Search results for: time to surgery

Authors: Savaş Durduran, Ceren Yağci

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The nature of the events going on in the world, when people’s lives are considered significantly affects natural disasters. Considering thousands of years of earth history, it is seen that many natural disasters, particularly earthquakes located in our country. Behaving cautious, without occurring hazards, after being disaster is much easier and cost effective than returning to the normal life. The four phases of disaster management in the whole world has been described as; pre-disaster preparedness and mitigation, post-disaster response and rehabilitation studies. Pre-disaster and post-disaster phases has half the weight of disaster management. How much would be prepared for disaster, no matter how disaster damage reducing work gives important, we will be less harm from material and spiritual sense. To do this in a systematic way we use the Geographic Information Systems (GIS). The execution of the emergency services to be on time and emergency control mechanism against the development the most appropriate decision Geographic Information System GIS) can be useful. The execution of the emergency services to be on time and emergency control mechanism towards for developing to be the most appropriate decision Geographic Information System (GIS) can be useful. The results obtained by using products with GIS analysis of seismic data to the city, manager of the city required information and data that can be more healthy and satisfies the appropriate policy decisions can be produced. In this study, using ArcGIS software and benefiting reports of the earthquake that occurred in the Konya city, spatial and non-spatial data consisting databases created, by the help of this database a potential disaster management aimed in the city of Konya regard to urban earthquake, GIS-aided analyzes were performed.

Keywords: geographic information systems (GIS), disaster management, emergency control mechanism, Konya

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Authors: Marin Kanarev, Delyan Stoyanov, Ivanna Popova, Nadezhda Petrova

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Thanks to increased survival rates in patients bearing oncological malignancies due to recent developments in anti-cancer therapies and diagnostic techniques, observation of clinical cases of metachronous cancers is more common and can provide more in-depth knowledge of their development and, as a result, help clinicians apply suitable therapy. This unusual case of three metachronous tumors presented the opportunity to follow their occurrence, progression, and treatment thoroughly. A 77-year-old male presented with carcinoma ventriculi of the pylorus region, which was surgically removed via upper subtotal stomach resection, a lateral antecolical gastro-enteroanastomosis, and a subsequent Braun anastomosis. An EOX chemotherapy regimen followed. A CT scan four months later showed no indication of recurrence or dissemination. The same scan, performed as a part of the follow-up plan two years later, showed an indication of neoplastic growth in the urinary bladder. After the patient had been directed to a urologist, the suspicion was confirmed, and the growth was histologically diagnosed as a carcinoma of the urinary bladder. An immunohistochemistry test showed an expression of PDL1 of less than 5%, which resulted in treatment with GemCis chemotherapy regimen that led to full remission. Two years and seven months after the first surgery, a CT scan showed again that the two carcinomas were gone. However, four months later, elevated tumor markers prompted a PET/CT scan, which showed data indicative of recurring neoplastic growth in the region of the stomach cardia. It was diagnosed as an adenocarcinoma infiltrating the esophagus. Preoperative chemotherapy with the ECF regimen was completed in four courses, and a CT scan showed no progression of the disease. In less than a month after therapy, the patient underwent laparotomy, debridement, gastrectomy, and a subsequent mechanical terminal-lateral esophago-jejunoanasthomosis. It was verified that the tumor originated from metastasis from the carcinoma ventriculi, which was located in the pylorus. In conclusion, this case report highlights the importance of patient follow-up and studying recurring neoplastic growth. Despite the absence of symptoms, clinicians should maintain a high level of suspicion when evaluating the patient data and choosing the most suitable therapy.

Keywords: carcinoma, follow-up, metachronous, neoplastic growth, recurrence

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Authors: Abdelkader Elhanaoui, Mhamed Hadji, Rachid Skouri, Said Agounad

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The purpose of this paper is to study the phenomenon of acoustic scattering by using a new method. The signal processing (Fast Fourier Transform FFT Inverse Fast Fourier Transform iFFT and BESSEL functions) is widely applied to obtain information with high precision accuracy. Signal processing has a wider implementation in general-purpose pro-cessors. Our interest was focused on the use of FPGAs (Field-Programmable Gate Ar-rays) in order to minimize the computational complexity in single processor architecture, then be accelerated on FPGA and meet real-time and energy efficiency requirements. Gen-eral-purpose processors are not efficient for signal processing. We implemented the acous-tic backscattered signal processing model on the Altera DE-SOC board and compared it to Odroid xu4. By comparison, the computing latency of Odroid xu4 and FPGA is 60 sec-onds and 3 seconds, respectively. The detailed SoC FPGA-based system has shown that acoustic spectra are performed up to 20 times faster than the Odroid xu4 implementation. FPGA-based system of processing algorithms is realized with an absolute error of about 10⁻³. This study underlines the increasing importance of embedded systems in underwater acoustics, especially in non-destructive testing. It is possible to obtain information related to the detection and characterization of submerged cells. So we have achieved good exper-imental results in real-time and energy efficiency.

Keywords: DE1 FPGA, acoustic scattering, form function, signal processing, non-destructive testing

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Authors: Derjew Ayele Ejigu, Houde Song, Xiaojing Liu

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This work presents the particle swarm optimization trained neural network (PSO-NN) supervisory proportional integral derivative (PID) control method to monitor the pressurized water reactor (PWR) core power for safe operation. The proposed control approach is implemented on the transfer function of the PWR core, which is computed from the state-space model. The PWR core state-space model is designed from the neutronics, thermal-hydraulics, and reactivity models using perturbation around the equilibrium value. The proposed control approach computes the control rod speed to maneuver the core power to track the reference in a closed-loop scheme. The particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm is used to train the neural network (NN) and to tune the PID simultaneously. The controller performance is examined using integral absolute error, integral time absolute error, integral square error, and integral time square error functions, and the stability of the system is analyzed by using the Bode diagram. The simulation results indicated that the controller shows satisfactory performance to control and track the load power effectively and smoothly as compared to the PSO-PID control technique. This study will give benefit to design a supervisory controller for nuclear engineering research fields for control application.

Keywords: machine learning, neural network, pressurized water reactor, supervisory controller

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Authors: Mina Sadat Orooje, Mohammad Mehdi Latifi, Behnam Fereydooni Eftekhari

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The integration of cutting-edge Internet of Things (IoT) technologies with advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems is revolutionizing healthcare facility management. However, the current landscape of hospital building maintenance suffers from slow, repetitive, and disjointed processes, leading to significant financial, resource, and time losses. Additionally, the potential of Building Information Modeling (BIM) in facility maintenance is hindered by a lack of data within digital models of built environments, necessitating a more streamlined data collection process. This paper presents a robust framework that harmonizes AI with BIM-IoT technology to elevate healthcare Facility Maintenance Management (FMM) and address these pressing challenges. The methodology begins with a thorough literature review and requirements analysis, providing insights into existing technological landscapes and associated obstacles. Extensive data collection and analysis efforts follow to deepen understanding of hospital infrastructure and maintenance records. Critical AI algorithms are identified to address predictive maintenance, anomaly detection, and optimization needs alongside integration strategies for BIM and IoT technologies, enabling real-time data collection and analysis. The framework outlines protocols for data processing, analysis, and decision-making. A prototype implementation is executed to showcase the framework's functionality, followed by a rigorous validation process to evaluate its efficacy and gather user feedback. Refinement and optimization steps are then undertaken based on evaluation outcomes. Emphasis is placed on the scalability of the framework in real-world scenarios and its potential applications across diverse healthcare facility contexts. Finally, the findings are meticulously documented and shared within the healthcare and facility management communities. This framework aims to significantly boost maintenance efficiency, cut costs, provide decision support, enable real-time monitoring, offer data-driven insights, and ultimately enhance patient safety and satisfaction. By tackling current challenges in healthcare facility maintenance management it paves the way for the adoption of smarter and more efficient maintenance practices in healthcare facilities.

Keywords: artificial intelligence, building information modeling, healthcare facility maintenance, internet of things integration, maintenance efficiency

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Authors: Abigail M. Csik, Gabriel A. Radvansky

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As people read through event-based narratives, they construct an event model that captures information about the characters, goals, location, time, and causality. For many reasons, memory for such narratives is represented at different levels, namely, the surface form, textbase, and event model levels. Rereading has been shown to decrease surface form memory, while, at the same time, increasing textbase and event model memories. More generally, distributed practice has consistently shown memory benefits over massed practice for different types of materials, including texts. However, little research has investigated distributed practice of narratives at different inter-study intervals and these effects on these three levels of memory. Recent work in our lab has indicated that there may be dramatic changes in patterns of forgetting around one week, which may affect the three levels of memory. The present experiment aimed to determine the effects of rereading on the three levels of memory as a factor of whether the texts were reread before versus after one week. Participants (N = 42) read a set of stories, re-read them either before or after one week (with an inter-study interval of three days, seven days, or fourteen days), and then took a recognition test, from which the three levels of representation were derived. Signal detection results from this study reveal that differential patterns at the three levels as a factor of whether the narratives were re-read prior to one week or after one week. In particular, an ANOVA revealed that surface form memory was lower (p = .08) while textbase (p = .02) and event model memory (p = .04) were greater if narratives were re-read 14 days later compared to memory when narratives were re-read 3 days later. These results have implications for what type of memory benefits from distributed practice at various inter-study intervals.

Keywords: memory, event cognition, distributed practice, consolidation

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Authors: Kyu Jin Kim, Byung Kwan Oh, Hyo Seon Park

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The seismic responses-based structural health monitoring system has been performed to prevent seismic damage. Structural seismic damage of building is caused by the instantaneous stress concentration which is related with dynamic characteristic of earthquake. Meanwhile, seismic response analysis to estimate the dynamic responses of building demands significantly high computational cost. To prevent the failure of structural members from the characteristic of the earthquake and the significantly high computational cost for seismic response analysis, this paper presents an artificial neural network (ANN) based prediction model for dynamic responses of building considering specific time length. Through the measured dynamic responses, input and output node of the ANN are formed by the length of specific time, and adopted for the training. In the model, evolutionary radial basis function neural network (ERBFNN), that radial basis function network (RBFN) is integrated with evolutionary optimization algorithm to find variables in RBF, is implemented. The effectiveness of the proposed model is verified through an analytical study applying responses from dynamic analysis for multi-degree of freedom system to training data in ERBFNN.

Keywords: structural health monitoring, dynamic response, artificial neural network, radial basis function network, genetic algorithm

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Authors: Giuliana Scuderi, Patrick Teuffel

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The proven vulnerability of the existing social housing building heritage to natural or induced earthquakes requires the development of new design concepts and conceptual method to preserve materials and object, at the same time providing new performances. An integrate intervention between civil engineering, building physics and architecture can convert the social housing districts from a critical part of the city to a strategic resource of revitalization. Referring to bio-mimicry principles the present research proposes a taxonomy with the exoskeleton of the insect, an external, light and resistant armour whose role is to protect the internal organs from external potentially dangerous inputs. In the same way, a “building exoskeleton”, acting from the outside of the building as an enclosing cage, can restore, protect and support the existing building, assuming a complex set of roles, from the structural to the thermal, from the aesthetical to the functional. This study evaluates the structural efficiency of shape memory alloys devices (SMADs) connecting the “building exoskeleton” with the existing structure to rehabilitate, in order to prevent the out-of-plane collapse of walls and for the passive dissipation of the seismic energy, with a calibrated operability in relation to the intensity of the horizontal loads. The two case studies of a masonry structure and of a masonry structure with concrete frame are considered, and for each case, a theoretical social housing building is exposed to earthquake forces, to evaluate its structural response with or without SMADs. The two typologies are modelled with the finite element program SAP2000, and they are respectively defined through a “frame model” and a “diagonal strut model”. In the same software two types of SMADs, called the 00-10 SMAD and the 05-10 SMAD are defined, and non-linear static and dynamic analyses, namely push over analysis and time history analysis, are performed to evaluate the seismic response of the building. The effectiveness of the devices in limiting the control joint displacements resulted higher in one direction, leading to the consideration of a possible calibrated use of the devices in the different walls of the building. The results show also a higher efficiency of the 00-10 SMADs in controlling the interstory drift, but at the same time the necessity to improve the hysteretic behaviour, to maximise the passive dissipation of the seismic energy.

Keywords: adaptive structure, biomimetic design, building exoskeleton, social housing, structural envelope, structural retrofitting

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Authors: Zeev Wiesman, Paula Berman, Nitzan Meiri, Charles Linder

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Supramolecular chemistry refers to the domain of chemistry beyond that of molecules and focuses on the chemical systems made up of a discrete number of assembled molecular sub units or components. Biodiesel components self arrangements is closely related/affect their physical properties in combustion systems and emission. Due to technological difficulties, knowledge regarding the molecular packing of FAMEs (biodiesel) in the liquid phase is limited. Spectral tools such as X-ray and NMR are known to provide evidences related to molecular structure organization. Recently, it was reported by our research group that using 1H Time Domain NMR methodology based on relaxation time and self diffusion coefficients, FAMEs clusters with different motilities can be accurately studied in the liquid phase. Head to head dimarization with quasi-smectic clusters organization, based on molecular motion analysis, was clearly demonstrated. These findings about the assembly/packing of the FAME components are directly associated with fluidity/viscosity of the biodiesel. Furthermore, these findings may provide information of micro/nano-particles that are formed in the delivery and injection system of various combustion systems (affected by thermodynamic conditions). Various relevant parameters to combustion such as: distillation/Liquid Gas phase transition, cetane number/ignition delay, shoot, oxidation/NOX emission maybe predicted. These data may open the window for further optimization of FAME/diesel mixture in terms of combustion and emission.

Keywords: supermolecular chemistry, FAMEs, liquid phase, fluidity, LF-NMR

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Authors: Ertuğrul Yılmaz

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One of the most important occupational groups in the food chain from farm to fork is a veterinary medicine. This occupational group, which has important duties in the prevention of many zoonotic diseases and in public health, takes place in many critical control points from soil to our kitchen. It has important duties from mycotoxins transmitted from the soil to slaughterhouses or milk processing facilities. Starting from the soil, which constitutes 70% of mycotoxin contamination, up to the TMR made from raw materials obtained from the soil, there are all critical control points from feeding to slaughterhouses and milk production enterprises. We can take the precaution of mycotoxins such as Aflatoxin B1, Ochratoxin, Zearalenone, and Fumonisin, which we encounter on farms while in the field. It has been reported that aflatoxin B1 is a casenerogen and passes into milk in studies. It is likely that many mycotoxins pose significant threats to public health and will turn out to be even more dangerous over time. Even raw material storage and TMR preparation are very important for public health. The danger of fumonisin accumulating in the liver will be understood over time. Zoonotic diseases are also explained with examples. In this study, how important veterinarians are in terms of public health is explained with examples. In the two-year mycotoxin screenings, fumonisin mycotoxin was found to be very high in corn and corn by-products, and it was determined that it accumulated in the liver for a long time and remained cornic in animals. It has been determined that mycotoxins are present in all livestock feeds, poultry feeds, and raw materials, not alone, but in double-triple form. Starting from the end, mycotoxin scans should be carried out from feed to raw materials and from raw materials to soil. In this way, we prevent the transmission of mycotoxins to animals and from animals to humans. Liver protectors such as toxin binders, beta-glucan, mannan oligosaccharides, activated carbon, prebiotics, and silymarin were used in certain proportions in the total mixed ratio, and positive results were obtained. Humidity and temperature controls of raw material silos were made at certain intervals. Necropsy was performed on animals that died as a result of mycotoxicosis, and macroscopic photographs were taken of the organs. We have determined that the mycotoxin screening in experimental animals and the feeds made without detecting the presence and amount of bacterial factors affect the results of the project to be made. For this, a series of precautionary plans have been created, starting from the production processes.

Keywords: mycotoxins, feed safety, processes, public health

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Authors: Ewa M. Laskowska, Jorn Vatn

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Industry 4.0 focuses on digital optimization of industrial processes. The idea is to use extracted data in order to build a decision support model enabling use of those data for real time decision making. In terms of predictive maintenance, the desired decision support tool would be a model enabling prognostics of system's health based on the current condition of considered equipment. Within area of system prognostics and health management, a commonly used health indicator is Remaining Useful Lifetime (RUL) of a system. Because the RUL is a random variable, it has to be estimated based on available health indicators. Health indicators can be of different types and come from different sources. They can be process variables, equipment performance variables, data related to number of experienced failures, etc. The aim of this study is the analysis of performance variables of emergency shutdown valves (ESV) used in oil and gas industry. ESV is inspected periodically, and at each inspection torque and time of valve operation are registered. The data will be analyzed by means of machine learning or statistical analysis. The purpose is to investigate whether the available data could be used as a health indicator for a prognostic purpose. The second objective is to examine what is the most efficient way to incorporate the data into predictive model. The idea is to check whether the data can be applied in form of explanatory variables in Markov process or whether other stochastic processes would be a more convenient to build an RUL model based on the information coming from registered data.

Keywords: emergency shutdown valves, health indicator, prognostics, remaining useful lifetime, RUL

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Authors: Fatemeh Saadat Ghareh Bagh, Srimanta Ray, Jerald Lalman

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Lignin, the largest inventory of organic carbon with a high caloric energy value is a major component in woody and non-woody biomass. In pulping mills, a large amount of the lignin is burned for energy. At the same time, the phenolic structure of lignin enables it to be converted to value-added compounds.This study has focused on extracting lignin from black liquor using deep eutectic solvents (DESs). Therefore, three choline chloride (ChCl)-DESs paired with lactic acid (LA) (1:11), oxalic acid.2H₂O (OX) (1:4), and malic acid (MA) (1:3) were synthesized at 90oC and atmospheric pressure. The kinetics of lignin recovery from black liquor using DES was investigated at three moderate temperatures (338, 353, and 368 K) at time intervals from 30 to 210 min. The extracted lignin (acid soluble lignin plus Klason lignin) was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The FTIR studies included comparing the extracted lignin with a model Kraft lignin. The extracted lignin was characterized spectrophotometrically to determine the acid soluble lignin (ASL) [TAPPI UM 250] fraction and Klason lignin was determined gravimetrically using TAPPI T 222 om02. The lignin extraction reaction using DESs was modeled by first-order reaction kinetics and the activation energy of the process was determined. The ChCl:LA-DES recovered lignin was 79.7±2.1% at 368K and a DES:BL ratio of 4:1 (v/v). The quantity of lignin extracted for the control solvent, [emim][OAc], was 77.5+2.2%. The activation energy measured for the LA-DES system was 22.7 KJ mol⁻¹, while the activation energy for the OX-DES and MA-DES systems were 7.16 KJ·mol⁻¹ and 8.66 KJ·mol⁻¹ when the total lignin recovery was 75.4 ±0.9% and 62.4 ±1.4, % respectively.

Keywords: black liquor, deep eutectic solvents, kinetics, lignin

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Authors: Teresa Shuk-Ching Poon

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This paper sets out to examine the changing employment relations practices in Hong Kong’s retail banking sector over a period of more than 10 years. The major objective of the research is to examine whether and to what extent local institutional influences have overshadowed global market forces in shaping strategic management decisions and employment relations practices in Hong Kong, with a view to drawing implications to comparative employment relations studies. Examining the changing pattern of employment relations, this paper finds the industrial relations strategic choice model (Kochan, McKersie and Cappelli, 1984) appropriate to use as a framework for the study. Four broad aspects of employment relations are examined, including work organisation and job design; staffing and labour adjustment; performance appraisal, compensation and employee development; and labour unions and employment relations. Changes in the employment relations practices in two multinational retail banks operated in Hong Kong are examined in detail. The retail banking sector in Hong Kong is chosen as a case to examine as it is a highly competitive segment in the financial service industry very much susceptible to global market influences. This is well illustrated by the fact that Hong Kong was hit hard by both the Asian and the Global Financial Crises. This sector is also subject to increasing institutional influences, especially after the return of Hong Kong’s sovereignty to the People’s Republic of China (PRC) since 1997. The case study method is used as it is a suitable research design able to capture the complex institutional and environmental context which is the subject-matter to be examined in the paper. The paper concludes that operation of the retail banks in Hong Kong has been subject to both institutional and global market changes at different points in time. Information obtained from the two cases examined tends to support the conclusion that the relative significance of institutional as against global market factors in influencing retail banks’ operation and their employment relations practices is depended very much on the time in which these influences emerged and the scale and intensity of these influences. This case study highlights the importance of placing comparative employment relations studies within a context where employment relations practices in different countries or different regions/cities within the same country could be examined and compared over a longer period of time to make the comparison more meaningful.

Keywords: employment relations, institutional influences, global market forces, strategic management decisions, retail banks, Hong Kong

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Authors: Marco Castagna

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Proposed paper is aimed to inquire about the relation between text and reader, focusing on the concept of ‘attestation’. Indeed, despite being widely accepted in semiotic research, even today the concept of text remains uncertainly defined. So, it seems to be undeniable that what is called ‘text’ offers an image of internal cohesion and coherence, that makes it possible to analyze it as an object. Nevertheless, this same object remains problematic when it is pragmatically activated by the act of reading. In fact, as for the T.A.R:D.I.S., that is the unique space-temporal vehicle used by the well-known BBC character Doctor Who in his adventures, every text appears to its own readers not only “bigger inside than outside”, but also offering spaces that change according to the different traveller standing in it. In a few words, as everyone knows, this singular condition raises the questions about the gnosiological relation between text and reader. How can a text be considered the ‘same’, even if it can be read in different ways by different subjects? How can readers can be previously provided with knowledge required for ‘understanding’ a text, but at the same time learning something more from it? In order to explain this singular condition it seems useful to start thinking about text as a device more than an object. In other words, this unique status is more clearly understandable when ‘text’ ceases to be considered as a box designed to move meaning from a sender to a recipient (marking the semiotic priority of the “code”) and it starts to be recognized as performative meaning hypothesis, that is discursively configured by one or more forms and empirically perceivable by means of one or more substances. Thus, a text appears as a “semantic hanger”, potentially offered to the “unending deferral of interpretant", and from time to time fixed as “instance of Discourse”. In this perspective, every reading can be considered as an answer to the continuous request for confirming or denying the meaning configuration (the meaning hypothesis) expressed by text. Finally, ‘attestation’ is exactly what regulates this dynamic of request and answer, through which the reader is able to confirm his previous hypothesis on reality or maybe acquire some new ones.Proposed paper is aimed to inquire about the relation between text and reader, focusing on the concept of ‘attestation’. Indeed, despite being widely accepted in semiotic research, even today the concept of text remains uncertainly defined. So, it seems to be undeniable that what is called ‘text’ offers an image of internal cohesion and coherence, that makes it possible to analyze it as an object. Nevertheless, this same object remains problematic when it is pragmatically activated by the act of reading. In fact, as for the T.A.R:D.I.S., that is the unique space-temporal vehicle used by the well-known BBC character Doctor Who in his adventures, every text appears to its own readers not only “bigger inside than outside”, but also offering spaces that change according to the different traveller standing in it. In a few words, as everyone knows, this singular condition raises the questions about the gnosiological relation between text and reader. How can a text be considered the ‘same’, even if it can be read in different ways by different subjects? How can readers can be previously provided with knowledge required for ‘understanding’ a text, but at the same time learning something more from it? In order to explain this singular condition it seems useful to start thinking about text as a device more than an object. In other words, this unique status is more clearly understandable when ‘text’ ceases to be considered as a box designed to move meaning from a sender to a recipient (marking the semiotic priority of the “code”) and it starts to be recognized as performative meaning hypothesis, that is discursively configured by one or more forms and empirically perceivable by means of one or more substances. Thus, a text appears as a “semantic hanger”, potentially offered to the “unending deferral of interpretant", and from time to time fixed as “instance of Discourse”. In this perspective, every reading can be considered as an answer to the continuous request for confirming or denying the meaning configuration (the meaning hypothesis) expressed by text. Finally, ‘attestation’ is exactly what regulates this dynamic of request and answer, through which the reader is able to confirm his previous hypothesis on reality or maybe acquire some new ones.

Keywords: attestation, meaning, reader, text

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Authors: Iddrisu Ibrahim, Joseph Atia Ayariga, Junhuan Xu, Daniel Abugri, Boakai Robertson, Olufemi S. Ajayi

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The emergence of multidrug resistance poses a huge risk to public health globally. Yet these recalcitrant pathogens continue to rise in incidence rate, with resistance rates significantly outpacing the speed of antibiotic development. This, therefore, presents an aura of related health issues such as untreatable nosocomial infections arising from organ transplants and surgeries, as well as community-acquired infections that are related to people with compromised immunity, e.g., diabetic and HIV patients, etc. There is a global effort to fight multidrug-resistant pathogens spearheaded by the World Health Organization, thus calling for research into novel antimicrobial agents to fight multiple drug resistance. Previously, our laboratory demonstrated that Cannabidiol (CBD) was an effective antimicrobial against Salmonella typhimurium (S. typhimurium). However, we observed resistance development over time. To understand the mechanisms S. typhimurium uses to develop resistance to Cannabidiol (CBD), we studied the abundance of bacteria lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and membrane sterols of both susceptible and resistant S. typhimurium. Using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR), we also analyzed the expression of selected genes known for aiding resistance development in S. typhimurium. We discovered that there was a significantly higher expression of blaTEM, fimA, fimZ, and integrons in the CBD-resistant bacteria, and these were also accompanied by a shift in abundance in cell surface molecules such as lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and sterols.

Keywords: antimicrobials, resistance, cannabidiol, gram-negative bacteria, integrons, blaTEM, Fim, LPS, ergosterols

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Authors: Zihan Geng, Yifan Hou

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Background: Loneliness is the feeling of being isolated, which is becoming increasingly common among adolescents. A cross-sectional study was performed to determine the association between loneliness and different demographics. Methods: To identify the presence of loneliness, the UCLA Loneliness Scale (Version 3) was employed. The "Questionnaire Star" in Chinese version, as the online survey on the official website, was used to distribute the self-rating questionnaires to the students in Beijing from Grade 7 to Grade 12. The questionnaire includes sociodemographic items and the UCLA Loneliness Scale. Results: Almost all of the participants exhibited “caseness” for loneliness, as defined by UCLA. Out of 266 questionnaires, 2.6% (7 in 266) students fulfilled the presence criteria for a low degree of loneliness. 29.7% (79 in 266) of adolescents met the criteria for a moderate degree of loneliness. Moreover, 62.8% (167 in 266) and 4.9% (13 in 266) of students fulfilled the presence criteria for a moderately high and high degree of loneliness, respectively. In the Pearson χ2 test, there were significant associations between loneliness and some demographic factors, including grade (P<0.001), the number of adults in the family (P=0.001), the evaluation of appearance (P=0.034), the evaluation of self-satisfaction (P<0.001), the love in family (P<0.001), academic performance (P=0.001) and emotional support from friends (P<0.001). In the multivariate logistic analysis, the number of adults (2 vs.≤1, OR=0.319, P=0.015), time spent on social media (≥4h vs. ≤1h, OR=4.862, P=0.029), emotional support of friends (more satisfied vs. dissatisfied, OR=0.363, P=0.027) were associated with loneliness. Conclusions: Our results suggest the relationship between loneliness and some sociodemographic factors, which raise the possibility to reduce the loneliness among adolescents. Therefore, the companionship of family, the encouragement from friends and regulating the time spent on social media may decrease the loneliness in adolescents.

Keywords: loneliness, adolescents, demographic factors, UCLA loneliness scale

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Authors: Abdool Qaiyum Mohabuth, Syed Munir Ahmad

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Assessment enables students to focus on their learning, assessment. It engages them to work hard and motivates them in devoting time to their studies. Student learning is directly influenced by the type of assessment involved in the programme. Summative Assessment aims at providing measurement of student understanding. In fact, it is argued that summative assessment is used for reporting and reviewing, besides providing an overall judgement of achievement. While summative assessment is a well defined process for learning that takes place in the classroom environment, its application within the practice environment is still being researched. This paper discusses findings from a mixed-method study for exploring the effectiveness of summative assessment in practice learning. A survey questionnaire was designed for exploring the perceptions of mentors and students about summative assessment in practice learning. The questionnaire was administered to the University of Mauritius students and mentors who supervised students for their Work-Based Learning (WBL) practice at the respective placement settings. Some students, having undertaken their WBL practice, were interviewed, for capturing their views and experiences about the application of summative assessment in practice learning. Semi-structured interviews were also conducted with three experienced mentors who have assessed students on practice learning. The findings reveal that though learning in the workplace is entirely different from learning at the University, most students had positive experiences about their summative assessments in practice learning. They felt comfortable and confident to be assessed by their mentors in their placement settings and wished that the effort and time that they devoted to their learning be recognised and valued. Mentors on their side confirmed that the summative assessment is valid and reliable, enabling them to better monitor and coach students to achieve the expected learning outcomes.

Keywords: practice learning, judgement, summative assessment, knowledge, skills, workplace

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Authors: Sunaitan Al Mutairi

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A perfect start is a key factor for project completion on time. The study examined the effects of delayed mobilization of resources during the initial phases of the project. This paper mainly highlights the identification and categorization of all delays during the initial construction phase and their root cause analysis with corrective/control measures for the Kuwait Oil Company oil and gas projects. A relatively good percentage of the delays identified during the project execution (Contract award to end of defects liability period) attributed to mobilization/preliminary activity delays. Data analysis demonstrated significant increase in average project delay during the last five years compared to the previous period. Contractors had delays/issues during the initial phase, which resulted in slippages and progressively increased, resulting in time and cost overrun. Delays/issues not mitigated on time during the initial phase had very high impact on project completion. Data analysis of the delays for the past five years was carried out using trend chart, scatter plot, process map, box plot, relative importance index and Pareto chart. Construction of any project inside the Gathering Centers involves complex management skills related to work force, materials, plant, machineries, new technologies etc. Delay affects completion of projects and compromises quality, schedule and budget of project deliverables. Works executed as per plan during the initial phase and start-up duration of the project construction activities resulted in minor slippages/delays in project completion. In addition, there was a good working environment between client and contractor resulting in better project execution and management. Mainly, the contractor was on the front foot in the execution of projects, which had minimum/no delays during the initial and construction period. Hence, having a perfect start during the initial construction phase shall have a positive influence on the project success. Our research paper studies each type of delay with some real example supported by statistic results and suggests mitigation measures. Detailed analysis carried out with all stakeholders based on impact and occurrence of delays to have a practical and effective outcome to mitigate the delays. The key to improvement is to have proper control measures and periodic evaluation/audit to ensure implementation of the mitigation measures. The focus of this research is to reduce the delays encountered during the initial construction phase of the project life cycle.

Keywords: construction activities delays, delay analysis for construction projects, mobilization delays, oil & gas projects delays

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Authors: Djamel Fawzi Hadj Sadok, Marrone Silvério Melo Dantas Pedro Henrique Dreyer, Gabriel Fonseca Reis de Souza, Daniel Bezerra, Ricardo Souza, Silvia Lins, Judith Kelner

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A radio base station (RBS), part of the radio access network, is a particular type of equipment that supports the connection between a wide range of cellular user devices and an operator network access infrastructure. Nowadays, most of the RBS maintenance is carried out manually, resulting in a time consuming and costly task. A suitable candidate for RBS maintenance automation is repairing faulty links between devices caused by missing or unplugged connectors. A suitable candidate for RBS maintenance automation is repairing faulty links between devices caused by missing or unplugged connectors. This paper proposes and compares two deep learning solutions to identify attached RJ45 connectors on network ports. We named connector detection, the solution based on object detection, and connector classification, the one based on object classification. With the connector detection, we get an accuracy of 0:934, mean average precision 0:903. Connector classification, get a maximum accuracy of 0:981 and an AUC of 0:989. Although connector detection was outperformed in this study, this should not be viewed as an overall result as connector detection is more flexible for scenarios where there is no precise information about the environment and the possible devices. At the same time, the connector classification requires that information to be well-defined.

Keywords: radio base station, maintenance, classification, detection, deep learning, automation

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Authors: Zavkiddin Mirtoshev, Mirabbos Mirkamalov

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We have analyzed the time series of full disk integrated soft X-ray (SXR) and hard X-ray (HXR) emission from the solar corona during 2004 January 1 to 2009 December 31, covering the descending phase of solar cycle 23. We employed the daily X-ray index (DXI) derived from X-ray observations from the Solar X-ray Spectrometer (SOXS) mission in four different energy bands: 4-5.5; 5.5-7.5 keV (SXR) and 15-20; 20-25 keV (HXR). The application of Lomb-Scargle periodogram technique to the DXI time series observed by the Silicium detector in the energy bands reveals several short and intermediate periodicities of the X-ray corona. The DXI explicitly show the periods of 13.6 days, 26.7 days, 128.5 days, 151 days, 180 days, 220 days, 270 days, 1.24 year and 1.54 year periods in SXR as well as in HXR energy bands. Although all periods are above 70% confidence level in all energy bands, they show strong power in HXR emission in comparison to SXR emission. These periods are distinctly clear in three bands but somehow not unambiguously clear in 5.5-7.5 keV band. This might be due to the presence of Ferrum and Ferrum/Niccolum line features, which frequently vary with small scale flares like micro-flares. The regular 27-day rotation and 13.5 day period of sunspots from the invisible side of the Sun are found stronger in HXR band relative to SXR band. However, flare activity Rieger periods (150 and 180 days) and near Rieger period 220 days are very strong in HXR emission which is very much expected. On the other hand, our current study reveals strong 270 day periodicity in SXR emission which may be connected with tachocline, similar to a fundamental rotation period of the Sun. The 1.24 year and 1.54 year periodicities, represented from the present research work, are well observable in both SXR as well as in HXR channels. These long-term periodicities must also have connection with tachocline and should be regarded as a consequence of variation in rotational modulation over long time scales. The 1.24 year and 1.54 year periods are also found great importance and significance in the life formation and it evolution on the Earth, and therefore they also have great astro-biological importance. We gratefully acknowledge support by the Indian Centre for Space Science and Technology Education in Asia and the Pacific (CSSTEAP, the Centre is affiliated to the United Nations), Physical Research Laboratory (PRL) at Ahmedabad, India. This work has done under the supervision of Prof. Rajmal Jain and paper consist materials of pilot project and research part of the M. Tech program which was made during Space and Atmospheric Science Course.

Keywords: corona, flares, solar activity, X-ray emission

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Authors: Atousa Ataieyan, Salvador A. Gomez-Lopera, Gennaro Sepede

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Today, due to the growing urban population and consequently, the increasing water demand in cities, the amount of contaminants entering the water resources is increasing. This can impose harmful effects on the quality of the downstream water. Therefore, predicting the concentration of discharged pollutants at different times and distances of the interested area is of high importance in order to carry out preventative and controlling measures, as well as to avoid consuming the contaminated water. In this paper, the concentration distribution of an injected conservative pollutant in a square reservoir containing four symmetric blocks and three sources using Finite Volume Method (FVM) is simulated. For this purpose, after estimating the flow velocity, classical Advection-Diffusion Equation (ADE) has been discretized over the studying domain by Backward Time- Backward Space (BTBS) scheme. Then, the discretized equations for each node have been derived according to the initial condition, boundary conditions and point contaminant sources. Finally, taking into account the appropriate time step and space step, a computational code was set up in MATLAB. Contaminant concentration was then obtained at different times and distances. Simulation results show how using BTBS differentiating scheme and FVM as a numerical method for solving the partial differential equation of transport is an appropriate approach in the case of two-dimensional contaminant transfer in an advective-diffusive flow.

Keywords: BTBS differentiating scheme, contaminant concentration, finite volume, mass transfer, water pollution

Procedia PDF Downloads 124

Authors: Rahul Thakur, Onkar Chandel

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Red Hat is the world leader in providing open source software and solutions. A global enterprise, like Red Hat, has unique issues of connecting employees with content because of distributed offices, multiple teams spread across geographies, multiple languages, and different cultures. Employees, of a global company, create content that is distributed across departments, teams, regions, and countries. This makes finding the best content difficult since owners keep iterating on the existing content. When employees are unable to find the content, they end up creating it once again and in the process duplicating existing material and effort. Also, employees may not find the relevant content and spend time reviewing obsolete duplicate, or irrelevant content. On an average, a person spends 15 minutes/day in failed searches that might result in missed business opportunities, employee frustration, and substandard deliverables. Red Hat Knowledge Management Office (KMO) applied 'open source strategy' to solve the above problems. Under the Open Source Strategy, decisions are taken collectively. The strategy aims at accomplishing common goals with the help of communities. The objectives of this initiative were to save employees' time, get them authentic content, improve their content search experience, avoid duplicate content creation, provide context based search, improve analytics, improve content management workflows, automate content classification, and automate content upload. This session will describe open source strategy, its applicability in content management, challenges, recommended solutions, and outcome.

Keywords: content classification, content management, knowledge management, open source

Procedia PDF Downloads 197

Authors: Hakan Duger, Alparslan Ersoy, Canan Ersoy

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Diabetes mellitus is the most common etiology of end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Also, diabetic nephropathy is the etiology of ESRD in approximately 23% of kidney transplant recipients. A successful kidney transplant improves the quality of life and reduces the mortality risk for most patients. However, patients require close follow-up after transplantation due to medical complications. Diabetes mellitus can affect patient morbidity and mortality due to possible effects of immunosuppressive therapy on glucose metabolism. We compared the frequency of medical complications and the outcomes in diabetic and non-diabetic kidney transplant recipients. Materials and Methods: This retrospective study conducted in 498 patients who underwent kidney transplant surgery at our center in 10-year periods. The patients were divided into two groups: diabetics (46 ± 10 year, 26 males, 16 females) and non-diabetics (39 ± 12 year, 259 males, 197 females). The medical complications, graft functions, causes of graft loss and death were obtained from medical records. Results: There was no significant difference between recipient age, duration of dialysis, body mass index, gender, donor type, donor age, dialysis type, histories of HBV, HCV and coronary artery disease between two groups. The history of hypertension in diabetics was higher (69% vs. 36%, p < 0.001). The ratios of hypertension (50.1% vs. 57.1%), pneumonia (21.9% vs. 20%), urinary infection (16.9% vs. 20%), transaminase elevation (11.5% vs. 20%), hyperpotasemia (14.7% vs. 17.1%), hyponatremia (9.7% vs. 20%), hypotension (7.1% vs. 7.9%), hypocalcemia (1.4% vs. 0%), thrombocytopenia (8.6% vs. 8.6%), hypoglycemia (0.7% vs. 0%) and neutropenia (1.8% vs. 0%) were comparable in non-diabetic and diabetic groups, respectively. The frequency of hyperglycaemia in diabetics was higher (8.6% vs. 54.3%, p < 0.001). After transplantation, primary non-function (3.4% vs. 2.6%), delayed graft function (25.1% vs. 34.2%) and acute rejection (7.3% vs. 10.5%) ratios of in non-diabetic and diabetic groups were similar, respectively. Hospitalization durations in non-diabetics and diabetics were 22.5 ± 17.5 and 18.7 ± 13 day (p=0.094). Mean serum creatinine levels in non-diabetics and diabetics were 1.54 ± 0.74 and 1.52 ± 0.62 mg/dL at 6th month. Forty patients had graft loss. The ratios of graft loss and death in non-diabetic and diabetic groups were 8.2% vs. 7.1% and 7.1% vs. 2.6% (p > 0.05). There was no significant relationship between graft and patient survivals with the development of medical complication. Conclusion: As a result, medical complications are common in the early period. Hyperglycaemia was frequently seen following transplantation due to the effects of immunosuppressant regimens. However, the frequency of other medical complications in diabetic patients did not differ from non-diabetic one. The most important cause of death is still infections. The development of medical complications during the first 6 months did not significantly affect transplant outcomes.

Keywords: kidney transplantation, diabetes mellitus, complication, graft function

Procedia PDF Downloads 317

Authors: Christopher Benedikt Jakob

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Human beings are intrigued by luxury watches for decades. It is fascinating that customers pay an enormous amount of money for specific wristwatch models. It is fascinating that customers of the luxury watch industry accept a yearly price increase. This behavior increases their desirability even more. Luxury watches are perceived as status symbols, but they are additionally accepted as a currency without the disadvantage of currency fluctuations. It is obvious that the symbolic value is more important as the functional value with reference to the buying-reasons as regards luxury watches. Nowadays human beings do not need a wristwatch to read the time. Tablets, notebooks, smartphones, the watch in the car and watches on public places are used to inform people about the current time. This is one of the reasons why there is a trend that people do not wear wristwatches anymore. Due to these facts, this study has the intention to give answers to the question why people invest an enormous amount of money on the consumption of luxury watches and why those watches are seen as a status symbol. The study examines why the luxury watch industry records significant growth rates. The self-expression model is used as an appropriate methodology to find reasons why human beings purchase specific luxury watches. This evaluative approach further discusses if human beings are aware of their current self and their ideal self and how they express them. Furthermore, the research critically evaluates the people’s social self and their ideal social self. One of the goals is to identify if customers know why they like specific luxury watches and dislike others although they have the same quality and cost comparable prices.

Keywords: luxury watch, brand awareness, buying-behaviour, consumer, self-expression

Procedia PDF Downloads 148

Authors: R. Padmini, G. V. Manoj Kumar

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Structural insulated panels (SIPs) are a high-performance building system for residential and light commercial construction. The panels consist of an insulating foam core sandwiched between two structural facings, typically oriented strand board (OSB). SIPs are manufactured under factory controlled conditions and can be fabricated to fit nearly any building design. The result is a building system that is extremely strong, energy efficient and cost effective. Building with SIPs will save you time, money and labor. Building with SIPs generally costs about the same as building with wood frame construction when you factor in the labor savings resulting from shorter construction time and less job-site waste. Other savings are realized because smaller heating and cooling systems are required with SIP construction. Structural insulated panels (SIPs) are one of the most airtight and well-insulated building systems available, making them an inherently green product. An airtight SIP building will use less energy to heat and cool, allow for better control over indoor environmental conditions, and reduce construction waste. Green buildings use less energy, reducing carbon dioxide emissions and playing an important role in combating global climate change. Buildings also use a tremendous amount of natural resources to construct and operate. Constructing green buildings that use these resources more efficiently, while minimizing pollution that can harm renewable natural resources, is crucial to a sustainable future.

Keywords: high performance, under factory controlled, wood frame, carbon dioxide emissions, natural resources

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Authors: Sebastian Kölbl, Thomas Reitmaier, Mathias Hartmann

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Trial and error approaches to adapt wearable support structures to human physiology are time consuming and elaborate. However, during preliminary design, the focus lies on understanding the interaction between exoskeleton and the human body in terms of forces and moments, namely body mechanics. For the study at hand, a multi-body simulation approach has been enhanced to evaluate actual forces and moments in a human dummy model with and without a digital mock-up of an active exoskeleton. Therefore, different motion data have been gathered and processed to perform a musculosceletal analysis. The motion data are ground reaction forces, electromyography data (EMG) and human motion data recorded with a marker-based motion capture system. Based on the experimental data, the response of the human dummy model has been calibrated. Subsequently, the scalable human dummy model, in conjunction with the motion data, is connected with the exoskeleton structure. The results of the human-machine interaction (HMI) simulation platform are in particular resulting contact forces and human joint forces to compare with admissible values with regard to the human physiology. Furthermore, it provides feedback for the sizing of the exoskeleton structure in terms of resulting interface forces (stress justification) and the effect of its compliance. A stepwise approach for the setup and validation of the modeling strategy is presented and the potential for a more time and cost-effective development of wearable support structures is outlined.

Keywords: assistive devices, ergonomic design, inverse dynamics, inverse kinematics, multibody simulation

Procedia PDF Downloads 149

Authors: Inseon Ryoo, Soo Chin Kim, Hyena Jung, Sangil Suh

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Objectives: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the clinical significance of hyper-intense signal thyroid incidentalomas on the time of flight magnetic resonance angiography (TOF-MRA) using correlation study with ultrasound (US). Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 3,505 non-contrast TOF-MRA performed at an institution between September 2014 and May 2017. Two radiologists correlated the thyroid incidentalomas detected on TOF-MRA with US features which was obtained within three months interval between MRA and US examinations in consensus method. Results: The prevalence of hyper-intense signal thyroid nodules incidentally detected on TOF-MRA was 1.2% (43/3505). Among them, 35 people (81.4%) underwent US examinations, and total 45 hyper-intense signal thyroid nodules were detected on US exams. Of these 45 nodules, 35 nodules (72.9%) were categorized as benign (K-TIRADS category 2) on US exams. Fine needle aspiration was performed on 9 nodules according to the indications recommended by Korean Society of Thyroid Radiology. All except one high-suspicious thyroid nodule were confirmed as benign (Bethesda 2) on cytologic exams. One high-suspicious nodule on US showed a non-diagnostic result (Bethesda 1) on cytologic exam. However, this nodule collapsed after aspiration of thick colloid material. Conclusions: Our study showed that the most hyper-intense signal thyroid nodules detected on TOF-MRA were benign. Therefore, if a hyper-intense signal incidentaloma is found on TOF-MRA, further evaluation, especially invasive biopsy of the nodules could be suspended unless the patient had other symptoms or clinical factors suggesting the need for further evaluation.

Keywords: incidentaloma, thyroid nodule, TOF MR angiography, ultrasound

Procedia PDF Downloads 154

Authors: Huazhen Lin, Ruihua Xu, Zhibin Jiang

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In this real-world case, timetabling the LRT network as a whole is rather challenging for the operator: they are supposed to create a timetable to avoid various route conflicts manually while satisfying a given interval and the number of rolling stocks, but the outcome is not satisfying. Therefore, the operator adopts a computerised timetabling tool, the Train Plan Maker (TPM), to cope with this problem. However, with various constraints in the dual-line network, it is still difficult to find an adequate pairing of turnback time, interval and rolling stocks’ number, which requires extra manual intervention. Aiming at current problems, a one-off model for timetabling is presented in this paper to simplify the procedure of timetabling. Before the timetabling procedure starts, this paper presents how the dual-line system with a ring and several branches is turned into a simpler structure. Then, a non-linear programming model is presented in two stages. In the first stage, the model sets a series of constraints aiming to calculate a proper timing for coordinating two lines by adjusting the turnback time at termini. Then, based on the result of the first stage, the model introduces a series of inequality constraints to avoid various route conflicts. With this model, an analysis is conducted to reveal the relation between the ratio of trains in different directions and the possible minimum interval, observing that the more imbalance the ratio is, the less possible to provide frequent service under such strict constraints.

Keywords: light rail transit (LRT), non-linear programming, railway timetabling, timetable coordination

Procedia PDF Downloads 54

Authors: Carlo Cernicchiaro, Pedro D. Gaspar, Martim L. Aguiar

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The agricultural sector is becoming more critical than ever in view of the expected overpopulation of the Earth. The introduction of robotic solutions in this field is an increasingly researched topic to make the most of the Earth's resources, thus going to avoid the problems of wear and tear of the human body due to the harsh agricultural work, and open the possibility of a constant careful processing 24 hours a day. This project is realized for a terrestrial autonomous robot aimed to navigate in an orchard collecting fallen peaches below the trees. When it receives the signal indicating the low battery, it has to return to the docking station where it will replace its battery and then return to the last work point and resume its routine. Considering a preset path in orchards with tree rows with variable length by which the robot goes iteratively using the algorithm D*. In case of low battery, the D* algorithm is still used to determine the fastest return path to the docking station as well as to come back from the docking station to the last work point. MATLAB simulations were performed to analyze the flexibility and adaptability of the developed algorithm. The simulation results show an enormous potential for adaptability, particularly in view of the irregularity of orchard field, since it is not flat and undergoes modifications over time from fallen branch as well as from other obstacles and constraints. The D* algorithm determines the best route in spite of the irregularity of the terrain. Moreover, in this work, it will be shown a possible solution to improve the initial points tracking and reduce time between movements.

Keywords: path planning, fastest return path, agricultural autonomous terrestrial robot, docking station

Procedia PDF Downloads 123

Authors: Ndidi F. Amulu, Patrick E. Amulu, Gordian O. Mbah, Callistus N. Ude

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Comparative analysis of the properties of melon seed, coconut fruit and their oil yield were evaluated in this work using standard analytical technique AOAC. The results of the analysis carried out revealed that the moisture contents of the samples studied are 11.15% (melon) and 7.59% (coconut). The crude lipid content are 46.10% (melon) and 55.15% (coconut).The treatment combinations used (leaching time, leaching temperature and solute: solvent ratio) showed significant difference (p < 0.05) in yield between the samples, with melon oil seed flour having a higher percentage range of oil yield (41.30 – 52.90%) and coconut (36.25 – 49.83%). The physical characterization of the extracted oil was also carried out. The values gotten for refractive index are 1.487 (melon seed oil) and 1.361 (coconut oil) and viscosities are 0.008 (melon seed oil) and 0.002 (coconut oil). The chemical analysis of the extracted oils shows acid value of 1.00mg NaOH/g oil (melon oil), 10.050mg NaOH/g oil (coconut oil) and saponification value of 187.00mg/KOH (melon oil) and 183.26mg/KOH (coconut oil). The iodine value of the melon oil gave 75.00mg I2/g and 81.00mg I2/g for coconut oil. A standard statistical package Minitab version 16.0 was used in the regression analysis and analysis of variance (ANOVA). The statistical software mentioned above was also used to optimize the leaching process. Both samples gave high oil yield at the same optimal conditions. The optimal conditions to obtain highest oil yield ≥ 52% (melon seed) and ≥ 48% (coconut seed) are solute - solvent ratio of 40g/ml, leaching time of 2hours and leaching temperature of 50oC. The two samples studied have potential of yielding oil with melon seed giving the higher yield.

Keywords: Coconut, Melon, Optimization, Processing

Procedia PDF Downloads 426