Search results for: R. D. (2005). An empirical investigation of sources of application-specific [13] Mei-yin Hsu (2010).The Study on Attitude and Satisfaction of Electronic Documents System for Administrators of Elementary Schools in Changhua County.(Master's dissertation

Authors: Elham Delzendeh, Song Wu, Mustafa Al-Adhami, Rima Alaaeddine

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Over the last 15 years, prediction of energy consumption has become a common practice and necessity at different stages of the building’s lifecycle, particularly, at the design and post-occupancy stages for planning and maintenance purposes. This is due to the ever-growing response of governments to address sustainability and reduction of CO₂ emission in the building sector. However, there is a level of uncertainty in the estimation of energy consumption in buildings. The accuracy of energy consumption predictions is directly related to the precision of the initial inputs used in the energy assessment process. In this study, multiple cases of large non-residential buildings at design, construction, and post-occupancy stages are investigated. The energy consumption process and inputs, and the actual and predicted energy consumption of the cases are analysed. The findings of this study have pointed out and evidenced various parameters that cause uncertainty in the prediction of energy consumption in buildings such as modelling, location data, and occupant behaviour. In addition, unavailability and insufficiency of energy-consumption-related inputs at different stages of the building’s lifecycle are classified and categorized. Understanding the roots of uncertainty in building energy analysis will help energy modellers and energy simulation software developers reach more accurate energy consumption predictions in buildings.

Keywords: building lifecycle, efficiency, energy analysis, energy performance, uncertainty

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Authors: Su-Lin Yu

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In recent years, we have witnessed the growing scholarship on transnational theorizing and activism within disability. In particular, the universalizing discourses of disability formulated in the Global North seem inadequate in engaging the vast diversity of discourses of disability that emerge in global and local policies as well as the everyday experiences of disabled people in the Global South. This study will further consider the future possibilities of how Taiwanese and global disability studies might interchange disability knowledge. First, this study will determine how a local literature of disability can be formed in Taiwan by examining life writings written by Taiwanese disabled women. Both the texts and the personal experiences are treated as social products which can, through their discourses, offer insight into the socio-cultural practices and norms of disability and womanhood in Taiwan. This paper argues that more than by the impairment in itself, the experiences of disabled women are shaped by the social and cultural discourses and practices that define disability and womanhood as well as the normative roles, places, and contexts associated with them. Simultaneous analysis of disability and womanhood exemplifies the way in which disability operates in a complex interaction with the socio-cultural discourses and practices of womanhood, thus producing gender-differentiated disabling obstacles for disabled women. Another purpose of this study is to gain an understanding of the transformative experience of women with disabilities and their perceptions of the self. Designed to provide positive, realistic pictures of the lives of women with disabilities and the social, economic, and political issues they face, their life writings demonstrate how they as disabled women simultaneously struggle with writing a new identity and creating an ethical narrative. These strong and articulate women construct narratives that attempt to recount the remarkable journey that transformed them from dependent women to community activists and writers who speak forcefully about the needs of people with disabilities. More than a story of one woman's struggle for independence, their writing, then, is a testimony to the importance of community building and organizing to enable local people with disabilities to live fulfilling lives.

Keywords: gender, disability, representation, agency

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Authors: Faizan Hassan, Seema Kumari, V. P. Singh, Pradeep Das, Diwakar Singh Dinesh

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Phlebotomus argentipes is an established vector for Visceral Leishmaniasis in Indian subcontinent. Laboratory colonization of Sand flies is imperative in research on vectors, which requires a proper diet for their larvae and adult growth that ultimately affects their survival and fecundity. In most of the laboratories, adult Sand flies are reared on rabbit blood feeding/artificial blood feeding and their larvae on fine grinded rabbit faeces as a sole source of food. Rabbit faeces are unhygienic, difficult to handle, high mites infestation as well as owing to bad odour which creates menacing to human users ranging from respiratory problems to eye infection and most importantly it does not full fill all the nutrients required for proper growth and development. It is generally observed that the adult emergence is very low in comparison to egg hatched, which may be due to insufficient food nutrients provided to growing larvae. To check the role of food nutrients on larvae survival and adult emergence, a high protein rich artificial diet for sand fly larvae were used in this study. The composition of artificial diet to be tested includes fine grinded (9 gm each) Rice, Pea nuts & Soyabean balls. These three food ingredients are rich source of all essential amino acids along with carbohydrate and minerals which is essential for proper metabolism and growth. In this study artificial food was found significantly more effective for larval development and adult emergence than rabbit faeces alone (P value >0.05). The weight of individual larvae was also found higher in test pots than the control. This study suggest that protein plays an important role in insect larvae development and adding carbohydrate will also enhances the fecundity of insects larvae.

Keywords: artificial food, nutrients, Phlebotomus argentipes, sand fly

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Authors: Won Jung, Wan Emri

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Ferrite magnet is widely used in many automotive components such as motors and alternators. Magnets used inside the components must be in good quality to ensure the high level of performance. The purpose of this study is to design input parameters that optimize the ferrite magnet production process to ensure the quality and reliability of manufactured products. Design of Experiments (DOE) and Statistical Process Control (SPC) are used as mutual supplementations to optimize the process. DOE and SPC are quality tools being used in the industry to monitor and improve the manufacturing process condition. These tools are practically used to maintain the process on target and within the limits of natural variation. A mixed Taguchi method is utilized for optimization purpose as a part of DOE analysis. SPC with proportion data is applied to assess the output parameters to determine the optimal operating conditions. An example of case involving the monitoring and optimization of ferrite magnet process was presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach. Through the utilization of these tools, reliable magnets can be produced by following the step by step procedures of proposed framework. One of the main contributions of this study was producing the crack free magnets by applying the proposed parameter design.

Keywords: ferrite magnet, crack, reliability, process optimization, Taguchi method

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Authors: Derya Sarı, Banu Karasah

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In the recent years, urban green areas decrease dramatically as a result of increasing industrialization and population growth. At the same time, green spaces provide many ecosystem services such as controls of air pollution, noise reduction, prevents flooding and reduces the stress in the urban areas. Therefore, the plants help to these areas to get more livable and active, and also plants are one of the most significant identity elements in these open spaces. Roof gardens comes significant design comprehension as a result of global warming and also they contribute to cities with regard to ecological, economic, visual and recreational aspects. This study is mainly based on evaluation potential of green roofs and xeriscape planting design approach of Artvin (Turkey) known that generally has a remarkable floristic richness. Artvin is located on a sloping terrain, and the amount of green spaces that can be used is very limited in this city. Therefore, green roofs approach should be evaluated to supply urban green space sustainability. This study shows that it is appropriate about 20 perennial plants for green roofs and xeriscape planting design in Artvin city center. Usage of native plant species would be support to sustainable urban green spaces.

Keywords: Artvin, green roofs, urban green spaces, xeriscape planting

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Authors: Hani M. M. Alothaid, Louise Robson, Richmond Muimo

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This study will investigate cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP)/protein kinase A (PKA) dependent calcineurin (Cn), known as protein phosphatase 2 B (PP2B) as well, regulation of chloride ion (Cl⁻) secretion and the release of pro-inflammatory molecules in immune cells such as cytokines. THP-1-derived monocytes, primary human monocytes and the bronchial epithelial cell line (16HBE14o-) were used in this study. The 16HBE14o- cells were chosen as positive control. Hence, to further confirm the expression of cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR), calcium binding protein (S100A10), annexin A2 (AnxA2) and calcineurin A subunit (CnA) in all three cell types, cell lysate was probed against corresponding primary antibodies by immunoblotting. Western blot analyses show the expression of CFTR, AnxA2, CnA and S100A10 in THP-1-derived monocytes and primary human monocytes. In conclusion, CFTR, S100A10, CnA and AnxA2 are expressed in THP-1-derived monocytes and primary human monocytes and regulate Cl⁻ secretion. Also, they may play a role in the pro-inflammatory molecules release. The ongoing work will confirm interaction between these proteins in the cell lines.

Keywords: annexin A2, calcineurin, CFTR, chloride, monocytes, pro-inflammatory molecules, S100A10

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Authors: Nesrine Frifita, Mohamed Gharbi, Kevin Mickus

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Physical methods based on gravity, seismic and seismological data were adopted to clarify the relationship between the distribution of seismicity and the crustal deformations under the chott belts and surrounding regions, in southern atlas of Tunisia. Gafsa and its surrounding were described as a moderate seismic zone, and the fault of Gafsa is one of most seismically active faults in Tunisia in general, and in the southern Atlas in particularly. The present work aims to prove a logical relationship between the distribution of seismicity and deformations which strongly related to thickness and density variations within the basement and sedimentary cover along the study area, through several physical methods; gravity, seismic and seismological data were interpreted to calculate physical propriety of the subsurface rocks, the depth and geometry of active faults and causatives bodies. Findings show that depths variation and mixed thin and thick skinned structural style characterizing the chott belts explain the moderate seismicity in the study area.

Keywords: potential fields, seismicity, Southern Atlas, Tunisia

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Authors: Aline Woine, Moïra Mikolajczak, Virginie Dardier, Isabelle Roskam

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Background information: Becoming a parent is said to be the happiest event one can ever experience in one’s life. This popular (and almost absolute) truth–which no reasonable and decent human being would ever dare question on pain of being singled out as a bad parent–contrasts with the nuances that reality offers. Indeed, while many parents do thrive in their parenting role, some others falter and become progressively overwhelmed by their parenting role, ineluctably caught in a spiral of exhaustion. Parental burnout (henceforth PB) sets in when parental demands (stressors) exceed parental resources. While it is now generally acknowledged that PB affects the parent’s behavior in terms of neglect and violence toward their offspring, little is known about the impact that the syndrome might have on the children’s internalized (anxious and depressive symptoms, somatic complaints, etc.) and/or externalized (irritability, violence, aggressiveness, conduct disorder, oppositional disorder, etc.) behaviors. Furthermore, at the time of writing, to our best knowledge, no research has yet tested the reverse effect, namely, that of the child's internalized and/or externalized behaviors on the onset and/or maintenance of parental burnout symptoms. Goals and hypotheses: The present pioneering research proposes to fill an important gap in the existing literature related to PB by investigating the bidirectional effect between PB and the child’s internalized and/or externalized behaviors. Relying on a cross-lagged longitudinal study with three waves of data collection (4 months apart), our study tests a transactional model with bidirectional and recursive relations between observed variables and at the three waves, as well as autoregressive paths and cross-sectional correlations. Methods: As we write this, wave-two data are being collected via Qualtrics, and we expect a final sample of about 600 participants composed of French-speaking (snowball sample) and English-speaking (Prolific sample) parents. Structural equation modeling is employed using Stata version 17. In order to retain as much statistical power as possible, we use all available data and therefore apply the maximum likelihood with a missing value (mlmv) as the method of estimation to compute the parameter estimates. To limit (in so far is possible) the shared method variance bias in the evaluation of the child’s behavior, the study relies on a multi-informant evaluation approach. Expected results: We expect our three-wave longitudinal study to show that PB symptoms (measured at T1) raise the occurrence/intensity of the child’s externalized and/or internalized behaviors (measured at T2 and T3). We further expect the child’s occurrence/intensity of externalized and/or internalized behaviors (measured at T1) to augment the risk for PB (measured at T2 and T3). Conclusion: Should our hypotheses be confirmed, our results will make an important contribution to the understanding of both PB and children’s behavioral issues, thereby opening interesting theoretical and clinical avenues.

Keywords: exhaustion, structural equation modeling, cross-lagged longitudinal study, violence and neglect, child-parent relationship

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Authors: Olumayede Emmanuel Gbenga, Adeniyi Azeez Adebayo

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Carbonyls are the first-generation products from tropospheric degradation reactions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). This computational study examined the mechanism of removal of carbonyls from the atmosphere via hydroxyl radical. The kinetics of the reactions were computed from the activation energy (using enthalpy (ΔH**) and Gibbs free energy (ΔG**). The minimum energy path (MEP) analysis reveals that in all the molecules, the products have more stable energy than the reactants, which implies that the forward reaction is more thermodynamically favorable. The hydrogen abstraction of the aromatic aldehyde, especially without methyl substituents, is more kinetically favorable compared with the other aldehydes in the order of aromatic (without methyl or meta methyl) > alkene (short chain) > diene > long-chain aldehydes. The activation energy is much lower for the forward reaction than the backward, indicating that the forward reactions are more kinetically stable than their backward reaction. In terms of thermodynamic stability, the aromatic compounds are found to be less favorable in comparison to the aliphatic. The study concludes that the chemistry of the carbonyl bond of the aldehyde changed significantly from the reactants to the products.

Keywords: atmospheric carbonyls, oxidation, mechanism, kinetic, thermodynamic

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Authors: Rajesh Kumar Suman, Ipseeta Ray Mohanty, Manjusha K. Borde, Ujjawala maheswari, Y. A. Deshmukh

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Background: Metabolic syndrome encompasses cluster of risk factors for cardiovascular disease which includes abdominal obesity, dyslipidemia, hypertension, and hyperglycemia. The incidence of metabolic syndrome is on the rise globally. Objective: The present study was designed to develop a unique animal model that will mimic the pathological features seen in a large pool of individuals with diabetes and metabolic syndrome; suitable for pharmacological screening of drugs beneficial in this condition. Material and Methods: A combination of high fat diet (HFD) and low dose of streptozotocin (STZ) at 30, 35 and 40 mg/kg was used to induce metabolic syndrome co-existing with diabetes mellitus in Wistar rats. Results: The 40 mg/kg STZ produced sustained hyperglycemia and the dose was thus selected for our study to induce diabetes mellitus. Rat fed HFD (HF-DC) group showed significant (p < 0.001) increase in body weight on 4th and 7th week as compared with NC (Normal Control) group rats. However, the increase in body weight of HF-DC group rats was not sustained at the end of 10th weeks. Various components of metabolic syndrome such as dyslipidemia {(Increased Triglyceride, total Cholesterol, LDL Cholesterol and decreased HDL Cholesterol)}, diabetes mellitus (Blood Glucose, HbA1c, Serum Insulin, C-peptide), hypertension {Systolic Blood pressure (p < 0.001)} were mimicked in the developed model of metabolic syndrome co existing with diabetes mellitus. In addition significant cardiac injury as indicated by CPK-MB levels, artherogenic index, hs-CRP. The decline in hepatic function {(p < 0.01) increase in the level of SGPT (U/L)} and renal function {(increase in creatinine levels (p < 0.01)} when compared to NC group rats. The histopathological assessment confirmed presence of edema, necrosis and inflammation in Heart, Pancreas, Liver and Kidney of HFD-DC group as compared to NC. Conclusion: The present study has developed a unique rodent model of metabolic syndrome; with diabetes as an essential component.

Keywords: diabetes, metabolic syndrome, high fat diet, streptozotocin, rats

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Authors: Marc Angelo C. Balon, Maxine Joy A. Yongoyong

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Female masturbation has been an age-old controversy. In fact, it is not widely talked about specifically in the Philippines since the Filipino culture still preserves the space for conservativeness. Although, considering the numerous and emerging studies on female masturbation, this study will focus on the perspectives of secular and non-secular male groups with regard to female masturbation. The objectives of this study is to identify the perceptions of these male groups and their taking on considering women who masturbate as their sexual partner, as a sexual object, and as a life partner and lastly, to have a comparative analysis of the perceptions of these male groups drawing out their sense of meaning on the masturbation of women. The researchers made use of purposive sampling technique and interview guide questionnaire. The secular male group were psychology students while the non-secular male group was drawn from a Catholic Church seminary in Tagaytay City, Cavite. Results showed that the secular male group had scientific perspectives such as exploring the genitals, contradicting moral perspectives on masturbation as a regular practice, while the non-secular male groups had theological perspectives in accordance with the fundamental moral theology, moral perspectives and perspectives on masturbation as a regular practice. Moreover, men who came from the non-secular group highly believe that masturbation is immoral. Otherwise, men who came from the secular group noted that masturbation is primary physiological need.

Keywords: secular, non-secular, masturbation, comparative analysis

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Authors: Hamid Karimi, Naegar Mahdavi, Hossein Tayefi Nasrabadi

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Spermatozoids production rate and its quality are more important factors in the diagnosis of infertility. Also, spematozids activity have a more important role in fertilization. Some medicinal plants as Asparagus(Asparagus officinalis) has many antioxidant component. Therefore, They can affect testes tissue to production more and high-quality spermatozoids. In this survey, Asparagus root extract is studied on spermatogenesis index in the laboratory mouse testes. Hydro-alcoholic extract of asparagus root is prepared and examined on four group of the mature male mouse. Blank group without extract, group 1,100ml/kg dose, group 2, 200 ml/kg dose and group 3, 300ml/kg dose. Then, mice are euthanized, and testes are removed. Testes are weighted, and paraffinized blocks are prepared. TDI(Tubular Differentiation Index) and SPI(Spermiation Index) are studied on histological sections by light microscope. This study results were showed that TDI and SPI in treatments groups with 200 and 300 ml/kg dose had significant enhancement (P<0.05). Consequently, Extract of Asparagus root can enhance spermatozoid production and, therefore, cause improve fertility in male laboratory mice.

Keywords: histology, spermatozoid, ASP [aragus, testes

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Authors: Kalai Lamia, Jilani Faouzi

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Measuring and controlling risk is one of the most attractive issues in finance. With the persistence of uncontrolled and erratic stocks movements, volatility is perceived as a barometer of daily fluctuations. An objective measure of this variable seems then needed to control risks and cover those that are considered the most important. Non-linear autoregressive modeling is our first evaluation approach. In particular, we test the presence of “persistence” of conditional variance and the presence of a degree of a leverage effect. In order to resolve for the problem of “asymmetry” in volatility, the retained specifications point to the importance of stocks reactions in response to news. Effects of shocks on volatility highlight also the need to study the “long term” behaviour of conditional variance of stocks returns and articulate the presence of long memory and dependence of time series in the long run. We note that the integrated fractional autoregressive model allows for representing time series that show long-term conditional variance thanks to fractional integration parameters. In order to stop at the dynamics that manage time series, a comparative study of the results of the different models will allow for better understanding volatility structure over the Tunisia stock market, with the aim of accurately predicting fluctuation risks.

Keywords: asymmetry volatility, clustering, stylised facts, leverage effect

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Authors: Robin Molinier

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Industrial symbiosis (I.S) rely on two modes of cooperation that are infrastructure sharing and resource substitution to obtain economic and environmental benefits. The former consists in the intensification of use of an asset while the latter is based on the use of waste, fatal energy (and utilities) as alternatives to standard inputs. Both modes, in fact, rely on the shift from a business-as-usual functioning towards an alternative production system structure so that in a business point of view the distinction is not clear. In order to investigate the way those cooperation modes can be distinguished, we consider the stakeholders' interplay in the business model structure regarding their resources and requirements. For infrastructure sharing (following economic engineering literature) the cost function of capacity induces economies of scale so that demand pooling reduces global expanses. Grassroot investment sizing decision and the ex-post pricing strongly depends on the design optimization phase for capacity sizing whereas ex-post operational cost sharing minimizing budgets are less dependent upon production rates. Value is then mainly design driven. For resource substitution, synergies value stems from availability and is at risk regarding both supplier and user load profiles and market prices of the standard input. Baseline input purchasing cost reduction is thus more driven by the operational phase of the symbiosis and must be analyzed within the whole sourcing policy (including diversification strategies and expensive back-up replacement). Moreover, while resource substitution involves a chain of intermediate processors to match quality requirements, the infrastructure model relies on a single operator whose competencies allow to produce non-rival goods. Transaction costs appear higher in resource substitution synergies due to the high level of customization which induces asset specificity, and non-homogeneity following transaction costs economics arguments.

Keywords: business model, capacity, sourcing, synergies

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Authors: Laura C. Dapp, Claudia M. Roebers

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Being physically active has many benefits for children and adolescents. It is crucial for various aspects of physical and mental health, the development of a healthy self-concept, and also positively influences academic performance and school achievement. In addressing the still incomplete understanding of the link between physical activity (PA) and academic achievement, the current study scrutinized the open issue of how PA has to be implemented to positively affect mathematical outcomes in N = 138 fourth graders. Therefore, the current study distinguished between structured PA (formal, organized, adult-led exercise and deliberate sports practice) and unstructured PA (non-formal, playful, peer-led physically active play and sports activities). Results indicated that especially structured PA has the potential to contribute to mathematical outcomes. Although children spent almost twice as much time engaging in unstructured PA as compared to structured PA, only structured PA was significantly related to mathematical achievement as well as to mathematical self-concept. Furthermore, the pending issue concerning the quantity of PA needed to enhance children’s mathematical achievement was addressed. As to that, results indicated that the amount of time spent in structured PA constitutes a critical factor in accounting for mathematical outcomes, since children engaging in PA for two hours or more a week were shown to be both the ones with the highest mathematical self-concept as well as those attaining the highest mathematical achievement scores. Finally, the present study investigated the indirect effect of PA on mathematical achievement by controlling for the mathematical self-concept as a mediating variable. The results of a maximum likelihood mediation analysis with a 2’000 resampling bootstrapping procedure for the 95% confidence intervals revealed a full mediation, indicating that PA improves mathematical self-concept, which, in turn, positively affects mathematical achievement. Thus, engaging in high amounts of structured PA constitutes an advantageous leisure activity for children and adolescents, not only to enhance their physical health but also to foster their self-concept in a way that is favorable and encouraging for promoting their academic achievement. Note: The content of this abstract is partially based on a paper published elswhere by the authors.

Keywords: Academic Achievement, Mathematical Performance, Physical Activity, Self-Concept

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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: Arezoo Fallahi

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We aimed at investigating the association between health beliefs and exercise behavior in infertile women who were at risk of developing osteoporosis. This cross-sectional study was conducted in Sanandaj city, west of Iran in 2018. From 35 comprehensive healthcare centers, 483 infertile women were included in the study through convenience sampling. Standardized face-to-face interviews were conducted using established, reliable instruments for the assessment of exercise behavior behavior and health beliefs. Logistic regression models were applied to assess the association between exercise behavior and health beliefs. Estimates were adjusted for age, job status, income, literacy, and duration and type of infertility. We reported estimated logits and Odds Ratios (OR) with corresponding 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). Employed women compared to housewives had substantially higher odds of adopting exercise behavior behaviors (OR=3.19, 95% CI=1.53-6.66, p<0.01). Moreover, the odds of exercise behavior adoption increased with self-efficacy (OR=1.35, 95% CI=1.20-1.52, p<0.01), and decreased with perceived barriers (OR=0.90, 95% CI=0.84-0.97, p<0.01). It is essential to increase perceived self-efficacy and reduce perceived barriers to promote EB in infertile women. Consequently, health professionals should develop or adopt appropriate strategies to decrease barriers and increase self-efficacy to enhance exercise behavior in this group of women.

Keywords: infertility, women, exercise, osteoporosis

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Authors: Mohammad Qasim Mohammadi, Mohammad Arif Rohman

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Although socially sustainable building is becoming increasingly popular worldwide, past studies indicate that when policymakers support sustainable building development, the social dimension is often given insufficient attention or entirely disregarded. There are not many studies that focus on the problems of socially sustainable buildings in Afghanistan. This research investigates the factors that may hinder social sustainability implementation in residential building construction. The study will gather data from construction professionals by purposive sampling and employ Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Varimax for analysis. The results will undergo rigorous examination and thorough discussion. The expected results in this research will analyze the underlying barrier structure (factors) that hinder social sustainability, and each of these factors will represent a set of observed variables. In addition, the factor loadings show which barriers pose the greatest challenges. The primary goal of this study is to provide valuable insights into the impediment factors of social sustainability within the residential building environment, aiming to inform decision-making in the industry and encourage the adoption of more socially sustainable construction practices.

Keywords: social sustainability, residential building, barriers, drivers, afghanistan, factor analysis

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Authors: Mohd Sabri Minhat, Nurul Adilla Mohd Subha

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The 1MWth PUSPATI TRIGA Reactor (RTP) in Malaysia Nuclear Agency has been operating more than 35 years. The existing core power control is using conventional controller known as Feedback Control Algorithm (FCA). It is technically challenging to keep the core power output always stable and operating within acceptable error bands for the safety demand of the RTP. Currently, the system could be considered unsatisfactory with power tracking performance, yet there is still significant room for improvement. Hence, a new design core power control is very important to improve the current performance in tracking and regulating reactor power by controlling the movement of control rods that suit the demand of highly sensitive of nuclear reactor power control. In this paper, the proposed Model Predictive Control (MPC) law was applied to control the core power. The model for core power control was based on mathematical models of the reactor core, MPC, and control rods selection algorithm. The mathematical models of the reactor core were based on point kinetics model, thermal hydraulic models, and reactivity models. The proposed MPC was presented in a transfer function model of the reactor core according to perturbations theory. The transfer function model-based predictive control (TFMPC) was developed to design the core power control with predictions based on a T-filter towards the real-time implementation of MPC on hardware. This paper introduces the sensitivity functions for TFMPC feedback loop to reduce the impact on the input actuation signal and demonstrates the behaviour of TFMPC in term of disturbance and noise rejections. The comparisons of both tracking and regulating performance between the conventional controller and TFMPC were made using MATLAB and analysed. In conclusion, the proposed TFMPC has satisfactory performance in tracking and regulating core power for controlling nuclear reactor with high reliability and safety.

Keywords: core power control, model predictive control, PUSPATI TRIGA reactor, TFMPC

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Authors: Aisha Iddrsiu

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Public Relations (PR) has rapidly evolved around the world, just as companies have expanded to reach other parts of the world. With most multinational corporations conducting businesses in more than one country, only a few of these Multinational Corporations (MNC’s) are actual public relations firms, many have public relations departments or divisions that conduct public relations practices internationally. Hence international public relations is seen as a fast-growing specialty in the field of Public Relations. Multinational companies have devised strategies to effectively communicate and execute their roles within and between foreign publics and other cultures in which they operate through various means including the internet which is among the major inventions that have enabled corporations to establish their presents while targeting anonymous and diverse publics from varied cultures. International public relations practitioners rely on strategies coupled with internet use to communicate among and with foreign publics. Corporate websites and various social media handles have served as an important channel for public relations activities targeting both internal and international publics. In an incessant expansion of corporations and interactions with the publics from different cultures, it has become eminent to understand the public relation strategies used by MNCs in their international communication. This study therefore seeks to establish the international public relation strategies or models employed by Multinational Corporations specifically Arcelik Global in the management of its subsidiaries and communicating with international public. This study analyses both Arçelik global’s (one of the largest multinational companies in Turkey) website and social media accounts to understand the management strategy used with it subsidiary as well as strategies used to communicate with its global and local publics. Other underlying objective of this study are, 1. To examine the dominant international public relations models used by Multinational Corporations (Arcelik global). 2. To understand how Multinational Corporations manage (Arcelik global) its subsidiaries. 3. To understand how Multinational Corporations (Arcelik global) communicate with international or global publics. Research Questions 1. The main global PR strategies employed by multinational corporations (Arcelik global) 2. How subsidiaries of multinational corporations like Arcelik Global are managed. 3. How multinational corporations, like Arcelik worldwide, interact with international publics.

Keywords: multinational corporation, ethnocentric model, polycentric model, international public relations

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Authors: Lokesh Harshe

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The building construction sector is using 36% of global energy consumption with 39% of CO₂ emission. Professionals in the Built Environment Sector have long been aware of the industry’s contribution towards CO₂ emissions and are now moving towards more sustainable practices. As a result of this, many organizations have introduced rating systems to address the issue of global warming in the construction sector by ranking construction projects based on sustainability parameters. The pre-construction phase of any building project is the most essential time to make decisions for addressing the sustainability aspects. Traditionally, it is very difficult to collect data from different stakeholders and bring it together to form a decision based on factual data to perform sustainability analyses in the pre-construction phase. Building Information Modelling (BIM) is the solution where one single model is the result of the collaborative approach of BIM processes where all the information is shared, extracted, communicated, and stored on a single platform that everyone can access and make decisions based on real-time data. The focus of this research is on the Indian Green Rating System IGBC® with the objective of understanding IGBC® requirements and developing a framework to create the relationship between the rating processes and BIM. A Hypothetical (Architectural) model of a hostel building is developed using AutoCAD 2019 & Revit Arch. 2019, where the framework is applied to generate results on sustainability analysis using Green Building Studio (GBS) and Revit Add-ins. The results of any sustainability analysis are generated within a fraction of a minute, which is very quick in comparison with traditional sustainability analysis. This may save a considerable amount of time as well as cost. The future scope is to integrate Architectural, Structural, and MEP Models to perform accurate sustainability analyses with inputs from industry professionals working on real-life Green BIM projects.

Keywords: sustainability analyses, BIM, green rating systems, IGBC®, LEED

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Authors: Jamal Fayazi, Farhad Anoosheh, Mohammad R. Ghorbani, Ali R. Paydar

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In this study, to determine the best non-linear regression model describing the growth curve of native poultry, 9657 chicks of generations 18, 19, and 20 raised in Mazandaran breeding center were used. Fowls and roosters of this center distributed in south of Caspian Sea region. To estimate the genetic variability of none linear regression parameter of growth traits, a Gibbs sampling of Bayesian analysis was used. The average body weight traits in the first day (BW1), eighth week (BW8) and twelfth week (BW12) were respectively estimated as 36.05, 763.03, and 1194.98 grams. Based on the coefficient of determination, mean squares of error and Akaike information criteria, Gompertz model was selected as the best growth descriptive function. In Gompertz model, the estimated values for the parameters of maturity weight (A), integration constant (B) and maturity rate (K) were estimated to be 1734.4, 3.986, and 0.282, respectively. The direct heritability of BW1, BW8 and BW12 were respectively reported to be as 0.378, 0.3709, 0.316, 0.389, 0.43, 0.09 and 0.07. With regard to estimated parameters, the results of this study indicated that there is a possibility to improve some property of growth curve using appropriate selection programs.

Keywords: direct heritability, Gompertz, growth traits, maturity weight, native poultry

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Authors: Mohd Firrdhaus Mohd Sahabuddin, Cristina Gonzalez-Longo

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Large migration from rural areas to urban areas like Kuala Lumpur has led to some implications for economic, social and cultural development. This high population has placed enormous demand on the existing housing stocks, especially for low-income groups. However, some issues arise, one of which is overheated indoor air temperature. This problem contributes to the high-energy usage that forces huge sums of money to be spent on cooling the house by using mechanical equipment. Therefore, this study focuses on thermal comfort in social housing, and incorporates traditional values into its design to achieve a certain measurement of natural ventilation in a house. From the study, the carbon emission and energy consumption for an air-conditioned house is 67%, 66% higher than a naturally ventilated house. Therefore, this research has come up with a new typology design, which has a large exposed wall area and full-length openings on the opposite walls to increase cross ventilation. At the end of this research, the measurement of thermal comfort for a naturally ventilated building called ‘AirHouse’ has been identified.

Keywords: tropical architecture, natural ventilation, passive design, AirHouse, social housing design

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Authors: Godwin Bassey Okon

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The need to streamline viewers’ disposition towards the predominant portrayal of rituals, in most Nigerian home videos, as a way of life in the southern part of Nigeria necessitated this study. The focus however was on ascertaining if such portrayals dovetail within the framework of construction of social reality or misconstruction of social reality. In other words, do the people of the southern part of Nigeria engage in rituals as a means of acquiring wealth or do they merely have proclivity for diabolism, as frequently portrayed in home videos subsumed in their socio-cultural settings? The method of study was survey with the questionnaire as the predominant instrument. The questionnaire was used to elicit responses from Portharcourt city residents on their views and reactions in the light of ritual themes in Nigerian home videos. The choice of Portharcourt was informed by the fact that it is a foremost cosmopolitan city in the south. A Sample size of 400 was drawn from a population of 1,382,392 using Taro Yamane’s formula. Actual respondents were reached using a multi-stage cluster sampling technique. The reliability of the instrument as ascertained through Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation stood at 0.89. Findings however revealed that ritual themes, as used in Nigerian home videos, did not significantly reflect the cultural heritage of the people of southern Nigeria. Findings further showed that their excessive use in Nigerian home videos served only to create frills and thrills in plots. A synthesis of the foregoing, however, revealed that viewers are not favourably disposed towards the excessive use of ritual themes since they inadvertently portray the cultural heritage of the people of the south in the negative. To this end, it was recommended that producers of Nigerian home videos should focus more on themes that serve to construct social reality while projecting favorably the rich cultural heritage of the people. In terms of contribution to knowledge, the findings of this study tend to reinforce the notion of film as a conveyor belt in cognitive constructs.

Keywords: disposition, home videos, ritual, social reality, themes

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Authors: Fatma Ahmed, Heba Mostafa, Bassem Ramdan, Azza El-Soussi

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Background: World Health Organization stated that by 2020 cardiac disease will be the number one cause of death worldwide and estimates that 25 million people per year will suffer from heart disease. Cardiac surgery is considered an effective treatment for severe forms of cardiovascular diseases that cannot be treated by medical treatment or cardiac interventions. In spite of the benefits of cardiac surgery, it is considered a major stressful experience for patients who are candidate for surgery. Prehabilitation can decrease incidences of postoperative complications as it prepares patients for surgical stress through enhancing their defenses to meet the demands of surgery. When patients anticipate the postoperative sequence of events, they will prepare themselves to act certain behaviors, identify their roles and actively participate in their own recovery, therefore, anxiety levels are decreased and functional capacity is enhanced. Prehabilitation programs can comprise interventions that include physical exercise, psychological prehabilitation, nutritional optimization and risk factor modification. Physical exercises are associated with improvements in the functioning of the various physiological systems, reflected in increased functional capacity, improved cardiac and respiratory functions and make patients fit for surgical intervention. Prehabilitation programs should also prepare patients psychologically in order to cope with stress, anxiety and depression associated with postoperative pain, fatigue, limited ability to perform the usual activities of daily living through acting in a healthy manner. Notwithstanding the benefits of psychological preparations, there are limited studies which investigated the effect of psychological prehabilitation to confirm its effect on psychological, quality of life and physiological outcomes of patients who had undergone cardiac surgery. Aim of the study: The study aims to determine the effect of prehabilitation interventions on outcomes of patients undergoing cardiac surgeries. Methods: Quasi experimental study design was used to conduct this study. Sixty eligible and consenting patients were recruited and divided into two groups: control and intervention group (30 participants in each). One tool namely emotional, physiological, clinical, cognitive and functional capacity outcomes of prehabilitation intervention assessment tool was utilized to collect the data of this study. Results: Data analysis showed significant improvement in patients' emotional state, physiological and clinical outcomes (P < 0.000) with the use of prehabilitation interventions. Conclusions: Cardiac prehabilitation in the form of providing information about surgery, circulation exercise, deep breathing exercise, incentive spirometer training and nutritional education implemented daily by patients scheduled for elective open heart surgery one week before surgery have been shown to improve patients' emotional state, physiological and clinical outcomes.

Keywords: emotional recovery, clinical recovery, coronary artery bypass grafting patients, prehabilitation

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Authors: Alaaeldin Hamdy Ahmed Mohammed

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Introduction: This study examines sports’ fans and non-interested public perception and recognition of the problems that have negative impacts upon the Egyptian sports, particularly football, through caricatures. Eight caricature paintings were designed to express eight problems affecting the Egyptian sports and its development. These paintings were distributed on two groups of the fans and the non-interested public. Methods: The study was limited to eight caricatures representing the eight issues which are: the impact of stopping the sports activity on athletes, the effect of clubs’ disagreement, fanaticism between the members of the ultras of different clubs, the negative impact of the mingling of politics into sports, the negative role of the clubs affects the professionalism of the promising players, the conflict between the national organization responsible for sports, the breaking in of the fans to the playgrounds, the impact of the lack of planning on the national team. The Results: The results showed that both sports fans and those who are not interested in sports recognized the problems that the caricatures refer to and criticizes exaggeration although the rate was higher for the fans. These caricatures contributed also in their recognition of the danger of the negative impact of these problems on the Egyptian sports, particularly football which is the most common at the Egyptian sports fans. Discussion: This finding echoes the conclusion that caricatures are distinctive in the adults’ facial stimuli that are either systematically exaggerated recognition of them.

Keywords: caricature, fans, football, sports

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Authors: Matshidiso Joyce Taole, Linley Cornish

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Teacher’s professional knowledge has become the focus of interest over decades and the interest has intensified in the 21st century. Teachers are expected to develop their professional academic expertise continually, on an ongoing basis. Such professional development may relate to acquiring enhanced expertise in terms of leadership, curriculum development, teaching and learning, assessment of/for learning and feedback for enhanced learning. The paper focuses on professional knowledge base required for teachers in multi-grade contexts. This paper argues that although teacher knowledge is strongly related to individual experiences and contexts, there are elements of teacher knowledge that are particular to multi-grade context. The study employed qualitative design using interviews and observations. The participants were multi-grade teachers and teaching principals. The study revealed that teachers need to develop skills such as learner grouping, differentiating the curriculum, planning, time management and be life-long learners so that they stay relevant and up to date with developments not only in the education sector but globally. This will help teachers to learn increasingly sophisticated methods for engaging the diverse needs of students in their classrooms.

Keywords: curriculum differentiation, multi-grade, planning, teacher knowledge

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Authors: Sandeep Pandey, Nimra Habib, Ranjana Singh, Abbas Ali Mahdi

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Leukemia is a malignancy of blood that mainly affects children and young adults; while advancement in the early diagnosis will have the potential to improve the outcome of diseases. A wide range of disease including leukemia shows inflammatory signals in their pathogenesis. In a pilot study conducted in our laboratory, 52 people were screened, of which 26 had leukemia and 26 were free from any kind of malignancy. We performed the estimation of the inflammatory cytokine Interleukin-8 and it was found significantly raised in all the leukemia patients concerning healthy volunteers who participated in the study. Flow cytometry had been performed for the confirmation of leukemia and further genomic, and proteomic, analyses of the sample revealed that IL-8 levels showed a positive correlation in patients with leukemia. The results had shown constitutive secretion of interleukin-8 by leukemia cells. So, our finding demonstrated that IL-8 is considered to have a role in the pathogenesis of leukemia, and quantification of IL-8 levels in leukemia conditions might be more useful and feasible in the clinical setting for the prediction of drug responses where it may represent a putative target for innovative diagnostic toward effective therapeutic approaches. However, further research explorations in this area are needed that include a greater number of patients with all different forms of leukemia, and estimating their IL-8 levels may hold the key for the additional predictive values on the recurrence of leukemia and its prognosis.

Keywords: T-ALL, IL-8, leukemia pathogenesis, cancer therapeutics

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Authors: Iris Sauerbrei, Jörg Trojan, Erich Lehner

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Introduction and significance of the study: This study examines if three-dimensional shapes elicit distinct patterns of perceptions. If so, it is relevant for all fields of design, especially for the design of the built environment. Description of basic methodologies: The five platonic solids are the geometrical base for all other three-dimensional shapes, among which tetrahedron and icosahedron provide the clearest representation of the qualities sharp and round. The component pair of attributes ‘sharp versus round’ has already been examined in various surveys in a psychology of perception and in neuroscience by means of graphics, images of products of daily use, as well as by photographs and walk-through-videos of landscapes and architecture. To verify a transfer of outcomes of the existing surveys to the perception of three-dimensional shapes, walk-in models (total height 2.2m) of tetrahedron and icosahedron were set up in a public park in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Preferences of park visitors were tested by questionnaire; also they were asked to write down associations in a free text. In summer 2015, the tetrahedron was assembled eight times, the icosahedron seven times. In total 288 participants took part in the study; 116 rated the tetrahedron, 172 rated the icosahedron. Findings: Preliminary analyses of the collected data using Wilcoxon Rank-Sum tests show that the perceptions of the two solids differ in respect to several attributes and that each of the tested model show significance for specific attributes. Conclusion: These findings confirm the assumptions and provide first evidence that the perception of three-dimensional shapes are associated to characteristic attributes and to which. In order to enable conscious choices for spatial arrangements in design processes for the built environment, future studies should examine attributes for the other three basic bodies - Octahedron, Cube, and Dodecahedron. Additionally, similarities and differences between the perceptions of two- and three-dimensional shapes as well as shapes that are more complex need further research.

Keywords: 3D shapes, architecture, geometrical features, space perception, walk-in models

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Authors: Adekunle Ayodeji Folorunso, Aisha S. Habeeb

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The purpose of this study was to determine the factors influencing the student’s choice of food intake, a case study of the Federal Polytechnic, Bida. A review of the past work was done, and many key points were noted. A sample population of 1000 students was selected randomly (i.e. 200 students from each school) who were in the 2011/2012 academic session. The factor influencing the students' foods intake ranges from economic factors (food cost, income, availability of food), physical factors (easy to cook, shortest time), social factors (cultural, family and meal pattern) attitudes, belief and knowledge about food were discovered. The data collected were tabulated in frequency and percentages. It was revealed that ‘easy method of cooking and preparation’ influenced students’ choice of food intake more (34%) and the food frequency questionnaire shows that the students eat more of carbohydrates foods compared to other classes of food. The cooking skills of students were low (1%) which may be responsible for the limitations in the food choices. It is, therefore, recommended that students should be equipped with sound cooking skills to increase their range of food intake. Variety is needed in diet/meal because the required nutrients are scattered among many different foods.

Keywords: factors, food intake, influencing, choice, students

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