Search results for: standard error

Authors: Esra Zengin, Sinan Akkar

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Reliable and accurate prediction of nonlinear structural response requires specification of appropriate earthquake ground motions to be used in nonlinear time history analysis. The current research has mainly focused on selection and manipulation of real earthquake records that can be seen as the most critical step in the performance based seismic design and assessment of the structures. Utilizing amplitude scaled ground motions that matches with the target spectra is commonly used technique for the estimation of nonlinear structural response. Representative ground motion ensembles are selected to match target spectrum such as scenario-based spectrum derived from ground motion prediction equations, Uniform Hazard Spectrum (UHS), Conditional Mean Spectrum (CMS) or Conditional Spectrum (CS). Different sets of criteria exist among those developed methodologies to select and scale ground motions with the objective of obtaining robust estimation of the structural performance. This study presents ground motion selection and scaling procedure that considers the spectral variability at target demand with the level of ground motion dispersion. The proposed methodology provides a set of ground motions whose response spectra match target median and corresponding variance within a specified period interval. The efficient and simple algorithm is used to assemble the ground motion sets. The scaling stage is based on the minimization of the error between scaled median and the target spectra where the dispersion of the earthquake shaking is preserved along the period interval. The impact of the spectral variability on nonlinear response distribution is investigated at the level of inelastic single degree of freedom systems. In order to see the effect of different selection and scaling methodologies on fragility curve estimations, results are compared with those obtained by CMS-based scaling methodology. The variability in fragility curves due to the consideration of dispersion in ground motion selection process is also examined.

Keywords: ground motion selection, scaling, uncertainty, fragility curve

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Authors: Lauren C. Porter, Andrew Curtis, Eric Jefferis, Susanne Mitchell

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A wealth of research has been generated examining the variation in crime across neighborhoods. However, there is also a striking degree of crime concentration within neighborhoods. A number of studies show that a small percentage of street segments, intersections, or addresses account for a large portion of crime. Not surprisingly, a focus on these crime hot spots can be an effective strategy for reducing community level crime and related ills, such as health problems. However, research is also limited in an important respect. Studies tend to use official data to identify hot spots, such as 911 calls or calls for service. While the use of call data may be more representative of the actual level and distribution of crime than some other official measures (e.g. arrest data), call data still suffer from the 'dark figure of crime.' That is, there is most certainly a degree of error between crimes that occur versus crimes that are reported to the police. In this study, we present an alternative method of identifying crime hot spots, that does not rely on official data. In doing so, we highlight the potential utility of neighborhood-insiders to identify and understand crime dynamics within geographic spaces. Specifically, we use spatial video and geo-narratives to record the crime insights of 36 police, ex-offenders, and residents of a high crime neighborhood in northeast Ohio. Spatial mentions of crime are mapped to identify participant-identified hot spots, and these are juxtaposed with calls for service (CFS) data. While there are bound to be differences between these two sources of data, we find that one location, in particular, a corner store, emerges as a hot spot for all three groups of participants. Yet it does not emerge when we examine CFS data. A closer examination of the space around this corner store and a qualitative analysis of narrative data reveal important clues as to why this store may indeed be a hot spot, but not generate disproportionate calls to the police. In short, our results suggest that researchers who rely solely on official data to study crime hot spots may risk missing some of the most dangerous places.

Keywords: crime, narrative, video, neighborhood

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Authors: Virginie Hergault, Siham Chebbah, Bertrand Frere

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Following in-house objectives, Central laboratory of Paris police Prefecture conducted a general review on models and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) codes used to simulate pollutant dispersion in the atmosphere. Starting from that review and considering main features of Large Eddy Simulation, Central Laboratory Of Paris Police Prefecture (LCPP) postulates that the Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS) model, from National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), should be well suited for air pollutant dispersion modeling. This paper focuses on the implementation and the evaluation of FDS in the frame of the European COST ES1006 Action. This action aimed at quantifying the performance of modeling approaches. In this paper, the CUTE dataset carried out in the city of Hamburg, and its mock-up has been used. We have performed a comparison of FDS results with wind tunnel measurements from CUTE trials on the one hand, and, on the other, with the models results involved in the COST Action. The most time-consuming part of creating input data for simulations is the transfer of obstacle geometry information to the format required by SDS. Thus, we have developed Python codes to convert automatically building and topographic data to the FDS input file. In order to evaluate the predictions of FDS with observations, statistical performance measures have been used. These metrics include the fractional bias (FB), the normalized mean square error (NMSE) and the fraction of predictions within a factor of two of observations (FAC2). As well as the CFD models tested in the COST Action, FDS results demonstrate a good agreement with measured concentrations. Furthermore, the metrics assessment indicate that FB and NMSE meet the tolerance acceptable.

Keywords: numerical simulations, atmospheric dispersion, cost ES1006 action, CFD model, cute experiments, wind tunnel data, numerical results

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Authors: Hamid Rostami, Ali Fallah Yeznabad, Mohammad H. Baziar

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The energy-based method for evaluating seismic soil liquefaction has two main sections. First is the demand energy, which is dissipated energy of earthquake at a site, and second is the capacity energy as a representation of soil resistance against liquefaction hazard. In this study, using a statistical analysis of recorded data by 14 down-hole array sites in California, an empirical equation was developed to estimate the demand energy at sites. Because determination of capacity energy at a site needs to calculate several site calibration factors, which are obtained by experimental tests, in this study the standard penetration test (SPT) N-value was assumed as an alternative to the capacity energy at a site. Based on this assumption, the empirical equation was employed to calculate the demand energy for 193 liquefied and no-liquefied sites and then these amounts were plotted versus the corresponding SPT numbers for all sites. Subsequently, a discrimination analysis was employed to determine the equations of several boundary curves for various liquefaction likelihoods. Finally, a comparison was made between the probabilistic model and the commonly used stress method. As a conclusion, the results clearly showed that energy-based method can be more reliable than conventional stress-based method in evaluation of liquefaction occurrence.

Keywords: energy demand, liquefaction, probabilistic analysis, SPT number

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Authors: Rinku Maji, Joydeep Chakrabortty, Stephen F. King

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The grand unified theory (GUT) rationales the arbitrariness of the standard model (SM) and explains many enigmas of nature at the outset of a single gauge group. The GUTs predict the proton decay and, the spontaneous symmetry breaking (SSB) of the higher symmetry group may lead to the formation of topological defects, which are indispensable in the context of the cosmological observations. The Super-Kamiokande (Super-K) experiment sets sacrosanct bounds on the partial lifetime (τ) of the proton decay for different channels, e.g., τ(p → e+ π0) > 1.6×10³⁴ years which is the most relevant channel to test the viability of the nonsupersymmetric GUTs. The GUTs based on the gauge groups SO(10) and E(6) are broken to the SM spontaneously through one and two intermediate gauge symmetries with the manifestation of the left-right symmetry at least at a single intermediate stage and the proton lifetime for these breaking chains has been computed. The impact of the threshold corrections, as a consequence of integrating out the heavy fields at the breaking scale alter the running of the gauge couplings, which eventually, are found to keep many GUTs off the Super-K bound. The possible topological defects arising in the course of SSB at different breaking scales for all breaking chains have been studied.

Keywords: grand unified theories, proton decay, threshold correction, topological defects

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Authors: Ayeni Margaret Foluso, K. A. Omotayo

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This study investigated the impact of selected environmental variables as determinants of students’ achievements in biology in secondary schools. The selected environmental variables are class size and laboratory adequacy. The purpose was to find out whether these environmental variables can bring about improvement in the learning of biology by Senior Secondary School Students. The study design used was descriptive research of the survey type. Two instruments were used that is, Biology Achievement Test and School Environment Questionnaire .The population of the study consisted of all Biology students in both public and private Senior Secondary Schools class III (SSIII) in all the three selected states in South West Nigeria. A sample of 900 Biology students and 45 Biology Teachers from both public and private Senior Secondary Schools Class III were used. Two research hypotheses were generated for the study. The data collected were subjected to both descriptive statistics of mean and standard deviation; and the inferential statistics of regression Analyses was employed to test the hypotheses formulated. From the results, it was revealed that the selected environmental variables had influence on the students’ achievement in biology.

Keywords: environmental variables, determinants, students’ achievement, school science

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Authors: Jun-Geol Park, Kyoung-Il Do, Min-Ju Kwon, Kyung-Hyun Park, Yong-Seo Koo

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This paper analyzed the SCR (Silicon Controlled Rectifier)-based ESD (Electrostatic Discharge) protection circuits with the turn-on time characteristics. The structures are the LVTSCR (Low Voltage Triggered SCR), the ZTSCR (Zener Triggered SCR) and the PTSCR (P-Substrate Triggered SCR). The three structures are for the 5V power clamp. In general, the structures with the low trigger voltage structure can have the fast turn-on characteristics than other structures. All the ESD protection circuits have the low trigger voltage by using the N+ bridge region of LVTSCR, by using the zener diode structure of ZTSCR, by increasing the trigger current of PTSCR. The simulation for the comparison with the turn-on time was conducted by the Synopsys TCAD simulator. As the simulation results, the LVTSCR has the turn-on time of 2.8 ns, ZTSCR of 2.1 ns and the PTSCR of 2.4 ns. The HBM simulation results, however, show that the PTSCR is the more robust structure of 430K in HBM 8kV standard than 450K of LVTSCR and 495K of ZTSCR. Therefore the PTSCR is the most effective ESD protection circuit for the 5V power clamp.

Keywords: ESD, SCR, turn-on time, trigger voltage, power clamp

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Authors: Nopadol Burananat, Kedsara Tripaichayonsak

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This research aims to study the level of expectations and participation of personnel in implementing educational quality assurance of programs in Graduate School, Rajabhat Suan Sunandha University. The sample used in this study is 60 participants. The tool used for data collection is a questionnaire constructed by the researcher. The analysis is done by frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation. It was found that the level of expectations personnel in Graduate School, Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University in implementing educational quality assurance is at high level. The category which received the most score is Action, followed by Check, Do and Plan, respectively. For the level of participation of personnel at program level of Graduate School, Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University in implementing educational quality assurance, the overall score is at high level. The category which received the most score is Action, followed by Do, Check and Plan, respectively.

Keywords: participation, implementation of educational quality assurance, educational quality assurance, expectations and participation

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Authors: A. W. Kashimawo

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Fish check list of Bayeku water, Lagos, Nigeria was investigated between February 2012 and January 2013. Fish specimens were caught with gill and cast-nets, and non-return valve basket trap. Services of artisanal fishermen were employed for the setting of gears and collections of fish. Species not captured after sampling were assumed to be absent or so rare as to be of minimal ecological importance. The 632 specimens were preserved in 10 % formaldehyde in the field prior to their identification. Physicochemical parameters such as temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen and pH were determined from the lagoon water samples following standard methods. A total of 632 fish were encountered, belonging to 23 families, 27 genera and 29 species. The most abundant species were Chrysichthys nigrodigitatus (9.65 %), Macrobrachium vollenhoveni (7.94 %), Ethmalosa fimbriata (7.12 %), Elops lacerta (6.96 %), Cynoglossus browni (6.17 %), Gobioides broussonnetii (5.69 %), Sphyraena piscatorum (5.39 %), Polydactylus quadrifilis (5.06 %), and Mugil cephalus (4.91 %). There were seasonal variations in species occurrence and abundance. Marine fishes were found in dry season.. Freshwater fishes were more during the wet season. There are marine and freshwater fishes that have euryhaline characteristics and have adapted to the lagoon environment such that they were encountered both in dry and wet seasons.

Keywords: fish check list, species occurrence, abundance, ecological importance

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Authors: Mikheil Kalmakhelidze

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Record linkage (RL) problem has become more and more important in recent years due to the growing interest towards big data analysis. The problem can be formulated in a very simple way: Given two entries a and b of a database, decide whether they represent the same object or not. There are two classical deterministic and probabilistic ways of solving the RL problem. Using simple Bayes classifier in many cases produces useful results but sometimes they show to be poor. In recent years several successful approaches have been made towards solving specific RL problems by neural network algorithms including single layer perception, multilayer back propagation network etc. In our work, we model the RL problem for specific dataset of student applications in fuzzy description logic (FDL) where linkage of specific pair (a,b) depends on the truth value of corresponding formula A(a,b) in a canonical FDL model. As a main result, we build neural network for deciding truth value of FDL formulas in a canonical model and thus link RL problem to machine learning. We apply the approach to dataset with 10000 entries and also compare to classical RL solving approaches. The results show to be more accurate than standard probabilistic approach.

Keywords: description logic, fuzzy logic, neural networks, record linkage

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Authors: Sabreen Al Shamli, Abdul Rahman Al azure

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Microscopic examination by histopathology is the gold standard for diagnosing many oral and maxillofacial pathologies. Current clinical guidelines and medicolegal regulations recommend the utilization of histopathology services for confirming pathologies being treated. The goal of this study was to determine the prevalence and distribution of oral and maxillofacial biopsies that had been histopathologically diagnosed at Anahdha Hospital (ANH). A total of 512 biopsies randomly selected from a ground total of 3310 biopsies, which were submitted for oral and maxillofacial histopathological specimens, were analyzed at Nahdha Hospital in Oman between January 2010 and December 2022. Data collected retrospectively selected from all case notes of patients who had oral histopathology examinations performed as part of their treatment. Data collected from the Shifa system was transferred to Microsoft Excel and analyzed using SPSS. Research ethics approval was obtained from the research committee of the hospital. This study provides background information on oral histopathology prevalence that could be helpful in future research in Oman. The findings of the present study are in agreement with the reported data from other investigations, even when it is taken into account how difficult it is to compare prevalence rates from different studies.

Keywords: oral biopsy, maxillofacial histopathology, oral disease, maxillofacial specimens

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Authors: Ashraf Fayz Bekhet Abaskron

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This research is done to create new compositions for designs, finding inspiration from watercolor artworks displayed in SuanSunandha Palace. The researcher made a study in the history of the landmark, its importance, the paintings in the Palace, the types and characteristics of the flowers painted, as well as the artistic elements and principles of designs that went into the paintings. The information obtained led to the creation of six totally new designs. The designs incorporated standard international designs and artistic principles and still kept to the original style of the watercolor paintings in SuanSunandha Palace. Following the paintings, the designs are divided into three categories: Orchids, Roses, and Flowers from literature. The researcher used the components of the flowers including rounded-petal flowers, wavy-edged petals, flowers with pointed petals, leaves, vines, and branches. All of them are represented in the original paintings. Upon the original, the researcher switched these elements and their proportions around to create a more modern design. The original forms are used as references since they contain the characteristics of each flower species. The work created achieved an updated trait and simultaneously reflects the charms and timeless beauty of the watercolor paintings displayed in SuanSunandha Palace, which still exists in today’s world.

Keywords: art, craft, design, Oman, weaving watercolor, painting, flower, Suan Sunandhagolden ratio, Fibonacci numbers, textile design, designs

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Authors: Praveen Battula

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Any high performance car has the tendency to over steer and Understeer under slippery conditions, An Electronic Stability Control System is needed under these conditions to regulate the steering of the car. It uses Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS) and Traction Control and Wheel Speed Sensor, Steering Angle Sensor, Rotational Speed Sensors to correct the problems. The focus of this paper is to improve the driving dynamics and safety by controlling the forces applied on each wheel. ESC Control the Yaw Stability, traction controls the Roll Stability, where actually the vehicle slip rate and lateral acceleration is controlled. ESC uses differential braking on all four brakes independently to control the vehicle’s motion. A mathematical model is developed in Simulink for the FlexRay based Electronic Stability Control. Vehicle steering is developed using Neuro Fuzzy Logic Controller. 7 Degrees of Freedom Vehicle Model is used as a Plant Model using dSpace autobox. The Performance of the system is assessed using two different road Scenarios, Vehicle Control under standard maneuvering conditions. The entire system is set using Dspace Control Desk. Results are provided by comparison of how a Vehicle with and without Electronic Stability Control which shows an improved performance in control.

Keywords: ESC, flexray, chassis control, steering, neuro fuzzy, vehicle dynamics

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Authors: O. O. Leigh, L. C. Agbugba, A. O. Oyewunmi, A. E. Ibiam, A. Hassan

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Accuracy of insemination timing is a key determinant of high pregnancy rates in livestock breeding stations. The estrous detector probes are a recent introduction into the Nigerian livestock farming sector. Many of these probes are species-labeled and they measure changes in the vaginal mucus resistivity (VMR) during the stages of the estrous cycle. With respect to size and shaft conformation, the Draminski® swine estrous detector probe (sEDP) is quite similar to the bovine estrous detector probe. We investigated the reliability of the sEDP at insemination time on two farms designated as FM A and FM B. Cows (Bunaji, n=20 per farm) were evaluated for VMR at 16th h post standard OvSynch protocol, with concurrent insemination on FM B only. The difference in the mean VMR between FM A (221 ± 24.36) Ohms and FM B (254 ± 35.59) Ohms was not significant (p > 0.05). Sixteen cows (80%) at FM B were later (day 70) confirmed pregnant via rectal palpation and calved at term. These findings suggest consistency in VMR evaluated with sEDP at insemination as well as a high predictability for VMR associated with good pregnancy rates in dairy cattle. We conclude that Draminski® swine estrous detector probe is reliable in determining time of insemination in cattle breeding stations.

Keywords: dairy cattle, insemination, swine estrous probe, vaginal mucus resistivity

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Authors: Babatunde Kasim Oladele

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This current study investigated students’ characteristics as factors that influence Mathematics Achievement of junior secondary school students. The study adopted a descriptive survey design. The population of the study was one hundred and twenty-three (123) JSS students of secondary schools in Ibadan North Local Government in Oyo State. A Mathematics achievement test and three questionnaires on student’s self-efficacy belief, attitude, and learning style were the instruments used. Prior to the administration of the constructed mathematics achievement test, 100-item mathematics was subjected to the expert review, and items analysis was carried out. Fifty items were retained. The Cronbach Alpha reliability coefficients of the instruments were 0.71, 0.76, and 0.83, respectively. Collected data were analysed using the frequency count, percentages, mean, standard deviation, and Path Analysis in Amos SPSS Version 20. Students characteristics: gender, age, self-efficacy, attitude and learning style had positive direct effects on students’ achievement in Mathematics as indicated by their respective beta weights (β = 0.36, 0.203, 0.92, 0.079, 0.69 p < 0.05). Consequently, the study concluded that student’s characteristics (Age, gender, and learning style) explained a significant part of the variability in students’ achievement in Mathematics.

Keywords: mathematics achievement, students’ characteristics, junior secondary school, Ibadan

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Authors: Eric Agrie Ambele

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The norms and models for learning pronunciation in relation to the teaching and learning of English pronunciation are key issues nowadays in English Language Teaching in ESL contexts. This paper discusses these issues based on a study on the attitudes of some Francophone university students in Cameroon towards three English accents spoken in Cameroon: Cameroon Francophone English (CamFE), Cameroon English (CamE), and Hyperlectal Cameroon English (near standard British English). With the desire to know more about the treatment that these English accents receive among these students, an aspect that had hitherto received little attention in the literature, a language attitude questionnaire, and the matched-guise technique was used to investigate this phenomenon. Two methods of data analysis were employed: (1) the percentage count procedure, and (2) the semantic differential scale. The findings reveal that the participants’ attitudes towards the selected accents vary in degree. Though Hyperlectal CamE emerged first, CamE second and CamFE third, no accent, on average, received a negative evaluation. It can be deduced from this findings that, first, CamE is gaining more and more recognition and can stand as an autonomous accent; second, that the participants all rated Hyperlectal CamE higher than CamE implies that they would be less motivated in a context where CamE is the learning model. By implication, in the teaching of English pronunciation to francophone learners learning English in Cameroon, Hyperlectal Cameroon English should be the model.

Keywords: teaching pronunciation, English accents, Francophone learners, attitudes

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Authors: Chhavi Saxena

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FinFETs can be a replacement for bulk-CMOS transistors in many different designs. Its low leakage/standby power property makes FinFETs a desirable option for memory sub-systems. Memory modules are widely used in most digital and computer systems. Leakage power is very important in memory cells since most memory applications access only one or very few memory rows at a given time. As technology scales down, the importance of leakage current and power analysis for memory design is increasing. In this paper, we discover an option for low power interconnect synthesis at the 32nm node and beyond, using Fin-type Field-Effect Transistors (FinFETs) which are a promising substitute for bulk CMOS at the considered gate lengths. We consider a mechanism for improving FinFETs efficiency, called variable supply voltage schemes. In this paper, we’ve illustrated the design and implementation of FinFET based 4x4 SRAM cell array by means of one bit 7T SRAM. FinFET based 7T SRAM has been designed and analysis have been carried out for leakage current, dynamic power and delay. For the validation of our design approach, the output of FinFET SRAM array have been compared with standard CMOS SRAM and significant improvements are obtained in proposed model.

Keywords: FinFET, 7T SRAM cell, leakage current, delay

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Authors: Thepnarintra Praphanphat

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The purposes of this study were to: 1) investigate operation conditions of SME automotive part industry in Bangkok and vicinity and 2) to compare operation problem levels of SME automotive part industry in Bangkok and vicinity according to the sizes of the enterprises. Samples in this study included 196 entrepreneurs of SME automotive part industry in Bangkok and vicinity derived from simple random sampling and calculation from R. V. Krejcie and D. W. Morgan’s tables. Research statistics included frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, and T-test. The results revealed that in general the problem levels of SME automotive part industry in Bangkok and vicinity were high. When considering in details, it was found that the problem levels were high at every aspect, i.e. personal, production, export, finance, and marketing respectively. The comparison of the problem levels according to the sizes of the enterprises revealed statistically significant differences at .05. When considering on each aspect, it was found that the aspect with the statistical difference at .05 included 5 aspects, i.e. production, marketing, finance, personal, and export. The findings also showed that small enterprises faced more severe problems than those of medium enterprises.

Keywords: automotive part industry, operation problems, SME, Perimeter

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Authors: Yee Yan Crystal Kwong

Abstract:

The essence of rape is the absence of consent to sexual intercourse. Yet, the definition of consent is not absolute and allows for subjectivity. In this case, the accuracy of oral interpretation becomes very important as the narratives of events and situation, as well as the register and style of speakers would influence the juror decision making. This paper first adopts a corpus-based approach to investigate how court interpreters in Hong Kong handle expressions that refer to sexual activities. The data of this study will be based on online corpus :From legislation to translation, from translation to interpretation: The narrative of sexual offences. The corpus comprises the transcription of five separate rape trials and all of these trials were heard with the presence of an interpreter. Since there are plenty of sex-related expressions used by witnesses and defendants in the five cases, emphasis will be put on those which have an impact on the definition of rape. With an in-depth analysis of the interpreted utterances, different interpreting approaches will be identified to observe how interpreters retain the intended meanings. Interviews with experienced court interpreters will also be conducted to revisit the validity of the traditional verbatim standard. At the end of this research, various interpreting approaches will be compared and evaluated. A redefinition of interpreters' institutional role, as well as recommendations for interpreting learners will be provided.

Keywords: court interpreting, interpreters, legal translation, slangs

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Authors: Leila Alidokht

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PFAS (poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances) are a large collection of environmentally persistent organic chemicals of industrial origin that have a negative influence on human health and ecosystems. Many distinct PFAS are being utilized in a wide range of applications (on the order of thousands), and there is no comprehensive source of information on the many different compounds and their roles in diverse applications. Facilities are increasingly looking into ways to reduce waste from cleanup projects. PFAS are widespread in the environment, have been found in a wide range of human biomonitoring investigations, and are a rising source of regulatory concern for federal, state, and local governments. Nanotechnology has the potential to contribute considerably to the creation of a cleaner, greener technologies with considerable environmental and health benefits. Nanotechnology approaches are being studied for their potential to provide pollution management and mitigation options, as well as to increase the effectiveness of standard environmental cleanup procedures. Diversified nanoparticles have shown useful in removing certain pollutants from their original environment, such as sewage spills and landmines. Furthermore, they have a low hazardous effect during production rates and can thus be thoroughly explored in the future to make them more compatible with lower production costs.

Keywords: PFOS, PFOA, PFAS, soil remediation

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Authors: Fardis Teifoori, Mehdi Dehghani, Idoia Postigo, Jorge Martinez

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Introduction: Many skin disorders, such as atopic dermatitis (AD), is characterized by inflammation, infection, and hyperplasia. In this work, keratinocytes from AD patients are used to study the pomegranate seed oil properties for skin care. Material and methods: Isolated keratinocytes from patients with AD were cultured and stimulated by IL-9 (20 ng/ml) and TNF-α (50ng/ml) for 48h to induce vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and Regulated upon activation, normal T cell expressed and secreted (RANTES) production, respectively, in the presence of different concentrations of pomegranate seed oil (20, 50, 100, and 200 µM). Finally, the concentrations of RANTES and VEGF in the cell culture supernatant were quantified according to the standard protocol of commercial ELISA kits. Results: The results indicated that pomegranate seed oil concentrations of 50, 100, and 200 µM could significantly inhibit the production of VEGF and RANTES by stimulating keratinocytes with IL-9 (20 ng/ml) and TNF-α (50ng/ml), respectively. The decrease in VEGF and RANTES concentration in the presence of the pomegranate seed oil concentrations of 20 and 50 uM was not significant. Conclusion: It was concluded that pomegranate seed oil (PSO) counteracts atopic dermatitis conditions dose-dependently: with the highest effect at the concentration of 200 µM. We suggest that the inexpensive and easily available pomegranate seed oil is a good candidate for cosmetics and clinical utilization for skin care.

Keywords: atopic dermatitis, pomegranate, Punica granatum, RANTES, VEGF

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Authors: Mohd Naqiuddin Bin Husri, Siti Rahmah Abd Rahman, Dalilah Abu Bakar, Dayang Izawati Abang Masli, Meilina Ong Abdullah

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A serious shortage of prime agricultural land coupled with environmental concerns inland expansion has daunted efforts to increase the national yield average. To address this issue, maximising yield per unit hectare through quality planting material is of great importance. Breeding for improved planting materials has been a continuous effort since the early days of this industry, it is time-consuming, and the likelihood of segregation within the progenies further impedes progress in this area. Incorporation of the cloning technology in oil palm breeding programmes is therefore advantageous to expedite the development of commercial elite and high-yielding planting materials. After more than 22 years of research and development through this project, reliable protocols for liquid/suspension culture systems coupled with various innovative technologies which are effective at promoting proliferation and growth of oil palm culture have been established. Subsequently, clonal palms derived from the suspension culture system were extensively studied in the field, and the results have been encouraging. Clones such as CPS1, CPS2 and a few others recorded superior performance in comparison with D x P standard crosses.

Keywords: tissue culture, suspension culture, oil palm, Elaeis guineensis

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Authors: Kiana Zeighami, Morteza Ozlati Moghadam

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Designing a high accuracy and high precision motion controller is one of the important issues in today’s industry. There are effective solutions available in the industry but the real-time performance, smoothness and accuracy of the movement can be further improved. This paper discusses a complete solution to carry out the movement of three stepper motors in three dimensions. The objective is to provide a method to design a fully integrated System-on-Chip (SOC)-based motion controller to reduce the cost and complexity of production by incorporating Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) into the design. In the proposed method the FPGA receives its commands from a host computer via wireless internet communication and calculates the motion trajectory for three axes. A profile generator module is designed to realize the interpolation algorithm by translating the position data to the real-time pulses. This paper discusses an approach to implement the linear interpolation algorithm, since it is one of the fundamentals of robots’ movements and it is highly applicable in motion control industries. Along with full profile trajectory, the triangular drive is implemented to eliminate the existence of error at small distances. To integrate the parallelism and real-time performance of FPGA with the power of Central Processing Unit (CPU) in executing complex and sequential algorithms, the NIOS II soft-core processor was added into the design. This paper presents different operating modes such as absolute, relative positioning, reset and velocity modes to fulfill the user requirements. The proposed approach was evaluated by designing a custom-made FPGA board along with a mechanical structure. As a result, a precise and smooth movement of stepper motors was observed which proved the effectiveness of this approach.

Keywords: 3-axis linear interpolation, FPGA, motion controller, micro-stepping

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Authors: Iveta Nováková, Martin-Andrè S. Husby, Boy-Arne Buyle

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The building industry has one of the most significant contributions to global warming due to the production of building materials, transportation, building activities, and demolition of structures when they reach the end of their life. Implementation of circular material flow and circular economy can significantly reduce greenhouse gasses and simultaneously reduce the need for natural resources. The use of recycled concrete aggregates (RCA) is one of the possibilities for reducing the depletion of raw materials for concrete production. Concrete is the most used building material worldwide, and aggregates constitute 70% of its volume. RCA can replace a certain amount of natural aggregates (NA), and concrete will still perform as required. The aim of this scientific paper is to evaluate RCA properties with and without mechanical treatment. Analysis of RCA itself will be followed by compressive strength of concrete containing various amounts of treated and non-treated RCA. Results showed improvement in compressive strength of the mix with mechanically treated RCA compared to standard RCA, and even the strength of concrete with mechanically treated RCA in dose 50% of coarse aggregates was higher than the reference mix by 4%. Based on obtained results, it can be concluded that integration of RCA in industrial concrete production is feasible, at a replacement ratio of 50% for mechanically treated RCA and 30% if untreated RCA is used, without affecting the compressive strength negatively.

Keywords: recycled concrete aggregates, mechanical treatment, aggregate properties, compression strength

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Authors: Mohamed M. Emara, Heba Ashraf

Abstract:

This study is to investigation the effect of silicon carbide (SiC) particle size and thermo-mechanical processing on dimensional stability of aluminum alloy 2124. Three combinations of SiC weight fractions are investigated, 2.5, 5, and 10 wt. % with different SiC particle sizes (25 μm, 5 μm, and 100nm) were produced using mechanical ball mill. The standard testing samples were fabricated using powder metallurgy technique. Both samples, prior and after extrusion, were heated from room temperature up to 400ºC in a dilatometer at different heating rates, that is, 10, 20, and 40ºC/min. The analysis showed that for all materials, there was an increase in length change as temperature increased and the temperature sensitivity of aluminum alloy decreased in the presence of both micro and nano-sized silicon carbide. For all conditions, nanocomposites showed better dimensional stability compared to conventional Al 2124/SiC composites. The after extrusion samples showed better thermal stability and less temperature sensitivity for the aluminum alloy for both micro and nano-sized silicon carbide.

Keywords: aluminum 2124 metal matrix composite, SiC nano-sized reinforcements, powder metallurgy, extrusion mechanical ball mill, dimensional stability

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Authors: Angela Obose Oriazowanlan

Abstract:

Despite the introduction of Entrepreneurship education into the Nigerian University curriculum to prepare graduates for self-employment roles in order to abate employment challenges, their unemployment rate still soars high. The study, therefore, examined the relevance of the curriculum contents and its delivery mechanism to equip graduates with appropriate entrepreneurial skills prior to graduation. Four research questions and two hypotheses guided the study. The survey research design was adopted for the study. An infinite population of graduates of a period of five years with 200 sample representatives using the simple random sampling technique was adopted. A 45-item structured questionnaire was used for data gathering. The gathered data thereof was anlysed using the descriptive statistics of mean and standard deviation, while the formulated hypotheses were tested with Z-score at 0.5 level of significance. The findings revealed, among others, that graduates acquisition of appropriate entrepreneurial skills for self-employment generation is low due to curriculum deficiencies, insufficient time allotment, and the delivery mechanism. It was recommended, among others, that the curriculum should be reviewed to improve its relevancy and that sufficient time should be allotted to enable adequate teaching and learning process.

Keywords: evaluation of entrepreneurship education (EE) curriculum, self-employment generation, graduates of tertiary institutions, Edo state, Nigeria

Procedia PDF Downloads 93

Authors: Amir Amiri, Naghmeh Morakabati

Abstract:

During the recent years the six-fold growth of cancer in Iran has led the production of healthy products to become a challenge in the food industry. Due to the young population in the country, the consumption of fast foods is growing. The chemical cancer-causing preservatives are used to produce these products more than the standard; so using an appropriate alternative seems to be important. On the one hand, the plant essential oils show the high antimicrobial potential against pathogenic and spoilage microorganisms and on the other hand they are highly volatile and decomposed under the processing conditions. The study aims to produce the loaded chitosan nanoparticles with different concentrations of savory essential oil to improve the anti-microbial property and increase the resistance of essential oil to oxygen and heat. The encapsulation efficiency was obtained in the range of 32.07% to 39.93% and the particle size distribution of the samples was observed in the range of 159 to 210 nm. The range of Zeta potential was obtained between -11.9 to -23.1 mV. The essential oil loaded in chitosan showed stronger antifungal activity against Rhizopus stolonifer. The results showed that the antioxidant property is directly related to the concentration of loaded essential oil so that the antioxidant property increases by increasing the concentration of essential oil. In general, it seems that the savory essential oil loaded in chitosan particles can be used as a food processor.

Keywords: chitosan, encapsulation, essential oil, nanogel

Procedia PDF Downloads 264

Authors: Liyu Adhi Kasari Sulung

Abstract:

Poverty has been a major problem in Indonesia. Islamic micro finance (IMF) named Baitul Maal Wat Tamwil (Bmt) plays a prominent role to eradicate this. Indonesia as the biggest muslim country has many successful applied products such as worldwide adopt group-based lending approach, flexible financing for farmers, and gold pawning. The Problems related to these models are operation risk management and internal control system (ICS). A proper ICS will help an organization in preventing the occurrence of bad financing through detecting error and irregularities in its operation. This study aims to seek a proper risk management scheme of credit system in Bmt and internal control system’s rank for every stage. Risk management variables are obtained at the first In-Depth Interview (IDI) and Focus Group Discussion (FGD) with Shariah supervisory boards, boards of directors, and operational managers. Survey was conducted covering nationwide data; West Java, South Sulawesi, and West Nusa Tenggara. Moreover, Content analysis is employed to build the relationship among these variables. Research Findings shows that risk management Characteristics in Indonesia involves ex ante, credit process, and ex post strategies to deal with risk in credit system. Ex-ante control consists of Shariah compliance, survey, group leader reference, and islamic forming orientation. Then, credit process involves saving, collateral, joint liability, loan repayment, and credit installment controlling. Finally, ex-post control includes shariah evaluation, credit evaluation, grace period and low installment provisions. In addition, internal control order sort three stages by its priority; Credit process as first rank, then ex-post control as second, and ex ante control as the last rank.

Keywords: internal control system, islamic micro finance, poverty, risk management

Procedia PDF Downloads 399

Authors: Saleh Kasiri Bidhendi, Shiva Tashakori

Abstract:

With the increasing application of six-wheel robots in various industries, including agriculture and environmental monitoring, there is a growing demand for efficient and reliable control systems that can improve manoeuvrability and at the same time reduce energy consumption. Moving on uneven terrains, various factors such as obstacles or soil heterogeneity can cause the robot to slip. There is limited research addressing this issue. Although the robot is supposed to track a predetermined path, sudden lateral deviation necessitates path planning. To further address this issue, explicit steering is added by activating actuators on steerable wheels, while the SMC controller still commands differential traction forces on all wheels. This integration improves energy efficiency and obstacle traversability while maintaining the merits of skid-steering, such as tight turning manoeuvrability. However, achieving the desired steer angles presents certain challenges. Inverse kinematics was initially employed to achieve the needed steering angles from the desired position, but this approach led to excessive steering without yawing the body. Switching to desired velocity values instead of position limited over-steering but caused zero lateral velocity on horizontal paths, which was problematic for unforeseen skidding. To overcome this, a proportional controller has been employed, using lateral error as its input and providing a proportional yaw angle as output, the P-controller contributes to modifying the steering angles. The controller's robustness has been verified through sensitivity analyses under critical speeds and turning radius conditions. Our findings offer valuable insights into designing more efficient steering controls for rocker-bogie mechanisms in challenging situations, emphasizing the importance of reducing energy¬ consumption.

Keywords: six-wheel robots, inverse kinematics, integrated steering, path following, manoeuvrability, energy efficiency, uneven terrains

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Authors: Shahrzad Zolfagharnassab, Abdul Rashid Mohamed Shariff, Reza Ehsani, Hawa Ze Jaffar, Ishak Aris

Abstract:

Ripeness estimation of oil palm fresh fruit is important processes that affect the profitableness and salability of oil palm fruits. The adulthood or ripeness of the oil palm fruits influences the quality of oil palm. Conventional procedure includes physical grading of Fresh Fruit Bunches (FFB) maturity by calculating the number of loose fruits per bunch. This physical classification of oil palm FFB is costly, time consuming and the results may have human error. Hence, many researchers try to develop the methods for ascertaining the maturity of oil palm fruits and thereby, deviously the oil content of distinct palm fruits without the need for exhausting oil extraction and analysis. This research investigates the potential of infrared images (Thermal Images) as a predictor to classify the oil palm FFB ripeness. A total of 270 oil palm fresh fruit bunches from most common cultivar of oil palm bunches Nigresens according to three maturity categories: under ripe, ripe and over ripe were collected. Each sample was scanned by the thermal imaging cameras FLIR E60 and FLIR T440. The average temperature of each bunches were calculated by using image processing in FLIR Tools and FLIR ThermaCAM researcher pro 2.10 environment software. The results show that temperature content decreased from immature to over mature oil palm FFBs. An overall analysis-of-variance (ANOVA) test was proved that this predictor gave significant difference between underripe, ripe and overripe maturity categories. This shows that the temperature as predictors can be good indicators to classify oil palm FFB. Classification analysis was performed by using the temperature of the FFB as predictors through Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA), Mahalanobis Discriminant Analysis (MDA), Artificial Neural Network (ANN) and K- Nearest Neighbor (KNN) methods. The highest overall classification accuracy was 88.2% by using Artificial Neural Network. This research proves that thermal imaging and neural network method can be used as predictors of oil palm maturity classification.

Keywords: artificial neural network, maturity classification, oil palm FFB, thermal imaging

Procedia PDF Downloads 353