Search results for: spatial variation of parameterization schemes over Uganda

Authors: Sarah Iaquinta, Christophe Blanquart, Elena Ishow, Sylvain Freour, Frederic Jacquemin, Shahram Khazaie

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Nanoparticles have recently emerged as a possible cancer treatment tool. Several formulations have been used to enhance the uptake of these nanoparticles by cancer cells and avoid their immediate clearance when administrated in vivo. Most of the previous studies focus on the investigation of the influence of the mechanical properties of the cell membrane and the particle. However, these studies do not account for the variation of adhesion and tension during the wrapping of the nanoparticle by the membrane. These couplings should be considered since the cell adapts to the interaction with the nanoparticle by, e.g., increasing the number of interactions (consequently leading to an increase of the cell membrane/nanoparticle adhesion) and by reorganizing its cytoskeleton, leading to the releasing of the tension of the cell membrane. The main contribution of this work is the proposal of a novel model for representing the cellular uptake of rigid circular nanoparticles based on an energetic model tailored to take into account the adaptation of the nanoparticle/cell membrane adhesion and of the membrane stress during wrapping. Several coupling models using sigmoidal functions are considered and compared. The study calculations revealed that the results considering constant parameters underestimated the final wrapping degree of the particle by up to 50%.

Keywords: adhesion, cellular adaptation, cellular uptake, mechanical properties, tension

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Authors: Anasuya Ghosh, Subhramoy Chaudhury

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During routine cadaveric dissection at gross anatomy lab of our institution, a radial artery was found with unusual origin and superficial course. Normally the radial artery takes its origin as one of the terminal branches of brachial artery at the level of the neck of radius. It usually lies along the lateral border of fore arm deep to the brachioradialis muscle. While dissecting a 72-year-old Caucasian female cadaver, it was found that the right sided radial artery originated from the upper part of brachial artery of arm, 2 cm below the lower border of teres major muscle, from the lateral aspect of brachial artery. Then the radial artery superficially crossed the brachial artery and median nerve from lateral to medial direction and rested superficially at the cubital fossa. Embryologically, it can be explained as a failure of disappearance, or abnormal persistence of some insignificant embryonic vessels may give rise to this kind of vascular anomalies. As radial artery is one of the most important upper limb arteries, its variation and related complications are clinically significant. This unusual origin and course of radial artery should be kept in mind by all healthcare providers including surgeons and radiologists during routine venipuncture, orthopedic and plastic surgeries of arm, coronary angiographic procedures in radial approach etc. to prevent unwanted complications.

Keywords: brachial artery anomalies, brachio-radial artery, high origin radial artery, superficial radial artery

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Authors: Alev Atak

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In this paper, we aim to create a financial sentiment index by investigating the company’s voluntary information disclosures. We retrieve structured content from BIST 100 companies’ financial reports for the period 1998-2018 and extract relevant financial information for sentiment analysis through Natural Language Processing. We measure strategy-related disclosures and their cross-sectional variation and classify report content into generic sections using synonym lists divided into four main categories according to their liquidity risk profile, risk positions, intra-annual information, and exposure to risk. We use Word Error Rate and Cosin Similarity for comparing and measuring text similarity and derivation in sets of texts. In addition to performing text extraction, we will provide a range of text analysis options, such as the readability metrics, word counts using pre-determined lists (e.g., forward-looking, uncertainty, tone, etc.), and comparison with reference corpus (word, parts of speech and semantic level). Therefore, we create an adequate analytical tool and a financial dictionary to depict the importance of granular financial disclosure for investors to identify correctly the risk-taking behavior and hence make the aggregated effects traceable.

Keywords: financial sentiment, machine learning, information disclosure, risk

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Authors: Nazneen, Aditya Kumar Patra

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The aim of this study was to investigate the personal exposures of toll plaza workers on a busy national highway in India during the winter season to PM₂.₅, PM₁₀, BC (black carbon), and UFP (ultrafine particles). The results showed that toll workers inside the toll collection booths (ITC) were exposed to higher concentrations of air pollutants than those working outside the booths (OTC), except for UFP. Specifically, the concentrations of PM₂.₅ were 20₄.₇ µg m⁻³ (ITC) and 100.4 µg m⁻³ (OTC), while PM₁₀ concentrations were 326.1 µg m⁻³ (ITC) and 24₄.₇ µg m⁻³ (OTC), and BC concentrations were 30.7 µg m⁻³ (ITC) and 17.2 µg m⁻³ (OTC). In contrast, UFP concentrations were higher at OTC (11312.8 pt cm⁻³) than at IOC (7431.6 pt cm⁻³). The diurnal variation of pollutants showed higher concentrations in the evening due to increased traffic and less atmospheric dispersion. The respiratory deposition dose (RDD) of pollutants was higher inside the toll booths, especially during the evening. The study also revealed that PM particles consisted of soot, mineral and fly ash, which are proxies of fresh exhaust emissions, re-suspended road dust, and industrial emissions, respectively. The presence of Si, Al, Ca and Pb, as confirmed by EDX (Energy Dispersive X-ray analysis) analyses, indicated the sources of pollutants to be re-suspended road dust, brake/tire wear, and construction dust. The findings emphasize the need for policies to regulate air pollutant concentrations, particularly in workplaces situated near busy roads.

Keywords: air pollution, PM₂.₅, black carbon, traffic emissions

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Authors: A. Rattanapittayapron, O. Vanijajiva

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Canna indica is a prominent species complex in tropical and subtropical areas. They become indigenous in Southeast Asia where they have been introduced. At present, C. indica complex comprises over hundred hybrids, are cultivated as commercial horticulture. The species complex contains starchy rhizome having economic value in terms of food and herbal medicine. In addition, bright color of the flowers makes it a valuable ornamental plant and potential source for natural colorant. This study aims to assess genetic diversity of four varieties of C. indica complex based on SRAP (sequence-related amplified polymorphism) and iPBS (inter primer binding site) markers. We also examined phytochemical characteristics and antioxidant properties of the flower extracts from four different color varieties. Results showed that despite of the genetic variation, there were no significant differences in phytochemical characteristics and antioxidant properties of flowers. The SRAP and iPBS results agree with the more primitive traits showed by morphological information and phytochemical and antioxidant characteristics from the flowers. Since Canna flowers has long been used as natural colorants together with the antioxidant activities from the ethanol extracts in this study, there are likely to be good source for cosmetics additives.

Keywords: Canna indica, antioxidant activity, genetic diversity, SRAP, iPBS

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Authors: Srinivasan Chandrasekaran, R. Nagavinothini

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Offshore platforms for ultra-deep waters are form-dominant by design; hybrid systems with large flexibility in horizontal plane and high rigidity in vertical plane are preferred due to functional complexities. Offshore triceratops is relatively a new-generation offshore platform, whose deck is partially isolated from the supporting buoyant legs by ball joints. They allow transfer of partial displacements of buoyant legs to the deck but restrain transfer of rotational response. Buoyant legs are in turn taut-moored to the sea bed using pre-tension tethers. Present study will discuss detailed dynamic analysis and preliminary design of the chosen geometric, which is necessary as a proof of validation for such design applications. A detailed numeric analysis of triceratops at 2400 m water depth under random waves is presented. Preliminary design confirms member-level design requirements under various modes of failure. Tether configuration, proposed in the study confirms no pull-out of tethers as stress variation is comparatively lesser than the yield value. Presented study shall aid offshore engineers and contractors to understand suitability of triceratops, in terms of design and dynamic response behaviour.

Keywords: offshore structures, triceratops, random waves, buoyant legs, preliminary design, dynamic analysis

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Authors: Yaser Al-Anii, Abdulmajeed Almaneea, Jonathan L. Summers, Harvey M. Thompson, Nikil Kapur

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The natural convection cooling system of a fully immersed server in a dielectric liquid is studied numerically. In the present case study, the dielectric liquid represents working fluid and it is in contact with server inside capsule. The capsule includes electronic component and fluid which can be modeled as saturated porous media. This medium follow Darcy flow regime and assumed to be in balance between its components. The study focus is on role of spatial parameters on thermal behavior of convective heat transfer. Based on server known unit, which is 1U, two parameters Ly and S are changed to test their effect. Meanwhile, wide-range of modified Rayleigh number, which is 0.5 to 300, are covered to better understand thermal performance. Navier-Stokes equations are used to model physical domain. Furthermore, successive over-relaxation and time marching techniques are used to solve momentum and energy equation. From obtained correlation, the in-between distance S is more effective on Nusselt number than distance to edge Ly by approximately 14%. In addition, as S increases, the average Nusselt number of the upper unit increases sharply, whereas the lower one keeps on the same level.

Keywords: convective cooling of server, Darcy flow, liquid-immersed server, porous media

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Authors: Dilson Subedi

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Current transformers are an integral part of power system because it provides a proportional safe amount of current for protection and measurement applications. However, due to upgradation of electromechanical relays to numerical relays and electromechanical energy meters to digital meters, the connected burden, which defines some of the CT characteristics, has drastically reduced. This has led to the system experiencing high currents damaging the connected relays and meters. Since the protection and metering equipment's are designed to withstand only certain amount of current with respect to time, these high currents pose a risk to man and equipment. Therefore, during such instances, the CT saturation characteristics have a huge influence on the safety of both man and equipment and on the reliability of the protection and metering system. This paper shows the effectiveness of a bank of parallel connected resistors, as a burden compensation technique, in compensating the burden of under-burdened CT’s. The response of the CT in the case of failure of one or more resistors at different levels of overcurrent will be captured using the LabVIEWTM data acquisition hardware (DAQ). The analysis is done on the real-time data gathered using LabVIEWTM. Variation of current transformer saturation characteristics with changes in burden will be discussed.

Keywords: accuracy limiting factor, burden, burden compensation, current transformer

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Authors: Tanzeel Ur Rehman Khan, Franz Josef Behr, Phillip Davis

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Open source geospatial certifications are needed in geospatial technology education and industry sector. In parallel with proprietary software, free and open source software solutions become important in geospatial technology research and play an important role for the growth of the geospatial industry. ESRI, GISCI (GIS Certification Institute), ASPRS (American Society of Photogrammetry and remote sensing), and Meta spatial are offering certifications on proprietary and open source software. These are portfolio and competency based certifications depending on GIS Body of Knowledge (Bok). The analysis of these certification approaches might lead to the discovery of some gaps in them and will open a new way to develop certifications related to the geospatial open source (OS). This new certification will investigate the different geospatial competencies according to open source tools that help to identify geospatial professionals and strengthen the geospatial academic content. The goal of this research is to introduce a geospatial certification model based on geospatial technology competency model (GTCM).The developed certification will not only incorporate the importance of geospatial education and production of the geospatial competency-based workforce in universities and companies (private or public) as well as describe open source solutions with tools and technology. Job analysis, market analysis, survey analysis of this certification opens a new horizon for business as well.

Keywords: geospatial certification, open source, geospatial technology competency model, geoscience

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Authors: Fateme Afkhami, Mohsen Ehsanpour, Majid Afkhami, Maryam Ehsanpour

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Normal reference ranges of biochemical parameters are considered important for assessing and monitoring the health status of sea turtles. For this means, serum biochemistry determinations were analyzed in normal adult nesting and foraging hawksbill turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata). Blood samples were collected in March–April during nesting season and December-November in the foraging season. Plasma biochemistry values, except for creatinine and lipase were significant between the two periods. FBS, cholesterol, triglycerides, ALP (alkaline phosphatase), AST (aspartate aminotransferase), bilirubin, total protein, LDH (lactate dehydrogenase), CK (creatine kinase) and amylase were significantly higher in nesting season than foraging season (P<0.05). On the other hand urea, ALT (alanine aminotransferase) and albumin in the nesting season were significantly lower than foraging season (P<0.05). It was concluded that the nesting E. imbricata showed significant variation in their biochemical profile due to reproductive output. This study has produced working reference intervals useful for hawksbill turtles for future conservation and rehabilitation projects in the Persian Gulf and may be of assistance in similar programs worldwide.

Keywords: plasma biochemistry, nesting, foraging, hawksbill turtles, Persian Gulf

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Authors: Swati Sharma, R. P. Sharma

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We intend to study the nonlinear evolution of the parallel propagating finite frequency Alfvén wave (also called Dispersive Alfvén wave/Hall MHD wave) propagating in the solar wind regime of the solar region when a perpendicularly propagating magnetosonic wave is present in the background. The finite frequency Alfvén wave behaves differently from the usual non-dispersive behavior of the Alfvén wave. To study the nonlinear processes (such as filamentation) taking place in the solar regions such as solar wind, the dynamical equation of both the waves are derived. Numerical simulation involving finite difference method for the time domain and pseudo spectral method for the spatial domain is then performed to analyze the transient evolution of these waves. The power spectra of the Dispersive Alfvén wave is also investigated. The power spectra shows the distribution of the magnetic field intensity of the Dispersive Alfvén wave over different wave numbers. For DAW the spectra shows a steepening for scales larger than the proton inertial length. This means that the wave energy gets transferred to the solar wind particles as the wave reaches higher wave numbers. This steepening of the power spectra can be explained on account of the finite frequency of the Alfvén wave. The obtained results are consistent with the observations made by CLUSTER spacecraft.

Keywords: solar wind, turbulence, dispersive alfven wave

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Authors: Ahmad Sharif Ahmadi, Yoshitaka Kajita

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With massive population expansion and fast economic development in last decade, urban land has increasingly expanded and formed high informal development territory in Kabul city. This paper investigates integrated urbanization trends in Kabul city since the formation of the basic structure of the present city using GIS and remote sensing. This study explores the spatial and temporal difference of urban land expansion and land use categories among different time intervals, 1964-1978 and 1978-2008 from 1964 to 2008 in Kabul city. Furthermore, the goal of this paper is to understand the extent of urban land expansion and the factors driving urban land expansion in Kabul city. Many factors like population expansion, the return of refugees from neighboring countries and significant economic growth of the city affected urban land expansion. Across all the study area urban land expansion rate, population expansion rate and economic growth rate have been compared to analyze the relationship of driving forces with urban land expansion. Based on urban land change data detected by interpreting land use maps, it was found that in the entire study area the urban territory has been expanded by 14 times between 1964 and 2008.

Keywords: GIS, Kabul city, land use, urban land expansion, urbanization

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Authors: Bin Wang, Yong Xu, Honggang Qu, Rongmei Liu, Zhenji Gao

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Based on the geodynamic environment, basic geological characteristics of minerals and so on, gold deposits in China are divided into 11 categories, of which tectonic fracture altered rock, mid-intrudes and contact zone, micro-fine disseminated and continental volcanic types are the main prospecting kinds. The metallogenic age of gold deposits in China is dominated by the Mesozoic and Cenozoic. According to the geotectonic units, geological evolution, geological conditions, spatial distribution, gold deposits types, metallogenic factors etc., 42 gold concentration areas are initially determined and have a concentrated distribution feature. On the basis of the gold exploration density, gold concentration areas are divided into high, medium and low level areas. High ones are mainly distributed in the central and eastern regions. 93.04% of the gold exploration drillings are within 500 meters, but there are some problems, such as less and shallower of drilling verification etc.. The paper discusses the resource potentials of gold deposits and proposes the future prospecting directions and suggestions. The deep and periphery of old mines in the central and eastern regions and western area, especially in Xinjiang and Qinghai, will be the future key prospecting one and have huge potential gold reserves. If the exploration depth is extended to 2,000 meters shallow, the gold resources will double.

Keywords: gold deposits, gold deposits types, gold concentration areas, prospecting, resource potentiality

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Authors: Gheida J. Shahrour, Martin J. Russell

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The 3D body movement signals captured during human-human conversation include clues not only to the content of people’s communication but also to their culture and personality. This paper is concerned with automatic extraction of this information from body movement signals. For the purpose of this research, we collected a novel corpus from 27 subjects, arranged them into groups according to their culture. We arranged each group into pairs and each pair communicated with each other about different topics. A state-of-art recognition system is applied to the problems of person, culture, and topic recognition. We borrowed modeling, classification, and normalization techniques from speech recognition. We used Gaussian Mixture Modeling (GMM) as the main technique for building our three systems, obtaining 77.78%, 55.47%, and 39.06% from the person, culture, and topic recognition systems respectively. In addition, we combined the above GMM systems with Support Vector Machines (SVM) to obtain 85.42%, 62.50%, and 40.63% accuracy for person, culture, and topic recognition respectively. Although direct comparison among these three recognition systems is difficult, it seems that our person recognition system performs best for both GMM and GMM-SVM, suggesting that inter-subject differences (i.e. subject’s personality traits) are a major source of variation. When removing these traits from culture and topic recognition systems using the Nuisance Attribute Projection (NAP) and the Intersession Variability Compensation (ISVC) techniques, we obtained 73.44% and 46.09% accuracy from culture and topic recognition systems respectively.

Keywords: person recognition, topic recognition, culture recognition, 3D body movement signals, variability compensation

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Authors: Manoj M. Sarode, Sharad P. Jadhav, Mukesh D. Patil, Pushparaj S. Suryawanshi

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Even though the PID controller is widely used in industrial process, tuning of PID parameters are not easy. It is a time consuming and requires expert people. Another drawback of PID controller is that process dynamics might change over time. This can happen due to variation of the process load, normal wear and tear etc. To compensate for process behavior change over time, expert users are required to recalibrate the PID gains. Implementation of model based controllers usually needs a process model. Identification of process model is time consuming job and no guaranty of model accuracy. If the identified model is not accurate, performance of the controller may degrade. Model based controllers are quite expensive and the whole procedure for the implementation is sometimes tedious. To eliminate such issues Autotuning PID controller becomes vital element. Software based Relay Feedback Autotuning Controller proves to be efficient, upgradable and maintenance free controller. In Relay Feedback Autotune controller PID parameters can be achieved with a very short span of time. This paper presents the real time implementation of LabVIEW based Relay Feedback Autotuning PID controller. It is successfully developed and implemented to control level of a laboratory setup. Its performance is analyzed for different setpoints and found satisfactorily.

Keywords: autotuning, PID, liquid level control, recalibrate, labview, controller

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Authors: Sumit Kumar Vishawakarma, Tapas Ranjan Panihari

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The article investigates the propagation behavior of SV-wave, SH-wave, and P-wave in a continuously inhomogeneous cross-anisotropic material, where the material properties such as Young's moduli, shear modulus, and density vary as an arbitrary continuous function of depth. In the considered model, Hook's law, strain-displacement relations along with equilibrium equations have been used to derive the governing equation. The mathematical formulation of this physical problem gives rise to an eigenvalue problem with displacement components as fundamental variables. This leads to achieving the closed-form expressions for quasi-wave velocities of SV-wave, SH-wave, and P-wave in the considered framework. These characteristics of wave propagation along with the above-stated variation have been scrutinized based on their numerical results. This parametric study reveals that wave velocity remarkably fluctuates as the magnitude of inhomogeneity parameters increases and decreases. The prominent effect has been shown depicting the dependence of wave velocity on the degree of material anisotropy. The influence of phase angle and depth of the medium has been remarkably established. The present study may facilitate the theoretical foundation and practical application in the field of earthquake source mechanisms.

Keywords: cross-anisotropic, inhomogeneity, P-wave, SH-wave, SV-wave, shear modulus, Young’s modulus

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Authors: B. S. Fatoyinbo, D. Stretch, O. T. Amoo, D. Allopi

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This study extends the use of the Drainage Area Regionalization (DAR) method in generating synthetic data and calibrating PyTOPKAPI stream yield for an ungauged basin at a daily time scale. The generation of runoff in determining a river yield has been subjected to various topographic and spatial meteorological variables, which integers form the Catchment Characteristics Model (CCM). Many of the conventional CCM models adapted in Africa have been challenged with a paucity of adequate, relevance and accurate data to parameterize and validate the potential. The purpose of generating synthetic flow is to test a hydrological model, which will not suffer from the impact of very low flows or very high flows, thus allowing to check whether the model is structurally sound enough or not. The employed physically-based, watershed-scale hydrologic model (PyTOPKAPI) was parameterized with GIS-pre-processing parameters and remote sensing hydro-meteorological variables. The validation with mean annual runoff ratio proposes a decent graphical understanding between observed and the simulated discharge. The Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency and coefficient of determination (R²) values of 0.704 and 0.739 proves strong model efficiency. Given the current climate variability impact, water planner can now assert a tool for flow quantification and sustainable planning purposes.

Keywords: catchment characteristics model, GIS, synthetic data, ungauged basin

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Authors: Shivam Yadav, Neelam Atri

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Cyanobacteria, the photosynthetic prokaryotes are indispensable components of paddy soil contribute substantially to the nitrogen economy however often appended with metal load. They are well known to play crucial roles in maintenance of soil fertility and rice productivity. Nickel is one such metal that plays a vital role in the cellular physiology, however at higher concentrations it exerts adverse effects. Arsenic is another toxic metalloid that negatively affects the cyanobacterial proliferation. However species-specific comparative responses under As and Ni is largely unknown. The present study focuses on the comparative effects of nickel (Ni2+) and arsenite (As(III)) on two diazotrophic cyanobacterial species (Anabaena doliolum and Anabaena sp. PCC7120) in terms of antioxidative aspects. Oxidative damage measured in terms of lipid peroxidation and peroxide content was significantly higher after As(III) than Ni treatment as compared to control. Similarly, all the studied enzymatic and non-enzymatic parameters of antioxidative defense system except glutathione reductase (GR) showed greater induction against As(III) than Ni. Moreover, integrating comparative analysis of all studied parameters also demonstrated interspecies variation in terms of stress adaptive strategies reflected through higher sensitivity of Anabaena doliolum over Anabaena PCC7120.

Keywords: antioxidative system, arsenic, cyanobacteria, nickel

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Authors: S. U. Kunya, S. Abdulkadir, M. A. Anas, L. Z. Adam

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Procurement methods is described as systems of contractual arrangements used by the contractor in order to secure the design and construction services based on the stipulated cost and within the required time and quality. Despite that, major projects in the Nigerian construction industry failed because of wrong procurement methods with major consequences leads to cost overrun which needs to find lasting solution. The aim of the study is to evaluate the influence of procurement methods on cost performance of building projects in Gombe State, Nigeria. Study adopts descriptive and explorative design approach. Data were collected through administering of one hundred questionnaire using convenient sampling techniques. Data analyses using percentages, mean value and Anova analysis. Major finding show that more than fifty percent (50%) of procurement methods available are mainly utilized in the study area and the top procurement methods that have high impacts on cost performance as compare with the other methods is project management and direct labour procurement methods. The results of hypothesis’ tests with pvalue 0.12 and 0.07 validated that there was no significant variation in the perception of stakeholders’ on the impacts of procurements methods on cost performance. Therefore, the study concluded that projects management and direct labour are the most appropriate procurement methods that will ensure successful completion of project at stipulated cost in building projects.

Keywords: cost, effects, performance, procurement, projects

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Authors: Sze Wai Veera Fung, Peter W. Ferretto

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Similar to most ethnic groups in China, men of the Dong minority hold the primary position in policymaking, moral authority, social values, and the control of the property. As the spatial embodiment of the patriarchal ideals, the house plays a significant role in producing and reproducing the distinctive gender status within the Dong society. Nevertheless, Dong women do not see their home as a cage of confinement, nor do they see themselves as a victim of oppression. For these women with reference to their productive identity, a house is a dwelling place with manifold meanings, including a proof of identity, an economic instrument, and a public resource operating on the community level. This paper examines the role of the house as a central site for identity construction and maintenance for the southern dialect Dong minority women in Hunan, China. Drawing on recent interviews with the Dong women, this study argues that women as productive individuals have a strong influence on the form of their house and the immediate environment, regardless of the male-dominated social construct of the Dong society. The aim of this study is not to produce a definitive relationship between women, house, and identity. Rather, it seeks to offer an alternative lens into the complexity and diversity of gender dynamics operating in and beyond the boundary of the house in the context of contemporary rural China.

Keywords: conception of home, Dong minority, house, rural China, woman’s identity

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Authors: R. Noorani, K. Peerless, J. Mandrell, A. Lopez, R. Dalberto, M. Alzebaq

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Rapid prototyping (RP) is an additive manufacturing technology used in industry that works by systematically depositing layers of working material to construct larger, computer-modeled parts. A key challenge associated with this technology is that RP parts often feature undesirable levels of surface roughness for certain applications. To combat this phenomenon, an experimental technique called Design of Experiments (DOE) can be employed during the growth procedure to statistically analyze which RP growth parameters are most influential to part surface roughness. Utilizing DOE to identify such factors is important because it is a technique that can be used to optimize a manufacturing process, which saves time, money, and increases product quality. In this study, a four-factor/two level DOE experiment was performed to investigate the effect of temperature, layer thickness, infill percentage, and infill speed on the surface roughness of RP prototypes. Samples were grown using the sixteen different possible growth combinations associated with a four-factor/two level study, and then the surface roughness data was gathered for each set of factors. After applying DOE statistical analysis to these data, it was determined that layer thickness played the most significant role in the prototype surface roughness.

Keywords: rapid prototyping, surface roughness, design of experiments, statistical analysis, factors and levels

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Authors: Gaoyuan Wang, Tian Chen

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China’s emission peak and carbon neutrality strategies lead to the transformation of development patterns and call for new green urban design thinking. This paper begins by revealing the evolution of green urban design thinking during the periods of carbon enlightenment, carbon dependency, and carbon decoupling from the perspective of the energy transition. Combined with the current energy situation, national strengths, and technological trends, the emergence of green urban design towards carbon neutrality becomes inevitable. Based on the preliminary analysis of its connotation, the characteristics of the new type of green urban design are generalized as low-carbon orientation, carbon-related objects, carbon-reduction means, and carbon-control patterns. Its theory is briefly clarified in terms of the human-earth synergism, quality-energy interconnection, and form-flow interpromotion. Then, its mechanism is analyzed combined with the core tasks of carbon neutrality, and the scope of design issues is defined, including carbon flow mapping, carbon source regulation, carbon sink construction, and carbon emission management. Finally, a multi-scale spatial response system is proposed across the region, city, cluster, and neighborhood level. The discussion aims to provide support for the innovation of green urban design theories and methods in the context of peak neutrality.

Keywords: carbon neutrality, green urban design, energy transition, theoretical exploration

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Authors: Tsietsi J. Pilusa, Tumisang G. Seodigeng

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This study evaluates the benefits of advanced waste management practices in unlocking waste-to-energy opportunities within the solid waste industry. The key drivers of sustainable waste management practices, specifically with respect to packaging waste-to-energy technology options are discussed. The success of a waste-to-energy system depends significantly on the appropriateness of available technologies, including those that are well established as well as those that are less so. There are hard and soft interventions to be considered when packaging an integrated waste treatment solution. Technology compatibility with variation in feedstock (waste) quality and quantities remains a key factor. These factors influence the technology reliability in terms of production efficiencies and product consistency, which in turn, drives the supply and demand network. Waste treatment technologies rely on the waste material as feedstock; the feedstock varies in quality and quantities depending on several factors; hence, the technology fails, as a result. It is critical to design an advanced waste treatment technology in an integrated approach to minimize the possibility of technology failure due to unpredictable feedstock quality, quantities, conversion efficiencies, and inconsistent product yield or quality. An integrated waste-to-energy approach offers a secure system design that considers sustainable waste management practices.

Keywords: emerging markets, evaluation tool, interventions, waste treatment technologies

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Authors: Manana Kvetenadze, Dali Nikolaishvili

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The study revealed the territorial changes of Georgia before the Soviet and Post-Soviet periods. This includes the estimation of the country's borders, its administrative-territorial arrangement change as well as the establishment of territorial losses. Georgia’s old and new borders marked on the map are of great interest. The new boundary shows the condition of 1922 year, following the Soviet period. Neither on this map nor in other works Ivane Javakhishvili talks about what he implies in the old borders, though it is evident that this is the Pre-Soviet boundary until 1921 – i.e., before the period when historical Tao, Zaqatala, Lore, Karaia represented the parts of Georgia. According to cartometric-geographical terms, the work presents detailed analysis of Georgia’s borders, along with this the comparison of research results has been carried out: 1) At the boundary line on Soviet topographic maps, the maps of 100,000; 50,000 and 25,000 scales are used; 2) According to Ivane Javakhishvili’s work ('The borders of Georgia in terms of historical and contemporary issues'). During that research, we used multi-disciplined methodology and software. We used Arc GIS for Georeferencing maps, and after that, we compare all post-Soviet Union maps, in order to determine how the borders have changed. During this work, we also use many historical data. The features of the spatial distribution of the territorial administrative units of Georgia, as well as the distribution of administrative-territorial units of the objects depicted on the map, have been established. The results obtained are presented in the forms of thematic maps and diagrams.

Keywords: border, GIS, georgia, historical cartography, old maps

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Authors: Son Nguyen, Thanh Van, Ly Le

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Ca2+ - dependent calmodulin kinase IIa (CaMKIIa) has recently been found to associate with protein tau missorting and polymerization in Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). However, there has yet inhibitors targeting CaMKIIa to investigate the correlation between CaMKIIa activity and protein tau polymer formation. Combining virtual screening and our statistics in binding contribution scoring function (BCSF), we rationally identified potential compounds that bind to specific CaMKIIa active site and specificity-affinity distribution of the ligand within the active site. Using molecular dynamics simulation, we identified structural stability of CaMKIIa and potent inhibitors, and site-directed bonding, separating non-specific and specific molecular interaction features. Despite of variation in confirmation of simulation time, interactions of the potent inhibitors were found to be strongly associated with the unique chemical features extracted from molecular binding poses. In addition, competitive inhibitors within CaMKIIa showed an important molecular recognition pattern toward specific ligand features. Our approach combining virtual screening with BCSF may provide an universally applicable method for precise identification in the discovery of compounds.

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease, Ca 2+ -dependent calmodulin kinase IIa, protein tau, molecular docking

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Authors: Surendra Kumar Patel

Abstract:

Disability is not just a health problem; it is a complex phenomenon, reflecting the interaction between features of a person’s age and physiology. Population ageing is a major demographic issue for India in the 21st century. Older population of India constituted 8% of total population, while 5.19% has affected by disability of older age group. Objective of the present research paper is to examine the state wise differential in disability among 60+ population and to access the health care of disabled population especially the 60+ disabled persons. The data sources of the present paper are census 2001 and 2011. For analyzing the state wise differentials by disability types and comparative advantage of data, rate, ratio, and percentage have been used. The Standardized Index of Diversity of Disability (SIDD) studies differential and diversity in disability. The results show that there are 5.19% persons have disability among 60+ population and sex differential not very significant, as it is 5.3 % of male and 5.05% in female in India but place of residence shows significant variation from 2001 to 2011 census. There is huge diversity in disability prevalence among 60+ in India, highest in Sikkim followed by Rajasthan, approximately, they comprise 11%, and the lowest found in Tamil Nadu as 2.53%. This huge gap in prevalence percentage shows the health care needs of highly prevailing states.

Keywords: disability, Standardized Index of Diversity of Disability (SIDD), differential and diversity in disability, 60+ population

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Authors: Devansh Desai, Chamandeep Kaur, Nirmal Kullu, George Christopher

Abstract:

Study of aerosols has become very important tool in assuming the climatic changes over a region.Spectral and temporal variability’s in aerosol optical depth(AOD) and size distribution are investigated using ground base measurements over Ahmedabad during the months of January(2013) to may (2013). Angstrom coefficient (ἁ) was found to be higher in winter season (January to march) indicating the dominance of fine mode aerosol concentration over Ahmedabad, and the Angstrom coefficient (ἁ) was found to be lower indicating the dominance of coarse mode aerosol concentration over Ahmedabad. The different values of alpha are observed when calculated over different wavelength ranges indicating bimodal aerosol size distribution. Discrimination of aerosol size during different seasons is made using the coefficient of polynomial fit (ἁ1 and ἁ2) which shows the presence of changing dominant aerosol types as a function of season over Ahmedabad. The ἁ2- ἁ1 value is used to get the confirmation on the dominant aerosol mode over Ahmedabad in both seasons. During pre-monsoon about 90% of AOD spectra is dominated by coarse mode aerosols and during winter about 60% of AOD spectra is dominated by fine mode aerosols. This characterization of aerosols is important in assessing the response of different aerosols type in radiative forcing and over climate of Ahmedabad.

Keywords: radiative forcing, aerosol optical depth, fine mode, coarse mode

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Authors: John Tosin Aladejana

Abstract:

Wood behave differently under different environmental conditions. The knowledge of the hygroscopic nature of wood becomes a key factor in selecting wood for use and required treatment. This study assessed the hygroscopic behaviour of Hevea brasiliensis (Rubber) wood. Void volume, volumetric swelling in the tangential, radial and longitudinal directions and volumetric shrinkage were used to assess the response of the wood when loosing or taking up moisture. Hevea brasiliensis wood samples cut into 20 × 20 × 60 mm taken longitudinally and transversely were used for the study and dried in the oven at 103 ± 2⁰C. The mean values for moisture content in green Hevea brasiliensis wood were 49.74 %, 51.14 % and 54.36 % for top, middle and bottom portion respectively while 51.77 %, 50.02 % and 53.45 % were recorded for outer, middle and inner portions respectively for the tree. The values obtained for volumetric shrinkage and swelling indicated that shrinkage and swelling were higher at the top part of H. brasiliensis. It was also observed that the longitudinal shrinkage was negligible while tangential direction showed the highest shrinkage among the wood direction. The values of the void volume obtained were 43.0 %, 39.0 % and 38.0 % at the top, middle and bottom respectively. The result obtained showed clarification on the wood density of hevea brasiliensis based on the position and portion of the wood species and the variation in moisture content, void volume, volumetric shrinkage and swelling were also revealed. This will provide information in the process of drying hevea brasiliensis wood to ensure better wood quality devoid of defects.

Keywords: moisture content, shrinkage, swelling, void volume

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Authors: Jui-Pui Hung, Yong-Run Chen, Wei-Cheng Shih, Shen-He Tsui, Kung-Da Wu

Abstract:

This paper presents the effect on the tooling conditions on the machining stabilities of a milling machine tool. The machining stability was evaluated in different feeding direction in the X-Y plane, which was referred as the orientation-dependent machining stability. According to the machining mechanics, the machining stability was determined by the frequency response function of the cutter. Thus, we first conducted the vibration tests on the spindle tool of the milling machine to assess the tool tip frequency response functions along the principal direction of the machine tool. Then, basing on the orientation dependent stability analysis model proposed in this study, we evaluated the variation of the dynamic characteristics of the spindle tool and the corresponding machining stabilities at a specific feeding direction. Current results demonstrate that the stability boundaries and limited axial cutting depth of a specific cutter were affected to vary when it was fixed in the tool holder with different overhang length. The flute of the cutter also affects the stability boundary. When a two flute cutter was used, the critical cutting depth can be increased by 47 % as compared with the four flute cutter. The results presented in study provide valuable references for the selection of the tooling conditions for achieving high milling performance.

Keywords: tooling condition, machining stability, milling machine, chatter

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Authors: F. Sangiorgio, J. Silfwerbrand, G. Mancini

Abstract:

Geometric and mechanical properties all influence the resistance of RC structures and may, in certain combination of property values, increase the risk of a brittle failure of the whole system. This paper presents a statistical and probabilistic investigation on the resistance of RC beams designed according to Eurocodes 2 and 8, and subjected to multiple failure modes, under both the natural variation of material properties and the uncertainty associated with cross-section and transverse reinforcement geometry. A full probabilistic model based on JCSS Probabilistic Model Code is derived. Different beams are studied through material nonlinear analysis via Monte Carlo simulations. The resistance model is consistent with Eurocode 2. Both a multivariate statistical evaluation and the data clustering analysis of outcomes are then performed. Results show that the ultimate load behaviour of RC beams subjected to flexural and shear failure modes seems to be mainly influenced by the combination of the mechanical properties of both longitudinal reinforcement and stirrups, and the tensile strength of concrete, of which the latter appears to affect the overall response of the system in a nonlinear way. The model uncertainty of the resistance model used in the analysis plays undoubtedly an important role in interpreting results.

Keywords: modelling, Monte Carlo simulations, probabilistic models, data clustering, reinforced concrete members, structural design

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