Search results for: safety of structures

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

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

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

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Authors: P. Okoro Ugo Chigozie, P. A. Igbojekwe, E. N. Ukabuilu

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Tourism and terrorism experiences are best viewed as dynamic, complex systems with extreme diverse consequences on any nation’s economy. Tourism is one of the biggest industries in the world and one of the economical sectors which grows rapidly; tourism has positive impact on the nation’s economy. Terrorism is the method or the theory behind the method whereby an organized group or party seeks to achieve its avowed aims chiefly through the systematic use of violence; the consequences of terrorism on tourist destinations are inescapable and can be profound. Especially, it threatens the attractiveness of a tourist destination and strips the competitiveness of that destination. Destination’s vulnerability to politically motivated violence not only retracts tourists, but threatens sustainable tourism development. This paper examines the activities of the Jamaata Ahlis Sunna Liddaawati -an Islamic sect popularly known as Boko Haram – and its impact on sustainable tourism development in the Nigeria state. Possible triggers of this insurgency and potentially evolving measure against its influence on sustainable tourism including, strong image management of the tourism industry, feasible tourist safety policy, viable anti-terrorism measures, proactive respond to the challenge of terrorism, reinforcement of the legitimate frameworks and irrevocable penalty against menace of corruption; are discussed in this paper, as limiting the effects of insurgency on the attractiveness of Nigeria as safe tourists destination.

Keywords: Nigeria, terrorism, sustainable tourism development, corruption and competitiveness

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Authors: Sree Vennela P., V. Samyuktha Bhardwaj

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Hyponatremia is an electrolyte disturbance in which the sodium ion concentration in the serum is lower than normal. Sodium is the dominant extracellular cation (positive ion) and cannot freely cross from the interstitial space through the cell membrane, into the cell. Its homeostasis (stability of concentration) inside the cell is vital to the normal function of any cell. Normal serum sodium levels are between 135 and 145 mEq/L. Hyponatremia is defined as a serum level of less than 135 mEq/L and is considered severe when the serum level is below 125 mEq/L. In the vast majority of cases, Hyponatremia occurs as a result of excess body water diluting the serum sodium (salt level in the blood). Hyponatremia is often a complication of other medical illnesses in which excess water accumulates in the body at a higher rate than can be excreted (for example in congestive heart failure, syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone, SIADH, or polydipsia). Sometimes it may be a result of over-hydration (drinking too much water).Lack of sodium (salt) is very rarely the cause of Hyponatremia, although it can promote Hyponatremia indirectly. In particular, sodium loss can lead to a state of volume depletion (loss of blood volume in the body), with volume depletion serving as a signal for the release of ADH (anti-diuretic hormone). As a result of ADH-stimulated water retention (too much water in the body), blood sodium becomes diluted and Hyponatremia results.

Keywords: Tolvaptan, hyponatremia, syndrome of insufficient anti diuretic hormone (SIADH), euvolemic hyponatremia

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Authors: Yiğit Gürler, Berkay Türkcan İmrağ, Taylan Güçkıran, İbrahim Şimşek, Alper Taşdemirci

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Paper honeycombs, which is a sandwich structure, consists of two liner faces and one paper honeycomb core. These materials are widely used in the packaging industry due to their low cost, low weight, good energy absorption capabilities and easy recycling properties. However, to provide maximum protection to the products in cases such as the drop of the packaged products, the mechanical behavior of these materials should be well known at the packaging design stage. In this study, the necessary input parameters for the modeling study were obtained by performing compression tests in the through-thickness and in-plane directions of paper-based honeycomb sandwich structures. With the obtained parameters, homogeneous and micro-mechanical numerical models were developed in the Ls-Dyna environment. The material card used for the homogeneous model is MAT_MODIFIED_HONEYCOMB, and the material card used for the micromechanical model is MAT_PIECEWISE_LINEAR_PLASTICITY. As a result, the effectiveness of homogeneous and micromechanical modeling approaches for paper-based honeycomb sandwich structure was investigated using force-displacement curves. Densification points and peak points on these curves will be compared.

Keywords: environmental packaging, mechanical characterization, Ls-Dyna, sandwich structure

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Authors: Peter Antwi Buah, Yingbin Zhang, Jianxian He, Chenlin Xiang, Delali Atsu Y. Bakah

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Near-fault ground motions with velocity pulses are considered to cause significant damage to structures or slopes compared to ordinary ground motions without velocity pulses. The double pulsed pulse-like ground motion is as well known to be stronger than the single pulse. This study has numerically justified this perspective by studying the dynamic response of a homogeneous rock slope subjected to four pulse-like and two non-pulse-like ground motions using the Fast Lagrangian Analysis of Continua in 3 Dimensions (FLAC3D) software. Two of the pulse-like ground motions just have a single pulse. The results show that near-fault ground motions with velocity pulses can cause a higher dynamic response than regular ground motions. The amplification of the peak ground acceleration (PGA) in horizontal direction increases with the increase of the slope elevation. The seismic response of the slope under double pulse ground motion is stronger than that of the single pulse ground motion. The PGV amplification factor under the effect of the non-pulse-like records is also smaller than those under the pulse-like records. The velocity pulse strengthens the earthquake damage to the slope, which results in producing a more strong dynamic response.

Keywords: velocity pulses, dynamic response, PGV magnification effect, elevation effect, double pulse

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Authors: M. Al-Saedi, A. Chegenizadeh, H. Nikraz

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Experimental investigations are conducted to assess a layered structure of glass (G) - rock (R) blends under the impact of repeated loading. Laboratory tests included sieve analyses, modified compaction test and repeated load triaxial test (RLTT) is conducted on different structures of stratified GR samples to reach the objectives of this study. Waste materials are such essential components in the climate system, and also commonly used in minimising the need for natural materials in many countries. Glass is one of the most widely used groups of waste materials which have been extensively using in road applications. Full range particle size and colours of glass are collected and mixed at different ratios with natural rock material trying to use the blends in pavement layers. Whole subsurface specimen sequentially consists of a single layer of R and a layer of G-R blend. 12G/88R and 45G/55R mix ratios are employed in this research, the thickness of G-R layer was changed, and the results were compared between the pure rock and the layered specimens. The relations between resilient module (Mr) and permanent deformation with sequence number are presented. During the earlier stages of RLTT, the results indicated that the 45G/55R specimen shows higher moduli than R specimen.

Keywords: Rock base course, Layered Structure, Glass, Resilient Modulus

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Authors: Malik Takreem Ahmad, Pablo Lamata, Rasi Mizori

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Background: In recent years, mobile health apps have grown in popularity as a means for people to track and manage their health. While there is increasing worry that these applications may potentially contribute to the emergence of health anxiety, they can also help to encourage healthy behaviours and provide access to health information. Objective: The objective of this literature review is to look at available mhealth apps and critically evaluate the compromise between reassurance and anxiety. Methodology: A literature review was carried out to analyse the effects of mhealth apps on the creation of health anxiety within the general population. PubMed and SCOPUS were used to search for relevant articles, and abstracts were screened using inclusion criteria of the terms: mhealth apps; e-Health; healthcare apps; cyberchondria; Health anxiety; illness anxiety disorder. A total of 27 studies were included in the review. Results and discussion: The findings suggest a direct relationship between mobile health app use and health anxiety. The impact of mobile health apps on health anxiety may depend on how they are used - individuals receiving a constant stream of health-related information may trigger unnecessary concern about one's health. The need for more regulation and oversight is identified, which can lead to app quality and safety consistency. There are also concerns about data security and privacy and the resulting "digital gap" for individuals without mobiles or internet access. Conclusion: While health apps can be valuable tools for managing and tracking health, individuals need to use them in a balanced and informed way to avoid increased anxiety.

Keywords: mobile health, mhealth apps, cyberchondria, health anxiety

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Authors: Messaouda Annab

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The rapid development of technology has led to an important context in which different languages and structures are used in the same conversations. This paper investigates the practice of language borrowing within social media platform, namely, Facebook among Algerian Vernacular Arabic (AVA) students. In other words, this study will explore how Algerian students have incorporated lexical English borrowing in their online conversations. This paper will examine the relationships between language, culture and identity among a multilingual group. The main objective is to determine the cultural and linguistic functions that borrowing fulfills in social media and to explain the possible factors underlying English borrowing. The nature of the study entails the use of an online research method that includes ten online Facebook conversations in the form of private messages collected from Bachelor and Masters Algerian students recruited from the English department at the University of Oum El-Bouaghi. The analysis of data revealed that social media platform provided the users with opportunities to shift from one language to another. This practice was noticed in students’ online conversations. English borrowing was the most relevant language performance in accordance with Arabic which is the mother tongue of the chosen sample. The analysis has assumed that participants are skilled in more than one language.

Keywords: borrowing, language performance, linguistic background, social media

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Authors: Subal Kar, Amitesh Kumar, A. Majumder, S. K. Ghosh, S. Saha, S. S. Sikdar, T. K. Saha

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CRLH (composite right/left-handed) based and SRR (split-ring resonator) based filters have been designed at microwave frequency which can provide better performance compared to conventional edge-coupled band-pass filter designed around the same frequency, 2.45 GHz. Both CRLH and SRR are unit cells used in metamaterial design. The primary aim of designing filters with such structures is to realize size reduction and also to realize novel filter performance. The CRLH based filter has been designed in microstrip transmission line, while the SRR based filter is designed with SRR loading in waveguide. The CRLH based filter designed at 2.45 GHz provides an insertion loss of 1.6 dB with harmonic suppression up to 10 GHz with 67 % size reduction when compared with a conventional edge-coupled band-pass filter designed around the same frequency. One dimensional (1-D) SRR matrix loaded in a waveguide shows the possibility of realizing a stop-band with sharp skirts in the pass-band while a stop-band in the pass-band of normal rectangular waveguide with tailoring of the dimensions of SRR unit cells. Such filters are expected to be very useful for communication systems at microwave frequency.

Keywords: BPF, CRLH, harmonic, metamaterial, SRR and waveguide

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Authors: Samad Sajjadi

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Machine translation is a new subject increasingly being used by academic writers, especially students and researchers whose native language is not English. There are numerous studies conducted on machine translation, but few investigations have assessed the accuracy of machine translation from Persian to English at lexical, semantic, and syntactic levels. Using Groves and Mundt’s (2015) Model of error taxonomy, the current study evaluated Persian-to-English translations produced by two famous online translators, Google Translate and Bing Translator. A total of 240 texts were randomly selected from different academic fields (law, literature, medicine, and mass media), and 60 texts were considered for each domain. All texts were rendered by the two translation systems and then by four human translators. All statistical analyses were applied using SPSS. The results indicated that Google translations were more accurate than the translations produced by the Bing Translator, especially in the domains of medicine (lexis: 186 vs. 225; semantic: 44 vs. 48; syntactic: 148 vs. 264 errors) and mass media (lexis: 118 vs. 149; semantic: 25 vs. 32; syntactic: 110 vs. 220 errors), respectively. Nonetheless, both machines are reasonably accurate in Persian-to-English translation of lexicons and syntactic structures, particularly from mass media and medical texts.

Keywords: machine translations, accuracy, human translation, efficiency

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Authors: Fatma Abdel Moneim Al Tawil

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Low back pain (LBP) among nurses has been the subject of research studies worldwide. However, evidence of the influence of patients lifting behaviors and LBP among nurses in Saudi Arabia remains scarce. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between LBP and nurses lifting behaviors. LBP questionnaire was distributed to 100 nurses working in Alsadairy Hospital distributed as Emergency unit(9),Coronary Care unit (9), Intensive Care Unit (7), Dialysis unit (30), Burn unit (5), surgical unit (11), Medical (14) and, X-ray unit (15). The questionnaire included demographic data, attitude scale, Team work scale, Back pain history and Knowledge scale. Regarding to emergency unit, there is appositive significant relation between teamwork scale and Knowledge as r = (0.807) and P =0.05. Regarding to ICU unit, there is a positive significant relation between teamwork scale and attitude scale as r= (0.781) and P =0.05. Regarding to Dialysis unit, there is a positive significant relation between attitude scale and teamwork scale as r=(0.443) and P =0.05. The findings suggest enhanced awareness of occupational safety with safe patient handling practices among nursing students must be emphasized and integrated into their educational curriculum. Moreover, back pain prevention program should incorporate the promotion of an active lifestyle and fitness training the implementation of institutional patient handling policies.

Keywords: low back pain, lifting behaviors, nurses, team work

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Authors: V. Santamarina Campos, M. de Miguel Molina, S. Kröner, B. de Miguel Molina

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With this contribution, we want to show how the AiRT system could change the future way of working of a part of the creative industry and what new economic opportunities could arise for them. Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS), also more commonly known as drones, are now essential tools used by many different companies for their creative outdoor work. However, using this very flexible applicable tool indoor is almost impossible, since safe navigation cannot be guaranteed by the operator due to the lack of a reliable and affordable indoor positioning system which ensures a stable flight, among other issues. Here we present our first results of a European project, which consists of developing an indoor drone for professional footage especially designed for the creative industries. One of the main achievements of this project is the successful implication of the end-users in the overall design process from the very beginning. To ensure safe flight in confined spaces, our drone incorporates a positioning system based on ultra-wide band technology, an RGB-D (depth) camera for 3D environment reconstruction and the possibility to fully pre-program automatic flights. Since we also want to offer this tool for inexperienced pilots, we have always focused on user-friendly handling of the whole system throughout the entire process.

Keywords: virtual reality, 3D reconstruction, indoor positioning system, RPAS, remotely piloted aircraft systems, aerial film, intelligent navigation, advanced safety measures, creative industries

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Authors: Maryam Rasool, Farhan Munir, Fahad Nawaz, Saad Ahmad

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A patch antenna operating in the Ultra-Wide Band of frequency (3.1 GHz – 10.6 GHz) is designed with enhanced security from interference from other applications by incorporating the notching technique. Patch antennas in the Ultra-Wide Band are becoming widely famous due to their low power, light weight and high data rate capability. Micro strip patch antenna’s patch can be altered to increase its bandwidth and introduce UWB character in it. The designed antenna is a patch antenna consisting of a conductive sheet of metal mounted over a large sheet of metal called the ground plane with a substrate separating the two. Notched bands are public safety WLAN, WLAN and FSS. Different techniques used to implement the UWB antenna were individually implemented and there results were examined. V shaped patch was then chosen and modified to an arrow shaped patch to give the optimized results operating on the entire UWB region with considerable return loss. The frequency notch prevents the operation of the antenna at a particular range of frequency, hence minimizing interference from other systems. There are countless techniques for introducing the notch but we have used inverted C-shaped slots in the UWB patch to get the notch characteristics as output and also wavelength resonators to introduce notch in UWB band. The designed antenna is simulated in High Frequency Structural Simulator (HFSS) 13.0 by Ansoft.

Keywords: HFSS, Notch, UWB, WLAN

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Authors: Maria Vinca Novenia

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The number of school-aged children with autism in Indonesia has been increasing each year. Autism is a developmental disorder which can be diagnosed in childhood. One of the symptoms is the lack of communication skills. Music therapy is known as an effective treatment for children with autism. Music elements and structures create a good space for children with autism to express their feelings and communicate their thoughts. School-aged children are expected to be able to communicate non-verbally very well, but children with autism experience the difficulties of communicating non-verbally. The aim of this research is to analyze the significance of music therapy treatment to improve non-verbal communication tools for children with autism. This research informs teachers and parents on how music can be used as a media to communicate with children with autism. The qualitative method is used to analyze this research, while the result is described with the microanalysis technique. The result is measured specifically from the whole experiment, hours of every week, minutes of every session, and second of every moment. The samples taken are four school-aged children with autism in the age range of six to 11 years old. This research is conducted within four months started with observation, interview, literature research, and direct experiment. The result demonstrates that music therapy could be effectively used as a non-verbal communication tool for children with autism, such as changes of body gesture, eye contact, and facial expression.

Keywords: autism, improvisation, microanalysis, music therapy, nonverbal communication, school-aged

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Authors: A. Bachrata, N. Marie, F. Bertrand, J. B. Droin

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The in-depth understanding of severe accident propagation in Generation IV of nuclear reactors is important so that appropriate risk management can be undertaken early in their design process. This paper is focused on model improvements in the SIMMER code in order to perform studies of severe accident mitigation of Sodium Fast Reactor. During the design process of the mitigation devices dedicated to extraction of molten fuel from the core region, the molten fuel propagation from the core up to the core catcher has to be studied. In this aim, analytical as well as the complex thermo-hydraulic simulations with SIMMER-III code are performed. The studies presented in this paper focus on physical phenomena and associated physical models that influence the corium relocation. Firstly, the molten pool heat exchange with surrounding structures is analysed since it influences directly the instant of rupture of the dedicated tubes favouring the corium relocation for mitigation purpose. After the corium penetration into mitigation tubes, the fuel-coolant interactions result in formation of debris bed. Analyses of debris bed fluidization as well as sinking into a fluid are presented in this paper.

Keywords: corium, mitigation tubes, SIMMER-III, sodium fast reactor

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Authors: Kritsada Moonpa, Kannipa Motanated, Weerapan Srichan

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Hong Hoi Formation is a Middle Triassic deep marine succession presented in outcrops throughout the Lampang Basin of northern Thailand. The primary goal of this research is to diagnose the paleoenvironment, petrographic compositions, and sedimentary sources of the Hong Hoi Formation in Ban Huat, Ngao District. The Triassic Hong Hoi Formation is chosen because the outcrops are continuous and fossils are greatly exposed and abundant. Depositional environment is reconstructed through sedimentological studies along with facies analysis. The Hong Hoi Formation is petrographically divided into two major facies, they are: sandstones with mudstone interbeds, and mudstones or shale with sandstone interbeds. Sandstone beds are lithic arenite and lithic greywacke, volcanic lithic fragments are dominated. Sedimentary structures, paleocurrent data and lithofacies arrangement indicate that the formation deposited in a part of deep marine abyssal plain environment. The sedimentological and petrographic features suggest that during the deposition the Hong Hoi Formation received sediment supply from nearby volcanic arc. This suggested that the intensive volcanic activity within the Sukhothai Arc during the Middle Triassic is the main sediment source.

Keywords: Sukhothai zone, petrography, Hong Hoi formation, Lampang, Triassic

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Authors: Ali Sinan Soğancı

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Expansive soils are often encountered in many parts of the world, especially in arid and semi-arid fields. Such kind of soils, generally including active clay minerals in low water content, enlarge in volume by absorbing the water through the surface and cause a great harm to the light structures such as channel coating, roads and airports. The expansive soils were encountered on the path of Apa-Hotamış conveyance channel belonging to the State Hydraulic Works in the region of Konya. In the research done in this area, it is predicted that the soil has a swollen nature and the soil should be filled with proper granular equipment by digging the ground to 50-60 cm. In this study, for purpose of helping the other research to be done in the same area, it is thought that instead of replacing swollen soil with the granular soil, by stabilizing it with polypropylene fiber and using it its original place decreases effect of swelling percent, in this way the cost will be decreased. Therefore, a laboratory tests were conducted to study the effects of polypropylene fiber on swelling characteristics of expansive soil. Test results indicated that inclusion of fiber reduced swell percent of expansive soil. As the fiber content increased, the unconfined compressive strength was increased. Finally, it can be say that stabilization of expansive soils with polypropylene fiber is an effective method.

Keywords: expansive soils, polypropylene fiber, stabilization, swelling percent

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Authors: Orsolya Kegyes-Brassai, Zsolt Szilvágyi, Ákos Wolf, Richard P. Ray

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Local ground conditions have a substantial influence on the seismic response of structures. Their inclusion in seismic hazard assessment and structural design can be realized at different levels of sophistication. However, response results based on more advanced calculation methods e.g. nonlinear or equivalent linear site analysis tend to show significant discrepancies when compared to simpler approaches. This project's main objective was to compare results from several 1-D response programs to Eurocode 8 design spectra. Data from in-situ site investigations were used for assessing local ground conditions at several locations in Hungary. After discussion of the in-situ measurements and calculation methods used, a comprehensive evaluation of all major contributing factors for site response is given. While the Eurocode spectra should account for local ground conditions based on soil classification, there is a wide variation in peak ground acceleration determined from 1-D analyses versus Eurocode. Results show that current Eurocode 8 design spectra may not be conservative enough to account for local ground conditions typical for Hungary.

Keywords: 1-D site response analysis, multichannel analysis of surface waves (MASW), seismic CPT, seismic hazard assessment

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Authors: MD. Kamruzzaman

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As a developing country, Bangladesh has seen an increase in total GDP in recent years. But it can be further improved by developing “Health-Care” (HC) services because it has enormous infrastructure problems all over the country. Bangladesh's HC system is now clearly poised to undergo reform at any process level, including prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. Although the Bangladeshi government is trying to develop the HC sector, due to health corruption in this sector, the improvement has not accelerated yet. For this reason, lots of Bangladeshi people are facing acute diseases. Regarding the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, this research will illustrate the law relating to health and HC to ensure excellent health and well-being. Firstly, this paper investigates health under Bangladeshi law from different perspectives related to the HC system. A massive gap has been investigated in this research after comparing Bangladeshi and international health law (HL). Secondly, a practical scenario is investigated and compared with international HC law. It is evident that the Bangladeshi HC system did not achieve a satisfactory standard level concerning international law. A staggering 70% of Bangladesh's population lives in rural areas, with no restrictions on access to hospitals and clinics. However, it is clear that proper HC infrastructure and some new medical practices are urgently needed to ensure HC quality. Finally, this research provides suggestions for developing a HC system to ensure the health of all Bangladeshi people that needs to be immediately implemented by the Bangladeshi government. This research has practical implications in the HC system for any developing country to maintain their citizen's safety.

Keywords: HC system, law relating, bangladeshi HL, international HL, human HC suggestions

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Authors: Boumaraf Malak

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The development of intelligent transportation systems (ITS) and artificial intelligence (AI) are spurring us to pave the way for the widespread adoption of autonomous vehicles (AVs). This is open again opportunities for smart roads, smart traffic safety, and mobility comfort. A highly intelligent decision-making system is essential for autonomous driving around dense, dynamic objects. It must be able to handle complex road geometry and topology, as well as complex multiagent interactions, and closely follow higher-level commands such as routing information. Autonomous vehicles have become a very hot research topic in recent years due to their significant ability to reduce traffic accidents and personal injuries. Using new artificial intelligence-based technologies handles important functions in scene understanding, motion planning, decision making, vehicle control, social behavior, and communication for AV. This paper focuses only on deep reinforcement learning-based methods; it does not include traditional (flat) planar techniques, which have been the subject of extensive research in the past because reinforcement learning (RL) has become a powerful learning framework now capable of learning complex policies in high dimensional environments. The DRL algorithm used so far found solutions to the four main problems of autonomous driving; in our paper, we highlight the challenges and point to possible future research directions.

Keywords: deep reinforcement learning, autonomous driving, deep deterministic policy gradient, deep Q-learning

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Authors: Jun Choi, Bo Ram Lee, Ji Hye Choi, Jung Soo Kim, No-Hyung Park, Dong Hyun Kim

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The synthetic rubber compound, which is widely used as the core material for automobile tire industry, is manufactured by mixing styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) and organic/inorganic fillers. It is known that the most important factor for the physical properties of rubber compound is the interaction between the filler and the rubber, which affects the rotational, braking and abrasion resistance. Silica filler has hydrophilic groups such as a silanol group on their surface which has a low affinity with hydrophobic rubbers. In order to solve this problem, researches on an efficient silane coupling agent (SCA) has been continuously carried out. In this study, highly water-soluble SCAs which are expected to show higher hydrolysis efficiency were synthesized. The hydrophobization process of the silica with the prepared SCAs was economical and environment-friendly. The SCAs structures were analysed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS) and nuclear magnetic resonance (1H-NMR) spectroscopy. In addition, their hydrolysis efficiency and condensation side reaction in SBR wet master batch were examined by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and gel permeation chromatography (GPC), respectively.

Keywords: rubber, silane coupling agent, synthesis, water-soluble

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Authors: Mahmoud Hassanin, Amita Gupta

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Background: During current practice, Thiopentone is not cost-effectively added to resources wastage, risk of drug error with antibiotics, short shelf life, infection risk, and risk of delay while preparing during category one cesarean section. There is no significant difference or preference to the other alternative as per current use. Aims and Objectives: Patient safety, Cost-effective use of trust resources, problem awareness, Consider improvising on the current practice. Methods: In conjunction with the local department survey results, many studies support the change. Results: More than 50%(15 from 29) are already using Propofol, more than 75% of the participant are willing to shift to Propofol if it becomes standard, and the cost analysis also revealed that Thiopentone 10 X500=£60 Propofol 10X200= £5.20, Cost of Thiopentone/year =£2190. Approximately GA in a year =35-40 could cost approximately £20 Propofol, given it is a well-established practice. We could save not only money, but it will be environmentally friendly also to avoid adding any carbon footprints. Recommendation: Thiopentone is rarely used as an induction agent for the category one Caesarean section in our obstetric emergency theatres. Most obstetric anesthetists are using Propofol. Keep both Propofol and thiopentone(powder not withdrawn) in the cat one cesarean section emergency drugs tray ready until the department completely changes the practice protocol. A further retrospective study is required to compare the outcomes for these induction agents through the local database.

Keywords: thiopentone, propofol, category 1 caesarean, induction agents

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Authors: Adekunle Saheed Ajisebiyawo, Christie Omoduwa Achime

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In Nigerian society, women have very little or no involvement in the decision-making process and this is large because women are objectified as effective means of reproduction and provision of emotional support to the society. Despite the movements and awareness by international, national and local bodies to promote and encourage women's empowerment, there are still many factors daunting to the efforts of women in society. This paper examined the critical role of feminism in the quest for women's emancipation in public life. Guided by African feminism theory, this paper utilizes both historical and descriptive methods to examine these factors. The paper argues that gender bias in Nigeria's public life is often traced to the onset of colonialism in Nigeria. Thus the Western cultural notion of colonialism woven around male superiority is reflected in their relations with Nigerians. The study outlines how women have strategized pathways through patriarchal structures by deploying their femininity. The paper concludes that women are strong, courageous, natural leaders and indeed have a major strategic role to play in public life; thus, women's movements and groups remain an important and necessary means of social cohesion and strength, especially in a country such as Nigeria.

Keywords: African feminism, democratic governance, feminism, patriarchy, women emancipation.

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Authors: Taras Agryzkov, Jose L. Oliver, Leandro Tortosa, Jose Vicent

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This paper aims to demonstrate how network models can be used to understand and to deal with some aspects of urban complexity. As it is well known, the Theory of Architecture and Urbanism has been using for decades’ intellectual tools based on the ‘sciences of complexity’ as a strategy to propose theoretical approaches about cities and about architecture. In this sense, it is possible to find a vast literature in which for instance network theory is used as an instrument to understand very diverse questions about cities: from their commercial activity to their heritage condition. The contribution of this research consists in adding one step of complexity to this process: instead of working with one single primal graph as it is usually done, we will show how new network models arise from the consideration of two different primal graphs interacting in two layers. When we model an urban network through a mathematical structure like a graph, the city is usually represented by a set of nodes and edges that reproduce its topology, with the data generated or extracted from the city embedded in it. All this information is normally displayed in a single layer. Here, we propose to separate the information in two layers so that we can evaluate the interaction between them. Besides, both layers may be composed of structures that do not have to coincide: from this bi-layer system, groups of interactions emerge, suggesting reflections and in consequence, possible actions.

Keywords: graphs, mathematics, networks, urban studies

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Authors: Xinyi Zhao, Furong Tian

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Mycotoxins are secondary metabolic products of fungi. These are poisonous, carcinogens and mutagens in nature and pose a serious health threat to both humans and animals, causing severe illnesses and even deaths. The rapid, simple and cheap detection methods of mycotoxins are of immense importance and in great demand in the food and beverage industry as well as in agriculture and environmental monitoring. Lateral flow immunochromatographic strips (ICSTs) have been widely used in food safety, environment monitoring. Forty-six papers were identified and reviewed on Google Scholar and Scopus for their limit of detection and nanomaterial on Lateral flow immunochromatographic strips on different types of mycotoxins. The papers were dated 2001-2021. Twenty five papers were compared to identify the lowest limit of detection of among different mycotoxins (Aflatoxin B1: 10, Zearalenone:5, Fumonisin B1: 5, Trichothecene-A: 5). Most of these highly sensitive strips are competitive. Sandwich structure are usually used in large scale detection. In conclusion, the mycotoxin receives that most researches is aflatoxin B1 and its limit of detection is the lowest. Gold-nanopaticle based immunochromatographic test strips has the lowest limit of detection. Five papers involve smartphone detection and they all detect aflatoxin B1 with gold nanoparticles. In these papers, quantitative concentration results can be obtained when the user uploads the photograph of test lines using the smartphone application.

Keywords: aflatoxin B1, limit of detection, gold nanoparticle, lateral flow immunochromatographic strips, mycotoxins

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Authors: Lina Feng

Abstract:

The study aimed at establishing quality evaluation indicators of an early education center for 0~3 years old, and defining the weight system of it. Expert questionnaire and Fuzzy Delphi method were applied. Firstly, in order to ensure the indicators in accordance with the practice of early education, 16 experts were invited as respondents to a preliminary Expert Questionnaire about Quality Evaluation Indicators of Early Education Center for 0~3 Years Old. The indicators were based on relevant studies on quality evaluation indicators of early education centers in China and abroad. Secondly, 20 scholars, kindergarten principals, and educational administrators were invited to form a fuzzy Delphi expert team. The experts’ opinions on the importance of indicators were calculated through triangle fuzzy numbers in order to select appropriate indicators and calculate indicator weights. This procedure resulted in the final Quality Evaluation Indicators of Early education Center for 0~3 Years Old. The Indicators contained three major levels, including 6 first-level indicators, 30 second-level indicators, and 147 third-level indicators. The 6 first-level indicators were health and safety; educational and cultivating activities; development of babies; conditions of the center; management of the center; and collaboration between family and the community. The indicators established by this study could provide suggestions for the high-quality environment for promoting the development of early year children.

Keywords: early education center for 0~3 years old, educational management, fuzzy delphi method, quality evaluation indicator

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Authors: Imine Zakaria, Meftah Sidi Mohamed El Amine

Abstract:

One of the most vital aerodynamic organs of a flying machine is the wing, which allows it to fly in the air efficiently. The flow around the wing is very sensitive to changes in the angle of attack. Beyond a value, there is a phenomenon of the boundary layer separation on the upper surface, which causes instability and total degradation of aerodynamic performance called a stall. However, controlling flow around an airfoil has become a researcher concern in the aeronautics field. There are two techniques for controlling flow around a wing to improve its aerodynamic performance: passive and active controls. Blowing and suction are among the active techniques that control the boundary layer separation around an airfoil. Their objective is to give energy to the air particles in the boundary layer separation zones and to create vortex structures that will homogenize the velocity near the wall and allow control. Blowing and suction have long been used as flow control actuators around obstacles. In 1904 Prandtl applied a permanent blowing to a cylinder to delay the boundary layer separation. In the present study, several numerical investigations have been developed to predict a turbulent flow around an aerodynamic profile. CFD code was used for several angles of attack in order to validate the present work with that of the literature in the case of a clean profile. The variation of the lift coefficient CL with the momentum coefficient

Keywords: CFD, control flow, lift, slot

Procedia PDF Downloads 177

Authors: Mohammad H. Yarmohamadian, Reza Safdari, Nahid Tavakoli

Abstract:

In recent years, many countries have suffered various natural disasters. Disaster response continues to face the challenges in health care sector in all countries. Information and communication management is a significant challenge in disaster scene. During the last decades, rapid advances in information technology have led to manage information effectively and improve communication in health care setting. Information technology is a vital solution for effective response to disasters and emergencies so that if an efficient ICT-based health information system is available, it will be highly valuable in such situation. Of that, mobile technology represents a nearly computing technology infrastructure that is accessible, convenient, inexpensive and easy to use. Most projects have not yet reached the deployment stage, but evaluation exercises show that mHealth should allow faster processing and transport of patients, improved accuracy of triage and better monitoring of unattended patients at a disaster scene. Since there is a high prevalence of cell phones among world population, it is expected the health care providers and managers to take measures for applying this technology for improvement patient safety and public health in disasters. At present there are challenges in the utilization of mhealth in disasters such as lack of structural and financial issues in our country. In this paper we will discuss about benefits and challenges of mhealth technology in disaster setting considering connectivity, usability, intelligibility, communication and teaching for implementing this technology for disaster response.

Keywords: information technology, mhealth, disaster, effective response

Procedia PDF Downloads 423

Authors: Rui Chen, Shu-min Zhou, Xiong-jie Zhang, Ren-bo Wang, Fan Huang, Bin Tang

Abstract:

During the temperature changes in reactor core, the nuclide cross section in reactor can vary with temperature, which eventually causes the changes of reactivity. To simulate the interaction between incident neutron and various materials at different temperatures on the nose, it is necessary to generate all the relevant reaction temperature-dependent cross section. Traditionally, the real time cross section generation method is used to avoid storing huge data but contains severe problems of low efficiency and adaptability for narrow energy region. Focused on the research on multi-temperature cross sections generation in real time during in neutron transport, this paper investigated the on-the-fly cross section generation method for resolved resonance region, thermal region and unresolved resonance region, and proposed the real time multi-temperature cross sections generation method based on double-exponential formula for resolved resonance region, as well as the Neville interpolation for thermal and unresolved resonance region. To prove the correctness and validity of multi-temperature cross sections generation based on wide energy region of incident neutron, the proposed method was applied in critical safety benchmark tests, which showed the capability for application in reactor multi-physical coupling simulation.

Keywords: cross section, neutron transport, numerical simulation, on-the-fly

Procedia PDF Downloads 182

Authors: Aran Dezhban, Hooshang Dolatshahi Pirooz

Abstract:

The phenomenon of corrosion, especially in the Persian Gulf region, is the main cause of the deterioration of offshore platforms, due to the high corrosion of its water. This phenomenon occurs mostly in the area of water spraying, threatening the members of the first floor of the jacket, legs, and piles in this area. In the current study, the effect of bracing arrangement on the Capacity Curve and Reserve Strength Ratio of Fixed-Type Offshore Platforms is investigated. In order to continue the operation of the platform, two modes of robust and damaged structures are considered, while checking the adequacy of the platform capacity based on the allowable values of API RP-2SIM regulations. The platform in question is located in the Persian Gulf, which is modeled on the OpenSEES software. In this research, the Nonlinear Pushover Analysis has been used. After validation, the Capacity Curve of the studied platforms is obtained and then their Reserve Strength Ratio is calculated. Results are compared with the criteria in the API-2SIM regulations.

Keywords: fixed-type jacket structure, structural integrity management, nonlinear pushover analysis, robust and damaged structure, reserve strength ration, capacity curve

Procedia PDF Downloads 98