Search results for: the soil variables

Authors: Chalise Kiran

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The prime idea of inclusive education is to mainstream every child in education. However, it will be challenging for implementation when there are policy and practice gaps. It will be even more challenging when children have disabilities. Generally, the focus will be on the policy gap, but the problem may not always be with policy. The proper practice could be a challenge in the countries like Nepal. In determining practice, the teachers’ perceptions toward inclusive will play a vital role. Nepal has categorized disability in 7 types (physical, visual, hearing, vision/hearing, speech, mental, and multiple). Out of these, hearing impairment is the study realm. In the context of a limited number of researches on children with disabilities and rare researches on CWHI and their education in Nepal, this study is a pioneering effort in knowing basically the problems and challenges of CWHI focused on inclusive education in the schools including gaps and barriers in its proper implementation. Philosophically, the paradigm of the study is post-positivism. In the post-positivist worldview, the quantitative approach with the description of the situation and inferential relationship are revealed out in the study. This is related to the natural model of objective reality. The data were collected from an individual survey with the teachers and head teachers of 35 schools in Nepal. The survey questionnaire was prepared and filled by the respondents from the schools where the CWHI study in 7 provincial 20 districts of Nepal. Through these considerations, the perceptions of CWHI focused inclusive education were explored in the study. The data were analyzed using both descriptive and inferential tools on which the Likert scale-based analysis was done for descriptive analysis, and chi-square mathematical tool was used to know the significant relationship between dependent variables and independent variables. The descriptive analysis showed that the majority of teachers have positive perceptions toward implementing CWHI focused inclusive education, and the majority of them have positive perceptions toward CWHI focused inclusive education, though there are some problems and challenges. The study has found out the major challenges and problems categorically. Some of them are: a large number of students in a single class; availability of generic textbooks for CWHI and no availability of textbooks to all students; less opportunity for teachers to acquire knowledge on CWHI; not adequate teachers in the schools; no flexibility in the curriculum; less information system in schools; no availability of educational consular; disaster-prone students; no child abuse control strategy; no disabled-friendly schools; no free health check-up facility; no participation of the students in school activities and in child clubs and so on. By and large, it is found that teachers’ age, gender, years of experience, position, employment status, and disability with him or her show no statistically significant relation to successfully implement CWHI focused inclusive education and perceptions to CWHI focused inclusive education in schools. However, in some of the cases, the set null hypothesis was rejected, and some are completely retained. The study has suggested policy implications, implications for educational authority, and implications for teachers and parents categorically.

Keywords: children with hearing impairment, disability, inclusive education, perception

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Authors: H. M. Takematsu, B. R. De Camargo, E. F. Noronha

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The use of hydrolyzing enzymes for degradation of lignocellulosic biomass is of great concern for the production of second generation ethanol. Although many hollocelulases have already been described in the literature, much more has to be discovered. Therefore, the aim of this study to evaluate hollocelulase production of P. polonicum grown in liquid media containing sugarcane bagasse as the carbon source. From a collection of twenty fungi isolated from Cerrado biome soil, P. polonicum was molecular identified by sequencing of ITS4, βtubulin and Calmodulin genes, and has been chosen to be further investigated regarding its potential production of hydrolyzing enzymes. Spore suspension (1x10-6 ml-1) solution was inoculated in sterilized minimal liquid medium containing 0,5%(w/v) of non-pretreated sugarcane bagasse as the carbon source, and incubated in shaker incubator at 28°C and 120 rpm. The supernatant obtained, was subjected to enzymatic assays to analyze xylanase, mannanase, pectinase and endoglucanase activities. Xylanase activity showed better results (67,36 UI/mg). Xylanases bands were indicated by zymogram and SDS-PAGE, and one of them was partially purified and characterized. It showed maximum activity at 50 °C, was thermostable for 72h at 40°C, and pH5.0 was the optimum observed. This study presents P. polonicum as an interesting source of hollocelulases, especially xylanase, for lignocellulose bio-conversion processes with commercial use.

Keywords: sugarcane bagasse, Cerrado biome , hollocelulase, lignocellulosic biomass

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Authors: Tomola Obamuyi

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The banking system in Nigeria adopted innovative banking, with the aim of enhancing financial inclusion, and making financial services readily and cheaply available to majority of the people, and to contribute to the efficiency of the financial system. Some of the innovative services include: Automatic Teller Machines (ATMs), National Electronic Fund Transfer (NEFT), Point of Sale (PoS), internet (Web) banking, Mobile Money payment (MMO), Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS), agent banking, among others. The introduction of these payment systems is expected to increase bank efficiency and customers' satisfaction, culminating in better performance for the commercial banks. However, opinions differ on the possible effects of the various innovative payment systems on the performance of commercial banks in the country. Thus, this study empirically determines how commercial banks use innovation to gain competitive advantage in the specific context of Nigeria's finance and business. The study also analyses the effects of financial innovation on the performance of commercial banks, when different periods of analysis are considered. The study employed secondary data from 2009 to 2018, the period that witnessed aggressive innovation in the financial sector of the country. The Vector Autoregression (VAR) estimation technique forecasts the relative variance of each random innovation to the variables in the VAR, examine the effect of standard deviation shock to one of the innovations on current and future values of the impulse response and determine the causal relationship between the variables (VAR granger causality test). The study also employed the Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) to rank the innovations and the performance criteria of Return on Assets (ROA) and Return on Equity (ROE). The entropy method of MCDM was used to determine which of the performance criteria better reflect the contributions of the various innovations in the banking sector. On the other hand, the Range of Values (ROV) method was used to rank the contributions of the seven innovations to performance. The analysis was done based on medium term (five years) and long run (ten years) of innovations in the sector. The impulse response function derived from the VAR system indicated that the response of ROA to the values of cheques transaction, values of NEFT transactions, values of POS transactions was positive and significant in the periods of analysis. The paper also confirmed with entropy and range of value that, in the long run, both the CHEQUE and MMO performed best while NEFT was next in performance. The paper concluded that commercial banks would enhance their performance by continuously improving on the services provided through Cheques, National Electronic Fund Transfer and Point of Sale since these instruments have long run effects on their performance. This will increase the confidence of the populace and encourage more usage/patronage of these services. The banking sector will in turn experience better performance which will improve the economy of the country. Keywords: Bank performance, financial innovation, multi-criteria decision making, vector autoregression,

Keywords: Bank performance, financial innovation, multi-criteria decision making, vector autoregression

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Authors: G. I. Onwuka, A. Danbaba, S. U. Gulumbe

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This study investigated of Infant Mortality Rate as observed at a general hospital in Kaduna-South, Kaduna State, North West Nigeria. The causes of infant Mortality were examined. The data used for this analysis were collected at the statistics unit of the Hospital. The analysis was carried out on the data using Multiple Linear regression Technique and this showed that there is linear relationship between the dependent variable (death) and the independent variables (malaria, measles, anaemia, and coronary heart disease). The resultant model also revealed that a unit increment in each of these diseases would result to a unit increment in death recorded, 98.7% of the total variation in mortality is explained by the given model. The highest number of mortality was recorded in July, 2005 and the lowest mortality recorded in October, 2009.Recommendations were however made based on the results of the study.

Keywords: infant mortality rate, multiple linear regression, diseases, serial correlation

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Authors: Zhou BingHai, Fradet Victor

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Lean philosophy follows the simple principle of “creating more value with fewer resources”. In accordance with this policy, material handling can be managed by the mean of Kanban which by triggering every feeding tour only when needed regulates the flow of material in one of the most efficient way. This paper focuses on Kanban Supermarket’s parameters and their optimization on a purely cost-based point of view. Number and size of forklifts, as well as size of the containers they carry, will be variables of the cost function which includes handling costs, inventory costs but also shortage costs. With an innovative computational approach encoded into industrial engineering software Tecnomatix and reproducing real-life conditions, a fictive assembly line is established and produces a random list of orders. Multi-scenarios are then run to study the impact of each change of parameter and the variation of costs it implies. Lastly, best-case scenarios financially speaking are selected.

Keywords: Kanban, supermarket, parts-feeding policies, multi-scenario simulation, assembly line

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Authors: Tithdanin Chav, Phichhang Ou

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The study is about the e-banking consumer behavior of five major banks in Cambodia. This work aims to examine the relationships among job relevance, trust, mobility, perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, attitude toward using, and intention to use of internet banking and apps. Also, the research develops and tests a conceptual model of intention to use internet banking by integrating the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and job relevance, trust, and mobility which were supported by Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) and Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). The proposed model was tested using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), which was processed by using SPSS and AMOS with a sample size of 250 e-banking users. The results showed that there is a significant positive relationship among variables and attitudes toward using internet banking, and apps are the most factor influencing consumers’ intention to use internet banking and apps with the importance level in SEM 0.82 accounted by 82%. Significantly, all six hypotheses were accepted.

Keywords: bank apps, consumer intention, internet banking, technology acceptance model, TAM

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Authors: Azadeh Askari, Ali Nasery Mohamad Abadi

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The present study was conducted to investigate the relationship between career anchors and job satisfaction with emphasis on the mediating role of person-job fit. 502 managers and supervisors of ten operational areas of a large energy Company were selected as a cluster sample appropriate to the volume. The instruments used in this study were Career Anchor Questionnaire, Job Satisfaction Questionnaire and Person-job fit Questionnaire. Pearson correlation coefficient was used to analyze the data and AMOS software was used to determine the effect of career anchor variables and person-job fit on job satisfaction. Anchors of service and dedication, pure challenge and security and stability increase the person-job fit among managers and also the person-job fit plays a mediating role in relation to the effect it has on job satisfaction through these anchors. In contrast, the anchors of independence and autonomy reduce the person-job fit. Considering the importance of positive organizational attitudes and in order to have an optimal fit between job and worker, it is better that in human resources processes such as hiring and employing, the career anchors of the person should be considered so that the person can have more job satisfaction; and thus bring higher productivity for themselves and the organization.

Keywords: career anchor, job satisfaction, person-job fit, energy company, managers

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Authors: Young-Hun Ko, Seung-Jun Kim, Khaqan Baluch, Hyung- Sik Yang

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In this study, the polymer gel was used as coupling material in a blasting hole and its comparison was made with other coupling materials like sand, water, and air. Trazul lead block test and AUTODYN numerical analysis were conducted to analyze the effects of the coupling materials on the intensity of the explosion, as well as the verification tests were conducted by using concrete block test. The emulsion explosives were used in decoupling conditions, sand, water, and polymer gel were used as the coupling materials. The lead block test and the numerical analysis showed that the expansion of the blast hole in the lead block was similar to that of the water and gelatin and followed by sand and air conditions. The validation of concrete block test result showed the similar result as Trazul lead block test and the explosion strength was measured at 0.8 for polymer gel, 0.7 for sand, and 0.6 for no coupling material, in comparison to the full charge (1.0) case.

Keywords: Trazul lead block test, AUTODYN numerical analysis, coupling material, polymer gel, soil covering concrete block explosion test

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Authors: Arash Jafari, Mehdi Taghaddosi, Azin Parvin

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In the paper, our purpose is to enhance the ability to solve a nonlinear differential equation which is about the motion of an incompressible fluid flow going down of an inclined plane without thermal effect with a simple and innovative approach which we have named it new method. Comparisons are made amongst the Numerical, new method, and HPM methods, and the results reveal that this method is very effective and simple and can be applied to other nonlinear problems. It is noteworthy that there are some valuable advantages in this way of solving differential equations, and also most of the sets of differential equations can be answered in this manner which in the other methods they do not have acceptable solutions up to now. A summary of the excellence of this method in comparison to the other manners is as follows: 1) Differential equations are directly solvable by this method. 2) Without any dimensionless procedure, we can solve equation(s). 3) It is not necessary to convert variables into new ones. According to the afore-mentioned assertions which will be proved in this case study, the process of solving nonlinear equation(s) will be very easy and convenient in comparison to the other methods.

Keywords: viscos fluid, incompressible fluid flow, inclined plane, nonlinear phenomena

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Authors: Rhaptyalyani Herno Della, Nyimas Septi Rika Putri, Rika Nabila

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The growth of population and economic activities in urban areas needs support economic development, needs to be balanced with adequate environmental infrastructure development. Settlement can avoid from rundown condition and uninhabitable if the development of urban area accordance with healthy development. Identifying database of slum in this study reference to the Review of the Spatial Plan Development of Palembang City, Laws of Public Works Department about Technical Guidelines on the Quality Improvement Housing and Slum and Urban Spatial Global Report on Human Settlements 2003. A case study for identifying in Palembang riverbanks area are located in two districts; Ilir Timur I and Ilir Timur II. This study do the identification of slum areas based on several variables about physical and non physical aspect, then the result of identification are used to define a policy that can be used to improve the area.

Keywords: slum, riverbanks area, urban area, infrastructure

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Authors: Farzaneh Bayat

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Successful and effective presence in regional and global markets along with optimal use of available utilities and proper utilization of new sources for offering desirable services based on customer satisfaction is inevitable. Commitment has a significant role in offering optimal services. Offering high quality job and desirable services to the customers are personnel’s commitment. Thus, Shiraz Chamran Hospital which is affiliated with Shiraz Medical School and is one of the orthopedic poles in southern Iran was studied. This hospital has 750 personnel and physicians which a sample of 200 of them were chosen as the statistic society for a 5 month period from June to November 2009. Main variables in this decision are: responsibility and responsiveness, job security, team work, task autonomy, gradation opportunity, information sharing, payments and commitment. The study approach is descriptive-correlative. With applied and segmental nature of the tests and statistic analysis, the 7 hypotheses were approved with 95% of certainty.

Keywords: commitment, information sharing, responsibility and responsiveness, job security, task autonomy

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Authors: M. Ghasemi-Varnamkhasti, S. H. Yoosefian, A. Mohammad-Razdari

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This study investigated the effects of Ag nanoparticle polyethylene film and active modified atmosphere on the postharvest quality of tomatoes stored at 6 ºC. The atmosphere composition used in the packaging was 7% O₂ + 7% CO₂ + 86% N₂, and synthetic air (control). The variables measured were weight loss, firmness, color and respiration rate over 21 days. The results showed that the combination of Ag nanoparticle polyethylene film and modified atmosphere could extend the shelf life of tomatoes to 21 days and could influence the postharvest quality of tomatoes. Also, existence of Ag nanoparticles caused preventing from increasing weight loss, a*, b*, Chroma, Hue angle and reducing firmness and L*. As well as, tomatoes at Ag nanoparticle polyethylene films had lower respiration rate than Polyethylene and paper bags to 13.27% and 23.50%, respectively. The combination of Ag nanoparticle polyethylene film and active modified atmosphere was effective with regard to delaying maturity during the storage period, and preserving the quality of tomatoes.

Keywords: ag nanoparticles, modified atmosphere, polyethylene film, tomato

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Authors: Hoda Zolfagharnejad, Behnam Kamkar, Omid Abdi

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Crop coefficient (Kc) is an important factor contributing to estimation of evapotranspiration, and is also used to determine the irrigation schedule. This study investigated and determined the monthly Kc of winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) using five vegetation indices (VIs): Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Difference Vegetation Index (DVI), Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index (SAVI), Infrared Percentage Vegetation Index (IPVI), and Ratio Vegetation Index (RVI) of four basins in Golestan province, Iran. 14 Landsat-8 images according to crop growth stage were used to estimate monthly Kc of wheat. VIs were calculated based on infrared and near infrared bands of Landsat 8 images using Geographical Information System (GIS) software. The best VIs were chosen after establishing a regression relationship among these VIs with FAO Kc and Kc that was modified for the study area by the previous research based on R² and Root Mean Square Error (RMSE). The result showed that local modified SAVI with R²= 0.767 and RMSE= 0.174 was the best index to produce monthly wheat Kc maps.

Keywords: crop coefficient, remote sensing, vegetation indices, wheat

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Authors: Guesh Simretab Gebremedhin, Saumya Rajan Jena

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In this work, a septic B-spline scheme has been used to simplify the process of solving an approximate solution of the generalized Rosenau-regularized long-wave equation (GR-RLWE) with initial boundary conditions. The resulting system of first-order ODEs has dealt with Butcher’s fifth order Runge-Kutta (BFRK) approach without using finite difference techniques for discretizing the time-dependent variables at each time level. Here, no transformation or any kind of linearization technique is employed to tackle the nonlinearity of the equation. Two test problems have been selected for numerical justifications and comparisons with other researchers on the basis of efficiency, accuracy, and results of the two invariants Mᵢ (mass) and Eᵢ (energy) of some motion that has been used to test the conservative properties of the proposed scheme.

Keywords: septic B-spline scheme, Butcher's fifth order Runge-Kutta approach, error norms, generalized Rosenau-RLW equation

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Authors: Akinyemi Benjamin

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This study investigates the prevailing HRDC Nigerian commercial banks as perceived by employees in general. The perceptional differences on the state of HRDC by gender category are also examined. Using Abraham and Rao’s HRDC 38-item questionnaire, data from 310 respondents, with 303 valid responses, were entered into excel sheet and analysed to determine frequencies, mean scores, standard deviation and percentages for four variables: HRDC, general climate, HRD mechanism, and OCTAPAC culture. Results of analysis indicate that generally, employees perceive the overall HRDC and its three dimensions of general climate, HRD mechanism and OCTAPAC culture to be at an average or moderate level. The perceptions of both male and female subjects also indicate an average HRDC level although participants report slightly higher scores than their male subjects but these scores are still at an average level on all the dimensions of HRDC measured. The implications of this result for organizations in general and the banking industry in particular are discussed.

Keywords: HRDC, HRD mechanism, general climate, OCTAPAC culture, gender

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Authors: B. Loukil, L. Mallem, M. S. Boulakoud

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Inorganic fertilizers consist mainly of salts of ammonium nitrate, phosphate and potassium, the combination of primary nutrients NPK including secondary and micro nutrients are essential for plant growth, used for intensive agriculture, ranching, and horticultural crops, to increase soil fertility and ensure sustainable crop production. The manufacture of fertilizers is generally at a high temperature and high pressure, in the presence of several highly hazardous chemicals, dust and gases. These products are absorbed high in the airway, increasing the airway resistance thereby adversely affecting the pulmonary functions of workers. A study was conducted on 34 employees, especially exposed to nitrate derivatives. A questionnaire was prepared and distributed to all employees in the unit. The workers were divided into two groups according to age. Several hormonal parameters Assay were measured. The results of the questionnaire have detected a fertility problem, Concerning the hormones a significant reduction in the concentration of testosterone in both groups and LH in the group aged 30 to 40 year were noted compared to the control. However, an increase in the concentration of prolactin in both groups compared to the control. There was a significant decrease in FSH in the group aged 30 to 40 always in compared with the control group.

Keywords: fertilizers, healthy worker, risk, fertility

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Authors: Farhia Hassan Mohamed

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This study examined the macroeconomic factors that affect the inflation Rate in Somalia using quarterly time series data from 1991q1 to 2017q4 retired from World Development Indicators and SESRIC. It employed the vector error correction model (VECM) and Granger Causality method to measure the long-run and short-run causality of the GDP, inflation exchange rate, and unemployment. The study confirmed that there is one cointegration equation between GDP, exchange rate, inflation, and unemployment in Somalia. However, the VECM model's result indicates a long-run relationship among variables. The VEC Granger causality/Block Exogeneity Wald test result confirmed that all covariates are statistically significant at 5% and are Granger's cause of inflation in the short term. Finally, the impulse response result showed that inflation responds negatively to the shocks from the exchange rate and unemployment rate and positively to GDP and itself. Drawing from the empirical findings, the study makes several policy recommendations for both the monetary and Government sides.

Keywords: CPI, OP, exchange rate, inflation ADF, Johansen, PP, VECM, impulse, ECT

Procedia PDF Downloads 49

Authors: Mrabet S., Beghdadi C., Bensadok S., Benzoubara W., Bestani R. F., Djellakh H., Ahmed Fouatih N.

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Introduction: The notion of beauty is imposed on us by philosophers as an obvious fact that would impose it on everyone, a self-proclaimed absolute truth, a clearly readable divining intuition for each of us. Beauty is often linked to rationality or moral notions. Materials and Methods: In order to evaluate and compare the perceptions of different groups of evaluators regarding changes made to the components of a smile, an analytical cross-sectional epidemiological study was conducted. Results: The selected population included 184 patients, 152 dental students, 22 general practitioners and 42 orthodontists. The criteria studied concern the smile line, gingival exposure, dental exposure, alignment of free edges, or coincidence of interincisal points. Discussion and Conclusion: A different appreciation between laypeople and professionals was observed on several criteria for judging an attractive smile. Hence the importance of listening to the patient's complaints and defining from the outset a therapeutic strategy that aims to restore aesthetics and function. On the groups of professionals, the impact of variables such as age, sex, as well as professional experience is undeniable and seems to affect the appreciation of the smile.

Keywords: smile, orthodontics, appreciation, practitioner

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Authors: Kyoungwoo Park, Gil Dong Kim, Seong Joon Moon, Ho Kil Lee

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The Urea-SCR is one of the most efficient technologies to reduce NOx emissions in diesel engines. In the present work, the computational prediction of internal flow and spray characteristics in the Urea-SCR system was carried out by using 3D-CFD simulation to evaluate NH3 uniformity index (NH3 UI) and its activation time according to the official New European Driving Cycle (NEDC). The number of nozzle and its diameter, two types of injection directions, and penetration length were chosen as the design variables. The optimal solutions were obtained by coupling the CFD analysis with Taguchi method. The L16 orthogonal array and small-the-better characteristics of the Taguchi method were used, and the optimal values were confirmed to be valid with 95% confidence and 5% significance level through analysis of variance (ANOVA). The results show that the optimal solutions for the NH3 UI and activation time (NH3 UI 0.22) are obtained by 0.41 and 0,125 second, respectively, and their values are improved by 85.0% and 10.7%, respectively, compared with those of the base model.

Keywords: computational fluid dynamics, NH3 uniformity index, optimization, Taguchi method, Urea-SCR system, UWS injector

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Authors: Wang Jiankun

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This paper analyses how different educational backgrounds affect the mathematics performance of middle and high school students in terms of three dimensions: parental involvement, school teaching ability, and demographic variables and personal attributes of the student. Based on the analysis of Beijing High School Mathematics Competition in 2022, it was found that students from high level schools won significantly more awards than those from low level schools. In addition, a significant positive correlation (p<0.05) was identified between school level and students' mathematics performance. This study also confirms that parents' education level and family environment show a significant impact on the next generation’s mathematics learning performance. The findings suggest that interest and student’s habits, the family environment and the quality of teaching and learning at school are the main factors affecting the mathematics performance of middle and high school students.

Keywords: educational background, academic performance, middle and high school education, teenager

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Authors: Phillip F. Blaauw, Anna M. Pretorius

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South Africa re-entered the international economy in the early 1990s, after Apartheid, at a time when globalisation was gathering momentum. Globalisation led to a more open economy, increased export volumes and a changed export mix. Manufacturing goods gained ground relative to mining products. After 21 years of democracy, South African researchers and policymakers need to evaluate the impact of international trade on the level of employment and compensation of employees in the South African manufacturing industry. This is important given the consistent and high levels of unemployment in South Africa. This paper has this evaluation as its aim. Two complimenting approaches are utilised. The 27 sub divisions of the South African manufacturing industry are classified according to capital/labour ratios. Possible trends in employment levels and employee compensation for these categories are then identified when comparing levels in 1995 to those in 2014. The supplementing empirical approach is cross-sectional and panel data regressions for the same period. The aim of the regression analysis is to explain the observed changes in employment and employee compensation levels between 1995 and 2014. The first part of the empirical approach revealed that over the 20-year period the intermediate capital intensive, labour intensive an ultra-labour intensive manufacturing industries all showed massive declines in overall employment. Only three of the 19 industries for these classifications showed marginal overall employment gains. The only meaningful gains were recorded in three of the eight capital intensive manufacturing industries. The overall performance of the South African manufacturing industry is therefore dismal at best. This scenario plays itself out for the skilled section of the intermediate capital intensive, labour intensive an ultra-labour intensive manufacturing industries as well. 18 out of the 19 industries displayed declines even for the skilled section of the labour force. The formal regression analysis supplements the above results. Real production growth is a statistically significant (95 per cent confidence level) explanatory variable of the overall employment level for the period under consideration, albeit with a small positive coefficient. The variables with the most significant negative relationship with changes in overall employment were the dummy variables for intermediate capital intensive and labour intensive manufacturing goods. Disaggregating overall changes in employment further in terms of skill levels revealed that skilled employment in particular responded negatively to increases in the ratio between imported and local inputs for manufacturing. The dummy variable for the labour intensive sectors remained negative and statistically significant, indicating that the labour intensive sectors of South African manufacturing remain vulnerable to the loss of employment opportunities. Whereas the first period (1995 to 2001) after the opening of the South African economy brought positive changes for skilled employment, continued increases in imported inputs displaced some of the skilled labour as well, putting further pressure on the South African economy with already high and persistent unemployment levels. Given the negative for the world commodity cycle and a stagnant local manufacturing sector, the challenge for policymakers is getting even more pronounced after South Africa’s political coming of age.

Keywords: capital/labour ratios, employment, employee compensation, manufacturing

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Authors: Moses. O. Eyankware, Benard I. Odoh, Omoleomo O. Omo-Irabor, Alex O. I. Selemo

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Knowledge of hydraulic conductivity and transmissivity is essential for the determination of natural water flow through an aquifer. These parameters are commonly estimated from the analysis of electrical conductivity, soil properties and fluid flow data. In order to achieve a faster and cost effective analysis of aquifer parameters in Ochudo City in Abakaliki, this study relied on non-invasive geophysical methods. As part of this approach, Vertical Electrical Sounding (VES) was conducted at 20 sites in the study area for the identification of the vertical variation in subsurface lithology and for the characterization of the groundwater system. The area variously consists of between five to seven geoelectric layers of different thicknesses. Depth to aquifer ranges from 9.94 m-134.0 m while the thickness of the identified aquifer varies between 8.43 m and 44.31 m. Based on the electrical conductivity values of water samples collected from two boreholes and two hand-dug wells within the study area, the hydraulic conductivity was determined to range from 0.10 to 0.433 m/day. The estimated thickness of the aquifer and calculated hydraulic conductivity were used to derive the aquifer transmissivity. The results indicate that this parameter ranges from 1.58-7.56 m²/day with a formation factor of between 0.31-3.6.

Keywords: Asu river group, transmissivity, hydraulic conductivity, abakaliki, vertical electrical sounding (VES)

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Authors: I. Gokasar, G. Bakioglu

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With the unprecedented rates of technological improvements, people start to solve their problems with the help of technological tools. According to application stores and websites in which people evaluate and comment on the traffic apps, there are more than 100 traffic applications which have different features with respect to their purpose of usage ranging from the features of traffic apps for public transit modes to the features of traffic apps for private cars. This study focuses on the top 30 traffic applications which were chosen with respect to their download counts. All data about the traffic applications were obtained from related websites. The purpose of this study is to analyze traffic applications in terms of their categorical attributes with the help of developing a regression model. The analysis results suggest that negative interpretations (e.g., being deficient) does not lead to lower star ratings of the applications. However, those negative interpretations result in a smaller increase in star rate. In addition, women use higher star rates than men for the evaluation of traffic applications.

Keywords: traffic app, real–time information, traffic congestion, regression analysis, dummy variables

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Authors: Fouzi Harrou, Ying Sun, Sofiane Khadraoui

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Anomaly detection based on Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was studied intensively and largely applied to multivariate processes with highly cross-correlated process variables. Monitoring metrics such as the Hotelling's T2 and the Q statistics are usually used in PCA-based monitoring to elucidate the pattern variations in the principal and residual subspaces, respectively. However, these metrics are ill suited to detect small faults. In this paper, the Exponentially Weighted Moving Average (EWMA) based on the Q and T statistics, T2-EWMA and Q-EWMA, were developed for detecting faults in the process mean. The performance of the proposed methods was compared with that of the conventional PCA-based fault detection method using synthetic data. The results clearly show the benefit and the effectiveness of the proposed methods over the conventional PCA method, especially for detecting small faults in highly correlated multivariate data.

Keywords: data-driven method, process control, anomaly detection, dimensionality reduction

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Authors: Monika Chuchro

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This paper presents a preliminary attempt to apply classification of time series using meta-clusters in order to improve the quality of regression models. In this case, clustering was performed as a method to obtain a subgroups of time series data with normal distribution from inflow into waste water treatment plant data which Composed of several groups differing by mean value. Two simple algorithms: K-mean and EM were chosen as a clustering method. The rand index was used to measure the similarity. After simple meta-clustering, regression model was performed for each subgroups. The final model was a sum of subgroups models. The quality of obtained model was compared with the regression model made using the same explanatory variables but with no clustering of data. Results were compared by determination coefficient (R2), measure of prediction accuracy mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) and comparison on linear chart. Preliminary results allows to foresee the potential of the presented technique.

Keywords: clustering, data analysis, data mining, predictive models

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Authors: Raoudha Abdellaoui, Faycal Boughalleb, Zohra Chebil

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In arid and semi-arid regions, salinity represents a major constraint towards plants’ growth. Stipa lagascae, a psammophile grass, is a promised species since its economic and ecological interests. Our study aims to explore the effects of different salt concentrations (0; 100; 200; 300 and 400 mM) on physiological, biochemical and anatomic parameters. Salt stress was applied on S. lagascae plants cultivated under controlled conditions. Results show that salinity reduces biomass production especially when plants are subjected to severe stress (>200 mM NaCl). Concerning the nutritional level, the fact of enriching soil with NaCl, leads to an accumulation of Na+ against other nutritional elements (K+, Ca2+). To maintain tissues hydration, S. lagascae established osmotic adaptation by accumulation of proline and soluble sugars. Salt stress affected significantly root and foliar anatomy. Indeed, plants increased their vessels’ diameter and mesophyll surface. S. lagascae plants reduced also the surface of the belluforme cells to defeat dehydration. According to our results, S. lagascae seems to be a tolerant plant at acceptable concentrations that do not exceed 6g/l.

Keywords: anatomical adaptations, mineral nutrition, plant growth, salt stress, stipa lagascae

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Authors: Charlotte K. Lee, Henrique R. N. Aguiar, Ralph Smith, James Baldock, Sam Botchey

Abstract:

Background: Femoral neck stress fractures (FNSF) are uncommon, making up 1 to 7.2% of stress fractures in healthy subjects. FNSFs are prevalent in young women, military recruits, endurance athletes, and individuals with energy deficiency syndrome or female athlete triad. Presentation is often non-specific and is often misdiagnosed following the initial examination. There is limited research addressing the return–to–activity time after FNSF. Previous studies have demonstrated prognostic time predictions based on various imaging techniques. Here, (1) OxSport clinic FNSF practice standards are retrospectively reviewed, (2) FNSF cohort demographics are examined, (3) Regression models were used to predict return–to–activity prognosis and consequently determine bone stress risk factors. Methods: Patients with a diagnosis of FNSF attending Oxsport clinic between 01/06/2020 and 01/01/2020 were selected from the Rheumatology Assessment Database Innovation in Oxford (RhADiOn) and OxSport Stress Fracture Database (n = 14). (1) Clinical practice was audited against five criteria based on local and National Institute for Health Care Excellence guidance, with a 100% standard. (2) Demographics of the FNSF cohort were examined with Student’s T-Test. (3) Lastly, linear regression and Random Forest regression models were used on this patient cohort to predict return–to–activity time. Consequently, an analysis of feature importance was conducted after fitting each model. Results: OxSport clinical practice met standard (100%) in 3/5 criteria. The criteria not met were patient waiting times and documentation of all bone stress risk factors. Importantly, analysis of patient demographics showed that of the population with complete bone stress risk factor assessments, 53% were positive for modifiable bone stress risk factors. Lastly, linear regression analysis was utilized to identify demographic factors that predicted return–to–activity time [R2 = 79.172%; average error 0.226]. This analysis identified four key variables that predicted return-to-activity time: vitamin D level, total hip DEXA T value, femoral neck DEXA T value, and history of an eating disorder/disordered eating. Furthermore, random forest regression models were employed for this task [R2 = 97.805%; average error 0.024]. Analysis of the importance of each feature again identified a set of 4 variables, 3 of which matched with the linear regression analysis (vitamin D level, total hip DEXA T value, and femoral neck DEXA T value) and the fourth: age. Conclusion: OxSport clinical practice could be improved by more comprehensively evaluating bone stress risk factors. The importance of this evaluation is demonstrated by the population found positive for these risk factors. Using this cohort, potential bone stress risk factors that significantly impacted return-to-activity prognosis were predicted using regression models.

Keywords: eating disorder, bone stress risk factor, femoral neck stress fracture, vitamin D

Procedia PDF Downloads 185

Authors: Tazvin Ijaz, Aisha Shahid Sheikh

Abstract:

The current study was conducted to explore the relationship between body dissatisfaction and the perceived parenting styles of women. For the purpose of study a sample of adult women (N=308) was drawn through the process of stratified random sampling. The sample consisted of women belonging to different categories which were based on their occupation. Two instruments, the Body Dissatisfaction Scale (BDSS) and Perceived Parenting Styles (PPSS) were used in the study to find the relationship between the two variables. The results showed that the controlling parenting style in father led to higher body dissatisfaction while the nurturing parenting style lead to lesser symptoms of body dissatisfaction. The results also proved that the controlling parenting style in mother also lead to high symptoms of body dissatisfaction as well. It was revealed that the women with high education showed more body dissatisfaction than women with lower education. It was also seen that there was a significant difference in the body dissatisfaction of working and the non-working women.

Keywords: body dissatisfaction, perceived parenting styles, Pakistani women, gender

Procedia PDF Downloads 334

Authors: Pouya Karimi, Ramin Gasemi Shayan, Parsa Sheykhzade

Abstract:

Ease shotgun DNA sequencing is changing the microbial sciences. Sequencing instruments are compelling to the point that example planning is currently the key constraining element. Here, we present a microfluidic test readiness stage that incorporates the key strides in cells to grouping library test groundwork for up to 96 examples and decreases DNA input prerequisites 100-overlay while keeping up or improving information quality. The universally useful microarchitecture we show bolsters work processes with subjective quantities of response and tidy up or catch steps. By decreasing the example amount necessities, we empowered low-input (∼10,000 cells) entire genome shotgun (WGS) sequencing of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and soil miniaturized scale settlements with prevalent outcomes. We additionally utilized the upgraded throughput to succession ∼400 clinical Pseudomonas aeruginosa libraries and exhibit magnificent single-nucleotide polymorphism discovery execution that clarified phenotypically watched anti-toxin opposition. Completely coordinated lab-on-chip test arrangement beats specialized boundaries to empower more extensive organization of genomics across numerous fundamental research and translational applications.

Keywords: clinical microbiology, DNA, microbiology, microbial genomics

Procedia PDF Downloads 124

Authors: Marcin Tadla, Robert Rusinek, Jolanta Wawrzyniak, Marzena Gawrysiak-Witulska, Agnieszka Nawrocka, Marek Gancarz

Abstract:

Rapeseeds were evaluated and classified by the static-headspace sampling method using electronic noses during the 25 days spoilage period. The Cyranose 320 comprising 32 polymer-composite sensors and VCA (Volatile Compound Analyzer - made in Institute of Agrophysics) built of 8 metal-oxide semiconductor (MOS) sensors were used to obtain sensor response (∆R/R). Each sample of spoiled material was divided into three parts and the degree of spoilage was measured four ways: determination of ergosterol content (ERG), colony forming units (CFU) and measurement with both e-noses. The study showed that both devices responsive to changes in the fungal microflora. Cyranose and VCA registered the change of domination microflora of fungi. After 7 days of storage, typical fungi for soil disappeared and appeared typical for storeroom was observed. In both cases, response ∆R/R decreased to the end of experiment, while ERG and JTK increased. The research was supported by the National Centre for Research and Development (NCBR), Grant No. PBS2/A8/22/2013.

Keywords: electronic nose, fungal microflora, metal-oxide sensor, polymer-composite sensors

Procedia PDF Downloads 304