Search results for: ground tests

Authors: Meng Miao, Jeongwoo Han, Cam Nguyen

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Ultra-wideband (UWB) time-domain impulse communication and radar systems use ultra-short duration pulses in the sub-nanosecond regime, instead of continuous sinusoidal waves, to transmit information. The pulse directly generates a very wide-band instantaneous signal with various duty cycles depending on specific usages. In UWB systems, the total transmitted power is spread over an extremely wide range of frequencies; the power spectral density is extremely low. This effectively results in extremely small interference to other radio signals while maintains excellent immunity to interference from these signals. UWB devices can therefore work within frequencies already allocated for other radio services, thus helping to maximize this dwindling resource. Therefore, impulse UWB technique is attractive for realizing high-data-rate, short-range communications, ground penetrating radar (GPR), and military radar with relatively low emission power levels. UWB antennas are the key element dictating the transmitted and received pulse shape and amplitude in both time and frequency domain. They should have good impulse response with minimal distortion. To facilitate integration with transmitters and receivers employing microwave integrated circuits, UWB antennas enabling direct integration are preferred. We present the development of two UWB antennas operating from 3.1 to 10.6 GHz and 0.3-6 GHz for UWB systems that provide direct integration with microwave integrated circuits. The operation of these antennas is based on the principle of wave propagation on a non-uniform transmission line. Time-domain EM simulation is conducted to optimize the antenna structures to minimize reflections occurring at the open-end transition. Calculated and measured results of these UWB antennas are presented in both frequency and time domains. The antennas have good time-domain responses. They can transmit and receive pulses effectively with minimum distortion, little ringing, and small reflection, clearly demonstrating the signal fidelity of the antennas in reproducing the waveform of UWB signals which is critical for UWB sensors and communication systems. Good performance together with seamless microwave integrated-circuit integration makes these antennas good candidates not only for UWB applications but also for integration with printed-circuit UWB transmitters and receivers.

Keywords: antennas, ultra-wideband, UWB, UWB communication systems, UWB radar systems

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Authors: Chang Hsueh-Sheng, Chen Tzu-Ling

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Earthquake is an unpredictable natural disaster and intensive earthquakes have caused serious impacts on social-economic system, environmental and social resilience, and further increase vulnerability. Due to earthquakes do not kill people, buildings do. When buildings located nearby earthquake-prone areas and constructed upon poorer soil areas might result in earthquake-induced ground damage. In addition, many existing buildings built before any improved seismic provisions began to be required in building codes and inappropriate land usage with highly dense population might result in much serious earthquake disaster. Indeed, not only do earthquake disaster impact seriously on urban environment, but urban growth might increase the vulnerability. Since 1980s, ‘Cutting down risks and vulnerability’ has been brought up in both urban planning and architecture and such concept has way beyond retrofitting of seismic damages, seismic resistance, and better anti-seismic structures, and become the key action on disaster mitigation. Land use planning and zoning are two critical non-structural measures on controlling physical development while it is difficult for zoning boards and governing bodies restrict development of questionable lands to uses compatible with the hazard without credible earthquake loss projection. Therefore, identifying potential earthquake exposure, vulnerability people and places, and urban development areas might become strongly supported information for decision makers. Taiwan locates on the Pacific Ring of Fire where a seismically active zone is. Some of the active faults have been found close by densely populated and highly developed built environment in the cities. Therefore, this study attempts to base on the perspective of carrying capacity and draft out micro-zonation according to both vulnerability index and urban growth index while considering spatial variances of multi factors via geographical weighted principle components (GWPCA). The purpose in this study is to construct supported information for decision makers on revising existing zoning in high-risk areas for a more compatible use and the public on managing risks.

Keywords: earthquake disaster, vulnerability, urban growth, carrying capacity, /geographical weighted principle components (GWPCA), bivariate spatial association statistic

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Authors: Rylle Evan Gabriel Zamora, Micah Dennise Malia, Abygail Deniese Villabona

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When examining studies on aggression, the studies about individual aggression vastly outnumbers those studies on group aggression. Given the nature of aggression to be violent and cyclical, and the amount violent events that have occurred in the near present, the study of group aggression is relevant now more than ever. This discrepancy is parallel with the number of valid and reliable psychological tests that measure group aggression. Throughout history, one of the biggest causes of group based violence and aggression is religion. This is particularly true within the context of the Philippines as there are a large number of religious groups. Thus, this study aimed to develop a standardized test that measures an individual’s tendency to be aggressive to those who are in conflict with his or her religious beliefs. This study employs a test development design that employs a qualitative phase to ensure the validity of the scale. Thus, the study was divided into three phases. First is a pilot test wherein an instrument was designed from existing literature which was then administered to 173 respondents from the four largest religious groups in the Philippines. After extensive factor analysis and reliability testing, new items were then formed from the qualitative data collected from eight participants, consisting of two individuals per religious group. The final testing integrates all statistically significant items from the first phase, and the newly formed items from the second phase, which was then administered to 200 respondents. The results were then tested further for reliability using Cronbach’s alpha and validity through factor analysis. The items that were proven to be significant were then combined to create a final instrument that may be used by future studies.

Keywords: religious aggression, group aggression, test development, psychological assessment, social psychology

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Authors: M. A. García, J. Vinolas, A. Hernando

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Steel is nowadays one of the most important structural materials because of its outstanding mechanical properties. Therefore, in order to look for a sustainable economic model and to optimize the use of extensive resources, new methods to monitor and prevent failure of steel-based facilities are required. The classical mechanical tests, as for instance building tasting, are invasive and destructive. Moreover, for facilities where the steel element is embedded, (as reinforced concrete) these techniques are directly non applicable. Hence, non-invasive monitoring techniques to prevent failure, without altering the structural properties of the elements are required. Among them, electromagnetic methods are particularly suitable for non-invasive inspection of the mechanical state of steel-based elements. The magnetoelastic coupling effects induce a modification of the electromagnetic properties of an element upon applied stress. Since most steels are ferromagnetic because of their large Fe content, it is possible to inspect their structure and state in a non-invasive way. We present here a distinct electromagnetic method for contactless evaluation of internal stress in steel-based elements. In particular, this method relies on measuring the magnetic induction between two coils with the steel specimen in between them. We found that the alteration of electromagnetic properties of the steel specimen induced by applied stress-induced changes in the induction allowed us to detect stress well below half of the elastic limit of the material. Hence, it represents an outstanding non-invasive method to prevent failure in steel-based facilities. We here describe the theoretical model, present experimental results to validate it and finally we show a practical application for detection of stress and inhomogeneities in train railways.

Keywords: magnetoelastic, magnetic induction, mechanical stress, steel

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Authors: Pinar Dogan, Merve Tarhan, Ahu Kurklu

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Syrian refugees who sheltering due to war has protected by the Government of Turkey since 2011. Since Syria was a medium-low income country prior to the war, it is known that chronic health problems weren’t common among citizens. However, it is also known that they frequently use health services in our country because of the spread of infectious and acute diseases due to insufficient sanitation and crowding after the war. This study was planned to compare the social distances of the community against the Syrian refugees and the perceptions of accessing health care services. The descriptive-cross sectional study was carried out on 1262 individuals living in Istanbul. A questionnaire form consisted of Personal Information Form, The Bogardus Social Distance Scale (BSDS) and The Survey of Access to Healthcare Services (AHS) was used as data collection tool. Descriptive tests and chi-square test were used for statistical analysis. It was found that the majorities of participants was satisfied with the health services and were waiting for more than 40 minutes to be examined. It was determined that participants have high scores from BSDS. At the same time, the majority of participants stated that their level of access to health care is diminishing due to refugees. Participants who experienced disruption in access to health services due to refugees were found to have higher scores from BSDS. The data collection process in the study will continue until 2400 individuals are reached. With these conclusions, it is considered necessary that the effect of the presence of the refugees in reaching the health services and nursing care of the society should be revealed through extensive researches to be conducted in Turkey.

Keywords: health care services, nursing care, social distances, Syrian refugees

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Authors: Omar Alhamd, Peter A. Thomas, Trevor J. Greenhough, Annette K. Shrive

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The Pseudomonas syringae species complex includes many plant pathogenic strains with highly specific interactions with varied host species and cultivars. The rapid spread of these bacteria over the last ten years has become a cause for concern. Nanoparticles have previously shown promise in microbiological action. We have therefore investigated in vitro and in vivo the effects of different types and sizes of nanoparticles in order to provide quantitative information about their effect on the bacteria. The effects of several different nanoparticles against several bacteria strains were investigated. The effect of NP on bacterial growth was studied by measuring the optical density, biochemical and nutritional tests, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to determine the shape and size of NP. Our results indicate that their effects varied, with either a negative or a positive impact on both bacterial and plant growth. Additionally, the methods of exposure to nanoparticles have a crucial role in accumulation, translocation, growth response and bacterial growth. The results of our studies on the behaviour and effects of nanoparticles in model plants showed. Cerium oxide (CeO₂) and silver (Ag) NP showed significant antibacterial activity against several pathogenic bacteria. It was found that titanium nanoparticles (TiO₂) can have either a negative or a positive impact, according to concentration and size. It is also thought that environmental conditions can have a major influence on bacterial growth. Studies were therefore also carried out under some environmental stress conditions to test bacterial survival and to assess bacterial virulence. All results will be presented including information about the effects of different nanoparticles on Pseudomonas syringae bacteria.

Keywords: plant microbiome, nanoparticles, 16S rRNA gene sequencing, bacterial survival

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Authors: B. S. Chaudhary

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The severity and frequencies of different disasters on the globe is increasing in recent years. India is also facing the disasters in the form of drought, cyclone, earthquake, landslides, and floods. One of the major causes of disasters in northern India is flood. There are great losses and extensive damage to the agricultural crops, property, human, and animal life. This is causing environmental imbalances at places. The annual global figures for losses due to floods run into over 2 billion dollar. India is a vast country with wide variations in climate and topography. Due to widespread and heavy rainfall during the monsoon months, floods of varying magnitude occur all over the country during June to September. The magnitude depends upon the intensity of rainfall, its duration and also the ground conditions at the time of rainfall. Haryana, one of the agriculturally dominated northern states is also suffering from a number of disasters such as floods, desertification, soil erosion, land degradation etc. Earthquakes are also frequently occurring but of small magnitude so are not causing much concern and damage. Most of the damage in Haryana is due to floods. Floods in Haryana have occurred in 1978, 1988, 1993, 1995, 1998, and 2010 to mention a few. The present paper deals with the Remote Sensing and GIS applications in preparing flood risk maps in parts of Haryana State India. The satellite data of various years have been used for mapping of flood affected areas. The Flooded areas have been interpreted both visually and digitally and two classes-flooded and receded water/ wet areas have been identified for each year. These have been analyzed in GIS environment to prepare the risk maps. This shows the areas of high, moderate and low risk depending on the frequency of flood witness. The floods leave a trail of suffering in the form of unhygienic conditions due to improper sanitation, water logging, filth littered in the area, degradation of materials and unsafe drinking water making the people prone to many type diseases in short and long run. Attempts have also been made to enumerate the causes of floods. The suggestions are given for mitigating the fury of floods and proper management issues related to evacuation and safe places nearby.

Keywords: flood mapping, GIS, Haryana, India, remote sensing, space technology

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Authors: Camilo Souza, Lidia Melo, Fernanda Terra, Francisco Caio, Marcelo Reis

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SIDIA is a research and development (R&D) institute that belongs to Samsung’s global software development process. The SIDIA’s Model Team (MT) is a part of Samsung’s Mobile Division Area, which is responsible for the development of Android releases embedded in Samsung mobile devices. Basically, in this software development process, the kickoff occurs in some strategic countries (e.g., South Korea) where some software requirements are applied and the initial software tests are performed. When the software achieves a more mature level, a new branch is derived, and the development continues in subsidiaries from other strategic countries (e.g., SIDIA-Brazil). However, even in the newly created branches, there are several interactions between developers from different nationalities in order to fix bugs reported during test activities, apply some specific requirements from partners and develop new features as well. Despite the GSD strategy contributes to improving software development, some challenges are also introduced as well. In this paper, we share the initial results about the application of the failure modes and effect analysis (FMEA) concept in the software development process followed by the SIDIA’s model team. The main goal was to identify and mitigate the process potential failures through the application of recommended actions. The initial results show that the application of the FMEA concept allows us to identify the potential failures in our GSD process as well as to propose corrective actions to mitigate them. Finally, FMEA encouraged members of different teams to take actions that contribute to improving our GSD process.

Keywords: global software development, potential failures, FMEA, recommended actions

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Authors: Mozhgan Sigarchian, Shiva Alizadeh, Seyedeh Akram Nazarkardeh

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Introduction: The one of the most common forms of violence against women is domestic violence and it is one of the most acute social problems that affecting the individual physical and mental health and, in turn, the health of the family and the community. In all of the world especially in developing country, women suffer violent during her lifetime. Violence against women and girls is a serious threat to health and human rights. Several factors such as low literacy, the low income and poverty affects violence. The purpose of this study was to determine the factors conducive to domestic violence against women in Rasht, Iran, So that based on the findings, preventive measures can be taken to reduce violence and increase support for women. Methods: This is a descriptive-analytic study that was performed on 300 eligible women referred to clinics and physicians' offices in Rasht, Iran, 2017, by convenience sampling method. The questionnaire used included demographic questionnaires and domestic violence with 3 domains: physical, psychological, and sexual violence. Data were analyzed by SPSS software using independent t-test, Chi-square and Mann-Whitney tests. Result: The mean age in the group with and without domestic violence was 28.31 ± 6.097 and 32.52 ± 9.8, respectively. 168 women (56%) were reported to be violent. The results indicate that there is a significant relationship between age, husband's age, number of family members, and educational level of women with violence. But, there was no significant relationship between the duration of marriage, the education of husbands, the occupation of women and their husbands, housing situation, smoking with violence. Conclusion: The results showed that some factors such as education, age, and the number of families can affect the level of violence. According to the results, as well as a high prevalence of domestic violence among women in this study, it is suggested that training be given to families to increase women's empowerment and prevent violence against women.

Keywords: domestic violence, predisposing factors, violence, women

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Authors: Seyeon Lee, Suyeon Lee, Julia Rogers

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This research investigates and records post-flood and typhoon conditions of low income housing in the Thua Thien Hue Province, Vietnam; area prone to extreme flooding in Central Vietnam. The cost of rebuilding houses after flood and typhoon has been always a burden for low income households. These costs often lead to the elimination of essential construction practices for disaster resistance. Despite relief efforts from international non-profit organizations and Vietnam government, the impacts of flood and typhoon damages to residential construction has been reoccurring to the same neighborhood annually. Notwithstanding its importance, this topic has not been systematically investigated. The study is limited to assistance provided to low income households documenting existing conditions of low income homes impacted by post flood and typhoon conditions in the Thua Thien Hue Province. The research identifies leading causes of the building failure from the natural disasters. Relief efforts and progress made since the last typhoon is documented. The quality of construction and repairs are assessed based on Home Builders Guide to Coastal Construction by Federal Emergency Management Agency. Focus group discussions and individual interviews with local residents from four different communities were conducted to get incites on repair effort by the non-profit organizations and Vietnam government, and their needs post flood and typhoon. The findings from the field study informed that many of the local people are now aware of the importance of improving housing conditions as one of the key coping strategies to withstand flood and typhoon events as it makes housing and community more resilient to future events. While there has been a remarkable improvement of housing and infrastructure with the support from the local government as well as the non-profit organizations, many households in the study areas are found to still live in weak and fragile housing conditions without gaining access to the aid to repair and strengthen the houses. Given that the major immediate recovery action taken by the local people tends to focus on repairing damaged houses, and on this ground, low-income households spend a considerable amount of their income on housing repair, providing proper and applicable construction practices will not only improve the housing condition, but also contribute to reducing poverty in Vietnam.

Keywords: disaster coping mechanism, housing welfare, low-income housing, recovery reduction

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Authors: Mona Afifi, Yara Al Qahtani, Afnan Al Dosari, Amnah Hamdi

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Background: First aid is the care provided outside the hospital. It is important in saving lives. Delay in helping the victims may result in serious complication or even death. Many people die in Saudi Arabia because they don’t get proper first aid interventions. According to Traffic Safety council in KSA (2012), in the year of 2011 there was 7153 deaths from car accident in KAS. Subjects and method: Quasi-experimental research design was utilized to assess the effect of a structured 45-minute educational session on 82 undergraduate nursing students’ knowledge about first aid. Two tools were developed for the purpose of the current study. First tool containing the sociodemographic data including age, gender, level, and previous participation in a first aid course, and 55 statements specific to different situations that requires first aid. Concept and Knowledge of First Aid has 9 questions, cardiopulmonary resuscitation has 12 questions, Bleeding and Shock have 7 questions, Road Traffic Accidents has 5 questions, Fracture and Trauma have 4 questions, wound has 5 questions, sunstroke has 4 questions, bits and stings has 4 questions and burn has 5 questions. The second tool was to evaluate the campaign session. Result: The overall knowledge score showed significant difference between the pre and post awareness session (59.58 and 93.00 respectively, p=.000). Mean score shows significant difference in pre-tests between third and fourth year nursing students indicating that knowledge of fourth year students is higher compared to third year students with the mean knowledge scores of 69.56 and 60.88 respectively (p=0.006). Conclusion: Results of the current study indicate that the level of the knowledge in the post test session was higher than in the pre session. Also results showed that the fourth year student`s knowledge in pre-test was better compared to previous year.

Keywords: first aid, awareness campaign, undergraduate nursing students, knowledge

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Authors: Krishna Chandra Paudel

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This paper explores the association between the perceived classroom environment and mathematics learning and test anxiety among secondary level students in Nepal. Categorizing the students in three dominant variables- gender, ethnicity and previous schooling, and selecting sample students with respect to higher mathematics anxiety from five heterogeneous classes, the research explores disparities in student's mathematics cognition and reveals nexus between classroom environment and mathematics learning and test anxiety. This research incorporates social learning theory and social development theory as interpretive tool for analyzing themes through qualitative data. Focussing on the interviews with highly mathematics learning anxious students, the study sheds light on how mathematics anxiety among the targeted students is interlinked with multiple factors. The research basically exposes the students’ lack of mathematical passion, their association with other students and participation in classroom learning, asymmetrical content and their lack of preparedness for the tests as caustic factors behind such anxieties. The study further reveals that students’ lack of foundational knowledge and complexity of mathematical content have jointly contributed to mathematics anxiety. Admitting learning as a reciprocal experience, the study points out that the students’ gender, ethnicity and disparities in previous schooling in the context of Nepal has very insignificant impact on students’ mathematics anxiety. It finally recommends that the students who get trapped into the vicious cycle of mathematics anxiety require positive and supportive classroom environment along with inspiring comments/compliments and symmetrical course contents.

Keywords: anxiety, asymmetry, cognition, habitus, pedagogy, preparedness

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Authors: Robert G. Nini

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Soil consolidation is one of the biggest problem facing engineers. The consolidation process has an important role in settlement analysis for the embankments and footings resting on clayey soils. The settlement amount is related to the compression and the swelling indexes of the soil. Because the predominant upper soil layer in Lebanon is consisting mainly of clay, this layer is a real challenge for structural and highway engineering. To determine the effect of load and drainage on the engineering consolidation characteristics of Lebanese soil, a full experimental and synthesis study was conducted on different soil samples collected from many locations. This study consists of two parts. During the first part which is an experimental one, the Proctor test and the consolidation test were performed on the collected soil samples. After it, the identifications soil tests as hydrometer, specific gravity and Atterberg limits are done. The consolidation test which is the main test in this research is done by loading the soil for some days then an unloading cycle was applied. It takes two weeks to complete a typical consolidation test. Because of these reasons, during the second part of our research which is based on the analysis of the experiments results, some correlations were found between the main consolidation parameters as compression and swelling indexes with the other soil parameters easy to calculate. The results show that the compression and swelling indexes of Lebanese clays may be roughly estimated using a model involving one or two variables in the form of the natural void ratio and the Atterberg limits. These correlations have increasing importance for site engineers, and the proposed model also seems to be applicable to a wide range of clays worldwide.

Keywords: atterberg limits, clay, compression and swelling indexes, settlement, soil consolidation

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Authors: J. F. Reinoso-Gordo, F. J. Ariza-López, A. Mozas-Calvache, J. L. García-Balboa, S. Eddargani

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The DEMs quality may depend on several factors such as data source, capture method, processing type used to derive them, or the cell size of the DEM. The two most important capture methods to produce regional-sized DEMs are photogrammetry and LiDAR; DEMs covering entire countries have been obtained with these methods. The quality of these DEMs has traditionally been evaluated by the national cartographic agencies through punctual sampling that focused on its vertical component. For this type of evaluation there are standards such as NMAS and ASPRS Positional Accuracy Standards for Digital Geospatial Data. However, it seems more appropriate to carry out this evaluation by means of a method that takes into account the superficial nature of the DEM and, therefore, its sampling is superficial and not punctual. This work is part of the Research Project "Functional Quality of Digital Elevation Models in Engineering" where it is necessary to control the quality of a DEM whose data source is an experimental LiDAR flight with a density of 14 points per square meter to which we call Point Cloud Product (PCpro). In the present work it is described the capture data on the ground and the postprocessing tasks until getting the point cloud that will be used as reference (PCref) to evaluate the PCpro quality. Each PCref consists of a patch 50x50 m size coming from a registration of 4 different scan stations. The area studied was the Spanish region of Navarra that covers an area of 10,391 km2; 30 patches homogeneously distributed were necessary to sample the entire surface. The patches have been captured using a Leica BLK360 terrestrial laser scanner mounted on a pole that reached heights of up to 7 meters; the position of the scanner was inverted so that the characteristic shadow circle does not exist when the scanner is in direct position. To ensure that the accuracy of the PCref is greater than that of the PCpro, the georeferencing of the PCref has been carried out with real-time GNSS, and its accuracy positioning was better than 4 cm; this accuracy is much better than the altimetric mean square error estimated for the PCpro (<15 cm); The kind of DEM of interest is the corresponding to the bare earth, so that it was necessary to apply a filter to eliminate vegetation and auxiliary elements such as poles, tripods, etc. After the postprocessing tasks the PCref is ready to be compared with the PCpro using different techniques: cloud to cloud or after a resampling process DEM to DEM.

Keywords: data quality, DEM, LiDAR, terrestrial laser scanner, accuracy

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Authors: Mohamad Reza Khodabakhsh

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Drug use and addiction are major biological, psychological, and social problems. In drug abuse treatment, it is important to pay attention to personality problems and coping methods of patients. Today, the third-wave treatments in psychotherapy emphasize people's awareness and acceptance of feelings and emotions, cognitions, and behaviors instead of challenging cognitions. For this reason, this research was conducted with the aim of investigating the effectiveness of group therapy based on acceptance and commitment to self-criticism and coping strategies of people with drug use disorder. This research was a quasi-experimental type of research (pre-test-post-test design with an unequal control group), and the statistical population of this research included all men with drug use disorder in Mashhad, 174 of whom among the 75 people eligible for this research, 30 of them were selected by available sampling method and randomly assigned to two experimental and control groups. In this research, Gilbert's self-criticism scale was used to measure self-criticism, and Andler and Barker's coping strategies questionnaire was used to measure coping strategies. Therapeutic intervention (treatment based on acceptance and commitment) was performed on the experimental group for eight sessions of 90 minutes, and then post-tests were taken from both groups, and multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) was used to analyze the data. The results showed that treatment based on acceptance and commitment significantly reduced self-criticism and improved coping strategies used by patients with drug use disorder (p>0.01). Therefore, treatment based on acceptance and commitment has been effective in reducing self-criticism and improving the coping strategies of patients with drug use disorder due to teaching clients to accept thoughts and conditions.

Keywords: treatment based on acceptance and commitment, self-criticism, coping strategies, addiction

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Authors: Omid Tavasoli, Mahmoud Ghazavi

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A numerical analysis of drivability of piles in different geometry is presented. In this paper, a three-dimensional finite difference analysis for plastic point extension and soil compaction in the effect of pile driving is analyzed. Four pile configurations such as cylindrical pile, fully tapered pile, T-C pile consists of a top tapered segment and a lower cylindrical segment and C-T pile has a top cylindrical part followed by a tapered part are investigated. All piles which driven up to a total penetration depth of 16 m have the same length with equivalent surface area and approximately with identical material volumes. An idealization for pile-soil system in pile driving is considered for this approach. A linear elastic material is assumed to model the vertical pile behaviors and the soil obeys the elasto-plastic constitutive low and its failure is controlled by the Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion. A slip which occurred at the pile-soil contact surfaces along the shaft and the toe in pile driving procedures is simulated with interface elements. All initial and boundary conditions are the same in all analyses. Quiet boundaries are used to prevent wave reflection in the lateral and vertical directions for the soil. The results obtained from numerical analyses were compared with available other numerical data and laboratory tests, indicating a satisfactory agreement. It will be shown that with increasing the angle of taper, the permanent piles toe settlement increase and therefore, the extension of plastic points increase. These are interesting phenomena in pile driving and are on the safe side for driven piles.

Keywords: pile driving, finite difference method, non-uniform piles, pile geometry, pile set, plastic points, soil compaction

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Authors: Kwok W. Mui, Ling T. Wong, Chi T. Cheung

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Cooling energy consumption in the residential sector, different from shopping mall, office or commercial buildings, is significantly subject to occupant decisions where in-depth investigations are found limited. It shows that energy consumptions could be associated with housing types. Surveys have been conducted in existing Hong Kong public housings to understand the housing characteristics, apartment electricity demands, occupant’s thermal expectations, and air–conditioning usage patterns for further cooling energy-saving assessments. The aim of this study is to develop a hybrid cooling energy prediction model, which integrated by EnergyPlus (EP) and artificial neural network (ANN) to estimate cooling energy consumption in public residential sector. Sensitivity tests are conducted to find out the energy impacts with changing building parameters regarding to external wall and window material selection, window size reduction, shading extension, building orientation and apartment size control respectively. Assessments are performed to investigate the relationships between cooling demands and occupant behavior on thermal environment criteria and air-conditioning operation patterns. The results are summarized into a cooling energy calculator for layman use to enhance the cooling energy saving awareness in their own living environment. The findings can be used as a directory framework for future cooling energy evaluation in residential buildings, especially focus on the occupant behavioral air–conditioning operation and criteria of energy-saving incentives.

Keywords: artificial neural network, cooling energy, occupant behavior, residential buildings, thermal environment

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Authors: Abdolghani Ebrahimi, Diego Klabjan, Chenxi Ge, Daniela Ladner, Parker Stride

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In this work, we use machine learning and novel data analysis techniques to predict the one-year mortality of cirrhotic patients. Data from 2,322 patients with liver cirrhosis are collected at a single medical center. Different machine learning models are applied to predict one-year mortality. A comprehensive feature space including demographic information, comorbidity, clinical procedure and laboratory tests is being analyzed. A temporal pattern mining technic called Frequent Subgraph Mining (FSM) is being used. Model for End-stage liver disease (MELD) prediction of mortality is used as a comparator. All of our models statistically significantly outperform the MELD-score model and show an average 10% improvement of the area under the curve (AUC). The FSM technic itself does not improve the model significantly, but FSM, together with a machine learning technique called an ensemble, further improves the model performance. With the abundance of data available in healthcare through electronic health records (EHR), existing predictive models can be refined to identify and treat patients at risk for higher mortality. However, due to the sparsity of the temporal information needed by FSM, the FSM model does not yield significant improvements. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work to apply modern machine learning algorithms and data analysis methods on predicting one-year mortality of cirrhotic patients and builds a model that predicts one-year mortality significantly more accurate than the MELD score. We have also tested the potential of FSM and provided a new perspective of the importance of clinical features.

Keywords: machine learning, liver cirrhosis, subgraph mining, supervised learning

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Authors: Sakshi Dhumale, Madhushree C., Amba Shetty

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The effect of station density on the geostatistical prediction of groundwater levels is of critical importance to ensure accurate and reliable predictions. Monitoring station density directly impacts the accuracy and reliability of geostatistical predictions by influencing the model's ability to capture localized variations and small-scale features in groundwater levels. This is particularly crucial in regions with complex hydrogeological conditions and significant spatial heterogeneity. Insufficient station density can result in larger prediction uncertainties, as the model may struggle to adequately represent the spatial variability and correlation patterns of the data. On the other hand, an optimal distribution of monitoring stations enables effective coverage of the study area and captures the spatial variability of groundwater levels more comprehensively. In this study, we investigate the effect of station density on the predictive performance of groundwater levels using the geostatistical technique of Ordinary Kriging. The research utilizes groundwater level data collected from 121 observation wells within the semi-arid Berambadi watershed, gathered over a six-year period (2010-2015) from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru. The dataset is partitioned into seven subsets representing varying sampling densities, ranging from 15% (12 wells) to 100% (121 wells) of the total well network. The results obtained from different monitoring networks are compared against the existing groundwater monitoring network established by the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB). The findings of this study demonstrate that higher station densities significantly enhance the accuracy of geostatistical predictions for groundwater levels. The increased number of monitoring stations enables improved interpolation accuracy and captures finer-scale variations in groundwater levels. These results shed light on the relationship between station density and the geostatistical prediction of groundwater levels, emphasizing the importance of appropriate station densities to ensure accurate and reliable predictions. The insights gained from this study have practical implications for designing and optimizing monitoring networks, facilitating effective groundwater level assessments, and enabling sustainable management of groundwater resources.

Keywords: station density, geostatistical prediction, groundwater levels, monitoring networks, interpolation accuracy, spatial variability

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Authors: Mohammad Najmol Haque, Takeshi Maki, Jun Sasaki

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Headed stud shear connections are widely used in the junction or embedded zone of hybrid girder to achieve whole composite action with continuity that can sustain steel-concrete interfacial tensile and shear forces. In Japan, Japan Road Association (JRA) specifications are used for hybrid girder design that utilizes very low level of stud capacity than those of American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) specifications, Japan Society of Civil Engineers (JSCE) specifications and EURO code. As low design shear strength is considered in design of connections, the time dependent shear behavior due to sustained external loading is not considered, even not fully studied. In this study, a finite element approach was used to evaluate the time dependent shear behavior for headed studs used as connections at the junction. This study clarified, how the sustained loading distinctively impacted on changing the interfacial shear of connections with time which was sensitive to lodging history, positions of flanges, neighboring studs, position of prestress bar and reinforcing bar, concrete strength, etc. and also identified a shear influence area. Stud strength was also confirmed through pushout tests. The outcome obtained from the study may provide an important basis and reference data in designing connections of hybrid girders with enhanced stud capacity with due consideration of their long-term shear behavior.

Keywords: finite element, hybrid girder, shear connections, sustained loading, time dependent behavior

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Authors: Merve Denizci Nazligul

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Dancers seem to have much higher risk levels for the development of eating disorders, compared to non-dancing counterparts. In a remarkably competitive nature of dance environment, perfectionism and emotion regulation difficulties become inevitable risk factors. Moreover, early maladaptive schemas are associated with various eating disorders. In the current study, it was aimed to investigate the mediating role of difficulties with emotion regulation on the relationship between perfectionism and disordered eating behaviors, as well as on the relationship between early maladaptive schemas and disordered eating behaviors. A total of 70 volunteer dancers (n = 47 women, n = 23 men) were recruited in the study (M age = 25.91, SD = 8.9, range 19–63) from the university teams or private clubs in Turkey. The sample included various types of dancers (n = 26 ballets or ballerinas, n =32 Latin, n = 10 tango, n = 2 hiphop). The mean dancing hour per week was 11.09 (SD = 7.09) within a range of 1-30 hours. The participants filled a questionnaire set including demographic information form, Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire, Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale, three subscales (Emotional Inhibition, Unrelenting Standards-Hypercriticalness, Approval Seeking-Recognition Seeking) from Young Schema Questionnaire-Short Form-3 and Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale. The mediation hypotheses were tested using the PROCESS macro in SPSS. The findings revealed that emotion regulation difficulties significantly mediated the relationship between three distinct subtypes of perfectionism and emotional eating. The results of the Sobel test suggested that there were significant indirect effects of self-oriented perfectionism (b = .06, 95% CI = .0084, .1739), other-oriented perfectionism (b = .15, 95% CI = .0136, .4185), and socially prescribed perfectionism (b = .09, 95% CI = .0104, .2344) on emotional eating through difficulties with emotion regulation. Moreover, emotion regulation difficulties significantly mediated the relationship between emotional inhibition and emotional eating (F(1,68) = 4.67, R2 = .06, p < .05). These results seem to provide some evidence that perfectionism might become a risk factor for disordered eating behaviors when dancers are not able to regulate their emotions. Further, gaining an understanding of how inhibition of emotions leads to inverse effects on eating behavior may be important to develop intervention strategies to manage their disordered eating patterns in risk groups. The present study may also support the importance of using unified protocols for transdiagnostic approaches which focus on identifying, accepting, prompting to express maladaptive emotions and appraisals.

Keywords: dancers, disordered eating, emotion regulation difficulties, perfectionism

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Authors: Prachi Bhatt

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Motivated workforce is an important asset of an organisation. Intrinsic motivation is one of the key aspects of people operations and performance. Researches have emphasized the significance of internal factors in individuals’ motivation. In the changing business scenario, it is a challenge for the organizations’ leaders to inspire and motivate their workforce. The present study deals with the intrinsic motivation potential of an individual which govern the innate capability of an individual driving him or her to behave or perform in the changing work environment, tasks, teams. Differences at individual level significantly influence differences in levels of motivation. In the above context, the present research attempts to explore behavioral trait dimensions which influence motivational potential of an individual. The present research emphasizes the significance of intrinsic motivational potential and the significance of exploring the differences in the intrinsic motivational potential levels of individuals at work places. Thus, this paper empirically tests the framework of behavioral traits which affects motivational potential of an individual. With the help of two studies i.e., Study 1 and Study 2, exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis, respectively, indicated a reliable measure assessing intrinsic motivational potential of an individual. Given the variety of challenges of motivating contemporary workforce, and with increasing importance of intrinsic motivation, the paper discusses the relevance of the findings and of the measure assessing intrinsic motivational potential. Assessment of such behavioral traits would assist in the effective realization of intrinsic motivational potential of individuals. Additionally, the paper discusses the practical implications and furnishes scope for future research.

Keywords: behavioral traits, individual differences, intrinsic motivational potential, intrinsic motivation, motivation, workplace motivation

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Authors: Yeaji Seok, Myung Kyung Lee

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Background: Even if patients survive after a stroke, stroke patients may experience disability in mobility, sensation, cognition, and speech and language. Stroke patients require rehabilitation for functional recovery and daily life for a considerable time. During rehabilitation, the role of caregivers is important. However, the stroke patients’ quality of life may deteriorate due to family caregivers’ non-preparedness and increased role burden. Purpose: To investigate the prediction of caregivers' preparedness and role burden on stroke patients’ quality of life. Methods: The target population was stroke patients who were hospitalized for rehabilitation and their family care providers. A total of 153 patient-family caregiver dyads were recruited from June to August 2021. Data were collected from self-reported questionnaires and analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-tests, chi-squared test, one-way analysis of variance, Pearson’s correlation coefficients, and multiple regression with SPSS statistics 28 programs. Results: Family caregivers’ preparedness affected stroke patients’ mobility (β = .20, p < 0.05) and character (β = -.084, p < 0.05) and production activities (β = -.197, p < 0.05) in quality of life. The role burden of family caregivers affected language skills (β = .310, p<0.05), visual functions (β=-.357, p < 0.05), thinking skills (β = 0.443, p = 0.05), mood conditions (β = 0.565, p < 0.001), family roles (β = -0.361, p < 0.001), and social roles (β = -0.304, p < 0.001), while the caregivers’ burden of performing self-protection negatively affected patients’ social roles (β = .180, p=.048). In addition, caregivers’ role burden of personal life sacrifice affected patients’ mobility (β = .311, p < 0.05), self-care (β =.232, p < 0.05) and energy (β = .239, p < 0.05). Conclusion: This study indicated that family caregivers' preparedness and role burden affected stroke patients’ quality of life. The results of this study suggested that intervention to improve family caregivers’ preparedness and to reduce role burden should be required for quality of life in stroke patients.

Keywords: quality of life, preparedness, role burden, caregivers, stroke

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Authors: D. S. Jaya, G. P. Deepthi

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Groundwater is vital to the livelihoods and health of the majority of the people since it provides almost the entire water resource for domestic, agricultural and industrial uses. Groundwater quality comprises the physical, chemical, and bacteriological qualities. The present investigation was carried out to determine the physicochemical and bacteriological quality of the ground water sources in the residential areas of Karakulam Grama Panchayath in Thiruvananthapuram district, Kerala state in India. Karakulam is located in the eastern suburbs of Thiruvananthapuram city. The major drinking water source of the residents in the study area are wells. The present study aims to assess the portability and irrigational suitability of groundwater in the study area. The water samples were collected from randomly selected dug wells and bore wells in the study area during post monsoon and pre-monsoon seasons of the year 2014 after a preliminary field survey. The physical, chemical and bacteriological parameters of the water samples were analysed following standard procedures. The concentration of heavy metals (Cd, Pb, and Mn) in the acid digested water samples were determined by using an Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer. The results showed that the pH of well water samples ranged from acidic to the alkaline level. In the majority of well water samples ( > 54%) the iron and magnesium content were found high in both the seasons studied, and the values were above the permissible limits of WHO drinking water quality standards. Bacteriological analyses showed that 63% of the wells were contaminated with total coliforms in both the seasons studied. Irrigational suitability of groundwater was assessed by determining the chemical indices like Sodium Percentage (%Na), Sodium Adsorption Ratio (SAR), Residual Sodium Carbonate (RSC), Permeability Index (PI), and the results indicate that the well water in the study area is good for irrigation purposes. Therefore, the study reveals the degradation of drinking water quality groundwater sources in Karakulam Grama Panchayath in Thiruvananthapuram District, Kerala in terms of its chemical and bacteriological characteristics and is not potable without proper treatment. In the study, more than 1/3rd of the wells tested were positive for total coliforms, and the bacterial contamination may pose threats to public health. The study recommends the need for periodic well water quality monitoring in the study area and to conduct awareness programs among the residents.

Keywords: bacteriological, groundwater, irrigational suitability, physicochemical, portability

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Authors: A. Jourani, C. Trevisiol, S. Bouvier

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The aim of this work is to study the coupled effect of microstructure and surface roughness on friction coefficient, wear resistance and wear mechanisms. Friction tests on 35NCD16 steel are performed under different normal loads (50-110 N) on a pin-on-plane configuration at cyclic sliding with abrasive silicon carbide grains ranging from 35 µm to 200 µm. To vary hardness and microstructure, the specimens are subjected to water quenching and tempering at various temperatures from 200°C to 600°C. The evolution of microstructures and wear mechanisms of worn surfaces are analyzed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). For a given microstructure and hardness, the friction coefficient decreases with increasing of normal load and decreasing of the abrasive particle size. The wear rate increase with increasing of normal load and abrasive particle size. The results also reveal that there is a critical hardness Hcᵣᵢₜᵢcₐₗ around 430 Hv which maximizes the friction coefficient and wear rate. This corresponds to a microstructure transition from martensite laths to carbides and equiaxed grains, for a tempering around 400°C. Above Hcᵣᵢₜᵢcₐₗ the friction coefficient and the amount of material loss decrease with an increase of hardness and martensite volume fraction. This study also shows that the debris size and the space between the abrasive particles decrease with a reduction in the particle size. The coarsest abrasive grains lost their cutting edges, accompanied by particle damage and empty space due to the particle detachment from the resin matrix. The compact packing nature of finer abrasive papers implicates lower particle detachment and facilitates the clogging and the transition from abrasive to adhesive wear.

Keywords: martensite, microstructure, friction, wear, surface roughness

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Authors: Pedro M. Velasco, Cecilia C. Alday, Oscar C. Avello, Ximena T. Faundez, Luis M. Velasco

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Anaerobic digestion (AD) plants of food waste (FW) produced by agro-industry, have been widely developed from last decade to nowadays, because of the advantages over aerobic active sludge systems. Despite several bioreactor configurations and operation modes have been successfully improved and implemented at industrial scale in a wide range of applications, effluent behavior, after AD, does not commonly meet requirements for direct disposal into the environment without further treatments. In addition, literature has rarely shown AD of food waste at psychrophilic range. This temperature range may be of interest for making AD plant operation easier and increasing the stability of digestion. In spite of literature shows several methods for post-treatment, such as the use of microalgae, these have not been cultivated on effluents from AD at psychrophilic range. Hence, with the aim of showing the potential use of AD of FW at the psychrophilic range (25ºC) and the viability of microalgae post-treatment, single batch reactors have been used for methane potential tests at laboratory scale. Afterwards, digestates, derived from this AD of FW sludge, were diluted with fresh water at different ratios (1:0, 1:1; 1:4) and used as culture media for photoautotrophic microalgae. Several parameters, such as pH, biogas production, and chemical oxygen demand, were measured periodically over several months. Results show that methane potential is 150 ml g-1 per volatile solid with up to 57.7 % of methane content. Moreover, microalgae has been successfully cultivated on all tested effluents and in case of 1:1 and 1:4 rates, the resulting effluents meet the quality levels required for irrigation water.

Keywords: anaerobic digestion, biogas, food waste, microalgae, psychrophilic range

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Authors: Abdisalam Hassan Muse, Samuel Mwalili, Oscar Ngesa

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A generalized log-logistic distribution with variable shapes of the hazard rate was introduced and studied, extending the log-logistic distribution by adding an extra parameter to the classical distribution, leading to greater flexibility in analysing and modeling various data types. The proposed distribution has a large number of well-known lifetime special sub-models such as; Weibull, log-logistic, exponential, and Burr XII distributions. Its basic mathematical and statistical properties were derived. The method of maximum likelihood was adopted for estimating the unknown parameters of the proposed distribution, and a Monte Carlo simulation study is carried out to assess the behavior of the estimators. The importance of this distribution is that its tendency to model both monotone (increasing and decreasing) and non-monotone (unimodal and bathtub shape) or reversed “bathtub” shape hazard rate functions which are quite common in survival and reliability data analysis. Furthermore, the flexibility and usefulness of the proposed distribution are illustrated in a real-life data set and compared to its sub-models; Weibull, log-logistic, and BurrXII distributions and other parametric survival distributions with 3-parmaeters; like the exponentiated Weibull distribution, the 3-parameter lognormal distribution, the 3- parameter gamma distribution, the 3-parameter Weibull distribution, and the 3-parameter log-logistic (also known as shifted log-logistic) distribution. The proposed distribution provided a better fit than all of the competitive distributions based on the goodness-of-fit tests, the log-likelihood, and information criterion values. Finally, Bayesian analysis and performance of Gibbs sampling for the data set are also carried out.

Keywords: hazard rate function, log-logistic distribution, maximum likelihood estimation, generalized log-logistic distribution, survival data, Monte Carlo simulation

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Authors: Firas Al-Mahmoud, Jean-Michel Mechling, Mohamed Shaban

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The long-term durability of fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) composites is often stated as being the main reason for the use of these materials. Indeed, structures externally or Near Surface Mounted (NSM) reinforced with Carbon Fibre Reinforcement Polymer CFRP are often in contact with temperature cycles and salt water immersion and other environmental conditions that reduce the expected durability of the system. Bond degradation is a frequent cause of premature failure of structural elements and environmental conditions are known to relate to such failures. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of environmental exposure on the bond for different CFRP strengthening systems. Bending tests were conducted to evaluate the bond with and without environmental exposure. The specimens were strengthened with CFRP sheets, CFRP plates and NSM CFRP rods embedded in two filling materials: epoxy resin and mortar. Then, they were exposed to up to 300 freeze–thaw cycles. One freeze–thaw cycle consisted of four stages according to ASTM or immersed in 3.5% salted tap water. A total of thirty-six specimens were prepared for this purpose. Results showed a decrease in ultimate bond strength for specimens strengthened by CFRP sheets that were immersed in salt water for 120 days, while a reduction was shown for CFRP sheet and plate bonded specimens that were subjected to 300 freeze–thaw cycles. Exposing NSM CFRP rod strengthened specimens, embedded in resin or mortar, to freeze–thaw cycles or to immersion in salt water does not affect the bond strength.

Keywords: durability, strengthening, FRP, bond, freeze–thaw

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Authors: Barbara Pemberton

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Now that people of all faiths are experiencing suffering due to many global issues, shared narratives may provide common ground in which true understanding of each other may take root. This paper will consider the all too common problem of suffering and address how adherents of the three great monotheistic religions seek understanding and the appropriate believer’s response from the same story found within their respective sacred texts. Most scholars from each of these three traditions—Judaism, Christianity, and Islam— consider the writings of the Tanakh/Old Testament to at least contain divine revelation. While they may not agree on the extent of the revelation or the method of its delivery, they do share stories as well as a common desire to glean God’s message for God’s people from the pages of the text. One such shared story is that of Job, the servant of Yahweh--called Ayyub, the prophet of Allah, in the Qur’an. Job is described as a pious, righteous man who loses everything—family, possessions, and health—when his faith is tested. Three friends come to console him. Through it, all Job remains faithful to his God who rewards him by restoring all that was lost. All three hermeneutic communities consider Job to be an archetype of human response to suffering, regarding Job’s response to his situation as exemplary. The story of Job addresses more than the distribution of the evil problem. At stake in the story is Job’s very relationship to his God. Some exegetes believe that Job was adapted into the Jewish milieu by a gifted redactor who used the original ancient tale as the “frame” for the biblical account (chapters 1, 2, and 4:7-17) and then enlarged the story with the complex center section of poetic dialogues creating a complex work with numerous possible interpretations. Within the poetic center, Job goes so far as to question God, a response to which Jews relate, finding strength in dialogue—even in wrestling with God. Muslims only embrace the Job of the biblical narrative frame, as further identified through the Qur’an and the prophetic traditions, considering the center section an errant human addition not representative of a true prophet of Islam. The Qur’anic injunction against questioning God also renders the center theologically suspect. Christians also draw various responses from the story of Job. While many believers may agree with the Islamic perspective of God’s ultimate sovereignty, others would join their Jewish neighbors in questioning God, not anticipating answers but rather an awareness of his presence—peace and hope becoming a reality experienced through the indwelling presence of God’s Holy Spirit. Related questions are as endless as the possible responses. This paper will consider a few of the many Jewish, Christian, and Islamic insights from the ancient story, in hopes adherents within each tradition will use it to better understand the other faiths’ approach to suffering.

Keywords: suffering, Job, Qur'an, tanakh

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Authors: Thanakorn Thanawat, Nomjit Nualnetr

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Background and Purpose: In Thailand, rice farmers have the most prevalence of low back pain when compared with other manual workers. Exercises have been suggested to be a principal part of treatment programs for low back pain. However, the programs should be tailored to an individual’s readiness to change categorized by a behavioral approach. This study aimed to evaluate a difference between the responses of rice farmers with chronic low back pain who received an exercise program integrated with the transtheoretical model of behavior change (TTM) and those of the comparison group regarding severity of pain and trunk muscle endurance. Materials and Methods: An 8-week exercise program was conducted to rice farmers with chronic low back pain who were randomized to either the TTM (n=62, 52 woman and 10 men, mean age ± SD 45.0±5.4 years) or non-TTM (n=64, 53 woman and 11 men, mean age ± SD 44.7±5.4 years) groups. All participants were tested for their severity of pain and trunk (abdominal and back) muscle endurance at baseline (week 0) and immediately after termination of the program (week 8). Data were analysed by using descriptive statistics and student’s t-tests. The results revealed that both TTM and non-TTM groups could decrease their severity of pain and improve trunk muscle endurance after participating in the 8-week exercise program. When compared with the non-TTM group, however, the TTM showed a significantly greater increase in abdominal muscle endurance than did the non-TTM (P=0.004, 95% CI -12.4 to -2.3). Conclusions and Clinical Relevance: An exercise program integrated with the TTM could provide benefits to rice farmers with chronic low back pain. Future studies with a longitudinal design and more outcome measures such as physical performance and quality of life are suggested to reveal further benefits of the program.

Keywords: chronic low back pain, transtheoretical model, rice farmers, exercise program

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