Search results for: weight gain prevention

Authors: Ercan Ceyhan, Mehmet Ali Avci

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This research was made during the 2015 growing periods in the trial filed of ‘Research Station for Department of Field Crops, Agricultural Faculty, Selcuk University’ according to ‘Randomized Blocks Design’ with 3 replications. Research material was the following pea lines; PS16, PS18, PS21, PS23, PS24, PS25, PS36, PS47, PS49, PS51, PS54, PS58, PS67, PS69, PS71, PS73, PS83, PS84, PS87 and PSKY and three cultivars and other 2 commercial varieties named as Bolero, Rondo and Ultrello. Some agronomical characteristics such as plant height (cm) number of pod per plant number of seed per pod number of seed per plant 100 seed weight (g) and seed yield (kg ha-1) were determined. Results of the research implicated that the new developed lines were superior compared with the control (commercial) varieties by means of most of the characteristics. Nevertheless, similar researches should be continued in different locations and years.

Keywords: agricultural characters, pea, Pisum sativum, seed yield

Procedia PDF Downloads 239

Authors: Bing Chen, Xiang Ni, Eric Li

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With the population ageing, the number of patients suffering from chronic diseases is increasing, among which stroke is a high incidence for the elderly. In addition, there is a gradual increase in the number of patients with orthopedic or neurological conditions such as spinal cord injuries, nerve injuries, and other knee injuries. These diseases are chronic, with high recurrence and complications, and normal walking is difficult for such patients. Nowadays, robotic knee exoskeletons have been developed for individuals with knee impairments. However, the currently available robotic knee exoskeletons are generally developed with heavyweight, which makes the patients uncomfortable to wear, prone to wearing fatigue, shortening the wearing time, and reducing the efficiency of exoskeletons. Some lightweight materials, such as carbon fiber and titanium alloy, have been used for the development of robotic knee exoskeletons. However, this increases the cost of the exoskeletons. This paper illustrates the design of a new ultra-light and ultra-stiff truss type of lattice structure. The lattice structures are arranged in a fan shape, which can fit well with circular arc surfaces such as circular holes, and it can be utilized in the design of rods, brackets, and other parts of a robotic knee exoskeleton to reduce the weight. The metamaterial is formed by continuous arrangement and combination of small truss structure unit cells, which changes the diameter of the pillar section, geometrical size, and relative density of each unit cell. It can be made quickly through additive manufacturing techniques such as metal 3D printing. The unit cell of the truss structure is small, and the machined parts of the robotic knee exoskeleton, such as connectors, rods, and bearing brackets, can be filled and replaced by gradient arrangement and non-uniform distribution. Under the condition of satisfying the mechanical properties of the robotic knee exoskeleton, the weight of the exoskeleton is reduced, and hence, the patient’s wearing fatigue is relaxed, and the wearing time of the exoskeleton is increased. Thus, the efficiency and wearing comfort, and safety of the exoskeleton can be improved. In this paper, a brief description of the hardware design of the prototype of the robotic knee exoskeleton is first presented. Next, the design of the ultra-light and ultra-stiff truss type of lattice structures is proposed, and the mechanical analysis of the single-cell unit is performed by establishing the theoretical model. Additionally, simulations are performed to evaluate the maximum stress-bearing capacity and compressive performance of the uniform arrangement and gradient arrangement of the cells. Finally, the static analysis is performed for the cell-filled rod and the unmodified rod, respectively, and the simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness and feasibility of the designed ultra-light and ultra-stiff truss type of lattice structures. In future studies, experiments will be conducted to further evaluate the performance of the designed lattice structures.

Keywords: additive manufacturing, lattice structures, metamaterial, robotic knee exoskeleton

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Authors: Silpa Mariyam John, S. Baburaj, Prajit Geevarghese

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Diabetes accelerates pregnancy and can cause adverse effects on the fetus. Studies have shown that fetal abdominal circumference measured in ultrasound is an early parameter for the assessment of macrosomia. The objective of the study is to compare the fetal abdominal circumferences between diabetes and non-diabetic mothers. It was a comparative cross-sectional study conducted in a tertiary care hospital in Trivandrum, Kerala, with a sample size calculated as 95 for each group. All mothers taking antenatal care and delivering at the hospital were included after obtaining consent. The mothers and their newborns were divided into 2 groups (diabetic and non-diabetic). Relevant fetal biometry values were collected from medical records, and birth weight was measured by a calibrated electronic weighing machine after birth. The data were entered in MS EXCEL and analyzed. It was found that there is a significant relationship between the fetal abdominal circumference and birthweight in diabetic mothers during the first and third trimesters.

Keywords: newborn, diabetes, abdominal circumference, ultrasound

Procedia PDF Downloads 53

Authors: Myung Kwon Cho, Seul Ki Min, Gwang Heum Yoon, Jung Hyun Joo, Sang Jun Sim, Hwa Sung Shin

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Mechanotransduction is a mechanism that external mechanical stimulation is converted to biochemical activity in the cell. When applying this mechanism to the unicellular green algae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, the dramatic result that the accumulation of intracellular lipid was up to 60% of dry weight basis occurred. Furthermore, various variations in cellular physiology occurred, but there is a lack of the development of the system and related research for applying that technology to control the mechanical stress and facilitate molecular analyses. In this study, applying a mechanical stress to microalgae, the microfluidic device system that finely induced direct membrane distortion of microalgae. Cellular membrane distortion led to deflagellation, calcium influx and lipid accumulation in microalgae. In conclusion, cytological studies such as mechanotransduction can be actualized by using this system and membrane distortion is a promising inducer for biodiesel production.

Keywords: mechanotransduction, microalgae, membrane distortion, biodiesel

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Authors: Raheleh Khademian, Roghayeh Aminian

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For the study of salinity stress on Vicia villosa and calcium effect for modulation of that, an experiment was conducted under hydroponic condition, and some important morphological and physiological characteristics were evaluated. This experiment was conducted as a factorial based on randomized complete design with three replications. The treatments include salinity stress in three levels (0, 50, and 100 mM NaCl) and calcium in two levels (content in Hoagland solution and double content). The results showed that all morphological and physiological traits include root and shoot length, root and shoot wet and dry weight, leaf area, leaf chlorophyll content, RWC, CMS, and biological yield was significantly different from the control and is affected by the salinity stress severely. But, calcium effect on them was not significant despite of decreasing salinity effect.

Keywords: Vicia villossa, salinity stress, calcium, hydroponic

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Authors: M. Ramachandra, G. Dilip Maruthi, R. Rashmi

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This paper aims to study the corrosion property of aluminum matrix nanocomposite of an aluminum alloy (Al-6061) reinforced with zirconium dioxide (ZrO₂) particles. The zirconium dioxide particles are synthesized by solution combustion method. The nanocomposite materials are prepared by mechanical stir casting method, varying the percentage of n-ZrO₂ (2.5%, 5% and 7.5% by weight). The corrosion behavior of base metal (Al-6061) and Al/ZrO₂ nanocomposite in seawater (3.5% NaCl solution) is measured using the potential control method. The corrosion rate is evaluated by Tafel extrapolation technique. The corrosion potential increases with the increase in wt.% of n-ZrO₂ in the nanocomposite which means the decrease in corrosion rate. It is found that on addition of n-ZrO2 particles to the aluminum matrix, the corrosion rate has decreased compared to the base metal.

Keywords: Al6061 alloy, corrosion, solution, stir casting, combustion, potentiostat, zirconium dioxide

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Authors: Sasan Talebnezhad, Saeed Pormahdian, Naghi Assali

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Homogeneous α-diimine nickel (II) catalyst complexes, with and without amino para-aryl position functionality, were synthesized. These complexes were immobilized on carboxyl, hydroxyl, and acyl chloride functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes to form five novel heterogeneous α-diiminonickel catalysts. Immobilization was performed by covalent or electrostatic bonding via methylaluminoxane (MAO) linker or amide linkage. Both the nature of α-diimine ligands and the kind of interaction between anchored catalyst complexes and multi-walled carbon nanotube surface influenced the catalytic performance, microstructure, and morphology of obtained polyethylenes. The catalyst prepared by amide bonding showed lowest relative weight loss in thermogravimetry analysis and highest activities up to 5863 gr PE mmol-1Ni.hr-1. This catalyst produced polyethylene with dense botryoidal morphology.

Keywords: α-diimine nickel (II) complexes, immobilization, multi-walled carbon nanotubes, ethylene polymerization

Procedia PDF Downloads 407

Authors: Sasan Talebnezhad, Saeed Pourmahdian, Naghi Assali

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Homogeneous α-diimine nickel (II) catalyst complexes, with and without amino para-aryl position functionality, were synthesized. These complexes were immobilized on carboxyl, hydroxyl and acyl chloride functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes to form five novel heterogeneous α diiminonickel catalysts. Immobilization was performed by covalent or electrostatic bonding via methylaluminoxane (MAO) linker or amide linkage. Both the nature of α-diimine ligands and the kind of interaction between anchored catalyst complexes and multi-walled carbon nanotube surface influenced the catalytic performance, microstructure, and morphology of obtained polyethylenes. The catalyst prepared by amide bonding showed lowest relative weight loss in thermogravimetry analysis and highest activities up to 5863 gr PE mmol-1Ni.hr-1. This catalyst produced polyethylene with dense botryoidal morphology.

Keywords: α-diimine nickel (II) complexes, immobilization, multi-walled carbon nanotubes, ethylene polymerization

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Authors: Nazanin Ahmadi Daryakenari

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Background: Diabetes significantly influences the risk of heart failure. The interplay between distinct types of diabetes, heart failure, and their distribution across various age groups remains an area of active exploration. This study endeavors to scrutinize the age group distribution in publications addressing Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes and heart failure on PubMed while also examining the evolving publication trends. Methods: We leveraged E-utilities and RegEx to search and extract publication data from PubMed using various mesh terms. Subsequently, we conducted descriptive statistics and t-tests to discern the differences between the two diabetes types and the distribution across age groups. Finally, we analyzed the temporal trends of publications concerning both types of diabetes and heart failure. Results: Our findings revealed a divergence in the age group distribution between Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes within heart failure publications. Publications discussing Type 2 diabetes and heart failure were more predominant among older age groups, whereas those addressing Type 1 diabetes and heart failure displayed a more balanced distribution across all age groups. The t-test revealed no significant difference in the means between the two diabetes types. However, the number of publications exploring the relationship between Type 2 diabetes and heart failure has seen a steady increase over time, suggesting an escalating interest in this area. Conclusion: The dissection of publication patterns on PubMed uncovers a pronounced association between Type 2 diabetes and heart failure within older age groups. This highlights the critical need to comprehend the distinct age group differences when examining diabetes and heart failure to inform and refine targeted prevention and treatment strategies.

Keywords: Type 1 diabetes, Type 2 diabetes, heart failure, age groups, publication patterns, PubMed

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Authors: Rashmi Gupta

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Rewarding stimuli capture attention involuntarily as a result of an association process that develops quickly during value learning, referred to as the reward or value-driven attentional capture. It is essential to compare reward with punishment processing to get a full picture of value-based modulation in visual attention processing. Hence, the present study manipulated both valence/value (reward as well as punishment) and motivational salience (probability of an outcome: high vs. low) together. Series of experiments were conducted, and there were two phases in each experiment. In phase 1, participants were required to learn to associate specific face stimuli with a high or low probability of winning or losing points. In the second phase, these conditioned stimuli then served as a distractor or prime in a speeded letter search task. Faces with high versus low outcome probability, regardless of valence, slowed the search for targets (specifically the left visual field target) and suggesting that the costs to performance on non-emotional cognitive tasks were only driven by motivational salience (high vs. loss) associated with the stimuli rather than the valence (gain vs. loss). It also suggests that the processing of motivationally salient stimuli is right-hemisphere biased. Together, results of these studies strengthen the notion that our visual attention system is more sensitive to affected by motivational saliency rather than valence, which termed here as motivational-driven attentional capture.

Keywords: attention, distractors, motivational salience, valence

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Authors: Koutsopoulou Ioanna, Gkintoni Evgenia, Halkiopoulos Constantinos, Antonopoulou Hera

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Recent advances in Internet Computer Technology (ICT) and the ever-increasing use of technological equipment amongst adolescents and young adults along with unattended access to the internet and social media and uncontrolled use of smart phones and PCs have caused social problems like sexting to emerge. The main purpose of the present article is first to present an analytic theoretical framework of sexting as a recent social phenomenon based on studies that have been conducted the last decade or so; and second to investigate Greek students’ and also social network users, sexting perceptions and to record how often social media users exchange sexual messages and to retrace demographic variables predictors. Data from 1,000 students were collected and analyzed and all statistical analysis was done by the software package WEKA. The results indicate among others, that the use of data mining methods is an important tool to draw conclusions that could affect decision and policy making especially in the field and related social topics of educational psychology. To sum up, sexting lurks many risks for adolescents and young adults students in Greece and needs to be better addressed in relevance to the stakeholders as well as society in general. Furthermore, policy makers, legislation makers and authorities will have to take action to protect minors. Prevention strategies based on Greek cultural specificities are being proposed. This social problem has raised concerns in recent years and will most likely escalate concerns in global communities in the future.

Keywords: educational ethics, sexting, Greek sexters, sex education, data mining

Procedia PDF Downloads 182

Authors: Siti Nor Amira Bt. Mohamad, Mohamad Yazis B. Ali Basah, Muhammad Ridhwan B. Ab. Aziz, Khairil Faizal B. Khairi, Mazlynda Bt. Md. Yusuf, Hisham B. Sabri

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The understanding of risk and the concept of it occurs associated in Islamic financing was well-known in the financial industry by the using of Profit-and-Loss Sharing (PLS). It was presently in any Islamic financial transactions in order to comply with shariah rules. However, the existence of risk in Murabahah contract of financing is an ability that the counterparty is unable to complete its obligations within the agreed terms. Therefore, it is called as credit or default risk. Credit risk occurs when the client fails to make timely payment after the bank makes complete delivery of assets. Thus, it affects the growth of the bank as the banking business is in no position to have appropriate measures to cover the risk. Therefore, the bank may impose penalty on the outstanding balance. This paper aims to highlight the credit risk determinant and issues surrounding in Islamic bank in Malaysia in terms of Murabahah financing and how to manage it by using the proper techniques. Finally, it explores the credit risk management concept that might solve the problems arise. The study found that the credit risk can be managed properly by improving the use of comprehensive reference checklist of business partners on their character and past performance as well as their comprehensive database. Besides that, prevention of credit risk can be done by using collateral as security against the risk and we also argue on the Shariah guidelines and procedures should be implement coherently by the banking business because so that the risk would be control by having an effective instrument for Islamic modes of financing.

Keywords: Islamic banking, credit risk, Murabahah financing, risk mitigation

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Authors: Mohamed Jaditager, Julie Lovisa, Nagaratnam Sivakugan

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The Port of Townsville conducts regular annual maintenance dredging to maintain depths of its harbor basin and approach channels for the navigational safety of the vessels against the natural accumulation of marine sediments. In addition to the regular maintenance dredging, the port undertakes emergency dredging in cases where large quantities of sediments are mobilized and deposited in port waters by cyclone or major flood events. The maintenance dredging material derived from the port may be disposed at sea or on land in accordance with relevant state and commonwealth regulations. For the land disposal, the dredged mud slurry is hydraulically placed into containment ponds and left to undergo sedimentation and self-weight consolidation to form fill material for land reclamation. This paper provides an overview of the maintenance dredging at the Port of Townsville and emphasis on maintenance dredging requirements, sediment quality, bathymetry, dredging methods used, and dredged material disposal options.

Keywords: consolidation, dredged material, maintenance dredging, marine sediments, sedimentation

Procedia PDF Downloads 444

Authors: Temidayo. O. Osunsanmi, Clinton Aigbavboa, Ayodeji Oke

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The construction industry is a renowned latecomer to the efficiency offered by the adoption of information technology. Whereas, the banking, manufacturing, retailing industries have keyed into the future by using digitization and information technology as a new approach for ensuring competitive gain and efficiency. The construction industry has yet to fully realize similar benefits because the adoption of ICT is still at the infancy stage with a major concentration on the use of software. Thus, this study evaluates the awareness and readiness of construction professionals towards embracing a full digitalization of the construction industry using construction 4.0. The term ‘construction 4.0’ was coined from the industry 4.0 concept which is regarded as the fourth industrial revolution that originated from Germany. A questionnaire was utilized for sourcing data distributed to practicing construction professionals through a convenience sampling method. Using SPSS v24, the hypotheses posed were tested with the Mann Whitney test. The result revealed that there are no differences between the consulting and contracting organizations on the readiness for adopting construction 4.0 concepts in the construction industry. Using factor analysis, the study discovers that adopting construction 4.0 will improve the performance of the construction industry regarding cost and time savings and also create sustainable buildings. In conclusion, the study determined that construction professionals have a low awareness towards construction 4.0 concepts. The study recommends an increase in awareness of construction 4.0 concepts through seminars, workshops and training, while construction professionals should take hold of the benefits of adopting construction 4.0 concepts. The study contributes to the roadmap for the implementation of construction industry 4.0 concepts in the South African construction industry.

Keywords: building information technology, Construction 4.0, Industry 4.0, smart site

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Authors: Hamsini Pulugurtha, V.S. Lakshmi Jagadmaba Paluri

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Distributed denial of service attack (DDoS) is one altogether the top-rated cyber threats presently. It runs down the victim server resources like a system of measurement and buffer size by obstructing the server to supply resources to legitimate shoppers. Throughout this text, we tend to tend to propose a mathematical model of DDoS attack; we discuss its relevancy to the choices like inter-arrival time or rate of arrival of the assault customers accessing the server. We tend to tend to further analyze the attack model in context to the exhausting system of measurement and buffer size of the victim server. The projected technique uses an associate in nursing unattended learning technique, self-organizing map, to make the clusters of identical choices. Lastly, the abstract applies mathematical correlation and so the standard likelihood distribution on the clusters and analyses their behaviors to look at a DDoS attack. These systems not exclusively interconnect very little devices exchanging personal data, but to boot essential infrastructures news standing of nuclear facilities. Although this interconnection brings many edges and blessings, it to boot creates new vulnerabilities and threats which might be conversant in mount attacks. In such sophisticated interconnected systems, the power to look at attacks as early as accomplishable is of paramount importance.

Keywords: application attack, bandwidth, buffer correlation, DDoS distribution flooding intrusion layer, normal prevention probability size

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Authors: Samir Al-Zobaidi

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This study attempts to understand the effect of different UV irradiation methods on the intercalation of LDPE/MMT nanocomposites, and its molecular behavior at certain isothermal crystallization temperature. Three different methods of UV exposure were employed using single composition of LDPE/MMT nanocomposites. All samples were annealed for 5 hours at a crystallization temperature of 100°C. The crystallization temperature was chosen to be at large supercooling temperature to ensure quick and complete crystallization. The raw material of LDPE consisted of two stable monoclinic and orthorhombic phases according to XRD results. The thermal behavior of both phases acted differently when UV exposure method was changed. The monoclinic phase was more dependent on the method used compared to the orthorhombic phase. The intercalation of clay, as well as, the non-isothermal crystallization temperature, has also shown a clear dependency on the type of UV exposure. A third phase that is thermally less stable was also observed. Its respond to UV irradiation was greater since it contains low molecular weight entities which make it more vulnerable to any UV exposure.

Keywords: LDPE/MMt nanocomposites, crystallization, UV irradiation, intercalation

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Authors: Stewart A. Keir, Faik A. Hamad

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This study aims to use both analytical and experimental methods of analysis to examine the accuracy of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) models that can then be used for more complex analyses, accurately representing more elaborate flow phenomena such as internal shockwaves and boundary layers. The geometry used in the analytical study and CFD model is taken from the experimental rig. The analytical study is undertaken using isentropic and adiabatic relationships and the output of the analytical study, the 'shockwave location tool', is created. The results from the analytical study are then used to optimize the redesign an experimental rig for more favorable placement of pressure taps and gain a much better representation of the shockwaves occurring in the divergent section of the nozzle. The CFD model is then optimized through the selection of different parameters, e.g. turbulence models (Spalart-Almaras, Realizable k-epsilon & Standard k-omega) in order to develop an accurate, robust model. The results from the CFD model can then be directly compared to experimental and analytical results in order to gauge the accuracy of each method of analysis. The CFD model will be used to visualize the variation of various parameters such as velocity/Mach number, pressure and turbulence across the shock. The CFD results will be used to investigate the interaction between the shock wave and the boundary layer. The validated model can then be used to modify the nozzle designs which may offer better performance and ease of manufacture and may present feasible improvements to existing high-speed flow applications.

Keywords: CFD, nozzle, fluent, gas dynamics, shock-wave

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Authors: Chuanzhi Chen, Wenjing Yu

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Parabolic cylindrical deployable antenna has the characteristics of wide cutting width, strong directivity, high gain, and easy automatic beam scanning. While, due to its large size, high flexibility, and strong coupling, the deployment process of parabolic cylindrical deployable antenna presents such problems as unsynchronized deployment speed, large local deformation and discontinuous switching of deployment state. A large deployable parabolic cylindrical antenna is taken as the research object, and the problem of unfolding process instability of cylindrical antenna is studied in the paper, which is caused by multiple factors such as multiple closed loops, elastic deformation, motion friction, and gap collision. Firstly, the multi-flexible system dynamics model of large-scale parabolic cylindrical antenna is established to study the influence of friction and elastic deformation on the stability of large multi-closed loop antenna. Secondly, the evaluation method of antenna expansion stability is studied, and the quantitative index of antenna configuration design is proposed to provide a theoretical basis for improving the overall performance of the antenna. Finally, through simulation analysis and experiment, the development dynamics and stability of large-scale parabolic cylindrical antennas are verified by in-depth analysis, and the principles for improving the stability of antenna deployment are summarized.

Keywords: multibody dynamics, expandable parabolic cylindrical antenna, stability, flexible deformation

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Authors: Thirunavoukkarasu Manikkannan, Karpanai Selvan Balasubramanian

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Textile industry is the one of the most important industrial sector in India. It accounts for 5% of total Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the country. A Textile industry consumes large quantities of water (~250 m3/ton of product) and they generate almost ~90% of wastewater from its consumption. The problem is alarming and requires proper treatment process to acquire dual benefit of Zero Liquid Discharge and no contamination to the environment. Here we describe the process by which the textile wastewater can be reused. We have collected the textile wastewater in and around Ayyampettai area of Tamilnadu, India. Among different microalgal strains used, Desodesmus sp. collected at Manali, Chennai, Tamilnadu, India was able to lessen the colour of the waste water in 12-15 hrs of its growth, COD around 81.7%, Dissolved solid reduction was 28 ± 0.5 %, Suspended solid was reduced to 40.5 ± 0.3 %, Dye degradation was 50-78%. Further, Desodesmus sp. able to achieve the biomass of 0.9 ± 0.2 g/L (dry weight) in two weeks’ time, the Chl a content was 11 mg/L. It infers that this algal strain able to utilize the textile wastewater as source for growth and algal biomass production.

Keywords: Desodesmus sp., microalgae, textile, treatment, wastewater

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Authors: Shital Suresh Borse, Vijayalaxmi Kadroli

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E-commerce industries nowadays implement the latest AI, ML Techniques to improve their own performance and prediction accuracy. This helps to gain a huge profit from the online market. Ant Colony Optimization, Genetic algorithm, Particle Swarm Optimization, Neural Network & GWO help many e-commerce industries for up-gradation of their predictive performance. These algorithms are providing optimum results in various applications, such as stock price prediction, prediction of drug-target interaction & user ratings of similar products in e-commerce sites, etc. In this study, customer reviews will play an important role in prediction analysis. People showing much interest in buying a lot of services& products suggested by other customers. This ultimately increases net profit. In this work, a convolution neural network (CNN) is proposed which further is useful to optimize the prediction accuracy of an e-commerce website. This method shows that CNN is used to optimize hyperparameters of GWO algorithm using an appropriate coding scheme. Accurate model results are verified by comparing them to PSO results whose hyperparameters have been optimized by CNN in Amazon's customer review dataset. Here, experimental outcome proves that this proposed system using the GWO algorithm achieves superior execution in terms of accuracy, precision, recovery, etc. in prediction analysis compared to the existing systems.

Keywords: prediction analysis, e-commerce, machine learning, grey wolf optimization, particle swarm optimization, CNN

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Authors: Fred N. H. Parker, Nicola T. Fear, S. A. M. Stevelink, L. Rafferty

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Purpose Auditory problems, such as hearing loss and tinnitus, have been associated with mental health problems and alcohol misuse in the UK general population and in the US Armed Forces; however, few studies have examined these associations within the UK Armed Forces. The present study examined the association between auditory problems and probable common mental disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder and alcohol misuse. Methods 5474 serving and ex-service personnel from the UK Armed Forces were examined, selected from those who responded to phase two (data collection 2007–09) and phase three (2014–16) of a military cohort study. Multivariable logistic regression was used to examine the association between auditory problems at phase two and mental health problems at phase three. Results 9.7% of participants reported ever experiencing hearing problems alone, 7.9% reported tinnitus within the last month alone, and 7.8% reported hearing problems with tinnitus. After adjustment, hearing problems with tinnitus at phase two was associated with increased odds of probable common mental disorders (AOR = 1.50, 95% CI 1.09–2.08), post-traumatic stress disorder (AOR = 2.30, 95% CI 1.41–3.76), and alcohol misuse (AOR = 1.94, 95% CI 1.28–2.96) at phase three. Tinnitus alone was associated with probable post-traumatic stress disorder (AOR = 1.80, 95% CI 1.03–3.15); however, hearing problems alone were not associated with any outcomes of interest. Conclusions The association between auditory problems and mental health problems emphasizes the importance of the prevention of auditory problems in the Armed Forces: through enhanced audiometric screening, improved hearing protection equipment, and greater levels of utilization of such equipment.

Keywords: armed forces, hearing problems, tinnitus, mental health, alcohol misuse

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Authors: Cherief Houria, Fouka Mourad

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In this work, the simulation of the radiation attenuation is carried out in a photon detector consisting of different common shielding material using a Monte Carlo program called PTM. The aim of the study is to investigate the effect of atomic weight and the thickness of shielding materials on the gamma radiation attenuation ability. The linear attenuation coefficients of Aluminum (Al), Iron (Fe), and lead (Pb) elements were evaluated at photons energy of 661:7KeV that are considered to be emitted from a standard radioactive point source Cs 137. The experimental measurements have been performed for three materials to obtain these linear attenuation coefficients, using a Gamma NaI(Tl) scintillation detector. Our results have been compared with the simulation results of the linear attenuation coefficient using the XCOM database and Geant4 codes and reveal that they are well agreed with both simulation data.

Keywords: gamma photon, Monte Carlo program, radiation attenuation, shielding material, the linear attenuation coefficient

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Authors: Nor Anisa

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This paper aims to describe the use of conservation and rehabilitation of Mangrove forests as an alternative area in protecting the natural environment and ecosystems and ecology, community education and innovation of sustainable industrial development such as oil companies, gas and coal. The existence of globalization encourages energy needs such as gas, diesel and coal as an unaffected resource which is a basic need for human life while environmental degradation and natural phenomena continue to occur in Indonesia, especially global warming, sea water pollution, extinction of animal steps. The phenomenon or damage to nature in Indonesia is caused by a population explosion in Indonesia that causes unemployment, the land where the residence will disappear so that this will encourage the exploitation of nature and the environment. Therefore, Pertamina as a state-owned oil and gas company carries out its social responsibility efforts, namely to carry out conservation and rehabilitation and management of Mangrove fruit seeds which will provide an educational effect on the benefits of Mangrove seed maintenance. The method used in this study is a qualitative method and secondary data retrieval techniques where data is taken based on Pertamina activity journals and websites that can be accounted for. So the conclusion of this paper is: the benefits and function of conservation of mangrove forests in Indonesia physically, chemically, biologically and socially and economically and can provide innovation to the CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) of the company in continuing social responsibility in the scope of environmental conservation and social education.

Keywords: mangrove, environmental damage, conservation and rehabilitation, innovation of corporate social responsibility

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Authors: Min Pan, An-Hsu Chen

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Burnout has been proved to be one of the factors that hinder the development and sport performances of athletes while moral disengagement is the psychological mechanism used by athletes to elevate the guilt caused by conducting the anti-social behaviors to gain competitive advantages and in sports which have both been discussed extensively. The sports devaluation in burnout may undermine the sportsmanship of athletes therefore may serve as one of factors of moral disengagement in sports. Nonetheless, the connection between athlete burnout and moral disengagement in sports is yet established. Hence, the study aims to investigate whether there is the correlation between athlete burnout and moral disengagement in sports. Participants of this study are 120 collegiate athletes who specialize in seven different sports (e.g., fence, boxing, taekwondo, and etc.) with average training hours of 3.7 per day and 4.5 days per week. Athlete Burnout Questionnaire and Moral Disengagement in Sports – Short were administrated as the research instruments. Data collected were analyzed with descriptive statistics, t-test, one-way ANOVA, and step-wise regression. The results show, participants demonstrate mild to moderate burnout and moral disengagement in their perspective sports disciplines. Moreover, athletes specialize in different sports experience distinct burnout situations while there is no significant variation of moral disengagement in different sports. It is also found, moral disengagement in sports has significant and positive correlations with emotional and physical exhaustion as well as sports devaluation in athlete burnout. Furthermore, athlete burnout can positively predict moral disengagement in sports while sports devaluation plays an important role within. It can be concluded that, athlete burnout may contribute to their tendency of moral disengagement in sport. By relieving the burnout level may help improve their moral disengagement inclination in sports. The finding may contribute to the current literature regarding athlete burnout and moral disengagement in sports.

Keywords: athlete burnout, dehumanization, moral disengagement, reduced sense of accomplishment

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Authors: Yao-Hong Tsai

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This paper presents a weighted approach to unconstrained iris recognition. Nowadays, commercial systems are usually characterized by strong acquisition constraints based on the subject’s cooperation. However, it is not always achievable for real scenarios in our daily life. Researchers have been focused on reducing these constraints and maintaining the performance of the system by new techniques at the same time. With large variation in the environment, there are two main improvements to develop the proposed iris recognition system. For solving extremely uneven lighting condition, statistic based illumination normalization is first used on eye region to increase the accuracy of iris feature. The detection of the iris image is based on Adaboost algorithm. Secondly, the weighted approach is designed by Gaussian functions according to the distance to the center of the iris. Furthermore, local binary pattern (LBP) histogram is then applied to texture classification with the weight. Experiment showed that the proposed system provided users a more flexible and feasible way to interact with the verification system through iris recognition.

Keywords: authentication, iris recognition, adaboost, local binary pattern

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Authors: Ouahiba Taamallah, Tarek Litim

Abstract:

The study deals with the burnishing effect of AISI 52100 steel and parameters influence (Py, i and f on surface integrity. The results show that the optimal effects are closely related to the treatment parameters. With a 92% improvement in roughness, SB can be defined as a finishing operation within the machining range. Due to 85% gain in consolidation rate, this treatment constitutes an efficient process for work-hardening of material. In addition, a statistical study based on regression and Taguchi's design has made it possible to develop mathematical models to predict output responses according to the studied burnishing parameters. Response Surface Methodology RSM showed a simultaneous influence of the burnishing parameters and to observe the optimal parameters of the treatment. ANOVA Analysis of results led to validate the prediction model with a determination coefficient R2=94.60% and R2=93.41% for surface roughness and micro-hardness, respectively. Furthermore, a multi-objective optimization allowed to identify a regime characterized by P=20 Kgf, i=5 passes and f=0.08 mm.rev-1, which favors minimum surface roughness and a maximum of micro-hardness. The result was validated by a composite desirability D_i=1 for both surface roughness and microhardness, respectively. Applying optimal parameters, burnishing showed its beneficial effects in fatigue resistance, especially for imposed loading in the low cycle fatigue of the material where the lifespan increased by 90%.

Keywords: AISI 52100 steel, burnishing, Taguchi, fatigue

Procedia PDF Downloads 188

Authors: Stephy Saavedra, Annsy C. Arredondo, Gisele Monteiro, Adalberto Pessoa Jr, Carol N. Flores-Fernandez, Amparo I. Zavaleta

Abstract:

L-asparaginase from bacterial sources is used in leukemic treatment and food industry. This enzyme is classified based on its affinity towards L-asparagine and L-glutamine. Likewise, ansZ genes express L-asparaginase with higher affinity to L-asparagine. The aim of this work was to clone and express of ansZ gene from Bacillus sp. CH11 isolated from Chilca salterns in Peru. The gene encoding L-asparaginase was cloned into pET15b vector and transformed in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3) pLysS. The expression was carried out in a batch culture using LB broth and 0.5 mM IPTG. The recombinant L-asparaginase showed a molecular weight of ~ 39 kDa by SDS PAGE and a specific activity of 3.19 IU/mg of protein. The cloning and expression of ansZ gene from this halotolerant Bacillus sp. CH11 allowed having a biological input to improve a future scaling-up.

Keywords: ansZ gene, Bacillus sp, Chilca salterns, recombinant L-asparaginase

Procedia PDF Downloads 179

Authors: Alae Lamtai, Said Elkoun, Hniya Kharmoudi, Mathieu Robert, Carl Diez

Abstract:

This study applies Taguchi's design of experiment methodology and grey relational analysis (GRA) for multi objective optimization of an industrial recycling line. This last is composed mainly of a mono and twin-screw extruder and a filtration system. Experiments were performed according to L₁₆ standard orthogonal array based on five process parameters, namely: mono screw design, screw speed of the mono and twin-screw extruder, melt pump pressure, and filter mesh size. The objective of this optimization is to improve the durability of the Polyethylene (PE) blend by decreasing the loss of Stress Crack resistance (SCR) using Notched Crack Ligament Stress (NCLS) test and Unnotched Crack Ligament Stress (UCLS) in parallel with increasing the gain of Izod impact strength of the Polyethylene (PE) blend before and after recycling. Based on Grey Relational Analysis (GRA), the optimal setting of process parameters was identified, and the results indicated that the mono-screw design and screw speed of both mono and twin-screw extruder impact significantly the mechanical properties of recycled Polyethylene (PE) blend.

Keywords: Taguchi, recycling line, polyethylene, stress crack resistance, Izod impact strength, grey relational analysis

Procedia PDF Downloads 83

Authors: Chung-Chun Hsiao, Yu-Kai, Ting, Kai-Yuan Liu, Pang-Wei Yen, Jia-Ying Tu

Abstract:

In this paper, a new design of spherical robotic system based on the concepts of gimbal structure and gyro dynamics is presented. Robots equipped with multiple wheels and complex steering mechanics may increase the weight and degrade the energy transmission efficiency. In addition, the wheeled and legged robots are relatively vulnerable to lateral impact and lack of lateral mobility. Therefore, the proposed robotic design uses a spherical shell as the main body for ground locomotion, instead of using wheel devices. Three spherical shells are structured in a similar way to a gimbal device and rotate like a gyro system. The design and mechanism of the proposed robotic system is introduced. In addition, preliminary results of the dynamic model based on the principles of planar rigid body kinematics and Lagrangian equation are included. Simulation results and rig construction are presented to verify the concepts.

Keywords: gyro, gimbal, lagrange equation, spherical robots

Procedia PDF Downloads 314

Authors: F.Sadoughi, A. Sarsarshahi, L, Eerfannia, S.M.A. Khatami

Abstract:

Hospital information systems with lots of ability would lead to health care quality improvement. Evaluation of this system has done according different method and criteria. The main goal of present study is to prioritize the most important factors which are influence these systems evaluation. At the first step, according relevant literature, three main factor and 29 subfactors extracted. Then, study framework was designed. Based on analytical hierarchical process (AHP), 28 paired comparisons with Saaty range, in a questionnaire format obtained. Questionnaires were filled by 10 experts in health information management and medical informatics field. Human factors with weight of 0.55 were ranked as the most important. Organization (0.25) and technology (0.14) were in next place. It seems MADM methods such as AHP have enough potential to use in health research and provide positive opportunities for health domain decision makers.

Keywords: Analytical hierarchy process, Multiple criteria decision-making (MCDM), Hospital information system, Evaluation factors

Procedia PDF Downloads 454