Search results for: apparent friction factor

Authors: Jing (Claire) LI

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More than two decades from 2000 to 2020 of economic reforms have brought China unprecedented economic growth. There is an urgent call of research towards corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the context of China because while China continues to develop into a global trading market, it suffers from various serious problems relating to CSR. This study analyses the factors affecting the adoption of CSR practices by Chinese listed companies. The author proposes a new framework of factors of CSR adoption. Following common organisational factors and external factors in the literature (including organisational support, company size, shareholder pressures, and government support), this study introduces two additional factors, dynamic capability and regional culture. A survey questionnaire was conducted on the CSR adoption of Chinese listed companies in Shen Zhen and Shang Hai index from December 2019 to March 2020. The survey was conducted to collect data on the factors that affect the adoption of CSR. After collection of data, this study performed factor analysis to reduce the number of measurement items to several main factors. This procedure is to confirm the proposed framework and ensure the significant factors. Through analysis, this study identifies four grouped factors as determinants of the CSR adoption. The first factor loading includes dynamic capability and organisational support. The study finds that they are positively related to the first factor, so the first factor mainly reflects the capabilities of companies, which is one component in internal factors. In the second factor, measurement items of stakeholder pressures mainly are from regulatory bodies, customer and supplier, employees and community, and shareholders. In sum, they are positively related to the second factor and they reflect stakeholder pressures, which is one component of external factors. The third factor reflects organisational characteristics. Variables include company size and cultural score. Among these variables, company size is negatively related to the third factor. The resulted factor loading of the third factor implies that organisational factor is an important determinant of CSR adoption. Cultural consistency, the variable in the fourth factor, is positively related to the factor. It represents the difference between perception of managers and actual culture of the organisations in terms of cultural dimensions, which is one component in internal factors. It implies that regional culture is an important factor of CSR adoption. Overall, the results are consistent with previous literature. This study is of significance from both theoretical and empirical perspectives. First, from the significance of theoretical perspective, this research combines stakeholder theory, dynamic capability view of a firm, and neo-institutional theory in CSR research. Based on association of these three theories, this study introduces two new factors (dynamic capability and regional culture) to have a better framework for CSR adoption. Second, this study contributes to empirical literature of CSR in the context of China. Extant Chinese companies lack recognition of the importance of CSR practices adoption. This study built a framework and may help companies to design resource allocation strategies and evaluate future CSR and management practices in an early stage.

Keywords: China, corporate social responsibility, CSR adoption, dynamic capability, regional culture

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Authors: Carlos Oliveira Santiago Filho, Ciro Egoavil, Eduardo Oliveira, Jéferson Galdino, Moises Galileu, Tiago Oliveira Correa

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Transfer of Electrical Energy through resonant inductive magnetic coupling is demonstrated experimentally in a system containing coil primary for transmission and secondary reception. The topology used in the prototype of the Class-E amplifier, has been identified as optimal for power transfer applications. Characteristic of the inductor and the load are defined by the requirements of the resonant inductive system. The frequency limitation the of circuit restricts unloaded “Q-Factor”, quality factor of the coils and thus the link efficiency. With a suitable circuit, copper coil unloaded Q-Factors of over 1,000 can be achieved in the low Mhz region, enabling a cost-effective high Q coil assembly. The circuit is capable system capable of transmitting energy with direct current to load efficiency above 60% at 2 Mhz.

Keywords: magnetic induction, transfer of electrical energy, magnetic coupling, Q-Factor

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Authors: Heming Yao

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Graphene-based percolative strain gauges could find applications in many places such as touch panels, artificial skins or human motion detection because of its advantages over conventional strain gauges such as flexibility and transparency. These strain gauges rely on a novel sensing mechanism that depends on strain-induced morphology changes. Once a compression or tension strain is applied to Graphene-based percolative strain gauges, the overlap area between neighboring flakes becomes smaller or larger, which is reflected by the considerable change of resistance. Tiny strain change on graphene-based percolative strain sensor can act as an important leverage to tremendously increase resistance of strain sensor, which equipped graphene-based percolative strain gauges with higher gauge factor. Despite ongoing research in the underlying sensing mechanism and the limits of sensitivity, neither suitable understanding has been obtained of what intrinsic factors play the key role in adjust gauge factor, nor explanation on how the strain gauge sensitivity can be enhanced, which is undoubtedly considerably meaningful and provides guideline to design novel and easy-produced strain sensor with high gauge factor. We here simulated the strain process by modeling graphene flakes and its percolative networks. We constructed the 3D resistance network by simulating overlapping process of graphene flakes and interconnecting tremendous number of resistance elements which were obtained by fractionizing each piece of graphene. With strain increasing, the overlapping graphenes was dislocated on new stretched simulation graphene flake simulation film and a new simulation resistance network was formed with smaller flake number density. By solving the resistance network, we can get the resistance of simulation film under different strain. Furthermore, by simulation on possible variable parameters, such as out-of-plane resistance, in-plane resistance, flake size, we obtained the changing tendency of gauge factor with all these variable parameters. Compared with the experimental data, we verified the feasibility of our model and analysis. The increase of out-of-plane resistance of graphene flake and the initial resistance of sensor, based on flake network, both improved gauge factor of sensor, while the smaller graphene flake size gave greater gauge factor. This work can not only serve as a guideline to improve the sensitivity and applicability of graphene-based strain sensors in the future, but also provides method to find the limitation of gauge factor for strain sensor based on graphene flake. Besides, our method can be easily transferred to predict gauge factor of strain sensor based on other nano-structured transparent optical conductors, such as nanowire and carbon nanotube, or of their hybrid with graphene flakes.

Keywords: graphene, gauge factor, percolative transport, strain sensor

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Authors: Fahad Abbasi

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Flow of electrically conducting nanofluids is of pivotal importance in countless industrial and medical appliances. Fluctuations in thermophysical properties of such fluids due to variations in temperature have not received due attention in the available literature. Present investigation aims to fill this void by analyzing the flow of copper-water nanofluid with temperature dependent viscosity past a Riga plate. Strong wall suction and viscous dissipation have also been taken into account. Numerical solutions for the resulting nonlinear system have been obtained. Results are presented in the graphical and tabular format in order to facilitate the physical analysis. An estimated expression for skin friction coefficient and Nusselt number are obtained by performing linear regression on numerical data for embedded parameters. Results indicate that the temperature dependent viscosity alters the velocity, as well as the temperature of the nanofluid and, is of considerable importance in the processes where high accuracy is desired. Addition of copper nanoparticles makes the momentum boundary layer thinner whereas viscosity parameter does not affect the boundary layer thickness. Moreover, the regression expressions indicate that magnitude of rate of change in effective skin friction coefficient and Nusselt number with respect to nanoparticles volume fraction is prominent when compared with the rate of change with variable viscosity parameter and modified Hartmann number.

Keywords: heat transfer, peristaltic flows, radially varying magnetic field, curved channel

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Authors: Driss Haddouche

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Pastoral crisis in Algeria has its origins in rangeland degradation which are the main factor in any activity in the steppe zones. Indeed, faced with the increasing human and animal population on a living space smaller and smaller, there is an overuse of what remains of the steppe range lands, consequently the not sustainability of biomass production. Knowing the amount of biomass available, the practice of grazing options, taking into account the use of "Use Factor" factor remains an essential method for managing pastoral resources. This factor has three options: at 40% Conservative pasture; at 60 % the beginning of overgrazing; at 80% destructive grazing. Accessibility on the pasture is based on our field observations of a type any flock along a grazing cycle. The main purpose of these observations is to highlight the speed of herd grazing situation. Several individuals from the herd were timed to arrive at an average duration of about 5 seconds to move between two tufts of grass, separated by a distance of one meter. This gives a rate of 5 s/m (0.72 km/h) flat. This speed varies depending on the angle of the slope. Knowing the speed and slope of each pixel of the study area, given by the digital elevation model of Spot Image (MNE) and whose pitch is 15 meters, a map of pasture according to the distances is generated. Knowing the stocking and biomass available, the examination of the common Mécheria at regular distances (8.64 km or 12 hours of grazing, 17.28 km or 24 hours of grazing and 25.92 Km or 36 hours of grazing), offers three different options (conservation grazing resource: utilization at 40%; overgrazing statements for use at 60% and grazing destructive for use by more than 80%) for each distance traveled by sheep from the starting point is the town of Mécheria.

Keywords: pastoral crisis, biomass, animal charge, use factor, Algeria

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Authors: Peter J. Riley

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The James Webb Space Telescope is predicted to detect redshifts to z~15, with the current max reported at z=14.3. However, there is a potential special-relativistic horizon that may already be in operation from z > 9. It is shown that the Lorentz transformations with Hubble recessional velocities > 0.98c (boosts y < 0.19) combine contraction and mass-boosts to an apparent gravitational collapse relative to a distant observer, which leads to optical extinction. A Milky Way-type galaxy will disappear at z~15. The collapse equations are derived, and galaxy types are compared to illustrate the range of z leading to extinction.

Keywords: hubble, redshift, relativistic, collapse

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Authors: Haiping Ding, Rongchu Zhu, Zhenxia Song

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Local irregular topography has a great impact on earthquake ground motion. For scarp topography, using numerical simulation method, the influence extent and scope of the scarp terrain on scarp's upside and downside ground motion are discussed in case of different vertical incident SV waves. The results show that: (1) The amplification factor of scarp's upside region is greater than that of the free surface, while the amplification factor of scarp's downside part is less than that of the free surface; (2) When the slope angle increases, for x component, amplification factors of the scarp upside also increase, while the downside part decrease with it. For z component, both of the upside and downside amplification factors will increase; (3) When the slope angle changes, the influence scope of scarp's downside part is almost unchanged, but for the upside part, it slightly becomes greater with the increase of slope angle; (4) Due to the existence of the scarp, the z component ground motion appears at the surface. Its amplification factor increases for larger slope angle, and the peaks of the surface responses are related with incident waves. However, the input wave has little effects on the x component amplification factors.

Keywords: scarp topography, ground motion, amplification factor, vertical incident wave

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Authors: Muhammad Naeem, Abdus Salam, Sumera Yasmin, Abir Ishtiaq

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In the present study, eighty-three wild Oreochromis aureus of different body size ranging 5.3-14.6 cm in total length were collected from the River Chenab, District Muzzafer Garh, Pakistan to investigate the parameters of length –weight, length-length relationships and condition factor in relation to size. Each fish was measured and weighed on arrival at laboratory. Log transformed regressions were used to test the allometric growth. Length-weight relationship was found highly significant (r = 0.964; P < 0.01). The values of exponent “ b” in Length–weight regression (W=aL^b), deviated from 3, showing isometric growth (b = 2.75). Results for LLRs indicated that these are highly correlated (P < 0.001). Condition factor (K) found constant with increasing body weight, however, showed negative influence with increasing total length.

Keywords: lenght-weight, Oreochromis aureus, morphometric study

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Authors: Kyungsuk Cho, Seungun Chae, Jihun Choi

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Elevators are examined as one of evacuation methods in super-tall buildings. However, data on the use of elevators for evacuation at a fire are extremely scarce. Therefore, a test to measure delay time in using an evacuation elevator was conducted. In the test, time taken to get on and get off an elevator was measured and the case in which people gave up boarding when the capacity of the elevator was exceeded was also taken into consideration. 170 men and women participated in the test, 130 of whom were young people (20 ~ 50 years old) and 40 were senior citizens (over 60 years old). The capacity of the elevator was 25 people and it travelled between the 2nd and 4th floors. A video recording device was used to analyze the test. An elevator at an ordinary building, not a super-tall building, was used in the test to measure delay time in getting on and getting off an elevator. In order to minimize interference from other elements, elevator platforms on the 2nd and 4th floors were partitioned off. The elevator travelled between the 2nd and 4th floors where people got on and off. If less than 20 people got on the elevator which was empty, the data were excluded. If the elevator carrying 10 passengers stopped and less than 10 new passengers got on the elevator, the data were excluded. Getting-on an empty elevator was observed 49 times. The average number of passengers was 23.7, it took 14.98 seconds for the passengers to get on the empty elevator and the load factor was 1.67 N/s. It took the passengers, whose average number was 23.7, 10.84 seconds to get off the elevator and the unload factor was 2.33 N/s. When an elevator’s capacity is exceeded, the excessive number of people should get off. Time taken for it and the probability of the case were measure in the test. 37% of the times of boarding experienced excessive number of people. As the number of people who gave up boarding increased, the load factor of the ride decreased. When 1 person gave up boarding, the load factor was 1.55 N/s. The case was observed 10 times, which was 12.7% of the total. When 2 people gave up boarding, the load factor was 1.15 N/s. The case was observed 7 times, which was 8.9% of the total. When 3 people gave up boarding, the load factor was 1.26 N/s. The case was observed 4 times, which was 5.1% of the total. When 4 people gave up boarding, the load factor was 1.03 N/s. The case was observed 5 times, which was 6.3% of the total. Getting-on and getting-off time data for people who can walk freely were obtained from the test. In addition, quantitative results were obtained from the relation between the number of people giving up boarding and time taken for getting on. This work was supported by the National Research Council of Science & Technology (NST) grant by the Korea government (MSIP) (No. CRC-16-02-KICT).

Keywords: evacuation elevator, super tall buildings, evacuees, delay time

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Authors: Mohammad Karimizadehardakani, Hooman Minoonejad, Reza Rajabi, Ali Sharifnejad

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Background: Ankle sprain is one of the most important risk factor of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury. Also, functional ankle instability (FAI) population has alterations in lower extremity sagittal plane biomechanics during landing task. We want to examine whether biomechanical alterations demonstrated by FAI patients are associated with the mechanism of ACL injury during high risk and sport related tasks. Methods: Sixteen basketball player with FAI and 16 non-injured control performed a single-leg cross drop landing. Knee sagittal and frontal (ATSF) was calculated. Independent t-tests, multiple linear regression, and Pearson correlation were used for analysis data. Result: Subject with FAI showed more peak ATFS, posterior ground reaction force (GRF) and less knee flexion, compared to the controls (P= 0.001, P= 0.004, P= 0.011). Knee flexion (r= −0.824, P = 0.011) and posterior GRF (r= 0.901, P = .001) were correlated with ATSF; Posterior GRF was factor that most explained the variance in ATSF (R2= 0.645; P = .001) in the FAI group. Conclusions: Result of our study showed there is a potential biomechanical relationship between the presence of FAI and risk factors associated with ACL injury mechanism.

Keywords: functional ankle instability, anterior cruciate ligament, biomechanics, risk factor

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Authors: Habib Muhammetoglu, I. Ethem Karadirek, Selami Kara, Ayse Muhammetoglu

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The problem of non-revenue water (NRW) from municipal water distribution networks is common in many countries such as Turkey, where the average yearly water losses are around 50% . Water losses can be divided into two major types namely: 1) Real or physical water losses, and 2) Apparent or commercial water losses. Total water losses in Antalya city, Turkey is around 45%. Methods: A research study was conducted to develop appropriate methodologies to reduce NRW. A pilot study area of about 60 thousands inhabitants was chosen to apply the study. The pilot study area has a supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system for the monitoring and control of many water quantity and quality parameters at the groundwater drinking wells, pumping stations, distribution reservoirs, and along the water mains. The pilot study area was divided into 18 District Metered Areas (DMAs) with different number of service connections that ranged between a few connections to less than 3000 connections. The flow rate and water pressure to each DMA were on-line continuously measured by an accurate flow meter and water pressure meter that were connected to the SCADA system. Customer water meters were installed to all billed and unbilled water users. The monthly water consumption as given by the water meters were recorded regularly. Water balance was carried out for each DMA using the well-know standard IWA approach. There were considerable variations in the water losses percentages and the components of the water losses among the DMAs of the pilot study area. Old Class B customer water meters at one DMA were replaced by more accurate new Class C water meters. Hydraulic modelling using the US-EPA EPANET model was carried out in the pilot study area for the prediction of water pressure variations at each DMA. The data sets required to calibrate and verify the hydraulic model were supplied by the SCADA system. It was noticed that a number of the DMAs exhibited high water pressure values. Therefore, pressure reducing valves (PRV) with constant head were installed to reduce the pressure up to a suitable level that was determined by the hydraulic model. On the other hand, the hydraulic model revealed that the water pressure at the other DMAs cannot be reduced when complying with the minimum pressure requirement (3 bars) as stated by the related standards. Results: Physical water losses were reduced considerably as a result of just reducing water pressure. Further physical water losses reduction was achieved by applying acoustic methods. The results of the water balances helped in identifying the DMAs that have considerable physical losses. Many bursts were detected especially in the DMAs that have high physical water losses. The SCADA system was very useful to assess the efficiency level of this method and to check the quality of repairs. Regarding apparent water losses reduction, changing the customer water meters resulted in increasing water revenue by more than 20%. Conclusions: DMA, SCADA, modelling, pressure management, leakage detection and accurate customer water meters are efficient for NRW.

Keywords: NRW, water losses, pressure management, SCADA, apparent water losses, urban water distribution networks

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Authors: Saci Abdelhakim Ferkous, Khedoudja Soudani, Smail Haddadi

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This paper presents the results of a laboratory experimental study that explores the skid resistance of asphalt concrete mixtures made of local low-performance aggregates by partially replacing sand with olive mill waste (OMW). OMW was mixed with aggregates using a dry process by replacing sand with contents of 5%, 7%, 10% and 15%. The mechanical performances of the mixtures were evaluated using the Marshall and Duriez tests. A modified accelerated polishing machine was used as polishing equipment, and a British pendulum tester (BPT) was used to test the skid resistance of the samples. Finally, texture parameter analysis was performed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Mountains Map software to assess the effect of OMW on the friction coefficient evolution. Using a distinct road wheel for a modified version of an accelerated polishing machine, which is normally used to determine the polished stone value of aggregates, the results showed that the addition of OMW up to 10% conferred a better skid resistance in comparison to normal asphalt concrete. The presence of olive mill waste in the mixture until 15% guarantees a gain of 22%-29% in skid resistance after polishing compared with the reference mix. Indeed, from texture parameter analysis, it was observed that there was differential wear of the lightweight aggregates (OMW) compared to the other aggregates during the polishing process, which created a new surface microtexture that had new peaks and led to a good level of friction compared to the mixtures without OMW. In general, it was found that OMW is a promising modifier for asphalt mixtures with both engineering and economic merits.

Keywords: skid resistance, olive mill waste, polishing resistance, accelerated polishing machine, local materials, sustainable development.

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Authors: Alban Igwe, Ijeoma Kalu, Alloy Ezirim

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Food insecurity is a global problem, and the search for food security has assumed a central stage in the global development agenda as the United Nations currently placed zero hunger as a goal number in its sustainable development goals. Nigeria currently ranks 107th out of 113 countries in the global food security index (GFSI), a metric that defines a country's ability to furnish its citizens with food and nutrients for healthy living. Paradoxically, Nigeria is a global leader in food production, ranking 1st in yam (over 70% of global output), beans (over 41% of global output), cassava (20% of global output) and shea nuts, where it commands 53% of global output. Furthermore, it ranks 2nd in millet, sweet potatoes, and cashew nuts. It is Africa's largest producer of rice. So, it is apparent that Nigeria's food insecurity woes must relate to a factor other than food production. We investigated the nexus between food security and downstream supply chain losses in the yam industry with secondary data from the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAOSTAT) and the National Bureau of Statics for the decade 2012-2021. In analyzing the data, multiple regression techniques were used, and findings reveal that downstream losses have a strong positive correlation with food security (r = .763*) and a 58.3% variation in food security is explainable by post-downstream supply chain food losses. The study discovered that yam supply chain losses within the period under review averaged 50.6%, suggestive of the fact that downstream supply chain losses are the drainpipe and the major source of food insecurity in Nigeria. Therefore, the study concluded that there is a significant relationship between downstream supply chain losses and food insecurity and recommended the establishment of food supply chain structures and policies to enhance food security in Nigeria.

Keywords: food security, downstream supply chain losses, yam, nigeria, supply chain

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Authors: Mihaly Homostrei, Tamas Simon, Dorottya Schnider

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The topic of oscillation in physics is one of the key ideas which is usually taught based on the concept of harmonic oscillation. It can be an interesting activity to deal with a frictional oscillator in advanced high school classes or in university courses. Its mechanics are investigated in this research, which shows that the motion of the frictional oscillator is more complicated than a simple harmonic oscillator. The physics of the applied model in this study seems to be interesting and useful for undergraduate students. The study presents a well-known physical system, which is mostly discussed theoretically in high school and at the university. The ideal frictional oscillator is normally used as an example of harmonic oscillatory motion, as its theory relies on the constant coefficient of sliding friction. The structure of the system is simple: a rod with a homogeneous mass distribution is placed on two rotating identical cylinders placed at the same height so that they are horizontally aligned, and they rotate at the same angular velocity, however in opposite directions. Based on this setup, one could easily show that the equation of motion describes a harmonic oscillation considering the magnitudes of the normal forces in the system as the function of the position and the frictional forces with a constant coefficient of frictions are related to them. Therefore, the whole description of the model relies on simple Newtonian mechanics, which is available for students even in high school. On the other hand, the phenomenon of the described frictional oscillator does not seem to be so straightforward after all; experiments show that the simple harmonic oscillation cannot be observed in all cases, and the system performs a much more complex movement, whereby the rod adjusts itself to a non-harmonic oscillation with a nonzero stable amplitude after an unconventional damping effect. The stable amplitude, in this case, means that the position function of the rod converges to a harmonic oscillation with a constant amplitude. This leads to the idea of a more complex model which can describe the motion of the rod in a more accurate way. The main difference to the original equation of motion is the concept that the frictional coefficient varies with the relative velocity. This dependence on the velocity was investigated in many different research articles as well; however, this specific problem could demonstrate the key concept of the varying friction coefficient and its importance in an interesting and demonstrative way. The position function of the rod is described by a more complicated and non-trivial, yet more precise equation than the usual harmonic oscillation description of the movement. The study discusses the structure of the measurements related to the frictional oscillator, the qualitative and quantitative derivation of the theory, and the comparison of the final theoretical function as well as the measured position-function in time. The project provides useful materials and knowledge for undergraduate students and a new perspective in university physics education.

Keywords: friction, frictional coefficient, non-harmonic oscillator, physics education

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Authors: Kevin Moustapha

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Psychopathy is perceived today as being «the most important concept in the criminal justice system» and as «the most important legal notion of the early 21 th century». The explosion of research related to psychopathy seems to perfectly illustrate this trend. Traditionally, many studies tend to focus on links between insanity defense and psychopathy. That is why our purpose in this article is to analyze psychopathic disorders in the scope of judges sentencing in Canada. Indeed, in every Canadian case related to dangerous offenders, judges must balance between fairness and protection of the individuals rights of the accused and protection of society from dangerous predators who may commit future acts of physical or sexual violence. Increasingly, psychopathic disorders are taking an important part in judge sentencing, especially in Canada. This phenomenon can be illustrated by the high proportion of psychopath offenders incarcerated in North American prisons. Many decisions in Canadians courtrooms seem to point out that psychopathy is often used as a strong argument by the judges to preserve public safety. The fact that psychopathy is often associated with violence, recklessness and recidivism, it could explain why many judges consider psychopathic disorders as an aggravating factor. Generally, the judge reasoning is based on article 753 of Canadian Criminal Code related to dangerous offenders, which is used for individuals who show a pattern of repetitive and persistent aggressive behaviour. However, with cognitive neurosciences, the psychopath’s situation in courtrooms would probably change. Cerebral imaging and news data provided by the neurosciences show that emotional and volitional functions in psychopath’s brains are impaired. Understanding these new issues could enable some judges to recognize psychopathic disorders as a mitigating factor. Two important questions ought to be raised in this article: can exploring psychopaths ‘brains really change the judge sentencing in Canadian courtrooms? If yes, can judges consider psychopathy more as a mitigating factor than an aggravating factor?

Keywords: criminal law, judges sentencing, neurosciences, psychopathy

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Authors: Ismail Karaca, Ridvan Saracoglu, Omer Soner

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Fuzzy Logic, an advanced method to support decision-making, is used by various scientists in many disciplines. Fuzzy programming is a product of fuzzy logic, fuzzy rules, and implication. In marine science, fuzzy programming for ships is dramatically increasing together with autonomous ship studies. In this paper, a program to support the decision-making process for ship navigation has been designed. The program is produced in fuzzy logic and rules, by taking the marine accidents and expert opinions into account. After the program was designed, the program was tested by 46 ship accidents reported by the Transportation Safety Investigation Center of Turkey. Wind speed, sea condition, visibility, day/night ratio have been used as input data. They have been converted into a risk factor within the Fuzzy Logic Designer application and fuzzy rules set by marine experts. Finally, the expert's meteorological risk factor for each accident is compared with the program's risk factor, and the error rate was calculated. The main objective of this study is to improve the navigational safety of ships, by using the advance decision support model. According to the study result, fuzzy programming is a robust model that supports safe navigation.

Keywords: calculation of risk factor, fuzzy logic, fuzzy programming for ship, safety navigation of ships

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Authors: L. Mtibaa, N. Baccouchi, S. Hannechi, R. Abid, R. Battikh, B. Jemli

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Cryptococcosis is an opportunistic fungal infection which is commonly associated with an immune-compomised state, especially HIV infection. Rare cases of cryptococcosis have been reported in patients with multiple myeloma (MM), and they are all at a late stage of the disease. However, the inaugural character of cryptococcosis revealing the MM at an early stage has never been reported to our best knowledge. We presented here a case of neuromeningeal cryptococcosis in a patient without any apparent underlying conditions, who has revealed IgA-λ MM. Early detection and treatment of cryptococcosis are essential to reduce morbidity and for a better outcome.

Keywords: Cryptococcosis, Cryptococcus, hematologic, malignancy

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Authors: Gulderen Saglam

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This study explores the elements of personal motivation which influence professional motivation of in-service English language teachers in Bursa in Turkey. Fifty English language teachers participated in a seminar held on ‘teachers’ motivation’ for the length of six hours in two days, which were organized by the local Ministry of Education. During the seminar, teachers firstly aimed to share cornerstones of their professional motivation. Later, those teachers stated the significance of their personal motivation. Two months’ later, those teachers were given the questionnaire including both closed and open-ended questions involving those two types of motivational acts of teachers. Questionnaire items were tested by Crombah’s Alfa Reliability Statistics. Responses to the questionnaire were analyzed by factor analysis and test of normality. The results were also tested by non-parametric and parametric tests. As a result, it was found that language teachers who were personally motivated reported higher professional motivation of theirs in teaching profession in-service.

Keywords: influencing factor, in-service-teachers, personal motivation, professional motivation, in-service-teachers, influencing factor

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Authors: N. C. Ghosh, Niladri Das, Prolay Mondal, Ranajit Ghosh

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Groundwater quality deterioration due to human activities has become a prime factor of modern life. The major concern of the study is to access spatial variation of groundwater quality and to identify the sources of groundwater chemicals and its impact on human health of the concerned area. Multivariate statistical techniques, cluster, principal component analysis, and hydrochemical fancies are been applied to measure groundwater quality data on 14 parameters from 107 sites distributed randomly throughout the Birbhum district. Five factors have been extracted using Varimax rotation with Kaiser Normalization. The first factor explains 27.61% of the total variance where high positive loading have been concentrated in TH, Ca, Mg, Cl and F (Fluoride). In the studied region, due to the presence of basaltic Rajmahal trap fluoride contamination is highly concentrated and that has an adverse impact on human health such as fluorosis. The second factor explains 24.41% of the total variance which includes Na, HCO₃, EC, and SO₄. The last factor or the fifth factor explains 8.85% of the total variance, and it includes pH which maintains the acidic and alkaline character of the groundwater. Hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) grouped the 107 sampling station into two clusters. One cluster having high pollution and another cluster having less pollution. Moreover hydromorphological facies viz. Wilcox diagram, Doneen’s chart, and USSL diagram reveal the quality of the groundwater like the suitability of the groundwater for irrigation or water used for drinking purpose like permeability index of the groundwater, quality assessment of groundwater for irrigation. Gibb’s diagram depicts that the major portion of the groundwater of this region is rock dominated origin, as the western part of the region characterized by the Jharkhand plateau fringe comprises basalt, gneiss, granite rocks.

Keywords: correlation, factor analysis, hydrological facies, hydrochemistry

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Authors: Alicja Sułek, Grażyna Cacak-Pietrzak, Marta Wyzińska, Anna Nieróbca

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In 2013/2014 and 2014/2015, a field experiment was conducted in two locations: Osiny and Wielichowo (Poland). The two-factor experiment was based on the method of randomized subblocks, in three replications. The first factor (A) was dose of nitrogen fertilization (two levels). The second factor (B) was nine winter wheat cultivars. It was found that winter wheat cultivars exhibited different reactions to higher nitrogen fertilization depending on the years and localities. Only KWS Dacanto cultivar under all growing conditions showed a significant increase in grain yield after the application of a higher level of nitrogen fertilization. The increase in nitrogen fertilization influenced the increase in gluten proteins content in wheat grain, but these changes were statistically significant only in the first year of the study. The quality of gluten does not depend on nitrogen fertilization. The quality of wheat grain depends on cultivars.

Keywords: fertilization, grain quality, winter wheat, yield

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Authors: Nanhee Cho, Eugene Han, Hanbyul Kim, Hochan Cho

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Pre-diabetes includes impaired fasting glucose (IFG) and impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) and there is a strong probability that pre-diabetes will lead to diabetes mellitus (DM). Serum fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF-21) is known to be increased as a compensatory response to metabolic imbalance under conditions such as obesity, metabolic syndrome, and DM. This study aims to identify the relationship of serum FGF-21 with pre-diabetes, and with biomarkers of related metabolic diseases. Fifty five Korea adult patients participated in a cohort study from June 2012 to December 2015. The analysis revealed that BMI, FBS levels, and serum FGF-21 levels were significantly higher in the IFG group compared to those in the normal group. A multiple regression analysis was conduted on the correlations of serum FGF-21 levels with BMI, and FBS levels, and the result did not show statistical significance. In conclusion, our results revealed that serum FGF-21 level serve as a marker to predict IFG.

Keywords: cytokine, fibroblast growth factor 21, impaired fasting glucose, prediabetes

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Authors: Bergun Meric Bingul, Yezdan Cinel, Murat Son, Cigdem Bulgan, Mensure Aydin

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The aim of this study was to determination of the effects of knee and hip isokinetic performance during the training with the special designed roller-shoes. 30 soccer players participated as subjects and these subjects were divided into 3 groups randomly. Training groups were; with the dynamic training shoes group, without the dynamic training shoes group and control group. Subjects were trained speed strength trainings during 8 weeks (3 days a week and 1 hour a day). 6 exercises were focused on the knee flexors and extensors, also hip adductor and abductor muscles were chosen and performed in 3x30secs at each sets. Control group was not paticipated to the training program. Before and after the training programs knee flexor and extensor muscles and hip abductor and adductor muscles’ peak torques were measured by Biodex III isokinetic dynamometer. Isokinetic strength data were analyzed by using SPSS program. A repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to determine differences among the peak torque values for three groups. The results indicated that soccer players’ peak torque values that the group of using the dynamic training shoes, were found higher. Also, hip adductor and abductor peak torques that the group of using the dynamic training shoes, were obtained better than the other groups. In conclusion, the ground friction forces are an important role of increasing strength. With these shoes, using rollers, soccer players were able to move easily because of the friction forces were reduced and created more range of motion. So, exercises were performed faster than before and strength movements in all angles, it ensured that the active state. This was resulted in a better use of force.

Keywords: isokinetic, soccer, dynamic training shoes, training

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Authors: A. E. Kurtoglu, A. Cevik, M. Bilgehan

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In this parametric study, effect of soil and material characteristics on safety of structures is investigated. The soil parameters such as shear strength, unit weight; geometrical parameters of the structure such as foundation depth and height of building; and material properties such as weight of concrete were selected as input parameters. A real accelerogram of 1989 El-Centro earthquake recorded by the USGS in Imperial Valley is used for this study. It is contained in the standard Strong Motion CD-ROM (SMC) format, which can be recognized and interpreted by FEM software used. The soil-structure interaction model subjected to above-mentioned earthquake was analyzed for 729 cases. Effect of input parameters on safety factor of the soil-structure system was then investigated and the interaction between the input and output parameters is presented in graphical form. Findings showed that all input parameters have significant effects on factor of safety results.

Keywords: factor of safety, finite element method, safety of structures, soil structure interaction

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Authors: Panagiotis Lemonakis, Theodoros Αlimonakis, George Kaliabetsos, Nikos Eliou

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It is very well known that certain vertical and longitudinal slopes have to be assured in order to achieve adequate rainwater runoff from the pavement. The selection of longitudinal slopes, between the turning points of the vertical curves that meet the afore-mentioned requirement does not ensure adequate drainage because the same condition must also be applied at the transition curves. In this way none of the pavement edges’ slopes (as well as any other spot that lie on the pavement) will be opposite to the longitudinal slope of the rotation axis. Horizontal and vertical alignment must be properly combined in order to form a road which resultant slope does not take small values and hence, checks must be performed in every cross section and every chainage of the road. The present research investigates the rain water runoff from the road surface in order to identify the conditions under which, areas of inadequate drainage are being created, to analyze the rainwater behavior in such areas, to provide design examples of good and bad drainage zones and to track down certain motorcycle types which might encounter hazardous situations due to the presence of water film between the pavement and both of their tires resulting loss of traction. Moreover, it investigates the combination of longitudinal and cross slope values in critical pavement areas. It should be pointed out that the drainage gradient is analytically calculated for the whole road width and not just for an oblique slope per chainage (combination of longitudinal grade and cross slope). Lastly, various combinations of horizontal and vertical design are presented, indicating the crucial zones of bad pavement drainage. The key conclusion of the study is that any type of motorcycle will travel for some time inside the area of improper runoff for a certain time frame which depends on the speed and the trajectory that the rider chooses along the transition curve. Taking into account that on this section the rider will have to lean his motorcycle and hence reduce the contact area of his tire with the pavement it is apparent that any variations on the friction value due to the presence of a water film may lead to serious problems regarding his safety. The water runoff from the road pavement is improved when between reverse longitudinal slopes, crest instead of sag curve is chosen and particularly when its edges coincide with the edges of the horizontal curve. Lastly, the results of the investigation have shown that the variation of the longitudinal slope involves the vertical shift of the center of the poor water runoff area. The magnitude of this area increases as the length of the transition curve increases.

Keywords: drainage, motorcycle safety, superelevation, transition curves, vertical grade

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Authors: Muhammad Naeem, Amina Zubari, Abdus Salam, Summera Yasmeen, Syed Ali Ayub Bukhari, Abir Ishtiaq

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In the present study, eighty three wild Oreochromis aureus of different body size ranging 5.3-14.6 cm in total length were collected from the River Chenab, District Muzzafer Garh, Pakistan to investigate the parameters of length –weight, length-length relationships and condition factor in relation to size. Each fish was measured and weighed on arrival at laboratory. Log transformed regressions were used to test the allometric growth. Length-weight relationship was found highly significant (r = 0.964; P < 0.01). The values of exponent “ b” in Length–weight regression (W=aLb), deviated from 3, showing isometric growth (b = 2.75). Results for LLRs indicated that these are highly correlated (P< 0.001). Condition factor (K) found constant with increasing body weight, however, showed negative influence with increasing total length.

Keywords: Oreochromis aureus, weight-length relationship, condition factor, predictive equations

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Authors: Qiuying Li, Fan Chen

Abstract:

It is a shared opinion that sustainable development requires continuously updated, meaning that apparent changes in the way we usually produce our buildings are strongly needed. In China’s construction field, the associated environmental, health problems are quite prominent.Especially low sustainable performance (as opposed to Green creation) flooding the real estate boom and high-speed urban and rural urbanization. Currently, we urgently need to improve the existing design basis,objectives,scope and procedures,optimization design portfolio.More new evaluation system designed to facilitate the building to enhance the overall level.

Keywords: design for sustainability, design and materials, ecomaterials, sustainable architecture and urban design

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Authors: Marie Lesly Fontin, Audalbert Bien-Aimé, Didier Marlier, Yves Beckers

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Fecal digestibility of mature plantain leaves was determined in castrated Creolegoatsin order to better assess them. Five diets made from plantain leaves were used in an in vivo digestibility study on 20 castrated Creole goats over three periods using a completely random design in order to assess their apparent fecal digestibility (Dg). These diets consisted of sun-dried leaves (DL), sun-dried urea treated leaves (DUTL, 5kg of urea per 100kg of raw product ensilaged during 90 days with 60 kg of water), sun-dried leaves + hoopvine (Trichostigma octandrum, L)(DLH, DL: 61.4% + Hoopvine: 38.6%), sun-dried leaves + urea (DLU, DL: 98.2%+ U: 1.8%), and fresh leaves. (FL).0.5% of salt diluted with water was added to diets before distribution to the goats. A mineral lick block was available for each goat in its digestibility cage. During each period, diets were distributed to meet the maintenance needs of the goats for 21 days, including 14 days of adaptation and 7 days of measurement. Offered and refused diets and feces were weighed every day, and samples were taken for laboratory analysis. Results showed that the urea treatment increasedCP (Crude Protein) content of DL by 44% (from 10.4% for DL to 15.0% for DUTL) and decreased their NDF (Neutral Detergent Fiber) content (55.5% to 52.4%). Large amounts of refused feed (around 40%) were observed in goats fed with FL, DLU, and DL diets, for which no significant difference was observed for DM (Dry Matter) intakes (40.3; 36.6 and 35.1g/kg0.75 respectively) (p>0.05). DM intakes of DUTL (59.9 g/kg0.75) were significantly (p<0.05) greater than DLH (50.2 g/kg0.75). DM Dg of DL was very low (29.2%). However, supplementation with hoopvine and urea treatment resulted in a significant increase of DM Dg (40.3% and 42.1%, respectively), but the addition of urea (DLU) had no effect on it. FL showed a DM Dg similar to DHL and DUTL diets (39.0%). OM (Organic Matter)Dg was higher for the DUTL diet (45.1%), followed by DLH (40.9%), then by DLU and FL (32.9% and 40.7% respectively) and finally by DL (29.8%). CP Dg was higher for the FL diet (65.7%) and lower for the DL diet (39.9%). NDF Dg was also increased with urea treatment (54.8% for DUTL) and with the addition of hoopvine (41.4%) compared to the DL diet (31.0% for DLH). In conclusion, urea treatment and complementation with hoopvine of plantain leaves are the best treatments among those tested for increasing the nutritive value of this foragein the castrated Creole goats.

Keywords: apparent fecal digestibility, nitrogen supplements, plantain leaves, urea treatment

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Authors: Marcin Adamczak

Abstract:

The growth of Chinese film market and its dynamic incomparable to any other historical phenomenon has already made China the second world market and potential future leader in 2-3 years period. The growing power of Chines box-office and its future prospects is then the crucial and potentially disturbing factor for persistence of global Hollywood reality. The paper is based on market statistical data. The main findings of the analysis are defining of essential obstacles for the development of Chinese market and its foreign expansion. However, the new strategies employed by the industry (acquisitions of cinema chains abroad, blockbuster made with the involvement of figures from Hollywood star system, coproduction ties within Pacific basin) could be a successful remedy for current shortcomings. The main factor for development will be wider economical framework and maintenance of growth pace. The future state of Chinese film market will be one of the main factors shaping global film culture and film market in following decades of XXI century.

Keywords: production studies, film market, Chinese film market, distribution

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Authors: Z. Chekini, P. Afsharian, F. Ramezanali, A. A. Akhlaghi, R. Aflatoonian

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Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) is a key pro-inflammatory cytokine that involves in pathophysiological events of endometriosis. We aimed to evaluate the association between mRNA expression levels and polymorphisms of MIF in endometriosis. Seventy endometriosis patients and 70 volunteer fertile women were recruited. RFLP was applied to determine -173G/C polymorphism. ORF polymorphisms and -794(CATT)5-8 were detected by sequencing. Q-PCR was used for expression study of 14 ectopic tissues of patients. Homozygote of CATT5 was observed only in controls. The CATT5/G haplotype related to controls (p=0.094, OR=0.61). Expression level of MIF with -794(CATT)6,7/-173GC was significantly more than the other haplotypes (p=0.00). We identified four SNPs including: +254rs2096525 (p=0.843), +626rs33958703 (p=0.029), +656rs2070766 (p=0.703) and +509rs182012324 (p=1.00). In conclusion, increased repeat of CATT and presence of C allele in promoter of MIF were significantly associated with mRNA level in patients. It seems that +509rs182012324 and +626rs33958703 SNPs were significantly correlated with susceptibility to endometriosis.

Keywords: endometriosis, haplotype, macrophage migration inhibitory factor, polymorphism

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Authors: Yih-Chien Chen, Tse-Lung Lin

Abstract:

The microwave characteristics of NdTi₍₀.₅₋ₓ₎GeₓMo₀.₅O₄ are studied to determine the feasibility of their use in the liquid sensor. The microwave characteristics of NdTi₍₀.₅₋ₓ₎GeₓMo₀.₅O₄ are determined using X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns. The permittivity (𝜀r) of NdTi₍₀.₄₉₎Ge₀.₀₁Mo₀.₅O₄ that is sintered at 1425 ℃ for 4 h is 17.6, the unloaded quality factor (Qu×f) is 33,400 GHz, and it has a temperature coefficient at the resonance frequency (TCF) of -30.7 ppm/℃. The proposed liquid sensor is at the 5G FR1 bands.

Keywords: NdTi₍₀.₅₋ₓ₎GeₓMo₀.₅O₄, X-ray diffraction pattern, permittivity, Unloaded quality factor

Procedia PDF Downloads 266