Search results for: visual improvement

Authors: Ayala Amir

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The paper presents interdisciplinary research which draws on the literary study and the cultural study of photography to explore a literary genre defined by nostalgia – the photographed book for children. This genre, which was popular in the second half of the 20th century, presents the romantic, nostalgic image of childhood created in the visual arts in the 18th century (as suggested by Ann Higonnet). At the same time, it capitalizes on the nostalgia inherent in the event of photography as formulated by Jennifer Green-Lewis: photography frames a moment in the present while transforming it into a past longed for in the future. Unlike Freudian melancholy, nostalgia is an effect that enables representation by acknowledging the loss and containing it in the very experience of the object. The representation and preservation of the lost object (nature, childhood, innocence) are in the center of the genre of children's photography books – a modern version of ancient pastoral. In it, the unique synergia of word and image results in a nostalgic image of childhood in an era already conquered by modernization. The nostalgic effect works both in the representation of space – an Edenic image of nature already shadowed by its demise, and of time – an image of childhood imbued by what Gill Bartholnyes calls the "looking backward aesthetics" – under the sign of loss. Little critical attention has been devoted to this genre with the exception of the work of Bettina Kümmerling-Meibauer, who noted the nostalgic effect of the well-known series of photography books by Astrid Lindgren and Anna Riwkin-Brick. This research aims to elaborate Kümmerling-Meibauer's approach using the theories of the study of photography, word-image studies, as well as current studies of childhood. The theoretical perspectives are implemented in the case study of photography books created in one of the most innovative social structures in our time – the Israeli Kibbutz. This communal way of life designed a society where children will experience their childhood in a parentless rural environment that will save them from the fate of the Oedipal fall. It is suggested that in documenting these children in a fictional format, photographers and writers, images and words cooperated in creating nostalgic works situated on the border between nature and culture, imagination and reality, utopia and its realization in history.

Keywords: nostalgia, photography , childhood, children's books, kibutz

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Authors: Basavaraj Kabade, K. T. Nagaraja, Swathi Ramanathan, A. Veeraragavan, P. S. Reashma

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Deteriorating quality of the pedestrian environment and the increasing risk of pedestrian crashes are major concerns for most of the cities in India. The recent shift in the priority to motorized transport and the abating condition of existing pedestrian facilities can be considered as prime reasons for the increasing pedestrian related crashes in India. Bengaluru City – the IT capital hub of the nation is not much different from this. The increase in number of pedestrian crashes in Bengaluru reflects the same. To resolve this issue and to ensure safe, sustainable and pedestrian friendly sidewalks, Govt. of Karnataka, India has implemented newfangled pedestrian sidewalks popularized programme named Tender S.U.R.E. (Specifications for Urban Road Execution) projects. Tender SURE adopts unique urban street design guidelines where the pedestrians are given prime preference. The present study presents an assessment of the quality and performance of the pedestrian side walk and the walkability index of the newly built pedestrian friendly sidewalks. Various physical and environmental factors affecting pedestrian safety are identified and studied in detail. The pedestrian mobility is quantified through Pedestrian Level of Service (PLoS) and the pedestrian walking comfort is measured by calculating the Walkability Index (WI). It is observed that the new initiatives taken in reference to improving pedestrian safety have succeeded in Bengaluru by attaining a level of Service of ‘A’ and with a good WI score.

Keywords: pedestrian safety, pedestrian level of service (PLoS), Right of Way (RoW), Tender S.U.R.E (Specifications for Urban Road Execution), walkability index (WI), walkway facilities

Procedia PDF Downloads 180

Authors: Ibrahim A. Alhammad, Suleiman A. Al-Otaibi, Khalid S. Al-Gahtani, Naïf Al-Otaibi, Abdulaziz A. Bubshait

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In the last decade, the use of project delivery system of design build engineering contracts is increasing in North America due to the reasons of reducing the project duration and minimizing costs. The shift from traditional approach of Design-Bid-Build to Design-Build contracts have been attributed to many factors such as evolution of the regulatory and legal frameworks governing the engineering contracts and improvement in integrating design and construction. The aforementioned practice of contracting is more appropriate in North America; yet, it may not be the case in Saudi Arabia where the traditional approach of construction contracting remains dominant. The authors believe there are number of factors related to the gaps in the level of sophistication of the engineering and management of the construction projects in both countries. A step towards improving the Saudi construction practice by adopting the new trend of construction contracting, this paper identifies the reasons why Design/Build form of contracting are not frequently utilized. A field survey, which includes the questionnaire addressing the research problem, is distributed to three main parties of the construction contracts: clients, consultants, and contractors. The analyzed collected data were statistically sufficient to finding the reasons of not adopting the new trend of good practice of deign build approach in Saudi Arabia. In addition, the reasons are: (1) lack of regulation and legal framework; (2) absence of clear criteria of the owner for the trade-off between competing contractors, (3) and lack of experience, knowledge and skill.

Keywords: design built projects, Saudi Arabia, GCC, mega projects

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Authors: Silvia Arrate, Waldo Salud, Eloy París

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The wear of cutting tools is one of the most decisive elements when planning tunneling works, programming the maintenance stops and saving the optimum stock of spare parts during the evolution of the excavation. Being able to predict the behavior of cutting tools can give a very competitive advantage in terms of costs and excavation performance, optimized to the needs of the TBM itself. The incredible evolution of data science in recent years gives the option to implement it at the time of analyzing the key and most critical parameters related to machinery with the purpose of knowing how the cutting head is performing in front of the excavated ground. Taking this as a case study, Metro Line 3 of Guadalajara in Mexico will develop the feasibility of using Specific Energy versus data science applied over parameters of Torque, Penetration, and Contact Force, among others, to predict the behavior and status of cutting tools. The results obtained through both techniques are analyzed and verified in the function of the wear and the field situations observed in the excavation in order to determine its effectiveness regarding its predictive capacity. In conclusion, the possibilities and improvements offered by the application of digital tools and the programming of calculation algorithms for the analysis of wear of cutting head elements compared to purely empirical methods allow early detection of possible damage to cutting tools, which is reflected in optimization of excavation performance and a significant improvement in costs and deadlines.

Keywords: cutting tools, data science, prediction, TBM, wear

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Authors: Trung Le Thanh

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Bored piles are always the optimal solution for high-rise building foundations. They have many advantages, such as large diameter, large pile length and construction in all different geological conditions. However, due to construction characteristics, the load-bearing capacity of bored piles is not optimal because wall friction is reduced due to poor contact between the pile and the surrounding soil. Therefore, grouting technology along the pile body helps improve the load-bearing capacity of bored piles significantly through increasing the skin resistance of the pile and surrounding soil. The improvement of pile skin resistance depends on the parameters of grouting technology, especially grouting volume, mortar viscosity, mortar strength,... and different geological conditions. Studies show that the technology of grouting piles on sandy soil is more effective than on clay. This article presents an experimental model to determine the load-bearing capacity of bored piles with a diameter of 400 mm and a length of 3 m on sand with different slurry volume in Tan Uyen city, Binh Duong province. On that basis, analyze the correlation between the increase in load-bearing capacity of bored piles without and with shaft grouting pile. Research results show that the wall resistance of shaft grouted piles increases 2-3 times compared to piles without grouting, and the pile's load-bearing capacity increases significantly. The article's research provides scientific value for consulting work on the design of bored piles when grouted along the pile body.

Keywords: bored pile, shaft grouting, bearing capacity, pile shaft resistance

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Authors: Yasir Karabacak

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Objective: The aim of periodontal therapy is to control and eliminate inflammation in order halt disease progression. The initial periodontal therapy (IPT) including scaling and root planing (SRP) can control periodontal disease in most cases of periodontitis; also maintaining good oral hygiene by the patient is fundamental. The aim of this case report is to present IPT and to present 3-month follow-up results in a patient with periodontitis. Materials and Methods IPT of a 63-year-old non-smoker male with generalized periodontitis is presented. The patient had no history of systemic disease. The intraoral examination reveals marked gingival inflammation as well as plaque accumulation and significant calculus deposits. On radiographic examination, severe bone loss was evident. The patient was diagnosed with generalized advanced periodontitis. Initial periodontal therapy including oral hygiene instructions and quadrant-based SRP under local anesthesia was performed using hand and ultrasonic instruments. No antibiotics were prescribed. The patient was recalled 4 weeks after IPT. Results Favorable clinical improvement was obtained. Gingival inflammation was resolved significantly. A reduction of the mean probing depth from 2.4 mm at baseline to 1.9 mm was observed. The patient presented with a good standard of oral hygiene. The plaque scores decreased from 54.0% at baseline to 17.0%. In addition, the percentage of sites with bleeding on probing decreased from 80.0% at baseline to 44.0%. The patient was scheduled for maintenance therapy every three months. Conclusion: The level of oral hygiene has a great impact on periodontal treatment outcome and supports periodontal therapy properly.

Keywords: initial periodontal, therapy and follow-up in a periodontitis, patient, a case report

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Authors: Kldiashvili Ekaterina, Burduli Archil, Ghortlishvili Gocha

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Introduction – Medical information system (MIS) is at the heart of information technology (IT) implementation policies in healthcare systems around the world. Different architecture and application models of MIS are developed. Despite of obvious advantages and benefits, application of MIS in everyday practice is slow. Objective - On the background of analysis of the existing models of MIS in Georgia has been created a multi-user web-based approach. This presentation will present the architecture of the system and its application for image based second opinion consultations. Methods – The MIS has been created with .Net technology and SQL database architecture. It realizes local (intranet) and remote (internet) access to the system and management of databases. The MIS is fully operational approach, which is successfully used for medical data registration and management as well as for creation, editing and maintenance of the electronic medical records (EMR). Five hundred Georgian language electronic medical records from the cervical screening activity illustrated by images were selected for second opinion consultations. Results – The primary goal of the MIS is patient management. However, the system can be successfully applied for image based second opinion consultations. Discussion – The ideal of healthcare in the information age must be to create a situation where healthcare professionals spend more time creating knowledge from medical information and less time managing medical information. The application of easily available and adaptable technology and improvement of the infrastructure conditions is the basis for eHealth applications. Conclusion - The MIS is perspective and actual technology solution. It can be successfully and effectively used for image based second opinion consultations.

Keywords: digital images, medical information system, second opinion consultations, electronic medical record

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Authors: Angelika Dierolf, K. Rischer, A. Gonzalez-Roldan, P. Montoya, F. Anton, M. Van der Meulen

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Placebo analgesia is a powerful cognitive endogenous pain modulation mechanism with high relevance in pain treatment. Older people would benefit, especially from non-pharmacologic pain interventions, since this age group is disproportionately affected by acute and chronic pain, while pharmacological treatments are less suitable due to polypharmacy and age-related changes in drug metabolism. Although aging is known to affect neurobiological and physiological aspects of pain perception, as for example, changes in pain threshold and pain tolerance, its effects on cognitive pain modulation strategies, including placebo analgesia, have hardly been investigated so far. In the present study, we are assessing placebo analgesia in 35 older adults (60 years and older) and 35 younger adults (between 18 and 35 years). Acute pain was induced with short transdermal electrical pulses to the inner forearm, using a concentric stimulating electrode. Stimulation intensities were individually adjusted to the participant’s threshold. Next to the stimulation site, we applied sham transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS). Participants were informed that sometimes the TENS device would be switched on (placebo condition), and sometimes it would be switched off (control condition). In reality, it was always switched off. Participants received alternating blocks of painful stimuli in the placebo and control condition and were asked to rate the intensity and unpleasantness of each stimulus on a visual analog scale (VAS). Pain-related evoked potentials were recorded with a 64-channel EEG. Preliminary results show a reduced placebo effect in older compared to younger adults in both behavioral and neurophysiological data. Older people experienced less subjective pain reduction under sham TENS treatment compared to younger adults, as evidenced by the VAS ratings. The N1 and P2 event-related potential components were generally reduced in the older group. While younger adults showed a reduced N1 and P2 under sham TENS treatment, this reduction was considerably smaller in older people. This reduced placebo effect in the older group suggests that cognitive pain modulation is altered in aging and may at least partly explain why older adults experience more pain. Our results highlight the need for a better understanding of the efficacy of non-pharmacological pain treatments in older adults and how these can be optimized to meet the specific requirements of this population.

Keywords: placebo analgesia, aging, acute pain, TENS, EEG

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Authors: Matthew Fleet, Savannah Elliott

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Background: This study investigates the use of teaching and learning to meet the needs of deaf children in the UK PE curriculum. Research has illustrated that deaf students in mainstream schools do not receive sufficient support from teachers in lessons. This research examines the impact of different types of hearing loss and its implications within Physical Education (PE) in secondary schools. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to highlight challenges PE teachers face and make recommendations for more inclusive learning environments for deaf students. The aims and objectives of this research are: to critically analyse the current situation for deaf students accessing the PE curriculum, by identifying barriers deaf students face; to identify the challenges for PE teachers in providing appropriate support for deaf students; to provide recommendations for deaf awareness training, to enhance PE teachers’ understanding and knowledge. Method: Semi-structured interviews collected data from both PE teachers and deaf students, to examine: the support available and coping mechanisms deaf students use when they do not receive support; strategies PE teachers use to provide support for deaf students; areas for improvement and potential strategies PE teachers can apply to their practice. Results & Conclusion: The findings from the study concluded that PE teachers were inconsistent in providing appropriate support for deaf students in PE lessons. Evidence illustrated that PE teachers had limited exposure to deaf awareness training. This impacted on their ability to support deaf students effectively. Communication was a frequent barrier for deaf students, affecting their ability to retain and learn information. Also, the use of assistive technology was found to be compromised in practical PE lessons.

Keywords: physical education, deaf, inclusion, education

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Authors: Surabhi Gautam, Uma Kumar, Rima Dada

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A sustained acute-phase response in Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is associated with increased joint damage and inflammation leading to progressive disability. It is induced continuously by consecutive stimuli of proinflammatory cytokines, following a wide range of pathophysiological reactions, leading to increased synthesis of acute phase proteins like C - reactive protein (CRP) and dysregulation in levels of immunomodulatory soluble Human Leukocyte Antigen-G (HLA-G) molecule. This study was designed to explore the effect of yoga and meditation based lifestyle intervention (YMLI) on inflammatory markers in RA patients. Blood samples of 50 patients were collected at baseline (day 0) and after 30 days of YMLI. Patients underwent a pretested YMLI under the supervision of a certified yoga instructor for 30 days including different Asanas (physical postures), Pranayama (breathing exercises), and Dhayna (meditation). Levels of CRP, IL-6, IL-17A, soluble HLA-G and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) were measured at day 0 and 30 interval. Parameters of disease activity, disability quotient, pain acuity and quality of life were also assessed by disease activity score (DAS28), health assessment questionnaire (HAQ), visual analogue scale (VAS), and World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL-BREF) respectively. There was reduction in mean levels of CRP (p < 0.05), IL-6 (interleukin-6) (p < 0.05), IL-17A (interleukin-17A) (p < 0.05) and ESR (p < 0.05) and elevation in soluble HLA-G (p < 0.05) at 30 days compared to baseline level (day 0). There was reduction seen in DAS28-ESR (p < 0.05), VAS (p < 0.05) and HAQ (p < 0.05) after 30 days with respect to the base line levels (day 0) and significant increase in WHOQOL-BREF scale (p < 0.05) in all 4 domains of physical health, psychological health, social relationships, and environmental health. The present study has demonstrated that yoga practices are associated with regression of inflammatory processes by reducing inflammatory parameters and regulating the levels of soluble HLA-G significantly in active RA patients. Short term YMLI has significantly improved pain perception, disability quotient, disease activity and quality of life. Thus this simple life style intervention can reduce disease severity and dose of drugs used in the treatment of RA.

Keywords: inflammation, quality of life, rheumatoid arthritis, yoga and meditation

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Authors: J. Samuel, S. Al-Enezi, A. Al-Banna

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High-density polyethylene reinforced with carbon nanofibers (HDPE/CNF) have been prepared via melt processing using dialkylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (ionic liquid) as a dispersion agent. The prepared samples were characterized by thermogravimetric (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetric (DSC) analyses. The samples blended with imidazolium ionic liquid exhibit higher thermal stability. DSC analysis showed clear miscibility of ionic liquid in the HDPE matrix and showed single endothermic peak. The melt rheological analysis of HDPE/CNF composites was performed using an oscillatory rheometer. The influence of CNF and ionic liquid concentration (ranging from 0, 0.5, and 1 wt%) on the viscoelastic parameters was investigated at 200 °C with an angular frequency range of 0.1 to 100 rad/s. The rheological analysis shows the shear-thinning behavior for the composites. An improvement in the viscoelastic properties was observed as the nanofiber concentration increases. The progress in the modulus values was attributed to the structural rigidity imparted by the high aspect ratio CNF. The modulus values and complex viscosity of the composites increased significantly at low frequencies. Composites blended with ionic liquid exhibit slightly lower values of complex viscosity and modulus over the corresponding HDPE/CNF compositions. Therefore, reduction in melt viscosity is an additional benefit for polymer composite processing as a result of wetting effect by polymer-ionic liquid combinations.

Keywords: high-density polyethylene, carbon nanofibers, ionic liquid, complex viscosity

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Authors: Jayati Bhattacharjee

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Teaching is a very dynamic profession. Teaching Science is as much challenging as Learning the subject if not more. For instance teaching of Chemistry. From the introductory concepts of subatomic particles to atoms of elements and their symbols and further presenting the chemical equation and so forth is a challenge on both side of the equation Teaching Learning. This paper combines the Neuroscience of Learning and memory with the knowledge of Learning style (VAK) and presents an effective tool for the teacher to authenticate Learning. The model of ‘Working Memory’, the Visio-spatial sketchpad, the central executive and the phonological loop that transforms short-term memory to long term memory actually supports the psychological theory of Learning style i.e. Visual –Auditory-Kinesthetic. A closer examination of David Kolbe’s learning model suggests that learning requires abilities that are polar opposites, and that the learner must continually choose which set of learning abilities he or she will use in a specific learning situation. In grasping experience some of us perceive new information through experiencing the concrete, tangible, felt qualities of the world, relying on our senses and immersing ourselves in concrete reality. Others tend to perceive, grasp, or take hold of new information through symbolic representation or abstract conceptualization – thinking about, analyzing, or systematically planning, rather than using sensation as a guide. Similarly, in transforming or processing experience some of us tend to carefully watch others who are involved in the experience and reflect on what happens, while others choose to jump right in and start doing things. The watchers favor reflective observation, while the doers favor active experimentation. Any lesson plan based on the model of Prescriptive design: C+O=M (C: Instructional condition; O: Instructional Outcome; M: Instructional method). The desired outcome and conditions are independent variables whereas the instructional method is dependent hence can be planned and suited to maximize the learning outcome. The assessment for learning rather than of learning can encourage, build confidence and hope amongst the learners and go a long way to replace the anxiety and hopelessness that a student experiences while learning Science with a human touch in it. Application of this model has been tried in teaching chemistry to high school students as well as in workshops with teachers. The response received has proven the desirable results.

Keywords: working memory model, learning style, prescriptive design, assessment for learning

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Authors: Musa Ogah Ari

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Poverty has engaged the attention of the global community. Both the rich and poor countries are concerned about its prevalence and impacts. This phenomenon is more pervasive among developing countries with the greater challenges manifesting among African countries. In Nigeria people live with very low income, and so decent three-square meals, clothes, shelter and other basic necessities are very difficult to come by for most of the population. Qualitative health facilities are seriously lacking to over 160 million population in the state. Equally lacking are educational and social infrastructures that can be available to the people at affordable rates. Roads linking the interior parts of the state are generally in deplorable conditions, particularly in the rainy season. Safe drinking water is hard to come by as the state is not properly placed and equipped to function in full capacity to serve the interest of the people. The challenges of poverty is definitely enormous for both the national and state governments consequently, debilitating scourge of poverty. As the ruling elites in Nigeria claim to reduce the rising profile of poverty through series of policies and programmes, food production, promotion and funding of co-operatives for agriculture, improvement of infrastructures at the rural areas to guaranteeing employment through skill acquisition, assistance of rural women to break away from poverty and the provision of small scale credit facilities to poor members of the public were abysmally low. It is observed that the poverty alleviation programmes and policies failed because they were by nature, character and implementation pro-elites and anti-masses. None of the programmes or policies engaged the rural poor either in terms of formulation or implementation.

Keywords: the state, poverty, government policies, strategies, social amenities, corruption

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Authors: Mehrdad Kamali-Sanzighi, Maziar Kamali-sanzighi

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Effect of waste date meal (WDM) addition to the diet on body chemical composition and fatty acids profile of fingerling cyprinus carpio were evaluated. Four treatments with 3 replication such as control treatment (no additional WDM; T1), 5% WDM (50 gr/kg; T2), 10% WDM (100 gr/kg; T3) and 15% WDM (150 gr/kg; T4) were done. 168 fish with initial weight of 2.48±0.06 gr were fed 3 times per day according to 5 % of fish body weight for 12 weeks. The body composition results showed that there is no significant differences between treatments (P>0.05). All of Fatty acids profile parameters show significant differences between different treatments (P<0.05). Although, the highest value of MUFA+PUFA, PUFA/SFA, MUFA+PUFA/SFA, W3, EPA+DHA parameters belong to control treatment (T1) and 5% WDM treatment (T2) had lowest value of MUFA, PUFA, MUFA+PUFA, PUFA/SFA, MUFA+PUFA/SFA, W3, W3/W6, DHA/EPA and EPA+DHA parameters except of SFA and W6/W3 that show highest value than other treatments. Atherogenic index (AI) had no significant differences between different treatments (P>0.05) but Thrombogenic index (TI) had significant differences between different experimental treatments (P<0.05). The 5% WDM and control treatment show highest and lowest values. Generally, treatments of 10 and 15% WDM (T3-T4) had moderate performance than the other experimental treatments. Finally, addition of WDM to common carp fingerlings diets help to insignificant improvement of chemical body composition and the saturated and unsaturated fatty acids profile of them were significant.

Keywords: waste, date, common carp, nutrition value

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Authors: Ajay Kumar Singh, Arvind Kumar, S. P. Singh

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Cellulose nanofibrils (CNF) have shown potential of their extensive use in various fields, including papermaking, due to their unique characteristics. In this study, CNF’s were prepared by fibrillating the pulp obtained from raw materials e.g. bagasse, hardwood and softwood using enzymatic pretreatment followed by mechanical refining. These nanofibrils, when examined under FE-SEM, show that partial fibrillation on fiber surface has resulted in production of nanofibers. Mixing these nanofibers with the unrefined and normally refined fibers show their reinforcing effect. This effect is manifested in observing the improvement in the physical and mechanical properties e.g. tensile index and burst index of paper. Tear index, however, was observed to decrease on blending with nanofibers. The optical properties of paper sheets made from blended fibers showed no significant change in comparison to those made from only mechanically refined pulp. Mixing of normal pulp fibers with nanofibers show increase in ºSR and consequent decrease in drainage rate. These changes observed in mechanical, optical and other physical properties of the paper sheets made from nanofibrils blended pulp have been tried to explain considering the distribution of the nanofibrils alongside microfibrils in the fibrous network. Since usually, paper/boards with higher strength are observed to have diminished optical properties which is a drawback in their quality, the present work has the potential for developing paper/boards having improved strength alongwith undiminished optical properties utilising the concepts of nanoscience and nanotechnology.

Keywords: enzymatic pretreatment, mechanical refining, nanofibrils, paper properties

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Authors: John-Nelson Ekumah, Xu Han, Qiufang Liang, Benxi Wei, Arif Rashid, Muhammad Safiullah, Abdul Qayum, Selorm Yao-Say Solomon Adade, Nana Adwoa Nkuma Johnson, Abdur Rehman, Xiaofeng Ren

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Producing starch gels with superior mechanical attributes remains a challenging pursuit. This research sought to develop a simple method using ethanol exposure to produce robust starch gels. The gels’ mechanical properties, rheology, structural characteristics, and digestion were assessed through textural, rheological, structural, and in vitro digestion analyses. it investigation revealed an improvement in gel’s strength from 62.22 to178.82 g. The thermal transitions were accelerated when ethanol was elevated. The exposure to ethanol resulted in a reduction in syneresis from 11% to 9.5% over a period of 6 hours with noticeable change in size and color. Rheologically, the dominating storage modulus and tan delta (<0.55) emphasized the gel’s improved elasticity. X-ray analysis showed a stable B + V-type pattern after ethanol exposure, with increasing relative crystallinity to 7.9%. Digestibility revealed an ethanol induced resistance, through increased resistant starch from 1.87 to 8.73%. In general, the exposure to ethanol played a crucial role in enhancing the mechanical characteristics of kudzu starch gels, while simultaneously preserving higher levels of resistant starch fractions. These findings have wide-ranging implications in the fields of food and pharmaceuticals, underscoring the extensive academic and industrial importance of this study.

Keywords: kudzu starch gels, mechanical properties, rheological properties, submerged ethanol exposure, In vitro digestion

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Authors: Rajkumar Ghosh

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The study presents an overview of the many uses and approaches for estimating out-of-sequence thrust movement in earthquake mitigation. The study investigates how knowing and forecasting thrust movement during seismic occurrences might assist to effective earthquake mitigation measures. The review begins by discussing out-of-sequence thrust movement and its importance in earthquake mitigation strategies. It explores how typical techniques of estimating thrust movement may not capture the full complexity of seismic occurrences and emphasizes the benefits of include out-of-sequence data in the analysis. A thorough review of existing research and studies on out-of-sequence thrust movement estimates for earthquake mitigation. The study demonstrates how to estimate out-of-sequence thrust movement using multiple data sources such as GPS measurements, satellite imagery, and seismic recordings. The study also examines the use of out-of-sequence thrust movement estimates in earthquake mitigation measures. It investigates how precise calculation of thrust movement may help improve structural design, analyse infrastructure risk, and develop early warning systems. The potential advantages of using out-of-sequence data in these applications to improve the efficiency of earthquake mitigation techniques. The difficulties and limits of estimating out-of-sequence thrust movement for earthquake mitigation. It addresses data quality difficulties, modelling uncertainties, and computational complications. To address these obstacles and increase the accuracy and reliability of out-of-sequence thrust movement estimates, the authors recommend topics for additional study and improvement. The study is a helpful resource for seismic monitoring and earthquake risk assessment researchers, engineers, and policymakers, supporting innovations in earthquake mitigation measures based on a better knowledge of thrust movement dynamics.

Keywords: earthquake mitigation, out-of-sequence thrust, satellite imagery, seismic recordings, GPS measurements

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Authors: Naila Awan, Shahrukh Inam

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This study was conducted to highlight the role of basic health units in district Swabi, which provides primary health services to the people of district Swabi having four tehsils. Tehsil Swabi was selected purposively for the study. Three villages were purposively selected from district Swabi. A sum of 110 respondents was randomly selected for interview i.e., 27 from Botakaa, 39 from Gulatee, and 44 from Darra Cham, using proportion allocation sampling technique. A pretested and well-designed interview schedule was used to collect as per the objective and Chi square test was applied to find an association between the quality of medicines and health improvement. The output of the test shows that the government was doing its best and providing enough facilities to the individuals at the healthcare units, and they were utilizing them. These resources were easily accessible to the people of the community. Medicines provided by the government were of good quality and quantity. There were also school health sessions and community health sessions (SHS/CHS) to deliver useful information and awareness regarding health problems and diseases were conducted. The staff of the BHU was present at work time and was performing their duties. The respondents seemed satisfied with their behavior and the duty of the staff. However, there were no emergency resources existing at the BHU after the working hours of the medical staff. It is recommended that government should provide appropriate quantity and quality of medicines to the basic health units so that these healthcare units don’t have to face any shortages regarding medicines at the end of the month. In addition, laboratory and blood testing facilities need to be provided in the basic health units, and also the infrastructure should be made suitable, satisfactory, and more functional.

Keywords: community health session, basic health units, outpatient department, tuberculosis

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Authors: K. Kong, E. Ferrier, L. Michel

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The purpose of this research was to investigate the creep behaviour of the heterogeneous Timber-UHPFRC beams. New developments have been done to further improve the structural performance, such as strengthening of the timber (glulam) beam by bonding composite material combine with an ultra-high performance fibre reinforced concrete (UHPFRC) internally reinforced with or without carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) bars. However, in the design of wooden structures, in addition to the criteria of strengthening and stiffness, deformability due to the creep of wood, especially in horizontal elements, is also a design criterion. Glulam, UHPFRC and CFRP may be an interesting composite mix to respond to the issue of creep behaviour of composite structures made of different materials with different rheological properties. In this paper, we describe an experimental and analytical investigation of the creep performance of the glulam-UHPFRC-CFRP beams assembled by bonding. The experimental investigations creep behaviour was conducted for different environments: in- and outside under constant loading for approximately a year. The measured results are compared with numerical ones obtained by an analytical model. This model was developed to predict the creep response of the glulam-UHPFRC-CFRP beams based on the creep characteristics of the individual components. The results show that heterogeneous glulam-UHPFRC beams provide an improvement in both the strengthening and stiffness, and can also effectively reduce the creep deflection of wooden beams.

Keywords: carbon fibre-reinforced polymer (CFRP) bars, creep behaviour, glulam, ultra-high performance fibre reinforced concrete (UHPFRC)

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Authors: Nathalia Andrea Calderon Lesmes, Eduardo Barragan Parada, Diego Fernando Villegas Bermudez

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Spasticity in the plantiflexor muscles as a product of stroke (CVA-Cerebrovascular accident) restricts the mobility and independence of the affected people. Commonly, physiotherapists are in charge of manually performing the rehabilitation therapy known as Sustained Mechanical Stretching, rotating the affected foot of the patient in the sagittal plane. However, this causes a physical wear on the professional because it is a fatiguing movement. In this article, a mechanical device is developed to implement this rehabilitation therapy more efficiently. The device consists of a worm-crown mechanism that is driven by a crank to gradually rotate a platform in the sagittal plane of the affected foot, in order to achieve dorsiflexion. The device has a range of sagittal rotation up to 150° and has velcro located on the footplate that secures the foot. The design of this device was modeled by using CAD software and was checked structurally with a general purpose finite element software to be sure that the device is safe for human use. As a measurement system, a goniometer is used in the lateral part of the device and load cells are used to measure the force in order to determine the opposing torque exerted by the muscle. Load cells sensitivity is 1.8 ± 0.002 and has a repeatability of 0.03. Validation of the effectiveness of the device is measured by reducing the opposition torque and increasing mobility for a given patient. In this way, with a more efficient therapy, an improvement in the recovery of the patient's mobility and therefore in their quality of life can be achieved.

Keywords: biomechanics, mechanical device, plantiflexor muscles, rehabilitation, spastic hemiplegia, sustained mechanical stretching

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Authors: Muhammad A. Alsubaie, Mubarak K. H. Alhajri, Tarek S. Altowaim

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A repetitive controller designed to accommodate periodic disturbances via state feedback is discussed. Periodic disturbances can be represented by a time delay model in a positive feedback loop acting on system output. A direct use of the small gain theorem solves the periodic disturbances problem via 1) isolating the delay model, 2) finding the overall system representation around the delay model and 3) designing a feedback controller that assures overall system stability and tracking error convergence. This paper addresses uncertainty conditions for the repetitive controller designed in state feedback in either past error feedforward or current error feedback using singular values. The uncertainty investigation is based on the overall system found and the stability condition associated with it; depending on the scheme used, to set an upper/lower limit weighting parameter. This creates a region that should not be exceeded in selecting the weighting parameter which in turns assures performance improvement against system uncertainty. Repetitive control problem can be described in lifted form. This allows the usage of singular values principle in setting the range for the weighting parameter selection. The Simulation results obtained show a tracking error convergence against dynamic system perturbation if the weighting parameter chosen is within the range obtained. Simulation results also show the advantage of weighting parameter usage compared to the case where it is omitted.

Keywords: model mismatch, repetitive control, singular values, state feedback

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Authors: Esther M. Folarin, Evans Osabuohien, Ademola Onabote

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Agriculture constitutes an important part of development and poverty mitigation in lower-middle-income countries, like Nigeria. The level of agricultural productivity in the Nigerian economy in line with the level of demand necessary to meet the desired expectation of the Nigerian populace is threatening to meeting the standard of the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); This includes the SDG-2 (achieve food security through agricultural productivity). The overall objective of the study is to reveal the performance of the interaction variable in the model among other factors that help in the achievement of greater Nigerian agricultural productivity. The study makes use of Wave 4 (2018/2019) of the Living Standard Measurement Studies, Integrated Survey on Agriculture (LSMS-ISA). Qualitative analysis of the information was also used to provide complimentary answers to the quantitative analysis done in the study. The study employed human capital theory and Grossman’s theory of health Demand in explaining the relationships that exist between the variables within the model of the study. The study engages the Instrumental Variable Regression technique in achieving the broad objectives among other techniques for the other specific objectives. The estimation results show that there exists a positive relationship between female healthcare and the level of female agricultural productivity in Nigeria. In conclusion, the study emphasises the need for more provision and empowerment for greater female access to healthcare and educational attainment levels that aids higher female agricultural productivity and consequently an improvement in the total agricultural productivity of the Nigerian economy.

Keywords: agricultural productivity, education, female, healthcare, investment

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Authors: Yanping Liao, Congcong He, Ruigang Zhao

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The application of magnetocardiography signals to detect cardiac electrical function is a new technology developed in recent years. The magnetocardiography signal is detected with Superconducting Quantum Interference Devices (SQUID) and has considerable advantages over electrocardiography (ECG). It is difficult to extract Magnetocardiography (MCG) signal which is buried in the noise, which is a critical issue to be resolved in cardiac monitoring system and MCG applications. In order to remove the severe background noise, the Total Variation (TV) regularization method is proposed to denoise MCG signal. The approach transforms the denoising problem into a minimization optimization problem and the Majorization-minimization algorithm is applied to iteratively solve the minimization problem. However, traditional TV regularization method tends to cause step effect and lacks constraint adaptability. In this paper, an improved TV regularization method for denoising MCG signal is proposed to improve the denoising precision. The improvement of this method is mainly divided into three parts. First, high-order TV is applied to reduce the step effect, and the corresponding second derivative matrix is used to substitute the first order. Then, the positions of the non-zero elements in the second order derivative matrix are determined based on the peak positions that are detected by the detection window. Finally, adaptive constraint parameters are defined to eliminate noises and preserve signal peak characteristics. Theoretical analysis and experimental results show that this algorithm can effectively improve the output signal-to-noise ratio and has superior performance.

Keywords: constraint parameters, derivative matrix, magnetocardiography, regular term, total variation

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Authors: Hayder H. Kareem, Shunqi Pan

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The geological environment where the groundwater is collected represents the most important element that affects the behaviour of groundwater aquifer. As groundwater is a worldwide vital resource, it requires knowing the parameters that affect this source accurately so that the conceptualized mathematical models would be acceptable to the broadest ranges. Therefore, groundwater models have recently become an effective and efficient tool to investigate groundwater aquifer behaviours. Groundwater aquifer may contain aquitards, aquicludes, or interfaces within its geological formations. Aquitards and aquicludes have geological formations that forced the modellers to include those formations within the conceptualized groundwater models, while interfaces are commonly neglected from the conceptualization process because the modellers believe that the interface has no effect on aquifer behaviour. The current research highlights the impact of an interface existing in a real unconfined groundwater aquifer called Dibdibba, located in Al-Najaf City, Iraq where it has a river called the Euphrates River that passes through the eastern part of this city. Dibdibba groundwater aquifer consists of two types of soil layers separated by an interface soil layer. A groundwater model is built for Al-Najaf City to explore the impact of this interface. Calibration process is done using PEST 'Parameter ESTimation' approach and the best Dibdibba groundwater model is obtained. When the soil interface is conceptualized, results show that the groundwater tables are significantly affected by that interface through appearing dry areas of 56.24 km² and 6.16 km² in the upper and lower layers of the aquifer, respectively. The Euphrates River will also leak water into the groundwater aquifer of 7359 m³/day. While these results are changed when the soil interface is neglected where the dry area became 0.16 km², the Euphrates River leakage became 6334 m³/day. In addition, the conceptualized models (with and without interface) reveal different responses for the change in the recharge rates applied on the aquifer through the uncertainty analysis test. The aquifer of Dibdibba in Al-Najaf City shows a slight deficit in the amount of water supplied by the current pumping scheme and also notices that the Euphrates River suffers from stresses applied to the aquifer. Ultimately, this study shows a crucial need to represent the interface soil layer in model conceptualization to be the intended and future predicted behaviours more reliable for consideration purposes.

Keywords: Al-Najaf City, groundwater aquifer behaviour, groundwater modelling, interface soil layer, Visual MODFLOW

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Authors: Danielle Page

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Foregoing studies, statistics, and medical evaluations have established a relationship between Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and criminal justice involvement in Vietnam veterans. War is highly trauma inducing and can leave combat veterans with mental disorders ranging from psychopathic thoughts to suicidal ideation. The majority of those suffering are unaware that they have PTSD, and as a coping mechanism, they often turn to self isolation. Beyond isolation, many veterans with symptomatic PTSD turn to aggression and substance abuse to cope with their internal agony. The most common crimes committed by veterans with PTSD fall into the assault and drug/alcohol abuse categories. Thus, a relationship is established between veteran populations and the criminal justice system. This research aims to define the relationship between PTSD and criminal justice involvement in veterans, explore the mediating factors in this relationship, and analyze numerous court cases in this subject area. Further, it will examine the ways in which crime rates can be reduced for veterans with symptoms of PTSD. This ranges from the improvement of healthcare systems to the implementation of special courts to handle veteran cases. The contribution of this work to the field of forensic psychology will be significant, as it will analyze preexisting case studies and experimental data in an effort to improve the ways in which veteran cases are handled in the criminal justice system. Military personnel involved in the criminal justice system are a vulnerable population in need of healthcare and legislative attention, and this work will bring us one step closer to providing them with just that.

Keywords: forensic psychology, psychotraumatology, PTSD, veterans

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Authors: S. Jalilzadeh, S. M. Mohseni Bonab

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Solar and battery energy storage systems are very useful for consumers who live in deprived areas and do not have access to electricity distribution networks. Nowadays one of the problems that photo voltaic systems (PV) have changing of output power in temperature and irradiance variations, which directly affects the load that is connected to photo voltaic systems. In this paper, with considering the fact that the solar array varies with change in temperature and solar power radiation, a voltage stabilizer system of a load connected to photo voltaic array is designed to stabilize the load voltage and to transfer surplus power of the battery. Also, in proposed hybrid system, the needed load power amount is supplemented considering the voltage stabilization in standalone operation for supplying unbalanced AC load. Electrical energy storage system for voltage control and improvement of the performance of PV by a DC/DC converter is connected to the DC bus. The load is also feed by an AC/DC converter. In this paper, when the voltage increases in its reference limit, the battery gets charged by the photo voltaic array and when it decreases in its defined limit, the power gets injected to the DC bus by this battery. The constant of DC bus Voltage is the cause for the reduced harmonics generated by the inverter. In addition, a series of filters are provided in the inverter output in to reduced harmonics. The inverter control circuit is designed that the voltage and frequency of the load remain almost constant at different load conditions. This paper has focused on controlling strategies of converters to improve their performance.

Keywords: photovoltaic array (PV), DC/DC Boost converter, battery converter, inverters control

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Authors: Tabti Lahouaria, Kahlouche Salem, Benadda Belkacem, Beldjilali Bilal

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The European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS) provides an augmentation signal to GPS (Global Positioning System) single point positioning. Presently EGNOS provides data correction and integrity information using the GPS L1 (1575.42 MHz) frequency band. The main objective of this system is to provide a better real-time positioning precision than using GPS only. They are expected to be used with single-frequency code observations. EGNOS offers navigation performance for an open service (OS), in terms of precision and availability this performance gradually degrades as moving away from the service area. For accurate system performance, the service will become less and less available as the user moves away from the EGNOS service. The improvement in position solution is investigated using the two collocated dual frequency GPS, where no EGNOS Ranging and Integrity Monitoring Station (RIMS) exists. One of the pseudo-range was kept as GPS stand-alone and the other was corrected by EGNOS to estimate the planimetric and altimetric precision for different dates. It is found that precision in position improved significantly in the second due to EGNOS correction. The performance of EGNOS system in the north of Algeria is also investigated in terms of integrity. The results show that the horizontal protection level (HPL) value is below 18.25 meters (95%) and the vertical protection level (VPL) is below 42.22 meters (95 %). These results represent good integrity information transmitted by EGNOS for APV I service. This service is thus compliant with the aviation requirements for Approaches with Vertical Guidance (APV-I), which is characterised by 40 m HAL (horizontal alarm limit) and 50 m VAL (vertical alarm limit).

Keywords: EGNOS, GPS, positioning, integrity, protection level

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Authors: Vijaya K. Srivastava, Davide Spinello

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This paper presents performance of two robust gradient-based heuristic optimization procedures based on 3ⁿ enumeration and tunneling approach to seek global optimum of constrained integer problems. Both these procedures consist of two distinct phases for locating the global optimum of integer problems with a linear or non-linear objective function subject to linear or non-linear constraints. In both procedures, in the first phase, a local minimum of the function is found using the gradient approach coupled with hemstitching moves when a constraint is violated in order to return the search to the feasible region. In the second phase, in one optimization procedure, the second sub-procedure examines 3ⁿ integer combinations on the boundary and within hypercube volume encompassing the result neighboring the result from the first phase and in the second optimization procedure a tunneling function is constructed at the local minimum of the first phase so as to find another point on the other side of the barrier where the function value is approximately the same. In the next cycle, the search for the global optimum commences in both optimization procedures again using this new-found point as the starting vector. The search continues and repeated for various step sizes along the function gradient as well as that along the vector normal to the violated constraints until no improvement in optimum value is found. The results from both these proposed optimization methods are presented and compared with one provided by popular MS Excel solver that is provided within MS Office suite and other published results.

Keywords: constrained integer problems, enumerative search algorithm, Heuristic algorithm, Tunneling algorithm

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Authors: Pascal Roubides

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The presentation proposed herein describes a research case study of a hybrid application of the competency-based education model best exemplified by Western Governor’s University, within the general temporal confines of an accelerated (8-week) term of a College Algebra course at the author’s institution. A competency-based model was applied to an accelerated online College Algebra course, built as an Open Educational Resources (OER) course, seeking quantifiable evidence of any differences in the academic achievement of students enrolled in the competency-based course and the academic achievement of the current delivery of the same course. Competency-based learning has been gaining in support in recent times and the author’s institution has also been involved in its own efforts to design and develop courses based on this approach. However, it is unknown whether there had been any research conducted to quantify evidence of the effect of this approach against traditional approaches prior to the author’s case study. The research question sought to answer in this experimental quantitative study was whether the online College Algebra curriculum at the author’s institution delivered via an OER-based competency-based model can produce statistically significant improvement in retention and success rates against the current delivery of the same course. Results obtained in this study showed that there is no statistical difference in the retention rate of the two groups. However, there was a statistically significant difference found between the rates of successful completion of students in the experimental group versus those in the control group.

Keywords: competency-based learning, online mathematics, online math education, online courses

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Authors: A. Rajesh Kanna, G. Suresh Kumar, Sathyanaryana N. Gummadi

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There are various sources of energies available worldwide and among them, crude oil plays a vital role. Oil recovery is achieved using conventional primary and secondary recovery methods. In-order to recover the remaining residual oil, technologies like Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) are utilized which is also known as tertiary recovery. Among EOR, Microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) is a technique which enables the improvement of oil recovery by injection of bio-surfactant produced by microorganisms. Bio-surfactant can retrieve unrecoverable oil from the cap rock which is held by high capillary force. Bio-surfactant is a surface active agent which can reduce the interfacial tension and reduce viscosity of oil and thereby oil can be recovered to the surface as the mobility of the oil is increased. Research in this area has shown promising results besides the method is echo-friendly and cost effective compared with other EOR techniques. In our research, on laboratory scale we produced bio-surfactant using the strain Pseudomonas putida (MTCC 2467) and injected into designed simple sand packed column which resembles actual petroleum reservoir. The experiment was conducted in order to determine the efficiency of produced bio-surfactant in oil recovery. The column was made of plastic material with 10 cm in length. The diameter was 2.5 cm. The column was packed with fine sand material. Sand was saturated with brine initially followed by oil saturation. Water flooding followed by bio-surfactant injection was done to determine the amount of oil recovered. Further, the injection of bio-surfactant volume was varied and checked how effectively oil recovery can be achieved. A comparative study was also done by injecting Triton X 100 which is one of the chemical surfactant. Since, bio-surfactant reduced surface and interfacial tension oil can be easily recovered from the porous sand packed column.

Keywords: bio-surfactant, bacteria, interfacial tension, sand column

Procedia PDF Downloads 394