Search results for: financial performance evaluates fish culture

Authors: Chih-Wei Chao, Jiashing Yu

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Microfluidic devices have recently emerged as promising tools for the fabrication of scaffolds for cell culture. To mimic the natural circumstances of organism for cells to grow, here we present three-dimensional (3D) scaffolds fabricated by microfluidics for cells cultivation. This work aims at investigating the behavior in terms of the viability and the proliferation capability of rat H9c2 cardiomyocytes in the gelatin 3D scaffolds by fluorescent images.

Keywords: microfluidic device, H9c2, tissue engineering, 3D scaffolds

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Authors: Ingy N. Bkrey, Ahmed A. Moniem

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We succeeded to produce a high performance and flexible graphene/Manganese dioxide (G/MnO2) electrode coated on flexible polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate. The graphene film is initially synthesized by drop-casting the graphene oxide (GO) solution on the PET substrate, followed by simultaneous reduction and patterning of the dried film using carbon dioxide (CO2) laser beam with power of 1.8 W. Potentiostatic Anodic Deposition method was used to deposit thin film of MnO2 with different loading mass 10 – 50 and 100 μg.cm-2 on the pre-prepared graphene film. The electrodes were fully characterized in terms of structure, morphology, and electrochemical performance. A maximum specific capacitance of 973 F.g-1 was attributed when depositing 50 μg.cm-2 MnO2 on the laser reduced graphene oxide rGO (or G/50MnO2) and over 92% of its initial capacitance was retained after 1000 cycles. The good electrochemical performance and long-term cycling stability make our proposed approach a promising candidate in the supercapacitor applications.

Keywords: electrode deposition, flexible, graphene oxide, graphene, high power CO2 Laser, MnO2

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Authors: Kuan-Hao Tsui, Li-Te Lin, Chia-Jung Li

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The combination of Y-27632 and Vitamin C significantly enhances the quality of aging germ cells by reducing reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, restoring mitochondrial membrane potential balance, and promoting mitochondrial fusion. The age-related decline in oocyte quality contributes to reduced fertility, increased aneuploidy, and diminished embryo quality, with mitochondrial dysfunction in both oocytes and granulosa cells being a key factor in this decline. Experiments on aging germ cells investigated the effects of the Y-27632 and Vitamin C combination. In vivo studies involved aged mice to assess oocyte maturation and ROS accumulation during culture. The assessment included mitochondrial activity, ROS levels, mitochondrial membrane potential, and mitochondrial dynamics. Cellular energy metabolism and ATP production were also measured. The combination treatment effectively addressed mitochondrial dysfunction and regulated cellular energy metabolism, promoting oxygen respiration and increasing ATP production. In aged mice, this supplement treatment enhanced in vitro oocyte maturation and prevented ROS accumulation in aging oocytes during culture. While these findings are promising, further research is needed to explore the long-term effects and potential side effects of the Y-27632 and Vitamin C combination. Additionally, translating these findings to human subjects requires careful consideration. Overall, the study suggests that the Y-27632 and Vitamin C combination could be a promising intervention to mitigate aging-related dysfunction in germ cells, potentially enhancing oocyte quality, particularly in the context of in vitro fertilization.

Keywords: ovarian aging, supplements, ROS, mitochondria

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Authors: Maamar Fatouma

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Mirror optical performance can experience varying levels of stress and tolerances, which can have a notable impact on optical parametric systems. to ensure proper optical figure and position of mirror mounting within design tolerances, it is crucial to have a robust support structure in place for optical systems. The optical figure tolerance determines the allowable deviation from the ideal form of the mirror and the position tolerance determines the location and orientations of the optical axis of the optical systems. A variety of factors influence the optical figure of the mirror. Included are self-weight (Deflection), excitation from temperature change, temperature gradients and dimensional instability. This study employs an analytical approach and finite element method to examine the effects of stress resulting from mirror mounting on the wavefront passing through the mirror. The combined effect of tolerance and deflection on mirror performance is represented by an error budget. Numerical mirror mounting is presented to illustrate the space application of performance techniques.

Keywords: opto-mechanical, bonded optic, tolerance, self-weight distortion, Rayleigh criteria

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Authors: Anurag Savarnya

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The reliability of the various parts of electric mining shovel has been assessed through the application of Weibull Model. The study was initiated to find reliability of components of electric mining shovel. The paper aims to optimize the reliability of components and increase the life cycle of component. A multilevel decomposition of the electric mining shovel was done and maintenance records were used to evaluate the failure data and appropriate system characterization was done to model the system in terms of reasonable number of components. The approach used develops a mathematical model to assess the reliability of the electric mining shovel components. The model can be used to predict reliability of components of the hydraulic mining shovel and system performance. Reliability is an inherent attribute to a system. When the life-cycle costs of a system are being analyzed, reliability plays an important role as a major driver of these costs and has considerable influence on system performance. It is an iterative process that begins with specification of reliability goals consistent with cost and performance objectives. The data were collected from an Indian open cast coal mine and the reliability of various components of the electric mining shovel has been assessed by following a Weibull Model.

Keywords: reliability, Weibull model, electric mining shovel

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Authors: Xuan Zhao, Wen Jiang

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In this study, a web crawler was used to collect POI sample data from 38 districts and counties of Chongqing in 2022, and ArcGIS was combined to coordinate and projection conversion and realize data visualization. Nuclear density analysis and spatial correlation analysis were used to explore the spatial distribution characteristics of elderly care facilities in Chongqing, and K mean cluster analysis was carried out with GeoDa to study the spatial concentration degree of elderly care resources in 38 districts and counties. Finally, the driving force of spatial differentiation of elderly care facilities in various districts and counties of Chongqing is studied by using the method of geographic detector. The results show that: (1) in terms of spatial distribution structure, the distribution of elderly care facilities in Chongqing is unbalanced, showing a distribution pattern of ‘large dispersion and small agglomeration’ and the asymmetric pattern of ‘west dense and east sparse, north dense and south sparse’ is prominent. (2) In terms of the spatial matching between elderly care resources and the elderly population, there is a weak coordination between the input of elderly care resources and the distribution of the elderly population at the county level in Chongqing. (3) The analysis of the results of the geographical detector shows that the single factor influence is mainly the number of elderly population, public financial revenue and district and county GDP. The high single factor influence is mainly caused by the elderly population, public financial income, and district and county GDP. The influence of each influence factor on the spatial distribution of elderly care facilities is not simply superimposed but has a nonlinear enhancement effect or double factor enhancement. It is necessary to strengthen the synergistic effect of two factors and promote the synergistic effect of multiple factors.

Keywords: aging, elderly care facilities, spatial differentiation, geographical detector, driving force analysis, Mountain city

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Authors: Emad A. S. Abu-Ayyash

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Cohesive devices, the linguistic tools that are usually employed to hold the different parts of the text together, have been the focus of a significant number of discourse analysis studies. These linguistic tools have grabbed the attention of researchers since the inception of the first and most comprehensive model of cohesion in 1976. However, it was noticed that some cohesive devices (e.g., endophoric reference, conjunctions, ellipsis, substitution, and lexical ties) – being thought of as more popular than others (e.g., exophoric reference) – were over-researched. The present paper explores the usage of two cohesive devices that have been evidently almost absent from discourse analysis studies. These cohesive devices are exophoric and homophoric references, the linguistic items that can be interpreted in terms of the physical and cultural contexts of discourse. The significance of the current paper, therefore, stems from the fact that it attempts to fill a gap in the research conducted so far on cohesive devices. This study provides an explanation of the concepts of the cohesive devices that have been employed in a plethora of research on cohesion and elucidates the relevant context-related concepts. The paper also identifies the gap in cohesive devices research. Exophora and homophora, the least visited cohesive devices in previous studies, were qualitatively and quantitatively explored in six opinion articles, four produced by eight postgraduate English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students in a university in the United Arab Emirates and two by professional NS writers in the Independent and the Guardian. The six pieces were about the United Kingdom Independent Party (UKIP) leader’s call to ban the burqa in the UK and were analysed vis-a-vis the employment and function of homophora and exophora. The study found that both EFL students and native speakers employed exophora and homophora considerably in their writing to serve a variety of functions, including building assumptions, supporting main ideas, and involving the readers among others.

Keywords: cohesive devices, context, culture, exophoric reference, homophoric reference

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Authors: Anastasia Stamatiou, Melissa Obermeyer, Ludger J. Fischer, Philipp Schuetz, Jörg Worlitschek

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This study evaluates unbranched, saturated carboxylic esters with respect to their suitability to be used as storage media for latent heat storage applications. Important thermophysical properties are gathered both by means of literature research as well as by experimental measurements. Additionally, esters are critically evaluated against other common phase-change materials in terms of their environmental impact and their economic potential. The experimental investigations are performed for eleven selected ester samples with a focus on the determination of their melting temperature and their enthalpy of fusion using differential scanning calorimetry. Transient Hot Bridge was used to determine the thermal conductivity of the liquid samples while thermogravimetric analysis was employed for the evaluation of the 5% weight loss temperature as well as of the decomposition temperature of the non-volatile samples. Both experimental results and literature data reveal the high potential of esters as phase-change materials. Their good thermal and environmental properties as well as the possibility for production from natural sources (e.g. vegetable oils) render esters as very promising for future storage applications. A particularly high short term application potential of esters could lie in low temperature storage applications where the main alternative is using salt hydrates as phase-change material.

Keywords: esters, phase-change materials, thermal properties, latent heat storage

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Authors: Nora Arbaoui, Rachid Tadili

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The experiment adopted a natural technique of heating and cooling an agricultural greenhouse to reduce the fuel consumption and CO2 emissions based on the heating of a transfer fluid that circulates inside the greenhouse through a solar copper coil positioned at the roof of the greenhouse. This experimental study is devoted to the performance evaluation of a solar heating system to improve the microclimate of a greenhouse during the cold period, especially in the Mediterranean climate. This integrated solar system for heating has a positive impact on the quality and quantity of the products under the study greenhouse.

Keywords: solar system, agricultural greenhouse, heating, storage

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Authors: Tris Kee

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As the urban design discipline develops renewed interests in participatory design and collaborative place-making, it becomes critical to review the potential and limitations in current processes to ensure a sustainable method for future development.This paper explores how collaborative design can be a key to future sustainable urban development through two case studies from Asia.The process involves a multi-disciplinary collaboration and an innovative learning process by sharing ideas as well as careful consideration on social, economic and political circumstances among government and district stakeholders.This intrinsic proposition of innovative participatory planning implies interdisciplinary collaboration between professionals and local residents to integrate knowledge into new urban place-making thinking.Design innovation in contemporary society can manifest itself in the discourse sustainable urban development by bottom-up planning and community driven design. This paper examines the emerging design pedagogy which promotes interdisciplinary coalition of professionals and local stakeholders in community development as an innovative design rubric to create a sustainable urban approach.Through two case studies in Hong Kong, this paper reviews and critically evaluates the process of how the notion of sustainable development in contemporary urban planning theory is underpinned by the collaborative design practice.

Keywords: collaborative design, design innovation, sustainable development, urban development

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Authors: Alexandra Cheira

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Cultural appropriation has been theorised as a form of colonialism in which members of a dominant culture reduce cultural elements that are deeply meaningful to a minority culture to the category of the “exotic other” since they do not experience the oppression and discriminations faced by members of the minority culture. Yet, in the particular case of literature, writers such as Lionel Shriver and Bernardine Evaristo have argued that authors from a cultural majority have a right to write in the voice of someone from a cultural minority, hence attacking the idea that this is a form of cultural appropriation. By definition, Shriver and Evaristo claim, writers are supposed to write beyond their own culture, gender, class, and/ or race. In this light, this paper discusses the limits of cultural appropriation vis-à-vis the ethics of narrative empathy by addressing the mixed critical reception of Kathryn Stockett’s The Help (2009) and Jeanine Cummins’s American Dirt (2020). In fact, both novels were acclaimed as global eye-openers regarding the struggles of respectively South American migrants and African American maids. At the same time, both novelists have been accused of cultural appropriation by telling a story that is not theirs to tell, given the fact that they are white women telling these stories in what critics have argued is really an American voice telling a story to American readers.These claims will be investigated within the framework of Edward Said’s foundational examination of Orientalism in the field of postcolonial studies as a Western style for authoritatively restructuring the Orient. This means that Orientalist stereotypes regarding Eastern cultures have implicitly validated colonial and imperial pursuits, in the specific context of literary representations of African American and Mexican cultures by white writers. At the same time, the conflicted reception of American Dirt and The Help will be examined within the critical framework of narrative empathy as theorised by Suzanne Keen. Hence, there will be a particular focus on the way a reader’s heated perception that the author’s perspective is purely dishonest can result from a friction between an author’s intention and a reader’s experience of narrative empathy, while a shared sense of empathy between authors and readers can be a rousing momentum to move beyond literary response to social action.Finally, in order to assess that “the key question should not be who can write about whom, but how the writer tells the story”, the recent controversy surrounding Dutch author Marieke Lucas Rijneveld’s decision to resign the translation of American poet Amanda Gorman’s work into Dutch will be duly investigated. In fact, Rijneveld stepped out after journalist and activist Janice Deul criticised Dutch publisher Meulenhoff for choosing a translator who was not also Black, despite the fact that 22-year-old Gorman had selected the 29-year-old Rijneveld herself, as a fellow young writer who had likewise come to fame early on in life. In this light, the critical argument that the controversial reception of The Help reveals as much about US race relations in the early twenty-first century as about the complex literary transactions between individual readers and the novel itself will also be discussed in the extended context of American Dirt and white author Marieke Rijneveld’s withdrawal from the projected translation of Black poet Amanda Gorman.

Keywords: cultural appropriation, cultural stereotypes, narrative empathy, race relations

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Authors: Opemiposi Adegbulu

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The research investigates the existence of a public interest consideration or rationale for the management of directors’ conflicts of interest within large public corporations. This is conducted through extensive literature review and theories on the definition of conflicts of interest, the firm and purposes of the fiduciary duty of loyalty under which the management of these conflicts of interest find their foundation. Conflicts of interest is an elusive, diverse and engaging subject, a cross-cutting problem of governance which involves all levels of governance, ranging from local to global, public to corporate or financial sectors. It is a common issue that affects corporate governance and corporate culture, having a negative impact on the reputation of corporations and their trustworthiness. It is clear that addressing this issue is imperative for good governance of corporations as they are increasingly becoming and are powerful global economies with significant power and influence in the society. Similarly, the bargaining power of these powerful corporations has been recognised by international organisations such as the UN and the OECD. This is made evident by the increasing calls and push for greater responsibility of these corporations for environmental and social disasters caused by their corporate activities and their impact in various parts of the world. Equally, in the US, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act like other legislation and regulatory efforts made to manage conflicts of interest linked to corporate governance, in many countries indicates that there is a (global) public interest in the maintenance of the orderly functioning of commerce. Consequently, the governance of these corporations is tremendously pivotal to the society as it touches upon a key aspect of the good functioning of society. This is because corporations, particularly large international corporations can be said to be the plumbing of the global economy. This study will employ theoretical, doctrinal and comparative methods. The research will make use largely of theory-guided methodology and theoretical framework – theories of the firm, public interest, regulation, conflicts of interest in general, directors’ conflicts of interest and corporate governance. Although, the research is intended to be narrowed down to the topic of conflicts of interest in corporate governance, the subject of company directors’ duty of loyalty and the management of conflicts of interest, an examination of the history, origin and typology of conflicts of interest in general will be carried out in order to identify some specific challenges to understanding and identifying these conflicts of interest; origin, diverging theories, psychological barrier to definition, similarities with public sector conflicts of interest due to the notions of corrosion of trust, the effect on decision-making and judgment, “being in a particular kind of situation”, etc. The result of this research will be useful and relevant in the identification of the rationale for the management of directors’ conflicts of interest, contributing to the understanding of conflicts of interest in the private sector and the significance of public interest in corporate governance of large corporations.

Keywords: conflicts of interest, corporate governance, corporate law, directors duty of loyalty, public interest

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Authors: Amandeep Sharma, Digvaijay Verma, Ruplal Choudhary

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Food processing is an activity across the globe that help in better handling of agricultural produce, including dairy, meat, and fish. The operations carried out in the food industry includes raw material quality authenticity; sorting and grading; processing into various products using thermal treatments – heating, freezing, and chilling; packaging; and storage at the appropriate temperature to maximize the shelf life of the products. All this is done to safeguard the food products and to ensure the distribution up to the consumer. The approaches to develop predictive models based on mathematical or statistical tools or empirical models’ development has been reported for various milk processing activities, including plant maintenance and wastage. Recently AI is the key factor for the fourth industrial revolution. AI plays a vital role in the food industry, not only in quality and food security but also in different areas such as manufacturing, packaging, and cleaning. A new conceptual model was developed, which shows that smaller sample size as only spectra would be required to predict the other values hence leads to saving on raw materials and chemicals otherwise used for experimentation during the research and new product development activity. It would be a futuristic approach if these tools can be further clubbed with the mobile phones through some software development for their real time application in the field for quality check and traceability of the product.

Keywords: predictive modlleing, ann, ai, food

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Authors: Divine Agozie, Muesser Nat, Eric Afful-Dadzie

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This examination attempts an analysis of the effect of business intelligence and analytics (BI&A) capabilities on organizational role stressors and the implications of such an effect on performance. Two hundred twenty-eight responses gathered from seventy-six firms across Ghana were analyzed using the Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) approach to validate the hypothesized relationships identified in the research model. Findings suggest both endogenous and exogenous dependencies of the sensing capability on the multiple role requirements of personnel. Further, transforming capability increases role conflict, whereas driving capability of BI&A systems impacts role conflict and role ambiguity. This study poses many practical insights to firms seeking to acquire analytics capabilities to drive performance and data-driven decision-making. It is important for firms to consider balancing role changes and task requirements before implementing and post-implementation stages of BI&A innovations.

Keywords: business intelligence and analytics, dynamic capabilities view, organizational stressors, structural equation modelling

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Authors: Mohammad H. Almomani

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In this paper, we argue the effect of the initial sample size, and the increment in simulation samples on the performance of a sequential approach that used in selecting the top m designs when the number of alternative designs is very large. The sequential approach consists of two stages. In the first stage the ordinal optimization is used to select a subset that overlaps with the set of actual best k% designs with high probability. Then in the second stage the optimal computing budget is used to select the top m designs from the selected subset. We apply the selection approach on a generic example under some parameter settings, with a different choice of initial sample size and the increment in simulation samples, to explore the impacts on the performance of this approach. The results show that the choice of initial sample size and the increment in simulation samples does affect the performance of a selection approach.

Keywords: Large Scale Problems, Optimal Computing Budget Allocation, ordinal optimization, simulation optimization

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Authors: Ferhat Kadioglu

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A clamped-free vibrating beam technique was used to evaluate dynamic properties of glass fiber reinforced polymer matrix composite. In the experiment, an electromagnetic shaker and a non-contact laser head were used to vibrate and to take the response of the specimens, respectively. Test results showed that damping and elastic modulus of the material, as dynamic properties, could be obtained successfully using this technique. It was found that the balanced and symmetric specimens with 45 degrees are the best for damping performance. It is believed that such results could be used for the modal design of aerospace structures.

Keywords: composite materials, damping values, dynamic properties, non-contact measurements

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Authors: Moyera Sanganeria

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In the highly competitive landscape of contemporary sports, sportspersons worldwide encounter formidable challenges, often practicing for extensive hours while contending with limited social and physical resources. A growing number of sportspersons globally are sharing their struggles with depression, anxiety, and stress arising from the complex journey and identity associated with being a sportsperson. This qualitative study aims to investigate the challenges faced by sportspersons in individual versus team sports and explore potential gender-based variations in coping strategies. It attempts to do so by recognizing the imperative to comprehend the root causes and coping mechanisms for these stressors. By employing purposive sampling, MMA and Kabaddi players from training academies across Mumbai were selected for the study. Twelve participants were interviewed through semi-structured interviews guided by an interview guide. Reflective thematic analysis was employed to discern diverse stressors and coping strategies. Key stressors encountered by young Indian sportspersons encompass injuries, socio-economic challenges, financial constraints, escalating competition, and performance anxiety. Notably, individuals engaged in team sports tended to adopt emotion-focused coping mechanisms, while those in individual sports leaned more towards problem-focused coping strategies in response to these stressors. There were no prominent gender differences found in coping strategies employed by sportspersons. This study underscores the critical issue of declining mental health among sportspersons in India, emphasizing the necessity for a structured and customized mental health intervention strategy tailored to the unique needs of this population.

Keywords: stressors, coping strategies, sports psychology, sportspersons, mental health

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Authors: Ahmed Mahmoud Ahmed Abouelmagd

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The diversity is the usual remedy of the transmitted signal level variations (Fading phenomena) in radio frequency channels. Diversity techniques utilize two or more copies of a signal and combine those signals to combat fading. The basic concept of diversity is to transmit the signal via several independent diversity branches to get independent signal replicas via time – frequency - space - and polarization diversity domains. Coding and decoding processes can be an alternative remedy for fading phenomena, it cannot increase the channel capacity, but it can improve the error performance. In this paper we propose the use of replication decoding with BCH code class, and Viterbi decoding algorithm with convolution coding; as examples of coding and decoding processes. The results are compared to those obtained from two optimized selection space diversity techniques. The performance of Rayleigh fading channel, as the model considered for radio frequency channels, is evaluated for each case. The evaluation results show that the coding and decoding approaches, especially the BCH coding approach with replication decoding scheme, give better performance compared to that of selection space diversity optimization approaches. Also, an approach for combining the coding and decoding diversity as well as the space diversity is considered, the main disadvantage of this approach is its complexity but it yields good performance results.

Keywords: Rayleigh fading, diversity, BCH codes, Replication decoding, ‎convolution coding, viterbi decoding, space diversity

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Authors: Alalddin Al-Tarawneh

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In its literal translation, the Qur’an is frequently subject to misinterpretation as a result of failures to deliver its meaning into any language. This paper relies on the genuine aspect that the Qur’an is an oral performance in its nature; and the objective of any Qur’an translation is to deliver its meaning in English. Therefore, it approaches the translation of the Qur’an beyond the usual formal linguistic approach in order to include an extra-textual factor. This factor is the recitation or oral performance of the Qur’an, that is, tajweed as it is termed in Arabic. The translations used in this paper to apply the suggested approach were carefully chosen to be representative of the problems that exist in many Qur’an translations. These translations are The Meaning of the Holy Quran: Translation and Commentary by Ali (1989), The Meaning of the Glorious Koran by Pickthall (1997/1930), and The Quran: Arabic Text with Corresponding English Meanings by Sahih (2010). Through the examples cited in this paper, it is suggested that the agents involved in producing a ‘translation’ of the Holy Qur’an have to take into account its oral aspect which yields additional senses and meanings that are not being captured by adhering to the words of the ‘written’ discourse. This paper attempts in its translation into English.

Keywords: oral performance, tajweed, Qur'an translation, recitation

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Authors: Marina Stramarkou, Sofia Papadaki, Maria Kaloupi, Ioannis Batzakas

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Biofouling is a complex problem of the aquaculture industry, as it reduces the efficiency of the equipment and causes significant losses of cultured organisms. Nowadays, the current antifouling methods are proved to be labor intensive, have limited lifetime and use toxic substances that result in fish mortality. Several species of marine algae produce a wide variety of biogenic compounds with antibacterial and antifouling properties, which are effective in the prevention and control of biofouling and can be incorporated in antifouling coatings. In the present work, Fucus spiralis, a species of macro algae, and Chlorella vulgaris, a well-known species of microalgae, were used for the isolation and recovery of bioactive compounds, belonging to groups of fatty acids, lipopeptides and amides. The recovery of the compounds was achieved through the application of the ultrasound- assisted extraction, an environmentally friendly method, using green, non-toxic solvents. Moreover, the coating of the antifouling agents was done by innovative encapsulation and coating methods, such as electro-hydrodynamic process. For the encapsulation of the bioactive compounds natural matrices were used, such as polysaccharides and proteins. Water extracts that were incorporated in protein matrices were considered the most efficient antifouling coating.

Keywords: algae, electrospinning, fatty acids, ultrasound-assisted extraction

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Authors: Era Dorihi Kale, Sabina Gero, Uly Agustine

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Asylum seekers are people who come to other countries to get asylum. In line with that, they also carry the culture and health behavior of their country, which is very different from the new country they currently live in. This situation raises problems, also in the health sector. The approach taken must also be a culturally sensitive approach, where the culture and habits of the refugee's home area are also valued so that the health services provided can be right on target. Some risk factors that already exist in this group are lack of activity, consumption of fast food, smoking, and stress levels that are quite high. Overall this condition will increase the risk of an increased incidence of cardiovascular disease. This research is a descriptive and experimental study. The purpose of this study is to identify health status and develop a culturally sensitive health promotion model, especially related to the risk of cardiovascular disease for asylum seekers in detention homes in the city of Kupang. This research was carried out in 3 stages, stage 1 was conducting a survey of health problems and the risk of asylum seeker cardiovascular disease, Stage 2 developed a health promotion model, and stage 3 conducted a testing model of health promotion carried out. There were 81 respondents involved in this study. The variables measured were: health status, risk of cardiovascular disease and, health promotion models. Method of data collection: Instruments (questionnaires) were distributed to respondents answered for anamnese health status; then, cardiovascular risk measurements were taken. After that, the preparation of information needs and the compilation of booklets on the prevention of cardiovascular disease is carried out. The compiled booklet was then translated into Farsi. After that, the booklet was tested. Respondent characteristics: average lived in Indonesia for 4.38 years, the majority were male (90.1%), and most were aged 15-34 years (90.1%). There are several diseases that are often suffered by asylum seekers, namely: gastritis, headaches, diarrhea, acute respiratory infections, skin allergies, sore throat, cough, and depression. The level of risk for asylum seekers experiencing cardiovascular problems is 4 high risk people, 6 moderate risk people, and 71 low risk people. This condition needs special attention because the number of people at risk is quite high when compared to the age group of refugees. This is very related to the level of stress experienced by the refugees. The health promotion model that can be used is the transactional stress and coping model, using Persian (oral) and English for written information. It is recommended for health practitioners who care for refugees to always pay attention to aspects of culture (especially language) as well as the psychological condition of asylum seekers to make it easier to conduct health care and promotion. As well for further research, it is recommended to conduct research, especially relating to the effect of psychological stress on the risk of cardiovascular disease in asylum seekers.

Keywords: asylum seekers, health status, cardiovascular disease, health promotion

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Authors: Arul Aram, Vishnu Priya, Monicka Karunanithi

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In India, in particular, festivals are the occasions of celebrations. They create beautiful moments to cherish. Mostly, people pay a visit to their native places to celebrate with their loved ones. So are wedding celebrations. The Covid-19 pandemic came upon us unexpectedly, and to fight it, the festivals and weddings are celebrated unusually. Crowded places are deserted. Mass gatherings are avoided, changes and alterations are made in our rituals and celebrations. The warmth usually people have at their heart during any festival and wedding has disappeared. Some aspects of the celebrations become virtual/digital rather than real -- for instance, digital greetings/invitations, digital conduct of ceremonies by priests, YouTube worship, online/digital cash gifts, and digital audience for weddings. Each festival has different rituals which are followed with the divine nature in every family, but the pandemic warranted some compromises on the traditions. Likewise, a marriage is a beautiful bond between two families where a lot of traditional customs are followed. The wedding ceremonies are colorful and celebrations may extend for several days. People in India spend financial resources to prepare and celebrate weddings. The bride's and the groom's homes are fully decorated with colors, balloons and other decorations. The wedding rituals and celebrations vary by religion, region, preference and the resources of the groom, bride and their families. They can range from one day to multiple-days events. But the Covid-19 pandemic situation changes the mindset of people over ceremonies. This lockdown has affected those weddings and industries that support them and make the people postpone or at times advance without fanfare their 'big day.' People now adopt the protocols, guidelines and safety measures to reduce the risk and minimize the fear during celebrations. The study shall look into: how the pandemic shattered the expectations of people celebrating; problems faced economically by people/service providers who are benefited by the celebrations; and identify the alterations made in the rituals or the practices of our culture for the safety of families. The study shall employ questionnaires, interviews and visual ethnography to collect data. The study found that during a complete lockdown, people have not bought new clothes, sweets, or snacks, as they generally do before a pandemic. Almost all of them kept their celebrations low-key, and some did not celebrate at all. Digital media played a role in keeping the celebration alive, as people used it to wish their friends and families virtually. During partial unlock, the situation was under control, and people began to go out and see a few family and friends. They went shopping and bought new clothes and needs, but they did it while following safety precautions. There is also an equal percentage of people who shopped online. Although people continue to remain disappointed, they were less stressed up as life was returning to normal.

Keywords: covid-19, digital, festivals, India, wedding

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Authors: Slwa Al-Hammad

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Adaptation studies have been closely aligned to translation studies as both deal with the process of rendering the meaning from one culture to another. These two disciplines are related to each other, but the theories are still being developed. This research aims to fill this gap and provide a contribution to the growing discipline of adaptation studies through a theoretical perspective while investigating how different cultural interpretations of adaptation influence the final literary product. This research focuses on the theoretical concepts of Barthes’s death of the author and Benjamin’s afterlife of the text in translation, which is believed to lead to the birth of the adapter in a literary work. That is, in adaptation, the ‘death’ of the author allows for the ‘birth’ of the adapter, offering them all the creative possibilities of authorship. It also explores the differences between the meanings of adaptation in the West and the Arab world through the analysis of adapted texts in Arabic initially deriving from the European and American literature of the 19th and 20th centuries. The methodology of this thesis is based upon qualitative literary analysis, in which original and adapted works are compared and contrasted, with the additional insights of literary and adaptation theories and prior scholarship. The main works discussed are the Arabic adaptations of William Faulkner’s novels. The analysis is guided by theories of adaptation studies to help in explaining the concepts of relocating, recreating, and rewriting in the process of adaptation. It draws on scholarship on adaptations to inquire into the status of the adapted texts in relation to the original texts. Also, these theories prove that adaptation is the process that is used to transfer text from source to adapted text, not some other analytical practice. Through the textual analysis, concepts of the death of the author and the birth of the adapter will be illustrated, as will the roles of the adapter and the task of rendering works for a different culture, and the understanding of adaptation and Arabization in Arabic literature.

Keywords: adaptation, Arabization, authorship, recreating, relocating

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Authors: Yijun Lai, Saber Khederzadeh, Lingshaung Han

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Species in Thunnus are organized due to the similarity between them. The closeness between T. maccoyii, T. thynnus, T. Tonggol, T. atlanticus, T. albacares, T. obsesus, T. alalunga, and T. orientails are in different degrees. However, the genetic pattern of differentiation has not been presented based on individuals yet, to the author’s best knowledge. Hence, we aimed to analyze the difference in individuals level of tuna species to identify the factors that contribute to the maternal lineage variety using Cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COXI) gene sequences. Our analyses provided evidence of sharing lineages in the Thunnus. A phylogenetic analysis revealed that these lineages are basal to the other sequences. We also showed a close connection between the T. tonggol, T. thynnus, and T. albacares populations. Also, the majority of the T. orientalis samples were clustered with the T. alalunga and, then, T. atlanticus populations. Phylogenetic trees and migration modeling revealed high proximity of T. thynnus sequences to a few T. orientalis and suggested possible gene flow with T. tonggol and T. albacares lineages, while all T. obsesus samples indicated unique clustering with each other. Our results support the presence of old maternal lineages in Thunnus, as a legacy of an ancient wave of colonization or migration.

Keywords: Thunnus Tuna, phylogeny, maternal lineage, COXI gene

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Authors: Konstantinos Liagkouras, Konstantinos Metaxiotis

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In this paper we present a classification of the various technologies applied for the solution of the portfolio selection problem according to the discipline and the methodological framework followed. We provide a concise presentation of the emerged categories and we are trying to identify which methods considered obsolete and which lie at the heart of the debate. On top of that, we provide a comparative study of the different technologies applied for efficient portfolio construction and we suggest potential paths for future work that lie at the intersection of the presented techniques.

Keywords: portfolio selection, optimization techniques, financial models, stochastic, heuristics

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Authors: Abdul Haris Setiawan

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Teachers empowerment is one of the important factors considered to contribute significantly to the achievement of the national education goals. This study was conducted to determine the influence on the vocational teachers empowerment toward the performance of the vocational high schools based on the Education National Standards of Indonesia. The population of the study was all vocational teachers at the State Vocational High schools in Surakarta, Central Java Province, Indonesia. The sampling technique used proportional random sampling technique. This study used a quantitative descriptive statistical analysis techniques. The data was collected using questionnaires. The data has been collected and then tested using analysis requirements test. Having tested using the requirements analysis and then the data processed using regression analysis between the independent and dependent variables to determine the effect and the regression equation. The results of the study found that the level of vocational high schools’ performance based on the Education National Standards of Indonesia was 74.29%, including in the high category; the level of vocational teachers empowerment was 76.20%, including in the high category; there was a positive influence of vocational teachers empowerment toward the vocational high schools’ performance based on the Education National Standards of Indonesia with a correlation coefficient of 0,886, and a contribution of 78.50% with the regression equation Y = 79.431 +0.534 X.

Keywords: vocational teachers, empowerment, vocational high school, the education national standards

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Authors: Irina Khutsishvili

Abstract:

The presented study develops a decision support methodology for multi-criteria group decision-making problem. The proposed methodology is based on the TOPSIS (Technique for Order Performance by Similarity to Ideal Solution) approach in the hesitant fuzzy environment. The main idea of decision-making problem is a selection of one best alternative or several ranking alternatives among a set of feasible alternatives. Typically, the process of decision-making is based on an evaluation of certain criteria. In many MCDM problems (such as medical diagnosis, project management, business and financial management, etc.), the process of decision-making involves experts' assessments. These assessments frequently are expressed in fuzzy numbers, confidence intervals, intuitionistic fuzzy values, hesitant fuzzy elements and so on. However, a more realistic approach is using linguistic expert assessments (linguistic variables). In the proposed methodology both the values and weights of the criteria take the form of linguistic variables, given by all decision makers. Then, these assessments are expressed in triangular fuzzy numbers. Consequently, proposed approach is based on triangular hesitant fuzzy TOPSIS decision-making model. Following the TOPSIS algorithm, first, the fuzzy positive ideal solution (FPIS) and the fuzzy negative-ideal solution (FNIS) are defined. Then the ranking of alternatives is performed in accordance with the proximity of their distances to the both FPIS and FNIS. Based on proposed approach the software package has been developed, which was used to rank investment projects in the real investment decision-making problem. The application and testing of the software were carried out based on the data provided by the ‘Bank of Georgia’.

Keywords: fuzzy TOPSIS approach, investment project, linguistic variable, multi-criteria decision making, triangular hesitant fuzzy set

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Authors: Haleema Sadia

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The study is aimed at exploring the identity construction of female British born Pakistani postgraduate student who shifted to Pakistan at the age of 12, stayed there for 8 years and re-shifted to UK for Higher Education. Research questions are: 1. What is the academic and socio-cultural background of the participant prior to joining the UoM as a postgrad student? 2. How the participant talk, see herself and act in relation to cultural and social norms and practices? Participant’ identity is explored through positioning theory of Holland et al. (1998), referring to the ways people understand and enact their social positions in the figured world. The research is a case study based on narrative interview of Shabana, a British-born Pakistani female postgraduate student, who has recently joined the university of Manchester. Shabana received her primary education in UK during the first twelve years of her life. She is the youngest among the three sisters, with only one brother younger to her. Her father, although not well educated is a successful entrepreneur, maintaining offices in UK and Pakistan. Her mother is a housewife with no formal education. Shabana’s elder sister got involved in a relationship with a Pakistani boy against cultural norms of arranged marriage. Resultantly the three sisters were shifted to Pakistan to be equated with socio-religious norms. Shabana termed her first year in Pakistan as disgusting and she hated her father for the decision. However after a year’s time and shifting from an orthodox city to the provincial capital Lahore, she developed liking for the Pakistani culture. She gradually developed a new socio-religious identity during her stay, which she expressed as a turning point in her life. After completing O level Shabana returned back to UK and joined the University of Hull as undergraduate Student. At Hull she remained isolated, missed the religious environment and relished the memories of Lahore. She would visit Pakistan almost three times a year. After obtaining her BSc degree from Hull she went back to Pakistan. Soon after she decided to improve her academic qualification. She came to UK to join her parents and got admission in the MSc chemistry program at UoM. Presently Shabana talks about the dominant role of male members in the family culture in decision-making. She strongly feels to struggle hard and attain equal status with males in education, employment, earning, authority and freedom. She sees herself in a position to share the authority with her (would be) husband in important family and other matters. Shabana has developed a new identity of a mix of both Pakistani and UK culture. She is appreciative of the socio-cultural values of UK while still regarding the cultural and religious values of Pakistan in high esteem.

Keywords: postgraduate students, identity construction, cultural shifts, female british pakistani student

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Authors: Abdulrahman Sumayli, Saad M. AlShahrani

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For the hydrogenation process, knowing the solubility of hydrogen (H2) in hydrocarbons is critical to improve the efficiency of the process. We investigated the H2 solubility computation in four heavy crude oil feedstocks using machine learning techniques. Temperature, pressure, and feedstock type were considered as the inputs to the models, while the hydrogen solubility was the sole response. Specifically, we employed three different models: Support Vector Regression (SVR), Gaussian process regression (GPR), and Bayesian ridge regression (BRR). To achieve the best performance, the hyper-parameters of these models are optimized using the whale optimization algorithm (WOA). We evaluated the models using a dataset of solubility measurements in various feedstocks, and we compared their performance based on several metrics. Our results show that the WOA-SVR model tuned with WOA achieves the best performance overall, with an RMSE of 1.38 × 10− 2 and an R-squared of 0.991. These findings suggest that machine learning techniques can provide accurate predictions of hydrogen solubility in different feedstocks, which could be useful in the development of hydrogen-related technologies. Besides, the solubility of hydrogen in the four heavy oil fractions is estimated in different ranges of temperatures and pressures of 150 ◦C–350 ◦C and 1.2 MPa–10.8 MPa, respectively

Keywords: temperature, pressure variations, machine learning, oil treatment

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Authors: Chatelier Charlene, Oyegoke Adekunle, Ajayi Saheed, Jeffries Andrew

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This study seeks to understand Schedule Risk Assessments as a priori for better performance whilst exploring the strategies employed to deliver complex projects like the New Polar research ship. This high-profile vessel was offered to Natural Environment Research Council and British Antarctic Survey (BAS) by Cammell Laird Shipbuilders. The Research Ship was designed to support science in extreme environments, with the expectancy to provide a wide range of specialist scientific facilities, instruments, and laboratories to conduct research over multiple disciplines. Aim: The focus is to understand the allocation and management of schedule risk on such a Major Project. Hypothesising that "effective management of schedule risk management" could be the most critical factor in determining whether the intended benefits mentioned are delivered within time and cost constraints. Objective 1: Firstly, the study seeks to understand the allocation and management of schedule risk in Major Projects. Objective 2: Secondly, it explores "effective management of schedule risk management" as the most critical factor determining the delivery of intended benefits. Methodology: This study takes a retrospective review of schedule risk management and how it influences project performance using a case study approach for the RRS (Royal Research Ship) Sir David Attenborough. Research Contribution: The outcomes of this study will contribute to a better understanding of project performance whilst building on its under-researched relationship to schedule risk management for complex projects. The outcomes of this paper will guide further research on project performance and enable the understanding of how risk-based estimates over time impact the overall risk management of the project.

Keywords: complexity, major projects, performance management, schedule risk management, uncertainty

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