Search results for: the separation and balance of powers in the state

Authors: B. Prashantha, S. Anish

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The aim of the present study is to computationally evaluate the hemodynamic factors which affect the formation of atherosclerosis and plaque rupture in the human artery. An increase of atherosclerosis disease in the artery causes geometry changes, which results in hemodynamic changes such as flow separation, reattachment, and adhesion of new cells (chemotactic) in the artery. Hence, geometry plays an important role in the determining the nature of hemodynamic patterns. Influence of stenosis in the non-bifurcating artery, under pulsatile flow condition, has been studied on an idealized geometry. Analysis of flow through symmetric and asymmetric stenosis in the artery revealed the significance of oscillating shear index (OSI), flow separation, low WSS zones and secondary flow patterns on plaque formation. The observed characteristic of flow in the post-stenotic region highlight the importance of plaque eccentricity on the formation of secondary stenosis on the arterial wall.

Keywords: atherosclerotic plaque, oscillatory shear index, stenosis nature, wall shear stress

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Authors: S. Sabatino, V. Calderaro, V. Galdi, G. Graber, L. Ippolito

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Climate change is a rapidly growing global threat caused mainly by increased emissions of carbon dioxide (CO₂) into the atmosphere. These emissions come from multiple sources, including industry, power generation, and the transport sector. The need to tackle climate change and reduce CO₂ emissions is indisputable. A crucial solution to achieving decarbonization in the transport sector is the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs). These vehicles use lithium (Li-Ion) batteries as an energy source, making them extremely efficient and with low direct emissions. However, Li-Ion batteries are not without problems, including the risk of overheating and performance degradation. To ensure its safety and longevity, it is essential to use a battery management system (BMS). The BMS constantly monitors battery status, adjusts temperature and cell balance, ensuring optimal performance and preventing dangerous situations. From the monitoring carried out, it is also able to optimally manage the battery to increase its life. Among the parameters monitored by the BMS, the main ones are State of Charge (SoC), State of Health (SoH), and State of Power (SoP). The evaluation of these parameters can be carried out in two ways: offline, using benchtop batteries tested in the laboratory, or online, using batteries installed in moving vehicles. Online estimation is the preferred approach, as it relies on capturing real-time data from batteries while operating in real-life situations, such as in everyday EV use. Actual battery usage conditions are highly variable. Moving vehicles are exposed to a wide range of factors, including temperature variations, different driving styles, and complex charge/discharge cycles. This variability is difficult to replicate in a controlled laboratory environment and can greatly affect performance and battery life. Online estimation captures this variety of conditions, providing a more accurate assessment of battery behavior in real-world situations. In this article, a hybrid approach based on a neural network and a statistical method for real-time estimation of SoC, SoH, and SoP parameters of interest is proposed. These parameters are estimated from the analysis of a one-day driving profile of an electric vehicle, assumed to be divided into the following four phases: (i) Partial discharge (SoC 100% - SoC 50%), (ii) Partial discharge (SoC 50% - SoC 80%), (iii) Deep Discharge (SoC 80% - SoC 30%) (iv) Full charge (SoC 30% - SoC 100%). The neural network predicts the values of ohmic resistance and incremental capacity, while the statistical method is used to estimate the parameters of interest. This reduces the complexity of the model and improves its prediction accuracy. The effectiveness of the proposed model is evaluated by analyzing its performance in terms of square mean error (RMSE) and percentage error (MAPE) and comparing it with the reference method found in the literature.

Keywords: electric vehicle, Li-Ion battery, BMS, state-of-charge, state-of-health, state-of-power, artificial neural networks

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Authors: Marc Gärtner, Monika Huesmann, Katharina Schiederig

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While workplace flexibility provides opportunities to better balance work and family care, careers in management are still predominantly based on physical presence, blurred boundaries and a culture of availability at the workplace. Thus, carers (mostly women) still experience disadvantages and stalled careers. In a multi-case study, funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, success factors and barriers of flexible work arrangements in five big organizations, including three of the largest German companies, have been identified. Using qualitative interview methods, the working models of 10 female and male users of flexible work arrangements like part time, home office and job sharing have been studied. The study group applied a 360-degree approach with focus groups, covering the users’ themselves, their superiors, colleagues and staff as well as in-house human resource managers. The group interviews reveal that success of flexible models is mainly built on three factors: (a) the inclusiveness of the organizational culture, (b) the commitment of leaders and especially the supervisors, and (c) the fitting of the model and the user(s). Flexibilization of time and space can indeed contribute to a better work-life balance. This is, however, not a necessary outcome, as the interviews suggest, but depends on the right implementation of the right model in the particular work environment. Beyond the actual study results, the presentation will also assess the methodological approach.

Keywords: flexible work, leadership, organizational culture, work-life balance

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Authors: Nosheen Zareen Khan, Abdul Majeed Siddiqui, Muhammad Afzal Rana

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The steady flow of a second order fluid through constricted tube with slip velocity at wall is modeled and analyzed theoretically. The governing equations are simplified by implying no slip in radial direction. Based on Karman Pohlhausen procedure polynomial solution for axial velocity profile is presented. An expressions for pressure gradient, shear stress, separation and reattachment points and radial velocity are also calculated. The effect of slip and no slip velocity on velocity, shear stress, pressure gradient are discussed and depicted graphically. It is noted that when Reynolds number increases velocity of the fluid decreases in both slip and no slip conditions. It is also found that the wall shear stress, separation and reattachment points are strongly effected by Reynolds number.

Keywords: approximate solution, constricted tube, non-Newtonian fluids, Reynolds number

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Authors: Ngozi Claribelle Nwogu, Mohammed Nasir Kajama, Godson Osueke, Edward Gobina

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A unique sol–gel dip-coating process to form an asymmetric silica membrane with improved membrane performance and reproducibility has been reported. First, we deposited repeatedly a silica solution on top of a commercial alumina membrane support to improve its structural make up. The coated membrane is further processed under clean room conditions to avoid dust impurity and subsequent drying in an oven for high thermal, chemical and physical stability. The resulting asymmetric membrane exhibits a gradual change in the membrane layer thickness. Compared to a single-layer process using only the membrane support, the dual-layer process improves both flux and selectivity. For the scientifically significant difficulties of natural gas purification, collective CO2, CH4 and H2 gas fluxes and separation factors obtained gave reasonably excellent values. In addition, the membrane selectively separated hydrogen as demonstrated by a high concentration of hydrogen recovery.

Keywords: gas permeation, silica membrane, separation factor, membrane layer thickness

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Authors: Rasaq Bello, Grace Akintola Sunday, Yemi Sikiru Onifade

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Groundwater is required for the continuity of life and sustainability of the ecosystem. Hence, this research was purposed to assess groundwater quality for domestic use in Kaltungo Local Government Area, Gombe State. The work was also aimed at determining the thickness and resistivity of the topsoil, areas suitable for borehole construction, quality and potentials of groundwater in the study area. The study area extends from latitude N10015’38” - E11008’01” and longitude N10019’29” - E11013’05”. The data was acquired using the Vertical Electrical Sounding (VES) method and processed using IP12win software. Twenty (20) Vertical Electrical Soundings were carried out with a maximum current electrode separation (AB) of 150m. The VES curves generated from the data reveal that all the VES points have five to six subsurface layers. The first layer has a resistivity value of 7.5 to 364.1 Ωm and a thickness ranging from 0.8 to 7.4m, and the second layer has a resistivity value of 1.8 to 600.3 Ωm thickness ranging from 2.6 to 31.4m, the third layer has resistivity value of 23.3 to 564.4 Ωm thickness ranging from 10.3 to 77.8m, the fourth layer has resistivity value of 19.7 to 640.2 Ωm thickness ranging from 8.2m to 120.0m, the fifth layer has resistivity value of 27 to 234 Ωm thickness ranging from 8.2 to 53.7m and the six-layer is the layer that extended beyond the probing depth. The VES curves generated from the data revealed KQHA curve type for VES 1, HKQQ curve for VES 4, HKQ curve for VES 5, KHA curve for VES 11, QQHK curve for VES 12, HAA curve for VES 6 and VES 19, HAKH curve for VES 7, VES 8, VES 10 and VES 18, HKH curve for VES 2, VES 3, VES 9, VES 13, VES 14, VES 15, VES 16, VES 17 and VES 20. Values of the Coefficient of Anisotropy, Reflection Coefficient, and Resistivity Contrast obtained from the Dar-Zarrouk parameters indicated good water prospects for all the VES points in this study, with VES points 4, 9 and 18 having the highest prospects for groundwater exploration.

Keywords: formation parameters, groundwater, resistivity, resistivity contrast, vertical electrical sounding

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Authors: Muhammad Umair, Syed Qasim Gilani

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A technique using Independent Component Analysis (ICA) for blind receiver signal processing is investigated. The problem of the receiver signal processing is viewed as of signal equalization and implementation imperfections compensation. Based on this, a model similar to a general ICA problem is developed for the received signal. Then, the use of ICA technique for blind signal equalization in the time domain is presented. The equalization is regarded as a signal separation problem, since the desired signal is separated from interference terms. This problem is addressed in the paper by over-sampling of the received signal. By using ICA for equalization, besides channel equalization, other transmission imperfections such as Direct current (DC) bias offset, carrier phase and In phase Quadrature phase imbalance will also be corrected. Simulation results for a system using 16-Quadraure Amplitude Modulation(QAM) are presented to show the performance of the proposed scheme.

Keywords: blind equalization, blind signal separation, equalization, independent component analysis, transmission impairments, QAM receiver

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Authors: Aljabryn Dalal Hamad

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The present explanatory study concerns with the relation between Diabetes Mellitus and Food Balance in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia during 2005-2010, using published data. Results illustrated that Saudi citizen daily protein consumption (DPC) during 2005-2007 (g/capita/day) is higher than the average global consumption level of protein with 15.27%, daily fat consumption (DFC) with 24.56% and daily energy consumption (DEC) with 16.93% and increases than recommended level by International Nutrition Organizations (INO) with 56% for protein, 60.49% for fat and 27.37% for energy. On the other hand, DPC per capita in Saudi Arabia decreased during the period 2008-2010 from 88.3 to 82.36 gram/ day. Moreover, DFC per capita in Saudi Arabia decreased during the period 2008-2010 from 3247.90 to 3176.43 Cal/capita/ day, and daily energy consumption (DEC) of Saudi citizen increases than world consumption with 16.93%, while increases with 27.37% than INO. Despite this, DPC, DFC and DEC per capita in Saudi Arabia still higher than world mean. On the other side, results illustrated that the number of diabetic patients in Saudi Arabia during the same period (2005-2010). The curve of diabetic patient’s number in Saudi Arabia during 2005-2010 is regular ascending with increasing level ranged between 7.10% in 2005 and 12.44% in 2010. It is essential to devise Saudi National programs to educate the public about the relation of food balances and diabetes so it could be avoided, and provide citizens with healthy dietary balances tables.

Keywords: Diabetes mellitus, food balance, energy, fat, protein, Saudi Arabia

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Authors: Agata Matuszewska, Małgorzata Syczewska

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The movement of the upper limbs contributes significantly to balance control while walking in humans. However, the impact of different arm swing modes on gait stability is yet to be determined. This work intends to establish numerical parameters for assessing the arm swing. Nineteen people, comprising fifteen young, healthy individuals, two middle-aged individuals, and two individuals with dysfunctions, were analyzed using the movement analysis system. Proposed parameters such as ASᵢₐ (reflecting the arm swing amplitude) and Pearson’s correlation coefficient between the right and left upper limbs can be used to classify the type of movement task each participant performs. The results indicate that the ASᵢₐ parameter could potentially detect any abnormalities in upper limb functions, which may be due to musculoskeletal disorders or other malfunctions.

Keywords: arm swing, human balance, interlimb coordination, motion analysis system

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Authors: Hassan Habibi, Hossein Soltani, Amir Moghadam, Najmeh Bakhshi

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The purpose of this study was to compare competitive state anxiety among elite and non-elite futsal players and its relationship with situational factors. 130 non-elite and 70 elite male futsal players participated in the study. Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 and situational factors Inventory were applied. Data was analyzed using one-way ANOVA and product moment correlation. Results showed there was significant difference between competitive state anxiety subscales (cognitive anxiety somatic anxiety & self-confidence) and situational factors among elite and non-elite futsal players (P<0.05) but there was no significant correlations between situational factors subscales among elite and non-elite futsal players (P<0.05).

Keywords: competitive state anxiety, situational factors, elite players, non-elite players

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Authors: Sim Nee Ting, Lan Eng Ng

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Standard forms of contract in Malaysia are pre-written, printed contractual documents drafted by recognised authoritative bodies in order to describe the rights and obligations of the contracting parties in all construction projects in Malaysia. Studies and form revisions are usually conducted in a relatively random and qualitative manner, but the search of contractual documents idealization remains. It is not clear how these qualitative findings could be helpful for contractual documents improvements and re-drafting. This study aims to quantitatively and systematically analyse and evaluate the rights and obligations of the contracting parties as stated in the standard forms of contract. The Institution of Engineers Malaysia (IEM) published a new standard form of contract in 2012 with a total of 63 classes but the improvements and changes in the newly revised form that are yet to be analysed. IEM form will be used as the case study for this study. Every clause in this said form were interpreted and analysed according to the involved parties including contractor, engineer and employer. Modified from Matrix Method and Likert Scale, the result analysis were conducted based on a scale from 0 to 1 with five ratings namely “Very Unbalance”, “Unbalance”, “Balance”, “Good Balance” and “Very Good Balance”. It is hoped that quantitative method of form study can be used for future form revisions and any new forms drafting so to reduce on any subjectivity in standard forms of contract studies.

Keywords: contracting parties, Malaysia, obligations, quantitative measurement, rights, standard form of contract

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Authors: Shabnam Dadparvar, Laijin Shen

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After a period of conflict between Russia and the West, new signs of confrontation between the United States and China are observed. China, as the most populous country in the world with a high rate of economic growth, neither stands the hegemonic power of the United States nor has the intention of direct confrontation with it. By raising the costs of the United States’ leadership at the international level, China seeks to find a better status without direct confrontation with the US. Meanwhile, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), as a soft balancing strategy against the hegemony of the United States is used as a tool to reach this goal. The authors by using a descriptive-analytical method try to explain the policies of China and the United States on Shanghai Cooperation Organization as well as confrontation between these two countries within the framework of 'balance of soft power theory'.

Keywords: balance of soft power, Central Asia, Shanghai cooperation organization, terrorism

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Authors: Y. M. Aiyesimi, G. T. Okedayo, O. W. Lawal

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The analysis has been carried out to study unsteady MHD thin film flow of a third grade fluid down an inclined plane with heat transfer when the slippage between the surface of plane and the lower surface of the fluid is valid. The governing nonlinear partial differential equations involved are reduced to linear partial differential equations using regular perturbation method. The resulting equations were solved analytically using method of separation of variable and eigenfunctions expansion. The solutions obtained were examined and discussed graphically. It is interesting to find that the variation of the velocity and temperature profile with the slip and magnetic field parameter depends on time.

Keywords: non-Newtonian fluid, MHD flow, thin film flow, third grade fluid, slip boundary condition, heat transfer, separation of variable, eigenfunction expansion

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Authors: Salah Al-Din I. Badran, Samad Ahmadi, Ismail Shahin

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A blind source separation method is proposed; in this method we use a non-uniform filter bank and a novel normalisation. This method provides a reduced computational complexity and increased convergence speed comparing to the full-band algorithm. Recently, adaptive sub-band scheme has been recommended to solve two problems: reduction of computational complexity and increase the convergence speed of the adaptive algorithm for correlated input signals. In this work the reduction in computational complexity is achieved with the use of adaptive filters of orders less than the full-band adaptive filters, which operate at a sampling rate lower than the sampling rate of the input signal. The decomposed signals by analysis bank filter are less correlated in each sub-band than the input signal at full bandwidth, and can promote better rates of convergence.

Keywords: blind source separation, computational complexity, subband, convergence speed, mixture

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Authors: Alaa A. Ghanem, S. E. M. Desouky

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Natural gas (NG) is considered one of the most essential global energy sources. NG fields are often far away from the market, and a long-distance transporting pipeline usually is required. Production of NG with high content of CO₂ leads to severe problems such as equipment corrosion along with the production line until refinery.in addition to a high level of toxicity and decreasing in calorific value of the NG. So it is recommended to remove or decrease the CO₂ percent to meet transport specifications. This can be reached using different removal techniques such as physical and chemical absorption, pressure swing adsorption, membrane separation, or low-temperature separation. Many solvents and chemicals are being used to capture carbon dioxide on a large scale; among them, Ionic liquids have great potential due to their tunable properties; low vapour pressure, low melting point, and sensible thermal stability. In this research, three modifiedimidazolium ionic liquids will be synthesized and characterized using different tools of analysis such as FT-IR, 1H NMR. Thermal stability and surface activity will be studied. The synthesized compounds will be evaluated as selective solvents for CO₂ removal from natural gas using PVT cell.

Keywords: natural gas, CO₂ capture, imidazolium ionic liquid, PVT cell

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Authors: Ben Main Piotr Ozieranski

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State government spending on pharmaceuticals stands at 1 trillion USD globally, promoting criticism of the pharmaceutical industry's monetization of drug efficacy, product cost overvaluation, and health injustice. This paper elucidates the mechanisms behind a state-institutional response to this problem through the sociological lens of the strategic relational approach to state power. To do so, 30 expert interviews, legal and policy documents are drawn on to explain how state elites in New Zealand have successfully contested a 30-year “pharmaceutical spending containment policy”. Proceeding from Jessop's notion of strategic “selectivity”, encompassing analyses of the enabling features of state actors' ability to harness state structures, a theoretical explanation is advanced. First, a strategic context is described that consists of dynamics around pharmaceutical dealmaking between the state bureaucracy, pharmaceutical pricing strategies (and their effects), and the industry. Centrally, the pricing strategy of "bundling" -deals for packages of drugs that combine older and newer patented products- reflect how state managers have instigated an “incentivization game” that is played by state and industry actors, including HTA professionals, over pharmaceutical products (both current and in development). Second, a protective context is described that is comprised of successive legislative-judicial responses to the strategic context and characterized by the regulation and the societalisation of commercial law. Third, within the policy, the achievement of increased pharmaceutical coverage (pharmaceutical “mix”) alongside contained spending is conceptualized as a state defence of a "social profit". As such, in contrast to scholarly expectations that political and economic cultures of neo-liberalism drive pharmaceutical policy-making processes, New Zealand's state elites' approach is shown to be antipathetic to neo-liberals within an overall capitalist economy. The paper contributes an analysis of state pricing strategies and how they are embedded in state regulatory structures. Additionally, through an analysis of the interconnections of state power and pharmaceutical value Abrahams's neo-liberal corporate bias model for pharmaceutical policy analysis is problematised.

Keywords: pharmaceutical governance, pharmaceutical bureaucracy, pricing strategies, state power, value theory

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Authors: Gaurav Upadhyay, Nand Kishore, Prashant Ranjan, V. S. Tripathi, Shivesh Tripathi

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A frequency reconfigurable multiband antenna for intelligent transportation system (ITS) applications is proposed in this paper. A PIN-diode is used for reconfigurability. Centre frequencies are 1.38, 1.98, 2.89, 3.86, and 4.34 GHz in “ON” state of Diode and 1.56, 2.16, 2.88, 3.91 and 4.45 GHz in “OFF” state. Achieved maximum bandwidth is 18%. The maximum gain of the proposed antenna is 2.7 dBi in “ON” state and 3.95 dBi in “OFF” state of the diode. The antenna is simulated, fabricated, and tested in the lab. Measured and simulated results are in good confirmation.

Keywords: ITS, multiband antenna, PIN-diode, reconfigurable

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Authors: Tomer Einat, Sharon Rabinovitz, Inbal Harel-Aviram

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This study explores men’s motivation and justification to remain married to their criminal, imprisoned wives. Using semi-structured interviews and content-analysis, data were collected and analyzed from eight men who maintain stable marriage relationships with their incarcerated wives. Participants are normative men who describe incarceration as a challenge that enhances mutual responsibility and commitment. They exaggerate the extent to which their partners resemble archetypal romantic ideals. They use motivational accounts to explain the woman’s criminal conduct, which is perceived as non-relevant to her real identity. Physical separation and lack of physical intimacy are perceived as the major difficulties in maintaining their marriage relations. Length of imprisonment and marriage was found to be related to the decision whether to continue or terminate the relationships. Women-inmates’ partners experience difficulties and use coping strategies very similar to those cited by other normative spouses facing lengthy separation.

Keywords: female inmates, marriage, normative spouses, romantic accounts

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Authors: Eyob Hundessa Gose

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Nowadays, it is obviously known that the construction of different infrastructures is one measurement of the development of a country; infrastructures like buildings, bridges, roads, and railways are among them. In the capital city of Ethiopia, the so-called Addis Ababa, the Light Rail Train (LRT), was built Four years ago to satisfy the demand for transportation among the people in the city. The lane of the Train and vehicle separation Media was built with a curb and rail guard installation system to show the right-of-way and for protection of vehicles entering the Train Lane, but this Rail guard fails easily when impacted by vehicles and found that the impact load response of the Rail guard is weak and the Rail guard cannot withstand impact load. This study investigates the effect of variation of parameters such as vehicle speed and different mass effects and assesses the failure mode FRP and Steel reinforcement bar rail guards of deflection and damage state.

Keywords: impact load, fiber reinforced polymer, rail guard, LS-DYNA

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Authors: Jun Won Kim

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Objective: Theta-phase gamma-amplitude coupling (TGC) was used as a novel evidence-based tool to reflect the dysfunctional cortico-thalamic interaction in patients with schizophrenia. However, to our best knowledge, no studies have reported the diagnostic utility of the TGC in the resting-state electroencephalographic (EEG) of neuroleptic-naive patients with schizophrenia compared to healthy controls. Thus, the purpose of this EEG study was to understand the underlying mechanisms in patients with schizophrenia by comparing the TGC at rest between two groups and to evaluate the diagnostic utility of TGC. Method: The subjects included 90 patients with schizophrenia and 90 healthy controls. All patients were diagnosed with schizophrenia according to the criteria of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition (DSM-IV) by two independent psychiatrists using semi-structured clinical interviews. Because patients were either drug-naïve (first episode) or had not been taking psychoactive drugs for one month before the study, we could exclude the influence of medications. Five frequency bands were defined for spectral analyses: delta (1–4 Hz), theta (4–8 Hz), slow alpha (8–10 Hz), fast alpha (10–13.5 Hz), beta (13.5–30 Hz), and gamma (30-80 Hz). The spectral power of the EEG data was calculated with fast Fourier Transformation using the 'spectrogram.m' function of the signal processing toolbox in Matlab. An analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was performed to compare the TGC results between the groups, which were adjusted using a Bonferroni correction (P < 0.05/19 = 0.0026). Receiver operator characteristic (ROC) analysis was conducted to examine the discriminating ability of the TGC data for schizophrenia diagnosis. Results: The patients with schizophrenia showed a significant increase in the resting-state TGC at all electrodes. The delta, theta, slow alpha, fast alpha, and beta powers showed low accuracies of 62.2%, 58.4%, 56.9%, 60.9%, and 59.0%, respectively, in discriminating the patients with schizophrenia from the healthy controls. The ROC analysis performed on the TGC data generated the most accurate result among the EEG measures, displaying an overall classification accuracy of 92.5%. Conclusion: As TGC includes phase, which contains information about neuronal interactions from the EEG recording, TGC is expected to be useful for understanding the mechanisms the dysfunctional cortico-thalamic interaction in patients with schizophrenia. The resting-state TGC value was increased in the patients with schizophrenia compared to that in the healthy controls and had a higher discriminating ability than the other parameters. These findings may be related to the compensatory hyper-arousal patterns of the dysfunctional default-mode network (DMN) in schizophrenia. Further research exploring the association between TGC and medical or psychiatric conditions that may confound EEG signals will help clarify the potential utility of TGC.

Keywords: quantitative electroencephalography (QEEG), theta-phase gamma-amplitude coupling (TGC), schizophrenia, diagnostic utility

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Authors: Jia Wang, Wanting Zhang, Yutong Xv, Zihan Guo, Weiguang Ma

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Background: Before becoming qualified nurses, newly graduated nurses(NGNs) must experience a painful transition period, even transition shocks. Transition shocks are public health issues. To address the transition issue of NGNs, many programs or interventions have been developed and implemented. However, there are no studies to understand and assess the transition state of newly graduated nurses from work to life, from external abilities to internal emotions. Aims: Assess the transition status of newly graduated nurses in China. Identify the factors influencing the transition status of newly graduated nurses. Methods: The multi-center cross-sectional study design was adopted. From May 2022 to June 2023, 1261 newly graduated nurse in hospitals were surveyed online with the the Demographic Questionnaire and Transition Status Scale for Newly Graduated Nurses. SPSS 26.0 were used for data input and statistical analysis. Statistic description were adopted to evaluate the demographic characteristics and transition status of NGNs. Independent-samples T-test, Analysis of Variance and Multiple regression analysis was used to explore the influencing factors of transition status. Results: The total average score of Transition Status Scale for Newly Graduated Nurses was 4.00（SD = 0.61）. Among the various dimensions of Transition Status, the highest dimension was competence for nursing work, while the lowest dimension was balance between work and life. The results showed factors influencing the transition status of NGNs include taught by senior nurses, night shift status, internship department, attribute of working hospital, province of work and residence, educational background, reasons for choosing nursing, types of hospital, and monthly income. Conclusion: At present, the transition status score of new nurses in China is relatively high, and NGNs are more likely to agree with their own transition status, especially the dimension of competence for nursing work. However, they have a poor level of excess in terms of life-work balance. Nursing managers should reasonably arrange the working hours of NGNs, promote their work-life balance, increase the salary and reward mechanism of NGNs, arrange experienced nursing mentors to teach, optimize the level of hospitals, provide suitable positions for NGNs with different educational backgrounds, pay attention to the culture shock of NGNs from other provinces, etc. Optimize human resource management by intervening in these factors that affect the transition of new nurses and promote a better transition of new nurses.

Keywords: newly graduated nurse, transition, humanistic car, nursing management, nursing practice education

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Authors: Yahya A. Sadiq, Grace F. Balogun, Olufemi J. Anjorin

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This study analyzed the spatial distribution of socio-economic factors in Kogi state with a view to examining its implications on the development of the state. Consequently, questionnaires were administered on both the selected individual respondents (784) in the state and on the administrative offices (local council offices, 21) to solicit relevant information on the spatial distribution of socio-economic factors in their areas. The collected data were tabulated and analyzed using percentages. The study revealed commerce/trade, education, and health care, etc. as the major socio-economic factors in the state but with marked variation/imbalance in their spatial distribution across the study area. The rural-based local government areas have far less of such important facilities. Conclusively, it was recommended that there is need for socio-economic transformation of living conditions of people in the study area especially by positively redistributing local political power and the resources that are abound in the state will be felt by everybody including the commoners.

Keywords: development, local government areas (LGAs), spatial distribution, socio-economic factors

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Authors: Amina Lyria Deghal Cheridi, Abla Chaker, Ahcene Loubar

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Relap5 system code is one among powerful tools, which is used in the area of design and safety evaluation. This work aims to simulate the behavior of a radiant steam boiler at the steady-state conditions using Relap5 code system. To perform this study, a detailed Relap5 model is built including all the parts of the steam boiler. The control and regulation systems are also considered. To reproduce the most important parameters and phenomena with an acceptable accuracy and fidelity, a strong qualification work is undertaken concerning the facility nodalization. It consists of making a comparison between the code results and the plant available data in steady-state operation mode. Therefore, the model qualification results at the steady-state are in good agreement with the steam boiler experimental data. The steam boiler Relap5 model has proved satisfactory; and the model was capable of predicting the main thermal-hydraulic steady-state conditions of the steam boiler.

Keywords: industrial steam boiler, model qualification, natural circulation, relap5/mod3.2, steady state simulation

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Authors: Shouyong Zhou, Meisheng Li, Yijiang Zhao

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The environmentally acceptable disposal of oily wastewater is a current challenge to many industries. The membrane separation technologies, which is no phase change, without pharmaceutical dosing, reprocessing costs low, less energy consumption, etc., have been widely applied in oily wastewater treatment. In our lab, a kind of low cost ceramic microfiltration membranes with a separation layer of attapulgite nanofibers (attapulgite nanofiber-like microfiltration membranes) has been prepared and applied in the purification of cellulase fermentation broth and TiO2 nanoparticles system successfully. In this paper, this new attapulgite nanofiber-like microfiltration membrane was selected to try to separate water from oily wastewater. The oil-in water emulsion was obtained from mixing 1 g/L engine oil, 0.5 g/L Tween-80, 0.5 g/L Span-80 and distilled water at mild speed in blender for 2 min. The particle size distribution of the oil-in-water emulsion was controlled. The maximum steady flux and COD rejection for a 0.2 um attapulgite nanofiber-like microfiltration membrane can reach about 450 L. m-2. h-1 and 98% at 0.2 MPa. The results obtained in this work indicated that the attapulgite microfiltration membrane may represent a feasible pretreatment for oily wastewater.

Keywords: attapulgite, microfiltration membrane, oily wastewater, cross-flow filtration

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Authors: Ailing Yang, Penghan Song, Aihua Cai

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The nonlinear maneuvering target tracking problem is mainly a state estimation problem when the target motion model is uncertain. Traditional solutions include Kalman filtering based on Bayesian filtering framework and extended Kalman filtering. However, these methods need prior knowledge such as kinematics model and state system distribution, and their performance is poor in state estimation of nonprior complex dynamic systems. Therefore, in view of the problems existing in traditional algorithms, a convolution LSTM target state estimation (SAConvLSTM-SE) algorithm based on Self-Attention memory (SAM) is proposed to learn the historical motion state of the target and the error distribution information measured at the current time. The measured track point data of airborne radar are processed into data sets. After supervised training, the data-driven deep neural network based on SAConvLSTM can directly obtain the target state at the next moment. Through experiments on two different maneuvering targets, we find that the network has stronger robustness and better tracking accuracy than the existing tracking methods.

Keywords: maneuvering target, state estimation, Kalman filter, LSTM, self-attention

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Authors: Darshani Premaratne, Afshin Kandampath Puthiyadath

Abstract:

The Government of Qatar is taking active steps in improving quality of health care industry in the state of Qatar. In this initiative development and market introduction of Clinical Information System and Electronic Health Record (EHR) system are proved to be a highly challenging process. Along with an organization specialized on EHR system development and with the blessing of Health Ministry of Qatar the process of introduction of EHR system in Qatar healthcare industry was undertaken. Initially a market survey was carried out to understand the requirements. Secondly, the available government regulations, needs and possible upcoming regulations were carefully studied before deployment of resources for software development. Sufficient flexibility was allowed to cater for both the changes in the market and the regulations. As the first initiative a system that enables integration of referral network where referral clinic and laboratory system for all single doctor (and small scale) clinics was developed. Setting of isolated single doctor clinics all over the state to bring in to an integrated referral network along with a referral hospital need a coherent steering force and a solid top down framework. This paper discusses about the lessons learned in developing, in obtaining approval of the health ministry and in introduction to the industry of the single doctor referral network along with an EHR system. It was concluded that development of this nature required continues balance between the market requirements and upcoming regulations. Further accelerating the development based on the emerging needs, implementation based on the end user needs while tallying with the regulations, diffusion, and uptake of demand-driven and evidence-based products, tools, strategies, and proper utilization of findings were equally found paramount in successful development of end product. Development of full scale Clinical Information System and EHR system are underway based on the lessons learned. The Government of Qatar is taking active steps in improving quality of health care industry in the state of Qatar. In this initiative development and market introduction of Clinical Information System and Electronic Health Record (EHR) system are proved to be a highly challenging process. Along with an organization specialized on EHR system development and with the blessing of Health Ministry of Qatar the process of introduction of EHR system in Qatar healthcare industry was undertaken. Initially a market survey was carried out to understand the requirements. Secondly the available government regulations, needs and possible upcoming regulations were carefully studied before deployment of resources for software development. Sufficient flexibility was allowed to cater for both the changes in the market and the regulations. As the first initiative a system that enables integration of referral network where referral clinic and laboratory system for all single doctor (and small scale) clinics was developed. Setting of isolated single doctor clinics all over the state to bring in to an integrated referral network along with a referral hospital need a coherent steering force and a solid top down framework. This paper discusses about the lessons learned in developing, in obtaining approval of the health ministry and in introduction to the industry of the single doctor referral network along with an EHR system. It was concluded that development of this nature required continues balance between the market requirements and upcoming regulations. Further accelerating the development based on the emerging needs, implementation based on the end user needs while tallying with the regulations, diffusion, and uptake of demand-driven and evidence-based products, tools, strategies, and proper utilization of findings were equally found paramount in successful development of end product. Development of full scale Clinical Information System and EHR system are underway based on the lessons learned.

Keywords: clinical information system, electronic health record, state regulations, integrated referral network of clinics

Procedia PDF Downloads 348

Authors: Mohamed H. Sorour, Hayam F. Shaalan, Heba A. Hani, Eman S. Sayed

Abstract:

Ion exchange adsorption has a long standing history of success for seawater softening and selective ion removal from saline sources. Strong, weak and mixed types ion exchange systems could be designed and optimized for target separation. In this paper, different types of adsorbents comprising zeolite 13X and kaolin, in addition to, poly acrylate/zeolite (AZ), poly acrylate/kaolin (AK) and stand-alone poly acrylate (A) hydrogel types were prepared via microwave (M) and ultrasonic (U) irradiation techniques. They were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The developed adsorbents were evaluated on bench scale level and based on assessment results, a composite bed has been formulated for performance evaluation in pilot scale column investigations. Owing to the hydrogel nature of the partially crosslinked poly acrylate, the developed adsorbents manifested a swelling capacity of about 50 g/g. The pilot trials have been carried out using magnesium enriched Red Seawater to simulate Red Seawater desalination brine. Batch studies indicated varying uptake efficiencies, where Mg adsorption decreases according to the following prepared hydrogel types AU>AM>AKM>AKU>AZM>AZU, being 108, 107, 78, 69, 66 and 63 mg/g, respectively. Composite bed adsorbent tested in the up-flow mode column studies indicated good performance for Mg uptake. For an operating cycle of 12 h, the maximum uptake during the loading cycle approached 92.5-100 mg/g, which is comparable to the performance of some commercial resins. Different regenerants have been explored to maximize regeneration and minimize the quantity of regenerants including 15% NaCl, 0.1 M HCl and sodium carbonate. Best results were obtained by acidified sodium chloride solution. In conclusion, developed cation exchange adsorbents comprising clay or zeolite support indicated adequate performance for Mg recovery under saline environment. Column design operated at the up-flow mode (approaching expanded bed) is appropriate for such type of separation. Preliminary cost indicators for Mg recovery via ion exchange have been developed and analyzed.

Keywords: batch and dynamic magnesium separation, seawater, polyacrylate hydrogel, cost evaluation

Procedia PDF Downloads 119

Authors: Amber C. W. Vandepoele, Michael A. Marciano

Abstract:

Biological analyses frequently focus on single organisms, however many times, the biological sample consists of more than the target organism; for example, human microbiome research targets bacterial DNA, yet most samples consist largely of human DNA. Therefore, there would be an advantage to removing these contaminating organisms. Conversely, some analyses focus on a single organism but would greatly benefit from the additional information regarding the other organismal components of the sample. Forensic analysis is one such example, wherein most forensic casework, human DNA is targeted; however, it typically exists in complex non-pristine sample substrates such as soil or unclean surfaces. These complex samples are commonly comprised of not just human tissue but also microbial and plant life, where these organisms may help gain more forensically relevant information about a specific location or interaction. This project aims to optimize a ‘phylogenetic’ differential extraction method that will separate mammalian, bacterial and plant cells in a mixed sample. This is accomplished through the use of size exclusion separation, whereby the different cell types are separated through multiple filtrations using 5 μm filters. The components are then lysed via differential enzymatic sensitivities among the cells and extracted with minimal contribution from the preceding component. This extraction method will then allow complex DNA samples to be more easily interpreted through non-targeting sequencing since the data will not be skewed toward the smaller and usually more numerous bacterial DNAs. This research project has demonstrated that this ‘phylogenetic’ differential extraction method successfully separated the epithelial and bacterial cells from each other with minimal cell loss. We will take this one step further, showing that when adding the plant cells into the mixture, they will be separated and extracted from the sample. Research is ongoing, and results are pending.

Keywords: DNA isolation, geolocation, non-human, phylogenetic separation

Procedia PDF Downloads 92

Authors: Elisa Esposito, Johannes C. Jansen, Loredana Dellamuzia, Ugo Moretti, Lidietta Giorno

Abstract:

The reduction of CO₂ emission into the atmosphere as a result of human activity is one of the most important environmental challenges to face in the next decennia. Emission of CO₂, related to the use of fossil fuels, is believed to be one of the main causes of global warming and climate change. In this scenario, the production of biomethane from organic waste, as a renewable energy source, is one of the most promising strategies to reduce fossil fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emission. Unfortunately, biogas upgrading still produces the greenhouse gas CO₂ as a waste product. Therefore, this work presents a case study on biogas upgrading, aimed at the simultaneous purification of methane and CO₂ via different steps, including CO₂/methane separation by polymeric membranes. The original objective of the project was the biogas upgrading to distribution grid quality methane, but the innovative aspect of this case study is the further purification of the captured CO₂, transforming it from a useless by-product to a pure gas with food-grade quality, suitable for commercial application in the food and beverage industry. The study was performed on a pilot plant constructed by Tecno Project Industriale Srl (TPI) Italy. This is a model of one of the largest biogas production and purification plants. The full-scale anaerobic digestion plant (Montello Spa, North Italy), has a digestive capacity of 400.000 ton of biomass/year and can treat 6.250 m3/hour of biogas from FORSU (organic fraction of solid urban waste). The entire upgrading process consists of a number of purifications steps: 1. Dehydration of the raw biogas by condensation. 2. Removal of trace impurities such as H₂S via absorption. 3.Separation of CO₂ and methane via a membrane separation process. 4. Removal of trace impurities from CO₂. The gas separation with polymeric membranes guarantees complete simultaneous removal of microorganisms. The chemical purity of the different process streams was analysed by a certified laboratory and was compared with the guidelines of the European Industrial Gases Association and the International Society of Beverage Technologists (EIGA/ISBT) for CO₂ used in the food industry. The microbiological purity was compared with the limit values defined in the European Collaborative Action. With a purity of 96-99 vol%, the purified methane respects the legal requirements for the household network. At the same time, the CO₂ reaches a purity of > 98.1% before, and 99.9% after the final distillation process. According to the EIGA/ISBT guidelines, the CO₂ proves to be chemically and microbiologically sufficiently pure to be suitable for food-grade applications.

Keywords: biogas, CO₂ separation, CO2 utilization, CO₂ food grade

Procedia PDF Downloads 188

Authors: Benard Omogo

Abstract:

The Kenyan Constitution 2010 introduced various commissions to devolve the powers that were previously centralized through the imperial Presidency. One of the commissions that directly determine the levels of remuneration and terms of service of Kenyan workers is the Salary and Remuneration Commission (SRC). Article 230 of the Kenyan Constitution 2010 mandates this commission to regularly review the remuneration and benefits of all the state officers and to advise the national and county governments on the remuneration and benefits of all other public officers. At the same time, article 54 of the Kenyan Labor Relations Act 2007 provides for the recognition of trade unions and collective bargaining agreements. The emerging challenges, therefore, originate from the conflicts of the mandate of the Salary and Remuneration Commission, whose advice is almost adopted as the order and this undermines the outcome of the Collective Bargaining Agreements. This has seen so many trade unions in Kenya being rendered irrelevant. This research paper is therefore going to sample the various trade unions of Kenya to assess the challenges that result from the position of the Salary and Remuneration Commission. We will also extend it by purposively sampling several trade unions in Africa to determine how they handle such challenges. The results from this paper will be useful to the Kenyan Lawmakers and Africa at large and may inform them to consider reviewing the laws and acts that relate to the trade unions for prosperity.

Keywords: salary, remuneration, collective, bargaining, labor laws

Procedia PDF Downloads 154