Search results for: soil compression behavior
6237 Water Absorption Studies on Natural Fiber Reinforced Polymer Composites
Authors: G. L. Devnani, Shishir Sinha
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In the recent years, researchers have drawn their focus on natural fibers reinforced composite materials because of their excellent properties like low cost, lower weight, better tensile and flexural strengths, biodegradability etc. There is little concern however that when these materials are put in moist conditions for long duration, their mechanical properties degrade. Therefore, in order to take maximum advantage of these novel materials, one should have a complete understanding of their moisture or water absorption phenomena. Various fiber surface treatment methods like alkaline treatment, acetylation etc. have also been suggested for reduction in water absorption of these composites. In the present study, a detailed review is done for water absorption behavior of natural fiber reinforced polymer composites, and experiments also have been performed on these composites with varying the parameters like fiber loading etc. for understanding the water absorption kinetics. Various surface treatment methods also performed to reduce the water absorption behavior of these materials and effort is made to develop a proper understanding of water absorption mechanism mathematically and experimentally for full potential utilization of natural fiber reinforced polymer composite materials.Keywords: alkaline treatment, composites, natural fiber, water absorption
Procedia PDF Downloads 2786236 Development of a New Piezoelectrically Actuated Micropump for Liquid and Gas
Authors: Chiang-Ho Cheng, An-Shik Yang, Chih-Jer Lin, Chun-Ying Lee
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This paper aims to present the design, fabrication and test of a novel piezoelectric actuated, check-valves embedded micropump having the advantages of miniature size, light weight and low power consumption. This device is designed to pump gases and liquids with the capability of performing the self-priming and bubble-tolerant work mode by maximizing the stroke volume of the membrane as well as the compression ratio via minimization of the dead volume of the micropump chamber and channel. By experiment apparatus setup, we can get the real-time values of the flow rate of micropump, the displacement of the piezoelectric actuator and the deformation of the check valve, simultaneously. The micropump with check valve 0.4 mm in thickness obtained higher output performance under the sinusoidal waveform of 120 Vpp. The micropump achieved the maximum pumping rates of 42.2 ml/min and back pressure of 14.0 kPa at the corresponding frequency of 28 and 20 Hz. The presented micropump is able to pump gases with a pumping rate of 196 ml/min at operating frequencies of 280 Hz under the sinusoidal waveform of 120 Vpp.Keywords: actuator, check-valve, micropump, piezoelectric
Procedia PDF Downloads 4276235 Reaction Rate Behavior of a Methane-Air Mixture over a Platinum Catalyst in a Single Channel Catalytic Reactor
Authors: Doo Ki Lee, Kumaresh Selvakumar, Man Young Kim
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Catalytic combustion is an environmentally friendly technique to combust fuels in gas turbines. In this paper, the behavior of surface reaction rate on catalytic combustion is studied with respect to the heterogeneous oxidation of methane-air mixture in a catalytic reactor. Plug flow reactor (PFR), the simplified single catalytic channel assists in investigating the catalytic combustion phenomenon over the Pt catalyst by promoting the desired chemical reactions. The numerical simulation with multi-step elementary surface reactions is governed by the availability of free surface sites onto the catalytic surface and thereby, the catalytic combustion characteristics are demonstrated by examining the rate of the reaction for lean fuel mixture. Further, two different surface reaction mechanisms are adopted and compared for surface reaction rates to indicate the controlling heterogeneous reaction for better fuel conversion. The performance of platinum catalyst under heterogeneous reaction is analyzed under the same temperature condition, where the catalyst with the higher kinetic rate of reaction would have a maximum catalytic activity for enhanced methane catalytic combustion.Keywords: catalytic combustion, heterogeneous reaction, plug flow reactor, surface reaction rate
Procedia PDF Downloads 2666234 The Antecedents of Brand Loyalty on Female Cosmetics Buying Behavior
Authors: Velly Anatasia
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The worldwide annual expenditure for cosmetics is estimated at U.S. $18 billion and many players in the field are competing aggressively to capture more and more markets. Players in the cosmetics industry strive to be the foremost by establish customer loyalty. Furthermore, customer loyalty is portrayed by brand loyalty. Therefore, brand loyalty is the key determine of winning the competition in tight market. This study examines the influence of brand loyalty on cosmetics buying behavior of female consumers in Jakarta as capital of Indonesia. The seven factors of brand loyalty are brand name, Product quality, price, design, promotion, servicesquality and store environment. The paper adopted descriptive analysis, factor loading and multiple regression approach to test the hypotheses. The data has been collected by using questionnaires which were distributed and self-administered to 125female respondents accustomed using cosmetics. The findings of this study indicated that promotion has shown strong correlation with brand loyalty. The research results showed that there is positive and significant relationship between factors of brand loyalty (brand name, product quality, price, design, promotion, services quality and store environment) with cosmetics brand loyalty.Keywords: brand loyalty, brand name, product quality, service quality, promotion
Procedia PDF Downloads 3816233 Examining The Effects of Parenting Style and Parents’ Social Attitudes on Social Development in Early Childhood
Authors: Amber Lim, Ted Ruffman
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A vast amount of research evidence indicates that children develop social attitudes that are similar to those of their parents. When using general measures of social attitudes, such as social dominance orientation (SDO), right-wing authoritarianism (RWA), and prejudice, studies show that parents' and children’s attitudes were correlated. However, the mechanisms behind the intergenerational transmission of attitudes remain largely unexplained. Since it was speculated that the origins of RWA could be traced back to one’s relationship with their parents, the aim of this study was to assess how parents’ social attitudes and parenting behavior are related to children’s social development. One line of research suggests that the different ways in which authoritarian and authoritative parents reason with their children may impact Theory of Mind (ToM) development. That is, inductive discipline (e.g., emphasising how the child’s actions affect others) facilitates empathy and ToM development. Conversely, past evidence shows that children have poorer ToM development when parents enforce rules without explanation. Thus, this study addresses the question of how parent behavior plays a role in the gradual acquisition of a ToM and social attitudes. Seventy parents reported their social attitudes, parenting behavior, and their child’s mental state and non-mental state vocabulary. Their children were given ToM and perspective-taking tasks, along with a friend choice task to measure racial bias and anti-fat bias. As hypothesised, parents’ use of inductive reasoning correlated with children’s performance on Theory of Mind tasks. Mothers’ inductive reasoning facilitated children’s acquisition of mental state vocabulary. Parents’ autonomy granting was associated with improved mental state vocabulary. Authoritarian parenting traits such as verbal hostility were linked to children’s racial bias. These findings highlight the importance of parent-child discussion in shaping children’s social understanding.Keywords: parenting style, prejudice, social attitudes, social understanding, theory of mind
Procedia PDF Downloads 726232 Prediction of the Solubility of Benzoic Acid in Supercritical CO2 Using the PC-SAFT EoS
Authors: Hamidreza Bagheri, Alireza Shariati
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There are many difficulties in the purification of raw components and products. However, researchers are seeking better ways for purification. One of the recent methods is extraction using supercritical fluids. In this study, the phase equilibria of benzoic acid-supercritical carbon dioxide system were investigated. Regarding the phase equilibria of this system, the modeling of solid-supercritical fluid behavior was performed using the Perturbed-Chain Statistical Association Fluid Theory (PC-SAFT) and Peng-Robinson equations of state (PR EoS). For this purpose, five PC-SAFT EoS parameters for pure benzoic acid were obtained using its experimental vapor pressure. Benzoic acid has association sites and the behavior of the benzoic acid-supercritical fluid system was well-predicted using both equations of state, while the binary interaction parameter values for PR EoS were negative. Genetic algorithm, which is one of the most accurate global optimization algorithms, was also used to optimize the pure benzoic acid parameters and the binary interaction parameters. The AAD% value for the PC-SAFT EoS, were 0.22 for the carbon dioxide-benzoic acid system.Keywords: supercritical fluids, solubility, solid, PC-SAFT EoS, genetic algorithm
Procedia PDF Downloads 5106231 The Effects of Physician-Family Communication from the Point View of Clinical Staff
Authors: Lu-Chiu Huang, Pei-Pei Chen, Li-Chin Yu, Chiao-Wen Kuo, Tsui-Tao Liu, Rung-Chuang Feng
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Purpose: People put increasing emphasis on demands of medical quality and protecting their interests. Patients' or family's dissatisfaction with medical care may easily lead to medical dispute. Physician-family communication plays an essential role in medical care. A sound communication cannot only strengthen patients' belief in the medical team but make patient have definite insight into treatment course of the disease. A family meeting provides an effective platform for communication between clinical staff, patients and family. Decisions and consensuses formed in family meetings can promote patients' or family's satisfaction with medical care. Clinical staff's attitudes toward family meeting may determine behavioral intentions to hold family meeting. This study aims to explore clinical staff's difficulties in holding family meeting and evaluate how their attitudes and behavior influence the effect of family meetings. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study. It was conducted at a regional teaching hospital in Taipei city. The research team developed its own structural questionnaires, whose expert validity was checked by the nursing experts. Participants filled in the questionnaires online. Data were collected by convenience sampling. A total of 568 participants were invited. They included doctors, nurses, social workers, and so on. Results: 1) The average score of ‘clinical staff’s attitudes to family meetings’ was 5.15 (SD=0.898). It fell between ‘somewhat agree’ and ‘mostly agree’ on the 7-point likert scale. It indicated that clinical staff had positive attitudes toward family meetings, 2) The average score of ‘clinical staff’s behavior to family meetings’ was 5.61 (SD=0.937). It fell between ‘somewhat agree’ and ‘mostly agree’ on the 7-point likert scale. It meant clinical staff tended to have positive behavior at the family meeting, and 3) The average score of ‘Difficulty in conducting family meetings’ was 5.15 (SD=0.897). It fell between ‘somewhat agree’ and ‘mostly agree’ on the 7-point likert scale. The higher the score was, the less difficulty the clinical staff felt. It demonstrated clinical staff felt less difficulty in conducting family meetings. Clinical staff's identification with family meetings brought favored effects. Persistent and active promotion for family meetings can bring patients and family more benefits. Implications for practice: Understanding clinical staff's difficulty in participating family meeting and exploring their attitudes or behavior toward physician-family communication are helpful to develop modes of interaction. Consequently, quality and satisfaction of physician-family communication can be increased.Keywords: clinical staff, communication, family meeting, physician-family
Procedia PDF Downloads 3246230 Negative Changes in Sexual Behavior of Pregnant Women
Authors: Glauberto S. Quirino, Emanuelly V. Pereira, Amana S. Figueiredo, Antonia T. F. Santos, Paulo R. A. Firmino, Denise F. F. Barbosa, Caroline B. Q. Aquino, Eveliny S. Martins, Cinthia G. P. Calou, Ana K. B. Pinheiro
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Introduction: During pregnancy there are adjustments in the physical, emotional, existential and sexual areas, which may contribute to changes in sexual behavior. The objective was to analyze the sexual behavior of pregnant women. Methods: Quantitative, exploratory-descriptive study, approved by the Ethics and Research Committee of the Regional University of Cariri. For data collection, it was used the Sexuality Questionnaire in Gestation and Sexual Quotient - Female Version. It was carried out in public institutions in the urban and rural areas of three municipalities of the Metropolitan Region of Cariri, south of Ceará, Brazil from February to September 2016. The sampling was proportional stratified by convenience. A total of 815 pregnant women who were literate and aged 20 years or over were broached. 461 pregnant women were excluded because of high risk, adolescence, saturation of the extract, incomplete filling of the instrument, mental and physical handicap, without sexual partner, and the sample was 354 pregnant. The data were grouped, organized and analyzed in the statistical program R Studio (version 386 3.2.4). Descriptive frequency statistics and non-parametric tests were used to analyze the variables, and the results were shown in graphs and tables. Results: The women presented a minimum age of 20, maximum 35 and average of 26.9 years, predominantly urban area residents, with a monthly income of up to one minimum wage (US$ 275,00), high school, catholic, with fixed partner, heterosexuals, multiparous, multiple sexual partners throughout life and with the beginning of sexual life in adolescence (median age 17 years). There was a reduction in sexual practices (67%) and when they were performed, they were more frequent in the first trimester (79.7%) and less frequent in the third trimester (30.5%). Preliminary sexual practices did not change and were more frequent in the second trimester (46.6%). Throughout the gestational trimesters, the partner was referred as the main responsible for the sexual initiative. The women performed vaginal sex (97.7%) and provided greater pleasure (42.8%) compared to non-penetrative sex (53.9%) (oral sex and masturbation). There was also a reduction in the sexual disposition of pregnant women (90.7%) and partner (72.9%), mainly in the first trimester (78.8%), and sexual positions. Sexual performance ranged from regular to good (49.7%). Level of schooling, marital status, sexual orientation of the pregnant woman and the partner, sexual practices and positions, preliminaries, frequency of sexual practices and importance attributed to them were variables that influenced negatively sexual performance and satisfaction. It is concluded that pregnancy negatively changes the sexual behavior of the women and it is suggested to further investigations and approach of the partner, in order to clarify the influence of these variables on the sexual function and subsidize intervention strategies, with a view to the integrality of sexual and reproductive health.Keywords: obstetric nursing, pregnant women, sexual behavior, women's health
Procedia PDF Downloads 3146229 Optimized Cropping Calendar and Land Suitability for Maize through GIS and Crop Modelling
Authors: Marilyn S. Painagan, Willie Jones B. Saliling
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This paper reports an optimized cropping calendar and land suitability for maize in North Cotabato derived from modeling crop productivity over time and space. Using Quantum GIS, eight representative soil types and 0.3o x 0.3o climate grids shapefiles were intersected to form thirty two pedoclimatic zones within the boundaries of the province. Surveys were done to ascertain crop performance and phenological properties on field. Based on these surveys, crop parameters were calibrated specific for a variety of maize. Soil properties and climatic data (daily precipitation, maximum and minimum temperatures) from pedoclimatic zones were loaded to the FAO Aquacrop Water Productivity Model along with the crop properties from field surveys to simulate yield from 1980 to 2010. The average yield per month was computed to come up with the month of planting having the highest and lowest probable yield in a year assuming that all lands were planted with maize. The yield attributes were visualized in the Quantum GIS environment. The study revealed that optimal cropping patterns varied across North Cotabato. Highest probable yield (8000 kg/ha) can be obtained when maize is planted on May and September (sandy clay-loam soils) in the northern part of the province while the lowest probable yield (1000 kg/ha) can be obtained when maize is planted on January, February and March (clay loam soils) at the northern part of the province. Yields are simulated on the basis of varieties currently planted by farmers of North Cotabato. The resulting maps suggest where and when maize is most suitable to achieve high yields. There is a need to ground truth and validate the cropping calendar on field.Keywords: aquacrop, quantum GIS, maize, cropping calendar, water productivity
Procedia PDF Downloads 2446228 Perceived Procedural Justice and Organizational Citizenship Behavior: Evidence from a Security Organization
Authors: Noa Nelson, Orit Appel, Rachel Ben-ari
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Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB) is voluntary employee behavior that contributes to the organization beyond formal job requirements. It can take different forms, such as helping teammates (OCB toward individuals; hence, OCB-I), or staying after hours to attend a task force (OCB toward the organization; hence, OCB-O). Generally, OCB contributes substantially to organizational climate, goals, productivity, and resilience, so organizations need to understand what encourages it. This is particularly challenging in security organizations. Security work is characterized by high levels of stress and burnout, which is detrimental to OCB, and security organizational design emphasizes formal rules and clear hierarchies, leaving employees with less freedom for voluntary behavior. The current research explored the role of Perceived Procedural Justice (PPJ) in enhancing OCB in a security organization. PPJ refers to how fair decision-making processes are perceived to be. It involves the sense that decision makers are objective, attentive to everyone's interests, respectful in their communications and participatory - allowing individuals a voice in decision processes. Justice perceptions affect motivation, and it was specifically suggested that PPJ creates an attachment to one's organization and personal interest in its success. Accordingly, PPJ had been associated with OCB, but hardly any research tested their association with security organizations. The current research was conducted among prison guards in the Israel Prison Service, to test a correlational and a causal association between PPJ and OCB. It differentiated between perceptions of direct commander procedural justice (CPJ), and perceptions of organization procedural justice (OPJ), hypothesizing that CPJ would relate to OCB-I, while OPJ would relate to OCB-O. In the first study, 336 prison guards (305 male) from 10 different prisons responded to questionnaires measuring their own CPJ, OPJ, OCB-I, and OCB-O. Hierarchical linear regression analyses indicated the significance of commander procedural justice (CPJ): It associated with OCB-I and also associated with OPJ, which, in turn, associated with OCB-O. The second study tested CPJ's causal effects on prison guards' OCB-I and OCB-O; 311 prison guards (275 male) from 14 different prisons read scenarios that described either high or low CPJ, and then evaluated the likelihood of that commander's prison guards performing OCB-I and OCB-O. In this study, CPJ enhanced OCB-O directly. It also contributed to OCB-I, indirectly: CPJ enhanced the motivation for collaboration with the commander, which respondents also evaluated after reading scenarios. Collaboration, in turn, associated with OCB-I. The studies demonstrate that procedural justice, especially commander's PJ, promotes OCB in security work environments. This is important because extraordinary teamwork and motivation are needed to deal with emergency situations and with delicate security challenges. Following the studies, the Israel Prison Service implemented personal procedural justice training for commanders and unit level programs for procedurally just decision processes. From a theoretical perspective, the studies extend the knowledge on PPJ and OCB to security work environments and contribute evidence on PPJ's causal effects. They also call for further research, to understand the mechanisms through which different types of PPJ affect different types of OCB.Keywords: organizational citizenship behavior, perceived procedural justice, prison guards, security organizations
Procedia PDF Downloads 2136227 Sociological Enquiry into Occupational Risks and Its Consequences among Informal Automobile Artisans in Osun State, Nigeria
Authors: Funmilayo Juliana Afolabi, Joke Haafkens, Paul De Beer
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Globally, there is a growing concern on reducing workplace accidents in the informal sector. However, there is a dearth of study on the perception of the informal workers on occupational risks they are exposed to. The way a worker perceives the workplace risk will influence his/her risk tolerance and risk behavior. The aim of this paper, therefore, is to have an in-depth understanding of the way the artisans perceive the risks at their workplace and how it influences their risk tolerance and risk behavior. This will help in designing meaningful intervention for the artisans and it will assist the policy makers in formulating a policy that will help them. Methods: Forty-three artisans were purposely selected for the study; data were generated through observation of the workplace and work practices of the artisans and in-depth interview from automobile artisans (Panel beater, Mechanic, Vulcanizer, and Painters) in Osun State, Nigeria. The transcriptions were coded and analyzed using MAXQDA software. Results: The perceived occupational risks among the study groups are a danger of being run over by oncoming vehicles while working by the roadside, a risk of vehicle falling on workers while working under the vehicle, cuts, and burns, fire explosion, falls from height and injuries from bursting of tires. The identified risk factors are carelessness of the workers, pressure from customers, inadequate tools, preternatural forces, God’s will and lack of apprentices that will assist them in the workplace. Furthermore, the study revealed that artisans engage in risky behavior like siphoning fuel with mouth because of perception that fuel is good for expelling worms and will make them free from any stomach upset. Conclusions: The study concluded that risky behaviors are influenced by culture, beliefs, and perception of the artisans. The study, therefore, suggested proper health and safety education for the artisans.Keywords: automobile artisans, informal, occupational risks, Nigeria, sociological enquiry
Procedia PDF Downloads 1846226 Flow Behavior of a ScCO₂-Stimulated Geothermal Reservoir under in-situ Stress and Temperature Conditions
Authors: B. L. Avanthi Isaka, P. G. Ranjith
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The development of technically-sound enhanced geothermal systems (EGSs) is identified as a viable solution for world growing energy demand with immense potential, low carbon dioxide emission and importantly, as an environmentally friendly option for renewable energy production. The use of supercritical carbon dioxide (ScCO₂) as the working fluid in EGSs by replacing traditional water-based method is promising due to multiple advantages prevail in ScCO₂-injection for underground reservoir stimulation. The evolution of reservoir stimulation using ScCO₂ and the understanding of the flow behavior of a ScCO₂-stimulated geothermal reservoir is vital in applying ScCO₂-EGSs as a replacement for water-based EGSs. The study is therefore aimed to investigate the flow behavior of a ScCO₂-fractured rock medium at in-situ stress and temperature conditions. A series of permeability tests were conducted for ScCO₂ fractured Harcourt granite rock specimens at 90ºC, under varying confining pressures from 5–60 MPa using the high-pressure and high-temperature tri-axial set up which can simulate deep geological conditions. The permeability of the ScCO₂-fractured rock specimens was compared with that of water-fractured rock specimens. The results show that the permeability of the ScCO₂-fractured rock specimens is one order higher than that of water-fractured rock specimens and the permeability exhibits a non-linear reduction with increasing confining pressure due to the stress-induced fracture closure. Further, the enhanced permeability of the ScCO₂-induced fracture with multiple secondary branches was explained by exploring the CT images of the rock specimens. However, a single plain fracture was induced under water-based fracturing.Keywords: supercritical carbon dioxide, fracture permeability, granite, enhanced geothermal systems
Procedia PDF Downloads 1436225 Improvements in Transient Testing in The Transient REActor Test (TREAT) with a Choice of Filter
Authors: Harish Aryal
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The safe and reliable operation of nuclear reactors has always been one of the topmost priorities in the nuclear industry. Transient testing allows us to understand the time-dependent behavior of the neutron population in response to either a planned change in the reactor conditions or unplanned circumstances. These unforeseen conditions might occur due to sudden reactivity insertions, feedback, power excursions, instabilities, and accidents. To study such behavior, we need transient testing, which is like car crash testing, to estimate the durability and strength of a car design. In nuclear designs, such transient testing can simulate a wide range of accidents due to sudden reactivity insertions and helps to study the feasibility and integrity of the fuel to be used in certain reactor types. This testing involves a high neutron flux environment and real-time imaging technology with advanced instrumentation with appropriate accuracy and resolution to study the fuel slumping behavior. With the aid of transient testing and adequate imaging tools, it is possible to test the safety basis for reactor and fuel designs that serves as a gateway in licensing advanced reactors in the future. To that end, it is crucial to fully understand advanced imaging techniques both analytically and via simulations. This paper presents an innovative method of supporting real-time imaging of fuel pins and other structures during transient testing. The major fuel-motion detection device that is studied in this dissertation is the Hodoscope which requires collimators. This paper provides 1) an MCNP model and simulation of a Transient Reactor Test (TREAT) core with a central fuel element replaced by a slotted fuel element that provides an open path between test samples and a hodoscope detector and 2) a choice of good filter to improve image resolution.Keywords: hodoscope, transient testing, collimators, MCNP, TREAT, hodogram, filters
Procedia PDF Downloads 656224 Estimation of Tensile Strength for Granitic Rocks by Using Discrete Element Approach
Authors: Aliakbar Golshani, Armin Ramezanzad
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Tensile strength which is an important parameter of the rock for engineering applications is difficult to measure directly through physical experiment (i.e. uniaxial tensile test). Therefore, indirect experimental methods such as Brazilian test have been taken into consideration and some relations have been proposed in order to obtain the tensile strength for rocks indirectly. In this research, to calculate numerically the tensile strength for granitic rocks, Particle Flow Code in three-dimension (PFC3D) software were used. First, uniaxial compression tests were simulated and the tensile strength was determined for Inada granite (from a quarry in Kasama, Ibaraki, Japan). Then, by simulating Brazilian test condition for Inada granite, the tensile strength was indirectly calculated again. Results show that the tensile strength calculated numerically agrees well with the experimental results obtained from uniaxial tensile tests on Inada granite samples.Keywords: numerical simulation, particle flow code, PFC, tensile strength, Brazilian Test
Procedia PDF Downloads 1806223 Production of Vermiwash from Medicinal Plants and Its Potential Use as Fungicide against the Alternaria Alternata (fr.) Keissl. Affecting Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) in Guyana
Authors: Abdullah Ansari, Sinika Rambaran, Sirpaul Jaikishun
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Vermiwash could be used to enhance plant productivity and resistance to some harmful plant pathogens, as well as provide benefit through the disposal of waste matter. Alternaria rot caused by the fungus Alternaria alternata (Fr.) Keissl., is a common soil-borne pathogen that results in postharvest fruit rot of cucumbers, peppers and other cash crops. The production and distribution of Cucumis sativus L. (cucumber) could be severely affected by Alternaria rot. Fungicides are the traditional treatment however; they are not only expensive but can also cause environmental and health problems. Vermiwash was prepared from various medicinal plants (Ocimum tenuiflorum L. {Tulsi}, Azadirachta indica A. Juss. {neem}, Cymbopogon citratus (DC. ex Nees) Stapf. {lemon grass} and Oryza sativa L. {paddy straw} and applied, in vitro, to A. alternata to investigate their effectiveness as organic alternatives to traditional fungicides. All of the samples of vermiwash inhibited the growth of A. alternata. The inhibitive effects on the fungus appeared most effective when A. indica and O. tenuiflorum were used in the production of the vermiwash. Using the serial dilution method, vermiwash from O. tenuiflorum showed the highest percent of inhibition (93.2%), followed by C. citratus (74.7%), A. indica (68.7%), O. sativa, combination, and combination without worms. Using the sterile disc diffusion method, all of the samples produced zones of inhibition against A. alternata. Vermiwash from A. indica produced a zone of inhibition, averaging 15.3mm, followed by O. tenuiflorum (14.0mm), combination without worms, combination, C. citratus and O. sativa. Nystatin produced a zone of inhibition of 10mm. The results indicate that vermiwash is not simply an organic alternative to more traditional chemical fungicides, but it may in fact be a better and more effective product in treating certain fungal plant infections, particularly A. alternata.Keywords: vermiwash, earthworms, soil, bacteria, alternaria alternata, antifungal, antibacterial
Procedia PDF Downloads 2446222 Debts and Debt-Based Sukuk Related to Risk Shifting Behavior
Authors: Siti Raihana Hamzah
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This paper elaborates risk shifting in debt financing system as the ultimate cause of the global financial crisis. In contrast, risk sharing in equity financing like sukuk helps the economic system to be better sustained. Nevertheless, some types of sukuk are haunted by the issue of imitation with bonds. The critics on the imitation issue not only have raised doubt on the ability of sukuk to diminish risk shifting behavior but also the ability of this Islamic financial instrument to ensure better future financial stability. Through that, this paper provides discussion on the possibility of sukuk to induce risk shifting and how equity financing may help sukuk to be free from risk shifting. This paper is important in the sense that sukuk receives a significant demand from investors throughout the world. For this instrument to be supportive in the future economic stability, the issue of imitation needs to be identified and addressed. Furthermore, critics cannot be focused on debts and its ability to gauge the financial flux but also to sukuk due to their structures similarity.Keywords: global financial crisis, debt, risk-shifting, risk sharing, equity, sukuk, bonds
Procedia PDF Downloads 3766221 Consumer Values in the Perspective of Javanese Mataraman Society: Identification, Meaning, and Application
Authors: Anna Triwijayati, Etsa Astridya Setiyati, Titik Desi Harsoyo
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Culture is the important determinant of human behavior and desire. Culture influences the consumer through the norms and values established by the society in which they live and reflect it. The cultural values of Javanese society certainly have united in the Javanese society behavior in consumption. This research is expected to give big enough theoretical benefits in the findings of cultural value in consumption in Javanese society. These can be an incentive in finding the local cultural value in many tribes in Indonesia, so one time, the local cultural value in Indonesia about consumption can be fundamental part in education and consumption practice in Indonesia. The approach used in this research is non positivist research or is known as qualitative approach. The method or type of research used in this research is ethnomethodology. The collection data is done in Central Java region. The research subject or informant is determined by the purposive technique by certain criteria determined by the researcher. The data is collected by deep interview and observation. Before the data analysis, the researcher does the storing method data stage and implements the data validity procedures. Then, the data is analyzed by the theme and interactive analysis technique. The Javanese Mataraman society has such consumption values such as has to be sufficient, be careful, economical, submit to the one who creates the life, the way life flow, and the present problem is thought in the present also. In the financial management for consumption, the consumer should have the simple life principles, has to be sufficient, has to be able to eat, has to be able to self-press, well-managed/diligent/accurate/careful, the open or transparent management, has the struggle effort, like to self-sacrifice and think about the future. The meaning of consumption value in family is centered to the submission and full-trust to God. These consumption values are applied in consumer behavior in self, family, investment and credit need in short term and long term perspective.Keywords: values, consumer, consumption, Javanese Mataraman, ethnomethodology
Procedia PDF Downloads 3846220 Brief Cognitive Behavior Therapy (BCBT) in a Japanese School Setting: Preliminary Outcomes on a Single Arm Study
Authors: Yuki Matsumoto, Yuma Ishimoto
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Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) with children has shown effective application to various problems such as anxiety and depression. Although there are barriers to access to mental health services including lack of professional services in communities and parental concerns about stigma, school has a significant role to address children’s health problems. Schools are regarded as a suitable arena for prevention and early intervention of mental health problems. In this line, CBT can be adaptable to school education and useful to enhance students’ social and emotional skills. However, Japanese school curriculum is rigorous so as to limit available time for implementation of CBT in schools. This paper describes Brief Cognitive Behavior Therapy (BCBT) with children in a Japanese school setting. The program has been developed in order to facilitate acceptability of CBT in schools and aimed to enhance students’ skills to manage anxiety and difficult behaviors. The present research used a single arm design in which 30 students aged 9-10 years old participated. The authors provided teachers a CBT training workshop (two hours) at two primary schools in Tokyo metropolitan area and recruited participants in the research. A homeroom teacher voluntarily delivered a 6-session BCBT program (15 minutes each) in classroom periods which is called as Kaerinokai, a meeting before leaving school. Students completed a questionnaire sheet at pre- and post-periods under the supervision of the teacher. The sheet included the Spence Child Anxiety Scale (SCAS), the Depression Self-Rating Scale for Children (DSRS), and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). The teacher was asked for feedback after the completion. Significant positive changes were found in the total and five of six sub-scales of the SCAS and the total difficulty scale of the SDQ. However, no significant changes were seen in Physical Injury Fear sub-scale of the SCAS, in the DSRS or the Prosocial sub-scale of the SDQ. The effect sizes are mostly between small and medium. The teacher commented that the program was easy to use and found positive changes in classroom activities and personal relationships. This preliminary research showed the feasibility of the BCBT in a school setting. The results suggest that the BCBT offers effective treatment for reduction in anxiety and in difficult behaviors. There is a good prospect of the BCBT suggesting that BCBT may be easier to be delivered than CBT by Japanese teachers to promote child mental health. The study has limitations including no control group, small sample size, or a short teacher training. Future research should address these limitations.Keywords: brief cognitive behavior therapy, cognitive behavior therapy, mental health services in schools, teacher training workshop
Procedia PDF Downloads 3266219 Elastic and Plastic Collision Comparison Using Finite Element Method
Authors: Gustavo Rodrigues, Hans Weber, Larissa Driemeier
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The prevision of post-impact conditions and the behavior of the bodies during the impact have been object of several collision models. The formulation from Hertz’s theory is generally used dated from the 19th century. These models consider the repulsive force as proportional to the deformation of the bodies under contact and may consider it proportional to the rate of deformation. The objective of the present work is to analyze the behavior of the bodies during impact using the Finite Element Method (FEM) with elastic and plastic material models. The main parameters to evaluate are, the contact force, the time of contact and the deformation of the bodies. An advantage of using the FEM approach is the possibility to apply a plastic deformation to the model according to the material definition: there will be used Johnson–Cook plasticity model whose parameters are obtained through empirical tests of real materials. This model allows analyzing the permanent deformation caused by impact, phenomenon observed in real world depending on the forces applied to the body. These results are compared between them and with the model-based Hertz theory.Keywords: collision, impact models, finite element method, Hertz Theory
Procedia PDF Downloads 1656218 Amelioration of Earth Bricks by Introduction of Traditional Lime for Arid Regions
Authors: R. Abdeldjebar, B. Labbaci, L. Lahmar, L. Missoum, B. Moudden
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Today to build durably means to build in such a way to create, to preserve in the world an acceptable environment where ecology, social and economic implications are in the center of future generations interest. To achieve this goal, we tried to employ local, durable, powerful ground materials which lead to limit pollution, to have long lifetime, and possibility of recycling or recovery. Using them in the most rational way makes construction technically perfect and put an end to cement invasion, since ground bricks are simple to implement and create a useful decoration, original and pleasant which enables to preserve the historical architectural heritage. This work concerns the study of environmental effects on stabilized bricks of compressed ground, traditionally manufactured containing traditional quicklime after extinction in water as a basic component which offers to brick mechanical resistance in conformity with the standards. Experimental results of compression and bending are exposed and are in conformity with the used standards.Keywords: characterization, BTS, quicklime, dune sand, environment, durable
Procedia PDF Downloads 5546217 Soil Reinforcement by Stone Columns
Authors: Saou Mohamed Amine
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The construction industry has been identified as a user of substantial amount of materials and energy resources that has an enormous impact on environment. The energy efficient in refurbishment project is being considered as one of the approaches to achieve sustainability in construction industry. The increasing concern for environment has made building owners and designers to incorporate the energy efficiency features into their building projects.Keywords: construction industry, design team attributes, energy efficient performance, refurbishment projects characteristics
Procedia PDF Downloads 4236216 Rheological Characteristics of Ice Slurries Based on Propylene- and Ethylene-Glycol at High Ice Fractions
Authors: Senda Trabelsi, Sébastien Poncet, Michel Poirier
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Ice slurries are considered as a promising phase-changing secondary fluids for air-conditioning, packaging or cooling industrial processes. An experimental study has been here carried out to measure the rheological characteristics of ice slurries. Ice slurries consist in a solid phase (flake ice crystals) and a liquid phase. The later is composed of a mixture of liquid water and an additive being here either (1) Propylene-Glycol (PG) or (2) Ethylene-Glycol (EG) used to lower the freezing point of water. Concentrations of 5%, 14% and 24% of both additives are investigated with ice mass fractions ranging from 5% to 85%. The rheological measurements are carried out using a Discovery HR-2 vane-concentric cylinder with four full-length blades. The experimental results show that the behavior of ice slurries is generally non-Newtonian with shear-thinning or shear-thickening behaviors depending on the experimental conditions. In order to determine the consistency and the flow index, the Herschel-Bulkley model is used to describe the behavior of ice slurries. The present results are finally validated against an experimental database found in the literature and the predictions of an Artificial Neural Network model.Keywords: ice slurry, propylene-glycol, ethylene-glycol, rheology
Procedia PDF Downloads 2546215 The Psychological Impact of Memorials on People: The Case of Northern-Cyprus
Authors: Ma'in Abushaikha
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Memorials are usually a landmark could be either an object, sculpture or a statue. They are built for a specific group or person who has died with historical contribution, or it could refer to an important hub, event or a specific culture, therefore to keep past events alive in the common memory through this kind of physical representation in public areas, or even to satisfy the desire to honour something either it is a person who suffered or died during a conflict or just to honour a group of people or even a whole society in a specific character they used to possess during a specific period of time. The aim behind the research is to look more deeply about the importance of memorials placement and environment for more successful outcomes towards people's psychology, therefore, behavior, manners and characteristics, knowing that in the main, they are usually set for function able purposes so people could be involved meaningfully therefore psychologically more than aesthetically. What contribution either positive or negative does memorialization through its physical/urban elements has towards people? Is it towards locals social reconstruction over time including either their understanding to the current conflicts or is it toward their general behavior, manners and characteristics in terms of psychology? And how important Memorial's placement is for the observer? Moreover, how does that either reduces or increases its value, attractiveness, and its effectiveness? This paper considers taking north Cyprus memorials as the main case study, is good enough as a choice to support the research hypothesis where a comparison between deferent memorials is going to be done as the main approach in trying to address the mentioned questions, by that, the research requires field survey in terms of interviewing both dwellers and general observers as well as library survey by viewing similar studies. As a significant result, this research is about to come up assesses how important memorials placements are, in order to apply its impact to the observers, whereas the most successful placed ones have its more effectiveness on observers psychology by time by introducing several mental reflects by this kind of physical representation.Keywords: memorials, placement, environment, impact, psychology, characteristics, manners, behavior
Procedia PDF Downloads 2586214 Gender and Change of Socio-Cultural Behavior: A Case Study of Sarangkot VDC of Kaski District
Authors: Padam Pandey, Madhu Sudan Dhakal
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As a consequence of being a patrimonial society, most of the Nepalese women work inside the house and take care their children. Men are always regarded to be responsible for managing fund to fulfill the family requirement. Outgoing men of 25-35 for employment in foreign country is a common practice. In the absence of man, women aged of 20-45 have to be active in society. The responsibility of women is not only looking after inside the house but also leading the society. This study analysis gender aspect of household work and involvement in the society. This study shows that women are leading 56% different organizations in the society where 51% women spend more than 54% time in community development work. The involvement of man in the house work has significantly increased. The women leadership has succeeded to show the transparency in all the community development activities. It shows a model of social harmony, solidarity, and unity in the Sarankot Village Development Committee. Social behavior change towards women is a milestone of sustainable community development. This study recommends that the equal participation is essential to sustain community development.Keywords: gender, women leadership, social harmony, unity sustainable development
Procedia PDF Downloads 2496213 Double Magnetic Phase Transition in the Intermetallic Compound Gd₂AgSi₃
Authors: Redrisse Djoumessi Fobasso, Baidyanath Sahu, Andre M. Strydom
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The R₂TX₃ (R = rare-earth, T = transition, and X = s and p block element) series of compounds are interesting owing to their fascinating structural and magnetic properties. In this present work, we have studied the magnetic and physical properties of the new Gd₂AgSi₃ polycrystalline compound. The sample was synthesized by the arc-melting method and confirmed to crystallize in the tetragonal α-ThSi₂-type crystal structure with space group I4/amd. Dc– and ac–magnetic susceptibility, specific heat, electrical resistivity, and magnetoresistance measurements were performed on the new compound. The structure provides a unique position in the unit cell for the magnetic trivalent Gd ion. Two magnetic phase transitions were consistently found in dc- and ac-magnetic susceptibility, heat capacity, and electrical resistivity at temperatures Tₙ₁ = 11 K and Tₙ₂ = 20 K, which is an indication of the complex magnetic behavior in this compound. The compound is found to be metamagnetic over a range of temperatures below and above Tₙ₁. From field-dependent electrical resistivity, it is confirmed that the compound shows unusual negative magnetoresistance in the antiferromagnetically ordered region. These results contribute to a better understanding of this class of materials.Keywords: complex magnetic behavior, metamagnetic, negative magnetoresistance, two magnetic phase transitions
Procedia PDF Downloads 1166212 Effects of Malachite Green Contaminated Water on Production of Pak Choy and Chinese Convolvulus
Authors: N. Piwpuan, J. Tosalee, N. Phonkerd
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Malachite green (MG), a synthetic dye, is used in industries and aquaculture and also disposed in the effluent. Use of wastewater in irrigation increases due to water shortage. However, wastewater containing dyes, MG, are toxic to biological systems. Therefore, effects of MG on growth of vegetables were evaluated in order to utilize dye-contaminated wastewater for irrigation. In this study, Pak choy (Brassica chinensis) and Chinese convolvulus (Ipomoea aquatica) were grown in growing material (mixture of soil, coconut fiber, and compost) for four weeks and afterward kept watering with 200 ml of tap water containing MG at the concentrations of 0 (control), 1, 2, 10, and 20 mg/L. At harvest, number of leaf and shoot and root dry weight of the treated plants were measured and compared with control. For both species, their biomass values were similar among treatments and did not differ from the control plants (dry weight were 0.6-1.0 and 1.1-1.7 g/plant for B. chinensis and I. aquatica, respectively). B. chinensis treated with 2, 10, and 20 mg/L of MG produced lower number of new leaf and had smaller and shorter leaf compared to control and treatment of 1 mg/L. These results indicate the different responses between plant species, which B. chinensis is more sensitive to contaminant compared to I. aquatica. There was no sign of MG and leucomalachite green (LMG) detected in root and shoot tissues of plants treated with MG at 20 mg/L, tested by thin layer chromatography. After plant harvest, toxicity of the growing material from all treatments was tested on mung beans. Percent germination (83-97%), seedling fresh weight (0.3-0.5 g/plant), and shoot length (11-12.5 cm) were similar to the control. These indicated that contaminant in growing material did not pose detrimental effect on mung beans. Based on these results, the water contaminated with low concentration of MG, such as discharge from aquaculture, may serve as ferti-irrigation water to compensate water shortage.Keywords: ferti-irrigation, soil toxicity, triphenylmethane dye, wastewater reuse
Procedia PDF Downloads 1936211 The Effects of Placement and Cross-Section Shape of Shear Walls in Multi-Story RC Buildings with Plan Irregularity on Their Seismic Behavior by Using Nonlinear Time History Analyses
Authors: Mohammad Aminnia, Mahmood Hosseini
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Environmental and functional conditions sometimes necessitate the architectural plan of the building to be asymmetric, and this result in an asymmetric structure. In such cases, finding an optimal pattern for locating the components of the lateral load bearing system, including shear walls, in the building’s plan is desired. In case of shear walls, in addition to the location, the shape of the wall cross-section is also an effective factor. Various types of shear wall and their proper layout might come effective in better stiffness distribution and more appropriate seismic response of the building. Several studies have been conducted in the context of analysis and design of shear walls; however, few studies have been performed on making decisions for the location and form of shear walls in multi-story buildings, especially those with irregular plan. In this study, an attempt has been made to obtain the most reliable seismic behavior of multi-story reinforced concrete vertically chamfered buildings by using more appropriate shear walls form and arrangement in 7-, 10-, 12-, and 15-story buildings. The considered forms and arrangements include common rectangular walls and L-, T-, U- and Z-shaped plan, located as the core or in the outer frames of the building structure. Comparison of seismic behaviors of the buildings, including maximum roof displacement, and particularly the formation of plastic hinges and their distribution in the buildings’ structures, have been done based on the results of a series of nonlinear time history analyses by using a set of selected earthquake records. Results show that shear walls with U-shaped cross-section, placed as the building central core, and also walls with Z-shaped cross-section, placed at the corners give the building more reliable seismic behavior.Keywords: vertically chamfered buildings, non-linear time history analyses, l-, t-, u- and z-shaped plan walls
Procedia PDF Downloads 2516210 Geostatistical Models to Correct Salinity of Soils from Landsat Satellite Sensor: Application to the Oran Region, Algeria
Authors: Dehni Abdellatif, Lounis Mourad
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The new approach of applied spatial geostatistics in materials sciences, agriculture accuracy, agricultural statistics, permitted an apprehension of managing and monitoring the water and groundwater qualities in a relationship with salt-affected soil. The anterior experiences concerning data acquisition, spatial-preparation studies on optical and multispectral data has facilitated the integration of correction models of electrical conductivity related with soils temperature (horizons of soils). For tomography apprehension, this physical parameter has been extracted from calibration of the thermal band (LANDSAT ETM+6) with a radiometric correction. Our study area is Oran region (Northern West of Algeria). Different spectral indices are determined such as salinity and sodicity index, the Combined Spectral Reflectance Index (CSRI), Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), emissivity, Albedo, and Sodium Adsorption Ratio (SAR). The approach of geostatistical modeling of electrical conductivity (salinity), appears to be a useful decision support system for estimating corrected electrical resistivity related to the temperature of surface soils, according to the conversion models by substitution, the reference temperature at 25°C (where hydrochemical data are collected with this constraint). The Brightness temperatures extracted from satellite reflectance (LANDSAT ETM+) are used in consistency models to estimate electrical resistivity. The confusions that arise from the effects of salt stress and water stress removed followed by seasonal application of the geostatistical analysis in Geographic Information System (GIS) techniques investigation and monitoring the variation of the electrical conductivity in the alluvial aquifer of Es-Sénia for the salt-affected soil.Keywords: geostatistical modelling, landsat, brightness temperature, conductivity
Procedia PDF Downloads 4346209 Mixed Micellization Study of Adiphenine Hydrochloride with 1-Decyl-3-Methylimidazolium Chloride
Authors: Abbul B. Khan, Neeraj Dohare, Rajan Patel
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The mixed micellization of adiphenine hydrochloride (ADP) with 1-decyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride (C10mim.Cl), was investigated at different mole fractions and temperatures by surface tension measurements. The synergistic behavior (i.e., non-ideal behavior) for binary mixtures was explained by the deviation of critical micelle concentration (cmc) from ideal critical micelle concentration (cmc*), micellar mole fraction (Xim) from ideal micellar mole fraction (Xiideal), the values of interaction parameter (β) and activity coefficients (fi) (for both mixed micelles and mixed monolayer). The excess free energy (∆Gex) for the ADP- C10mim.Cl binary mixtures explain the stability of mixed micelles in comparison to micelles of pure ADP and C10mim.Cl. Interfacial parameters, i.e., Gibbs surface excess (Гmax), minimum head group area at air/ water interface (Amin), and free energy of micellization (ΔG0m) were also evaluated for the systems.Keywords: adiphenine hydrochloride, critical micelle concentration, interaction parameter, activity coefficient
Procedia PDF Downloads 2626208 Android Based Game Intervention for Enhancing the Face Reputation Abilities in Youngsters with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Authors: Anurag Sharma, Arun Khosla, Mamta Khosla, Yogeswara Rao M.
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Multimedia devices have received repute in the special desires community. The wide display screen makes it appealing and easy to use, specifically for the ones who've susceptible pleasant motor skill. This paper highlights how an Android-based game named as 'KIDDY' can be used to enhance confront face perceiving capacities in adults with autism and aid the children to develop social interaction capabilities. This game improved concentration and imagination via repetitive movement and visual commentary. Four students with autism, diverse in the historic period, social behavior and communiqué ability had been enrolled in the program and provided an opportunity to recognize new faces thrilling way. This paper offers resultant role based on 'Social Skills Rating System' that shows how cellular generation used as an academician intervention to decorate studying and communiqué among children with autism and additionally proven the tremendous behavior toward cell primarily based game.Keywords: autism spectrum disorder, screen-based technology, mobile phone-based intercession
Procedia PDF Downloads 163