAN) should organize workshops, seminars and conferences for physics teachers and Physics concepts should be taught with practical activity so that the students will do science instead of learning about science.

Keywords: physics, laboratory, discussion, students, acquisition, science process skills

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Authors: Khlifa El Atrash, Gabriel Assaf

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Most developing countries use volumetric analysis in designing asphalt mixtures, which can also be upgraded in hot arid weather. However, in order to be effective, it should include many important aspects which are materials, environment, and method of construction. The overall intent of the work reported in this study is to test different asphalt mixtures while taking into consideration the environment, type and source of material, tools, equipment, and the construction method. In this study, several tests were conducted on many samples that were carefully prepared under the expected traffic loads and temperatures in a dry hot climate. Several asphalt concrete mixtures were designed using two different binders. These mixtures were analyzed under two types of tests - Complex Modulus and Rutting test - to evaluate the hot mix asphalt properties under the represented temperatures and traffic load in Libya. These factors play an important role to improve the pavement performances in a hot climate weather based on the properties of the asphalt mixture, climate, and traffic load. This research summarized some recommendations for making asphalt mixtures used in hot dry areas. Such asphalt mixtures should use asphalt binder which is less affected by pavement temperature change and traffic load. The properties of the mixture, such as durability, deformation, air voids and performance, largely depend on the type of materials, environment, and mixing method. These properties, in turn, affect the pavement performance. Therefore, this study is aimed to develop a method for designing an asphalt mixture that takes into account field loading, various stresses, and temperature spectrums.

Keywords: volumetric analysis, pavement performances, hot climate, asphalt mixture, traffic load

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Authors: Suliman Al Balawi

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Food waste is a significant problem in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). About SR13 billion worth of food is wasted per year in the KSA. From moral, social, and economic perspectives, it is essential to reduce the wastage of food. Although studies have identified the amount of food waste in the KSA, there is a lack of research on why people in the KSA waste food; thus, it is difficult to design efficient intervention programs to reduce food waste. This research investigates the key factors that influence the food waste behavior of the people of the KSA. A food waste behavior model is proposed in this study that has moral disengagement at the center of the model. Following a literature survey, it is hypothesised that religiosity, hedonic value, frugality, and trait cynicism are the antecedents of moral disengagement that are likely to impact the food waste behavior of the people of the KSA. The study further posits that an intervention strategy in the form of a social marketing campaign that focuses on lowering the level of moral disengagement could reduce the food waste behavior of the people of the KSA. This study will apply a pre-test/post-test experimental design (control group). A random sampling method will be used to select participants from the (employees of a chosen firm) in the KSA. The social marketing campaign will be run for six months through the Corporate Social Responsibility Department of the Company, and to analyse the experimental data, structural equation modeling (SEM) will be used. The outcomes of the study will demonstrate the effectiveness of a social marketing campaign for improving the food waste behavior of the people of the KSA and will ultimately lay the foundation for designing efficient intervention programs in the future. This study will contribute to the knowledge on food waste behavior by testing a newly proposed food waste behavior model in the KSA.

Keywords: food waste, social marketing, Saudi Arabia, moral disengagement

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Authors: L. Vafaei, McDominic Eze

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The performance of thermal energy in homes and buildings is a significant factor in terms of energy efficiency of a building. In a large sense, the performance of thermal energy is dependent on many factors of which the amount of thermal insulation is at one end a considerable factor, as likewise the essence of mass and the wall thickness and also the thermal resistance of wall material. This study is aimed at illustrating the different wall system in Turkish Republic of North Cyprus (TRNC), acknowledge the problem and suggest a solution through comparing the effect of thermal radiation two model rooms- L1 (Ytong wall) and L2 (heat insulated wall using stone wool) set up for experimentation. The model room has four face walls. The study consists of two stage, the first test is to access the effect of solar radiation for south facing wall and the second stage is to test the thermal performance of Ytong and heat insulated wall, the effects of climatic condition during winter. The heat insulated wall contains material hollow brick, stone wool, and gypsum while the Ytong wall contains cement concrete, for the outer surface and the inner surface and Ytong stone. The total heat of the wall was determined, 7T-Type thermocouple was used with a data logger system to record the data, temperature change recorded at an interval of 10 minutes. The result obtained was that Ytong wall save more energy than the heat insulated wall at night while heat insulated wall saves energy during the day when intensity is at maximum.

Keywords: heat insulation, hollow bricks, south facing, Ytong bricks wall

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Authors: Faiza Ateeq, Huma Jawed, Kamran Azim, Nadeem Khalid

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Abiotic constraints such as salinity stress reduce cereal production. Salicylic acid is an elicitor of abiotic stress tolerance in plants. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of salicylic acid on bread wheat cultivars AAI_10 from Faisalabad, Pakistan (Triticum aestivum L.) grown under salt stress in the presence and absence of 0.5 mM salicylic acid. The Physiological test was performed using different concentrations of salt solutions, i.e., 0%, 1%, 2%, 4%, and 6% on leaf blades, and determined the germination of seedlings growth after 14 days. Results showed a reduction in the weights of wheat seedlings when it’s dry and fresh in the consideration of salt stress. Salicylic Acid treatment has a positive effect when evaluated in the case of salt-treated control. The morphological test (Lowry method) was performed to determine the concentration of proteins in different samples. Results showed that the samples treated with SA showed the highest absorbance(720nm) as compared to the control and other treated samples absorbance was determined. Thus, Salicylic Acid treating wheat seedlings enables the growth of anti-stress effects, such as maintaining proline accumulation. The morphological and physiological parameters revealed that SA treatment not only decreased the negative effect of salinity on the development of the seedlings but also accelerated the reparation of the growth processes. These results suggested that salicylic acid application improved the salt tolerance of bread wheat cultivars.

Keywords: salinity, salicylic acid, biotic and abiotic stresses, proline

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Authors: Arezoo Fallahi

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Introduction: Exposure to second-hand smoke is an important global health problem and threatens the health of people, especially children and women. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of education based on the Health Belief Model on preventive behaviors of exposure to secondhand smoke in women. Materials and Methods: This experimental study was performed in 2023in Sanandaj, west of Iran. Seventy-four people were selected by simple random sampling and divided into an intervention group (37 people) and a control group (37 people). Data collection tools included demographic characteristics and a second-hand smoke exposure questionnaire based on the Health Beliefs Model. The training in the intervention group was conducted in three one-hour sessions in the comprehensive health service centers in the form of lectures, pamphlets, and group discussions. Data were analyzed using SPSS software version 21 and statistical tests such as correlation, paired t-test, and independent t-test. Results: The intervention and control groups were homogeneous before education. They were similar in terms of mean scores of the Health Belief Model. However, after an educational intervention, some of the scores increased, including the mean perceived sensitivity score (from 17.62±2.86 to 19.75±1.23), perceived severity score (28.40±4.45 to 31.64±2), perceived benefits score (27.27±4.89 to 31.94±2.17), practice score (32.64±4.68 to 36.91±2.32) perceived barriers from 26.62±5.16 to 31.29±3.34, guide for external action (from 17.70±3.99 to 22/89 ±1.67), guide for internal action from (16.59±2.95 to 1.03±18.75), and self-efficacy (from 19.83 ±3.99 to 23.37±1.43) (P <0.05). Conclusion: The educational intervention designed based on the Health Belief Model in women was effective in performing preventive behaviors against exposure to secondhand smoke.

Keywords: women, health behaviour, smoke, belive

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Authors: J. Jessa

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Background: Autism is a pervasive developmental disorder, the incidence of which has significantly increased in recent years. Children with autism have impairments in social skills, communication, and imagination. Children with autism has more common than healthy children feeding problems: food selectivity, problems with gastrointestinal tract: diarrhea, constipations, abdominal pain, reflux and others. Many parents of autistic children report that after implementation of gluten-, casein- and sugar free diet those symptoms disappear and even cognitive functions become better. Some children begin to understand speech and to communicate with parents, regain eye contact, become more calm, sleep better and has better concentration. Probably at the root of this phenomenon lies elimination from the diet peptides construction of which is similar to opiates. Enhanced permeability of gut causes absorption of not fully digested opioid-like peptides from food, like gluten and casein and probably others (proteins from soy and corn) which impact on brain of autistic children. Aim of the study: The aim of the study is to assess the safety of gluten-free diet in children with autism, aged 2,5-7. Methods: Participants of the study (n=70) – children aged 2,5-7 with autism are divided into 3 groups. The first group (research group) are patients whose parents want to implement a gluten-free diet. The second group are patients who have been recommended to eliminate from the diet artificial substances, such as preservatives, artificial colors and flavors, and others (control group 1). The third group (control group 2) are children whose parents did not agree for implementation of the diet. Caregivers of children on the diet are educated about the specifics of the diet and how to avoid malnutrition. At the start of the study we exclude celiac disease. Before the implementation of the diet we performe a blood test for patients (morphology, ferritin, total cholesterol, dry peripheral blood drops to detect some genetic metabolic diseases), plasma aminogram) and urine tests (excretion of ions: Mg, Na, Ca, the profile of organic acids in urine), which assess nutritional status as well as the psychological test assessing the degree of the child's psychological functioning (PEP-R). All of these tests will be repeated after one year from the implementation of the diet. Results: To the present moment we examined 42 children with autism. 12 of children are on gluten- free diet. Our preliminary results are promising. Parents of 9 of them report that, there is a big improvement in child behavior, concentration, less aggression incidents, better eye contact and better verbal skills. Conclusion: Our preliminary results suggest that dietary intervention may positively affect developmental outcome for some children diagnosed with ASD.

Keywords: gluten free diet, autism spectrum disorder, autism, blood test

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Authors: Kmiecik Dominik, Kobus-Cisowska Joanna, Gramza-Michalowska Anna, Marcinkowska Agata, Korczak Józef

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The relationship between the choice of a proper diet, a diet, lifestyle man and his health has been known for a long time. Because of the increase in public awareness of food ingredients and their influence on health status, measures have been taken towards the production of food, which is designed to not only eat, but also to protect against the incidence of lifestyle diseases. For this purpose, the bio active products with healthy properties was developed. Mulberry have a very high nutritional value, rich in chemical composition and many properties used in the prevention of lifestyle diseases. In addition to basic chemical components, nutrients, mulberry fruit contain compounds having a physiological effect. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of white mulberry fruit on the sensory quality of bread to be healthy diet of people suffering from anemia, diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular disease. Sensory analysis was carried out by the profile method. Intra-operative differentiators color, aroma, taste, texture, and overall assessment. Sensory analysis showed that all test trials were characterized by a uniform and concise consistency, similar in color from dark to light beige. The taste and smell of herbal characteristic was designed in an attempt to prevention of diabetes, while the other samples were characterized by a typical taste and smell of bread grain. There were no foreign taste and odor in the test bread. It was found that the addition of white mulberry fruit does not affect the sensory quality of the newly developed bioactive bread.

Keywords: mulberry, bread, bioactive, sensory analysis

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Authors: Maria Luisa Boninelli

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This study wants to explore the effects of a mediated intervention program in a primary school. The participants where 120 students aged 8-9, half of them Italian and half immigrants of first or second generation. The activities consisted on the cognitive enhancement of the participants through Feuerstein’s Instrumental Enrichment, (IE) and on an activity centred on body awareness and mediated learning experience. Given that there are limited studied on learners in remedial schools, the current study intented to hypothesized that participants exposed to mediation would yiel a significant improvement in cognitive functioning. Hypothesis One proposed that, following the intervention, improved Q1vata scores of the participants would occur in each of the groups. Hypothesis two postulated that participants within the Mediated Learning Experience would perform significantly better than those group of control. For the intervention a group of 60 participants constituted a group of Mediation sample and were exposed to Mediated Learning Experience through Enrichment Programm. Similiary the other 60 were control group. Both the groups have students with special needs and were exposed to the same learning goals. A pre-experimental research design, in particular a one-group pretest-posttest approach was adopted. All the participants in this study underwent pretest and post test phases whereby they completed measures according to the standard instructions. During the pretest phase, all the participants were simultaneously exposed to Q1vata test for logical and linguistic evaluation skill. During the mediation intervention, significant improvement was demonstrated with the group of mediation. This supports Feuerstein's Theory that initial poor performance was a result of a lack of mediated learning experience rather than inherent difference or deficiencies. Furthermore the use of an appropriate mediated learning enabled the participants to function adequately.

Keywords: cognitive structural modifiability, learning to learn, mediated learning experience, Reuven Feuerstein, special needs

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Authors: Olukemi E. Adetuyi-Olu-Francis

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Learning is natural for living. One stops learning when life ends. Hence, there is no negotiating life-long learning. An individual has the innate ability to learn as many languages as he/she desires as long as life exists. French language education to every Nigerian teacher-trainee is a necessity. Nigeria’s geographical location requires that the French language should be upheld for economic and cultural co-operations between Nigeria and the francophone countries sharing borders with her. The French language will enhance the leadership roles of the teacher-trainees and their ability to function across borders. The 21st century learning tools are basically digital, and many apps are complementing the actual classroom interactions. This study examined the communicative competence in the French language to equip Nigerian teacher-trainees in the new-normal society using mobile apps as a lifelong learning tool. Three research questions and hypotheses guided the study, and the researcher adopted a pre-test, a post-test experimental design, using a sample size of 87 teacher-trainees in South-south geopolitical zone of Nigeria. Results showed that the use of mobile apps is effective for learning the French language. One of the recommendations is that the use of mobile apps should be encouraged for all Nigerian youths to learn the French language for enhancing leadership roles in the world of work and for international interactions for socio-economic co-operations with Nigerian neighboring countries.

Keywords: communicative competence, french language, life long learning, mobile apps, new normal society, teacher trainees

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Authors: Dachuan Shi, M. Hecht, Y. Ye

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With the trend of digitalization in railway freight transport, a large number of freight wagons in Germany have been equipped with telematics devices, commonly placed on the wagon body. A telematics device contains a GPS module for tracking and a 3-axis accelerometer for shock detection. Besides these basic functions, it is desired to use the integrated accelerometer for condition monitoring without any additional sensors. Wheel flats as a common type of failure on wheel tread cause large impacts on wagons and infrastructure as well as impulsive noise. A large wheel flat may even cause safety issues such as derailments. In this sense, this paper proposes a machine learning approach for wheel flat detection by using car body accelerations. Due to suspension systems, impulsive signals caused by wheel flats are damped significantly and thus could be buried in signal noise and disturbances. Therefore, it is very challenging to detect wheel flats using car body accelerations. The proposed algorithm considers the envelope spectrum of car body accelerations to eliminate the effect of noise and disturbances. Subsequently, a 1-D convolutional neural network (CNN), which is well known as a deep learning method, is constructed to automatically extract features in the envelope-frequency domain and conduct classification. The constructed CNN is trained and tested on field test data, which are measured on the underframe of a tank wagon with a wheel flat of 20 mm length in the operational condition. The test results demonstrate the good performance of the proposed algorithm for real-time fault detection.

Keywords: fault detection, wheel flat, convolutional neural network, machine learning

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Authors: Eva Laryea, Clement Yeboah Authors

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A pretest-posttest within subjects, experimental design was employed to examine the effects of a computerized basic statistics learning game on achievement and statistics-related anxiety of students enrolled in introductory graduate statistics course. Participants (N = 34) were graduate students in a variety of programs at state-funded research university in the Southeast United States. We analyzed pre-test posttest differences using paired samples t-tests for achievement and for statistics anxiety. The results of the t-test for knowledge in statistics were found to be statistically significant indicating significant mean gains for statistical knowledge as a function of the game-based intervention. Likewise, the results of the t-test for statistics-related anxiety were also statistically significant indicating a decrease in anxiety from pretest to posttest. The implications of the present study are significant for both teachers and students. For teachers, using computer games developed by the researchers can help to create a more dynamic and engaging classroom environment, as well as improve student learning outcomes. For students, playing these educational games can help to develop important skills such as problem solving, critical thinking, and collaboration. Students can develop interest in the subject matter and spend quality time to learn the course as they play the game without knowing that they are even learning the presupposed hard course. The future directions of the present study are promising, as technology continues to advance and become more widely available. Some potential future developments include the integration of virtual and augmented reality into educational games, the use of machine learning and artificial intelligence to create personalized learning experiences, and the development of new and innovative game-based assessment tools. It is also important to consider the ethical implications of computer game-based pedagogy, such as the potential for games to perpetuate harmful stereotypes and biases. As the field continues to evolve, it will be crucial to address these issues and work towards creating inclusive and equitable learning experiences for all students. This study has the potential to revolutionize the way basic statistics graduate students learn and offers exciting opportunities for future development and research. It is an important area of inquiry for educators, researchers, and policymakers, and will continue to be a dynamic and rapidly evolving field for years to come.

Keywords: pretest-posttest within subjects, experimental design, achievement, statistics-related anxiety

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Authors: Engang Wang

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The Cu-alloy composites are a kind of high-strength and high-conductivity Cu-based alloys, which have excellent mechanical and electrical properties and is widely used in electronic, electrical, machinery industrial fields. However, the solidification microstructure of the composites, such as the primary or second dendrite arm spacing, have important rule to its tensile strength and conductivity, and that is affected by its fabricating method. In this paper, two kinds of directional solidification methods; the exothermic powder method (EP method) and liquid metal cooling method (LMC method), were used to fabricate the Cu-alloy composites with applied different magnetic fields to investigate their influence on the solidifying microstructure of Cu-alloy, and further the fabricated Cu-alloy composites was drawn to wires to investigate the influence of fabricating method and magnetic fields on the drawing microstructure of fiber-reinforced Cu-alloy composites and its properties. The experiment of Cu-Ag alloy under directional solidification and horizontal magnetic fields with different processing parameters show that: 1) For the Cu-Ag alloy with EP method, the dendrite is directionally developed in the cooling copper mould and the solidifying microstructure is effectively refined by applying horizontal magnetic fields. 2) For the Cu-Ag alloy with LMC method, the primary dendrite arm spacing is decreased and the content of Ag in the dendrite increases as increasing the drawing velocity of solidification. 3) The dendrite is refined and the content of Ag in the dendrite increases as increasing the magnetic flux intensity; meanwhile, the growth direction of dendrite is also affected by magnetic field. The research results of Cu-Ag alloy in situ composites by drawing deforming process show that the micro-hardness of alloy is higher by decreasing dendrite arm spacing. When the dendrite growth orientation is consistent with the axial of the samples. the conductivity of the composites increases with the second dendrite arm spacing increases. However, its conductivity reduces with the applied magnetic fields owing to disrupting the dendrite growth orientation.

Keywords: Cu-Ag composite, magnetic field, microstructure, solidification

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Authors: Chaiyakrit Raoupatham, Ram Hari Dhakal, Chalermchai Wanichlamlert

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This paper is aimed to introduce the solution of concrete slump recovery using chemical admixture type-F (superplasticizer, naphthalene base) to the practice, in order to solve unusable concrete problem due to concrete loss its slump, especially for those tropical countries that have faster slump loss rate. In the other hand, randomly adding superplasticizer into concrete can cause concrete to segregate. Therefore, this paper also develops the estimation model used to calculate amount of second dose of superplasticizer need for concrete slump recovery. Fresh properties of ordinary Portland cement concrete with volumetric ratio of paste to void between aggregate (paste content) of 1.1-1.3 with water-cement ratio zone of 0.30 to 0.67 and initial superplasticizer (naphthalene base) of 0.25%- 1.6% were tested for initial slump and slump loss for every 30 minutes for one and half hour by slump cone test. Those concretes with slump loss range from 10% to 90% were re-dosed and successfully recovered back to its initial slump. Slump after re-dosed was tested by slump cone test. From the result, it has been concluded that, slump loss was slower for those mix with high initial dose of superplasticizer due to addition of superplasticizer will disturb cement hydration. The required second dose of superplasticizer was affected by two major parameter, which were water-cement ratio and paste content, where lower water-cement ratio and paste content cause an increase in require second dose of superplasticizer. The amount of second dose of superplasticizer is higher as the solid content within the system is increase, solid can be either from cement particles or aggregate. The data was analyzed to form an equation use to estimate the amount of second dosage requirement of superplasticizer to recovery slump to its original.

Keywords: estimation model, second superplasticizer dosage, slump loss, slump recovery

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Authors: Ghadeer A.Al-Jabaree, Husam Aldeen Al-Khadash, M. Nassar

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This study aimed at investigating the effect of well-designed corporate governance system on the financial stability of insurance companies listed in ASE. Further, this study provides a comprehensive model for evaluating and analyzing insurance companies' financial position and prospective for comparing the degree of corporate governance application provisions among Jordanian insurance companies. In order to achieve the goals of the study, a whole population that consist of (27) listed insurance companies was introduced through the variables of (board of director, audit committee, internal and external auditor, board and management ownership and block holder's identities). Statistical methods were used with alternative techniques by (SPSS); where descriptive statistical techniques such as means, standard deviations were used to describe the variables, while (F) test and ANOVA analysis of variance were used to test the hypotheses of the study. The study revealed the existence of significant effect of corporate governance variables except local companies that are not listed in ASE on financial stability within control variables especially debt ratio (leverage),where it's also showed that concentration in motor third party doesn't have significant effect on insurance companies' financial stability during study period. Moreover, the study concludes that Global financial crisis affect the investment side of insurance companies with insignificant effect on the technical side. Finally, some recommendations were presented such as enhancing the laws and regulation that help the appropriate application of corporate governance, and work on activating the transparency in the disclosures of the financial statements and focusing on supporting the technical provisions for the companies, rather than focusing only on profit side.

Keywords: corporate governance, financial stability and solvency margin, insurance companies, Jordan

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Authors: Ivette Gonzalez-Rivera, Diana B. Paz-Trejo, Oscar Galicia-Castillo, David N. Velazquez-Martinez, Hugo Sanchez-Castillo

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Prolonged exposure to stress can cause disorders related with dysfunction in the prefrontal cortex such as generalized anxiety and depression. These disorders involve alterations in neurotransmitter systems; the serotonergic system—a target of the drugs that are commonly used as a treatment to these disorders—is one of them. Recent studies suggest that 5-HT1A receptors play a pivotal role in the serotonergic system regulation and in stress responses. In the same way, there is increasing evidence that astrocytes are involved in the pathophysiology of stress. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of 8-OH-DPAT, a selective agonist of 5-HT1A receptors, in the behavioral signs of anxiety and anhedonia as well as in the number of astrocytes in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) after exposure to chronic stress. They used 50 male Wistar rats of 250-350 grams housed in standard laboratory conditions and treated in accordance with the ethical standards of use and care of laboratory animals. A protocol of chronic unpredictable stress was used for 10 consecutive days during which the presentation of stressors such as motion restriction, water deprivation, wet bed, among others, were used. 40 rats were subjected to the stress protocol and then were divided into 4 groups of 10 rats each, which were administered 8-OH-DPAT (Tocris, USA) intraperitoneally with saline as vehicle in doses 0.0, 0.3, 1.0 and 2.0 mg/kg respectively. Another 10 rats were not subjected to the stress protocol or the drug. Subsequently, all the rats were measured in an open field test, a forced swimming test, sucrose consume, and a cero maze test. At the end of this procedure, the animals were sacrificed, the brain was removed and the tissue of the mPFC (Bregma: 4.20, 3.70, 2.70, 2.20) was processed in immunofluorescence staining for astrocytes (Anti-GFAP antibody - astrocyte maker, ABCAM). Statistically significant differences were found in the behavioral tests of all groups, showing that the stress group with saline administration had more indicators of anxiety and anhedonia than the control group and the groups with administration of 8-OH-DPAT. Also, a dose dependent effect of 8-OH-DPAT was found on the number of astrocytes in the mPFC. The results show that 8-OH-DPAT can modulate the effect of stress in both behavioral and anatomical level. Also they indicate that 5-HT1A receptors and astrocytes play an important role in the stress response and may modulate the therapeutic effect of serotonergic drugs, so they should be explored as a fundamental part in the treatment of symptoms of stress and in the understanding of the mechanisms of stress responses.

Keywords: anxiety, prefrontal cortex, serotonergic system, stress

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Authors: Hanan Yousef, Nisreen Naji Al-Khawaldeh

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The present study investigates the use of the expression of refusal by native speakers of Jordanian Arabic (NSsJA) in different social situations (i.e. invitations, suggestions, and offers). It also investigates the influence of gender on the refusal realization patterns within the Jordanian culture to provide a better insight into the relation between situations, strategies and gender in the Jordanian culture. To that end, a group of 70 participants, including 35 male and 35 female students from different departments at the Hashemite University (HU) participated in this study using mixed methods (i.e. Discourse Completion Test (DCT), interviews and naturally occurring data). Data were analyzed in light of a developed coding scheme. The results showed that NSsJA preferred indirect strategies which mitigate the interaction such as "excuse, reason and, explanation" strategy more than other strategies which aggravate the interaction such as "face-threatening" strategy. Moreover, the analysis of this study has revealed a considerable impact of gender on the use of linguistic forms expressing refusal among NSsJA. Significant differences in the results of the Chi-square test relating the effect of participants' gender indicate that both males and females were conscious of the gender of their interlocutors. The findings provide worthwhile insights into the relation amongst types of communicative acts and the rapport between people in social interaction. They assert that refusal should not be labeled as face threatening act since it does not always pose a threat in some cases especially where refusal is expressed among friends, relatives and family members. They highlight some distinctive culture-specific features of the communicative acts of refusal.

Keywords: gender, Jordanian Arabic, politeness, refusals, speech act

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Authors: Jing Chen, Jun-E Liu, Peng Yue

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Objective: The objective of this study was to develop a psychological adjustment and adaptation status scale for breast cancer survivors, and to examine the reliability and validity of the scale. Method: 37 breast cancer survivors were recruited in qualitative research; a five-subject theoretical framework and an item pool of 150 items of the scale were derived from the interview data. In order to evaluate and select items and reach a preliminary validity and reliability for the original scale, the suggestions of study group members, experts and breast cancer survivors were taken, and statistical methods were used step by step in a sample of 457 breast cancer survivors. Results: An original 24-item scale was developed. The five dimensions “domestic affections”, “interpersonal relationship”, “attitude of life”, “health awareness”, “self-control/self-efficacy” explained 58.053% of the total variance. The content validity was assessed by experts, the CVI was 0.92. The construct validity was examined in a sample of 264 breast cancer survivors. The fitting indexes of confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) showed good fitting of the five dimensions model. The criterion-related validity of the total scale with PTGI was satisfactory (r=0.564, p<0.001). The internal consistency reliability and test-retest reliability were tested. Cronbach’s alpha value (0.911) showed a good internal consistency reliability, and the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC=0.925, p<0.001) showed a satisfactory test-retest reliability. Conclusions: The scale was brief and easy to understand, was suitable for breast cancer patients whose physical strength and energy were limited.

Keywords: breast cancer survivors, rehabilitation, psychological adaption and adjustment, development of scale

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Authors: Mohammad Saeri, Noor Rizkiyah, Kambang Vetrani Asie, Titin Apung Atikah

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The study aims to assess efficient specific-location soybean farming technology assembly by assisting the farmers in applying the suggested technology. Superimposed trial was conducted to know NPK fertilizer effect toward soybean growth and yield and soybean improved variety test for the dissemination of improved variety. The assessment was conducted at the farmers group of Sumber Rejeki, Kepulungan Village, Gempol Sub-district, Pasuruan Regency as the soybean central at Pasuruan area. The number of farmers involved in the study was 38 people with 25 ha soybean area. This study was held from July to October 2012.  The recommended technology package agreed at the socialization time and used in this research were: using Argomulyo variety seeds of 40 kg/ha, planting by drilling, planting by distance of 40x10 cm, deciding the seeds amount of 2-3 seeds per hole, and giving fertilization based on recommendation of East Java AIAT of 50 kg Urea, 100 kg SP-36 and 50 kg KCl.  Farmers around the research location were used as control group. Assessment on soybean farming system was considered effective because it could increase the production up to 38%. The farming analysis showed that the result collaborator farmers gained were positively higher than non-collaborator farmers with RC ratio of 2.03 and 1.54, respectively. Argomulyo variety has the prospect to be developed due to the high yield of about 2 tons/ha and the larger seeds. The NPK fertilization test at the soybean plants showed that the fertilization had minor effect on the yield.

Keywords: farming system, soybean, variety, location specific

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Authors: Bharat Kumar, Deepak Kumar, Vijay Chaudhry

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Zirconium alloys are used as core components of nuclear reactors due to their high wear resistance, good corrosion properties, and good mechanical stability at high temperatures. The present work simulates the contact between the calandria tube and the liquid injection shutdown system (LISS) nozzle. The Calandria tube is the outer covering of the pressure tube. Water flows inside the pressure tube through fuel claddings which produces vibration in the pressure tube along with vibration in the calandria tube. Fretting wear takes place at the point of contact between the calandria tube and the LISS nozzle. Fretting tests were performed under different conditions, such as; varying fretting duration (i.e., 1 to 4 hours), varying frequency (i.e., 5 to 6.5 Hz), and varying amplitude (100 to 400 µm). The formation of the oxide layer was observed during the fretting wear test; as a result, the worn product. The worn surfaces were analyzed with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to analyze the wear mechanism involved in the fretting test, and Energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and Raman spectroscopy were used to confirm the presence of an oxide layer on the worn surface. The oxide layer becomes more uniform with fretting duration in case of water submerged condition as compared to dry contact condition. The oxide layer is deeply removed at high amplitude due to the change of wear mechanism from adhesion to abrasion, as confirmed by the presence of micro ploughing and micro cutting. Low amplitude fretting favors the formation of the tribo-oxide layer.

Keywords: tribo-oxide layer, wear, mechanically mixed layer, zircaloy

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Authors: Abdul Azarrudin M. A., Pothiraj K., Kandasamy Satish

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In the current automobile scenario, there comes a demand on more sophistication and comfort drive feel on passenger segments. The clutch pedal effort is one such customer touch feels in manual transmission vehicles, where the driver continuous to operate the clutch pedal in his entire the driving maneuvers. Hence optimum pedal efforts at green condition and over mileage to be ensured for fatigue free the driving. As friction is one the predominant factor and its tendency to challenge the technicality by causing the function degradation. One such semi-hydraulic systems shows load efficiency of about 70-75% over lifetime only due to the increase in friction which leads to the increase in pedal effort and cause fatigue to the vehicle driver. This work deals with the study of friction with different interfaces and its influence in the fulcrum points over mileage, with the objective of understanding the trend over mileage and determining the alternative ways of resolving it. In that one way of methodology is the reduction of friction by experimental investigation of various friction reduction interfaces like metal-to-metal interface and it has been tried out and is detailed further. Also, the specific attention has been put up considering the fulcrum load and its contact interfaces to move on with this study. The main results of the experimental data with the influence of three different contact interfaces are being presented with an ultimate intention of ending up into less fatigue with longer consistent pedal effort, thus smoothens the operation of the end user. The Experimental validation also has been done through rig-level test setup to depict the performance at static condition and in-parallel vehicle level test has also been performed to record the additional influences if any.

Keywords: automobile, clutch, friction, fork

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Authors: John Carlo Combista, Jimbert Tan

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The orchid, Vanda tessellata was chosen by the researchers because of the presence of the constituents in the family Orchidaceae such as alkaloids, flavonoids and glycosides that might give an inhibition activity of the carbonic anhydrase enzyme. This study aimed to determine the in vitro inhibition of carbonic anhydrase of Vanda tessellata flower extract. With the use of modified colorimetric Maren T.H. (1960) method, the time in seconds each test solution changed its color after the rate of CO2 hydration were recorded. Two solvents were used: the semi-polar, 95% ethanol and the non-polar, dichloromethane solvents. The percent inhibition activity of carbonic anhydrase of the different concentrations of solvents ethanol (1%, 25% and 50%) and dichloromethane (1% and 10%) test solutions were determined. Results showed that the ethanol-based extract of Vanda tessellata in different concentrations showed an inhibitory effect while the dichloromethane-based extract of Vanda tessellata showed no inhibitory effect of carbonic anhydrase activity. For ethanol extract, the concentration with the highest activity was 50% followed by 25% which changed its color from red to yellow with an average time of 13.11 seconds and 11.57 seconds but 1% with an average time of 7.56 seconds did not exhibit an effect. The researchers recommend the isolation of the specific active constituents of Vanda tessellata that is responsible for the inhibitory effect of carbonic anhydrase enzyme. It is also recommended to utilize different blood types to observe different reactions to the inhibition of the carbonic anhydrase.

Keywords: carbonic anhydrase, inhibition, modified colorimetric Maren TH method, Vanda orchid

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Authors: P. Cavlan, B. Kırmızıgil

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Introduction: Each exercise in suspension exercises offer the use of gravity and body weight; and is thought to develop the equilibrium, flexibility and body stability necessary for daily life activities and sports, in addition to creating the correct functional force. Suspension exercises based on body weight focus the human body as an integrated system. Total Resistance Exercises (TRX) suspension training that physiotherapists, athletic health clinics, exercise centers of hospitals and chiropractic clinics now use for rehabilitation purposes. The purpose of this study is to investigate and compare the effects of TRX suspension exercises on physical performance in healthy individuals. Method: Healthy subjects divided into two groups; the study group and the control group with 40 individuals for each, between ages 20 to 45 with similar gender distributions. Study group had 2 sessions of suspension exercises per week for 8 weeks and control group had no exercises during this period. All the participants were given explosive strength, flexibility, strength and endurance tests before and after the 8 week period. The tests used for evaluation were respectively; standing long jump test and single leg (left and right) long jump tests, sit and reach test, sit up and back extension tests. Results: In the study group a statistically significant difference was found between prior- and final-tests in all evaluations, including explosive strength, flexibility, core strength and endurance of the group performing TRX exercises. These values were higher than the control groups’ values. The final test results were found to be statistically different between the study and control groups. Study group showed development in all values. Conclusions: In this study, which was conducted with the aim of investigating and comparing the effects of TRX suspension exercises on physical performance, the results of the prior-tests of both groups were similar. There was no significant difference between the prior and the final values in the control group. It was observed that in the study group, explosive strength, flexibility, strength, and endurance development was achieved after 8 weeks. According to these results, it was shown that TRX suspension exercise program improved explosive strength, flexibility, especially core strength and endurance; therefore the physical performance. Based on the results of our study, it was determined that the physical performance, an indispensable requirement of our life, was developed by the TRX suspension system. We concluded that TRX suspension exercises can be used to improve the explosive strength and flexibility in healthy individuals, as well as developing the muscle strength and endurance of the core region. The specific investigations could be done in this area so that programs that emphasize the TRX's physical performance features could be created.

Keywords: core strength, endurance, explosive strength, flexibility, physical performance, suspension exercises

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Authors: Chang Liang, Weizhi Gong, Yan Zhang

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Purpose: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a malignant tumor with a high mortality rate and poor prognosis worldwide. Murine double minute 2 (MDM2) regulates the tumor suppressor p53, increasing cancer risk and accelerating tumor progression. Speckle-type POX virus and zinc finger protein (SPOP), a key of subunit of Cullin-Ring E3 ligase, inhibits tumor genesis and progression by the ubiquitination of its downstream substrates. This study aimed to clarify whether SPOP and MDM2 are mutually regulated in HCC and the correlation between SPOP and MDM2 and the prognosis of HCC patients. Methods: First, the expression of SPOP and MDM2 in HCC tissues were detected by TCGA database. Then, 53 paired samples of HCC tumor and adjacent tissues were collected to evaluate the expression of SPOP and MDM2 using immunohistochemistry. Chi-square test or Fisher’s exact test were used to analyze the relationship between clinicopathological features and the expression levels of SPOP and MDM2. In addition, Kaplan‒Meier curve analysis and log-rank test were used to investigate the effects of SPOP and MDM2 on the survival of HCC patients. Last, the Multivariate Cox proportional risk regression model analyzed whether the different expression levels of SPOP and MDM2 were independent risk factors for the prognosis of HCC patients. Results: Bioinformatics analysis revealed the low expression of SPOP and high expression of MDM2 were related to worse prognosis of HCC patients. The relationship between the expression of SPOP and MDM2 and tumor stem-like features showed an opposite trend. The immunohistochemistry showed the expression of SPOP protein was significantly downregulated while MDM2 protein significantly upregulated in HCC tissue compared to that in para-cancerous tissue. Tumors with low SPOP expression were related to worse T stage and Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) stage, but tumors with high MDM2 expression were related to worse T stage, M stage, and BCLC stage. Kaplan–Meier curves showed HCC patients with high SPOP expression and low MDM2 expression had better survival than those with low SPOP expression and high MDM2 expression (P < 0.05). A multivariate Cox proportional risk regression model confirmed that a high MDM2 expression level was an independent risk factor for poor prognosis in HCC patients (P <0.05). Conclusion: The expression of SPOP protein was significantly downregulated, while the expression of MDM2 significantly upregulated in HCC. The low expression of SPOP and high expression. of MDM2 were associated with malignant progression and poor prognosis of HCC patients, indicating a potential therapeutic target for HCC patients.

Keywords: hepatocellular carcinoma, murine double minute 2, speckle-type POX virus and zinc finger protein, ubiquitination

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Authors: Sangeeta Pilkhwal Sah, C. S. Mathela, Kanwaljit Chopra

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Valeriana wallichii DC, an ayurvedic traditional medicine, popularly named as Indian valerian exist as three chemotypes. GC-MS analysis of V. wallichii essential oil in present study showed maaliol as the major constituent followed by the presence of β-gurjunene, acoradiene, guaiol and α-santalene. The results thus confirmed it to be a maaliol chemotype. Further, the antidepressant-like effect of root essential oil (10, 20 and 40 mg/kg p.o.) was investigated in both acute and chronic treatment study using forced swim test in mice. Single administration of different doses produced an inverted U shaped curve and significantly inhibited the immobility period (39.7% and 58%) at doses 10 and 40 mg/kg respectively. Standard drug imipramine significantly decreased immobility period (59.8%). None of the doses altered locomotor activity except a significant decrease of 44.9% was observed with 40 mg/kg (p < 0.05). Similarly, daily administration of essential oil for 14 days produced a dose dependent effect with significantly reduced immobility period (70.9%) at 40 mg/kg dose only whereas imipramine produced 86% decrease (p < 0.05). The neurotransmitter levels in mouse brain were estimated on day 14 after the behavioral study. Significant increase in the level of norepinephrine (10%) and dopamine (23%) (p < 0.05) was found at 40 mg/kg dose, while no change was observed at 10 and 20 mg/kg doses. The antidepressant-like effect of essential oil (40 mg/kg) was prevented by pretreatment of mice with L-arginine (750 mg/kg i.p.) and sildenafil (5 mg/kg i.p). On the contrary, pretreatment of mice with L-NAME (10 mg/kg i.p.) or methylene blue (10 mg/kg i.p.) potentiated the antidepressant action of essential oil (20 mg/kg). The findings thus demonstrated that nitric oxide pathway is involved in mediating antidepressant like effect of essential oil from this chemotype.

Keywords: Valeriana wallichii DC chemotype, essential oil, forced swim test, nitric oxide modulators, neurotransmitters

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Authors: Nnadi Ezekiel Ejiofor

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The construction industry plays a decisive role in the healthy development of any nation. Not only large but even small construction projects contribute to a country’s economic growth. There is a need for good management to ensure successful delivery and sustainability because of the plethora of risks that have resulted in low-profit margins for contractors, cost and schedule overruns, poor quality delivery, and abandoned projects. This research reviewed Capitalization on Sustainable Risk Management. Questionnaires and oral interviews conducted were utilized as means of data collection. One hundred and ninety-eight (198) large construction firms in Nigeria form the population of this study. 15 (fifteen) companies that emanated from merger and acquisition were used for the study. The instruments used for data collection were a researcher-developed structured questionnaire based on a five-point rating scale, interviews, focus group discussion, and secondary sources (bill of quantities and stock and exchange commission). The instrument was validated by two experts in the field. The reliability of the instrument was established by applying the split-half method. Kendall’s coefficient of concordance was used to test the data, and a degree of agreement was obtained. Data were subjected to descriptive statistics and analyzed using analysis of variance, t-test, and SPSS. The identified impacts of capitalization were an increase in turnover (24.5%), improvement in the image (24.5%), risk reduction (20%), business expansion (17.3%), and geographical spread (13.6%). The study strongly advocates the inclusion of risk management evaluation as part of the construction procurement process.

Keywords: capitalization, project delivery, risks, risk management, sustainability

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Authors: Sudhir Kumar Singh, Debashish Chakravarty

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Slope stability analysis is an important aspect in the field of geotechnical engineering. It is also important from safety, and economic point of view as any slope failure leads to loss of valuable lives and damage to property worth millions. This paper aims at mitigating the risk of slope failure by studying the effect of different joint sets on the stability of mine pit slopes under the influence of various external factors, namely degree of saturation, rainfall intensity, and seismic coefficients. Supervised machine learning approach has been utilized for making accurate and reliable predictions regarding the stability of slopes based on the value of Factor of Safety. Numerous cases have been studied for analyzing the stability of slopes using the popular Finite Element Method, and the data thus obtained has been used as training data for the supervised machine learning models. The input data has been trained on different supervised machine learning models, namely Random Forest, Decision Tree, Support vector Machine, and XGBoost. Distinct test data that is not present in training data has been used for measuring the performance and accuracy of different models. Although all models have performed well on the test dataset but Random Forest stands out from others due to its high accuracy of greater than 95%, thus helping us by providing a valuable tool at our disposition which is neither computationally expensive nor time consuming and in good accordance with the numerical analysis result.

Keywords: finite element method, geotechnical engineering, machine learning, slope stability

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Authors: Pranav Ajmera, Amit Kharat, Tanveer Gupte, Richa Pant, Viraj Kulkarni, Vinay Duddalwar, Purnachandra Lamghare

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The cardiothoracic ratio (CTR) is the ratio of the diameter of the heart to the diameter of the thorax. An abnormal CTR, that is, a value greater than 0.55, is often an indicator of an underlying pathological condition. The accurate prediction of an abnormal CTR from chest X-rays (CXRs) aids in the early diagnosis of clinical conditions. We propose a deep learning-based model for automatic CTR calculation that can assist the radiologist with the diagnosis of cardiomegaly and optimize the radiology flow. The study population included 1012 posteroanterior (PA) CXRs from a single institution. The Attention U-Net deep learning (DL) architecture was used for the automatic calculation of CTR. A CTR of 0.55 was used as a cut-off to categorize the condition as cardiomegaly present or absent. An observer performance test was conducted to assess the radiologist's performance in diagnosing cardiomegaly with and without artificial intelligence (AI) assistance. The Attention U-Net model was highly specific in calculating the CTR. The model exhibited a sensitivity of 0.80 [95% CI: 0.75, 0.85], precision of 0.99 [95% CI: 0.98, 1], and a F1 score of 0.88 [95% CI: 0.85, 0.91]. During the analysis, we observed that 51 out of 1012 samples were misclassified by the model when compared to annotations made by the expert radiologist. We further observed that the sensitivity of the reviewing radiologist in identifying cardiomegaly increased from 40.50% to 88.4% when aided by the AI-generated CTR. Our segmentation-based AI model demonstrated high specificity and sensitivity for CTR calculation. The performance of the radiologist on the observer performance test improved significantly with AI assistance. A DL-based segmentation model for rapid quantification of CTR can therefore have significant potential to be used in clinical workflows.

Keywords: cardiomegaly, deep learning, chest radiograph, artificial intelligence, cardiothoracic ratio

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Authors: Ejeh Benjamin Ijuo

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The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of social, economic, political, and legal environment of sport organizations on sport development in zone ten (10) national zonal sport offices in Nigeria (Plateau, Nasarawa, Benue and F.C.T Abuja). To achieve this purpose, a structured 26 item questionnaire (ISEPLESOQ) designed by the researcher was used for this study. Related literature to this study was reviewed. 311 copies of questionnaire were administered to randomly selected respondents. Out of this number, 306 was dully completed and returned representing 98.4%. The respondents included: Athletes, games masters/ mistresses, coaches in state sport councils, zonal sport coordinators, team managers, directors of state sports council. Four research questions were answered using the mean and standard deviation, while the inferential statistics of chi-square(x2) test of goodness of fit was used to test the four hypotheses at 0.05 alpha levels. The findings of this study revealed that the social, economic, political and legal environment of sport organizations significantly influenced sport development in zone ten (10) national zonal sport offices in Nigeria. It was also established that the general environment of sport organizations influences people’s participation in sport, funding and sponsorship of sports, sitting of equipment and facilities at different locations, selection of athletes. It was therefore, recommended among other things that government should privatize and commercialized sport programmes to enable corporate organizations and individuals participation. Lt was further suggested that the federal government should harness her social, economic, political and legal environment to improve sport development in Nigeria.

Keywords: sport organization, sport development, sport environment, zonal sport offices

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Authors: Zahra khaksari, Mahboobeh Mehrabi

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One of the biggest health problems in communities, suicide is now one of the top ten causes of death in the world. This study aimed to investigate the risk factors of suicide attempt in Minab city over two years. This was a descriptive and cross-sectional study. Subjects of this study were cases who admitted in Hazrat Abolfazl hospital of minab city over two years Since the beginning of 1389 to end of 1390. During this period,their cases were reviewed. To analyze data, descriptive statistics was applied. During this two-year period, 275 patients who had attempted suicide, of which 65 percent are female and most of them were 15-24 years. 60% of them were single and 70 % of rural areas. 51% of suicides in 1390 and most of the suicide attempts occurred at a rate of 37 percent in summer. and the most common way of attempting suicide was medication poisoning (74%). The suicide rate leading to death was 1.5% The chi-square test showes that there were significant relationship between suicide by gender and residence status. This means that more women are committing suicide of rural areas.based on The chi-square test there were significant relation between the gender and method, gender and the result of suicide and means that more women than men commit suicide with the use of drugs. Males were more successful suicide. who had attempted with organophosphates and hanging were more successful in suicide. The finding of the current study showed that most of the suicide victims were female ,rural deweller,14-24 years old,single, serious attention must be paid to the problems of this group. It also extends the field of education professionals and health centers, and psychological therapy that focuses specifically on this topic.

Keywords: attempt to suicide, minab, risk factors, suicide

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