Search results for: distributed sources

Authors: Domenico Carmelo Mongelli, Laura Carnieletto, Michele De Carli, Filippo Busato

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Starting from the current context in which the Russian invasion in Ukraine has highlighted Europe's dependence on natural gas imports for heating buildings, this study proposes solutions to resolve this dependency and evaluates related scenarios in the near future. In the first part of this work the methodologies and results of the economic impact are indicated by simulating a massive replacement of boilers powered by fossil fuels with electrically powered hightemperature air-water heat pumps for heating residential buildings in different European climates, without changing the current energy mix. For each individual European region, the costs for the purchase and installation of heat pumps for all residential buildings have been determined. Again for each individual European region, the economic savings during the operation phase that would be obtained in this future scenario of energy transition from fossil fuels to the electrification of domestic heating were calculated. For the European regions for which the economic savings were identified as positive, the payback times of the economic investments were analysed. In the second part of the work, hypothesizing different scenarios for a possible greater use of renewable energy sources and therefore with different possible future scenarios of the energy mix, the methodologies and results of the simulations on the economic analysis and on the environmental analysis are reported which have allowed us to evaluate the future effects of the energy transition from boilers to heat pumps for each European region. In the third part, assuming a rapid short-term diffusion of cooling for European residential buildings, the penetration shares in the cooling market and future projections of energy needs for cooling for each European region have been identified. A database was created where the results of this research relating to 38 European Nations divided into 179 regions were reported. Other previous works on the topics covered were limited to analyzing individual European nations, without ever going into detail about the individual regions within each nation, while the original contribution of the present work lies in the fact that the results achieved allow a specific numerical analysis and punctual for every single European region.

Keywords: buildings, energy, Europe, future

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Authors: Danielle A. Walker, Kyle L. Johnson, Tara B. Thomas, Sandor Dorgo, Jacen S. Moore

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Approximately 37 million people worldwide are infected with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), with the majority located in sub-Saharan Africa. The relationship existing between HIV incidence and socioeconomic inequity confirms the critical need for programs promoting HIV education, prevention and treatment access. This literature review analyzed 36 sources with a specific focus on the Democratic Republic of Congo, whose critically low socioeconomic status and education rate have resulted in a drastically high HIV rates. Relationships between HIV testing and treatment and barriers to care were explored. Cultural and religious considerations were found to be vital when creating and implementing HIV education and testing programs. Partnerships encouraging active support from community-based spiritual leaders to implement HIV educational programs were also key mechanisms to reach communities and individuals. Gender roles were highlighted as a key component for implementation of effective community trust-building and successful HIV education programs. The efficacy of added support by hospitals and clinics in rural areas to facilitate access to HIV testing and care for people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) was discussed. This review highlighted the need for healthcare providers to provide a network of continued education for PLWHA in clinical settings during disclosure and throughout the course of treatment to increase retention in care and promote medication adherence for viral load suppression. Implementation of culturally sensitive models that rely on community familiarity with HIV educators such as ‘train-the-trainer’ were also proposed as efficacious tools for educating rural communities about HIV. Further research is needed to promote community partnerships for HIV education, understand the cultural context of gender roles as barriers to care, and empower local health care providers to be successful within the HIV Continuum of Care.

Keywords: cultural sensitivity, Democratic Republic of the Congo, education, HIV

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Authors: Hadiatullah, T. S. D. Desak Ketut, A. A. Ayu, A. N. Isna, D. P. Ririn

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Spirogyra sp. is genus of microalgae which has a high carbohydrate content that used as a best medium for bacterial fermentation to produce cellulose. This study objective to determine the effect of pulp banana in the fermented paper production process using Spirogyra sp. and characterizing of the paper product. The method includes the production of bacterial cellulose, assay of the effect fermented paper interpolating with banana pulp using Spirogyra sp., and the assay of paper characteristics include gram-mage paper, water assay absorption, thickness, power assay of tensile resistance, assay of tear resistance, density, and organoleptic assay. Experiments were carried out with completely randomized design with a variation of the concentration of sewage treatment in the fermented paper production interpolating banana pulp using Spirogyra sp. Each parameter data to be analyzed by Anova variance that continued by real difference test with an error rate of 5% using the SPSS. Nata production results indicate that different carbon sources (glucose and sugar) did not show any significant differences from cellulose parameters assay. Significantly different results only indicated for the control treatment. Although not significantly different from the addition of a carbon source, sugar showed higher potency to produce high cellulose. Based on characteristic assay of the fermented paper showed that the paper gram-mage indicated that the control treatment without interpolation of a carbon source and a banana pulp have better result than banana pulp interpolation. Results of control gram-mage is 260 gsm that show optimized by cardboard. While on paper gram-mage produced with the banana pulp interpolation is about 120-200 gsm that show optimized by magazine paper and art paper. Based on the density, weight, water absorption assays, and organoleptic assay of paper showing the highest results in the treatment of pulp banana interpolation with sugar source as carbon is 14.28 g/m2, 0.02 g and 0.041 g/cm2.minutes. The conclusion found that paper with nata material interpolating with sugar and banana pulp has the potential formulation to produce super-quality paper.

Keywords: cellulose, fermentation, grammage, paper, Spirogyra sp.

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Authors: Douglas MacCutcheon, Florian Pausch, Robert Ljung, Lorna Halliday, Stuart Rosen

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Contemporary classrooms are increasingly inclusive of children with mild to moderate disabilities and children from different language backgrounds (bilinguals, multilinguals), but classroom environments and standards have not yet been adapted adequately to meet these challenges brought about by this inclusivity. Additionally, classrooms are becoming noisier as a learner-centered as opposed to teacher-centered teaching paradigm is adopted, which prioritizes group work and peer-to-peer learning. Challenging listening conditions with distracting sound sources and background noise are known to have potentially negative effects on children, particularly those that are prone to struggle with speech perception in noise. Therefore, this research investigates two groups vulnerable to these environmental effects, namely children with a mild to moderate hearing loss (MMHLs) and sequential bilinguals learning in their second language. In the MMHL study, this group was assessed on speech-in-noise perception, and a number of receptive language and cognitive measures (auditory working memory, auditory attention) and correlations were evaluated. Speech reception thresholds were found to be predictive of language and cognitive ability, and the nature of correlations is discussed. In the bilinguals study, sequential bilingual children’s listening comprehension, speech-in-noise perception, listening effort and release from masking was evaluated under a number of different ecologically valid acoustic scenarios in order to pinpoint the extent of the ‘native language benefit’ for Swedish children learning in English, their second language. Scene manipulations included target-to-distractor ratios and introducing spatially separated noise. This research will contribute to the body of findings from which educational institutions can draw when designing or adapting educational environments in inclusive schools.

Keywords: sequential bilinguals, classroom acoustics, mild to moderate hearing loss, speech-in-noise, release from masking

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Authors: V. K. Rajaletchumy, S. L. Chia, M. I. Setyawati, M. S. Muthu, S. S. Feng, D. T. Leong

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Triple negative breast cancers (TNBC) can be classified as one of the most aggressive with a high rate of local recurrences and systematic metastases. TNBCs are insensitive to existing hormonal therapy or targeted therapies such as the use of monoclonal antibodies, due to the lack of oestrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR) and the absence of overexpression of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) compared with other types of breast cancers. The absence of targeted therapies for selective delivery of therapeutic agents into tumours, led to the search for druggable targets in TNBC. In this study, we developed a targeted micellar system of cetuximab-conjugated micelles of D-α-tocopheryl polyethylene glycol succinate (vitamin E TPGS) for targeted delivery of docetaxel as a model anticancer drug for the treatment of TNBCs. We examined the efficacy of our micellar system in xenograft models of triple negative breast cancers and explored the effect of the micelles on post-treatment tumours in order to elucidate the mechanism underlying the nanomedicine treatment in oncology. The targeting micelles were found preferentially accumulated in tumours immediately after the administration of the micelles compare to normal tissue. The fluorescence signal gradually increased up to 12 h at the tumour site and sustained for up to 24 h, reflecting the increases in targeted micelles (TPFC) micelles in MDA-MB-231/Luc cells. In comparison, for the non-targeting micelles (TPF), the fluorescence signal was evenly distributed all over the body of the mice. Only a slight increase in fluorescence at the chest area was observed after 24 h post-injection, reflecting the moderate uptake of micelles by the tumour. The successful delivery of docetaxel into tumour by the targeted micelles (TPDC) exhibited a greater degree of tumour growth inhibition than Taxotere® after 15 days of treatment. The ex vivo study has demonstrated that tumours treated with targeting micelles exhibit enhanced cell cycle arrest and attenuated proliferation compared with the control and with those treated non-targeting micelles. Furthermore, the ex vivo investigation revealed that both the targeting and non-targeting micellar formulations shows significant inhibition of cell migration with migration indices reduced by 0.098- and 0.28-fold, respectively, relative to the control. Overall, both the in vivo and ex vivo data increased the confidence that our micellar formulations effectively targeted and inhibited EGF-overexpressing MDA-MB-231 tumours.

Keywords: biodegradable polymers, cancer nanotechnology, drug targeting, molecular biomaterials, nanomedicine

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Authors: Konstancja Syller

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International law and European regulations remain hardly silent about the admissibility of evidence obtained illegally in a criminal trial. However, Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights guarantees the right to a fair trial, it does not normalise a proceeding status of specified sources or means of proof outright. Therefore, it is the preserve of national legislation and national law enforcement authorities to decide on this matter. In most countries, especially in Germany and Poland, a rather complex normative approach to the issue of proof obtained in violation of the right to privacy is evident, which pursues in practise to many interpretive doubts. In Germany the jurisprudence has a significant impact within the range of the matter mentioned above. The Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court of Germany protect the right to privacy quite firmly - they ruled on inadmissibility of obtaining a proof in the form of a diary or a journal as a protection measure of constitutional guaranteed right. At the same time, however, the Supreme Court is not very convinced with reference to the issue of whether materials collected as a result of an inspection, call recordings or listening to the premises, which were carried out in breach of law, can be used in a criminal trial. Generally speaking, German courts indicate a crucial importance of the principle of Truth and the principle of proportionality, which both enable a judgement to be made as to the possibility of using an evidence obtained unlawfully. Comparing, in Poland there is almost no jurisprudence of the Constitutional Tribunal relating directly to the issue of illegal evidence. It is somehow surprising, considering the doctrinal analysis of the admissibility of using such proof in a criminal trial is performed in relation to standards resulted from the Constitution. Moreover, a crucial de lega lata legal provision, which enables allowing a proof obtained in infringement of the provisions in respect of criminal proceedings or through a forbidden act, is widely criticised within the legal profession ant therefore many courts give it their own interpretation at odds with legislator’s intentions. The comparison of two civil law legal systems’ standards regarding to the admissibility of an evidence obtained in contravention of the right to privacy in a criminal trial, taking also into account EU legislation and judicature, is the conclusive aim of this article.

Keywords: criminal trial, evidence, Germany, right to privacy, Poland

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Authors: Areej K. Al-Jwaid, Dmitiry Berllio, Andrew Cundy, Irina Savina, Jonathan L. Caplin

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Phenol is a toxic compound that is widely distributed in the environment including the atmosphere, water and soil, due to the release of effluents from the petrochemical and pharmaceutical industries, coking plants and oil refineries. Moreover, a range of daily products, using phenol as a raw material, may find their way into the environment without prior treatment. The toxicity of phenol effects both human and environment health, and various physio-chemical methods to remediate phenol contamination have been used. While these techniques are effective, their complexity and high cost had led to search for alternative strategies to reduce and eliminate high concentrations of phenolic compounds in the environment. Biological treatments are preferable because they are environmentally friendly and cheaper than physico-chemical approaches. Some microorganisms such as Pseudomonas sp., Rhodococus sp., Acinetobacter sp. and Bacillus sp. have shown a high ability to degrade phenolic compounds to provide a sole source of energy. Immobilisation process utilising various materials have been used to protect and enhance the viability of cells, and to provide structural support for the bacterial cells. The aim of this study is to develop a new approach to the bioremediation of phenol based on an immobilisation strategy that can be used in wastewater. In this study, two bacterial species known to be phenol degrading bacteria (Pseudomonas mendocina and Rhodococus koreensis) were purchased from National Collection of Industrial, Food and Marine Bacteria (NCIMB). The two species and mixture of them were immobilised to produce macro porous crosslinked cell cryogels samples by using four types of cross-linker polymer solutions in a cryogelation process. The samples were used in a batch culture to degrade phenol at an initial concentration of 50mg/L at pH 7.5±0.3 and a temperature of 30°C. The four types of polymer solution - i. glutaraldehyde (GA), ii. Polyvinyl alcohol with glutaraldehyde (PVA+GA), iii. Polyvinyl alcohol–aldehyde (PVA-al) and iv. Polyetheleneimine–aldehyde (PEI-al), were used at different concentrations, ranging from 0.5 to 1.5% to crosslink the cells. The results of SEM and rheology analysis indicated that cell-cryogel samples crosslinked with the four cross-linker polymers formed monolithic macro porous cryogels. The samples were evaluated for their ability to degrade phenol. Macro porous cell–cryogels crosslinked with GA and PVA+GA showed an ability to degrade phenol for only one week, while the other samples crosslinked with a combination of PVA-al + PEI-al at two different concentrations have shown higher stability and viability to reuse to degrade phenol at concentration (50 mg/L) for five weeks. The initial results of using crosslinked cell cryogel samples to degrade phenol indicate that is a promising tool for bioremediation strategies especially to eliminate and remove the high concentration of phenol in wastewater.

Keywords: bioremediation, crosslinked cells, immobilisation, phenol degradation

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Authors: Benjamin Osei-Tutu, Henrietta Awewole Kolson

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Background: Acute gastroenteritis is one of the frequently reported Out-Patient Department (OPD) cases. However, the causative pathogens of these cases are rarely identified at the OPD due to delay in laboratory results or failure to obtain specimens before antibiotics is administered. Method: A retrospective review of surveillance data from the Adentan Municipality, Accra, Ghana that were recorded in the National foodborne disease surveillance system of Ghana, was conducted with the main aim of describing the epidemiology and food practice of cases reported from the Adentan Municipality. The study involved a retrospective review of surveillance data kept on patients who visited health facilities that are involved in foodborne disease surveillance in Ghana, from January 2015 to December 2016. Results: A total of 375 cases were reviewed and these were classified as viral hepatitis (hepatitis A and E), cholera (Vibrio cholerae), dysentery (Shigella sp.), typhoid fever (Salmonella sp.) or gastroenteritis. Cases recorded were all suspected case and the average cases recorded per week was 3. Typhoid fever and dysentery were the two main clinically diagnosed foodborne illnesses. The highest number of cases were observed during the late dry season (Feb to April), which marks the end of the dry season and the beginning of the rainy season. Relatively high number of cases was also observed during the late wet seasons (Jul to Oct) when the rainfall is the heaviest. Home-made food and street vended food were the major sources of suspected etiological food, recording 49.01% and 34.87% of the cases respectively. Conclusion: Majority of cases recorded were classified as gastroenteritis due to the absence of laboratory confirmation. Few cases were classified as typhoid fever and dysentery based on clinical symptoms presented. Patients reporting with foodborne diseases were found to consume home meal and street vended foods as their predominant source of food.

Keywords: accra, etiologic food, food poisoning, gastroenteritis, illness, surveillance

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Authors: Suman Chaudhary, Rinku Dhanker, Tanvi, Sneh Goyal

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Sulphur oxidizing bacteria (SOB) have marked their significant role in perspectives of maintaining healthy environment as researchers from all over the world tested and apply these in waste water treatment plants, bioleaching of heavy metals, deterioration of bridge structures, concrete and for bioremediation purposes, etc. Also, these SOB are well adapted in all kinds of environment ranging from normal soil, water habitats to extreme natural sources like geothermal areas, volcanic eruptions, black shale and acid rock drainage (ARD). SOB have been isolated from low pH environment of anthropogenic origin like acid mine drainage (AMD) and bioleaching heaps, hence these can work efficiently in different environmental conditions. Besides having many applications in field of environment science, they may be proven to be very beneficial in area of agriculture as sulphur is the fourth major macronutrients required for the growth of plants. More amount of sulphur is needed by pulses and oilseed crops with respect to the cereal grains. Due to continuous use of land for overproduction of more demanding sulphur utilizing crops and without application of sulphur fertilizers, its concentration is decreasing day by day, and thus, sulphur deficiency is becoming a great problem as it affects the crop productivity and quality. Sulphur is generally found in soils in many forms which are unavailable for plants (cannot be use by plants) like elemental sulphur, thiosulphate which can be taken up by bacteria and converted into simpler forms usable by plants by undergoing a series of transformations. So, keeping the importance of sulphur in view for various soil types, oilseed crops and role of microorganisms in making them available to plants, we made an effort to isolate, optimize, and characterize SOB. Three potential strains of bacteria were isolated, namely SSF7, SSA21, and SSS6, showing sulphate production of concentration, i.e. 2.268, 3.102, and 2.785 mM, respectively. Also, these were optimized for various culture conditions like carbon, nitrogen source, pH, temperature, and incubation time, and characterization was also done.

Keywords: sulphur oxidizing bacteria, isolation, optimization, characterization, sulphate production

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Authors: Panas Gerasimos, Kotidou Varvara, Halkiopoulos Constantinos, Gkintoni Evgenia

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As a result of growing technology and briefing by the internet, users resort to the internet and subsequently to the opinion of an expert. In many cases, they take control of their health in their hand and make a decision without the contribution of a doctor. According to that, this essay intends to analyze the confidence of searching health issues on the internet. For the fulfillment of this study, there has been a survey among doctors in order to find out the reasons a patient uses the internet about their health problems and the consequences that health information could lead by searching on the internet, as well. Specifically, the results regarding the research of the users demonstrate: a) the majority of users make use of the internet about health issues once or twice a month, b) individuals that possess chronic disease make health search on the internet more frequently, c) the most important topics that the majority of users usually search are pathological, dietary issues and the search of issues that are associated with doctors and hospitals. However, it observed that topic search varies depending on the users’ age, d) the most common sources of information concern the direct contact with doctors, as there is a huge preference from the majority of users over the use of the electronic form for their briefing and e) it has been observed that there is large lack of knowledge about e-health services. From the doctor's point of view, the following conclusions occur: a) almost all doctors use the internet as their main source of information, b) the internet has great influence over doctors’ relationship with the patients, c) in many cases a patient first makes a visit to the internet and then to the doctor, d) the internet significantly has a psychological impact on patients in order to for them to reach a decision, e) the most important reason users choose the internet instead of the health professional is economic, f) the negative consequence that emerges is inaccurate information, g) and the positive consequences are about the possibility of online contact with the doctor and contributes to the easy comprehension of the doctor, as well. Generally, it’s observed from both sides that the use of the internet in health issues is intense, which declares that the new means the doctors have at their disposal, produce the conditions for radical changes in the way of providing services and in the doctor-patient relationship.

Keywords: cognitive models, health marketing, e-health, psychological factors, digital marketing, e-health services

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Authors: Suneet Jagdev, Siddharth Singhal, Dhrubajyoti Bordoloi, Peesari Vamshidhar Reddy

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There is no universally accepted definition of what constitutes a Smart City. It means different things to different people. The definition varies from place to place depending on the level of development and the willingness of people to change and reform. It tries to improve the quality of resource management and service provisions for the people living in the cities. Smart city is an urban development vision to integrate multiple information and communication technology (ICT) solutions in a secure fashion to manage the assets of a city. But most of these projects are misinterpreted as being technology projects only. Due to urbanization, a lot of informal as well government funded settlements have come up during the last few decades, thus increasing the consumption of the limited resources available. The people of each city have their own definition of Smart City. In the imagination of any city dweller in India is the picture of a Smart City which contains a wish list of infrastructure and services that describe his or her level of aspiration. The research involved a comparative study of the Smart City models in India and in China. Behavioral changes experienced by the people living in the pilot/first ever smart cities have been identified and compared. This paper discussed what is the target of the quality of life for the people in India and in China and how well could that be realized with the facilities being included in these Smart City projects. Logical and comparative analyses of important data have been done, collected from government sources, government papers and research papers by various experts on the topic. Existing cities with historically grown infrastructure and administration systems will require a more moderate step-by-step approach to modernization. The models were compared using many different motivators and the data is collected from past journals, interacting with the people involved, videos and past submissions. In conclusion, we have identified how these projects could be combined with the ongoing small scale initiatives by the local people/ small group of individuals and what might be the outcome if these existing practices were implemented on a bigger scale.

Keywords: behavior change, mission monitoring, pilot smart cities, social capital

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Authors: Era Dorihi Kale, Sabina Gero, Uly Agustine

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

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

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Authors: Sabah Khan

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The idea of universal Islam tends to exaggerate the extent of homogeneity in Islamic beliefs and practices across Muslim communities. In the age of migration, various Muslim communities are in diaspora. The immediate implication of this is what happens to Islam in diaspora? How Islam gets represented in new forms? Such pertinent questions need to be dealt with. This paper shall draw on the idea of religious transnationalism, primarily transnational Islam. There are multiple ways to conceptualize transnational phenomenon with reference to Islam in terms of flow of people, transnational organizations and networks; Ummah oriented solidarity and the new Muslim public sphere. This paper specifically deals with the new Muslim public sphere. It primarily refers to the space and networks enabled by new media and communication technologies, whereby Muslim identity and Islamic normativity are rehearsed, debated by people in different locales. A new sense of public is emerging across Muslim communities, which needs to be contextualized. This paper uses both primary and secondary data. Primary data elicited through content analysis of audio-visuals on social media and secondary sources of information ranging from books, articles, journals, etc. The basic aim of the paper is to focus on the emerging Muslim public sphere and the role of media in expanding public spheres of Islam. It also explores how Muslims in diaspora negotiate Islam and Islamic practices through media and the new Muslim public sphere. This paper cogently weaves in discussions firstly, of re-intellectualization of Islamic discourse in the public sphere. In other words, how Muslims have come to reimagine their collective identity and critically look at fundamental principles and authoritative tradition. Secondly, the emerging alternative forms of Islam by young Muslims in diaspora. In other words, how young Muslims search for unorthodox ways and media for religious articulation, including music, clothing and TV. This includes transmission and distribution of Islam in diaspora in terms of emerging ‘media Islam’ or ‘soundbite Islam’. The new Muslim public sphere has offered an arena to a large number of participants to critically engage with Islam, which leads not only to a critical engagement with traditional forms of Islamic authority but also emerging alternative forms of Islam and Islamic practices.

Keywords: Islam, media, Muslims, public sphere

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Authors: Rasha Waheeb, Bjorn Andersen, Rafa Shakir

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Purpose The purpose of this study is to avoid delays that occur in emergency reconstruction projects especially in post disaster circumstances whether if they were natural or manmade due to their particular national and humanitarian importance. We presented a theoretical and practical concepts for projects management in the field of construction industry that deal with a range of global and local trails. This study aimed to identify the factors of effective delay in construction projects in Iraq that affect the time and the specific quality cost, and find the best solutions to address delays and solve the problem by setting parameters to restore balance in this study. 30 projects were selected in different areas of construction were selected as a sample for this study. Design/methodology/approach This study discusses the reconstruction strategies and delay in time and cost caused by different delay factors in some selected projects in Iraq (Baghdad as a case study).A case study approach was adopted, with thirty construction projects selected from the Baghdad region, of different types and sizes. Project participants from the case projects provided data about the projects through a data collection instrument distributed through a survey. Mixed approach and methods were applied in this study. Mathematical data analysis was used to construct models to predict delay in time and cost of projects before they started. The artificial neural networks analysis was selected as a mathematical approach. These models were mainly to help decision makers in construction project to find solutions to these delays before they cause any inefficiency in the project being implemented and to strike the obstacles thoroughly to develop this industry in Iraq. This approach was practiced using the data collected through survey and questionnaire data collection as information form. Findings The most important delay factors identified leading to schedule overruns were contractor failure, redesigning of designs/plans and change orders, security issues, selection of low-price bids, weather factors, and owner failures. Some of these are quite in line with findings from similar studies in other countries/regions, but some are unique to the Iraqi project sample, such as security issues and low-price bid selection. Originality/value we selected ANN’s analysis first because ANN’s was rarely used in project management , and never been used in Iraq to finding solutions for problems in construction industry. Also, this methodology can be used in complicated problems when there is no interpretation or solution for a problem. In some cases statistical analysis was conducted and in some cases the problem is not following a linear equation or there was a weak correlation, thus we suggested using the ANN’s because it is used for nonlinear problems to find the relationship between input and output data and that was really supportive.

Keywords: construction projects, delay factors, emergency reconstruction, innovation ANN, post disasters, project management

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Authors: Muhammad Suhail Ibrahim, Muhammad Nadeem, Muhammad Sultan, Uzair Sajjad, Khalid Hamid, Tahir Mahmood Qureshi, Sadaf Javaria

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Metabolic disorders, including hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular disease etc., are major threats to public health and economy. Management and prevention of alarmingly increasing disorders have attracted researchers to explore natural barriers against these disorders. The objective of this study was to explore oats as a potential source of dietary fiber. Extraction of dietary was optimized by response surface methodology, and five indigenous oat cultivars, including SGD2011, Avon, SGD81, PD2LV65, and S2000, were also characterized for techno-functional characteristics, mineral composition and phytochemical quantification. These cultivars varied significantly (p < 0.05) for oil holding capacity, water saturation, and water holding capacity, respectively. SGD81 showed the highest oil-holding capacity, water-holding capacity, and water saturation due to the highest fraction of dietary fiber. The highest values of total phenolic contents, total flavonoid contents, total flavonol contents, 2, 2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging activity, and anthocyanin were shown by SGD81, and SGD2011, respectively. All cultivars varied significantly (P<0.05) with respect to phytochemical quantification. Oat cultivars SGD81 and SGD2011 showed the best phenolic acid profile and can be effectively used as a source of nutraceuticals. Beyond the nutritional properties of oats, these also contribute and emerged as potential sources of dietary fiber and have gained attention as nutraceutical cereal crops. This approach offers oats as a natural means of dietary fiber to protect humans from alarmingly increasing metabolic disorders, and its extraction by sonication has made it a sustainable and eco-friendly strategy.

Keywords: oat cultivars, dietary fibers, mineral profile, antioxidant activity, color properties

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Authors: Min-Hsun Liao

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Since the outbreak of war between Russia and Ukraine in February 2022, universities around the world have extended their helping hands to welcome Ukrainian students whose academic careers have been unexpectedly interrupted. Tunghai University (THU) in Taiwan and Mykolas Romeris University (MRU) in Lithuania are among the many other universities offering short- and long-term scholarships to host Ukrainian students in the midst of the war crisis. This mixed-methods study examines the cross-cultural adjustment processes of Ukrainian students in Taiwan. The research team at MRU will also conduct a parallel study with their Ukrainian students. Both institutions are committed to gaining insights into the adjustment processes of these students through cross-institutional collaboration. Studies show that while international students come from different cultural backgrounds, the difficulties they face while studying abroad are comparable and vary in intensity. These difficulties range from learning the language of the host country, adopting cultural customs, and adapting culinary preferences to the sociocultural shock of being separated from family and friends. These problems have been the subject of numerous studies. Study findings indicate that these challenges, if not properly addressed, can lead to significant stress, despair, and failure in academics or other endeavors for international students, not to mention those who have had to leave home involuntarily and settle into a completely new environment. Among these challenges, the language of the host country is foremost. The issue of international students' adjustment, particularly language acquisition, is critical to the psychological, academic, and sociocultural well-being of individuals. Both quantitative and qualitative data will be collected: 1) the International Student Cross-cultural Adaptation Survey (ISCAS) will be distributed to all Ukrainian students in both institutions; 2) one-on-one interviews will be conducted to gain a deeper understanding of their adaptations; and 3) t-tests or ANOVA will be calculated to determine significant differences between the languages used and the adaptation patterns of Ukrainian students. The significance of this study is consistent with three SDGs, namely quality education, peace/justice, and strong institutions and partnerships for the goals. The THU and MRU research teams believe that through partnership, both institutions can benefit exponentially from sharing the data, avoiding fixed interpretation, and sharing contextual insights, which will help improve the overall quality of education for international students and promote peace/justice through strong institutions. The impact of host country language proficiency on academic and sociocultural adjustments remains inconclusive. Therefore, the outcome of the study will shed new light on the relationship between language and various adjustments. In addition, the feedback from Ukrainian students will help other host countries better serve international students who must flee their home countries for an undisturbed education.

Keywords: international students, ukrainian students, cross-cultural adaptation, host country language, acculturation theory

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Authors: Zohreh Bayat, Dariush Minai-Tehrani

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Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a Gram-negative, rode shape and aerobic bacterium that has shown to be resistance to many antibiotics. This resistance makes the bacterium very harmful in some diseases. It can also generate diseases in any part of the gastrointestinal tract from oropharynx to rectum. P. aeruginosa has become an important cause of infection, especially in patients with compromised host defense mechanisms. One of the most important reasons that make P. aeruginosa an emerging opportunistic pathogen in patients is its ability to use various compounds as carbon sources. Lipase is an enzyme that catalyzes the hydrolysis of lipids. Most lipases act at a specific position on the glycerol backbone of lipid substrate. Some lipases are expressed and secreted by pathogenic organisms during the infection. Muscarinic antagonist used as an antispasmodic and in urinary incontinence. The drug has little effect on glandular secretion or the cardiovascular system. It does have some local anesthetic properties and is used in gastrointestinal, biliary, and urinary tract spasms. Aim: In this study the inhibitory effect of a muscarinic antagonist on lipase of P. aeruginosa was investigated. Methods: P. aeruginosa was cultured in minimal salt medium with 1% olive oil as carbon source. The cells were harvested and the supernatant, which contained lipase, was used for enzyme assay. Results: Our results showed that the drug can inhibit P. aeruginosa lipase by competitive manner. In the presence of different concentrations of the drug, the Vmax (2 mmol/min/mg protein) of enzyme did not change, while the Km raised by increasing the drug concentration. The Ki (inhibition constant) and IC50 (the half maximal inhibitory concentration) value of drug was estimated to be about 30 uM and 60 uM which determined that the drug binds to enzyme with high affinity. Maximum activity of the enzyme was observed at pH 8 in the absence and presence of muscarinic antagonist, respectively. The maximum activity of lipase was observed at 600C and the enzyme became inactive at 900C. Conclusion: The muscarinic antagonist drug could inhibit lipase of P. aeruginosa and changed the kinetic parameters of the enzyme. The drug binded to enzyme with high affinity and did not chang the optimum pH of the enzyme. Temperature did not affect the binding of drug to musmuscarinic antagonist.

Keywords: Pseudomonas aeruginosa, drug, enzyme, inhibition

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Authors: Prasanna Belur, P. R. Ashwini, Sampath Charanyaa, I. Regupathi

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Indian oil sardine (Sardinella longiceps) are one of the richest and cheapest sources of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFA) such as Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). The health benefits conferred by n-3 PUFA upon consumption, in the prevention and treatment of coronary, neuromuscular, immunological disorders and allergic conditions are well documented. Natural refined Indian Sardine oil generally contain about 25% (w/w) n-3 PUFA along with various unsaturated and saturated fatty acids in the form of mono, di, and triglycerides. Having high concentration of n-3 PUFA content in the glyceride form is most desirable for human consumption to avail maximum health benefits. Thus, enhancing the n-3 PUFA content while retaining it in the glyceride form with green technology is the need of the hour. In this study, refined Indian Sardine oil was subjected to selective hydrolysis by Candida antartica lipase to enhance n-3 PUFA content. The degree of hydrolysis and enhancement of n-3 PUFA content was estimated by determining acid value, Iodine value, EPA and DHA content (by Gas Chromatographic methods after derivitization) before and after hydrolysis. Various reaction parameters such as pH, temperature, enzyme load, lipid to aqueous phase volume ratio and incubation time were optimized by conducting trials with one parameter at a time approach. Incubating enzyme solution with refined sardine oil with a volume ratio of 1:1, at pH 7.0, for 60 minutes at 50 °C, with an enzyme load of 60 mg/ml was found to be optimum. After enzymatic treatment, the oil was subjected to refining to remove free fatty acids and moisture content using previously optimized refining technology. Enzymatic treatment at the optimal conditions resulted in 12.11 % enhancement in Degree of hydrolysis. Iodine number had increased by 9.7 % and n-3 PUFA content was enhanced by 112 % (w/w). Selective enhancement of n-3 PUFA glycerides, eliminating saturated and unsaturated fatty acids from the oil using enzyme is an interesting preposition as this technique is environment-friendly, cost effective and provide natural source of n-3 PUFA rich oil.

Keywords: Candida antartica, lipase, n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, sardine oil

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Authors: Sampo Tukiainen, Jukka Mattila, Niina Erkama, Erkki Ormala

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During the past decade, calls for more holistic and integrative organizational innovation research have been increasingly voiced. On the one hand, from the theoretical perspective, the reason for this has been the tendency in contemporary innovation studies to focus on disciplinary subfields, often leading to challenges in integrating theories in meaningful ways. For example, we find that during the past three decades the innovation research has evolved into an academic field consisting of several independent research streams, such as studies on organizational learning, project management, and top management teams, to name but a few. The innovation research has also proliferated according to different dimensions of innovation, such as sources, drivers, forms, and the nature of innovation. On the other hand, from the practical perspective the rationale has been the need to develop understanding of the solving of complex, interdisciplinary issues and problems in contemporary and future societies and organizations. Therefore, for advancing theorizing, as well as the practical applicability of organizational innovation research, we acknowledge the need for more integrative and holistic perspectives and approaches. We contribute to addressing this challenge by developing a ‘box transcendent’ perspective to examine interlinkages in and across four key dimensions of organizational innovation processes, which traditionally have been studied in separate research streams. Building on an in-depth, qualitative analysis of 123 interviews of CTOs (or equivalent) and CEOs in top innovative Finnish companies as well as three in-depth case studies, both as part of an EU-level interview study of more than 700 companies, we specify interlinkages in and between i) strategic management, ii) innovation management, iii) implementation and organization, and iv) commercialization, in innovation processes. We contribute to the existing innovation research in multiple ways. Firstly, we develop a cross-dimensional, ‘box transcendent’ conceptual model at the level of organizational innovation process. Secondly, this modeling enables us to extend existing theorizing by allowing us to distinguish specific cross-dimensional innovation ‘profiles’ in two different company categories: large multinational corporations and SMEs. Finally, from the more practical perspective, we consider the implications of such innovation ‘profiles’ for the societal and institutional, policy-making development.

Keywords: holistic research, innovation management, innovation studies, organizational innovation

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Authors: Frederick Ferguson, Dehua Feng, Yang Gao

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No doubt, current CFD tools have a great many technical limitations, and active research is being done to overcome these limitations. Current areas of limitations include vortex-dominated flows, separated flows, and turbulent flows. In general, turbulent flows are unsteady solutions to the fluid dynamic equations, and instances of these solutions can be computed directly from the equations. One of the approaches commonly implemented is known as the ‘direct numerical simulation’, DNS. This approach requires a spatial grid that is fine enough to capture the smallest length scale of the turbulent fluid motion. This approach is called the ‘Kolmogorov scale’ model. It is of interest to note that the Kolmogorov scale model must be captured throughout the domain of interest and at a correspondingly small-time step. In typical problems of industrial interest, the ratio of the length scale of the domain to the Kolmogorov length scale is so great that the required grid set becomes prohibitively large. As a result, the available computational resources are usually inadequate for DNS related tasks. At this time in its development, DNS is not applicable to industrial problems. In this research, an attempt is made to develop a numerical technique that is capable of delivering DNS quality solutions at the scale required by the industry. To date, this technique has delivered preliminary results for both steady and unsteady, viscous and inviscid, compressible and incompressible, and for both high and low Reynolds number flow fields that are very accurate. Herein, it is proposed that the Integro-Differential Scheme (IDS) be applied to a set of vortex-shockwave interaction problems with the goal of investigating the nonstationary physics within the resulting interaction regions. In the proposed paper, the IDS formulation and its numerical error capability will be described. Further, the IDS will be used to solve the inviscid and viscous Burgers equation, with the goal of analyzing their solutions over a considerable length of time, thus demonstrating the unsteady capabilities of the IDS. Finally, the IDS will be used to solve a set of fluid dynamic problems related to flow that involves highly vortex interactions. Plans are to solve the following problems: the travelling wave and vortex problems over considerable lengths of time, the normal shockwave–vortex interaction problem for low supersonic conditions and the reflected oblique shock–vortex interaction problem. The IDS solutions obtained in each of these solutions will be explored further in efforts to determine the distributed density gradients and vorticity, as well as the Q-criterion. Parametric studies will be conducted to determine the effects of the Mach number on the intensity of vortex-shockwave interactions.

Keywords: vortex dominated flows, shockwave interactions, high Reynolds number, integro-differential scheme

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Authors: Frederico Fialho Teixeira, Islam Mashaly, Maryam Shafiei, Jurij Karlovsek

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The ubiquity of data gathering and smart technologies, advancements in virtual technologies, and the development of the internet of things (IoT) have created urgent demands for the development of frameworks and efficient workflows for data collection, visualisation, and analysis. Digital twin, in different scales of the city into the building, allows for bringing together data from different sources to generate fundamental and illuminating insights for the management of current facilities and the lifecycle of amenities as well as improvement of the performance of current and future designs. Over the past two decades, there has been growing interest in the topic of digital twin and their applications in city and building scales. Most such studies look at the urban environment through a homogeneous or generalist lens and lack specificity in particular characteristics or identities, which define an urban university campus. Bridging this knowledge gap, this paper offers a framework for developing a digital twin for a university campus that, with some modifications, could provide insights for any large-scale digital twin settings like towns and cities. It showcases how currently unused data could be purposefully combined, interpolated and visualised for producing analysis-ready data (such as flood or energy simulations or functional and occupancy maps), highlighting the potential applications of such a framework for campus planning and policymaking. The research integrates campus-level data layers into one spatial information repository and casts light on critical data clusters for the digital twin at the campus level. The paper also seeks to raise insightful and directive questions on how digital twin for campus can be extrapolated to city-scale digital twin. The outcomes of the paper, thus, inform future projects for the development of large-scale digital twin as well as urban and architectural researchers on potential applications of digital twin in future design, management, and sustainable planning, to predict problems, calculate risks, decrease management costs, and improve performance.

Keywords: digital twin, smart campus, framework, data collection, point cloud

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Authors: Alexander A. Karabutov, Natalia B. Podymova, Elena B. Cherepetskaya

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The theoretical analysis is carried out to get the relation between the ultrasonic wave velocity and the value of residual stresses. The laser-ultrasonic method is developed to evaluate the residual stresses and subsurface defects in metals. The method is based on the laser thermooptical excitation of longitudinal ultrasonic wave sand their detection by a broadband piezoelectric detector. A laser pulse with the time duration of 8 ns of the full width at half of maximum and with the energy of 300 µJ is absorbed in a thin layer of the special generator that is inclined relative to the object under study. The non-uniform heating of the generator causes the formation of a broadband powerful pulse of longitudinal ultrasonic waves. It is shown that the temporal profile of this pulse is the convolution of the temporal envelope of the laser pulse and the profile of the in-depth distribution of the heat sources. The ultrasonic waves reach the surface of the object through the prism that serves as an acoustic duct. At the interface ‚laser-ultrasonic transducer-object‘ the conversion of the most part of the longitudinal wave energy takes place into the shear, subsurface longitudinal and Rayleigh waves. They spread within the subsurface layer of the studied object and are detected by the piezoelectric detector. The electrical signal that corresponds to the detected acoustic signal is acquired by an analog-to-digital converter and when is mathematically processed and visualized with a personal computer. The distance between the generator and the piezodetector as well as the spread times of acoustic waves in the acoustic ducts are the characteristic parameters of the laser-ultrasonic transducer and are determined using the calibration samples. There lative precision of the measurement of the velocity of longitudinal ultrasonic waves is 0.05% that corresponds to approximately ±3 m/s for the steels of conventional quality. This precision allows one to determine the mechanical stress in the steel samples with the minimal detection threshold of approximately 22.7 MPa. The results are presented for the measured dependencies of the velocity of longitudinal ultrasonic waves in the samples on the values of the applied compression stress in the range of 20-100 MPa.

Keywords: laser-ultrasonic method, longitudinal ultrasonic waves, metals, residual stresses

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Authors: Moaawia Abdulgader Gdara

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This work presents a study of carbon dioxide generation and migration in the Bahi sandstone reservoir over the EPSA 120/136 (conc 72), En Naga Sub Basin, Sirte Basin, Libya. The Lower Cretaceous Bahi Sandstone is the result of deposition that occurred between the start of the Cretaceous rifting that formed the area's Horsts, Grabens, and Cenomanian marine transgression. Bahi sediments were derived mainly from those Nubian sediments exposed on the structurally higher blocks, transported short distances into newly forming depocenters such as the En Naga Sub-basin, and were deposited by continental processes over the Sirte Unconformity (pre-Late Cretaceous surface). Bahi Sandstone facies are recognized in the En Naga Sub-basin within different lithofacies distributed over this sub-base. One of the two lithofacies recognized in the Bahi is a very fine to very coarse, subangular to angular, pebbly, and occasionally conglomeratic quartz sandstone, which is commonly described as being compacted but friable. This sandstone may contain pyrite, minor kaolinite. This facies was encountered at 11,042 feet in F1-72 well and at 9,233 feet in L1-72. Good, reservoir quality sandstones are associated with paleotopographic highs within the sub-basin and around its margins where winnowing and/or deflationary processes occurred. The second Bahi Lithofacies is a thinly bedded sequence dominated by shales and siltstones with subordinate sandstones and carbonates. The sandstones become more abundant with depth. This facies was encountered at 12,580 feet in P1 -72 and at 11,850 feet in G1a -72. This argillaceous sequence is likely the Bahi sandstone's lateral facies equivalent deposited in paleotopographic lows, which received finer grained material. The Bahi sandstones are generally described as a good reservoir rock, which after prolific production tests for the drilled wells that makes Bahi sandstones the principal reservoir rocks for CO₂ where large volumes of CO₂ gas have been discovered in the Bahi Formation on and near EPSA 120/136, (conc 72). CO₂ occurs in this area as a result of the igneous activity of the Al Harouge Al Aswad complex. Igneous extrusive have been pierced in the subsurface and are exposed at the surface. Bahi CO₂ prospectivity is thought to be excellent in the central to western areas of EPSA 120/136 (CONC 72), where there are better reservoir quality sandstones associated with Paleostructural highs. Condensate and gas prospectivity increases to the east as the CO₂ prospectivity decreases with distance away from the Al Haruj Al Aswad igneous complex. To date, it has not been possible to accurately determine the volume of these strategically valuable reserves, although there are positive indications that they are very large. Three main structures (Barrut I, En Naga A, and En Naga O) are thought to be prospective for the lower Cretaceous Bahi sandstone development. These leads are the most attractive on EPSA 120/136 for the deep potential.

Keywords: En Naga Sub Basin, Al Harouge Al Aswad’s Igneous Complex, carbon dioxide generation and migration in the Bahi sandstone reservoir, lower cretaceous Bahi sandstone

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Authors: Tahisa M. Pedroso, Hérida R. N. Salgado

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The microbiological turbidimetric assay allows the determination of potency of the drug, by measuring the turbidity (absorbance), caused by inhibition of microorganisms by ertapenem sodium. Ertapenem sodium (ERTM), a synthetic antimicrobial agent of the class of carbapenems, shows action against Gram-negative, Gram-positive, aerobic and anaerobic microorganisms. Turbidimetric assays are described in the literature for some antibiotics, but this method is not described for ertapenem. The objective of the present study was to develop and validate a simple, sensitive, precise and accurate microbiological assay by turbidimetry to quantify ertapenem sodium injectable as an alternative to the physicochemical methods described in the literature. Several preliminary tests were performed to choose the following parameters: Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923, IAL 1851, 8 % of inoculum, BHI culture medium, and aqueous solution of ertapenem sodium. 10.0 mL of sterile BHI culture medium were distributed in 20 tubes. 0.2 mL of solutions (standard and test), were added in tube, respectively S1, S2 and S3, and T1, T2 and T3, 0.8 mL of culture medium inoculated were transferred to each tube, according parallel lines 3 x 3 test. The tubes were incubated in shaker Marconi MA 420 at a temperature of 35.0 °C ± 2.0 °C for 4 hours. After this period, the growth of microorganisms was inhibited by addition of 0.5 mL of 12% formaldehyde solution in each tube. The absorbance was determined in Quimis Q-798DRM spectrophotometer at a wavelength of 530 nm. An analytical curve was constructed to obtain the equation of the line by the least-squares method and the linearity and parallelism was detected by ANOVA. The specificity of the method was proven by comparing the response obtained for the standard and the finished product. The precision was checked by testing the determination of ertapenem sodium in three days. The accuracy was determined by recovery test. The robustness was determined by comparing the results obtained by varying wavelength, brand of culture medium and volume of culture medium in the tubes. Statistical analysis showed that there is no deviation from linearity in the analytical curves of standard and test samples. The correlation coefficients were 0.9996 and 0.9998 for the standard and test samples, respectively. The specificity was confirmed by comparing the absorbance of the reference substance and test samples. The values obtained for intraday, interday and between analyst precision were 1.25%; 0.26%, 0.15% respectively. The amount of ertapenem sodium present in the samples analyzed, 99.87%, is consistent. The accuracy was proven by the recovery test, with value of 98.20%. The parameters varied did not affect the analysis of ertapenem sodium, confirming the robustness of this method. The turbidimetric assay is more versatile, faster and easier to apply than agar diffusion assay. The method is simple, rapid and accurate and can be used in routine analysis of quality control of formulations containing ertapenem sodium.

Keywords: ertapenem sodium, turbidimetric assay, quality control, validation

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Authors: B. Yaman, G. Acikbas, N. Calis Acikbas

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Epoxy based materials have advantages in tribological applications due to their unique properties such as light weight, self-lubrication capacity and wear resistance. On the other hand, their usage is often limited by their low load bearing capacity and low thermal conductivity values. In this study, it is aimed to improve tribological and also mechanical properties of epoxy by reinforcing with ceramic based porcelain waste. It is well-known that the reuse or recycling of waste materials leads to reduction in production costs, ease of manufacturing, saving energy, etc. From this perspective, epoxy and epoxy matrix composites containing 60wt% porcelain waste with different particle size in the range of below 90µm and 150-250µm were fabricated, and the effect of filler particle size on the mechanical and tribological properties was investigated. The microstructural characterization was carried out by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and phase analysis was determined by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The Archimedes principle was used to measure the density and porosity of the samples. The hardness values were measured using Shore-D hardness, and bending tests were performed. Microstructural investigations indicated that porcelain particles were homogeneously distributed and no agglomerations were encountered in the epoxy resin. Mechanical test results showed that the hardness and bending strength were increased with increasing particle size related to low porosity content and well embedding to the matrix. Tribological behavior of these composites was evaluated in terms of friction, wear rates and wear mechanisms by ball-on-disk contact with dry and rotational sliding at room temperature against WC ball with a diameter of 3mm. Wear tests were carried out at room temperature (23–25°C) with a humidity of 40 ± 5% under dry-sliding conditions. The contact radius of cycles was set to 5 mm at linear speed of 30 cm/s for the geometry used in this study. In all the experiments, 3N of constant test load was applied at a frequency of 8 Hz and prolonged to 400m wear distance. The friction coefficient of samples was recorded online by the variation in the tangential force. The steady-state CoFs were changed in between 0,29-0,32. The dimensions of the wear tracks (depth and width) were measured as two-dimensional profiles by a stylus profilometer. The wear volumes were calculated by integrating these 2D surface areas over the diameter. Specific wear rates were computed by dividing the wear volume by the applied load and sliding distance. According to the experimental results, the use of porcelain waste in the fabrication of epoxy resin composites can be suggested to be potential materials due to allowing improved mechanical and tribological properties and also providing reduction in production cost.

Keywords: epoxy composites, mechanical properties, porcelain waste, tribological properties

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Authors: Muhammad Dawood Idrees, Maria Hafeez, Arsalan Ansari

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Toll tax collection is the earliest method of tax collection and revenue generation. This revenue is utilized for the development of roads networks, maintenance, and connecting to roads and highways across the country. Pakistan is one of the biggest countries, covers a wide area of land, roads networks, and motorways are important source of connecting cities. Every day millions of people use motorways, and they have to stop at toll plazas to pay toll tax as majority of toll plazas are manually collecting toll tax. The purpose of this study is to calculate the waiting time of vehicles at Karachi Hyderabad (M-9) motorway. As Karachi is the biggest city of Pakistan and hundreds of thousands of people use this route to approach other cities. Currently, toll tax collection is manual system which is a major cause for long time waiting at toll plaza. This study calculates the waiting time of vehicles, fuel consumed in waiting time, manpower employed at toll plaza as all process is manual, and it also leads to mental and physical fatigue of driver. All wastages of sources are also calculated, and a most feasible automatic toll tax collection system is proposed which is not only beneficial to reduce waiting time but also beneficial in reduction of fuel, reduction of manpower employed, and reduction in physical and mental fatigue. A cost comparison in terms of wastages is also shown between manual and automatic toll tax collection system (E-Z Pass). Results of this study reveal that, if automatic tool collection system is implemented at Karachi to Hyderabad motorway (M-9), there will be a significance reduction in waiting time of vehicles, which leads to reduction of fuel consumption, environmental pollution, mental and physical fatigue of driver. All these reductions are also calculated in terms of money (Pakistani rupees) and it is obtained that millions of rupees can be saved by using automatic tool collection system which will lead to improve the economy of country.

Keywords: toll tax collection, waiting time, wastages, driver fatigue

Procedia PDF Downloads 153

Authors: Michael McCann

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Managerial theories propose that, in joint stock companies, executives may be tempted to waste excess free cash on unprofitable projects to keep control of resources. In order to conceal their projects' poor performance, they may seek to engage in earnings management. On the one hand, managers may manipulate earnings upwards in order to post ‘good’ performances and safeguard their position. On the other, since managers pursuit of unrewarding investments are likely to lead to low long-term profitability, managers will use negative accruals to reduce current year’s earnings, smoothing earnings over time in order to conceal the negative effects. Agency models argue that boards of directors are delegated by shareholders to ensure that companies are governed properly. Part of that responsibility is ensuring the reliability of financial information. Analyses of the impact of board characteristics, particularly board independence on the misuse of free cash flow and earnings management finds conflicting evidence. However, existing characterizations of board independence do not account for such directors gaining firm-specific knowledge over time, influencing their monitoring ability. Further, there is little analysis of the influence of the relative experience of independent directors and executives on decisions surrounding the use of free cash. This paper contributes to this literature regarding the heterogeneous characteristics of boards by investigating the influence of independent director tenure on earnings management and the relative tenures of independent directors and Chief Executives. A balanced panel dataset comprising 51 companies across 11 annual periods from 2005 to 2015 is used for the analysis. In each annual period, firms were classified as conducting earnings management if they had discretionary accruals in the bottom quartile (downwards) and top quartile (upwards) of the distributed values for the sample. Logistical regressions were conducted to determine the marginal impact of independent board tenure and a number of control variables on the probability of conducting earnings management. The findings indicate that both absolute and relative measures of board independence and experience do not have a significant impact on the likelihood of earnings management. It is the level of free cash flow which is the major influence on the probability of earnings management. Higher free cash flow increases the probability of earnings management significantly. The research also investigates whether board monitoring of earnings management is contingent on the level of free cash flow. However, the results suggest that board monitoring is not amplified when free cash flow is higher. This suggests that the extent of earnings management in companies is determined by a range of company, industry and situation-specific factors.

Keywords: corporate governance, boards of directors, agency theory, earnings management

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Authors: Olaide Ruth Aderibigbe, Oluwatoyin Oluwole

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Pigeon pea is one of the minor leguminous plants; though underutilised, it is used traditionally by farmers to alleviate hunger and malnutrition. Pigeon pea is cultivated in Nigeria by subsistence farmers. It is rich in protein and minerals, however, its utilisation as food is only common among the poor and rural populace who cannot afford expensive sources of protein. One of the factors contributing to its limited use is the high antinutrient content which makes it indigestible, especially when eaten by children. The development of value-added products that can reduce the antinutrient content and make the nutrients more bioavailable will increase the utilisation of the crop and contribute to reduction of malnutrition. This research, therefore, determined the effects of different roasting temperatures (130 0C, 140 0C, and 150 0C) on the proximate, mineral and antinutrient component of a pigeon pea snack. The brown variety of pigeon pea seeds were purchased from a local market- Otto in Lagos, Nigeria. The seeds were cleaned, washed, and soaked in 50 ml of water containing sugar and salt (4:1) for 15 minutes, and thereafter the seeds were roasted at 130 0C, 140 0C, and 150 0C in an electric oven for 10 minutes. Proximate, minerals, phytate, tannin and alkaloid content analyses were carried out in triplicates following standard procedures. The results of the three replicates were polled and expressed as mean±standard deviation; a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and the Least Significance Difference (LSD) were carried out. The roasting temperatures significantly (P<0.05) affected the protein, ash, fibre and carbohydrate content of the snack. Ready-to-eat snack prepared by roasting at 150 0C significantly had the highest protein (23.42±0.47%) compared the ones roasted at 130 0C and 140 0C (18.38±1.25% and 20.63±0.45%, respectively). The same trend was observed for the ash content (3.91±0.11 for 150 0C, 2.36±0.15 for 140 0C and 2.26±0.25 for 130 0C), while the fibre and carbohydrate contents were highest at roasting temperature of 130 0C. Iron, zinc, and calcium were not significantly (P<0.5) affected by the different roasting temperatures. Antinutrients decreased with increasing temperature. Phytate levels recorded were 0.02±0.00, 0.06±0.00, and 0.07±0.00 mg/g; tannin levels were 0.50±0.00, 0.57±0.00, and 0.68±0.00 mg/g, while alkaloids levels were 0.51±0.01, 0.78±0.01, and 0.82±0.01 mg/g for 150 0C, 140 0C, and 130 0C, respectively. These results show that roasting at high temperature (150 0C) can be utilised as a processing technique for increasing protein and decreasing antinutrient content of pigeon pea.

Keywords: antinutrients, pigeon pea, protein, roasting, underutilised species

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Authors: Zelalem B. Gurmessa, Ignatius W. Ferreira, Henry F. Wissink

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The aim of this paper is to critically examine the factors contributing to academic brain drain in the Sub-Saharan Africa with specific reference to the higher education sector. Africa in general and Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries, in particular, are experiencing an exodus of highly trained, qualified and competent human resources to other developing and developed countries thereby threatening the overall development of the relevant regions and impeding both public and private service delivery systems in the nation states. The region is currently in a dire situation in terms of health care services, education, science, and technology. The contribution of SSA countries to Science, Technology and Innovation is relatively minimal owing to the migration of skilled professionals due to both push and pull factors. The phenomenon calls for both international and trans-boundary, regional, national and institutional interventions to curb the exodus. Based on secondary data and the review of the literature, the article conceptualizes the antecedents and impacts of human capital flight or brain drain in the SSA countries from a higher education perspective. To this end, the article explores the magnitude, causes, and impacts of brain drain in the region. Despite the lack of consistent data on the magnitude of academic brain drain in the region, a critical analysis of the existing sources shows that pay disparity between developing and developed countries, the lack of enabling working conditions at source countries, fear of security due to political turmoil or unrest, the availability of green pastures and opportunity for development in the receiving countries were identified as major factors contributing to academic brain drain in the region. This hampers the socio-economic, technological and political development of the region. The paper also recommends that further research can be undertaken on the magnitude, causes, characteristics and impact of brain drain on the sustainability and competitiveness of SSA higher education institutions in the region.

Keywords: brain drain, higher education, sub-Saharan Africa, sustainable development

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Authors: Muhammet Şahal, Oğuz Köklü

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As statistical thinking and problem-solving processes have become increasingly important, teachers need to be more rigorously prepared with statistical knowledge to teach their students effectively. This study examined preservice mathematics teachers' development of statistical investigation projects using data and exploratory data analysis tools, following a design-based research perspective and statistical investigation cycle. A total of 26 pre-service senior mathematics teachers from a public university in Turkiye participated in the study. They formed groups of 3-4 members voluntarily and worked on their statistical investigation projects for six weeks. The data sources were audio recordings of pre-service teachers' group discussions while working on their projects in class, whole-class video recordings, and each group’s weekly and final reports. As part of the study, we reviewed weekly reports, provided timely feedback specific to each group, and revised the following week's class work based on the groups’ needs and development in their project. We used content analysis to analyze groups’ audio and classroom video recordings. The participants encountered several difficulties, which included formulating a meaningful statistical question in the early phase of the investigation, securing the most suitable data collection strategy, and deciding on the data analysis method appropriate for their statistical questions. The data collection and organization processes were challenging for some groups and revealed the importance of comprehensive planning. Overall, preservice senior mathematics teachers were able to work on a statistical project that contained the formulation of a statistical question, planning, data collection, analysis, and reaching a conclusion holistically, even though they faced challenges because of their lack of experience. The study suggests that preservice senior mathematics teachers have the potential to apply statistical knowledge and techniques in a real-world context, and they could proceed with the project with the support of the researchers. We provided implications for the statistical education of teachers and future research.

Keywords: design-based study, pre-service mathematics teachers, statistical investigation projects, statistical model

Procedia PDF Downloads 87