Search results for: transmission line loading

Authors: Wilayat Ali, Li Sheng, Waleed Ahmed

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The ability of the robot to make simultaneously map of the environment and localize itself with respect to that environment is the most important element of mobile robots. To solve SLAM many algorithms could be utilized to build up the SLAM process and SLAM is a developing area in Robotics research. Robot Operating System (ROS) is one of the frameworks which provide multiple algorithm nodes to work with and provide a transmission layer to robots. Manyof these algorithms extensively in use are Hector SLAM, Gmapping and Cartographer SLAM. This paper describes a ROS-based Simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) library Google Cartographer mapping, which is open-source algorithm. The algorithm was applied to create a map using laser and pose data from 2d Lidar that was placed on a mobile robot. The model robot uses the gazebo package and simulated in Rviz. Our research work's primary goal is to obtain mapping through Cartographer SLAM algorithm in a static indoor environment. From our research, it is shown that for indoor environments cartographer is an applicable algorithm to generate 2d maps with LIDAR placed on mobile robot because it uses both odometry and poses estimation. The algorithm has been evaluated and maps are constructed against the SLAM algorithms presented by Turtlebot2 in the static indoor environment.

Keywords: SLAM, ROS, navigation, localization and mapping, gazebo, Rviz, Turtlebot2, slam algorithms, 2d indoor environment, cartographer

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Authors: M. R. Naroui Rad, A. Ghalandarzehi, J. A. Koohpayegani

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Nine advanced cultivars and lines were planted in transplant trays on March, 2013. In mid-April 2014, nine cultivars and lines were taken from the seedling trays and were evaluated and compared in an experiment in form of a completely randomized block design with three replications at the Agricultural Research Station, Zahak. The results of the analysis of variance showed that there was a significant difference between the studied cultivars in terms of average fruit weight, fruit length, fruit diameter, ratio of fruit length to its diameter, the relative number of seeds per fruit, and each plant yield. The total yield of Sohrab and Y6 line with and an average of 41.9 and 36.7 t/ ha allocated the highest yield respectively to themselves. The results of simple correlation between the analyzed traits showed the final yield was affected by the average fruit weight due to direct and indirect effects of fruit weight and plant yield on the final yield. The genotypic and heritability values were high for fruit weight, fruit length and number of seed per fruit. The first two principal components accounted for 81.6% of the total variation among the characters describing genotypes.

Keywords: eggplant, principal component, variation, path analysis

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Authors: S. Alireza Mirghasemi, Javad Parvizi, Narges R. Gabaran, Shervin Rashidinia, Mahdi M. Bijanabadi, Dariush G. Savadkoohi

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Background: The anterior cruciate ligament is one of the most frequent ligament to be disrupted. Surgical reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament is a common practice to treat the disability or chronic instability of the knee. Several factors associated with success or failure of the ACL reconstruction including preoperative laxity of the knee, selection of the graft material, surgical technique, graft tension, and postoperative rehabilitation. We aimed to examine the biomechanical properties of any graft type and initial graft tensioning during ACL reconstruction using 3-dimensional computational finite element simulation. Methods: In this paper, 3-dimensional model of the knee was constructed to investigate the effect of graft tensioning on the knee joint biomechanics. Four different grafts were compared: 1) Bone-patellar tendon-bone graft (BPTB) 2) Hamstring tendon 3) BPTB and a band of gracilis4) Hamstring and a band of gracilis. The initial graft tension was set as “0, 20, 40, or 60N”. The anterior loading was set to 134 N. Findings: The resulting stress pattern and deflection in any of these models were compared to that of the intact knee. The obtained results showed that the combination of a band of gracilis with the former graft (BPTB or Hamstring) increases the structural stiffness of the knee. Conclusion: Required pretension during surgery decreases significantly by adding a band of gracilis to the proper graft.

Keywords: ACL reconstruction, deflection, finite element simulation, stress pattern

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Authors: Amin Moradi, Maryam Moeini

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It is a widely held view that Ghiyath al-Din Jamshid-e-Kashani, also known as al-Kashi (1380-1429 CE), was the first who played a significant role in the interaction between mathematicians and architects by introducing theoretical knowledge in Islamic architecture. In academic discourses, geometric rules extracted from his splendid volume titled as Key of Arithmetic has uncritically believed by historians of architecture to contemplate the whole process of arch design all throughout the Islamic buildings. His theories tried to solve the fundamental problem of structural design and to understand what makes an Islamic structure safe or unsafe. As a result, al-Kashi arrived at the conclusion that a safe state of equilibrium is achieved through a specific geometry as a rule. This paper reassesses the stability of al-Kashi's systematized principal forms to evaluate the logic of his hypothesis with a special focus on large spans. Besides the empirical experiences of the author in masonry constructions, the finite element approach was proposed considering the current standards in order to get a better understanding of the validity of geometric rules proposed by al-Kashi for the equilibrium conditions of Islamic masonry arches and vaults. The state of damage of his reference arches under loading condition confirms beyond any doubt that his conclusion of the geometrical configuration measured through his treaties present some serious operational limits and do not go further than some individualized mathematical hypothesis. Therefore, the nature of his mathematical studies regarding Islamic arches is in complete contradiction with the practical knowledge of construction methodology.

Keywords: Jamshid al-Kashani, Islamic architecture, Islamic geometry, construction equilibrium, collapse mechanism

Procedia PDF Downloads 127

Authors: Cüneyit Akar, Mustafa Başaran, Ufuk Uluçınar

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The purpose of this research is to examine the critical thinking dispositions of pre-service teachers in terms of several variables. In the line of this aim, we have investigated what their levels of critical thinking dispositions and whether there is any significant different in their critical thinking dispositions. Also, we have examined the relations between their critical thinking dispositions and their parents’ education statues, the number of their siblings, family income levels, and their religiosity level. 202 pre-service teachers who are studying at different departments at faculty of education at Uşak University participated in this research. In study, critical thinking dispositions scale by one of researchers was utilized and its validity and reliability was performed. The findings indicate that the level of their critical thinking dispositions was found to be .376 (arithmetic mean). On the other hand, we found that there is no significant difference in terms of their gender and the department at which they are studying. Furthermore, although there aren’t significant relationships between critical thinking dispositions and their mother education statues, their income levels, their religiosity levels and the number of their siblings; there is any significant positively at low level the relation between thinking dispositions and father educational statues. The findings obtained will be discussed together with literature and other research’ results.

Keywords: preservice teachers, critical thinking dispositions, pedagogy, education

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Authors: Fakhrul Anwar Zainol, Wan Norhayate Wan Daud, Zulhamri Abdullah, Mohd Rafi Yaacob

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Malaysia has made great strides in eradicating poverty. Based on the latest figures of the 9th Malaysian Plan Mid-term review, the overall hardcore poverty percentage is down to 0.7%, and only 3.6% of the Malaysian population is living below the overall poverty line. While in the past significant efforts had been taken by the government through various developmental project to alleviate poverty in rural area had proven successful. Today, urban poverty in Malaysia is an increasingly visible phenomenon due to rural-urban migration and the natural population growth in urban areas. Given the changing dimensions and emerging new forms of poverty as a result of unwanted effects of development there is a dire need to re-examine and re-visit urban poverty in Malaysia. Based on the leaders’ perceptions, this study affirmed that social entrepreneurship organizations in Malaysia have try to overcome the urban poverty through social entrepreneurship. The new framework has been developed from the results of this study. It shows that social entrepreneurship contributed to the organizational effectiveness. This result indicates that it is important to have social entrepreneurship in order to increase the socio economy and achieve the organization’s mission. Therefore, this study has proven that social entrepreneurship is beneficial to the Malaysian.

Keywords: Social Entrepreneurship, Organizational Effectiveness, Urban Poverty, Malaysia.

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Authors: Rachel F. Ajayi, Unathi Sidwaba, Usisipho Feleni, Samantha F. Douman, Ezo Nxusani, Lindsay Wilson, Candice Rassie, Oluwakemi Tovide, Priscilla G.L. Baker, Sibulelo L. Vilakazi, Robert Tshikhudo, Emmanuel I. Iwuoha

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Pyrazinamide (PZA) is among the first-line pro-drugs in the tuberculosis (TB) combination chemotherapy used to treat Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Numerous reports have suggested that hepatotoxicity due to pyrazinamide in patients is due to inappropriate dosing. It is therefore necessary to develop sensitive and reliable techniques for determining the PZA metabolic profile of diagnosed patients promptly and at point-of-care. This study reports the determination of PZA based on nanobiosensor systems developed from disuccinimidyl octanedioate modified Cytochrome P450-2E1 (CYP2E1) electrodeposited on gold substrates derivatised with (poly(8-anilino-1-napthalene sulphonic acid) PANSA/PVP-AgNPs nanocomposites. The rapid and sensitive amperometric PZA detection gave a dynamic linear range of 2 µM to 16 µM revealing a limit of detection of 0.044 µM and a sensitivity of 1.38 µA/µM. The Michaelis-Menten parameters; KM, KMapp and IMAX were also calculated and found to be 6.0 µM, 1.41 µM and 1.51 µA respectively indicating a nanobiosensor suitable for use in serum.

Keywords: tuberculosis, cytochrome P450-2E1, disuccinimidyl octanedioate, pyrazinamide

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Authors: Septiawan A. Saputro, Purnami Widyaningsih, Sutanto Sastraredja

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Measles is a disease which can spread caused by a virus and has been a priority’s Ministry of Health in Indonesia to be solved. Each infected person can be recovered and get immunity so that the spread of the disease can be constructed with susceptible infected recovered (SIR). To prevent the spread of measles transmission, the Ministry of Health holds vaccinations program. The aims of the research are to derive susceptible vaccinated infected recovered (SVIR) model, to determine the patterns of disease spread with SVIR model, and also to apply the SVIR model on the spread of measles in Indonesia. Based on the article, it can be concluded that the spread model of measles with vaccinations, that is SVIR model. It is a first-order differential equation system. The patterns of disease spread is determined by solution of the model. Based on that model Indonesia will be a measles-free nation in 2186 with the average of vaccinations scope about 88% and the average score of vaccinations failure about 4.9%. If it is simulated as Ministry of Health new programs with the average of vaccinations scope about 95% and the average score of vaccinations failure about 3%, then Indonesia will be a measles-free nation in 2184. Even with the average of vaccinations scope about 100% and no failure of vaccinations, Indonesia will be a measles-free nation in 2183. Indonesia’s target as a measles-free nation in 2020 has not been reached.

Keywords: measles, vaccination, susceptible infected recovered (SIR), susceptible vaccinated infected recovered (SVIR)

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Authors: Rongzhou Wang

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Research on designing nano-antibacterial agent with potent and long-lasting antibacterial property is demanding and provoking work. In this study, a core-shell AgBr/cationic polymer nanocomposite (AgBr/NPVP-H10) were synthesized and its structure confirmed by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometer (FT-IR), Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (1H NMR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD), and the cationic polymer contents were determined with Thermal Gravimetric Analyzer (TGA). The morphology was directly observed by Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) which showed that the nanoparticle contains single core and organic shell and had an average diameter of 30.1 nm. The antibacterial test against Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus and Gram-negative Escherichia coli illuminated that this nanocomposite had potent bactericidal activity, which can be attributed to the contact-killing of cationic polymers and releasing-killing of Ag+ ions. In addition, cationic polymer encapsulating AgBr cores gave the resin discs sustained release of Ag+ ions, which may result in long-lasting bactericidal activity. The AgBr/NPVP-H10 nanoparticle with the dual bactericidal capability and long term antimicrobial effect is a promising material aimed at preventing bacterial infection.

Keywords: core-shell nanocomposite, cationic polymer, dual antibacterial capability, long-lasting antibacterial activity

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Authors: Nicholas Marinus Batt, Angus Radford, Khaled Saraya

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Pulmonary Embolus Severity Index (PESI) score is a well-validated decision-making score grading mortality rates (MR) in patients with a suspected or confirmed diagnosis of pulmonary embolism (PE) into 5 classes. Thirty and 90 days MR in class I and II are lower allowing the treatment of these patients as outpatients. In a London District General Hospital (DGH) with mixed ethnicity and high disease burden, we looked at MR at 1, 3, and 7 days of all PESI score classes. Our pilot study of 112 patients showed MR of 0% in class I, II, and III. The current study includes positive Computed Tomographic Scans (CT scans) for PE over the following three years (total of 555). MR was calculated for all PESI score classes at 1, 3 & 7 days. Thirty days MR was additionally calculated to validate the study. Our initial results so far are in line with our pilot studies. Further subgroup analysis accounting for the local co-morbidities and disease burden and its impact on the MR will be undertaken.

Keywords: Pulmonary Embolism (PE), Pulmonary Embolism Severity Index (PESI) score, mortality rate (MR), CT pulmonary artery

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Authors: P. Vanichkobchinda

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The Logistics Transportation techniques, Open Vehicle Routing (OVR) is an approach toward transportation cost reduction, especially for long distance pickup and delivery nodes. The outstanding characteristic of OVR is that the route starting node and ending node are not necessary the same as in typical vehicle routing problems. This advantage enables the routing to flow continuously and the vehicle does not always return to its home base. This research aims to develop a heuristic for the open vehicle routing problem with pickup and delivery under time window and loading capacity constraints to minimize the total distance. The proposed heuristic is developed based on the Insertion method, which is a simple method and suitable for the rapid calculation that allows insertion of the new additional transportation requirements along the original paths. According to the heuristic analysis, cost comparisons between the proposed heuristic and companies are using method, nearest neighbor method show that the insertion heuristic. Moreover, the proposed heuristic gave superior solutions in all types of test problems. In conclusion, the proposed heuristic can effectively and efficiently solve the open vehicle routing. The research indicates that the improvement of new transport's calculation and the open vehicle routing with "Insertion Heuristic" represent a better outcome with 34.3 percent in average. in cost savings. Moreover, the proposed heuristic gave superior solutions in all types of test problems. In conclusion, the proposed heuristic can effectively and efficiently solve the open vehicle routing.

Keywords: business competitiveness, cost reduction, SMEs, logistics transportation, VRP

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Authors: Hatim Laalej, Jon Stammers

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In machining, monitoring of tool wear is essential for achieving the desired dimensional accuracy and surface finish of a machined workpiece. Currently, the task of monitoring the wear on the cutting tool is carried out by the operator who performs manual inspections of the cutting tool, causing undesirable stoppages of machine tools and consequently resulting in costs incurred from loss of productivity. The cutting tool consumable costs may also be higher than necessary when tools are changed before the end of their useful life. Furthermore, damage can be caused to the workpiece when tools are not changed soon enough leading to a significant increase in the costs of manufacturing. The present study is concerned with the development of break sensor printed on the flank surface of poly-crystalline diamond (PCD) cutting to perform on-line condition monitoring of the cutting tool used to machine Titanium Ti-6al-4v bar. The results clearly show that there is a strong correlation between the break sensor measurements and the amount of wear in the cutting tool. These findings are significant in that they help the user/operator of the machine tool to determine the condition of the cutting tool without the need of performing manual inspection, thereby reducing the manufacturing costs such as the machine down time.

Keywords: machining, manufacturing, tool wear, signal processing

Procedia PDF Downloads 243

Authors: Chi-Chang Lin, Jiun-Yan Chiu

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Periodontal disease, oral cancer relating trauma is the prominent factor devastating bone tissue that is crucial to reestablishing in clinical. As we know, common symptom, osteoporosis, and infection limiting the ability of the bone tissue to recover cause difficulty before implantation therapy. Regeneration of bone tissue is the fundamental therapy before surgical processes. To promote the growth of bone tissue, many commercial products still have sophisticated problems that need to overcome. Regrettably, there is no available material which is apparently preferable for releasing and controlling of loading dosage, or mitigating inflammation. In our study, a hydrogel-based composite membrane has been prepared by using Gellan gum (GG), gamma-polyglutamic acid (γ-PGA) and glycerol with simple sol-gel method. GG is a natural material that is massively adopted in cartilage. Unfortunately, the strength of pure GG film is a manifest weakness especially under simulating body fluidic conditions. We utilize another biocompatible material, γ-PGA as cross-linker which can form tri-dimension structure that enhancing the strength. Our result indicated the strength of pure GG membrane can be obviously improved by cross-linked with γ-PGA (0.5, 0.6, 0.7, 0.8, 0.9, 1.0 w/v%). Besides, blending with glycerol (0, 1.0, 2.0, 3.0 w/v%) can significantly improve membrane toughness that corresponds to practical use. The innovative composited hydrogel made of GG, γ-PGA, and glycerol is attested with neat results including elongation and biocompatibility that take the advantage of extension covering major trauma. Recommendations are made for treatment to build up the foundation of bone tissue that would help patients to escape from the suffering and shorten the amount of time in recovery.

Keywords: bone tissue, gellan gum, regeneration, toughness

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Authors: Jeong-Hyun Yoo, Hanjung Kwon, Sung-Wook Cho

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Fused salt electrolysis was studied to make the high purity rare-earth metals using domestic rare-earth ore. The target metals of the fused salt electrolysis were Mm (Misch metal), La, Ce, Nd, etc. Fused salt electrolysis was performed with the supporting salt such as chloride and fluoride at the various temperatures and ampere. The metals made by fused salt electrolysis were analyzed to identify the phase and composition using the methods of XRD and ICP. As a result, the acquired rare-earth metals were the high purity ones which had more than 99% purity. Also, VIM (vacuum induction melting) was studied to make the kg level rare-earth alloy for the use of secondary battery and hydrogen storage. In order to indentify the physicochemical properties such as phase, impurity gas, alloy composition and hydrogen storage, the alloys were investigated. The battery characteristics were also analyzed through the various tests in the real production line of a battery company.

Keywords: domestic rare-earth ore, fused salt electrolysis, rare-earth materials, hydrogen storage alloy, secondary battery

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Authors: Mohammad Fereidoonnezhad, Seán Leen, Stephen Nash, Patrick McGarry

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From the perspective of research innovation, the tidal energy industry is still in its early stages. While a very small number of turbines have progressed to utility-scale deployment, blade breakage is commonly reported due to the enormous hydrodynamic loading applied to devices. The aim of this study is the development of computer simulation technologies for the design of next-generation fibre-reinforced composite tidal turbines. This will require significant technical advances in the areas of tidal turbine testing and multi-scale computational modelling. The complex turbine blade profiles are designed to incorporate non-linear distributions of airfoil sections to optimize power output and self-starting capability while reducing power fluctuations. A number of candidate blade geometries are investigated, ranging from spiral geometries to parabolic geometries, with blades arranged in both cylindrical and spherical configurations on a vertical axis turbine. A combined blade element theory (BET-start-up model) is developed in MATLAB to perform computationally efficient parametric design optimisation for a range of turbine blade geometries. Finite element models are developed to identify optimal fibre-reinforced composite designs to increase blade strength and fatigue life. Advanced fluid-structure-interaction models are also carried out to compute blade deflections following design optimisation.

Keywords: tidal turbine, composite materials, fluid-structure-interaction, start-up capability

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Authors: Maryam Vaezjalali, Foad Davoodbeglou, Mehrnaz Mesdaghi, Hossein Goudarzi, Fariba Shojaei, Hourieh Aram

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Introduction: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection causes chronic infection in human population, with high mortality. Some people are more susceptible to this infection. One of the high risk communities is mentally retarded children, who are institutionalized. Special conditions in these centers predispose children for HBV infection and transmission to healthy people. In this study our objective was to determine the prevalence of HBV infection among institutionalized mentally retarded children and study its associated risk factors. Materials and methods: In this study, 250 mentally retarded children (younger than 14 years old) were included. They were living in 5 nursing institutions, located in different parts of Tehran. HBsAg was measured in the sera of these patients by ELISA method. Results: Among 250 children, 20 children (8%) were HBsAg positive. HBV infection in girls was more than boys (11% to 5.6%). Among the types of mental retardation, children with cerebral palsy had the highest positive result for HBsAg. The most HBV infection (28.5%) was seen in children with longest duration of being institutionalized (10 to 11 years). Vaccinated children were more HBsAg positive (8.7%) than non-vaccinated children (5.3%). However, no significant relationship was observed between any of these factors and HBsAg positivity. Conclusion: Despite improvement of people’s health condition and implementation of HBV vaccination, the prevalence of HBV infection is high in institutionalized mentally retarded children, which highlights the need for active measures to reduce this infection among this high risk population.

Keywords: hepatitis B virus, HBV vaccine, intellectually disabled children, mentally retarded

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Authors: Muhammad Umair, Yuri Nikolaev, Denis Artemov, Ighor Uzhinsky

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A flexible manufacturing system is an integral part of a smart factory of industry 4.0 in which every machine is interconnected and works autonomously. Robots are in the process of replacing humans in every industrial sector. As the cyber-physical-system (CPS) and artificial intelligence (AI) are advancing, the manufacturing industry is getting more dependent on computers than human brains. This modernization has boosted the production with high quality and accuracy and shifted from classic production to smart manufacturing systems. However, material handling for such automated productions is a challenge and needs to be addressed with the best possible solution. Conventional clamping systems are designed for manual work and not suitable for highly automated production systems. Researchers and engineers are trying to find the most economical solution for loading/unloading and transportation workpieces from a warehouse to a machine shop for machining operations and back to the warehouse without human involvement. This work aims to propose an advanced multi-shape tooling solution for highly automated manufacturing systems. The currently obtained result shows that it could function well with automated guided vehicles (AGVs) and modern conveyor belts. The proposed solution is following requirements to be automation-friendly, universal for different part geometry and production operations. We used a bottom-up approach in this work, starting with studying different case scenarios and their limitations and finishing with the general solution.

Keywords: artificial intelligence, cyber physics system, Industry 4.0, material handling, smart factory, flexible manufacturing system

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Authors: Ali Hajiesmaeili, Mehdi Rahimi, Ehsan Jaberi, Amir Abbas Hosseini

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The purpose of this study is investigating the influences of logistics performance on organizational performance including both marketing & financial aspects, and showing the financial impacts of selecting the right marketing and logistics priorities in line with their supply chain type, and also giving the practitioners an advance identification of their priorities and participation types of supply chain, and the best combination of their strategies and resources in this regard. We made use of the original model’s questionnaire to gather all expert’s data and also SPSS and AMOS Ver.22 to analyze the gathered data. CFA method was also used to test whether a relationship between observed variables and their underlying latent constructs exists. Supply chain strategy implementation leads to logistics performance improvement, and marketing performance will be affected as well. Logistics service providers should focus on enhancement of supply chain performance, since logistics performance has been considered as a basis of evaluation of supply chain management strategy. Consequently, performance of the organization will be enhanced. This case is the first research made in Iran that analyzes the relationship between Logistics & Organizational performance in Home Appliances and Home Entertainment companies.

Keywords: logistics, organizational, performance, supply chain, strategy

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Authors: Nishitha Chowdary, Prabhav Dwivedi

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Solar radiation (or insolation) is responsible for 174 petawatts (PW) of energy reaching the Earth's atmosphere. About one-third of this is reflected in space. Solar energy is by far the most abundant source of energy on Earth. In this study to use solar energy to the fullest in a solar air heater, An analysis of a solar air heater duct roughened with fixed cylindrical ribs in 3-D has been done using CFD. These fixed cylindrical ribs have a uniform circular cross-section and are placed in transverse in-line and staggered arrangements. The orientation of ribs has been fixed and is perpendicular to the in-flow direction. Cylindrical ribs are arranged periodically with fixed pitch; therefore, one pitch length is only considered in the present study. Validation has been done with smooth as well as with roughened duct and is matched perfectly with the developed correlations. Geometric parameters, namely rib height (e), ranges from 1 to 2 mm and pitch ranges from 10 to 40 mm are used in the present investigation. Thermo-hydraulic performance parameters in terms of average Nusselt number and friction factor have been extracted for Reynolds number ranging 5000—18000 to optimize the performance of roughened duct.

Keywords: cylindrical ribs, solar air heater, thermo-hydraulic performance factor, roughened duct

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Authors: Marta Tryzna, Shahd Al Shammari

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Though Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) is the only official language in GCC states, including Kuwait, and traditionally the preferred vehicle for literacy in the Arab countries, recent studies in Qatar and the UAE observe a growing role of English, particularly in literacy and knowledge transmission contexts. The present study examines the attitudes to Arabic and English and the use of both languages in literacy-related domains based on a sample of bilingual Arabic-English undergraduates (N=522) at a private university with EMI in Kuwait. The results indicate that Arabic (Kuwaiti dialect) is associated with familial interactions, Arabic-English bilingualism predominates in interactions with classmates, friends, on social media and at work, while English is prevalent in literacy-related contexts such as reading books, magazines, or online material, domains traditionally associated with MSA. Attitudes towards Arabic and English are equally positive according to the majority of the respondents, who report being comfortable expressing themselves and projecting their identity in both languages. No statistically significant differences were found comparing the importance of Arabic and English in the sample. Future trends were identified based on high agreement on the importance of speaking English with children and low agreement on speaking only Arabic at home. The study corroborates recently observed trends in the GCC favoring bilingualism across personal, academic and professional domains, with English becoming the preferred language of literacy among young bilingual Kuwaitis.

Keywords: bilingual, English, Arabic, EMI, identity

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Authors: M. I. Benamrani, H. Benamrani

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In the research to replace silicon and other thin-film semiconductor technologies and to develop long-term technology that is environmentally friendly, low-cost, and abundant, there is growing interest today given to organic materials. Our objective is to prepare polymeric layers containing metal particles deposited on a surface of semiconductor material which can have better electrical properties and which could be applied in the fields of nanotechnology as an alternative to the existing processes involved in the design of electronic circuits. This work consists in the development of composite materials by complexation and electroreduction of copper in a film of poly (pyrrole benzoic acid). The deposition of the polymer film on a monocrystalline silicon substrate is made by electrochemical oxidation in an organic medium. The incorporation of copper particles into the polymer is achieved by dipping the electrode in a solution of copper sulphate to complex the cupric ions, followed by electroreduction in an aqueous solution to precipitate the copper. In order to prepare the monocrystalline silicon substrate as an electrode for electrodeposition, an in-depth study on its surface state was carried out using photoacoustic spectroscopy. An analysis of the optical properties using this technique on the effect of pickling using a chemical solution was carried out. Transmission-photoacoustic and impedance spectroscopic techniques give results in agreement with those of photoacoustic spectroscopy.

Keywords: photoacoustic, spectroscopy, copper sulphate, chemical solution

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Authors: Moustafa Shawkey, Ahmed G. El-Deen, H. M. Mahmoud, M. M. Rashad

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Piezoelectric based cement nanocomposite is a promising technology for generating an electric charge upon mechanical stress of concrete structure. Moreover, piezoelectric nanomaterials play a vital role for providing accurate system of structural health monitoring (SHM) of the concrete structure. In light of increasing awareness of environmental protection and energy crises, generating renewable and green energy form cement based on piezoelectric nanomaterials attracts the attention of the researchers. Herein, we introduce a facial synthesis for bismuth ferrite nanoparticles (BiFeO3 NPs) as piezoelectric nanomaterial via sol gel strategy. The fabricated piezoelectric nanoparticles are uniformly distributed to cement-based nanomaterials with different ratios. The morphological shape was characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM) as well as the crystal structure has been confirmed using X-ray diffraction (XRD). The ferroelectric and magnetic behaviours of BiFeO3 NPs have been investigated. Then, dielectric constant for the prepared cement samples nanocomposites (εr) is calculated. Intercalating BiFeO3 NPs into cement materials achieved remarkable results as piezoelectric cement materials, distinct enhancement in ferroelectric and magnetic properties. Overall, this present study introduces an effective approach to improve the electrical properties based cement applications.

Keywords: piezoelectric nanomaterials, cement technology, bismuth ferrite nanoparticles, dielectric

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Authors: Nitika Sharma, Yogesh Jain

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Introduction: An efficient Information System helps in improving the service delivery as well provides the foundation for policy and regulation of other building blocks of Health System. Health care organizations require an integrated working of its various sub-systems. An efficient EMR software boosts the teamwork amongst the various sub-systems thereby resulting in improved service delivery. Although there has been a huge impetus to EMR under the Digital India initiative, it has still not been mandated in India. It is generally implemented in huge funded public or private healthcare organizations only. Objective: The study was conducted to understand the factors that lead to the successful adoption of an affordable EMR in the low level healthcare organization. It intended to understand the design of the EMR and address the solutions to the challenges faced in adoption of the EMR. Methodology: The study was conducted in a non-profit registered Healthcare organization that has been providing healthcare facilities to more than 2500 villages including certain areas that are difficult to access. The data was collected with help of field notes, in-depth interviews and participant observation. A total of 16 participants using the EMR from different departments were enrolled via purposive sampling technique. The participants included in the study were working in the organization before the implementation of the EMR system. The study was conducted in one month period from 25 June-20 July 2018. The Ethical approval was taken from the institute along with prior approval of the participants. Data analysis: A word document of more than 4000 words was obtained after transcribing and translating the answers of respondents. It was further analyzed by focused coding, a line by line review of the transcripts, underlining words, phrases or sentences that might suggest themes to do thematic narrative analysis. Results: Based on the answers the results were thematically grouped under four headings: 1. governance of organization, 2. architecture and design of the software, 3. features of the software, 4. challenges faced in adoption and the solutions to address them. It was inferred that the successful implementation was attributed to the easy and comprehensive design of the system which has facilitated not only easy data storage and retrieval but contributes in constructing a decision support system for the staff. Portability has lead to increased acceptance by physicians. The proper division of labor, increased efficiency of staff, incorporation of auto-correction features and facilitation of task shifting has lead to increased acceptance amongst the users of various departments. Geographical inhibitions, low computer literacy and high patient load were the major challenges faced during its implementation. Despite of dual efforts made both by the architects and administrators to combat these challenges, there are still certain ongoing challenges faced by organization. Conclusion: Whenever any new technology is adopted there are certain innovators, early adopters, late adopters and laggards. The same pattern was followed in adoption of this software. He challenges were overcome with joint efforts of organization administrators and users as well. Thereby this case study provides a framework of implementing similar systems in public sector of countries that are struggling for digitizing the healthcare in presence of crunch of human and financial resources.

Keywords: EMR, healthcare technology, e-health, EHR

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Authors: Sharmili Routray, Kishor Chandra Biswal

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The use of corrosion resistant fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) reinforcement is beneficial in structures particularly those exposed to deicing salts, and/or located in highly corrosive environment. Generally Glass, Carbon and Aramid fibers are used for the strengthening purpose of the structures. Due to the necessities of low weight and high strength materials, it is required to find out the suitable substitute with low cost. Recent developments in fiber production technology allow the strengthening of structures using Basalt fiber which is made from basalt rock. Basalt fiber has good range of thermal performance, high tensile strength, resistance to acids, good electro‐magnetic properties, inert nature, resistance to corrosion, radiation and UV light, vibration and impact loading. This investigation focuses on the effect of fibre content and fiber orientation of basalt fibre on mechanical properties of the fabricated composites. Specimen prepared with unidirectional Basalt fabric as reinforcing materials and epoxy resin as a matrix in polymer composite. In this investigation different fiber orientation are taken and the fabrication is done by hand lay-up process. The variation of the properties with the increasing number of plies of fiber in the composites is also studied. Specimens are subjected to tensile strength test and the failure of the composite is examined with the help of INSTRON universal testing Machine (SATEC) of 600 kN capacities. The average tensile strength and modulus of elasticity of BFRP plates are determined from the test Program.

Keywords: BFRP, fabrication, Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP), strengthening

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Authors: Younes Abed

Abstract:

The successful application of in-situ testing of soils heavily depends on development of interpretation methods of tests. The pressuremeter test simulates the expansion of a cylindrical cavity and because it has well defined boundary conditions, it is more unable to rigorous theoretical analysis (i. e. cavity expansion theory) then most other in-situ tests. In this article, and in order to make the identification process more convenient, we propose a relatively simple procedure which involves the numerical identification of some mechanical parameters of a granular soil, especially, the elastic modulus and the friction angle from a pressuremeter curve. The procedure, applied here to identify the parameters of generalised prager model associated to the Drucker & Prager criterion from a pressuremeter curve, is based on an inverse analysis approach, which consists of minimizing the function representing the difference between the experimental curve and the curve obtained by integrating the model along the loading path in in-situ testing. The numerical process implemented here is based on the established finite element program. We present a validation of the proposed approach by a database of tests on expansion of cylindrical cavity. This database consists of four types of tests; thick cylinder tests carried out on the Hostun RF sand, pressuremeter tests carried out on the Hostun sand, in-situ pressuremeter tests carried out at the site of Fos with marine self-boring pressuremeter and in-situ pressuremeter tests realized on the site of Labenne with Menard pressuremeter.

Keywords: granular soils, cavity expansion, pressuremeter test, finite element method, identification procedure

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Authors: Jing Ning, Kunyuan Gao

Abstract:

The microstructure and phase structure of Al-Er alloys with Er content of 10, 20, 30wt% at cooling rate of 60, 40 and 5℃/h were analyzed using scanning electron microscope (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Experimental results showed that for solidification of the hypereutectic Al-Er alloys at different conditions, a halo of α-Al appeared around the primary Al₃Er phase. Analysis of the solidification process indicated that after the primary Al₃Er phase formed, the composition of supercooled liquid phase located outside the coupled zone of eutectic growth below the eutectic line, which leaded to the formation of Al halo. With the increase of Er content, the blocky primary Al₃Er phase expanded from 200μm to 1mm in size. With the decrease of cooling rate, the morphology and phase structure of alloy were different. At the cooling rate of 60℃/h, it was obtained the primary Al3Er phase with L1₂ structure, whose profile was straight. Meanwhile, the eutectic structure was flocculent. At the quite slow cooling rate of 5℃/h, it was obtained the primary Al₃Er phase with hR20 structure with irregular jagged profile, and the eutectic structure was approximately strip-shaped. These characteristics were closely related to the cooling rate of solidification. The XRD analysis showed that for Al₃Er phase, the lattice constant a of L1₂ structure was 4.2158Å, and a, c of hR20 structure were 6.0321Å and 35.6290Å, respectively.

Keywords: Al-Er alloy, composition, cooling rate, microstructure

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Authors: Ibrahim Alsendid, Rob Sturman, Benjamin Sharp

Abstract:

In this paper, we consider a family of 2-dimensional nonlinear area-preserving transformations on the torus. A single parameter η varies between 0 and 1, taking the transformation from a hyperbolic toral automorphism to the “Cerbelli-Giona” map, a system known to exhibit multifractal properties. Here we study the multifractal properties of the family of maps. We apply a box-counting method by defining a grid of boxes Bi(δ), where i is the index and δ is the size of the boxes, to quantify the distribution of stable and unstable manifolds of the map. When the parameter is in the range 0.51< η <0.58 and 0.68< η <1 the map is ergodic; i.e., the unstable and stable manifolds eventually cover the whole torus, although not in a uniform distribution. For accurate numerical results, we require correspondingly accurate construction of the stable and unstable manifolds. Here we use the piecewise linearity of the map to achieve this, by computing the endpoints of line segments that define the global stable and unstable manifolds. This allows the generalized fractal dimension Dq, and spectrum of dimensions f(α), to be computed with accuracy. Finally, the intersection of the unstable and stable manifold of the map will be investigated and compared with the distribution of periodic points of the system.

Keywords: Discrete-time dynamical systems, Fractal geometry, Multifractal behaviour of the Perturbed map, Multifractal of Dynamical systems

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Authors: M. H. Pazandeh, M. Doudi, S. Barahimi, L. Rahimzadeh Torabi

Abstract:

The use of antibiotics is essential in reducing the occurrence of adverse effects and inhibiting the emergence of antibiotic resistance in microbial populations. The necessity for a novel methodology concerning local administration of antibiotics has arisen, with particular focus on dealing with localized infections prompted by bacterial colonization of medical devices or implant materials. Bioactive glasses (BG) are extensively employed in the field of regenerative medicine, encompassing a diverse range of materials utilized for drug delivery systems. In the present investigation, various drug carriers for imipenem and tetracycline, namely single systems BG/SnO2, BG/NiO with varying proportions of metal oxide, and nanocomposite BG/SnO2/NiO, were synthesized through the sol-gel technique. The antibacterial efficacy of the synthesized samples was assessed through the utilization of the disk diffusion method with the aim of neutralizing Staphylococcus aureus as the bacterial model. The current study involved the examination of the bioactivity of two samples, namely BG10SnO2/10NiO and BG20SnO2, which were chosen based on their heightened bacterial inactivation properties. This evaluation entailed the employment of two techniques: the measurement of the pH of simulated body fluid (SBF) solution and the analysis of the sample tablets through X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The sample tablets were submerged in SBF for varying durations of 7, 14, and 28 days. The bioactivity of the composite bioactive glass sample was assessed through characterization of alterations in its surface morphology, structure, and chemical composition. This evaluation was performed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction spectroscopy. Subsequently, the sample was immersed in simulated liquids to simulate its behavior in biological environments. The specific body fat percentage (SBF) was assessed over a 28-day period. The confirmation of the formation of a hydroxyapatite surface layer serves as a distinct indicator of bioactivity. The infusion of antibiotics into the composite bioactive glass specimen was done separately, and then the release kinetics of tetracycline and imipenem were tested in simulated body fluid (SBF). Antimicrobial effectiveness against various bacterial strains have been proven in numerous instances using both melt and sol-gel techniques to create multiple bioactive glass compositions. An elevated concentration of calcium ions within a solution has been observed to cause an increase in the pH level. In aqueous suspensions, bioactive glass particles manifest a significant antimicrobial impact. The composite bioactive glass specimen exhibits a gradual and uninterrupted release, which is highly desirable for a drug delivery system over a span of 72 hours. The reduction in absorption, which signals the loss of a portion of the antibiotic during the loading process from the initial phosphate-buffered saline solution, indicates the successful bonding of the two antibiotics to the surfaces of the bioactive glass samples. The sample denoted as BG/10SnO2/10NiO exhibits a higher loading of particles compared to the sample designated as BG/20SnO2 in the context of bioactive glass. The enriched sample demonstrates a heightened bactericidal impact on the bacteria under investigation while concurrently preserving its antibacterial characteristics. Tailored bioactive glass that incorporates hydroxyapatite, with a regulated and efficient release of drugs targeting bacterial infections, holds promise as a potential framework for bone implant scaffolds following rigorous clinical evaluation, thereby establishing potential future biomedical uses. During the modification process, the introduction of metal oxides into bioactive glass resulted in improved antibacterial characteristics, particularly in the composite bioactive glass sample that displayed the highest level of efficiency.

Keywords: antibacterial, bioactive glasses, implant infections, multi drug resistant

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Authors: Hassan Beigi Rizi, Harold Auradou, Lamine Hattali

Abstract:

Various industries, including civil engineering, automotive, aerospace, and biomedical fields, are currently seeking novel and innovative high-performance lightweight materials to reduce energy consumption. Inspired by the structure of Euplectella Aspergillum Glass Sponges (EA-sponge), 2D unit cells were created and fabricated using a Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) process with Polylactic acid (PLA) filaments. The stiffness and strength of bio-inspired EA-sponge lattice were investigated both experimentally and numerically under uniaxial tensile loading and are compared to three standard square lattices with diagonal struts (Designs B and C) and only non-diagonal struts (Design D) reinforcements. The aim is to establish predictive scaling laws models and examine the deformation mechanisms involved. The results indicated that for the EA-sponge structure, the relative moduli and yield strength scaled linearly with relative density, suggesting that the deformation mechanism is stretching-dominated. The Finite element analysis (FEA), with periodic boundary conditions for volumetric homogenization, confirms these trends and goes beyond the experimental limits imposed by the FFF printing process. Therefore, the stretching-dominated behavior, investigated from 0.1 to 0.5 relative density, demonstrate that the study of EA-sponge structure can be exploited for the realization of square lattice topologies that are stiff and strong and have attractive potential for lightweight structural applications.

Keywords: bio-inspiration, lattice structures, fused filament fabrication, scaling laws

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Authors: H. C. Chinwenyi, H. D. Ibrahim, J. O. Adekunle

Abstract:

The incubation period is defined as the time from infection with a microorganism to development of symptoms. In this research, two disease models: one with incubation period and another without incubation period were studied. The study involves the use of a  mathematical model with a single incubation period. The test for the existence and stability of the disease free and the endemic equilibrium states for both models were carried out. The fourth order Runge-Kutta method was used to solve both models numerically. Finally, a computer program in MATLAB was developed to run the numerical experiments. From the results, we are able to show that the endemic equilibrium state of the model with incubation period is locally asymptotically stable whereas the endemic equilibrium state of the model without incubation period is unstable under certain conditions on the given model parameters. It was also established that the disease free equilibrium states of the model with and without incubation period are locally asymptotically stable. Furthermore, results from numerical experiments using empirical data obtained from Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) showed that the overall population of the infected people for the model with incubation period is higher than that without incubation period. We also established from the results obtained that as the transmission rate from susceptible to infected population increases, the peak values of the infected population for the model with incubation period decrease and are always less than those for the model without incubation period.

Keywords: asymptotic stability, Hartman-Grobman stability criterion, incubation period, Routh-Hurwitz criterion, Runge-Kutta method

Procedia PDF Downloads 173