Search results for: comparison different types

Authors: Faith Fang Xi Ooi, Kam-Fong Lee

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Headlines are generally the summary of the content of news articles. With the added influence of hectic lifestyles, readers may rely solely on the headlines for information. In the media, what is reported concerning health issues are government responses and community involvement. There is a need for a call to action to curb health issues and not just reporting on what the government is doing about these health-related issues. In other words, linguistic elements of persuasive communicative function should be realized when reporting on health issues. Hence, this paper aims at identifying and analyzing the transitivity, Mood and Modality systems in two hundred news headlines from two Malaysian online news portals, namely The Star Online and New Straits Times. This study employs the purposive sampling method to obtain the news headlines on healthy eating using the search keyword ‘healthy eating’ and is based on Halliday’s Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) framework. The results show that the Material process dominates the process types along with its participants of Scope and Goal. The mood type that constitutes most of the headlines in the two newspapers is the declarative mood. Moreover, for Modality, the median Probability constitutes the highest in the headlines on healthy eating. This study contributes to the implications of being a source of reference for news writers and producers in constructing news headlines and for health campaign strategists to realize the persuasive appeals to influence behaviors and attitudes of the public towards healthy eating.

Keywords: healthy eating, modality, mood, news headlines, SFL

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Authors: James Freeman, Andry Rakotonirainy

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Train pedestrian collisions are common and are the most likely to result in severe injuries and fatalities when compared to other types of rail crossing accidents. However, there is limited research that has focused on understanding the reasons why some pedestrians’ break level crossings rules, which limits the development of effective countermeasures. As a result, this study undertook a deeper exploration into the origins of risky pedestrian behaviour through structured interviews. A total of 40 pedestrians who admitted to either intentionally breaking crossing rules or making crossing errors participated in an in-depth telephone interview. Qualitative analysis was undertaken via thematic analysis that revealed participants were more likely to report deliberately breaking rules (rather than make errors), particular after the train had passed the crossing as compared to before it arrives. Predominant reasons for such behaviours were identified to be: calculated risk taking, impatience, poor knowledge of rules and low likelihood of detection. The findings have direct implications for the development of effective countermeasures to improve crossing safety (and managing risk) such as increasing surveillance and transit officer presence, as well as installing appropriate barriers that either deter or incapacitate pedestrians from violating crossing rules. This paper will further outline the study findings in regards to the development of countermeasures as well as provide direction for future research efforts in this area.

Keywords: crossings, mistakes, risk, violations

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Authors: Debadi Chakraborty, John E. Sader

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Nanomechanical devices have emerged as a versatile platform for a host of applications due to their extreme sensitivity to environmental conditions. For example, mass measurements with sensitivity at the atomic level have recently been demonstrated. Ultrafast laser spectroscopy coherently excite the vibrational modes of metal nanoparticles and permits precise measurement of the vibration characteristics as a function of nanoparticle shape, size and surrounding environment. This study reports that the vibration of metal nanoparticles in simple liquids, like water and glycerol are not described by conventional fluid mechanics, i.e., Navier Stokes equations. The intrinsic molecular relaxation processes in the surrounding liquid are found to have a profound effect on the fluid-structure interaction of mechanical devices at nanometre scales. Theoretical models have been developed based on the non-Newtonian viscoelastic fluid-structure interaction theory to investigate the vibration of nanoparticles immersed in simple fluids. The utility of this theoretical framework is demonstrated by comparison to measurements on single nanowires and ensembles of metal rods. This study provides a rigorous foundation for the use of metal nanoparticles as ultrasensitive mechanical sensors in fluid and opens a new paradigm for understanding extremely high frequency fluid mechanics, nanoscale sensing technologies, and biophysical processes.

Keywords: fluid-structure interaction, nanoparticle vibration, ultrafast laser spectroscopy, viscoelastic damping

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Authors: Endalew Fufa Kufi

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One of the major concerns in educational provision and success determination is access to available opportunities. In that, girls’ access to education has been a point of concern, and more emphasis has come to be at the forefront regarding success. Researches have mostly been held on extremes such as equal access and success, but only a few works deal with process issues related to home and school interplay, issues of progress from lower to higher levels, and spatial conditions related to girls’ education. Hence, this survey assessed experiences in three countries of Africa: Ethiopia, Ghana, and Botswana regarding girls’ education in policy and practice as related to contextual matters in girls’ education. Contextual discourse analysis of qualitative design was used to materialize the study. From each country, five research works held 2010 onwards were purposively selected through criterion-sampling. On the policy aspect, workable documents were looked into. The findings denoted that educational access was of more stretch and generic nature, and the narration was dominated by institutional expectations, not identifying which group should benefit what. The researches largely dealt with either subject-specific dealings or access alone at large. Success studies, by far, dealt with a comparison of girls with boys rather than determinant-related projections. Moreover, the cultural representation of girls’ education had a very minimal part in both policy and researches. From that, it could be found that in-depth scrutiny on the individual, institutional, and leadership determinants of girls’ education would be necessary.

Keywords: determinants, girls, education, feminism

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Authors: Benguerine Zohra, Merzak Siham, Bouziane Cheimaa, Si Tayeb Fatima, Jou Siham, Belkessam

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Introduction: Antibiotics, widely produced and consumed in large quantities, have proven problematic due to various types of side effects. The development of bacterial resistance to currently available antibiotics has made the search for new antibacterial agents necessary. One alternative strategy to combat antibiotic-resistant bacteria is the use of natural antimicrobial substances such as plant extracts. The objective of this study is to provide an overview of the antibacterial effects of a plant native to the Middle East and Mediterranean regions, Salvia officinalis (sage). Materials and Methods: This review article was conducted by searching studies in the PubMed, Scopus, JSTOR, and SpringerLink databases. The search terms were "Salvia officinalis L." and "antibacterial effects." Only studies that met our inclusion criteria (in English, antibacterial effects of Salvia officinalis L., and primarily dating from 2012 to 2023) were accepted for further review. Results and Discussion: The initial search strategy identified approximately 78 references, with only 13 articles included in this review. The synthesis of the articles revealed that several data sources confirm the antimicrobial effects of S. officinalis. Its essential oil and alcoholic extract exhibit strong bactericidal and bacteriostatic effects against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Conclusion: The significant value of the extract, oil, and leaves of S. officinalis calls for further studies on the other useful and unknown properties of this multi-purpose plant.

Keywords: salvia officinalis, literature review, antibacterial, effects

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Authors: Sareh Rajabi, Salwa Bheiry

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In general, Covid-19 created many financial and non-financial damages to the economy and community. Level and severity of covid-19 as pandemic case varies over the region and due to different types of the projects. Covid-19 virus emerged as one of the most imperative risk management factors word-wide recently. Therefore, as part of portfolio management assessment, it is essential to evaluate severity of such risk on the project and program in portfolio management level to avoid any risky portfolio. Covid-19 appeared very effectively in South America, part of Europe and Middle East. Such pandemic infection affected the whole universe, due to lock down, interruption in supply chain management, health and safety requirements, transportations and commercial impacts. Therefore, this research proposes Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) to analyze and assess such pandemic case like Covid-19 and its impacts on the construction projects. The AHP technique uses four sub-criteria: Health and safety, commercial risk, completion risk and contractual risk to evaluate the project and program. The result will provide the decision makers with information which project has higher or lower risk in case of Covid-19 and pandemic scenario. Therefore, the decision makers can have most feasible solution based on effective weighted criteria for project selection within their portfolio to match with the organization’s strategies.

Keywords: portfolio management, risk management, COVID-19, analytical hierarchy process technique

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Authors: Tamas Bezsenyi, Noemi Katona

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Fighting Human Trafficking is a highly important issue worldwide that states need to deal with in international politics. In the EU combatting human trafficking is emphasized in international policy making and also in the work of international law enforcement, thus in the work of the EUROPOL. While the EU Directive against Human Trafficking prescribes how states should fight this transnational crime and also how victims should be assisted, the EUROPOL focuses on the effective cooperation between national law enforcement agencies. However, despite the aims of the common fight, human trafficking is regulated differently in the punitive law of various nation states. This deeply defines the work and possibilities of national law enforcement organizations. Among the manifold differences in this paper, we focus on the role of regulating asset recovery. We highlight that money, and the regulation and practice how the law enforcement deals with income gained from criminal activities, play essential role in combatting human trafficking. While doing research on the investigation of transnational human trafficking by the Hungarian Law Enforcement Agencies, we have found that the unfortunate regulation of asset recovery determines the lower effectiveness of eliminating criminal organizations. While i.e. in the Netherlands confiscation of property takes place in an early stage of the criminal procedure, in Hungary it can be conducted only if money laundering is also assumed. Our presentation builds on the comparison of criminal procedures which we analyse based on criminal files and interviews with coworkers of the National Bureau of Investigation.

Keywords: human trafficking, law enforcement, asset recovery, organized crime

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Authors: Sadeq Al Yaari, Fayza Alhammadi, Ayman Al Yaari, Montaha Al Yaari, Aayah Al Yaari, Adham Al Yaari, Sajedah Al Yaari, Saleh Al Yami

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Background: A rapidly increasing number of studies that focus on the relationship between language and cortical (CD) and subcortical dementias (SCD) have recently shown that such correlation is existent. Mounting evidence suggests that cognitive impairments should be investigated against language disorders. Aims: This study aims at investigating how language is associated with dementia diseases namely CD &SCD in light of psychoneurolinguistic approach. Method: Data from multiple sources (e.g., theses, dissertations, articles, research, medical records, direct testing, staff reports, and client observations) have been integrated to provide a detailed analysis of the relationship between language and CD&SCD. The researchers identified over 20 most of dementia types, and described them. Having collected and described data, the researchers then analyzed these data independently to see to what extent CD&SCD are involved in matters concerning language. Results: Results of the present study demonstrate that language and CD&SCD are undoubtedly correlated with each other. The loss of the ability of some organs to perform certain functions (due to any of the dementia diseases) results in no way to the loss of some language aspects and /or speech skills. In clearer terms, it is rare to find a patient with dementia who is not suffering from partial or complete linguistic difficulties. Many deficits run through the current interpretation of linguistic disorders: language disorders, speech disorders, articulation disorders, or voice disorders.

Keywords: cortical dementia, subcortical dementia, diseases, psychoneurolinguistics, language, impairments, relationship

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Authors: Piyush Hajela

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Public spaces within Indian markets are vibrant, colorful and contain dimensions that make them attractive and therefore act as popular gathering spaces. Most of these public spaces emerge as squares, plazas of varied shapes and sizes spread at different locations within the market. These public spaces grow organically and are discovered by the people themselves as they respond positively to the collective human senses. On the other hand, there are the planned and designed public spaces as well that are less active. This research evaluates both the planned and the organically transformed public spaces in Indian markets from an Urban Design point of view. The purpose of such research is to provide a basis for design solutions to ensure the success of designed public spaces. The evaluation is done for identified Attributes, namely Comfort, Protection, Familiarity, Activities, Form, Legibility, Engagement, Safety, Accessibility, Environment and Transformations by which a Public Space attains its recognition. The evaluation is based on a rating done for forty-four parameters falling under eleven attributes of public space. An opinion survey of professionals is conducted for their priorities of attributes while designing Public spaces. A comparison is made to rank these attributes between Planned and Organically transformed Public spaces and, opinion of the professionals. After dues analysis, the research suggests the learning from the organically transformed Public spaces for ensuring the success of designed public spaces. The suggestions may be in the form of Design decisions or administrative regulations, or both for achieving the desirables.

Keywords: assessment, attributes, engagement, interaction

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Authors: Maryam Solgi, Behzad Shahmohammadi, Morteza Raissi Dehkordi

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One of the main steps for seismic retrofitting of buildings is to determine the vulnerability of structures. While current procedures for evaluating existing buildings are complicated, and there is no limitation between short, middle-high, and tall buildings. This research utilizes a simplified method for assessing structures, which is adequate for existing reinforced concrete buildings. To approach this aim, Simple Lateral Mechanisms Analysis (SLaMA) procedure proposed by NZSEE (New Zealand Society for Earthquake Engineering) has been carried out. In this study, three RC moment-resisting frame buildings are determined. First, these buildings have been evaluated by inelastic static procedure (Pushover) based on acceptance criteria. Then, Park-Ang Damage Index is determined for the whole members of each building by Inelastic Time History Analysis. Next, the Simple Lateral Mechanisms Analysis procedure, a hand method, is carried out to define the capacity of structures. Ultimately, existing procedures are compared with Peak Ground Acceleration caused to fail (PGAfail). The results of this comparison emphasize that the Pushover procedure and SLaMA method define a greater value of PGAfail than the Park-Ang Damage model.

Keywords: peak ground acceleration caused to fail, reinforced concrete moment-frame buildings, seismic vulnerability analysis, simple lateral mechanisms analysis

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Authors: Zhao Yang Liu, Jing Tao

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The Asian long-horned beetle, Anoplophora glabripennis (Motschulsky) (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae: Lamiinae), is a wood-borer and polyphagous xylophages native to Asia and killing healthy trees. As it causes serious danger to trees, the beetle has been paid close attention in the world. However, the genetic markers limited, especially microsatellite. In this study, 24 novel simple sequence repeat (SSR) molecular markers, a powerful tool for genetic diversity studies and linkage map construction, were developed and characterized from whole genome shotgun sequences. We developed SSR loci of 2 to 6 repeated and perfect units including 9895 points, the density of SSRs was found one SSR per 56.57 kb and the abundance of SSR was 0.02/kb, besides 140 types of repeats motifs were found. Half of the 48 pairs SSR primers (containing 4 di-, 7 tri-, 2 tetra- and 11 hexamers SSRs) we selected randomly from 1222 pairs of primers were polymorphism. The number of alleles for these markers in 48 individuals varied from 3 to 21 with an average of 7.71, the number of effective alleles ranged from 1.22 to 9.97 with an average of 3.54. Besides this, the polymorphic information content (PIC) ranged from 0.18 to 0.89 with a mean of 0.65, And Shannon's Information index (I) ranged from 0.46 to 2.62 with an average of 1.44. The results suggest that the method for screening of SSR in the whole genome is feasible and efficient. SSR markers developed in this study can be used for population genetic studies of A. glabripennis. Moreover, they may also be helpful for the development of microsatellites for other Coleoptera.

Keywords: SSR markers, Anoplophora glabripennis, genetic diversity, whole genome

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Authors: Maxime A. J. Kuitche, Ruxandra M. Botez, Arthur Guillemin

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As the Unmanned Aerial Systems have found diverse utilities in both military and civil aviation, the necessity to obtain an accurate aerodynamic model has shown an enormous growth of interest. Recent modeling techniques are procedures using optimization algorithms and statistics that require many flight tests and are therefore extremely demanding in terms of costs. This paper presents a procedure to estimate the aerodynamic behavior of an unmanned aerial system from a numerical approach using computational fluid dynamic analysis. The study was performed using an unstructured mesh obtained from a grid convergence analysis at a Mach number of 0.14, and at an angle of attack of 0°. The flow around the aircraft was described using a standard k-ω turbulence model. Thus, the Reynold Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations were solved using ANSYS FLUENT software. The method was applied on the UAS-S45 designed and manufactured by Hydra Technologies in Mexico. The lift, the drag, and the pitching moment coefficients were obtained at different angles of attack for several flight conditions defined in terms of altitudes and Mach numbers. The results obtained from the Computational Fluid Dynamics analysis were compared with the results obtained by using the DATCOM semi-empirical procedure. This comparison has indicated that our approach is highly accurate and that the aerodynamic model obtained could be useful to estimate the flight dynamics of the UAS-S45.

Keywords: aerodynamic modelling, CFD Analysis, ANSYS FLUENT, UAS-S45

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Authors: M. Eckert, D. Mendes, J P. Gonçalves, C. Moço, M. Oliveira

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The intensive extraction of natural aggregates leads to both depletion of natural resources and unwanted environmental impacts. On the other hand, uncontrolled disposal of Construction and Demolition Wastes (C&DW) causes the lifetime reduction of landfills. It is known that the European Union produces, each year, about 850 million tons of C&DW. For all the member States of the European Union, one of the milestones to be reached by 2020, according to the Resource Efficiency Roadmap (COM (2011) 571) of the European Commission, is to recycle 70% of the C&DW. In this work, properties of different types of recycled C&DW aggregates and natural aggregates were compared. Assays were performed according to European Standards (EN 13285; EN 13242+A1; EN 12457-4; EN 12620; EN 13139) for the characterization of there: physical, mechanical and chemical properties. Not standardized tests such as water absorption over time, mass stability and post compaction sieve analysis were also carried out. The tested recycled C&DW aggregates were classified according to the requirements of the European Standards regarding there potential use in concrete, mortar, unbound layers of road pavements and embankments. The results of the physical and mechanical properties of recycled C&DW aggregates indicated, in general, lower quality properties when compared to natural aggregates, particularly, for concrete preparation and unbound layers of road pavements. The results of the chemical properties attested that the C&DW aggregates constitute no environmental risk. It was concluded that recycled aggregates produced from C&DW have the potential to be used in many applications.

Keywords: recycled aggregate, sustainability, aggregate properties, European Standard Classification

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Authors: Mohd Aftar Abu Bakar, Noratiqah Mohd Ariff, Abdul Aziz Jemain

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Storm Event Analysis (SEA) provides a method to define rainfalls events as storms where each storm has its own amount and duration. By modelling daily probability of different types of storms, the onset, offset and cycle of rainfall seasons can be determined and investigated. Furthermore, researchers from the field of meteorology will be able to study the dynamical characteristics of rainfalls and make predictions for future reference. In this study, four categories of storms; short, intermediate, long and very long storms; are introduced based on the length of storm duration. Daily probability models of storms are built for these four categories of storms in Peninsular Malaysia. The models are constructed by using Bernoulli distribution and by applying linear regression on the first Fourier harmonic equation. From the models obtained, it is found that daily probability of storms at the Eastern part of Peninsular Malaysia shows a unimodal pattern with high probability of rain beginning at the end of the year and lasting until early the next year. This is very likely due to the Northeast monsoon season which occurs from November to March every year. Meanwhile, short and intermediate storms at other regions of Peninsular Malaysia experience a bimodal cycle due to the two inter-monsoon seasons. Overall, these models indicate that Peninsular Malaysia can be divided into four distinct regions based on the daily pattern for the probability of various storm events.

Keywords: daily probability model, monsoon seasons, regions, storm events

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Authors: Naouel Zoghlami

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Spoken-word recognition involves the simultaneous activation of potential word candidates which compete with each other for final correct recognition. In continuous speech, the activation-competition process gets more complicated due to speech reductions existing at word boundaries. Lexical processing is more difficult in L2 than in L1 because L2 listeners often lack phonetic, lexico-semantic, syntactic, and prosodic knowledge in the target language. In this study, we investigate the on-line lexical segmentation hypotheses that French listeners of L2 English form and then revise as subsequent perceptual evidence is revealed. Our purpose is to shed further light on the processes of L2 spoken-word recognition in context and better understand L2 listening difficulties through a comparison of skilled and unskilled reactions at the point where their working hypothesis is rejected. We use a variant of the gating experiment in which subjects transcribe an English sentence presented in increments of progressively greater duration. The spoken sentence was “And this amazing athlete has just broken another world record”, chosen mainly because it included common reductions and phonetic features in English, such as elision and assimilation. Our preliminary results show that there is an important difference in the manner in which proficient and less-proficient L2 listeners handle connected speech. Less-proficient listeners delay recognition of words as they wait for lexical and syntactic evidence to appear in the gates. Further statistical results are currently being undertaken.

Keywords: gating paradigm, spoken word recognition, online lexical segmentation, L2 listening

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Authors: Mostosi C., Stéphenne J., Kempeneers E.

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Introduction: Refuellers from Brussels South Charleroi Airport (BSCA) expressed concerns about the risks involved in handling JET-A1 fuel. The HSE Manager of BSCA, in collaboration with the occupational physician and the industrial hygiene unit of the External Service of Occupational Medicine, decided to assess the toxicological exposure of these workers. Materials and methods: Two measurement methods were used. The first was to assay three types of metabolites in urine to highlight the exposure to xylenes, toluene, and benzene in aircraft fuels. Out of 32 refuellers in the department, 26 participated in the sampling, and 23 samples were exploited. The second method targeted the assessment of environmental exposure to certain potentially hazardous substances that refuellers are likely to breathe in work areas at the airport. It was decided to carry out two ambient air measurement campaigns, using static systems on the one hand and, on the other hand, using individual sensors worn by the refuellers at the level of the respiratory tract. Volatile organic compounds and diesel particles were analyzed. Results: Despite the fears that motivated these analyzes, the overall results showed low levels of exposure, far below the existing limit values, both in air quality and in urinary measurements. Conclusion: These results are comparable to a study carried out in several French airports. The staff could be reassured, and then the medical surveillance was modified by the occupational physician. With the aviation development at BSCA, equipment and methods are evolving. Their exposure will have to be reassessed.

Keywords: refuelling, airport, exposure, fuel, occupational health, air quality

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Authors: Niyada Naksuk, Thoetchai Peeraphatdit, Vitaly Herasevich, Peter A. Brady, Suraj Kapa, Samuel J. Asirvatham

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Introduction: Little is known about the safety of antipsychotic therapy for delirium in the coronary care unit (CCU). Our aim was to examine the effect of delirium and antipsychotic therapy among CCU patients. Methods: Pre-study Confusion Assessment Method-Intensive Care Unit (CAM–ICU) criteria were implemented in screening consecutive patients admitted to Mayo Clinic, Rochester, the USA from 2004 through 2013. Death status was prospectively ascertained. Results: Of 11,079 study patients, the incidence of delirium was 8.3% (n=925). Delirium was associated with an increased risk of in-hospital mortality (adjusted OR 1.49; 95% CI, 1.08-2.08; P=.02) and one-year mortality among patients who survived from CCU admission (adjusted HR 1.46; 95% CI, 1.12-1.87; P=.005). A total of 792 doses of haloperidol (5 IQR [3-10] mg/day) or quetiapine (25 IQR [13-50] mg/day) were given to 244 patients with delirium. The clinical characteristics of patients with delirium who did and did not receive antipsychotic therapy were not different (baseline corrected QT [QTc] interval 460±61 ms vs. 457±58 ms, respectively; P = 0.57). In comparison to baseline, mean QTc intervals after the first and third doses of the antipsychotics were not significantly prolonged in haloperidol (448±56, 458±57, and 450±50 ms, respectively) or quetiapine groups (459±54, 467±68, and 462±46 ms, respectively) (P > 0.05 for all). Additionally, in-hospital mortality (adjusted OR 0.67; 95% CI, 0.42-1.04; P=.07), ventricular arrhythmia (adjusted OR 0.87; 95% CI, 0.17-3.62; P=.85) and one-year mortality among the hospital survivors (adjusted HR 0.86; 95% CI 0.62-1.17; P = 0.34) were not different in patients with delirium irrespective of whether or not they received antipsychotics. Conclusions: In patients admitted to the CCU, delirium was associated with an increase in both in-hospital and one-year mortality. Low doses of haloperidol and quetiapine appeared to be safe, without an increase in risk of sudden cardiac death, in-hospital mortality, or one-year mortality in carefully monitored patients.

Keywords: arrhythmias, haloperidol, mortality, qtc interval, quetiapine

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Authors: Dai-Ling Li, Jung-Fa Cheng, Min-Lang Huang, Yun-Yao Chi

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The hedonic pricing model has been popularly applied to describe the economic value of environmental amenities in urban housing, but the results for cultural heritage variables remain relatively ambiguous. In this paper, integrated variables extending by GIS-based data and an existing typology of communities used to examine how cultural heritage and environmental amenities and disamenities affect housing prices across urban communities in Tainan, Taiwan. The developed models suggest that, although a sophisticated variable for central services is selected, the centrality of location is not fully controlled in the price models and thus picked up by correlated peripheral and central amenities such as cultural heritage, open space or parks. Analysis of these correlations permits us to qualify results and present a revised set of relatively reliable estimates. Positive effects on housing prices are identified for views, various types of recreational infrastructure and vicinity of nationally cultural sites and significant landscapes. Negative effects are found for several disamenities including wasteyards, refuse incinerators, petrol stations and industries. The results suggest that systematic hypothesis testing and reporting of correlations may contribute to consistent explanatory patterns in hedonic pricing estimates for cultural heritage and landscape amenities in urban.

Keywords: hedonic pricing model, cultural heritage, landscape amenities, housing

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Authors: A. Asgharzadeh, M. Maroufi

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5G mobile communication system has drawn more and more attention. The 5G system needs to provide three different types of services, including enhanced Mobile BroadBand (eMBB), massive machine-type communication (mMTC), and ultra-reliable and low-latency communication (URLLC). Universal Filtered Multi-Carrier (UFMC), Filter Bank Multicarrier (FBMC), and Filtered Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (f-OFDM) are suggested as a well-known candidate waveform for the coming 5G system. Themachine-to-machine (M2M) communications are one of the essential applications in 5G, and it involves exchanging of concise messages with a very short latency. However, in UFMC systems, the subcarriers are grouped into subbands but f-OFDM only one subband covers the entire band. Furthermore, in FBMC, a subband includes only one subcarrier, and the number of subbands is the same as the number of subcarriers. This paper mainly discusses the performance of UFMC with different parameters for the UFMC system. Also, paper shows that UFMC is the best choice outperforming OFDM in any case and FBMC in case of very short packets while performing similarly for long sequences with channel estimation techniques for Interleave Division Multiple Access (IDMA) systems.

Keywords: universal filtered multi-carrier technique, UFMC, interleave division multiple access, IDMA, fifth-generation, subband

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Authors: Aditya Setyo Rahman, Dwikorita Karnawati, Muzli, Dadang Permana, Sigit Pramono, Fajri Syukur Rahmatullah, Oriza Sativa, Moehajirin, Edy Santoso, Nur Hidayati Oktavia, Ardian Yudhi Octantyo, Robby Wallansha, Juwita Sari Pradita, Nur Fani Habibah, Audia Kaluku, Amelia Chelcea, Yoga Dharma Persada, Anton Sugiharto

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Earthquake vibrations on the surface are not only affected by the magnitude of the earthquake and the distance from the hypocenter but also by the characteristics of the local soil. Variations and changes in soil characteristics from the depth of the bedrock to the surface can cause an amplification of earthquake vibrations that also affect the impact they may have on the surface. Soil characteristics vary widely even at relatively close distances, so for earthquake hazard mapping in cities with earthquake threats, it is necessary to study the characteristics of the local soil on a detailed or micro-scale (microzonation). This study proposes seismic microzonation and liquefaction potential based on microtremor observations. We carried out 143 microtremor observations, and the observation sites were spread across all populated sub-districts in Bengkulu City; the results showed that the dominance of Bengkulu City had medium soil types with a dominant period value of 0.4 < T₀ < 0.6, and there was one location with soft soil characteristics in the river, shaved with T₀ > 0.6. These results correlate with the potential for liquefaction as indicated by a seismic vulnerability index (K𝓰) greater than 5.

Keywords: microtremor, dominant period, microzonation, seismic vulnerability index

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Authors: Jaime E. Munoz, Jose C. Arcos, Oscar E. Bautista, Ivan E. Campos

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The influence of slippage phenomenon over the destabilization and atomization mechanisms induced via surface acoustic waves on a Newtonian, millimeter-sized, drop deposited on a hydrophilic substrate is studied theoretically. By implementing the Navier-slip model and a lubrication-type approach into the equations which govern the dynamic response of a drop exposed to acoustic stress, a highly nonlinear evolution equation for the air-liquid interface is derived in terms of the acoustic capillary number and the slip coefficient. By numerically solving such an evolution equation, the Spatio-temporal deformation of the drop's free surface is obtained; in this context, atomization of the initial drop into micron-sized droplets is predicted at our numerical model once the acoustically-driven capillary waves reach a critical value: the instability length. Our results show slippage phenomenon at systems with partial and complete wetting favors the formation of capillary waves at the free surface, which traduces in a major volume of liquid being atomized in comparison to the no-slip case for a given time interval. In consequence, slippage at the wall possesses the capability to affect and improve the atomization rate for a drop exposed to a high-frequency acoustic field.

Keywords: capillary instability, lubrication theory, navier-slip condition, SAW atomization

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Authors: Hui Shi

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This study investigates a newly emerged usage of Chinese numeral classifier mei (枚) in the cyberspace. In modern Chinese grammar, mei as a classifier should occupy the pre-nominal position, and its valid accompanying nouns are restricted to small, flat, fragile inanimate objects rather than humans. To examine the semantic change of mei, two types of data from Weibo.com were collected. First, 500 mei-included Weibo posts constructed a corpus for analyzing this classifier's word order distribution (post-nominal or pre-nominal) as well as its accompanying nouns' semantics (inanimate or human). Second, considering that mei accompanies a remarkable number of human nouns in the first corpus, the second corpus is composed of mei-involved Weibo IDs from users located in first and third-tier cities (n=8 respectively). The findings show that in the cyber community, mei frequently classifies human-related neologisms at the archaic post-normal position. Besides, the 23 to 29-year-old females as well as Weibo users from third-tier cities are the major populations who adopt mei in their user IDs for self-description and identity expression. This paper argues that the creative usage of mei gains popularity in the Chinese internet due to a humor effect. The marked word order switch and semantic misapplication combined to trigger incongruity and jocularity. This study has significance for research on Chinese cyber neologism. It may also lay a foundation for further studies on Chinese classifier change and Chinese internet communication.

Keywords: Chinese classifier, humor, neologism, semantic change

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Authors: Kavita Bodke

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Structural health monitoring (SHM) is experiencing growth, necessitating the development of distinct methodologies to address its expanding scope effectively. In this study, we developed automatic structure damage identification, which incorporates three unique types of a building’s structural integrity. The first pertains to the presence of fractures within the structure, the second relates to the issue of dampness within the structure, and the third involves corrosion inside the structure. This study employs image classification techniques to discern between intact and impaired structures within structural data. The aim of this research is to find automatic damage detection with the probability of each damage class being present in one image. Based on this probability, we know which class has a higher probability or is more affected than the other classes. Utilizing photographs captured by a mobile camera serves as the input for an image classification system. Image classification was employed in our study to perform multi-class and multi-label classification. The objective was to categorize structural data based on the presence of cracks, moisture, and corrosion. In the context of multi-class image classification, our study employed three distinct methodologies: Random Forest, Multilayer Perceptron, and CNN. For the task of multi-label image classification, the models employed were Rasnet, Xceptionet, and Inception.

Keywords: SHM, CNN, deep learning, multi-class classification, multi-label classification

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Authors: Barenten Suciu, Yuya Nakamoto

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Power generation effect, obtained by inserting a piezo- electric sheet in the backlash clearance of a circular arc helical gear, is evaluated. Such type of screw gear is preferred since, in comparison with the involute tooth profile, the circular arc profile leads to reduced stress-concentration effects, and improved life of the piezoelectric film. Firstly, geometry of the circular arc helical gear, and properties of the piezoelectric sheet are presented. Then, description of the test-rig, consisted of a right-hand thread gear meshing with a left-hand thread gear, and the voltage measurement procedure are given. After creating the tridimensional (3D) model of the meshing gears in SolidWorks, they are 3D-printed in acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) resin. Variation of the generated voltage versus time, during a meshing cycle of the circular arc helical gear, is measured for various values of the center distance. Then, the change of the maximal, minimal, and peak-to-peak voltage versus the center distance is illustrated. Optimal center distance of the gear, to achieve voltage maximization, is found and its significance is discussed. Such results prove that the contact pressure of the meshing gears can be measured, and also, the electrical power can be generated by employing the proposed technique.

Keywords: circular arc helical gear, contact problem, optimal center distance, piezoelectric sheet, power generation

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Authors: Rajvir Kaur, Jeewani Anupama Ginige

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With recent trends in Big Data and advancements in Information and Communication Technologies, the healthcare industry is at the stage of its transition from clinician oriented to technology oriented. Many people around the world die of cancer because the diagnosis of disease was not done at an early stage. Nowadays, the computational methods in the form of Machine Learning (ML) are used to develop automated decision support systems that can diagnose cancer with high confidence in a timely manner. This paper aims to carry out the comparative evaluation of a selected set of ML classifiers on two existing datasets: breast cancer and cervical cancer. The ML classifiers compared in this study are Decision Tree (DT), Support Vector Machine (SVM), k-Nearest Neighbor (k-NN), Logistic Regression, Ensemble (Bagged Tree) and Artificial Neural Networks (ANN). The evaluation is carried out based on standard evaluation metrics Precision (P), Recall (R), F1-score and Accuracy. The experimental results based on the evaluation metrics show that ANN showed the highest-level accuracy (99.4%) when tested with breast cancer dataset. On the other hand, when these ML classifiers are tested with the cervical cancer dataset, Ensemble (Bagged Tree) technique gave better accuracy (93.1%) in comparison to other classifiers.

Keywords: artificial neural networks, breast cancer, classifiers, cervical cancer, f-score, machine learning, precision, recall

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Authors: Tan Swee Liang

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This paper studies the two-way relationship between fintech credit and banking efficiency using the Generalized panel Method of Moment (GMM) estimation in structural equation modeling (SEM). Banking system efficiency, defined as its ability to produce the existing level of outputs with minimal inputs, is measured using input-oriented data envelopment analysis (DEA), where the whole banking system of an economy is treated as a single DMU. Banks are considered an intermediary between depositors and borrowers, utilizing inputs (deposits and overhead costs) to provide outputs (increase credits to the private sector and its earnings). Analysis of the interrelationship between fintech credit and bank efficiency is conducted to determine the impact in different country groupings (ASEAN, Asia and OECD), in particular the banking system response to fintech credit platforms. Our preliminary results show that banks do respond to the greater pressure caused by fintech platforms to enhance their efficiency, but differently across the different groups. The author’s earlier research on ASEAN-5 high bank overhead costs (as a share of total assets) as the determinant of economic growth suggests that expenses may not have been channeled efficiently to income-generating activities. One practical implication of the findings is that policymakers should enable alternative financing, such as fintech credit, as a warning or encouragement for banks to improve their efficiency.

Keywords: fintech lending, banking efficiency, data envelopment analysis, structural equation modeling

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Authors: Ojin Kwon, Yong-Jin Yoon, Liu Xin, Zhang Hongbao

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Wireless Body Area Network (WBAN) is a short-range wireless communication around human body for various applications such as wearable devices, entertainment, military, and especially medical devices. WBAN attracts the attention of continuous health monitoring system including diagnostic procedure, early detection of abnormal conditions, and prevention of emergency situations. Compared to cellular network, WBAN system is more difficult to control inter- and inner-cell interference due to the limited power, limited calculation capability, mobility of patient, and non-cooperation among WBANs. In this paper, we compare the performance of resource allocation scheme based on several Pseudo Orthogonal Codewords (POCs) to mitigate inter-WBAN interference. Previously, the POCs are widely exploited for a protocol sequence and optical orthogonal code. Each POCs have different properties of auto- and cross-correlation and spectral efficiency according to its construction of POCs. To identify different WBANs, several different pseudo orthogonal patterns based on POCs exploits for resource allocation of WBANs. By simulating these pseudo orthogonal resource allocations of WBANs on MATLAB, we obtain the performance of WBANs according to different POCs and can analyze and evaluate the suitability of POCs for the resource allocation in the WBANs system.

Keywords: wireless body area network, body sensor network, resource allocation without feedback, interference mitigation, pseudo orthogonal pattern

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Authors: Mehrdad Taghipour, Mina Rostami, Mahdi Eskandarlou

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Partial-thickness skin graft is the cornerstone for scalp defect repair. Given the potential side effects following harvesting from these sites, this study aimed to compare the outcomes of graft harvesting from scalp and lower limb. This clinical trial was conducted among a sample number of 40 partial thickness graft candidates (20 case and 20 control group) with scalp defect presenting to Plastic Surgery Clinic at Besat Hospital, Hamadan, Iran during 2018-2019. Sampling was done by simple randomization using random digit table. The donor site in case group and control group was scalp and lower limb respectively. Overall, 28 patients (70%) were male and 12 (30%) were female. Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and trauma were the most common etiology for the defects. There was a statistically meaningful relationship between two groups regarding the etiology of defect (P=0.02). The mean diameter of defect was 24.28±45.37 mm for all of the patients. The difference between diameters of defect in both groups were statistically meaningful while no such difference between graft diameters was seen. The graft “Take” was completely successful in both groups according to evaluations. The level of postoperative pain was lower in the case group compared to the control according to VAS scale and the satisfaction was higher in them per Likert scale. Scalp can safely be used as donor site for skin graft to be used for scalp defects associated with better results and lower complication rates compared to other donor sites.

Keywords: donor site, graft, scalp, partial thickness

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Authors: A. Nawaz

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The present study uses Halliday’s transitivity model to analyze and interpret ideological stance in PM Nawaz Sharif’s political discourse. His famous speech at the 71st UN assembly was analyzed qualitatively using clausal analysis approach to investigate the communicative functions of the linguistic choices made in the address. The study discovers that among the six process types under the transitivity model, material, relational and mental processes appear most frequently in the speech, making up almost 86% of the whole. Verbal processes rank 4th, whereas existential and behavioral are the least occurring processes covering only 2 and 1 percent respectively. The dominant use of material processes suggests that Nawaz Sharif and his government are the main actors working on several concrete projects to produce a sense of developmental progression and continuity. Using relational and mental processes the PM, along with establishing proximity with masses and especially Kashmiri, gives guarantees and promises. The linguistic analysis concludes Kashmir dispute as being the central theme of the address, since it covers more than half of the discourse. The address calls for a strong action instead of formal assurances and wishful thoughts. The study establishes that language structures can yield certain connotations and ideologies which are not overt for readers. This is in affirmation to the supposition that language form performs a communicative function and is not merely fortuitous.

Keywords: Hallidian perspective on language, implicit meanings, Nawaz Sharif, political ideologies, political speeches, transitivity, UN Assembly

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Authors: Umme Shahera, Saifullah Munshi, Munira Jahan, Afzalun Nessa, Shahinul Alam, Shahina Tabassum

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The development of HCC is a multi-stage process. Several extrinsic factors, such as aflatoxin, HBV, nutrition, alcohol, and trace elements are thought to initiate or/and promote the hepatocarcinogenesis. Alteration of p53 status is an important intrinsic factor in this process as p53 is essential for preventing inappropriate cell proliferation and maintaining genome integrity following genotoxic stress. This study was designed to assess the correlation of p53 gene expression with HBV-DNA and serum Alanine transaminase (ALT) in patients with cirrhosis and HCC. The study was conducted among 60 patients. The study population were divided into four groups (15 in each groups)-HBV positive cirrhosis, HBV negative cirrhosis, HBV positive HCC and HBV negative HCC. Expression of p53 gene was observed using real time PCR. P53 gene expressions in the above mentioned groups were correlated with serum ALT level and HBV viral load. p53 gene was significantly higher in HBV-positive patients with HCC than HBV-positive cirrhosis. Similarly, the expression of p53 was significantly higher in HBV-positive HCC than HBV-negative HCC patients. However, the expression of p53 was reduced in HBV-positive cirrhosis in comparison with HBV-negative cirrhosis. P53 gene expression in liver was not correlated with the serum levels of ALT in any of the study groups. HBV- DNA load also did not correlated with p53 gene expression in HBV positive HCC and HBV positive cirrhosis patients. This study shows that there was no significant change with the expression of p53 gene in any of the study groups with ALT level or viral load, though differential expression of p53 gene were observed in cirrhosis and HCC patients.

Keywords: P53, ALT, HBV-DNA, liver cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma

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