Search results for: load test of piles

Authors: S. A. Hashemi, A. Khoshraftar

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This paper presents the influence of the vertical seismic component on the non-linear dynamics analysis of three different structures. The subject structures were analyzed and designed according to recent codes. This paper considers three types of buildings: 5-, 10-, and 15-story buildings. The non-linear dynamics analysis of the structures with assuming elastic-perfectly-plastic behavior was performed using Ram Perform-3D software; the horizontal component was taken into consideration with and without the incorporation of the corresponding vertical component. Dynamic responses obtained for the horizontal component acting alone were compared with those obtained from the simultaneous application of both seismic components. The results show that the effect of the vertical component of the ground motion may increase the axial load significantly in the interior columns and consequently, the stories. The plastic mechanisms would be changed. The P-Delta effect is expected to increase. The punching base plate shear of the columns should be considered. Moreover, the vertical component increases the input energy when the structures exhibit inelastic behavior and are taller.

Keywords: inelastic behavior, non-linear dynamic analysis, steel structure, vertical component

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Authors: Paola Clerici Maestosi

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Positive Energy District (PED) is a rather recent concept whose aim is to contribute to the main objectives of the Energy Union strategy. It is based on an integrated multi-sectoral approach in response to Europe's most complex challenges. PED integrates energy efficiency, renewable energy production, and energy flexibility in an integrated, multi-sectoral approach at the city level. The core idea behind Positive Energy Districts (PEDs) is to establish an urban area that can generate more energy than it consumes. Additionally, it should be flexible enough to adapt to changes in the energy market. This is crucial because a PED's goal is not just to achieve an annual surplus of net energy but also to help reduce the impact on the interconnected centralized energy networks. It achieves this by providing options to increase on-site load matching and self-consumption, employing technologies for short- and long-term energy storage, and offering energy flexibility through smart control. Thus, it seems that PEDs can encompass all types of buildings in the city environment. Given this which is the added value of having green buildings being constitutive part of PEDS? The paper will present a systematic literature review identifying the role of green building in Positive Energy District to provide answer to following questions: (RQ1) the state of the art of PEDs implementation; (RQ2) penetration of green building in Positive Energy District selected case studies. Methodological approach is based on a broad holistic study of bibliographic sources according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) further data will be analysed, mapped and text mining through VOSviewer. Main contribution of research is a cognitive framework on Positive Energy District in Europe and a selection of case studies where green building supported the transition to PED. The inclusion of green buildings within Positive Energy Districts (PEDs) adds significant value for several reasons. Firstly, green buildings are designed and constructed with a focus on environmental sustainability, incorporating energy-efficient technologies, materials, and design principles. As integral components of PEDs, these structures contribute directly to the district's overall ability to generate more energy than it consumes. Secondly, green buildings typically incorporate renewable energy sources, such as solar panels or wind turbines, further boosting the district's capacity for energy generation. This aligns with the PED objective of achieving a surplus of net energy. Moreover, green buildings often feature advanced systems for on-site energy management, load-matching, and self-consumption. This enhances the PED's capability to respond to variations in the energy market, making the district more agile and flexible in optimizing energy use. Additionally, the environmental considerations embedded in green buildings align with the broader sustainability goals of PEDs. By reducing the ecological footprint of individual structures, PEDs with green buildings contribute to minimizing the overall impact on centralized energy networks and promote a more sustainable urban environment. In summary, the incorporation of green buildings within PEDs not only aligns with the district's energy objectives but also enhances environmental sustainability, energy efficiency, and the overall resilience of the urban environment.

Keywords: positive energy district, renewables energy production, energy flexibility, energy efficiency

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Authors: Praskovya Britskaya, Fatima Shaizadina, Alua Omarova, Nessipkul Alysheva

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Planned preventive vaccination, which is carried out in the Republic of Kazakhstan, promoted permanent decrease in the incidence of measles and viral hepatitis B. In the structure of VHB patients prevail people of young, working age. Monitoring of infectious incidence, monitoring of coverage of immunization of the population, random serological control over the immunity enable well-timed identification of distribution of the activator, effectiveness of the taken measures and forecasting. The serological blood analysis was conducted in indicator groups of the population of Central Kazakhstan for the purpose of identification of antibody titre for vaccine preventable infections (measles, viral hepatitis B). Measles antibodies were defined by method of enzyme-linked assay (ELA) with test-systems "VektoKor" – Ig G ('Vektor-Best' JSC). Antibodies for HBs-antigen of hepatitis B virus in blood serum was identified by method of enzyme-linked assay (ELA) with VektoHBsAg test systems – antibodies ('Vektor-Best' JSC). The result of the analysis is positive, the concentration of IgG to measles virus in the studied sample is equal to 0.18 IU/ml or more. Protective level of concentration of anti-HBsAg makes 10 mIU/ml. The results of the study of postvaccinal measles immunity showed that the share of seropositive people made 87.7% of total number of surveyed. The level of postvaccinal immunity to measles in age groups differs. So, among people older than 56 the percentage of seropositive made 95.2%. Among people aged 15-25 were registered 87.0% seropositive, at the age of 36-45 – 86.6%. In age groups of 25-35 and 36-45 the share of seropositive people was approximately at the same level – 88.5% and 88.8% respectively. The share of people seronegative to a measles virus made 12.3%. The biggest share of seronegative people was found among people aged 36-45 – 13.4% and 15-25 – 13.0%. The analysis of results of the examined people for the existence of postvaccinal immunity to viral hepatitis B showed that from all surveyed only 33.5% have the protective level of concentration of anti-HBsAg of 10 mIU/ml and more. The biggest share of people protected from VHB virus is observed in the age group of 36-45 and makes 60%. In the indicator group – above 56 – seropositive people made 4.8%. The high percentage of seronegative people has been observed in all studied age groups from 40.0% to 95.2%. The group of people which is least protected from getting VHB is people above 56 (95.2%). The probability to get VHB is also high among young people aged 25-35, the percentage of seronegative people made 80%. Thus, the results of the conducted research testify to the need for carrying out serological monitoring of postvaccinal immunity for the purpose of operational assessment of the epidemiological situation, early identification of its changes and prediction of the approaching danger.

Keywords: antibodies, blood serum, immunity, immunoglobulin

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Authors: Siti Mariani, Arwin DW Sumari, Retno Gumilang Dewi

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This paper analyzes the necessity of a structured tariff calculation for geothermal electricity in Indonesia. Indonesia is blessed with abundant natural resources and a choices of energy resources to generate electricity among other are coal, gas, biomass, hydro to geothermal, creating a fierce competition in electricity tariffs. While geothermal is inline with energy security principle and green growth initiative, it requires a huge capital funding. Geothermal electricity development consists of phases of project with each having its own financial characteristics. The Indonesian government has set a support in the form of ceiling price of geothermal electricity tariff by 11 U.S cents / kWh. However, the government did not set a levelized cost of geothermal, as an indication of lower limit capacity class, to which support is given. The government should establish a levelized cost of geothermal energy to reflect its financial capability in supporting geothermal development. Aside of that, the government is also need to establish a structured tariff calculation to reflect a fair and transparent business cooperation.

Keywords: load fator, levelized cost of geothermal, geothermal power plant, structured tariff calculation

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Authors: Ouzid Yasmina, Aiche-Iratni Ghenima, Harchaoui Lina, Saadoun Noria, Houali Karim

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Medicinal plants are an important source of bioactive molecules with biological activities such as anticancer, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antimitotic.... These molecules include alkaloids, polyphenols and terpenes. The latter can be extracted by different solvents, namely: water, ethanol, methanol, butanol, acetone... This is why it seemed interesting to us to evaluate in vitro the antimitotic and genotoxic effect of these secondary metabolites contained in the aqueous extract of the leaves of Peganum harmala L. by the Allium cepa L. test on meristematic cells by calculating the mitotic parameters (The mitotic index, the aberration index and the limit value of cytotoxicity).A spectrophotometric determination of secondary metabolites, namely alkaloids and flavonoids in the aqueous extract of this essence, was performed. As a result, the alkaloid content is estimated to be 28.42 μg EC/mg extract, and the flavonoid content is 12.52 μg EQ/mg extract. The determination of the mitotic index revealed disturbances in cell division with a highly significant difference between the negative control (distilled water) and the different samples (aqueous extracts, colchicine and quecetin). The exposure of meristematic cells to our samples resulted in a large number of chromosomal, nuclear and cellular aberrations with an aberration index reaching 16.21±1.28% for the 4mg/ml aqueous extract and 11.71±3.32% for the 10mg/ml aqueous extract. The limit value of cytotoxicity revealed that our samples are sublethal on Allium cepa L. meristematic cells.

Keywords: allium cepa l., antimitotic and genotoxic effect, aqueous leaf extract, laghouat (algeria), peganum harmala l., secondary metabolites

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Authors: Cory B. Lord

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Falls among the elderly population has become an area of concern in healthcare today. The negative impacts of falls lead to increased morbidity, mortality, and financial burdens for both patients and healthcare systems. Falls in the United States is reported at an annual rate of 36 million in those aged 65 and older. Each year, one out of four people in this age group will suffer a fall, with 20% of these falls causing injury. The setting for this Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) project was a memory care unit in an assisted living community, as these facilities house cognitively impaired older adults. These communities lack fall prevention programs; therefore, the need exists to add to the body of knowledge to positively impact this population. The objective of this project was to reduce fall rates through the implementation of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) STEADI (stopping elderly accidents, deaths, and injuries) program. The DNP project performed was a quality improvement pilot study with a pre and post-test design. This program was implemented in the memory care setting over 12 weeks. The project included an educational session for staff and a fall risk assessment with appropriate resident referrals. The three aims of the DNP project were to reduce fall rates among the elderly aged 65 and older who reside in the memory care unit, increase staff knowledge of STEADI fall prevention measures after an educational session, and assess the willingness of memory care unit staff to adopt an evidence-based a fall prevention program. The Donabedian model was used as a guiding conceptual framework for this quality improvement pilot study. The fall rate data for 12 months before the intervention was evaluated and compared to post-intervention fall rates. The educational session comprised of a pre and post-test to assess staff knowledge of the fall prevention program and the willingness of staff to adopt the fall prevention program. The overarching goal was to reduce falls in the elderly population who live in memory care units. The results of the study showed, on average that the fall rate during the implementation period of STEADI (μ=6.79) was significantly lower when compared to the prior 12 months (μ= 9.50) (p=0.02, α = 0.05). The mean staff knowledge scores improved from pretest (μ=77.74%) to post-test (μ=87.42%) (p=0.00, α= 0.05) after the education session. The results of the willingness to adopt a fall prevention program were scored at 100%. In summation, implementing the STEADI fall prevention program can assist in reducing fall rates for residents aged 65 and older who reside in a memory care setting.

Keywords: dementia, elderly, falls, STEADI

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Authors: Zerihun Yohannes Amare, Belayneh Birku Geremew, Nigatu Melise Kebede, Sisaynew Getahun Amera

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In Ethiopia, agricultural production is predominantly rainfed. The El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is the driver of climate variability, which affects the agricultural production system in the country. This paper aims to study trends, variability of rainfall, and impacts of El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) on rainfall amount. The study was carried out in Ethiopia's Western Amhara National Regional State, which features a variety of seasons that characterize the nation. Monthly rainfall data were collected from fifteen meteorological stations of Western Amhara. Selected El Niño and La Niña years were also extracted from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) from 1986 to 2015. Once the data quality was checked and inspected, the monthly rainfall data of the selected stations were arranged in Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet and analyzed using XLSTAT software. The coefficient of variation and the Mann-Kendall non-parametric statistical test was employed to analyze trends and variability of rainfall and temperature. The long-term recorded annual rainfall data indicated that there was an increasing trend from 1986 to 2015 insignificantly. The rainfall variability was less (Coefficient of Variation, CV = 8.6%); also, the mean monthly rainfall of Western Amhara decreased during El Niño years and increased during La Niña years, especially in the rainy season (JJAS) over 30 years. This finding will be useful to suggest possible adaptation strategies and efficient use of resources during planning and implementation.

Keywords: rainfall, Mann-Kendall test, El Niño, La Niña, Western Amhara, Ethiopia

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Authors: Elizabeth Farquhar, Erich Ritter

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Studying shark's interaction with humans and their behavioral responses will have enormous implications for other fields of marine biology and oceanography. The health of sharks has direct impacts on the stability of human society with a reported 3.5 billion people depending on the ocean for food and/or livelihood. Discovering how sharks behave and interact with people, will have enormous implications for future studies, along with the development of more effective ways to reduce negative shark/human interactions. This specific study investigates the effects of contrasting ponchos worn by divers on the approach distances of Carcharhinus perezi. Data was collected over a two week period at a test site off the shore of Eleuthera Island in the Bahamas, with a depth of approximately 55 feet during mid-August. Sixty-minute dive trials were conducted and videoed from above with 5-meter radius markers on the ocean floor surrounding the two divers, kneeling back-to-back. Five poncho colors were worn by the two divers (black, navy blue, dark green, yellow and orange), rotating the color permutations randomly to test the distance a shark will approach each color. Results indicate significantly closer approach patterns when divers were wearing orange ponchos, and the combination of orange with black and blue ponchos were found to be statistically significant. These results are relevant to understanding how sharks perceive contrast and dive equipment in the marine environment, which could have the potential to prevent negative shark/human interactions.

Keywords: shark behavior, animal behavior, marine biology, conservation

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Authors: Rohalla Moghimi, Sirus Mohammadi

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Batteries for storage of electricity from solar and wind generation farms are a key element in the success of sustainability. In recent years, due to large integration of Renewable Energy Sources (RESs) like wind turbine and photovoltaic unit into the Micro-Grid (MG), the necessity of Battery Energy Storage (BES) has increased dramatically. The BES has several benefits and advantages in the MG-based applications such as short term power supply, power quality improvement, facilitating integration of RES, ancillary service and arbitrage. This paper presents the cost-based formulation to determine the optimal size of the BES in the operation management of MG. Also, some restrictions, i.e. power capacity of Distributed Generators (DGs), power and energy capacity of BES, charge/discharge efficiency of BES, operating reserve and load demand satisfaction should be considered as well. In this paper, a methodology is proposed for the optimal allocation and economic analysis of ESS in MGs on the basis of net present value (NPV). As the optimal operation of an MG strongly depends on the arrangement and allocation of its ESS, economic operation strategies and optimal allocation methods of the ESS devices are required for the MG.

Keywords: microgrid, energy storage system, optimal sizing, net present value

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Authors: Kedir Teji Roba, Thomas P. O’Connor, Tefera Belachew, Nora M. O’Brien

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Micronutrient deficiencies of ferritin, zinc and haemoglobin are prevalent among the mothers and their infants in developing countries. But little attention has been given to these vulnerable groups. No study has been done on co-existence of the deficiencies among lactating mothers and their breast feeding infants in two different agro-ecological zones of rural Ethiopia. Methods: Data were collected from 162 lactating mothers and their breast feeding infants (aged 6-23 months) who were living in two different agro-ecological zones. The data were collected via a structured interview, anthropometric measurements, and blood test for Zinc, ferritin and anaemia. Correlation and Chi square test were used to determine the association among nutritional status and agro ecological zones. Results: Iron deficiency was found in 44.4% of the infants and 19.8% of the mothers. Zinc deficiency was found in 72.2% of the infants and 67.3% of the mothers. Of the study subject 52.5% of the infants and 19.1% of the mothers were anaemic, and 29.6% of the infants and 10.5% of the mothers had iron deficiency anaemia. Among the mothers with iron deficiency, 81.2% and 56.2% of their children were deficient in zinc and iron respectively. Similarly, among the zinc deficient mothers, 75.2% and 45.3% of their children were deficient in zinc and iron. There was a strong correlation between the micronutrient status of the mothers and the infants on status of ferritin, zinc and anaemia (P < 0.001). There is also statistically significant association between micronutrient deficiency and agro-ecological zones among the mothers (p < 0.001) but not with their infants. Deficiency in one, two, or three, micronutrients was observed in 48.1%, 16.7% and 9.9% of the mothers and 35.8%, 29.0%, and 23.5%, of their infants respectively. Conclusion: This study shows that iron and zinc deficiencies are the prevalent micronutrient deficiencies among the lactating mothers and their infants, with variation of the magnitude across the agro-ecological zones. This finding calls for a need to design effective preventive public health nutrition programs to address both the mothers’ and their infants’ needs.

Keywords: ferritin/iron, zinc, anaemia, agroecology, malnutrition

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Authors: Ni Wayan Sinthia Widiastuti, Komang Rahayu Indrawati

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The increasing number of tourists coming to Bali, causing accommodation facilities, such as hotels have increased. The existence of hotel needs will be the source of labor and cost efficiency, so that hotel management employs employees with different working status. The hospitality industry is one of the sectors that require organizational citizenship behavior because, the main goal of every hotel, in general, was to provide the best service and quality to tourists. The purpose of this study was to determine the differences in organizational citizenship behavior based on work status of employees at the Hotel in Bali in terms of quality of work life. Research sample was chosen randomly through two-stage cluster sampling which succeeds to obtain 126 samples from 11 hotels in Denpasar, Bali. The subjects consisted of 64 employees with Employment Agreement of Uncertain Time or who is often called a permanent employee and 62 employees with Employment Agreement of Certain Time or better known as contract employees, outsourcing, and daily workers. Instruments in this study were the scale of organizational citizenship behavior and the scale of quality of work life. The results of ANCOVA analysis showed there were differences in organizational citizenship behavior based on employee work status in terms of quality of work life. Differences in organizational citizenship behavior and quality of work life based on work status of employees using comparative test was analysis by independent sample t-test shows there were differences in organizational citizenship behavior and quality of work life between employees with different working status in hotels in Bali. The result of the regression analysis showed the functional relationship between quality of work life and organizational citizenship behavior.

Keywords: hotel in Bali, organizational citizenship behavior, quality of work life, work status of employees

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Authors: Shalaka Sharad Dixit

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Rural Development in India is an important part of the rural economy & empowerment. Almost 70 percent of the Indian population lives in villages, hence rural development is important to become self-sustainable. Hence, the process to aiming the self-reliance of people living in rural areas. Maharashtra is one of the leading states in rural development. Hence, further study of the different villages in the five regions of Maharashtra i.e. Kokan, Pashchim, Marathwada, Khandesh, and Vidharbh. The study shows that major amenities lacking in the village. Annapur village case study has been done. The result has shown that the villagers face major problems like Unemployment, Load shedding, missing education facilities, unavailability of Bank and ATM, etc. They are facing lots of problems because scarce of required amenities. Therefore, the aim is to provide the amenities lacking in the Annapur village through a different government scheme. Government plans are devoted to development that includes the PMGSY, MGNREG, and GRAM UJALA. The study concluded that to provide and fulfill the amenities lacking in the Annapur village with the help of this government initiative.

Keywords: self sustainable rural development, government policies, Annapurna village, amenities, smart village

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Authors: Punit Kumar, Niraj Kumar

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The traction behavior of lubricants with the linear pressure-viscosity response in EHL line contacts is investigated numerically for smooth as well as rough surfaces. The analysis involves the simultaneous solution of Reynolds, elasticity and energy equations along with the computation of lubricant properties and surface temperatures. The temperature modified Doolittle-Tait equations are used to calculate viscosity and density as functions of fluid pressure and temperature, while Carreau model is used to describe the lubricant rheology. The surface roughness is assumed to be sinusoidal and it is present on the nearly stationary surface in near-pure sliding EHL conjunction. The linear P-V oil is found to yield much lower traction coefficients and slightly thicker EHL films as compared to the synthetic oil for a given set of dimensionless speed and load parameters. Besides, the increase in traction coefficient attributed to surface roughness is much lower for the former case. The present analysis emphasizes the importance of employing realistic pressure-viscosity response for accurate prediction of EHL traction.

Keywords: EHL, linear pressure-viscosity, surface roughness, traction, water/glycol

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Authors: Justine Cyril E. Nunag, Nestor B. Sabado Jr., Jienne Chester M. Tolosa

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Concrete has high compressive strength but a low-tension strength. The small tensile strength of concrete is regarded as its primary weakness, which is why it is typically reinforced with steel, a material that is resistant to tension. Even with steel, however, cracking can occur. In strengthening concrete, only a few researchers have modified the water to be used in a concrete mix. This study aims to compare the split tensile strength of normal structural concrete to concrete prepared with magnetic water and a quick setting admixture. In this context, magnetic water is defined as tap water that has undergone a magnetic process to become magnetized water. To test the hypothesis that magnetized concrete leads to higher split tensile strength, twenty concrete specimens were made. There were five groups, each with five samples, that were differentiated by the number of cycles (0, 50, 100, and 150). The data from the Universal Testing Machine's split tensile strength were then analyzed using various statistical models and tests to determine the significant effect of magnetized water. The result showed a moderate (+0.579) but still significant degree of correlation. The researchers also discovered that using magnetic water for 50 cycles did not result in a significant increase in the concrete's split tensile strength, which influenced the analysis of variance. These results suggest that a concrete mix containing magnetic water and a quick-setting admixture alters the typical split tensile strength of normal concrete. Magnetic water has a significant impact on concrete tensile strength. The hardness property of magnetic water influenced the split tensile strength of concrete. In addition, a higher number of cycles results in a strong water magnetism. The laboratory test results show that a higher cycle translates to a higher tensile strength.

Keywords: hardness property, magnetic water, quick-setting admixture, split tensile strength, universal testing machine

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Authors: Benhammadi Hocine, Chaffai Hicham

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Urban development is often dependent on adequate land for expansion, except that sometimes these areas have vulnerability. This is the case of karst regions characterized by carbonate geological formations marked by the presence of cavities and cracks. The impact of climate variability in Cheria area marked by a growing shortage of rainfall, the impact resulted in the development of the vulnerability of these structures. This vulnerability has led to the appearance of collapse phenomena as well in both agricultural and urban areas. Two phenomena have emerged to explain the collapses, the first is assigned a filling process in the cavities, and the second is due to a weakening of the resistance that collapses limestone slab shear phenomenon. In urban areas, the weight of the buildings has increased the load on the limestone slab and accelerated the collapse. The analysis of the environmental process is in the context of our modest work, after which we indicate the appropriate methods for management policy of urban expansion. This management more preventive (upstream), much less expensive than remedial solutions (downstream) needed after the event and sometimes ineffective.

Keywords: Cheria, urban, climate variability, vulnerability karst collapse, extension, management

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Authors: Khiara Claudine C. Carbonel, Patricia Joy A. Canapi, Tracy Gabriella M. Canlas, Teresa Zaine C. Canseco, Reena Marie A. Capistrano, Vernon A. Carandang, Carlo G. Ranoco

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Research problem: The main problem of the study was to determine the effect of Projecting the Reflection of the Individual’s Self-esteem (PRIDE) therapy on the level of self-esteem of physically challenged adolescents. Objectives of the Study: The study determined the effect of PRIDE (Projecting the Reflection of the Individuals Self-esteem) therapy on the level of self-esteem among physically challenged adolescents. Methodology: A quasi-experimental study was used which involved 30 randomly-assigned subjects, 15 in the experimental group and 15 in the control group. The Projecting the reflection of the Individuals’ Self-Esteem (PRDIE) therapy was administered to the experimental group. The researchers utilized the Sorensen Self-Esteem test tool as a pretest and posttest questionnaire and yielded a Cronbach’s alpha of .912. Paired T-test was used to analyze the gathered data. Results: The results showed that after the administration of PRIDE therapy, there was an increase on the level of self-esteem. The experimental group had a value of 3.590, which was significant and meant that the level of self-esteem is significantly increased. On the other hand, the control group, had a value of -2.207 which was also significant, therefore, the level of self esteem significantly decreased. Conclusion: the PRIDE Therapy is effective in increasing the level of self-esteem among physically challenged adolescent. Recommendations: The researchers recommend the use of PRIDE Therapy as an intervention in handling physically challenged patients, especially adolescents, in order to enhance their self-esteem. Also, the researchers recommend that nursing students be informed on the efficacy of PRIDE Therapy in enhancing the self-esteem of physically challenged patients. Furthermore, the inclusion of a psychologist during the implementation of PRIDE Therapy, specifically art therapy, to be able to have a more focused interpretation of the drawings and really be able to see the projection of their self-esteem is also recommended.

Keywords: PRIDE therapy, physically challenged adolescents, self-esteem, art therapy

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Authors: Z. Dedovets, M. Rodionov

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The goal of the modern education system is to prepare students to be able to adapt to ever-changing life situations. They must be able to acquire required knowledge independently; apply such knowledge in practice to solve various problems by using modern technologies; think critically and creatively; competently use information; be communicative, work in a team; and develop their own moral values, intellect and cultural awareness. As a result, the status of education significantly increases; new requirements to its quality have been formed. In recent years, the competency-based approach in education has become of significant interest. This approach is a strengthening of applied and practical characteristics of a school education and leads to the forming of the key students’ competencies which define their success in future life. In this article, the authors’ attention focuses on a range of key competencies, educational, informational and communicative and on the possibility to develop such competencies via STEM education. This research shows the change in students’ attitude towards scientific disciplines such as mathematics, general science, technology and engineering as a result of STEM education. Two-staged analyzes questionnaires completed by students of forms II to IV in the republic of Trinidad and Tobago allowed the authors to categorize students between two levels that represent students’ attitude to various disciplines. The significance of differences between selected levels was confirmed with the use of Pearsons’ chi-squared test. In summary, the analysis of obtained data makes it possible to conclude that STEM education has a great potential for development of core students’ competencies and encourages the development of positive student attitude towards the above mentioned above scientific disciplines.

Keywords: STEM, science, technology, engineering, mathematics, students’ competency, Pearson's chi-squared test

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Authors: Kamal KC, Zhendong Yin, Dasen Li, Zhilu Wu

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Intra-plant disease classification based on leaf images is a challenging computer vision task due to similarities in texture, color, and shape of leaves with a slight variation of leaf spot; and external environmental changes such as lighting and background noises. Deep convolutional neural network (DCNN) has proven to be an effective tool for binary classification. In this paper, two methods for binary classification of diseased plant leaves using DCNN are presented; model created from scratch and transfer learning. Our main contribution is a thorough evaluation of 4 networks created from scratch and transfer learning of 5 pre-trained models. Training and testing of these models were performed on a plant leaf images dataset belonging to 16 distinct classes, containing a total of 22,265 images from 8 different plants, consisting of a pair of healthy and diseased leaves. We introduce a deep CNN model, Optimized MobileNet. This model with depthwise separable CNN as a building block attained an average test accuracy of 99.77%. We also present a fine-tuning method by introducing the concept of a convolutional block, which is a collection of different deep neural layers. Fine-tuned models proved to be efficient in terms of accuracy and computational cost. Fine-tuned MobileNet achieved an average test accuracy of 99.89% on 8 pairs of [healthy, diseased] leaf ImageSet.

Keywords: deep convolution neural network, depthwise separable convolution, fine-grained classification, MobileNet, plant disease, transfer learning

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Authors: Oyebade K. Oyedotun

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The cardiotocogram is a technical recording of the heartbeat rate and uterine contractions of a fetus during pregnancy. During pregnancy, several complications can occur to both the mother and the fetus; hence it is very crucial that medical experts are able to find technical means to check the healthiness of the mother and especially the fetus. It is very important that the fetus develops as expected in stages during the pregnancy period; however, the task of monitoring the health status of the fetus is not that which is easily achieved as the fetus is not wholly physically available to medical experts for inspection. Hence, doctors have to resort to some other tests that can give an indication of the status of the fetus. One of such diagnostic test is to obtain cardiotocograms of the fetus. From the analysis of the cardiotocograms, medical experts can determine the status of the fetus, and therefore necessary medical interventions. Generally, medical experts classify examined cardiotocograms into ‘normal’, ‘suspect’, or ‘pathological’. This work presents an artificial neural network based decision support system which can filter cardiotocograms data, producing the corresponding statuses of the fetuses. The capability of artificial neural network to explore the cardiotocogram data and learn features that distinguish one class from the others has been exploited in this research. In this research, feedforward and radial basis neural networks were trained on a publicly available database to classify the processed cardiotocogram data into one of the three classes: ‘normal’, ‘suspect’, or ‘pathological’. Classification accuracies of 87.8% and 89.2% were achieved during the test phase of the trained network for the feedforward and radial basis neural networks respectively. It is the hope that while the system described in this work may not be a complete replacement for a medical expert in fetus status evaluation, it can significantly reinforce the confidence in medical diagnosis reached by experts.

Keywords: decision support, cardiotocogram, classification, neural networks

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Authors: B. Philip, J. Littlewood, R. Radford, N. Evans, T. Whyman, D. P. Jones

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UK buildings and energy infrastructures are heavily dependent on natural gas, a large proportion of which is used for domestic space heating. However, approximately half of the gas consumed in the UK is imported. Improving energy security and reducing carbon emissions are major government drivers for reducing gas dependency. In order to do so there needs to be a wholesale shift in the energy provision to householders without impacting on thermal comfort levels, convenience or cost of supply to the end user. Heat pumps are seen as a potential alternative in modern well insulated homes, however, can the same be said of older homes? A large proportion of housing stock in Britain was built prior to 1919. The age of the buildings bears testimony to the quality of construction; however, their thermal performance falls far below the minimum currently set by UK building standards. In recent years significant sums of money have been invested to improve energy efficiency and combat fuel poverty in some of the most deprived areas of Wales. Increasing energy efficiency of older properties remains a significant challenge, which cannot be achieved through insulation and air-tightness interventions alone, particularly when alterations to historically important architectural features of the building are not permitted. This paper investigates the energy demand of pre-1919 dwellings in a former Welsh mining village, the feasibility of meeting that demand using water from the disused mine workings to supply a district heat network and potential barriers to success of the scheme. The use of renewable solar energy generation and storage technologies, both thermal and electrical, to reduce the load and offset increased electricity demand, are considered. A wholistic surveying approach to provide a more accurate assessment of total household heat demand is proposed. Several surveying techniques, including condition surveys, air permeability, heat loss calculations, and thermography were employed to provide a clear picture of energy demand. Additional insulation can bring unforeseen consequences which are detrimental to the fabric of the building, potentially leading to accelerated dilapidation of the asset being ‘protected’. Increasing ventilation should be considered in parallel, to compensate for the associated reduction in uncontrolled infiltration. The effectiveness of thermal performance improvements are demonstrated and the detrimental effects of incorrect material choice and poor installation are highlighted. The findings show estimated heat demand to be in close correlation to household energy bills. Major areas of heat loss were identified such that improvements to building thermal performance could be targeted. The findings demonstrate that the use of heat pumps in older buildings is viable, provided sufficient improvement to thermal performance is possible. Addition of passive solar thermal and photovoltaic generation can help reduce the load and running cost for the householder. The results were used to predict future heat demand following energy efficiency improvements, thereby informing the size of heat pumps required.

Keywords: heat demand, heat pump, renewable energy, retrofit

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Authors: Gokcen Akyurek, Hulya Kayihan, Deniz Yuce, Selen Yilmaz

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The stigma towards mental illness is still very rooted in our society, despite the number of studies, campaigns, and anti-stigma programs developed in recent years. Stigma represents a serious obstacle to recovery and social integration for people who experience a mental illness, affecting directly their well-being and quality of life. It implies that these persons have to deal with many other barriers apart from the disease symptoms (1-5). Convergent, recent literature suggests that less positive attitudes by mental health professionals interfere with the self-determination and recovery process (4-10).The aim of this study was to translate the Attribution Questionnaire-27 (AQ-27) to the Turkish language (AQ-27-T), and to examine the reliability and validity of this new Turkish version. Cultural adaptation was implemented according to the internationally suggested method. To determine the understandability and appropriateness of this measure for the Turkish culture, a pretest was administered and the final form was generated. Then, 424 randomly chosen people took part in the study. Participant’s mean age was 36.9±12.7 years and %52 of them female. Cronbach's alpha and intra-class coefficients were used to estimate instrument reliability. The AQ-27-T was assessed again 14 days later for test retest reliability. The AQ-27-T demonstrated acceptable internal consistency, with a Cronbach's alpha of 0.88 for the total scale and ranging between 0.86 and 0.89 for the items. The test-retest reliability was good, with Pearson correlation coefficients of 0.79 for the total scale and ranging between 0.35 and 0.77 for the items (p<0.05). Correlation between subscales was moderate-good, with Pearson correlation coefficients of 0.18-0.88 (p<0.05). Fit indices of the model supported the factor structure and paths. The AQ-27-T is a reliable measure to assess stigmatizing attitudes in Turkish.

Keywords: attribution questionnaire, validity, reliability, stigma

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Authors: Santosh Kumar Yadav, Shobha Keswani, Nishat Quddus, Sohrab Ahmad Khan, Zuheb Ahmad Shiddiqui, Varsha Chorsiya

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Introduction: Early onset diabetes is more aggressive than the late onset diabetes. Diabetic individual has a greater spectrum of life period to suffer from its damage, complications, and long-term disability. This study aimed at assessing knee joint muscle performance under various durations of diabetes. Method and Materials: A total of 30 diabetic subjects (18 male and 12 females) without diabetic neuropathy were included for the study. They were divided into three groups with 5 years, 10 years and 15 years of duration of disease each. Muscle performance was evaluated through strength and flexibility. Peak torque for quadriceps muscle was measured using isokinetic dynamometer. Flexibility for quadriceps and hamstring muscles were measured through Ducan’s Elys test and 90/90 test. Results: The result showed significant difference in muscle strength (p<0.05), flexibility (p≤0.05) between groups. Discussion: Optimal muscle strength and flexibility are vital for musculoskeletal health and functional independence. Conclusion: The reduced muscle performance and functional impairment in nonneuropathic diabetic patients suggest that other mechanism besides neuropathy that contribute to altered biomechanics. These findings of this study project early management of these altered parameters through disease-specific physical therapy and assessment-based intervention. Clinical Relevance: Managing disability is more costly than managing disease. Prompt and timely identification and management strategy can dramatically reduce the cost of care for diabetic patients.

Keywords: muscle flexibility, muscle performance, muscle torque, type 2 diabetes

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Authors: Meiyuan Zheng, Jingwu He, Yuexi Xiong

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A universal multi-function leaf spring main landing gear was designed for light aircraft. The main landing gear combined with the leaf spring, skidding, and wheels enables it to have a good takeoff and landing performance on various grounds such as the hard, snow, grass and sand grounds. Firstly, the characteristics of different landing sites were studied in this paper in order to analyze the load of the main landing gear on different types of grounds. Based on this analysis, the structural design optimization along with the strength and stiffness characteristics of the main landing gear has been done, which enables it to have good takeoff and landing performance on different types of grounds given the relevant regulations and standards. Additionally, the impact of the skidding on the aircraft during the flight was also taken into consideration. Finally, a universal multi-function leaf spring type of the main landing gear suitable for light aircraft has been developed.

Keywords: landing gear, multi-function, leaf spring, skidding

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Authors: Rajalaxmi N., Padma Bhat, Pooja Garag, Pooja N. M., V. S. Hombalimath

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Microbial fuel cell (MFC) is the advancement of science that aims at utilizing the oxidizing potential of bacteria for wastewater treatment and production of bio-hydrogen and bio-electricity. Salt-bridge is the economic alternative to highly priced proton-exchange membrane in the construction of a microbial fuel cell. This paper studies the electricity generating capacity of E.coli and Clostridium sporogenes in microbial fuel cells (MFCs). Unlike most of MFC research, this targets the long term goals of renewable energy production and wastewater treatment. In present study the feasibility and potential of bioelectricity production from different wastewater was observed. Different wastewater was primarily treated which were confirmed by the COD tests which showed reduction of COD. We observe that the electricity production of MFCs decreases almost linearly after 120 hrs. The sewage wastewater containing Clostridium sporogenes showed bioelectricity production up to 188mV with COD removal of 60.52%. Sewage wastewater efficiently produces bioelectricity and this also helpful to reduce wastewater pollution load.

Keywords: microbial fuel cell, bioelectricity, wastewater, salt bridge, COD

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Authors: Lapatrada Numkham, Saowaluk Khakhong, Jeeraporn Kummabutr

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Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are the leading cause of death in worldwide. Thailand also concerns and focuses on reduction a new case of these diseases. Community Health Volunteers (CHV) is important health personnel in primary health care and performs as a health leader in the community. If the health of CHV changes, it would impact on the performance to promote health of families and community. This cross-sectional study aimed to 1) describe the health status of community health volunteers and 2) examine the factors associated with health status among community health volunteers. The sample included 360 community health volunteers in a province in central Thailand during September-December 2014. Data were collected using questionnaires on health information, knowledge of health behaviors, and health behaviors. Body weight, height, waist circumference (WC), blood pressure (BP), and blood glucose (BS) (fingertip) were assessed. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and chi-square test. There were three hundred and sixty participants with 82.5% being women. The mean age was 54 + 8.9 years. Forty-seven percent of the participants had co-morbidities. Hypertension was the most common co-morbidity (26.7%). The results revealed that the health status of the volunteers included: no underlying disease, having risk of hypertension (HT) & diabetes mellitus (DM), and having HT&DM at 38.3%, 30.0%, and 31.7% respectively. The chi-square test revealed that the factors associated with health status among the volunteers were gender, age, WC and body mass index (BMI). The results suggested that community health nurses should; 1) implement interventions to decrease waist circumference and lose weight through education programs, especially females; 2) monitor people that have a risk of HT&DM and that have HT&DM by meeting and recording BP level, BS level, WC and BMI; and 3) collaborate with a district public health officer to initiate a campaign to raise awareness of the risks of chronic diseases among community health volunteers.

Keywords: community health volunteers, health status, risk of non-communicable disease, Thailand

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Authors: Ritu Raj, Hrishikesh Dubey

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This paper presents the results of the experimental investigations carried out on two intricate plan shaped buildings to evaluate aerodynamic performance of the building. The purpose is to study the associated environment arising due to wind forces in isolated and interference conditions on a model of scale 1:300 with a prototype having 180m height. Experimental tests were carried out at the boundary layer wind tunnel considering isolated conditions with 0° to 180° isolated wind directions and four interference conditions of twin building (separately for both the models). The research has been undertaken in Terrain Category-II, which is the most widely available terrain in India. A comparative assessment of the two models is performed out in an attempt to comprehend the various consequences of diverse conditions that may emerge in real-life situations, as well as the discrepancies amongst them. Experimental results of wind pressure coefficients of Model-1 and Model-2 shows good agreement with various wind incidence conditions with minute difference in the magnitudes of mean Cp. On the basis of wind tunnel studies, it is distinguished that the performance of Model-2 is better than Model-1in both isolated as well as interference conditions for all wind incidences and orientations respectively.

Keywords: interference factor, tall buildings, wind direction, mean pressure-coefficients

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Authors: Victor William Harris

Abstract:

Objective. This study examined the impact of the Positive Behavioral Management Skills (PBMS) online educational program on participants (n = 624) in a Southeastern region of the United States. The PBMS program incorporates established positive psychology behavioral management principles with new research-based practices designed to promote healthy and satisfying relationships between adults and children while constructively managing and preventing problematic behavior. Additionally, the PBMS program assists parents and teachers in recognizing the motivations behind a wide range of misbehaviors. The program also offers to forewarn some of the most common mistakes (or “parent traps”) in child behavioral management and describes how they can be avoided. It also describes how to recognize and capitalize on “teachable moments,” which are indispensable in the developmental process. Design. A retrospective-pre-test-then-post-test design was used to reduce response shift bias when assessing knowledge and skill intervention outcomes for twenty-two behavioral management variables. Results. The PBMS program was shown to be effective for increasing knowledge and skills related to managing misbehavior while reinforcing interpersonal relationships and fostering a sense of responsibility and capability within the child. Large standardized mean effect size changes from before to after program intervention was documented for PBMS participants on all twenty-two variables studied. Conclusion. The PBMS program showed initial positive outcomes to assist participants in the sample studied to increase their knowledge and skills in managing child behavior successfully. Implications for parents, educators and practitioners are discussed.

Keywords: behavioral management, discipline, parent education, positive parenting, positive psychology-parenting

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Authors: Pegah Farokhzad

Abstract:

Family has a crucial role in maintaining the physical, social and mental health of the children. Most of the mental and anxiety problems of children reflects the complex interpersonal situations among family members, especially parents. In other words, anxiety problems of the children is correlated with deficit relationships of family members and improper child rearing styles. The parental child rearing styles leads to positive and negative consequences which affect the children’s mental health. Therefore, the present research was aimed to compare the parental child rearing styles and anxiety of children with stuttering and normal population. It was also aimed to study the relationship between parental child rearing styles and anxiety of children. The research sample included 54 boys with stuttering and 54 normal boys who were selected from the children (boys) of Tehran, Iran in the age range of 5 to 8 years in 2013. In order to collect data, Baumrind Child rearing Styles Inventory and Spence Parental Anxiety Inventory were used. Appropriate descriptive statistical methods and multivariate variance analysis and t test for independent groups were used to test the study hypotheses. Statistical data analyses demonstrated that there was a significant difference between stuttering boys and normal boys in anxiety (t = 7.601, p< 0.01); But there was no significant difference between stuttering boys and normal boys in parental child rearing styles (F = 0.129). There was also not found significant relationship between parental child rearing styles and children anxiety (F = 0.135, p< 0.05). It can be concluded that the influential factors of children’s society are parents, school, teachers, peers and media. So, parental child rearing styles are not the only influential factors on anxiety of children, and other factors including genetic, environment and child experiences are effective in anxiety as well. Details are discussed.

Keywords: child rearing styles, anxiety, stuttering, Iran

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Authors: Preeti Gacche

Abstract:

A considerable part of undergraduate level English Examination papers is devoted to grammar. Hence the grammar questions in the question papers are evaluated and the opinions of both students and teachers about them are obtained and analyzed. A grammar test of 100 marks is administered to 43 students to check their performance. The question papers have been evaluated by 10 different teachers and their scores compared. The analysis of 38 University question papers reveals that on an average 20 percent marks are allotted to grammar. Almost all the grammar topics are tested. Abundant use of grammatical terminology is observed in the questions. Decontextualization, repetition, possibility of multiple correct answers and grammatical errors in framing the questions have been observed. Opinions of teachers and students about grammar questions vary in many respects. The students responses are analyzed medium-wise and sex-wise. The Medium at the School level and the sex of the students are found to play no role as far as interest in the study of grammar is concerned. English medium students solve grammar questions intuitively whereas non-English medium students are required to recollect the rules of grammar. Prepositions, Verbs, Articles and Model auxiliaries are found to be easy topics for most students whereas the use of conjunctions is the most difficult topic. Out of context items of grammar are difficult to answer in comparison with contextualized items of grammar. Hence contextualized texts to test grammar items are desirable. No formal training in setting questions is imparted to teachers by the competent authorities like the University. They need to be trained in testing. Statistically there is no significant change of score with the change in the rater in testing of grammar items. There is scope of future improvement. The question papers need to be evaluated and feedback needs to be obtained from students and teachers for future improvement.

Keywords: context, evaluation, grammar, tests

Procedia PDF Downloads 336

Authors: Shweta Pinjarkar, Shrutika Yawale, Mayuri Patil, Reshma Adagale

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Face recognition is the technique which can be applied to the wide variety of problems like image and film processing, human computer interaction, criminal identification etc. This has motivated researchers to develop computational models to identify the faces, which are easy and simple to implement. In this, demonstrates the face recognition system in android device using eigenface. The system can be used as the base for the development of the recognition of human identity. Test images and training images are taken directly with the camera in android device.The test results showed that the system produces high accuracy. The goal is to implement model for particular face and distinguish it with large number of stored faces. face recognition system detects the faces in picture taken by web camera or digital camera and these images then checked with training images dataset based on descriptive features. Further this algorithm can be extended to recognize the facial expressions of a person.recognition could be carried out under widely varying conditions like frontal view,scaled frontal view subjects with spectacles. The algorithm models the real time varying lightning conditions. The implemented system is able to perform real-time face detection, face recognition and can give feedback giving a window with the subject's info from database and sending an e-mail notification to interested institutions using android application. Face recognition is the technique which can be applied to the wide variety of problems like image and film processing, human computer interaction, criminal identification etc. This has motivated researchers to develop computational models to identify the faces, which are easy and simple to implement. In this , demonstrates the face recognition system in android device using eigenface. The system can be used as the base for the development of the recognition of human identity. Test images and training images are taken directly with the camera in android device.The test results showed that the system produces high accuracy. The goal is to implement model for particular face and distinguish it with large number of stored faces. face recognition system detects the faces in picture taken by web camera or digital camera and these images then checked with training images dataset based on descriptive features. Further this algorithm can be extended to recognize the facial expressions of a person.recognition could be carried out under widely varying conditions like frontal view,scaled frontal view subjects with spectacles. The algorithm models the real time varying lightning conditions. The implemented system is able to perform real-time face detection, face recognition and can give feedback giving a window with the subject's info from database and sending an e-mail notification to interested institutions using android application.

Keywords: face detection, face recognition, eigen faces, algorithm

Procedia PDF Downloads 342