Search results for: natural gas direct injection

Authors: Assel Jaxylykova, Alexnder Pak

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This study utilized a Self-Organizing Map (SOM) for unsupervised learning on the CONLL-2003 dataset for Named Entity Recognition (NER). The process involved encoding words into 300-dimensional vectors using FastText. These vectors were input into a SOM grid, where training adjusted node weights to minimize distances. The SOM provided a topological representation for identifying and clustering named entities, demonstrating its efficacy without labeled examples. Results showed an F1-measure of 0.86, highlighting SOM's viability. Although some methods achieve higher F1 measures, SOM eliminates the need for labeled data, offering a scalable and efficient alternative. The SOM's ability to uncover hidden patterns provides insights that could enhance existing supervised methods. Further investigation into potential limitations and optimization strategies is suggested to maximize benefits.

Keywords: named entity recognition, natural language processing, self-organizing map, CONLL-2003, semantics

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Authors: Fazl E. Ahad, Shi Dongyan, Anees Ur Rehman

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Plates are one of the most important structural components used in many industries like aerospace, marine and various other engineering fields and thus motivate designers and engineers to study the vibrational characteristics of these structures. This paper is a review of existing literature on vibration analysis of plates. Focus has been kept on prominent studies related to isotropic plates based on Mindlin plate theory; however few citations on orthotropic plates and higher order shear deformation theories have also been included. All citations are in English language. This review is aimed to provide contemporarily relevant survey of papers on vibrational characteristics of thick plates and will be useful for scientists, designers and researchers to locate important and relevant literature/research quickly.

Keywords: mindlin plates, vibrations, arbitrary boundary conditions, mode shapes, natural frequency

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Authors: Anthony Cogrove, Shagun Saikia, Pradeep Deshpande

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Introduction: Management of anxiety in rehabilitation setting often is a challenge and is usually done by using medication. The role of psychology and the creation of a quite environment in order to reduce stimulation helps in the process. We have a hypothesis that feedback from a calm visual imagery with soothing music help in reducing anxiety in these setting Aim-To explore the possibility of using virtual reality in the management of anxiety in a setting of neuro-rehabilitation unit. Method: Six patients in an inpatient rehabilitation unit with acquired brain injury subjected to a low stimulation calming visual motion picture with calm music. Six sessions were conducted over 6 weeks. All sessions were performed in a separate purpose built room in the unit. . A cohort of 6 people with various neurological conditions were involved in 6 sessions of 30 minutes during their inpatient rehabilitation. They reported benefit from using the virtual reality environment in reducing their anxiety. Results: All reported improvement in their anxiety levels. They felt there was a calming effect of the session. There was a sense of feeling of self empowerment on direct questioning. Conclusion: Virtual reality environment can aid the traditional rehabilitation techniques used to manage the levels of anxiety experienced by people with acquired brain injury undergoing inpatient rehabilitation.

Keywords: neurological rehabilitation, virtual reality, anxiety, calming environment

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Authors: Guenther Schuh, Christina Koenig, Nico Schoen, Markus Wellensiek

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Identification and selection of appropriate product and manufacturing technologies are key factors for competitiveness and market success of technology-based companies. Therefore many companies perform technology intelligence (TI) activities to ensure the identification of evolving technologies at the right time. Technology monitoring is one of the three base activities of TI, besides scanning and scouting. As the technological progress is accelerating, more and more technologies are being developed. Against the background of limited resources it is therefore necessary to focus TI activities. In this paper, we propose a concept for defining appropriate search fields for technology monitoring. This limitation of search space leads to more concentrated monitoring activities. The concept will be introduced and demonstrated through an anonymized case study conducted within an industry project at the Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology. The described concept provides a customized monitoring approach, which is suitable for use in technology-oriented companies especially those that have not yet defined an explicit technology strategy. It is shown in this paper that the definition of search fields and search tasks are suitable methods to define topics of interest and thus to direct monitoring activities. Current as well as planned product, production and material technologies as well as existing skills, capabilities and resources form the basis of the described derivation of relevant search areas. To further improve the concept of technology monitoring the proposed concept should be extended during future research e.g. by the definition of relevant monitoring parameters.

Keywords: monitoring radar, search field, technology intelligence, technology monitoring

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Authors: Paolo Russu

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The purpose of the present paper is to highlight some features of an economic growth model with environmental negative externalities, giving rise to a three-dimensional dynamic system. In particular, we show that the economy, which is based on a Perfect-Substitution Technologies function of production, has no neither indeterminacy nor poverty trap. This implies that equilibrium select by economy depends on the history (initial values of state variable) of the economy rather than on expectations of economies agents. Moreover, by contrast, we prove that the basin of attraction of locally equilibrium points may be very large, as they can extend up to the boundary of the system phase space. The infinite-horizon optimal control problem has the purpose of maximizing the representative agent’s instantaneous utility function depending on leisure and consumption.

Keywords: Hopf bifurcation, open-access natural resources, optimal control, perfect-substitution technologies, Poincarè compactification

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Authors: Heriansyah Putra, Erizal Erizal, Sutoyo Sutoyo, Hideaki Yasuhara

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This paper discusses the possibility of organic waste material, i.e., soybean, as the bio-catalyst agent on the calcite precipitation method. Several combinations of soybean powder and jack bean extract are used as the bio-catalyst and mixed with the reagent composed of calcium chloride and urea. Its productivity in promoting calcite crystal is evaluated through a transparent test-tube experiment. The morphological and mineralogical aspects of precipitated calcite are also investigated using scanning electromagnetic (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD), respectively. The applicability of this material to improve the engineering properties of soil are examined using the direct shear and unconfined compressive test. The result of this study shows that the utilization of soybean powder brings about a significant effect on soil strength. In addition, the use of soybean powder as a substitution material of urease enzyme also increases the efficacy of calcite crystal as the binder materials. The low calcite content promotes the high strength of the soil. The strength of 300 kPa is obtained in the presence of 2% of calcite content within the soil. The result of this study elucidated that substitution of soybean to jack bean extract is the potential and valuable alternative to improve the applicability of calcite precipitation method as soil improvement technique.

Keywords: calcite precipitation, jack bean, soil improvement, soybean

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Authors: Endang Jati Mat Sahid, Hussain Ali Bekhet

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Ability to supply reliable and secure electricity has been one of the crucial components of economic development for any country. Forecasting of electricity production is therefore very important for accurate investment planning of generation power plants. In this study, we aim to examine and analyze the factors that affect electricity generation. Multiple regression models were used to find the relationship between various variables and electricity production. The models will simultaneously determine the effects of the variables on electricity generation. Many variables influencing electricity generation, i.e. natural gas (NG), coal (CO), fuel oil (FO), renewable energy (RE), gross domestic product (GDP) and fuel prices (FP), were examined for Malaysia. The results demonstrate that NG, CO, and FO were the main factors influencing electricity generation growth. This study then identified a number of policy implications resulting from the empirical results.

Keywords: energy policy, energy security, electricity production, Malaysia, the regression model

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Authors: Kristine Nore, Alexander Severnisen, Petter Arnestad, Dimitris Kraniotis, Roy Rossebø

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Natural materials like wood, absorb and release moisture. Thus wood can buffer indoor climate. When used wisely, this buffer potential can be used to counteract the outer climate influence on the building. The mass of moisture used in the buffer is defined as the potential hygrothermal mass, which can be an energy storage in a building. This works like a natural heat pump, where the moisture is active in damping the diurnal changes. In Norway, the ability of wood as a material used for climate buffering is tested in several buildings with the extensive use of wood, including supermarkets. This paper defines the potential of hygrothermal mass in a supermarket building. This includes the chosen ventilation strategy, and how the climate impact of the building is reduced. The building is located above the arctic circle, 50m from the coastline, in Valnesfjord. It was built in 2015, has a shopping area, including toilet and entrance, of 975 m². The climate of the area is polar according to the Köppen classification, but the supermarket still needs cooling on hot summer days. In order to contribute to the total energy balance, wood needs dynamic influence to activate its hygrothermal mass. Drying and moistening of the wood are energy intensive, and this energy potential can be exploited. Examples are to use solar heat for drying instead of heating the indoor air, and raw air with high enthalpy that allow dry wooden surfaces to absorb moisture and release latent heat. Weather forecasts are used to define the need for future cooling or heating. Thus, the potential energy buffering of the wood can be optimized with intelligent ventilation control. The ventilation control in Valnesfjord includes the weather forecast and historical data. That is a five-day forecast and a two-day history. This is to prevent adjustments to smaller weather changes. The ventilation control has three zones. During summer, the moisture is retained to dampen for solar radiation through drying. In the winter time, moist air let into the shopping area to contribute to the heating. When letting the temperature down during the night, the moisture absorbed in the wood slow down the cooling. The ventilation system is shut down during closing hours of the supermarket in this period. During the autumn and spring, a regime of either storing the moisture or drying out to according to the weather prognoses is defined. To ensure indoor climate quality, measurements of CO₂ and VOC overrule the low energy control if needed. Verified simulations of the Valnesfjord building will build a basic model for investigating wood as a climate regulating material also in other climates. Future knowledge on hygrothermal mass potential in materials is promising. When including the time-dependent buffer capacity of materials, building operators can achieve optimal efficiency of their ventilation systems. The use of wood as a climate regulating material, through its potential hygrothermal mass and connected to weather prognoses, may provide up to 25% energy savings related to heating, cooling, and ventilation of a building.

Keywords: climate buffer, energy, hygrothermal mass, ventilation, wood, weather forecast

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Authors: Jurica Hižak

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Getting to know the agents, i.e., identifying the free riders in a population, can be considered one of the main challenges in establishing cooperation. An ordinary memory-one agent such as Tit-for-tat may learn “who is who” in the population through direct interactions. Past experiences serve them as a landmark to know with whom to cooperate and against whom to retaliate in the next encounter. However, this kind of learning is risky and expensive. A cheaper and less painful way to detect free riders may be achieved by gossiping. For this reason, as part of this research, a special type of Tit-for-tat agent was designed – a “Gossip-Tit-for-tat” agent that can share data with other agents of its kind. The performances of both strategies, ordinary Tit-for-tat and Gossip-Tit-for-tat, against Always-defect have been compared in the finite-game framework of the Iterated Prisoner’s Dilemma via the Moran process. Agents were able to move in a random-walk fashion, and they were programmed to play Prisoner’s Dilemma each time they met. Moreover, at each step, one randomly selected individual was eliminated, and one individual was reproduced in accordance with the Moran process of selection. In this way, the size of the population always remained the same. Agents were selected for reproduction via the roulette wheel rule, i.e., proportionally to the relative fitness of the strategy. The absorption probability was calculated after the population had been absorbed completely by cooperators, which means that all the states have been occupied and all of the transition probabilities have been determined. It was shown that gossip increases absorption probabilities and therefore enhances the evolution of cooperation in the population.

Keywords: cooperation, gossip, indirect reciprocity, Moran process, prisoner’s dilemma, tit-for-tat

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Authors: Lamzira Ebralidze, Aleksandre Tsertsvadze, Dali Berashvili, Aliosha Bakuridze

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Nowadays, there is an increasing demand for biologically active substances from vegetable, animal, and mineral resources. In terms of the use of natural compounds, pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and nutrition industry has big interest. The biggest drawback of conventional extraction methods is the need to use a large volume of organic extragents. The removal of the organic solvent is a multi-stage process. And their absolute removal cannot be achieved, and they still appear in the final product as impurities. A large amount of waste containing organic solvent damages not only human health but also has the harmful effects of the environment. Accordingly, researchers are focused on improving the extraction methods, which aims to minimize the use of organic solvents and energy sources, using alternate solvents and renewable raw materials. In this context, green extraction principles were formed. Green Extraction is a need of today’s environment. Green Extraction is the concept, and it totally corresponds to the challenges of the 21st century. The extraction of biologically active compounds based on green extraction principles is vital from the view of preservation and maintaining biodiversity. Novel technologies of green extraction are known, such as "cold methods" because during the extraction process, the temperature is relatively lower, and it doesn’t have a negative impact on the stability of plant compounds. Novel technologies provide great opportunities to reduce or replace the use of organic toxic solvents, the efficiency of the process, enhance excretion yield, and improve the quality of the final product. The objective of the research is the development of green technologies of flavonoids containing preparations. Methodology: At the first stage of the research, flavonoids containing preparations (Tincture Herba Leonuri, flamine, rutine) were prepared based on conventional extraction methods: maceration, bismaceration, percolation, repercolation. At the same time, the same preparations were prepared based on green technologies, microwave-assisted, UV extraction methods. Product quality characteristics were evaluated by pharmacopeia methods. At the next stage of the research technological - economic characteristics and cost efficiency of products prepared based on conventional and novel technologies were determined. For the extraction of flavonoids, water is used as extragent. Surface-active substances are used as co-solvent in order to reduce surface tension, which significantly increases the solubility of polyphenols in water. Different concentrations of water-glycerol mixture, cyclodextrin, ionic solvent were used for the extraction process. In vitro antioxidant activity will be studied by the spectrophotometric method, using DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1- picrylhydrazyl) as an antioxidant assay. The advantage of green extraction methods is also the possibility of obtaining higher yield in case of low temperature, limitation extraction process of undesirable compounds. That is especially important for the extraction of thermosensitive compounds and maintaining their stability.

Keywords: extraction, green technologies, natural resources, flavonoids

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Authors: Magdi M. E. Zumrawi, Nehla Mansour

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This paper aims to assess the efficiency of using geogrid reinforcement for subgrade stabilization. The literature of applying geogrid reinforcement technique for pavements built on soft subgrades and the previous experiences were reviewed. Laboratory tests were conducted on soil reinforced with geogrids in one or several layers. The soil specimens were compacted in four layers with or without geogrid sheets. The California Bearing Ratio (CBR) test, in soaking condition, was performed on natural soil and soil-geogrid specimens. The test results revealed that the CBR value is much affected by the geogrid sheet location and the number of sheets used in the soil specimen. When a geogrid sheet was placed at the 1^st layer of the soil, there was an increment of 26% in the CBR value. Moreover, the CBR value was significantly increased by 62% when geogrid sheets were placed at all four layers. The high CBR value is attributed to interface friction and interlock involved in the geogrid/ soil interactions. It could be concluded that geogrid reinforcement is successful and more economical technique.

Keywords: geogrid, reinforcement, stabilization, subgrade

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Authors: Muhammad M. A. S. Mahmoud

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Natural gas sweetening process is a controlled process that must be done at maximum efficiency and with the highest quality. In this work, due to complexity and non-linearity of the process, the H₂S gas separation and the intelligent fuzzy controller, which is used to enhance the process, are simulated in MATLAB – Simulink. The new design of fuzzy control for Gas Separator is discussed in this paper. The design is based on the utilization of linear state-estimation to generate the internal knowledge-base that stores input-output pairs. The obtained input/output pairs are then used to design a feedback fuzzy controller. The proposed closed-loop fuzzy control system maintains the system asymptotically-stability while it enhances the system time response to achieve better control of the concentration of the output gas from the tower. Simulation studies are carried out to illustrate the Gas Separator system performance.

Keywords: gas separator, gas sweetening, intelligent controller, fuzzy control

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Authors: A. A. Vasin, N. V. Klassen, A. M. Likhter

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Water suspensions of in-organic (metals and oxides) and organic nano-objects (chitozan and collagen) were subjected to the treatment of direct and alternative electrical fields. In addition to quasi-periodical spatial patterning resonance-like performance of spatial distributions of these suspensions has been found at low frequencies of alternating electrical field. These resonances are explained as the result of creation of equilibrium states of groups of charged nano-objects with opposite signs of charges at the interparticle distances where the forces of Coulomb attraction are compensated by the repulsion forces induced by relatively negative polarization of hydrated regions surrounding the nanoparticles with respect to pure water. The low frequencies of these resonances are explained by comparatively big distances between the particles and their big masses with t\respect to masses of atoms constituting molecules with high resonance frequencies. These new resonances open a new approach to detailed modeling and understanding of mechanisms of the influence of electrical fields on the functioning of internal organs of living organisms at the level of cells and neurons.

Keywords: bio-polymers, chitosan, collagen, nanoparticles, coulomb attraction, polarization repulsion, periodical patterning, electrical low frequency resonances, transformations

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Authors: Shiva Subhedar, Abhishek Jain, Shivin Mittal

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Icons are not merely decorative elements in enterprise applications but very often used because of their many advantages such as compactness, visual appeal, etc. Despite these potential advantages, icons often cause usability problems when they are designed without consideration for their many potential downsides. The aim of the current study was to examine the effect of articulatory distance – the distance between the physical appearance of an interface element and what it actually means. In other words, will the subject find the association of the function and its appearance on the interface natural or is the icon difficult for them to associate with its function. We have calculated response time and quality of identification by varying icon concreteness, the context of usage and subject experience in the enterprise context. The subjects were asked to associate icons (prepared for study purpose) with given function options in context and out of context mode. Response time and their selection were recorded for analysis.

Keywords: HCI, icons, icon concreteness, icon recognition

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Authors: S. Lecheb, A. Nour, A. Chellil, H. Mechakra, N. Hamad, H. Kebir

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The work involves develops attended by a numerical execution of the eXtend Finite Element Method premises a measurement by the fracture process cracked so many cracked plates an application will be processed for the calculation of the stress intensity factor SIF. In the first we give in statically part the distribution of stress, displacement field and strain of composite plate in two cases uncrack/edge crack, also in dynamical part the first six modes shape. Secondly, we calculate Stress Intensity Factor SIF for different orientation angle θ of central crack with length (2a=0.4mm) in plan strain condition, KI and KII are obtained for mode I and mode II respectively using X-FEM method. Finally from crack inclined involving mixed modes results, the comparison we chose dangerous inclination and the best crack angle when K is minimal.

Keywords: stress intensity factor (SIF), crack orientation, glass/epoxy, natural frequencies, X-FEM

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Authors: Wesam Rababa, Jamal Al-Qawasmi

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The global climate is negatively impacted by CO2 emissions, which are mostly produced by buildings. Several green building rating systems (GBRS) have been proposed to impose low-carbon criteria in order to address this problem. The Green Globes certification is one such system that evaluates a building's sustainability level by assessing different categories of environmental impact and emerging concepts aimed at reducing environmental harm. Therefore, assessment tools at the national level are crucial in the developing world, where specific local conditions require a more precise evaluation. This study analyzed eight sustainable building assessment systems from different regions of the world, comparing a comprehensive list of CO2-related indicators with a various assessment system for conducting coverage analysis. The results show that GBRS includes both direct and indirect indicators in this regard. It reveals deep variation between examined practices, and a lack of consensus not only on the type and the optimal number of indicators used in a system, but also on the depth and breadth of coverage of various sustainable building SB attributes. Generally, the results show that most of the examined systems reflect a low comprehensive coverage, the highest of which is found in materials category. On the other hand, the most of the examined systems reveal a very low representative coverage.

Keywords: Assessment tools, CO2-related indicators, Comparative study, Green Building Rating Systems

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Authors: Ebrahim Solgi, Zahra Hamedani, Behrouz Mohammad Kari, Ruwan Fernando, Henry Skates

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The use of thermal energy storage (TES) as part of a passive design strategy can reduce a building’s energy demand. TES materials do this by increasing the lag between energy consumption and energy supply by absorbing, storing and releasing energy in a controlled manner. The increase of lightweight construction in the building industry has made it harder to utilize thermal mass. Consequently, Phase Change Materials (PCMs) are a promising alternative as they can be manufactured in thin layers and used with lightweight construction to store latent heat. This research investigates utilizing PCMs, with the first step being measuring their performance under experimental conditions. To do this requires three components. The first is a calorimeter for measuring indoor thermal conditions, the second is a pyranometer for recording the solar conditions: global, diffuse and direct radiation and the third is a data-logger for recording temperature and humidity for the studied period. This paper reports on the design and implementation of an experimental setup used to measure the thermal characteristics of PCMs as part of a wall construction. The experimental model has been simulated with the software EnergyPlus to create a reliable simulation model that warrants further investigation.

Keywords: phase change materials, EnergyPlus, experimental evaluation, night ventilation

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Authors: Pham Van Nha, Le Cam Binh

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Particle swarm optimization (PSO) is a population-based stochastic optimization algorithm. PSO was inspired by the natural behavior of birds and fish in migration and foraging for food. PSO is considered as a multidisciplinary optimization model that can be applied in various optimization problems. PSO’s ideas are simple and easy to understand but PSO is only applied in simple model problems. We think that in order to expand the applicability of PSO in complex problems, PSO should be described more explicitly in the form of a mathematical model. In this paper, we represent PSO in a mathematical model and apply in the multivariate data classification. First, PSOs general mathematical model (MPSO) is analyzed as a universal optimization model. Then, Model of Optimal Centroids (MOC) is proposed for the multivariate data classification. Experiments were conducted on some benchmark data sets to prove the effectiveness of MOC compared with several proposed schemes.

Keywords: analysis of optimization, artificial intelligence based optimization, optimization for learning and data analysis, global optimization

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Authors: Rufat Nuriyev

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Located in the eastern part of the Republic of Azerbaijan and on the western shore of the Caspian Sea, Gobustan National Reserve was inscribed as Gobustan Rock Art Cultural Landscape into the World Heritage List in 2007. Gobustan is an outstanding rock art landscape, where over 6000 rock engravings were found and registered, since the end of Upper Paleolithic up to the Middle Ages. Being a rock art center, the Gobustan seeks to stimulate public awareness and disseminate knowledge of prehistoric art to enrich educational, cultural and artistic communities regionally, nationally and internationally. Due to the Decree of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the “Action Plan” , planned actions started to realize. Some of them implemented before of stipulated date. For the attraction of visitors and improvement of service quality in the museum-reserve, various activities are organized. The building of a new museum center at the foot of the Beyukdash Mountain has been completed in 2011. Main aims of the new museum building and exhibition was to provide better understanding of the importance of this monument for local community, Azerbaijanian culture and the world. In the Petroglyph Museum at Gobustan, digital and traditional media are closely integrated to reveal the complexity of historical, cultural and artistic meaning of prehistoric rock carvings of Gobustan. Alongside with electronic devices, the visitor gets opportunity of direct contact with artifacts and ancient rock carvings.

Keywords: Azerbaijan, Gobustan, rock art, museum

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Authors: Yaping Zhao, Yimin Zhang

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In the present paper, the stationary random vibration of a uniform cantilever beam is investigated. Two types of damping mechanism, i.e. the external and internal viscous dampings, are taken into account simultaneously. The excitation form is the support motion, and it is ideal white. Because two type of damping mechanism are considered concurrently, the product of the modal damping ratio and the natural frequency is not a constant anymore. As a result, the infinite definite integral encountered in the process of computing the mean square response is more complex than that in the existing literature. One signal progress of this work is to have calculated these definite integrals accurately. The precise solution of the mean square response is thus obtained in the infinite series form finally. Numerical examples are supplied and the numerical outcomes acquired confirm the validity of the theoretical analyses.

Keywords: random vibration, cantilever beam, mean square response, white noise

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Authors: Zhang Yu

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Shanxi Province is a province with a long history in China. The historical characteristics of Jinzhong Prefecture in Shaanxi Province are very prominent. This research has done a lot of field research and analysis, and has analyzed a large number of documents. The formation and characteristics of villages in Jinzhong Prefecture are summarized. But the remains of many areas have not been systematically discovered and analyzed. This study found that the reasons for the formation of villages are natural, cultural, traffic and economic reasons. It mainly includes water, mountain, and developed business culture during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. By analyzing the evolution characteristics of each period, the characteristics and remains of the existing villages are explained in detail. These types of relics mainly include courtyards, fortresses, and Exchange shops. This study can provide systematic guidance on the protection of future village remains.

Keywords: Jinzhong Prefecture, village, features, remains

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Authors: Golyasamin Khanehzaei, Mohd. Bakri Ishak, Ahmad Makmom Hj Abdullah, Latifah Abd Manaf

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Abstract—Management of clinical waste is a critical problem worldwide. Immediate attention is required to manage the clinical waste in an appropriate way in newly developing economy country such as Malaysia. The increasing amount of clinical waste generated is resulted from rapid urbanization and growing number of private health care facilities in developing countries such as Malaysia. In order to develop a sensible clinical waste management system and improvement of the management, information on factors affecting clinical waste generation has the crucial role. This paper is the study of management characteristics of clinical waste and the level of efficiency of clinical waste management systems operating in private clinics located in Selangor, Malaysia. Are they following the proper international standards? By taking all of this in consideration the aim of this paper is to identify and discuss the current trend, current challenges and also the present opportunities among the challenges of clinical waste management in private clinics of Selangor, Malaysia. The SWOT analysis was characterized for the evaluation of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. The methodology for this study was constituted of direct observation, Informal interviews, Conducting SWOT analysis, conduction of one sustainability dimensions analysis and application. The results show that clinical waste management in private clinics is far from an ideal model.

Keywords: clinical waste, SWOT analysis, Selangor, Malaysia

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Authors: Christine L. Cole

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Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) often experience social-communication difficulties that negatively impact their social interactions with typical peers. However, unlike other age and disability groups, there is little intervention research to inform best practice for these students. One evidence-based strategy for younger students with ASD is peer-mediated intervention (PMI). PMI may be particularly promising for use with adolescents, as peers are readily available and natural experts for encouraging authentic high school conversations. This paper provides a review of previous research that evaluated the use of PMI to improve the social-communication skills of students with ASD. Specific intervention features associated with positive student outcomes are identified and recommendations for future research are provided. Adolescents with ASD are targeted due to the critical importance of social conversation at the high school level.

Keywords: autism, peer-mediation, social communication, adolescents

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Authors: Jesús Horacio, Alfredo Ollero, Víctor Bouzas-Blanco, Augusto Pérez-Alberti

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Rivers have traditionally been classified, assessed and managed in terms of hydrological, chemical and / or biological criteria. Geomorphological classifications had in the past a secondary role, although proposals like River Styles Framework, Catchment Baseline Survey or Stroud Rural Sustainable Drainage Project did incorporate geomorphology for management decision-making. In recent years many studies have been attracted to the geomorphological component. The geomorphological processes and their associated forms determine the structure of a river system. Understanding these processes and forms is a critical component of the sustainable rehabilitation of aquatic ecosystems. The fluvial auto-classification approach suggests that a river is a self-built natural system, with processes and forms designed to effectively preserve their ecological function (hydrologic, sedimentological and biological regime). Fluvial systems are formed by a wide range of elements with multiple non-linear interactions on different spatial and temporal scales. Besides, the fluvial auto-classification concept is built using data from the river itself, so that each classification developed is peculiar to the river studied. The variables used in the classification are specific stream power and mean grain size. A discriminant analysis showed that these variables are the best characterized processes and forms. The statistical technique applied allows to get an individual discriminant equation for each geomorphological type. The geomorphological classification was developed using sites with high naturalness. Each site is a control point of high ecological and geomorphological quality. The changes in the conditions of the control points will be quickly recognizable, and easy to apply a right management measures to recover the geomorphological type. The study focused on Galicia (NW Spain) and the mapping was made analyzing 122 control points (sites) distributed over eight river basins. In sum, this study provides a method for fluvial geomorphological classification that works as an open and flexible tool underlying the fluvial auto-classification concept. The hydrographic mapping is the visual expression of the results, such that each river has a particular map according to its geomorphological characteristics. Each geomorphological type is represented by a particular type of hydraulic geometry (channel width, width-depth ratio, hydraulic radius, etc.). An alteration of this geometry is indicative of a geomorphological disturbance (whether natural or anthropogenic). Hydrographic mapping is also dynamic because its meaning changes if there is a modification in the specific stream power and/or the mean grain size, that is, in the value of their equations. The researcher has to check annually some of the control points. This procedure allows to monitor the geomorphology quality of the rivers and to see if there are any alterations. The maps are useful to researchers and managers, especially for conservation work and river restoration.

Keywords: fluvial auto-classification concept, mapping, geomorphology, river

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Authors: Geng-Gui Wang, Chia-Hao Chang, Jee-Cheng Wu

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A shoreline is a line where a body of water and the shore meet. It provides economic and social security to coastal habitations. However, shorelines face multiple threats due to both natural processes and man-made effects because of disasters, rapid urbanization, industrialization, and sand deposition and erosion, etc. In this study, we analyzed multi-temporal satellite images of the Yilan coast, Taiwan from 1978 to 2016, using the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Digital Shoreline Analysis System (DSAS), weather information (as rainfall records and typhoon routes), and man-made construction project data to explore the causes of shoreline changes. The results showed that the shoreline at Yilan coast is greatly influenced by typhoons and anthropogenic interventions.

Keywords: shoreline change, multi-temporal satellite, digital shoreline analysis system, DSAS, Yi-Lan coast

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Authors: Mohammad Ehsani, Iman Zarei, Soudabeh Moazemigoudarzi

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The aim of this study is to determine Pro-Environmental Behavioral Intention of Mountain Hikers to the Theory of Planned Behavior. According to many researchers nature-based recreation activities play a significant role in the tourism industry and have provided myriad opportunities for the protection of natural areas. It is essential to investigate individuals' behavior during such activities to avoid further damage to precious and dwindling natural resources. This study develops a robust model that provides a comprehensive understanding of the formation of pro-environmental behavioral intentions among climbers of Mount Damavand National Park in Iran. To this end, we combined the theory of planned behavior (TPB), value-belief-norm theory (VBN), and a hierarchical model of leisure constraints to predict individuals’ pro-environmental hiking behavior during outdoor recreation. It was used structural equation modeling to test the theoretical framework. A sample of 787 climbers was analyzed. Among the theory of planned behavior variables, perceived behavioral control showed the strongest association with behavioral intention (β = .57). This relationship indicates that if people feel they can have fewer negative impacts on national resources while hiking, it will result in more environmentally acceptable behavior. Subjective norms had a moderate positive impact on behavioral intention, indicating the importance of other people on the individual's behavior. Attitude had a small positive effect on intention. Ecological worldview positively influenced attitude and personal belief. Personal belief (awareness of consequences and ascribed responsibility) showed a positive association with TPB variables. Although the data showed a high average score in awareness of consequences (mean = 4.219 out of 5), evidence from Damavand Mount shows that there are many environmental issues that need addressing (e.g., vast amounts of garbage). National park managers need to make sure that their solutions result in awareness about proenvironmental behavior (PEB). Findings showed that negative relationship between constraints and all TPB predictors. Providing proper restrooms and parking spaces in campgrounds, strategies controlling limiting capacity and solutions for removing waste from high altitudes are helpful to decrease the negative impact of structural constraints. In order to address intrapersonal constraints, managers should provide opportunities to interest individuals in environmental activities, such as environmental celebrations or making documentaries about environmental issues. Moreover, promoting a culture of environmental protection in the Damavand Mount area would reduce interpersonal constraints. Overall, the proposed model improved the explanatory power of the TPB by predicting 64.7% of intention compared to the original TPB that accounted for 63.8% of the variance in intention.

Keywords: theory of planned behavior, pro-environmental behavior, national park, constraints

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Authors: Emmanuel Sachikumba, Micheal Msoni, Westone Mafuleka

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Zambia has a good climate with favourable rainfall pattern; this provides sufficient recharge for the surface and groundwater resources. In spite of the sufficient surface and ground water resources, accessibility to water at household levels is problematic both in quality and quantity. The study examined water accessibility as well as water quality at the household level. The research looked at the sources of water for the households and considered the complications of accessibility to water and the available opportunities therein. The investigation involved fifty households and the data was collected by the use of questionnaires (to assess accessibility) and laboratory tests (for ascertaining water quality). In addition to this, government departments such as the health, agriculture, forestry and education as well as the municipal council were interviewed on the topic under study. The study was descriptive in nature where clustered sampling procedures using simple random methods were utilised to select the households which were to participate in the study. The key findings were that; accessibility to water household levels is still a challenge in the settlement as most of the point sources (shallow wells, the stream and the river) were found to be contaminated. In addition to this, it was found that there was no direct relationship between the economic performance of a household and the accessibility to water. The study also observed that there were opportunities for the people in the settlement as they were increasingly getting into the education system, and adult literacy was being encouraged in the settlement. Furthermore, the settlement has groundwater resources which indicate that there can be sufficient water provision for the settlers.

Keywords: accessibility, household, water, settlement

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Authors: Han-Taw Chen, Chung-Hou Lai, Tzu-Hsiang Lin, Ge-Jang He

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This study applies the inverse method and three-dimensional CFD commercial software in conjunction with the experimental temperature data to investigate the heat transfer and fluid flow characteristics of the plate-fin heat sink in a closed rectangular enclosure for various values of fin height. The inverse method with the finite difference method and the experimental temperature data is applied to determine the heat transfer coefficient. The k-ε turbulence model is used to obtain the heat transfer and fluid flow characteristics within the fins. To validate the accuracy of the results obtained, the comparison of the average heat transfer coefficient is made. The calculated temperature at selected measurement locations on the plate-fin is also compared with experimental data.

Keywords: inverse method, FLUENT, k-ε model, heat transfer characteristics, plate-fin heat sink

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Authors: Farmesk Abubaker, Francesco Tortorici, Marco Capogni, Concetta Sutera, Vincenzo Bellini

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This project concerns with the detection efficiency of the portable triple-to-double coincidence ratio (TDCR) at the National Institute of Metrology of Ionizing Radiation (INMRI-ENEA) which allows direct activity measurement and radionuclide standardization for pure-beta emitter or pure electron capture radionuclides. The dependency of the simulated detection efficiency of the TDCR, by using Monte Carlo simulation Geant4 code, on the Birks factor (kB) and defocusing parameter has been examined especially for low energy beta-emitter radionuclides such as 3H and 14C, for which this dependency is relevant. The results achieved in this analysis can be used for selecting the best kB factor and the defocusing parameter for computing theoretical TDCR parameter value. The theoretical results were compared with the available ones, measured by the ENEA TDCR portable detector, for some pure-beta emitter radionuclides. This analysis allowed to improve the knowledge of the characteristics of the ENEA TDCR detector that can be used as a traveling instrument for in-situ measurements with particular benefits in many applications in the field of nuclear medicine and in the nuclear energy industry.

Keywords: Birks constant, defocusing parameter, GEANT4 code, TDCR parameter

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Authors: Nathan Moran, Robert Hanser, Attapol Kuanliang

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The purpose of this study is to determine the relationship between personal and social resources and burnout for police officers. Current conceptualizations of the condition of burnout are challenged as being too phenomenological and ambiguous, and consequently, not given to direct empirical testing. The conservation of resources model is based on the supposition that people strive to retain, protect, and build resources as a means to protect them from the impacts of burnout. The model proposes that the effects of stress (i.e. burnout) can be manifested in personal and professional attitudes and attributes, which can measure burnout using self-reports to provide strong support for the conservation of resources model, in that, personal and professional demands are related to the exhaustion component of burnout, whereas personal and professional resources can be compiled to counteract the negative impact of the burnout condition. Highly similar patterns of burnout resistance factors were witnessed in police officers in two department precincts (N:81). In addition, results confirmed the positive influence of key demographic variables in burnout resistance using the conservation of resources model. Participants in this study are all sheriff’s deputies with a populous county in a Pacific Northwestern state (N = 274). Four instruments will be used in this quantitative study for data collection (a) a series of demographic questions, (b) the Organizational Citizenship Behavior, (c) the PANAS-X Scale (OCB: Watson& Clark, 1994), and (d) The Maslach Burnout Inventory.

Keywords: behavioral, burnout, law enforcement, quantitative

Procedia PDF Downloads 288