Search results for: gas steam combined cycle (GSCC)

Authors: Mohd Zaki Hamzah, Roslan Rani, Ahmad Bazli Razali, Satiful Bahri Mamat, Abdul Hadi Ripin, Mohd Harun Esa

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Ever since 1901, forest management and silviculture practices in Malaysia have been frequently reviewed and updated to take into account changes in forest conditions, markets, timber demand/supply and technical advances that can be achieved in industrial processes, logging and forest harvesting, and currently, the forest management system practiced in Peninsular Malaysia is the Selective Management System (SMS) which was introduced in 1978. This system requires the selection of management regime (felling) based on Pre-Felling Forest Inventory (Pre-F) data to ensure economical harvesting and also ensuring adequate standing stands for subsequent rounds of felling, while maintaining ecological balance and environmental quality. SMS regulates forest harvesting through area and volume controls, with the cutting cycle 30 years. Most of the forest management units (FMU) (in Peninsular Malaysia) implementing SMS have been certified by Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and/or Program for Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC), and one such FMU belongs to Kumpulan Pengurusan Kayu Kayan Terengganu (KPKKT). KPKKT, a timber management subsidiary of Golden Pharos Berhad (GPB), adopts the SMS to manage its 108,900 ha of timber concessionary areas in its role as logs’ supplier for the consumption of three subsidiaries of GPB. KPKKT is also responsible for the sustainable development and management of its concession in accordance with the Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) standards to ensure that it addresses the loss of forest cover and forest degradation, forest-based economic, social and environmental benefits, and ecologically protecting forests while mobilising financial resources for the implementation of sustainable forest management planning, harvesting, monitoring and the marketing of products. This paper will detail out the management and harvesting guidelines imposed by the controlling government agency, and harvesting processes taken by KPKKT to comply with guidelines and eventually supplying timber to the relevant subsidiaries (downstream mills under GPB).

Keywords: sustainable forest management, silviculture, reduce impact logging, forest certification

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Authors: Serkan Solmaz, Jean-Baptiste Gouriet, Nicolas Van de Wyer, Christophe Schram

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Efficiency of the cooling process for cryogenic propellant boiling in engine cooling channels on space applications is relentlessly affected by the phase change occurs during the boiling. The effectiveness of the cooling process strongly pertains to the type of the boiling regime such as nucleate and film. Geometric constraints like a non-transparent cooling channel unable to use any of visualization methods. The ultrasonic (US) technique as a non-destructive method (NDT) has therefore been applied almost in every engineering field for different purposes. Basically, the discontinuities emerge between mediums like boundaries among different phases. The sound wave emitted by the US transducer is both transmitted and reflected through a gas-liquid interface which makes able to detect different phases. Due to the thermal and structural concerns, it is impractical to sustain a direct contact between the US transducer and working fluid. Hence the transducer should be located outside of the cooling channel which results in additional interfaces and creates ambiguities on the applicability of the present method. In this work, an exploratory research is prompted so as to determine detection ability and applicability of the US technique on the cryogenic boiling process for a cooling cycle where the US transducer is taken place outside of the channel. Boiling of the cryogenics is a complex phenomenon which mainly brings several hindrances for experimental protocol because of thermal properties. Thus substitute materials are purposefully selected based on such parameters to simplify experiments. Aside from that, nucleate and film boiling regimes emerging during the boiling process are simply simulated using non-deformable stainless steel balls, air-bubble injection apparatuses and air clearances instead of conducting a real-time boiling process. A versatile detection algorithm is perennially developed concerning exploratory studies afterward. According to the algorithm developed, the phases can be distinguished 99% as no-phase, air-bubble, and air-film presences. The results show the detection ability and applicability of the US technique for an exploratory purpose.

Keywords: Ultrasound, ultrasonic, multiphase flow, boiling, cryogenics, detection algorithm

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Authors: Ann Dashwood

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Using standard Australian English with confidence is a cultural expectation of parents of primary school aged children who want to engage effectively with their children’s teachers and school administration. That confidence in support of their children’s learning at school is seldom experienced by parents whose first language is not English. Sharing language with competence in an intercultural environment is the common denominator for meaningful communication and engagement to occur in a school community. Experience in relevant interactive sessions is known to enhance engagement and participation. The purpose of this paper is to identify interactional settings for which parents who are isolated from the daily use of functional Australian cultural language learned to engage more effectively in their children’s learning at school. The outcomes measured parents’ intercultural engagement with classroom teachers and attention to the school’s administrative procedures. The study used quantitative and qualitative methods. The principles of communicative task-based language learning combined with intercultural communication principles provided the theoretical base for intensive English task-based learning and engagement. The quantitative analysis examined data samples collected by classroom teachers and administrators and parents’ writing samples. Interviews and observations qualitatively informed the study. Currently significant numbers of projects are active in community centres and schools to enhance English language knowledge of parents from Language Backgrounds Other Than English (LBOTE). The study was significant to explore the effects of conducting intensive English with parents of varied English language backgrounds by targeting language use for social interactions in the community, specific engagement in school activities, cultural interaction with teachers and responsiveness to complying with school procedures.

Keywords: engagement, intercultural communication, LBOTE, school community

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Authors: Gertrude I. Hewapathirana, Loi A. Nguyen, Mohammed M. Mostafa

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Artificial intelligence (AI) technologies and tools are swiftly integrating into many functions of all organizations as a competitive drive to enhance innovations, productivity, efficiency, faster and precise decision making to keep up with rapid changes in the global business arena. Despite increasing research on AI technologies in production, manufacturing, and information management, AI in human resource disciplines is still lagging. Though a few research studies on HR informatics, recruitment, and HRM in general, how to integrate AI in other HR functional disciplines (e.g., compensation, training, mentoring and coaching, employee motivation) is rarely researched. Many inconsistencies of research hinder developing up-to-date knowledge on AI in HR disciplines. Therefore, exploring eight research questions, using bibliometric network analysis combined with a meta-analysis of published research literature. The authors attempt to generate knowledge on the role of AI in improving the efficiency of HR functional disciplines. To advance the knowledge for the benefit of researchers, academics, policymakers, and practitioners, the study highlights the types of AI innovations and outcomes, trends, gaps, themes and topics, fast-moving disciplines, key players, and future directions.AI in HR informatics in high tech firms is the dominant theme in many research publications. While there is increasing attention from researchers and practitioners, there are many gaps between the promise, potential, and real AI applications in HR disciplines. A higher knowledge gap raised many unanswered questions regarding legal, ethical, and morale aspects of AI in HR disciplines as well as the potential contributions of AI in HR disciplines that may guide future research directions. Though the study provides the most current knowledge, it is limited to peer-reviewed empirical, theoretical, and conceptual research publications stored in the WoS database. The implications for theory, practice, and future research are discussed.

Keywords: artificial intelligence, human resources, bibliometric analysis, research directions

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Authors: Mikael M. Johansson, Peter Stenvall, Leif Karlsson, Joel Andersson

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Sandvik Sanicro 25, UNS S31035, is an advanced high temperature austenitic stainless steel that potentially can be used in super-heaters and reheaters in the next generation of advanced ultra-super critical power plants. The material possesses both high creep strength and good corrosion resistance at temperatures up to 700°C. Its high temperature properties are positioned between other commercially available high temperature austenitic stainless steels and nickel-based alloys. It is, however, well known that an austenitic solidification mode combined with a fully austenitic microstructure exacerbate susceptibility towards hot cracking. The problem increases even more for thick walled material in multipass welding and could compromise the integrity of the welded component. Varestraint weldability testing is commonly used to evaluate susceptibility towards hot cracking of materials. In this paper, Varestraint test results are evaluated for base material of both UNS S31035 steel and are compared to those of the well-known and well-characterized UNS S31008 grade. The more creep resistant alloy, UNS S31035, is metallurgically more complicated than the UNS S31008 grade and has additions of several alloying elements to improve its high temperature properties. It benefits from both solid solution hardening as well as precipitation hardening. This investigation therefore attempts, based on the Varestraint weldability test, to understand if there are any differences in cracking mechanisms between these two grades due to the additional alloying elements used in UNS S31035. Results from Varestraint testing and crack type investigations will be presented and discussed in some detail. It is shown that hot cracking susceptibility of the UNS S31035 steel is only slightly higher than that of UNS S31008 despite the more complicated metallurgy. Weldability of the two alloys is therefore judged to be comparable making the newer alloy well suited also for critical applications.

Keywords: austenitic stainless steel, hot cracking susceptibility, UNS S31035, UNS S31008, varestraint weldability testing

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Authors: Victor S. Klimin, Alexey A. Rezvan, Maxim S. Solodovnik, Oleg A. Ageev

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In this paper, the problems of existing methods of profiling and surface modification of nanoscale arsenide-gallium structures are analyzed. The use of a combination of methods of local anodic oxidation and plasma chemical etching to solve this problem is considered. The main features that make this technology one of the promising areas of modification and profiling of near-surface layers of solids are demonstrated. In this paper, we studied the effect of formation stress and etching time on the geometrical parameters of the etched layer and the roughness of the etched surface. Experimental dependences of the thickness of the etched layer on the time and stress of formation were obtained. The surface analysis was carried out using atomic force microscopy methods, the corresponding profilograms were constructed from the obtained images, and the roughness of the etched surface was studied accordingly. It was shown that at high formation voltage, the depth of the etched surface increased, this is due to an increase in the number of active particles (oxygen ions and hydroxyl groups) formed as a result of the decomposition of water molecules in an electric field, during the formation of oxide nanostructures on the surface of gallium arsenide. Oxide layers were used as negative masks for subsequent plasma chemical etching by the STE ICPe68 unit. BCl₃ was chosen as the chlorine-containing gas, which differs from analogs in some parameters for the effect of etching of nanostructures based on gallium arsenide in the low-temperature plasma. The gas mixture of reaction chamber consisted of a buffer gas NAr = 100 cm³/min and a chlorine-containing gas NBCl₃ = 15 cm³/min at a pressure P = 2 Pa. The influence of these methods modes, which are formation voltage and etching time, on the roughness and geometric parameters, and corresponding dependences are demonstrated. Probe nanotechnology was used for surface analysis.

Keywords: nanostructures, GaAs, plasma chemical etching, modification structures

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Authors: Evgeny V. Blagin, Aleksandr I. Dovgjallo, Dmitry A. Uglanov

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This article deals with research of the working process in the thermocompressor which operates on cryogenic working fluid. Thermocompressor is device suited for the conversation of heat energy directly to the potential energy of pressure. Suggested thermocompressor is suited for operation during liquid natural gas (LNG) re-gasification and is placed after evaporator. Such application of thermocompressor allows using of the LNG cold energy for rising of working fluid pressure, which then can be used for electricity generation or another purpose. Thermocompressor consists of two chambers divided by the regenerative heat exchanger. Calculation algorithm for unsteady calculation of thermocompressor working process was suggested. The results of this investigation are to change of thermocompressor’s chambers temperature and pressure during the working cycle. These distributions help to find out the parameters, which significantly influence thermocompressor efficiency. These parameters include regenerative heat exchanger coefficient of the performance (COP) dead volume of the chambers, working frequency of the thermocompressor etc. Exergy analysis was performed to estimate thermocompressor efficiency. Cryogenic thermocompressor operated on nitrogen working fluid was chosen as a prototype. Calculation of the temperature and pressure change was performed with taking into account heat fluxes through regenerator and thermocompressor walls. Temperature of the cold chamber significantly differs from the results of steady calculation, which is caused by friction of the working fluid in regenerator and heat fluxes from the hot chamber. The rise of the cold chamber temperature leads to decreasing of thermocompressor delivery volume. Temperature of hot chamber differs negligibly because losses due to heat fluxes to a cold chamber are compensated by the friction of the working fluid in the regenerator. Optimal working frequency was selected. Main results of the investigation: -theoretical confirmation of thermocompressor operation capability on the cryogenic working fluid; -optimal working frequency was found; -value of the cold chamber temperature differs from the starting value much more than the temperature of the hot chamber; -main parameters which influence thermocompressor performance are regenerative heat exchanger COP and heat fluxes through regenerator and thermocompressor walls.

Keywords: cold energy, liquid natural gas, thermocompressor, regenerative heat exchanger

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Authors: Souvik Phadikar, Nidul Sinha, Rajdeep Ghosh

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In brainwaves research using electroencephalogram (EEG) signals, finding the most relevant and effective feature set for identification of activities in the human brain is a big challenge till today because of the random nature of the signals. The feature extraction method is a key issue to solve this problem. Finding those features that prove to give distinctive pictures for different activities and similar for the same activities is very difficult, especially for the number of activities. The performance of a classifier accuracy depends on this quality of feature set. Further, more number of features result in high computational complexity and less number of features compromise with the lower performance. In this paper, a novel idea of the selection of optimal feature set using a heuristically optimized deep autoencoder is presented. Using various feature extraction methods, a vast number of features are extracted from the EEG signals and fed to the autoencoder deep neural network. The autoencoder encodes the input features into a small set of codes. To avoid the gradient vanish problem and normalization of the dataset, a meta-heuristic search algorithm is used to minimize the mean square error (MSE) between encoder input and decoder output. To reduce the feature set into a smaller one, 4 hidden layers are considered in the autoencoder network; hence it is called Heuristically Optimized Deep Autoencoder (HO-DAE). In this method, no features are rejected; all the features are combined into the response of responses of the hidden layer. The results reveal that higher accuracy can be achieved using optimal reduced features. The proposed HO-DAE is also compared with the regular autoencoder to test the performance of both. The performance of the proposed method is validated and compared with the other two methods recently reported in the literature, which reveals that the proposed method is far better than the other two methods in terms of classification accuracy.

Keywords: autoencoder, brainwave signal analysis, electroencephalogram, feature extraction, feature selection, optimization

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Authors: Mark Bezner, Shani Deri, Tom Trigano, Kfir Ben-Harush

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Intermediate filament (IF) proteins-based fibers are among the toughest fibers in nature, as was shown by native hagfish slime threads and by synthetic fibers that are based on type V IF-proteins, the nuclear lamins. It is assumed that their mechanical performance stems from two major factors: (1) the transition from elastic -helices to stiff-sheets during tensile load; and (2) the specific organization of the coiled-coil proteins into a hierarchical network of nano-filaments. Here, we investigated the interrelationship between these two factors by using wet-spun fibers based on C. elegans (Ce) lamin. We found that Ce-lamin fibers, whether assembled in aqueous or alcoholic solutions, had the same nonlinear mechanical behavior, with the elastic region ending at ~5%. The pattern of the transition was, however, different: the ratio between -helices and -sheets/random coils was relatively constant until a 20% strain for fibers assembled in an aqueous solution, whereas for fibers assembled in 70% ethanol, the transition ended at a 6% strain. This structural phenomenon in alcoholic solution probably occurred through the transition between compacted and extended conformation of the random coil, and not between -helix and -sheets, as cycle analyses had suggested. The different transition pattern can also be explained by the different higher order organization of Ce-lamins in aqueous or alcoholic solutions, as demonstrated by introducing a point mutation in conserved residue in Ce-lamin gene that alter the structure of the Ce-lamins’ nano-fibrils. In addition, biomimicking the layered structure of silk and hair fibers by coating the Ce-lamin fiber with a hydrophobic layer enhanced fiber toughness and lead to a reversible transition between -helix and the extended conformation. This work suggests that different hierarchical structures, which are formed by specific assembly conditions, lead to diverse secondary structure transitions patterns, which in turn affect the fibers’ mechanical properties.

Keywords: protein-based fibers, intermediate filaments (IF) assembly, toughness, structure-property relationships

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Authors: Akram Sadat Jafari Roodbandi, Farzaneh Akbari, Vafa Feyzi, Zahra Zare, Zohreh Foroozanfar

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Introduction: Circadian rhythm or sleep-awake cycle in 24 hours is one of the important factors affecting the physiological and psychological characteristics in humans that contribute to biochemical, physiological and behavioral processes and helps people to set up brain and body for sleep or active awakening during certain hours. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the characteristics of circadian rhythms on the sleep quality and sleepiness according to their demographic characteristics such as age. Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive-analytic study was carried out among the general population of Kerman, aged 15-84 years. After dividing the age groups into 10-year demographic characteristics questionnaire, the type of circadian questionnaire, Pittsburgh sleep quality questionnaire and Euporth sleepiness questionnaire were completed in equal numbers between men and women of that age group. Using cluster sampling with effect design equal 2, 1300 questionnaires were distributed during the various hours of 24 hours in public places in Kerman city. Data analysis was done using SPSS software and univariate tests and linear regressions at a significance level of 0.05. Results: In this study, 1147 subjects were included in the study, 584 (50.9%) were male and the rest were women. The mean age was 39.50 ± 15.38. 133 (11.60%) subjects from the study participants had sleepiness and 308 (26.90%) subjects had undesirable sleep quality. Using linear regression test, sleep quality was the significant correlation with sex, hours needed for sleep at 24 hours, chronic illness, sleepiness, and circadian rhythm amplitude. Sleepiness was the meaningful relationship with marital status, sleep-wake schedule of other family members and the stability of circadian rhythm. Both women and men, with age, decrease the quality of sleep and increase the rate of sleepiness. Conclusion: Age, sex, and type of circadian people, the need for sleep at 24 hours, marital status, sleep-wake schedule of other family members are significant factors related to the sleep quality and sleepiness and their adaptation to night shift work.

Keywords: circadian type, sleep quality, sleepiness, age, shift work

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Authors: Orly Redlich

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In the age of social distance, which has been added to an individual and competitive worldview, it has become important to find a way to promote closeness and personal touch. The sense of social belonging and the existence of positive interaction with others have recently become a considerable necessity. Therefore, this theoretical paper will review one of the familiar and common concepts among different cultures around the world – birthday. This paper has a theoretical contribution that deepens the understanding of the birthday concept. Birthday rituals are historical and universal events, which noted since the prehistoric eras. In ancient history, birthday rituals were solely reserved for kings and nobility members, but over the years, birthday celebrations have evolved into a worldwide tradition. Some of the familiar birthday customs and symbols are currently common among most cultures, while some cultures have adopted for themselves unique birthday customs, which characterized their values and traditions. The birthday concept has a unique significance in Judaism as well, historically, religiously, and socially: It is considered as a lucky day and a private holiday for the celebrant. Therefore, the present paper reviews diverse birthday customs around the world in different cultures, including Judaism, and marks important birthdays throughout history. The paper also describes how the concept of birthday appears over the years in songs, novels, and art, and presents quotes from distinguished sages. The theoretical review suggests that birthday has a special meaning as a time-mark in the cycle of life, and as a socialization means in human development. Moreover, the birthday serves as a symbol of belonging and group cohesiveness, a day in which the celebrant's sense of belonging and sense of importance are strengthened and nurtured. Thus, the reappearance of these elements in a family or group interaction during the birthday ceremony allows the celebrant to absorb positive impressions about himself. In view of the extensive theoretical review, it seems that the unique importance of birthdays can serve as the foundation for intervention programs that may affect the participants’ sense of belonging and empowerment. In the group aspect, perhaps it can also yield therapeutic factors within a group. Concrete recommendations are presented at the end of the paper.

Keywords: birthday, universal events, positive interaction, group cohesiveness, rituals

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Authors: Latif Karimi, Yasuhide Mochida

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The purpose of this paper is to study Modern Methods of Construction (MMC); specifically, the prefabrication technology and check the applicability, suitability, and benefits of this construction technique over conventional methods for building new houses in Afghanistan. Construction industry and house building sector are a key contributor to Afghanistan’s economy. However, this sector is challenged with lack of innovation and severe impacts that it has on the environment due to huge amount of construction waste from building, demolition and or renovation activities. This paper studies the prefabrication technology, a popular MMC that is becoming more common, improving in quality and being available in a variety of budgets. Several feasibility studies worldwide have revealed that this method is the way forward in improving construction industry performance as it has been proven to reduce construction time, construction wastes and improve the environmental performance of the construction processes. In addition, this study emphasizes on 'sustainability' in-house building, since it is a common challenge in housing construction projects on a global scale. This challenge becomes more severe in the case of under-developed countries, like Afghanistan. Because, most of the houses are being built in the absence of a serious quality control mechanism and dismissive to basic requirements of sustainable houses; well-being, cost-effectiveness, minimization - prevention of wastes production during construction and use, and severe environmental impacts in view of a life cycle assessment. Methodology: A literature review and study of the conventional practices of building houses in urban areas of Afghanistan. A survey is also being completed to study the potentials and challenges of using prefabrication technology for building modern houses in the cities across the country. A residential housing project is selected for case study to determine the drawbacks of current construction methods vs. prefabrication technique for building a new house. Originality: There are little previous research available about MMC considering its specific impacts on sustainability related to house building practices. This study will be specifically of interest to a broad range of people, including planners, construction managers, builders, and house owners.

Keywords: modern methods of construction (MMC), prefabrication, prefab houses, sustainable construction, modern houses

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Authors: Marie-Claude Richard, Amelie Bolduc-Mokhtar, Mathieu Parent

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People who have experienced maltreatment in childhood subsequently face many parenting issues of their own, in particular when it comes to distancing themselves from the abusive behaviors they were exposed and had access to positive role models. Few studies have explored the factors explaining the ability to break the generational cycle of child maltreatment. However, deeper knowledge of the factors associated with intergenerational discontinuity could facilitate the development of innovative interventions and increase the preventive potential of existing programs. This poster presentation will be about a better understanding of the intergenerational transmission of maltreatment (IGTM) from the perspective of both youth protection workers and parents receiving child protection services. The data used to meet this goal were collected from a group interview with eight youth protection workers whose caseloads involved IGTM situations and through semi-structured interviews with four parents with a history of child protection services and who were currently receiving such services for at least one of their children. In the view of the youth protection workers, the IGTM refers to everything that is transmitted and not transmitted from one generation to the next within a family. The study participants painted quite a bleak portrait of the families affected by IGTM. However, three main avenues of intervention were mentioned by the participants: working within the network, favoring long-term interventions and being empathic. The results also show that the mothers were in a trajectory of intergenerational discontinuity in child maltreatment. Support from their families and friends as well as from formal support services brought out some possible explanatory factors for intergenerational discontinuity in child maltreatment. From a prevention perspective, developing meaningful and trusting relationships seems a source of resilience for parents who were placed in the care of the child protection system as children. The small number of participants limits the generalizability of these results. The difficulty of recruiting parents is a substantial challenge regarding gaining knowledge on the intergenerational transmission of child maltreatment. Future studies should examine this question and seek to develop effective strategies to help recruit study participants.

Keywords: child maltreatment, intergenerational transmission, prevention, qualitative data

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Authors: Manal Alhazmi, Artem Mishchenko

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A molecular fluids' behavior and interaction with other materials at the nanoscale is a complex process. Nanoscale fluids behave so differently than macroscale fluids and interact with other materials in unique ways. It is, therefore, feasible to understand the molecular behavior of H₂O in such two-dimensional nanoscale systems by studying (CaSO4-2H2O), commonly known as gypsum. In the present study, spectroscopic measurements on a 2D structure of exfoliated gypsum crystals are carried out by Raman and IR spectroscopy. An array of gypsum flakes with thicknesses ranging from 8nm to 100nm were observed and analyzed for their Raman and IR spectrum. Water molecules stretching modes spectra lines were also measured and observed in nanoscale gypsum flakes and compared with those of bulk crystals. CaSO4-2H2O crystals have Raman and infrared bands at 3341 cm-1 resulting from the weak hydrogen bonds between the water molecules. This internal vibration of water molecules, together with external vibrations with other atoms, are responsible for these bands. There is a shift of about 70 cm-1 In the peak position of thin flakes with respect to the bulk crystal, which is a result of the different atomic arrangement from bulk to thin flake on the nano scale. An additional peak was observed in Raman spectra around 2910-3137 cm⁻¹ in thin flakes but is missing in bulk crystal. This additional peak is attributed to a combined mode of water internal (stretching mode at 3394cm⁻¹) and external vibrations. In addition to Raman and infra- red analysis of gypsum 2D structure, electrical measurements were conducted to reveal the water molecules transport behavior in such systems. Electrical capacitance of the fabricated device is measured and found to be (0.0686 *10-12) F, and the calculated dielectric constant (ε) is (12.26).

Keywords: gypsum, infra-red spectroscopy, raman spectroscopy, H₂O behavior

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Authors: Ana Maria G. Sperandio, Murilo U. Malek-Zadeh, João Luiz de S. Areas, Jussara C. Guarnieri

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Intersectoral governance is a requirement for developing healthy cities. However, this achievement is difficult to be succeeded, especially in regions at low resources condition. Therefore, it was developed a cheap investigative procedure to diagnose sectoral wishes related to urban planning and health promotion. This procedure is composed of two phases, which can be applied to different groups in order to compare the results. The first phase is a conversation guided by a list of questions. Some of those questions aim to gather information about how individuals understand concepts such as healthy city or a health promotion and what they believe that constitutes the relation between urban planning and urban health. Other questions investigate local issues, and how citizens would like to promote dialogue between sectors. At second phase individuals stand around the investigated city (or city region) map and are asked to represent their wishes on it. They can represent it by writing text notations or inserting icons on it, with the latter representing a city element, for example, some trees, a square, a playground, a hospital, a cycle track. After groups had represented their wishes, the map can be photographed, and then the results from distinct groups can be compared. This procedure was conducted at a small city in Brazil (Holambra), in 2017 which is the first out of four years of the mayor’s term. The prefecture asked for this tool in order to make Holambra become a city of Potential Healthy Municipalities Network in Brazil. Two sectors were investigated: the government and the urban population. By the end of our investigation, the intersection from the group (i.e., population and government) maps was accounted for creating a map of common wishes. Therefore, the material produced can be used as a guide for promoting dialogue between sectors and as a tool of monitoring politics progress. The report of this procedure was directed to public managers, so they could see the common wishes between themselves and local populations, and use this tool as a guide for creating urban politics which intends to enhance health promotion and to develop a healthy city, even at low resources condition.

Keywords: governance, health promotion, intersectorality, urban planning

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Authors: Przemyslaw Brzyski, Stanislaw Fic

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Hydrated lime, because of the life cycle (return to its natural form as a result of the setting and hardening) has a positive environmental impact. The lime binder is used in mortars. Lime is a slow setting binder with low mechanical properties. The aim of the study was to evaluate the possibility of improving the properties of the lime binder by using different pozzolanic materials as partial replacement of hydrated lime binder. Pozzolan materials are the natural or industrial waste, so do not affect the environmental impact of the lime binder. The following laboratory tests were performed: the analysis of the physical characteristics of the tested samples of lime mortars (bulk density, porosity), flexural and compressive strength, water absorption and the capillary rise of samples and consistency of fresh mortars. As a partial replacement of hydrated lime (in the amount of 10%, 20%, 30% by weight of lime) a metakaolin, silica fume, and zeolite were used. The shortest setting and hardening time showed mortars with the addition of metakaolin. All additives noticeably improved strength characteristic of lime mortars. With the increase in the amount of additive, the increase in strength was also observed. The highest flexural strength was obtained by using the addition of metakaolin in an amount of 20% by weight of lime (2.08 MPa). The highest compressive strength was obtained by using also the addition of metakaolin but in an amount of 30% by weight of lime (9.43 MPa). The addition of pozzolan caused an increase in the mortar tightness which contributed to the limitation of absorbability. Due to the different surface area, pozzolanic additives affected the consistency of fresh mortars. Initial consistency was assumed as plastic. Only the addition of silica fume an amount of 20 and 30% by weight of lime changed the consistency to the thick-plastic. The conducted study demonstrated the possibility of applying lime mortar with satisfactory properties. The features of lime mortars do not differ significantly from cement-based mortar properties and show a lower environmental impact due to CO₂ absorption during lime hardening. Taking into consideration the setting time, strength and consistency, the best results can be obtained with metakaolin addition to the lime mortar.

Keywords: lime, binder, mortar, pozzolan, properties

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Authors: Boris Blostotsky, Elia Efraim

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Testing of columns in sway mode is performed in order to determine the maximal allowable load limited by plastic deformations or their end connections and a critical load limited by columns stability. Motivation to determine accurate value of critical force is caused by its using as follow: - critical load is maximal allowable load for given column configuration and can be used as criterion of perfection; - it is used in calculation prescribed by standards for design of structural elements under combined action of compression and bending; - it is used for verification of theoretical analysis of stability at various end conditions of columns. In the present work a new non-destructive method for determination of columns critical buckling load in sway mode is proposed. The method allows performing measurements during the tests under loads that exceeds the columns critical load without losing its stability. The possibility of such loading is achieved by structure of the loading system. The system is performed as frame with rigid girder, one of the columns is the tested column and the other is additional two-hinged strut. Loading of the frame is carried out by the flexible traction element attached to the girder. The load applied on the tested column can achieve a values that exceed the critical load by choice of parameters of the traction element and the additional strut. The system lateral stiffness and the column critical load are obtained by the dynamic method. The experiment planning and the comparison between the experimental and theoretical values were performed based on the developed dependency of lateral stiffness of the system on vertical load, taking into account a semi-rigid connections of the column's ends. The agreement between the obtained results was established. The method can be used for testing of real full-size columns in industrial conditions.

Keywords: buckling, columns, dynamic method, semi-rigid connections, sway mode

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Authors: Seyede Sanaz Seyedebrahimi, Shima Rahimi, Shohreh Fakhari, Ali Jalili

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Background: CXCR4, as a chemokine receptor, plays well-known roles in various types of cancers. Several studies have been conducted to overcome CXCR4 axis acts in multiple myeloma (MM) pathogenesis and progression. Dexamethasone, a standard treatment for multiple myeloma, has been shown to increase CXCR4 levels in multiple myeloma cell lines. Herein, we focused on the effects of metformin and dexamethasone on CXCR4 at the cellular level and the migration rate of cell lines after exposure to a combination compared to single-agent models. Materials and Method: Multiple myeloma cell lines (U266 and RPMI8226) were cultured with different metformin and dexamethasone concentrations in single-agent and combination models. The simultaneous combination doses were calculated by CompuSyn software. Cell surface and mRNA expression of CXCR4 were determined using flow cytometry and the quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) assay, respectively. The Transwell cell migration assay evaluated the migration ability. Results: In concurred with previous studies, our results showed a dexamethasone up-regulation effect on CXCR4 in a dose-dependent manner. Although, the metformin single-agent model could reduce CXCR4 expression of U266 and RPMI8226 in cell surface and mRNA expression level. Moreover, the administration of metformin and dexamethasone simultaneously exerted a higher suppression effect on CXCR4 expression than the metformin single-agent model. The migration rate through the combination model's matrigel membrane was remarkably lower than the metformin and dexamethasone single-agent model. Discussion: According to our findings, the combination of metformin and dexamethasone effectively inhibited dexamethasone-induced CXCR4 expression in multiple myeloma cell lines. As a result, metformin may be counted as an alternative medicine combined with other chemotherapies to combat multiple myeloma. However, more research is required.

Keywords: CXCR4, dexamethasone, metformin, migration, multiple myeloma

Procedia PDF Downloads 156

Authors: Berfin Yildiz

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These days, increasing global warming effects, limited amount of energy resources, etc., necessitates the awareness that must be present in every profession group. The architecture and construction sectors are responsible for both the embodied and operational energy of the materials. This responsibility has led designers to seek alternative solutions for energy-efficient material selection. The choice of energy-efficient material requires consideration of the entire life cycle, including the building's production, use, and disposal energy. The aim of this study is to investigate the method of material selection of external thermal insulation composite systems (ETICS). Embodied and in-use energy values of material alternatives were used for the evaluation in this study. The operational energy is calculated according to the u-value calculation method defined in the TS 825 (Thermal Insulation Requirements) standard for Turkey, and the embodied energy is calculated based on the manufacturer's Energy Performance Declaration (EPD). ETICS consists of a wall, adhesive, insulation, lining, mechanical, mesh, and exterior finishing materials. In this study, lining, mechanical, and mesh materials were ignored because EPD documents could not be obtained. The material selection problem is designed as a hypothetical volume area (5x5x3m) and defined as a multi-objective discrete optimization problem for external thermal insulation composite systems. Defining the problem as a discrete optimization problem is important in order to choose between materials of various thicknesses and sizes. Since production and use energy values, which are determined as optimization objectives in the study, are often conflicting values, material selection is defined as a multi-objective optimization problem, and it is aimed to obtain many solution alternatives by using Hypervolume (HypE) algorithm. The enrollment process started with 100 individuals and continued for 50 generations. According to the obtained results, it was observed that autoclaved aerated concrete and Ponce block as wall material, glass wool, as insulation material gave better results.

Keywords: embodied energy, multi-objective discrete optimization, performative design, thermal insulation

Procedia PDF Downloads 141

Authors: Angel Adams

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In Australia, the contemporary social construction of hatred against the Islamic community was facilitated through the mainstream media. Australian public figures who have depicted Muslims and Islam not only as potential terrorists but also as incompatible with the country’s values and identities have helped to increase the level of fear against the Islamic community, leading sympathetic far-right movements to shift discussions towards anti-Islamic and anti-Muslim rhetoric. Political opportunities combined with a socially constructed narrative of fear of the ‘other’, introduced during the White Australia Policy of 1901, has allowed extreme and radical far-right movements to justify hate against the contemporary Australian Islamic community. This study aims to answer the following question: How does Australia’s founding provide a fertile environment to the spread of hatred against the contemporary Islamic community? The paper demonstrates that a forged social construct of grievances concerning the Islamic community in Australia has led to a surge in supply of far-right activism to combat what has become a perceived ‘national threat’. In essence, Australia’s history of a fear of the ‘other’ brings challenges to a multicultural society, and can potentially lead to a more unstable socio-political environment where abuse and violence are normalized and more likely to develop. Furthermore, the paper aims to bring a more nuanced understanding of what is considered ‘new far-right’ discourses with shared anti-Islam and anti-Muslim agendas in Australia. The political opportunity structures theory was the mechanism used to determine how new forms of far-right groups have become more mainstream in Australia. Previous studies on far-right groups in Australia have relied on qualitative data, but further empirical research in this area is sorely needed. Above all, this paper clarifies how hatred against minorities can have a negative impact on wider communities and allow a global narrative of ‘us’ versus ‘them’ to erupt from the fringes of society in Australia.

Keywords: Australia, Islamophobia, far-right, nationalism, political opportunity structures, political violence, social construction

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Authors: Anton Grobler

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Background: Psychological capital (PsyCap), consisting of Hope, Optimism, Resilience, and Self-efficacy, is a popular positive organisational behaviour construct utilised in the studying employee work and behavioral attitudes. Various scholars believe however that further validity research should be conducted on the PsyCap questionnaire (PCQ), outside of the founding research team and in more diverse settings, for the purpose of this paper, within the diverse South African (SA) context. Aim: The purpose of this study was to investigate the construct validity of the PCQ with specific reference to its psychometric properties within the diverse SA context. Setting: The sample includes a total of 1 749 respondents, ± 60 each from 30 organisations in South Africa. Method: This study utilised a cross-sectional design and quantitative analysis. The sample is relatively representative (in terms of race, gender) of the South African workforce. A multi-factorial model was statistically explored and confirmed (with exploratory factor analysis [EFA] and confirmatory factor analysis [CFA] respectively). Results: The study yielded a three-factor solution, with Hope and Optimism as a combined factor and Resilience and Self-efficacy made up of a reconfigured set of substantively justifiable items. Three items of the original 24 items were found not to be suitable. The three factors showed good psychometric properties, good fit (in support of construct validity) and acceptable levels of convergent and discriminant validity. Conclusion: The results support the original conceptualisation of PsyCap, although with a unique structural configuration. This resonates with the notion of scholars that further research should be conducted within diverse settings. This is necessary to ensure the valid measurement of the construct, which is considered to be one of the four criteria for a construct to be categorised as a positive organisational behaviour construct.

Keywords: positive organisational behaviour, psychological capital, hope, optimism, resilience, self-efficacy, construct validity

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Authors: Tamer M. Shehata

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Objective: Currently, mucoadhesive microparticles acquired a high interest in both research and pharmaceutical technology fields. Recently, BÜCHI lunched its latest fourth generation nano spray dryer B-90 used for nanoparticle production. B-90 offers an elegant technology combined particle engineering and drying in one step. In our laboratory, we successfully developed a new formulation for metformin hydrochloride, mucoadhesive microparticles utilizing B-90 technology for treatment of type 2-diabetis. Method: Gelatin or sodium alginate, natural occurring polymers with mucoadhesive properties, solely or in combination was used in our formulation trials. Preformulation studies (atomization head mesh size, flow rate, head temperature, polymer solution viscosity and surface tension) and postformulation characters (particle size, flowability, surface scan and dissolution profile) were evaluated. Finally, hypoglycemic effect of the selected formula was evaluated in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. Spray head with 7 µm hole, flow rate of 3.5 mL/min and head temperature 120 ºC were selected. Polymer viscosity was less than 11.5 cP with surface tension less than 70.1 dyne/cm. Result: Discrete, non aggregated particles and free flowing powders with particle size was less than 2000 nm were obtained. Gelatin and sodium alginate combination in ratio 1:3 were successfully sustained the in vitro release profile of the drug. Hypoglycemic evaluation of the previous formula, showed a significant reduction of blood glucose level over 24 h. Conclusion: B-90 technology can open a new era of , mucoadhesive microparticles preparation offering convenient dosage form that can enhance compliance of type 2 diabetic patients.

Keywords: mucoadhesive, microparticles, technology, diabetis

Procedia PDF Downloads 294

Authors: Christine Fräulin, Daniela Schurr, Hamed Shahidi Rad, Gerrit Waters, Günter Rinke, Roland Dittmeyer, Michael Nilles

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The reaction mechanisms of many liquid-phase reactions in organic chemistry have not yet been sufficiently clarified. Process conditions of several hundred degrees celsius and pressures to ten megapascals complicate the sampling and the determination of kinetic data. Space resolved in-situ measurements promises new insights. A non-invasive in-situ measurement technique has the advantages that no sample preparation is necessary, there is no change in sample mixture before analysis and the sampling do no lead to interventions in the flow. Thus, the goal of our research was the development of a contact-free spatially resolved measurement technique for kinetic studies of liquid phase reaction under process conditions. Therefore we used laser Raman spectroscopy combined with an optical transparent microchannel reactor. To show the performance of the system we choose the oxidation of cyclohexane as sample reaction. Cyclohexane oxidation is an economically important process. The products are intermediates for caprolactam and adipic acid, which are starting materials for polyamide 6 and 6.6 production. To maintain high selectivities of 70 to 90 %, the reaction is performed in industry at a low conversion of about six percent. As Raman spectroscopy is usually very selective but not very sensitive the detection of the small product concentration in cyclohexane oxidation is quite challenging. To meet these requirements, an optical experimental setup was optimized to determine the concentrations by laser Raman spectroscopy with respect to good detection sensitivity. With this measurement technique space resolved kinetic studies of uncatalysed and homogeneous catalyzed cyclohexane oxidation were carried out to obtain details about the reaction mechanism.

Keywords: in-situ laser raman spectroscopy, space resolved kinetic measurements, homogeneous catalysis, chemistry

Procedia PDF Downloads 335

Authors: F. Polito, M. Cucinotta, A. Conti, C. Lo Giudice, C. Tomasello, F. Angileri, D. La Torre, M. Aguennouz

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Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most aggressive form of brain tumors, with an extremely poor prognosis. Telomeres lenght is associated with tumor progression in several type of human cancers and telomere elongation is a common molecular feature of advanced malignancies. Among the telomeric shelterin proteins PTOP is required for telomeric protein complex assembly, telomerase recruitment and activity, and telomere length regulation through a PTOP-telomerase interaction. Previous studies suggest that PTOP upregulation is involved in radioresistance and telomere lengthening in colorectal cancer cells. Moreover, in human osteosarcoma cells PTOP deletion led to telomere shortening, increased apoptosis and radiation sensitivity enhancement. However, to date, little is known about the role of PTOP in progression of glioma cancers. In light of this background aim of the study is to investigate the expression of PTOP in different grades of human glioma and its correlation with the pathological grade of gliomas, grades of malignancy, proliferative activity and apoptosis. Fifteen Low Grade Astrocytomas (LGA), 18 Anaplastic Astrocytomas (AA) and 26 Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM) samples were analyzed. Three samples of normal brain tissue (NBT) were used as controls. The expression levels of PTOP, h-TERT, BIRC1 and cyclin D1 were determined by real time PCR and/or western blot. Results obtained shows that PTOP expression in glioma tissues is tightly correlated with clinical grade ( p < 0.01 ). No correlation was found between PTOP expression and other clinicopathologic parameters. The expression of PTOP was positively correlated with the expression of hTERT and TERF1. Furthermore PTOP positively correlates with cyclin D1 and negatively correlates with the expression of BIRC1. Our findings indicate that PTOP might play key role in the progression of glioma regulating telomerase activity and likely through regulation of cell cycle and apoptosis. In conclusion results obtained prompted us to speculate that PTOP might represents a potential molecular bio marker and a therapeutic target for the treatment of glioblastoma tumors.

Keywords: glioblastoma, PTOP, telomere, brain tumors

Procedia PDF Downloads 346

Authors: Xin Li, Yan-Rong Guo, Jin-Fang Lin, Yi Feng, Håkan Billig, Ruijin Shao

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Background: Young women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) have a high risk of developing endometrial carcinoma. There is a need for the development of new medical therapies that can reduce the need for surgical intervention so as to preserve the fertility of these patients. The aim of the study was to describe and discuss cases of PCOS and insulin resistance (IR) women with early endometrial carcinoma while being co-treated with Diane-35 and metformin. Methods: Five PCOS-IR women who were scheduled for diagnosis and therapy for early endometrial carcinoma were recruited. The hospital records and endometrial pathology reports were reviewed. All patients were co-treated with Diane-35 and metformin for 6 months to reverse the endometrial carcinoma and preserve their fertility. Before, during, and after treatment, endometrial biopsies and blood samples were obtained and oral glucose tolerance tests were performed. Endometrial pathology was evaluated. Body weight (BW), body mass index (BMI), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), total testosterone (TT), sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG), free androgen index (FAI), insulin area under curve (IAUC), and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) were determined. Results: Clinical stage 1a, low grade endometrial carcinoma was confirmed before treatment. After 6 months of co-treatment, all patients showed normal epithelia. No evidence of atypical hyperplasia or endometrial carcinoma was found. Co-treatment resulted in significant decreases in BW, BMI, TT, FAI, IAUC, and HOMA-IR in parallel with a significant increase in SHBG. There were no differences in the FSH and LH levels after co-treatment. Conclusions: Combined treatment with Diane-35 and metformin has the potential to revert the endometrial carcinoma into normal endometrial cells in PCOS-IR women. The cellular and molecular mechanisms behind this effect merit further investigation.

Keywords: PCOS, progesterone resistance, insulin resistance, steroid hormone receptors, endometrial carcinoma

Procedia PDF Downloads 409

Authors: Jonathan J. Burson

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With the rise of virtually costless, mobile-based trading platforms, stock market trading activity has increased significantly over the past decade, particularly for the millennial generation. This increased stock market attention, combined with the recent market turmoil due to the economic upset caused by COVID-19, make the topics of market-timing and forecasting particularly relevant. While the overall stock market saw an unprecedented, historically-long bull market from March 2009 to February 2020, the end of that bull market reignited a search by investors for a way to reduce risk and increase return. Similar searches for outperformance occurred in the early, and late 2000’s as the Dotcom bubble burst and the Great Recession led to years of negative returns for mean-variance, index investors. Extensive research has been conducted on fundamental analysis, technical analysis, macroeconomic indicators, microeconomic indicators, and other techniques—all using different methodologies and investment periods—in pursuit of higher returns with lower risk. The enormous variety of timeframes, data, and methodologies used by the diverse forecasting methods makes it difficult to compare the outcome of each method directly to other methods. This paper establishes a process to evaluate the market-timing methods in an apples-to-apples manner based on simplicity, performance, and feasibility. Preliminary findings show that certain technical analysis models provide a higher return with lower risk when compared to the buy-and-hold method and to other market-timing strategies. Furthermore, technical analysis models tend to be easier for individual investors both in terms of acquiring the data and in analyzing it, making technical analysis-based market-timing methods the preferred choice for retail investors.

Keywords: buy-and-hold, forecast, market-timing, probit, technical analysis

Procedia PDF Downloads 97

Authors: Rindra Rantoson, Hichem Nouira, Nabil Anwer, Charyar Mehdi-Souzani

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Multiple measurements by means of various data acquisition systems are generally required to measure the shape of freeform workpieces for accuracy, reliability and holisticity. The obtained data are aligned and fused into a common coordinate system within a registration technique involving coarse and fine registrations. Standardized iterative methods have been established for fine registration such as Iterative Closest Points (ICP) and its variants. For coarse registration, no conventional method has been adopted yet despite a significant number of techniques which have been developed in the literature to supply an automatic rough matching between data sets. Two main issues are addressed in this paper: the coarse registration and the fine registration. For coarse registration, two novel automated methods based on the exploitation of discrete curvatures are presented: an enhanced Hough Transformation (HT) and an improved Ransac Transformation. The use of curvature features in both methods aims to reduce computational cost. For fine registration, a new variant of ICP method is proposed in order to reduce registration error using curvature parameters. A specific distance considering the curvature similarity has been combined with Euclidean distance to define the distance criterion used for correspondences searching. Additionally, the objective function has been improved by combining the point-to-point (P-P) minimization and the point-to-plane (P-Pl) minimization with automatic weights. These ones are determined from the preliminary calculated curvature features at each point of the workpiece surface. The algorithms are applied on simulated and real data performed by a computer tomography (CT) system. The obtained results reveal the benefit of the proposed novel curvature-based registration methods.

Keywords: discrete curvature, RANSAC transformation, hough transformation, coarse registration, ICP variant, point-to-point and point-to-plane minimization combination, computer tomography

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Authors: Dehni Abdellatif, Lounis Mourad

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The new approach of applied spatial geostatistics in materials sciences, agriculture accuracy, agricultural statistics, permitted an apprehension of managing and monitoring the water and groundwater qualities in a relationship with salt-affected soil. The anterior experiences concerning data acquisition, spatial-preparation studies on optical and multispectral data has facilitated the integration of correction models of electrical conductivity related with soils temperature (horizons of soils). For tomography apprehension, this physical parameter has been extracted from calibration of the thermal band (LANDSAT ETM+6) with a radiometric correction. Our study area is Oran region (Northern West of Algeria). Different spectral indices are determined such as salinity and sodicity index, the Combined Spectral Reflectance Index (CSRI), Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), emissivity, Albedo, and Sodium Adsorption Ratio (SAR). The approach of geostatistical modeling of electrical conductivity (salinity), appears to be a useful decision support system for estimating corrected electrical resistivity related to the temperature of surface soils, according to the conversion models by substitution, the reference temperature at 25°C (where hydrochemical data are collected with this constraint). The Brightness temperatures extracted from satellite reflectance (LANDSAT ETM+) are used in consistency models to estimate electrical resistivity. The confusions that arise from the effects of salt stress and water stress removed followed by seasonal application of the geostatistical analysis in Geographic Information System (GIS) techniques investigation and monitoring the variation of the electrical conductivity in the alluvial aquifer of Es-Sénia for the salt-affected soil.

Keywords: geostatistical modelling, landsat, brightness temperature, conductivity

Procedia PDF Downloads 441

Authors: Claudia Matassa, Matthias Hohne, Dominic Ormerod, Yamini Satyawali

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Chiral amines integrate the backbone of several active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) used in modern medicine for the treatment of a vast range of diseases. Despite the demand, their synthesis remains challenging. Besides a range of chemicals and enzymatical methods, chiral amine synthesis using transaminases (EC 2.6.1.W) represents a useful alternative to access this important class of compounds. Even though transaminases exhibit excellent stereo and regioselectivity and the potential for high yield, the reaction suffers from a number of challenges, including the thermodynamic equilibrium, product inhibition, and low substrate solubility. In this work, we demonstrate a membrane assisted strategy for addressing these challenges. It involves the use of high molecular weight (HMW) amine donors for the transaminase-catalyzed synthesis of 4-phenyl-2-butylamine in both aqueous and organic solvent media. In contrast to common amine donors such as alanine or isopropylamine, these large molecules, provided in excess for thermodynamic equilibrium shifting, are easily retained by commercial nanofiltration membranes; thus a selective permeation of the desired smaller product amine is possible. The enzymatic transamination in aqueous media, combined with selective product removal shifted the equilibrium enhancing substrate conversion by an additional 25% compared to the control reaction. Along with very efficient amine product removal, there was undesirable loss of ketone substrate and low product concentration was achieved. The system was therefore further improved by performing the reaction in organic solvent (n-heptane). Coupling the reaction system with membrane-assisted product removal resulted in a highly concentrated and relatively pure ( > 97%) product solution. Moreover, a product yield of 60% was reached, compared to 15% without product removal.

Keywords: amine donor, chiral amines, in situ product removal, transamination

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Authors: Abdel-Monem Sayed Mohamed

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Egypt rapidly growing development is accompanied by increasing levels of standard living particular in its urban areas. However, there is a limited experience in quantifying the sources of risk management in Egypt and in designing efficient strategies to keep away serious impacts of earthquakes. From the historical point of view and recent instrumental records, there are some seismo-active regions in Egypt, where some significant earthquakes had occurred in different places. The special tectonic features in Egypt: Aswan, Greater Cairo, Red Sea and Sinai Peninsula regions are the territories of a high seismic risk, which have to be monitored by up-to date technologies. The investigations of the seismic events and interpretations led to evaluate the seismic hazard for disaster prevention and for the safety of the dense populated regions and the vital national projects as the High Dam. In addition to the monitoring of the recent crustal movements, the most powerful technique of satellite geodesy GPS are used where geodetic networks are covering such seismo-active regions. The results from the data sets are compared and combined in order to determine the main characteristics of the deformation and hazard estimation for specified regions. The final compiled output from the seismological and geodetic analysis threw lights upon the geodynamical regime of these seismo-active regions and put Aswan and Greater Cairo under the lowest class according to horizontal crustal strains classifications. This work will serve a basis for the development of so-called catastrophic models and can be further used for catastrophic risk management. Also, this work is trying to evaluate risk of large catastrophic losses within the important regions including the High Dam, strategic buildings and archeological sites. Studies on possible scenarios of earthquakes and losses are a critical issue for decision making in insurance as a part of mitigation measures.

Keywords: b-value, Gumbel distribution, seismic and GPS data, strain parameters

Procedia PDF Downloads 459