Search results for: study process

Authors: Vikas Sharma, V. K. Dixit

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The roots of Anacyclus pyrethrum DC (AP) (Asteraceae) are frequently used in traditional medicine as Vajikarana Rasayana. An ethanolic extract of root of Anacyclus pyrethrum demonstrated its potential to enhance the sexual behaviour of male rats, with a dose dependent effect on sperm count and androgens concentration. Phytochemical analysis of ethanolic extract of Anacyclus pyrethrum revealed that it is rich in N-alkylamide. This study therefore sought to assess characterization of ethanolic extract of Anacyclus pyrethrum root. Root extract was performed using a gradient reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography/UV/electrospray ionization ion trap mass spectrometry (HPLC/ESI-MS) method on an embedded polar column. MS1 and MS2 fragmentation data were used for identification purposes, while UV was used for quantification. Thirteen N-alkylamides (five N-isobutylamides, three N-methyl isobutylamides, four tyramides, and one 2-phenylethylamide) were detected. Five of them identified as undeca-2E,4E-diene-8,10-diynoic acid N-methyl isobutylamide, tetradeca-2E,4E-diene-8,10-diynoic acid tyramide, deca-2E,4E-dienoic acid N-methyl isobutylamide, tetradeca-2E,4E,XE/Z-trienoic acid tyramide and tetradeca-2E,4E,8Z,10Z-tetraenoic isobutylamide are novel compounds, which have never been identified in Anacyclus pyrethrum.

Keywords: Anacyclus pyrethrum (Asteraceae), LC-MS plant profiling, N-alkylamides, pellitorine, anacycline

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Authors: M. Inzunza

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In contemporary society, victims of crime has been given more recognition, which have contributed to advancing the knowledge on the effects of crime. There exists a complexity of who gets the status of victim and that the typology of good versus bad can interfere with the contact situation of the victim with the police. The aim of this study is to identify the most central areas affecting the contact situation between crime victims and the police to develop a conceptual model to be useful empirically. By considering previously documented problem areas and different theoretical domains, a conceptual model has been developed. Preliminary findings suggest that an area that should be given attention is to get a better understanding of the victim, not only in terms of demographics but also in terms of risk behavior and social network. This area has been considered to influence the status of the crime victim. Another domain of value is the type of crime and the context of the incident in more detail. The police officer approach style in the contact situation is also a pertinent area that is influenced by how the police based victim services are organized and how individual police officers are suited for the mission. Suitability includes constructs from empathy models adapted to the police context and especially focusing on sub-constructs such as perspective taking. Discussion will focus on how these findings can be operationalized in practice and how they are used in ongoing empirical studies.

Keywords: empathy, perspective taking, police contact, victim of crime

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Authors: Maayan Nakash

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The modern workplace is undergoing a revolution, with Generation Z (Gen-Z) at the forefront of this transformative shift. However, empirical investigations specifically targeting the workplace preferences of this generation remain limited. Through direct examination of their tendencies via a survey approach, this study offers vital insights for aligning organizational policies and practices. The results presented in this paper are part of a comprehensive study that explored Gen Z's viewpoints on various employment market aspects, likely to decisively influence the design of future work environments. Data were collected via an online survey distributed among a cohort of 461 individuals from Gen-Z, born between the mid-1990s and 2010, consisting of 241 males (52.28%) and 220 females (47.72%). Responses were gauged using Likert scale statements that probed preferences for teamwork versus individual work, virtual versus personal interactions, and open versus private workspaces. Descriptive statistics and analytical analyses were conducted to pinpoint key patterns. We discovered that a high proportion of respondents (81.99%, n=378) exhibited a preference for teamwork over individual work. Correspondingly, the data indicate strong support for the recognition of team-based tasks as a tool contributing to personal and professional development. In terms of communication, the majority of respondents (61.38%) either disagreed (n=154) or slightly agreed (n=129) with the exclusive reliance on virtual interactions with their organizational peers. This finding underscores that despite technological progress, digital natives place significant value on physical interaction and non-mediated communication. Moreover, we understand that they also value a quiet and private work environment, clearly preferring it over open and shared workspaces. Considering that Gen-Z does not necessarily experience high levels of stress within social frameworks in the workplace, this can be attributed to a desire for a space that allows for focused engagement with work tasks. A One-Sample Chi-Square Test was performed on the observed distribution of respondents' reactions to each examined statement. The results showed statistically significant deviations from a uniform distribution (p<.001), indicating that the response patterns did not occur by chance and that there were meaningful tendencies in the participants' responses. The findings expand the theoretical knowledge base on human resources in the dynamics of a multi-generational workforce, illuminating the values, approaches, and expectations of Gen-Z. Practically, the results may lead organizations to equip themselves with tools to create policies tailored to Gen-Z in the context of workspaces and social needs, which could potentially foster a fertile environment and aid in attracting and retaining young talent. Future studies might include investigating potential mitigating factors, such as cultural influences or individual personality traits, which could further clarify the nuances in Gen-Z's work style preferences. Longitudinal studies tracking changes in these preferences as the generation matures may also yield valuable insights. Ultimately, as the landscape of the workforce continues to evolve, ongoing investigations into the unique characteristics and aspirations of emerging generations remain essential for nurturing harmonious, productive, and future-ready organizational environments.

Keywords: workplace, future of work, generation Z, digital natives, human resources management

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Authors: Baljit Singh Khehra, Amar Partap Singh Pharwaha

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Clusters of Microcalcifications (MCCs) are most frequent symptoms of Ductal Carcinoma in Situ (DCIS) recognized by mammography. Least-Square Support Vector Machine (LS-SVM) is a variant of the standard SVM. In the paper, LS-SVM is proposed as a classifier for classifying MCCs as benign or malignant based on relevant extracted features from enhanced mammogram. To establish the credibility of LS-SVM classifier for classifying MCCs, a comparative evaluation of the relative performance of LS-SVM classifier for different kernel functions is made. For comparative evaluation, confusion matrix and ROC analysis are used. Experiments are performed on data extracted from mammogram images of DDSM database. A total of 380 suspicious areas are collected, which contain 235 malignant and 145 benign samples, from mammogram images of DDSM database. A set of 50 features is calculated for each suspicious area. After this, an optimal subset of 23 most suitable features is selected from 50 features by Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO). The results of proposed study are quite promising.

Keywords: clusters of microcalcifications, ductal carcinoma in situ, least-square support vector machine, particle swarm optimization

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Authors: Cynthia Pope

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Though traditional art has been strong on showcasing aesthetics to imbue pleasantries, modern public art has been breaking trends to push citizens beyond the pleasure of seeing beauty. Contemporary public sculpture, in particular, has been the impetus of provoking questions about community standards, identity, and race relations. A phenomenon involving Scaffold, a sculpture by artist Sam Durant, became the focal point of contention within Minneapolis, Minnesota, recently. With intentions to better understand the power public sculpture has to disrupt community identity, in this book, It will use primarily rhetorical theory to explain how all parties involved—The Walker Art Museum, the Dakota Nation, Durant, and local citizens—participated in a controversy touching on racial politics, identity, culture, history and public art. This mixed-methods case study examines the public artifact contextually through historical and cultural frameworks. Findings in this project will reveal Scaffold to be represented as a tool of empowered Caucasians to the exclusion of marginalized people. This project also informs the fields of public rhetoric and political identity, marginalized voices, and community and social justice initiatives to include the difficult topic of race and identity.

Keywords: public art controversy, technical communication, community narrative, ambient rhetoric

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Authors: Felipe A. Guth, Shane Ward, Kevin McDonnell

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In the precision agriculture area, one of the main tasks is the automated detection of diseases in crops. Machine Learning algorithms have been studied in recent decades for such tasks in view of their potential for improving economic outcomes that automated disease detection may attain over crop fields. The latest generation of deep learning convolution neural networks has presented significant results in the area of image classification. In this way, this work has tested the implementation of an architecture of deep learning convolution neural network for the detection of diseases in different types of crops. A data augmentation strategy was used to meet the requirements of the algorithm implemented with a deep learning framework. Two test scenarios were deployed. The first scenario implemented a neural network under images extracted from a controlled environment while the second one took images both from the field and the controlled environment. The results evaluated the generalisation capacity of the neural networks in relation to the two types of images presented. Results yielded a general classification accuracy of 59% in scenario 1 and 96% in scenario 2.

Keywords: convolutional neural networks, deep learning, disease detection, precision agriculture

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Authors: V. V. Povoroznyuk, Lar. P. Martynyuk, N. I. Dzerovych, Lil. P. Martyntyuk

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Objective: Menopause-related changes in female body are associated with the greater risk of metabolic syndrome (MS), which includes obesity, dyslipidemia, impaired glucose tolerance, hypertension. The aim of our study was to reveal peculiarities of fat and lean mass distribution between postmenopausal women with abdominal obesity and with MS. Materials and Methods: The sample consisted of 43 postmenopausal 60 – 69 years old women (age: mean = 64,8; S.D. = 0,4); duration of menopause: mean = 14,5; S.D.= 0,9). The diagnosis of MS was considered according to IDF (2005 yr) criteria. Lean and fat mass distrubution were measured by dual-energy X-ray absortiometry, and were compared for the cohorts with and without MS. Data were analyzed using Statistical Package 6.0 (Statsoft). Results: Findings revealed that 24 (55,8 %) of postmenopausal women had MS. In patients with and without MS compared, fat mass was higher in the former group (41248,25±2263,89 and 29817,68±2397,78 respectively; F=11,9; p=0,001) and at different body regions also: gynoid fat (6563,72±348,19 and 5115,21±392,43 respectively; F=7,6; p=0,008), android fat (3815,45±200,8128 and 2798,15±282,79 respectively; F=9,06; p=0,004. Lean mass comparing didn’t show significant differences in female with and without MS (42548,0±1239,18 and 40667,53±1223,78 respectively; F=1,1; p=0,29) and at different body regions also. Conclusion: These findings suggest that in postmenopausal women with MS there is prevalence of fat mass without increasing of lean mass quantity in compare to female with abdominal obesity without MS.

Keywords: lean mass, fat mass, овesity, metabolic syndrome, women, postmenopausal period

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Authors: Bandari Shankar, Yohannes Yirga

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In this paper, the problem of heat and mass transfer in unsteady MHD boundary-layer flow of nanofluids over stretching sheet with a non uniform heat source/sink is considered. The unsteadiness in the flow and temperature is caused by the time-dependent stretching velocity and surface temperature. The unsteady boundary layer equations are transformed to a system of non-linear ordinary differential equations and solved numerically using Keller box method. The velocity, temperature, and concentration profiles were obtained and utilized to compute the skin-friction coefficient, local Nusselt number, and local Sherwood number for different values of the governing parameters viz. solid volume fraction parameter, unsteadiness parameter, magnetic field parameter, Schmidt number, space-dependent and temperature-dependent parameters for heat source/sink. A comparison of the numerical results of the present study with previously published data revealed an excellent agreement

Keywords: unsteady, heat and mass transfer, manetohydrodynamics, nanofluid, non-uniform heat source/sink, stretching sheet

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Authors: Sasha Goodwin

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Public perceptions can play a crucial role in influencing criminal justice policy and legislation, particularly concerning sex offenders. Studies have found a proximate relationship between public perception and policy to manage the risks posed by sex offenders. A significant body of research on public perceptions about sex offenders primarily uses survey methods and standardised instruments such as the Community Attitude Towards Sex Offenders (CATSO) and Perceptions of Sex Offenders (PSO) scales and finds a mostly negative and punitive attitude informed by common misconceptions. A transformative methodology from the emerging sub-field of visual criminology is where the construction of offences and offenders are understood via novel ways of collecting and analysing data. This research paper examines the public perceptions of sex offenders through the utilization of a content analysis of drawings. The study aimed to disentangle the emotions, stereotypes, and myths embedded in public perceptions by analysing the graphic representations and specific characteristics depicted by participants. Preliminary findings highlight significant discrepancies between public perceptions and empirical profiles of sex offenders, shedding light on the misunderstandings surrounding this heterogeneous group. By employing visual data, this research contributes to a deeper understanding of the complex interplay between societal perceptions and the realities of sex offenders.

Keywords: emotions, figural drawings, public perception, sex offenders

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Authors: Kim Quy Le, Duan Fei, Jia Wei Chew, Jun Zeng, Maria Fabiola Leyva

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In line with the sustainable development goal, molded fiber products play important roles in reducing plastic-based packaging. To fabricate molded fiber products, besides using conventional meshing tools, 3D printing is employed to manufacture the molded fiber screen. 3D printing technique allows printing molded fiber screens with complex geometry, flexible in pore size and shape. The 3D printed molded fiber screens are in the progress of investigation to improve the de-watering efficiency, fiber collection, mechanical strength, etc. In addition, the fiber distribution on the screen is also necessary to access the quality of the screen. Besides using experimental methods to capture the fiber distribution on screen, simulation also offers using tools to access the uniformity of fiber. In this study, the fiber was simulated using the multi-sphere model to simulate the fibers. The interaction of the fibers was able to mimic by employing the discrete element method. The fiber distribution was captured and compared to the experiment. The simulation results were able to reveal the fiber deposition layer upon layer and explain the formation of uneven thickness on the tilted area of molded fiber screen.

Keywords: 3D printing, multi-jet fusion, molded fiber screen, discrete element method

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Authors: Woraprat Amnuaychaichana

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Several medicinal plants are well known to contain active constituents such as flavonoids and phenolic compounds with are plausible candidates for therapeutic purposes. An infectious disease caused by microbial infection is the leading cause of death. Antibiotics are typically used to eradicate these microbes, but recent evidence indicates that they are developing antibiotic-resistant effects. This study focused on antimicrobial activities of Phyllanthus emblica and Gracilaria fisheri using the agar disk diffusion method and broth microdilution to determine the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) value. The extracts were screened against Staphylococcus aureus. Five concentrations of plant extracts were used to determine the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) by 2-fold dilution of plant extract. The results indicated that G. fisheri extract gave the maximum zones of inhibition of 11.7 mm against S. aureus while P. emblica showed no effects. The MIC values of G. fisheri extract against S. aureus was 500 µg/ml. To summarise, G. fisheri extracts demonstrated high efficacy of antibacterial activity against Gram-positive S. aureus, which may pave the way for developing a formulation containing this plant. G. fisheri extract should be subjected to additional investigation in order to determine the mechanism of action of its antimicrobial activity.

Keywords: antibacterial activity, Staphylococcus aureus, gracilaria fishery, Phyllanthus emblica

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Authors: Jun-ya Nagase

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There are many pipes such as a water pipe and a gas pipe in a chemical plant and house. It is possible to prevent accidents by these inspections. However, many pipes are very narrow and it is difficult for people to inspect directly. Therefore, development of a robot that can move in narrow pipe is necessary. A wheel movement type robot, a snake-like robot and a multi-leg robot are all described in the relevant literature as pipe inspection robots that are currently studied. Among them, the tracked crawler robot can travel by traversing uneven ground flexibly with a crawler belt attached firmly to the ground surface. Although conventional crawler robots have high efficiency and/or high ground-covering ability, they require a comparatively large space to move. In this study, a cylindrical crawler robot based on worm-rack mechanism, which does not need large space to move and which has high ground-covering ability, is proposed. Experiments have demonstrated smooth operation and a forward movement of the robot by application of voltage to the motor. In addition, performance tests show that it can propel itself in confined spaces. This paper reports the structure, drive mechanism, prototype, and experimental evaluation.

Keywords: tracked-crawler, pipe inspection robot, worm-rack mechanism, amoeba locomotion

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Authors: Imdat Taymaz, Erman Aslan, Kemal Cakir

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The Lattice Boltzmann Method (LBM) is performed to computationally investigate the laminar flow and heat transfer of an incompressible fluid with constant material properties in a 2D channel with a built-in triangular prism. Both momentum and energy transport is modelled by the LBM. A uniform lattice structure with a single time relaxation rule is used. Interpolation methods are applied for obtaining a higher flexibility on the computational grid, where the information is transferred from the lattice structure to the computational grid by Lagrange interpolation. The flow is researched on for different Reynolds number, while Prandtl number is keeping constant as a 0.7. The results show how the presence of a triangular prism effects the flow and heat transfer patterns for the steady-state and unsteady-periodic flow regimes. As an evaluation of the accuracy of the developed LBM code, the results are compared with those obtained by a commercial CFD code. It is observed that the present LBM code produces results that have similar accuracy with the well-established CFD code, as an additionally, LBM needs much smaller CPU time for the prediction of the unsteady phonema.

Keywords: laminar forced convection, lbm, triangular prism

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Authors: Vahid Nademi

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In response to widely used wearable medical devices equipped with a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) and insulin pump, the advanced control methods are still demanding to get the full benefit of these devices. Unlike costly clinical trials, implementing effective insulin-glucose control strategies can provide significant contributions to the patients suffering from chronic diseases such as diabetes. This study deals with a key role of two-layer insulin-glucose regulator based on model-predictive-control (MPC) scheme so that the patient’s predicted glucose profile is in compliance with the insulin level injected through insulin pump automatically. It is achieved by iterative optimization algorithm which is called an integrated perturbation analysis and sequential quadratic programming (IPA-SQP) solver for handling uncertainties due to unexpected variations in glucose-insulin values and body’s characteristics. The feasibility evaluation of the discussed control approach is also studied by means of numerical simulations of two case scenarios via measured data. The obtained results are presented to verify the superior and reliable performance of the proposed control scheme with no negative impact on patient safety.

Keywords: blood glucose monitoring, insulin pump, predictive control, optimization

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Authors: Ryan M. Monti, Bijal Mehta

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In cases of massive pulmonary embolism, defined as acute pulmonary embolism presenting with systemic hypotension or right ventricular dysfunction and impending failure, there is indication that unconventional therapies, such as phosphodiesterase inhibitors, endothelin receptor antagonists, and/or prostacyclin analogs may decrease the morbidity and mortality. Based on the premise that dilating the pulmonary artery will decrease the pulmonary vascular pressure, while simultaneously decreasing the aggregation of platelets, it can be hypothesized that increased blood flow through the pulmonary artery will decrease right heart strain and subsequent morbidity and mortality. While this theory has yet to be formally studied, the recommendations for treating massive pulmonary embolism with phosphodiesterase inhibitors, endothelin receptor antagonists, and/or prostacyclin analogs in conjunction with the current standards of care in massive pulmonary embolism should be formally studied. In particular, patients with massive PE who are unable to undergo thrombolysis/surgical intervention may be the ideal population to study the use of these treatments to determine any decrease in mortality and morbidity (short term and long term).

Keywords: acute pulmonary thromboembolism, treatment of pulmonary embolism, use of phosphodiesterase inhibitors, endothelin receptor antagonists, prostacyclin analogs in PE

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Authors: Nasiru Inuwa, Haruna Usman Modibbo, Yahya Zakari Abdullahi

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The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of foreign direct investment (FDI), economic growth on carbon emissions in context of WAIFEM member countries. The Im-Pesaran-Shin panel unit root test, Kao residual based test panel cointegration technique and panel Granger causality tests over the period 1980-2012 within a multivariate framework were applied. The results of cointegration test revealed a long run equilibrium relationship among CO2 emissions, economic growth and foreign direct investment. The results of Granger causality tests revealed a unidirectional causality running from economic growth to CO2 emissions for the panel of WAIFEM countries at the 5% level. Also, Granger causality runs from economic growth to foreign direct investment without feedback. However, no causality relationship between foreign direct investment and CO2 emissions for the panel of WAIFEM countries was observed. The study therefore, suggest that policy makers from WAIFEM member countries should design policies aim at attracting more foreign direct investments inflow as well the adoption of cleaner production technologies in order to reduce CO2 emissions.

Keywords: economic growth, CO2 emissions, causality, WAIFEM

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Authors: Doris Fovwe Ogeleka, L. E. Tudararo-Aherobo, F. E. Okieimen

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The ecological effects of oil spill in the environment were studied in Warri riverine areas of Ubeji and Jeddo, Delta State. In the two communities, water and sediment samples were analysed for organics (polyaromatic hydrocarbon; total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH)) and heavy metals (lead, copper, zinc, iron and chromium). The American Public Health Association (APHA) and the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) methods were employed for the laboratory test. The results indicated that after a long period of oil spill (above one year), there were still significant concentrations (p<0.05) of organics indicating hydrocarbon pollution. Mean concentrations recorded for TPH in Ubeji and Jeddo waters were 23.60 ± 1.18 mg/L and 29.96 ± 0.14 mg/L respectively while total PAHs was 0.009 ± 0.002 mg/L and 0.008 ± 0.001 mg/L. Mean concentrations of TPH in the sediment was 48.83 ± 1.49 ppm and 1093 ± 74 ppm in the above order while total PAHs was 0.012 ± 0.002 ppm and 0.026 ± 0.004 ppm. Low concentrations were recorded for most of the heavy metals in the water and sediment. The observed concentrations of hydrocarbons in the study areas should provide the impetus for regulatory surveillance of oil discharged intentionally/unintentionally into the Warri riverine waters and sediment since hydrocarbon released into the environment sorb to the sediment particles where they cause harm to organisms in the sediment and overlying waters.

Keywords: crude oil, PAHs, TPH, oil spillage, water, sediment

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Authors: Faghihnia Torshizi Mostafa, Saitoh Masato

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An efficient method is developed for the response of a group of vertical, cylindrical fixed-head, finite length piles embedded in a homogeneous elastic stratum, subjected to harmonic force atop the pile group cap. Pile to pile interaction is represented through simplified beam-on-dynamic-Winkler-foundation (BDWF) with realistic frequency-dependent springs and dashpots. Pile group effect is considered through interaction factors. New closed-form expressions for interaction factors and curvature ratios atop the pile are extended by considering different boundary conditions at the tip of the piles (fixed, hinged). In order to investigate the fundamental characteristics of inertial bending strains in pile groups, inertial bending strains at the head of each pile are expressed in terms of slenderness ratio. The results of parametric study give valuable insight in understanding the behavior of fixed head pile groups in fundamental natural frequency of soil stratum.

Keywords: Winkler-foundation, fundamental frequency of soil stratum, normalized inertial bending strain, harmonic excitation

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Authors: Marzieh Karimihaghighi, Carlos Castillo

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This work studies how Machine Learning (ML) may be used to increase the effectiveness of a criminal recidivism risk assessment tool, RisCanvi. The two key dimensions of this analysis are predictive accuracy and algorithmic fairness. ML-based prediction models obtained in this study are more accurate at predicting criminal recidivism than the manually-created formula used in RisCanvi, achieving an AUC of 0.76 and 0.73 in predicting violent and general recidivism respectively. However, the improvements are small, and it is noticed that algorithmic discrimination can easily be introduced between groups such as national vs foreigner, or young vs old. It is described how effectiveness and algorithmic fairness objectives can be balanced, applying a method in which a single error disparity in terms of generalized false positive rate is minimized, while calibration is maintained across groups. Obtained results show that this bias mitigation procedure can substantially reduce generalized false positive rate disparities across multiple groups. Based on these results, it is proposed that ML-based criminal recidivism risk prediction should not be introduced without applying algorithmic bias mitigation procedures.

Keywords: algorithmic fairness, criminal risk assessment, equalized odds, recidivism

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Authors: Mohammad A. M. Kewisha

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Xerophilic fungi , which are responsible for many cases of biodeterioration monuments, have been known as an interesting source of antimicrobial compounds. Sixty nine fungal strains, isolated from different localities and species inside Egyptian museums, were screened for antimicrobial activity against some bacterial species and unicellular fungi. The most potent antimicrobial activity was obtained by Asperigillus fumigatus which was identified by ITS4 ……. and showed activity against Staphylococcus aureus with 20 mm and C. albicans with18 mm of inhibition zone. Different parameters were optimized to enhance this activity. The culture grown under stationary conditions for 8 days at 30°C and pH 8 gave the best antimicrobial activity. Moreover, both starch and yeast extract showed the most suitable carbon and nitrogen sources, respectively. The antimicrobial compound was purified and subjected to spectroscopic characterization, which revealed that the antimicrobial compound might be 5,7 ethoxy, 4\,5\ methoxy isorhamnetin -3- O- galactoside. This study suggests that Aspergillus fumagates as a potential candidate offering a better scope for the production, purification and isolation of broad-spectrum antimicrobial compounds. These findings will facilitate the scale-up and further purification to ascertain the compounds responsible for antimicrobial activity, which can be exploited for the treatment of biodeterioration monuments and pharmaceutical applications.

Keywords: antimicrobial activity, asperigillus fumigatus, Identification by ITS4, Staphylococcus aureus, C.albicans

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Authors: Arseniy M. Kondratyev, Sergey V. Onufriev, Alexander I. Savvatimskiy

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The microsecond electrical pulse heating technique which provides uniform energy input into an investigated specimen is considered. In the present study we investigated ZrC+C carbide specimens in a form of a thin layer (about 5 microns thick) that were produced using a method of magnetron sputtering on insulating substrates. Specimens contained (at. %): Zr–17.88; C–67.69; N–8.13; O–5.98. Current through the specimen, voltage drop across it and radiation at the wavelength of 856 nm were recorded in the experiments. It enabled us to calculate the input energy, specific heat (from 2300 to 4500 K) and resistivity (referred to the initial dimensions of a specimen). To obtain the true temperature a black body specimen was used. Temperature of the beginning and completion of a phase transition (solid–liquid) was measured.Temperature of the onset of melting was 3150 K at the input energy 2.65 kJ/g; temperature of the completion of melting was 3450 K at the input energy 5.2 kJ/g. The specific heat of the solid phase of investigated carbide calculated using our data on temperature and imparted energy, is close to 0.75 J/gК for temperature range 2100–2800 K. Our results are considered together with the equilibrium Zr-C phase diagram.

Keywords: pulse heating, zirconium carbide, high temperatures, melting

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Authors: Sonia Gonzalez Cruz

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Subtitling activities allow for acquiring and developing certain translation skills, and they also have a great impact on the students' motivation. Active subtitling is a relatively recent activity that has generated a lot of interest particularly in the field of second-language acquisition, but it is also present within both the didactics of general translation and language teaching for translators. It is interesting to analyze the level of inclusion of these new resources into the existent curricula and observe to what extent these different teaching methods are being used in the translation classroom. Although subtitling has already become an independent discipline of study and it is considered to be a type of translation on its own, it is necessary to do further research on the different didactic varieties that this type of audiovisual translation offers. Therefore, this project is framed within the field of the didactics of translation, and it focuses on the relationship between the didactics of general translation and active subtitling as a didactic tool. Its main objective is to analyze the inclusion of interlinguistic active subtitling in general translation curricula at different universities. As it has been observed so far, the analyzed curricula do not make any type of reference to the use of this didactic tool in general translation classrooms. However, they do register the inclusion of other audiovisual activities such as dubbing, script translation or video watching, among others. By means of online questionnaires and interviews, the main goal is to confirm the results obtained after the observation of the curricula and find out to what extent subtitling has actually been included into general translation classrooms.

Keywords: subtitling, general translation, didactics, translation competence

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Authors: Andrea Paltrinieri, Alberto Dreassi, Stefano Miani, Alex Sclip

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The financial crises caused a collapse in prices of most asset classes, raising the attention on alternative investments such as Sukuk, a smaller, fast growing but often misunderstood market. We study diversification benefits of Sukuk, their correlation with other asset classes and the effects of their inclusion in investment portfolios of institutional and retail investors, through a comprehensive comparison of their risk/return profiles during and after the financial crisis. We find a beneficial performance adjusted for the specific volatility together with a lower correlation especially during the financial crisis. The distribution of Sukuk returns is positively skewed and leptokurtic, with a risk/return profile similarly to high yield bonds. Overall, our results suggest that Sukuk present diversification opportunities, a significant volatility-adjusted performance and lower correlations especially during the financial crisis. Our findings are relevant for a number of institutional investors. Long term investors, such as life insurers would benefit from Sukuk’s protective features during financial crisis yet keeping return and growth opportunities, whereas banks would gain due to their role of placers, advisors, market makers or underwriters.

Keywords: sukuk, zero beta asset, asset allocation, sukuk market

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Authors: Samaneh Abolli, Mahdi Ahmadi Nasab, Kamyar Yaghmaeian, Mahmood Alimohammadi

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The quality of drinking water, in addition to the presence of physicochemical parameters, depends on the type and geographical location of water sources. In this study, groundwater quality was investigated by sampling total dissolved solids (TDS), electrical conductivity (EC), total hardness (TH), Cl, Ca²⁺, and Mg²⁺ parameters in 13 sites, and 40 water samples were sent to the laboratory. Electrometric, titration, and spectrophotometer methods were used. In the next step, the water quality index (WQI) was used to investigate the impact and weight of each parameter in the groundwater. The results showed that only the mean of magnesium ion (40.88 mg/l) was lower than the guidelines of World Health Organization (WHO). Interpreting the WQI based on the WHO guidelines showed that the statuses of 21, 11, and 7 samples were very poor, poor, and average quality, respectively, and one sample had excellent quality. Among the studied parameters, the means of EC (2,087.49 mS/cm) and Cl (1,015.87 mg/l) exceeded the global and national limits. Classifying water quality of TH was very hard (87.5%), hard (7.5%), and moderate (5%), respectively. Based on the geographical distribution, the drinking water index in sites 4 and 11 did not have acceptable quality. Chloride ion was identified as the responsible pollutant and the most important ion for raising the index. The outputs of statistical tests and Spearman correlation had significant and direct correlation (p < 0.05, r > 0.7) between TDS, EC, and chloride, EC and chloride, as well as TH, Ca²⁺, and Mg²⁺.

Keywords: water quality index, groundwater, chloride, GIS, Garmsar

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Authors: Auliya Adzillatin Uzhma, M. Adrian Rizky, Puri Diah Santyarini

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Bekasi Industrial Area in Kab. Bekasi and SEZ (Special Economic Zone) Sei Mangkei in Kab. Simalungun are two areas whose have the same main economic activity that are manufacturing industrial. Manufacturing industry in Bekasi Industrial Area contributes more than 70% of Kab. Bekasi’s GDP, while manufacturing industry in SEZ Sei Mangkei contributes less than 20% of Kab. Simalungun’s GDP. The dependent variable in the research is labor productivity, while the independent variable is the amount of labor, the level of labor education, the length of work and salary. This research used linear regression method to find the model for represent actual condition of productivity in two industrial area, then the equalization using dummy variable on labor education level variable. The initial hypothesis (Ho) in this research is that labor productivity in Bekasi Industrial Area will be higher than the productivity of labor in SEZ Sei Mangkei. The variable that supporting the accepted hypothesis are more labor, higher education, longer work and higher salary in Bekasi Industrial Area.

Keywords: labor, industrial city, linear regression, productivity

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Authors: Ahmad Amiri, Hamed K. Arzani, S. N. Kazi, B. T. Chew

Abstract:

Since graphene nanoplatelet (GNP) is a promising material due to desirable thermal properties, this paper is related to the thermophysical and heat transfer performance of covalently functionalized GNP-based water/ethylene glycol nanofluid through an annular channel. After experimentally measuring thermophysical properties of prepared samples, a computational fluid dynamics study has been carried out to examine the heat transfer and pressure drop of well-dispersed and stabilized nanofluids. The effect of concentration of GNP and Reynolds number at constant wall temperature boundary condition under turbulent flow regime on convective heat transfer coefficient has been investigated. Based on the results, for different Reynolds numbers, the convective heat transfer coefficient of the prepared nanofluid is higher than that of the base fluid. Also, the enhancement of convective heat transfer coefficient and thermal conductivity increase with the increase of GNP concentration in base-fluid. Based on the results of this investigation, there is a significant enhancement on the heat transfer rate associated with loading well-dispersed GNP in base-fluid.

Keywords: nanofluid, turbulent flow, forced convection flow, graphene, annular, annulus

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Authors: Shruti Sengupta

Abstract:

According to the nationally representative data, about 73% of India's rural workforce is engaged in agriculture. While women make significant contributions to total agriculture production, they contribute to about one-third in India. In terms of gender composition, about 80% of the female and 69% of the male workforce is engaged in agriculture in rural India. Still, it is common to find gender differences in plot management within the household. In the last two and half years, India's agri-food system has undergone several changes due to this pandemic, both the demand and supply side, making agriculture more information and knowledge-intensive. Therefore, this paper investigates, using a nationally representative sample, how information asymmetry affects the net returns per hectare of land between female and male farm managers. Empirical results show that information intensity has a significant positive effect on net farm returns per hectare. Results suggest that if females have the same access to technical information as their male counterparts, their farm income can go up by .96 pp compared to male-headed farms. Results also indicate that literate females have higher farm incomes than non-literate females. The study contributes to the literature by employing gender differentials in farm income due to the information gap.

Keywords: agriculture, gender, information asymmetry, farm income, social bias

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Authors: Maryam Khazaei Pool, Lori Lewis

Abstract:

This is a summary of articles based on higher order B-splines methods and the variation of B-spline methods such as Quadratic B-spline Finite Elements Method, Exponential Cubic B-Spline Method, Septic B-spline Technique, Quintic B-spline Galerkin Method, and B-spline Galerkin Method based on the Quadratic B-spline Galerkin method (QBGM) and Cubic B-spline Galerkin method (CBGM). In this paper, we study the B-spline methods and variations of B-spline techniques to find a numerical solution to the Burgers’ equation. A set of fundamental definitions, including Burgers equation, spline functions, and B-spline functions, are provided. For each method, the main technique is discussed as well as the discretization and stability analysis. A summary of the numerical results is provided, and the efficiency of each method presented is discussed. A general conclusion is provided where we look at a comparison between the computational results of all the presented schemes. We describe the effectiveness and advantages of these methods.

Keywords: Burgers’ equation, Septic B-spline, modified cubic B-spline differential quadrature method, exponential cubic B-spline technique, B-spline Galerkin method, quintic B-spline Galerkin method

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Authors: V. V. Prasada Rao P., K. Venkata Subbaiah, J. Sudhir Kumar

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Most Indian cities or townships are facing greater challenges in proper disposal of their municipal solid wastes, which are growing exponentially with the rising urban population and improvement in the living standards. As per the provisional figures, 377 million people live in the urban areas accounting for 31.16 % of the Country’s total population, and expected to grow by 3.74% every year. In India, the municipal authority is liable for the safe management & disposal of Municipal Solid Wastes. However, even with the current levels of MSW generation, a majority of the local governments are unable to comply with their constitutional responsibility due to reasons ranging from cultural aspects to technological and financial constraints. In contrast, it is expected that the MSW generation in India is likely to increase from 68.8 MTD in 2011 to 160.5 MTD by 2041. Thus, the immediate challenge before the urban local bodies in India is to evolve suitable strategies not only to cope up with the current levels, but also to address the anticipated generation levels of MSW. This paper discusses the reasons for the low levels of enforcement of MSW Rules and suggests effective management strategies for the safe disposal of MSW.

Keywords: biodegradable waste, dumping sites, management strategy, municipal solid waste (MSW), MSW rules, vermicompost

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Authors: Ali Rabiee, Hessam Ghasemnejad

Abstract:

Extensive experimental investigation on the effect of stitching pattern on tubular composite structures was conducted. The effect of stitching reinforcement through thickness on using glass flux yarn on energy absorption of fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) was investigated under high speed loading conditions at axial loading. Keeping the mass of the structure at 125 grams and applying different pattern of stitching at various locations in theory enables better energy absorption, and also enables the control over the behaviour of force-crush distance curve. The study consists of simple non-stitch absorber comparison with single and multi-location stitching behaviour and its effect on energy absorption capabilities. The locations of reinforcements are 10 mm, 20 mm, 30 mm, 10-20 mm, 10-30 mm, 20-30 mm, 10-20-30 mm and 10-15-20-25-30-35 mm from the top of the specimen. The effect of through the thickness reinforcements has shown increase in energy absorption capabilities and crushing load. The significance of this is that as the stitching locations are closer, the crushing load increases and consequently energy absorption capabilities are also increased. The implementation of this idea would improve the mean force by applying stitching and controlling the behaviour of force-crush distance curve.

Keywords: through-thickness stitching, 3D enforcement​, energy absorption, tubular composite structures

Procedia PDF Downloads 262