Search results for: total variation

Authors: J. Carlos Kuri, Varun Vij, Raymond J. Turner, Orly Yadid-Pecht

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Celiac disease (CD) is an immune system disorder that is triggered by ingesting gluten. As a gluten-free (GF) diet has become a concern of many people for health reasons, a gold standard had to be nominated. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) has taken the seat of this role. However, multiple limitations were discovered, and with that, the desire for an alternative method now exists. Nucleic acid-based aptamers have become of great interest due to their selectivity, specificity, simplicity, and rapid-testing advantages. However, fluorescence-based aptasensors have been tagged as unstable, but lifespan details are rarely stated. In this work, the lifespan stability of a fluorescence-based aptasensor is shown over an 8-week-long study displaying the accuracy of the sensor and false negatives. This study follows 22 different samples, including GF and gluten-rich (GR) and soy sauce products, off-the-shelf products, and reference material from laboratories, giving a total of 836 tests. The analysis shows an accuracy of correctly classifying GF and GR products of 96.30% and 100%, respectively when the protocol is augmented with molecular sieves. The overall accuracy remains around 94% within the first four weeks and then decays to 63%.

Keywords: aptasensor, PEG, rGO, FAM, RM, ELISA

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Authors: Mahvish Maqbool, Muhmmad Sohail Sajid

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Ticks (Acari: Ixodidae); bloodsucking parasites of domestic animals, have significant importance in the transmission of diseases and causing huge economic losses. This study aimed to screen endophilic ticks for the Piroplasms using polymerase chain reaction in three districts Sialkot, Gujranwala and Gujarat of Punjab, Pakistan. Ticks were dissected under a stereomicroscope, and internal organs (midguts& salivary glands) were procured to generate pools of optimum weights. DNA extraction was done through standard protocol followed by primer specific PCR for Piroplasma spp. A total of 22.95% tick pools were found positive for piroplasma spp. In districts, Sialkot and Gujranwala Piroplasma prevalence are higher in riverine animals while in Gujarat Prevalence is higher in non-riverine animals. Female animals were found more prone to piroplasma as compared to males. This study will provide useful data on the distribution of Piroplasma in the vector population of the study area and devise future recommendations for better management of ruminants to avoid subclinical and clinical infections and vector transmitted diseases.

Keywords: babesia, hyalomma, piroplasmposis, tick infectivity

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Authors: Yong Wook Kim

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The purpose of this study is to develop an instruction analysis checklist applicable to inclusive setting based on the Universal Design for Learning Guideline 2.0. To do this, two self-validation reviews, two expert validity reviews, and two usability evaluations were conducted based on the Universal Design for Learning Guideline 2.0. After validation and usability evaluation, a total of 36 items consisting of 4 items for each instruction was developed. In all questions, examples are presented for the purpose of reinforcing concrete. All the items were judged by the 3-point scale. The observation results were provided through a radial chart allowing SWOT analysis of the universal design for learning of teachers. The developed checklist provides a description of the principles and guidelines in the checklist itself as it requires a thorough understanding by the observer of the universal design for learning through prior education. Based on the results of the study, the instruction criteria, the specificity of the criteria, the number of questions, and the method of arrangement were discussed. As a future research, this study proposed the characteristics of application of universal design for learning for each subject, the comparison with the observation results through the self-report teaching tool, and the continual revision and supplementation of the lecture checklist.

Keywords: inclusion, universal design for learning, instruction analysis, instruction checklist

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Authors: Christina Kalogirou

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The object of this research is to explore the views of Greek Second Chance Schools’ (SCS) graduates regarding their personal, social, professional and educational development after graduation. SCS are addressed to adults who had failed to complete their studies in the nine-year compulsory education. Furthermore, the research focuses on their motives as well as on any possible achievement of transformative processes. The quantitative survey involved in total 426 graduates while in the qualitative survey participated 38 persons, all of whom graduated in the period 2010-2012 from 27 schools throughout the country. The survey was conducted by filling in a structured questionnaire and by carrying out semi-structured interviews. As regards the results, the respondents decided to attend the SCS primarily to acquire knowledge while most of them feel that they managed to meet their goals. Also, graduates recognize that studying in SCS contributed primarily in their social and personal development. In addition, an encouraging fact is that some of the graduates recognize the transformative processes which they experienced during their studies in SCS.

Keywords: Adults Education, Motives of Attendance, Personal-Social-Professional-Educational Development, Transformative Processes, Quantitative and Qualitative Survey

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Authors: Julio Macedo

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Several methodologies are now available to conceive the improvements of a process so that it becomes competitive as for example total quality, process reengineering, six sigma, define measure analysis improvement control method. These improvements are of different nature and can be external to the process represented by an optimization model or a discrete simulation model. In addition, the process stakeholders are several and have different desired performances for the process. Hence, the methodologies above do not have a tool to aid in the conception of the required improvements. In order to fill this void we suggest the use of intelligent reference models. A reference model is a set of qualitative differential equations and an objective function that minimizes the gap between the current and the desired performance indexes of the process. The reference models are intelligent so when they receive the current state of the problematic process and the desired performance indexes they generate the required improvements for the problematic process. The reference models are fuzzy cognitive maps added with an objective function and trained using the improvements implemented by the high performance firms. Experiments done in a set of students show the reference models allow them to conceive more improvements than students that do not use these models.

Keywords: continuous improvement, fuzzy cognitive maps, process competitiveness, qualitative simulation, system dynamics

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Authors: Zaiton Osman, Imbarine Bujang, Azaze-Azizi Abdul Adis, Grace Phang Ing, Mohd Rizwan Abdul Majid, Izyanti Awang Razli

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Retirement forces older workers to disconnect with their previous behavioural patterns and economic position. Transition and adjustment from working life to retirement places create psychological pressure and financial distress on older workers, especially those with dependent children. Bridge employment provides a solution for older workers to continue working after retirement while transitioning into retirement slowly and smoothly. As losing the job role has a significant impact on the psychological well-being of retirees, engageing in bridge employment helps to fulfill the important psychological functions of older workers by providing an adaptive style to retirement. This study investigates the influence of retirement planning and job satisfaction on bridge employment. A self-administered questionnaire was used in this study and a total of 523 samples were collected for nine major district in Sabah. Data were analysed using Partial Least Square (PLS) method wersion 2.0. The result shows a significant relationship between retirement planning and job satisfaction on bridge employment, explaining 4.7% the variance in bridge employment and job satisfaction was found to be the strongest predictor of bridge employment.

Keywords: ageing population, retirement planning, job satisfaction, bridge employment

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Authors: Carolina Silva, João Nuno Oliveira, Rui Sousa, João Paulo Silva

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This study uses genetic algorithms to solve a job scheduling problem in a weaving factory. The underline problem regards an NP-Hard problem concerning unrelated parallel machines, with sequence-dependent setup times. This research uses real data regarding a weaving industry located in the North of Portugal, with a capacity of 96 looms and a production, on average, of 440000 meters of fabric per month. Besides, this study includes a high level of complexity once most of the real production constraints are applied, and several real data instances are tested. Topics such as data analyses and algorithm performance are addressed and tested, to offer a solution that can generate reliable and due date results. All the approaches will be tested in the operational environment, and the KPIs monitored, to understand the solution's impact on the production, with a particular focus on the total number of weeks of late deliveries to clients. Thus, the main goal of this research is to develop a solution that allows for the production of automatically optimized production plans, aiming to the tardiness minimizing.

Keywords: genetic algorithms, textile industry, job scheduling, optimization

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Authors: Satendra Pal Singh, Dalip Kr. Kakru, Jyoti Mishra, Rajesh Thakur, Tarana Sarwat

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COVID-19 is still an intrigue as far as morbidity or mortality is concerned. The rate of recovery varies from person to person, & it depends upon the accessibility of the healthcare system and the roles played by the physicians and caregivers. It is envisaged that with the passage of time, people would become immune to this virus, and those who are vulnerable would sustain themselves with the help of vaccines. The proposed study deals with the severeness of COVID-19 is associated with some specific biomarkers linked to correlate age and gender. We will be assessing the overall homeostasis of the persons who were affected by the coronavirus infection and also of those who recovered from it. Some people show more severe effects, while others show very mild symptoms, however, they show low CT values. Thus far, it is unclear why the new strain of Covid has different effects on different people in terms of age, gender, and ABO blood typing. According to data, the fatality rate with heart disease was 10.5 percent, 7.3 percent were diabetic, and 6 percent who are already infected from other comorbidities. However, some COVID-19 cases are worse than others & it is not fully explainable as of date. Overall data show that the ABO blood group is effective or prone to the risk of SARS-COV2 infection, while another study also shows the phenotypic effects of the blood group related to covid. It is an accepted fact that females have more strong immune systems than males, which may be related to the fact that females have two ‘X’ chromosomes, which might contain a more effective immunity booster gene on the X chromosome, and are capable to protect the female. Also specific sex hormones also induce a better immune response in a specific gender. This calls for in-depth analysis to be able to gain insight into this dilemma. COVID-19 is still not fully characterized, and thus we are not very familiar with its biology, mode of infection, susceptibility, and overall viral load in the human body. How many virus particles are needed to infect a person? How, then, comorbidity contribute to coronavirus infection? Since the emergence of this virus in 2020, a large number of papers have been published, and seemingly, vaccines have been prepared. But still, a large number of questions remain unanswered. The proneness of humans for infection by covid-19 needs to be established to be able to develop a better strategy to fight this virus. Our study will be on the Impact of demography on the Severity of covid-19 infection & at the same time, will look into gender-specific sensitivity of Covid-19 and the Operational variation of different biochemical markers in Covid-19 positive patients. Besides, we will be studying the co-relation, if any, of COVID severity & ABO Blood group type and the occurrence of the most common blood group type amongst positive patience.

Keywords: coronavirus, ABO blood group, age, gender

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Authors: Nassir Niamaimandi, Mehrdad Hosaini Shabankareh

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This study was analyzed the annual catch and trawl survey data of sharks in the northern part of the Persian Gulf (26˚ 30΄ to 30˚ 00΄N and 49˚ 00΄ to 56˚ 00΄E) from 2004 to 2009. Trawl survey was conducted by research vessel Ferdous, equipped with bottom trawl nets in meshes 400mm and 80mm at the body, and cod-end, respectively. Ten stratums were selected in the study area and 199 stations were randomly trawled. The density (CPUA) of shark resources was estimated based on swept area method. The annual total catch was obtained from Iranian fisheries organization (Shilat). The results of catch per unit area showed 250.7 kg/nm2 in 2004 to 49.7 kg/nm2 in 2009. There was a high degree of variability of CPUA among different areas and the maximum was estimated 1870.8 kg/nm2 in Nayband and Mogham. In catch composition data, sharks have a decreasing trend from 4.2% in 2004 to 2.9% in 2009 that shows a decline with an annual average 1.3% during 2004-2009. This results suggesting that the shark resource is overexploited and the current effort is far higher than the effort required harvesting optimum yields.

Keywords: shark resources, Iranian waters, Persian Gulf, Trawl survey

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Authors: Runglaksamee Rodkam

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The purpose of this research was to study the influence of accountants’ potential performance on their working process, a case study of Government Savings Banks in the northeast of Thailand. The independent variables included accounting knowledge, accounting skill, accounting value, accounting ethics, and accounting attitude, while the dependent variable included the success of the working process. A total of 155 accountants working for Government Savings Banks were selected by random sampling. A questionnaire was used as a tool for collecting data. Descriptive statistics in this research included percentage, mean, and multiple regression analyses. The findings revealed that the majority of accountants were female with an age between 35-40 years old. Most of the respondents had an undergraduate degree with ten years of experience. Moreover, the factors of accounting knowledge, accounting skill, accounting a value and accounting ethics and accounting attitude were rated at a high level. The findings from regression analysis of observation data revealed a causal relationship in that the observation data could explain at least 51 percent of the success in the accountants’ working process.

Keywords: influence, potential performance, success, working process

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Authors: Azzam Alosaimi

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Different countries attempt to reduce energy demands and Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions to mitigate global warming potential. They set different building codes to regulate excessive building’s energy losses. Energy losses occur due to pressure difference between the indoor and outdoor environments, and thus, heat transfers from one region to another. One major sources of energy loss is known as building airtightness. Building airtightness is the fundamental feature of the building envelope that directly impacts infiltration. Most of international building codes require minimum performance for new construction to ensure acceptable airtightness. The execution of airtightness required standards has become more challenging in recent years due to a lack of expertise and equipment, making it costly and time-consuming. Hence, researchers have developed predictive models to predict buildings infiltration rates to meet building codes and to reduce energy and cost. This research applies a theoretical modeling approach using Matlab software to predict mean infiltration rate distributions and total heat loss of Saudi Arabia’s housing stock.

Keywords: infiltration rate, energy demands, heating loss, cooling loss, carbon emissions

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Authors: Kartini Ilias, Nabilah Md Ahir, Nor Zafirah Ab Rahman, Safiah Md Yusof, Nuri Naqieyah Radzuan, Siti Sabariah Buhari

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This study aim to develop and assess the effectiveness of an intervention in improving eating habits and physical activity level of university students of UiTM Puncak Alam. The intervention consists of weekly dietary counselling by registered dietitian and high-intensity interval training (HIIT) for three times per week for the duration of 8 weeks. A total of 25 students from the intervention group and 25 students from control group who had BMI equal to or greater than 25kg/m² participated in the study. The results showed a significant reduction in body weight (3.0 kg), body fat percentage (7.9 %), waist circumference (7.3 cm) and BMI (2.9 kg/m²) between pre and post intervention. Besides, there was a significant increase in the level of physical activity among subjects in intervention group. In conclusion, the intervention made an impact on eating habit, physical activity level and improves weight status of the students. It is expected that the intervention could be adopted and implemented by the government and private sector as well as policy-makers in formulating obesity intervention.

Keywords: obesity, diet, obesity intervention, physical activity

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Authors: Tadesse Abera

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This study aimed to investigate the contribution of self-advocacy and engagement in the inclusion of SWDs in HEIs. A convergent parallel mixed methods design was employed. This article reports the quantitative strand. A total of 246 SWDs were selected through stratified proportionate random sampling technique from five public HEIs in Ethiopia. Data were collected through Self-advocacy questionnaire, student engagement scale, and college student experience questionnaire and analyzed through frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, correlation, one sample t-test and multiple regression. Both self-advocacy and engagement were found to have a predictive power on inclusion of respondents in the HEIs, where engagement was found to be more predictor. From the components of self-advocacy, knowledge of self and leadership and from engagement dimensions sense of belonging, cognitive, and valuing in their respective orders were found to have a stronger predictive power on the inclusion of respondents in the institutions. Based on the findings it was concluded that, if students with disabilities work hard to be self-determined, strive for realizing social justice, exert quality effort and seek active involvement, their inclusion in the institutions would be ensured.

Keywords: self-advocacy, engagement, inclusion, students with disabilities, higher education institution

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Authors: Rajkumar Ghosh

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Jhakri Thrust (JT) coeval of Sarahan Thrust (ST) was later considered to be part of Chaura Thrust (CT). The Main Central Thrust (MCT) delimits the southern extreme of Higher Himalaya, whereas the northern boundary defines by South Tibetan Detachment System (STDS). STDS is parallel set of north dipping extensional faults. The activation timing of MCT and STDS. MCT activated in two parts (MCT-L during 15- 0.7 Ma, and MCT-U during 25-14 Ma). Similarly, STDS triggered in two parts (STDS-L during 24-12 Ma, and STDS-U during 19-14 Ma). The activation ages for MBT and MFT. Besides, the MBT occurred during 11-9 Ma, and MFT followed as <2.5 Ma. There are two mylonitised zones (zone of S-C fabric) found under the microscope. Dynamic and bulging recrystallization and sub-grain formation was documented under the optical microscope from samples collected from these zones. The varieties of crenulated schistosity are shown in photomicrographs. In a rare and uncommon case, crenulation cleavage and sigmoid Muscovite were found together side-by-side. Recrystallized quartzo-feldspathic grains exist in between crenulation cleavages. These thin-section studies allow three possible hypotheses for such variations in crenulation cleavages. S/SE verging meso- and micro-scale box folds around Chaura might be a manifestation of some structural upliftment. Near Chaura, kink folds are visible. Prominent asymmetric shear sense indicators in augen mylonite are missing in meso-scale but dominantly present under the microscope. The main foliation became steepest (range of dip ~ 65 – 80 º) at this place. The aim of this section is to characterize the box fold and its signature in the regional geology of Himachal Himalaya. Grain Boundary Migration (GBM) associated temperature range (400–750 ºC) from microstructural studies in grain scale along Jhakri-Wangtu transect documented. Oriented samples were collected from the Jhakri-Chaura transect at a regular interval of ~ 1km for strain analysis. The Higher Himalayan Out-of-Sequence Thrust (OOST) in Himachal Pradesh is documented a decade ago. The OOST in other parts of the Himalayas is represented as a line in between MCTL and MCTU. But In Himachal Pradesh area, OOST activated the MCTL as well as in between a zone located south of MCTU. The expectations for strain variation near the OOST are very obvious. But multiple sets of OOSTs may produce a zigzag pattern of strain accumulation for this area and figure out the overprinting structures for multiple sets of OOSTs.

Keywords: Chaura Thrust, out-of-sequence thrust, Main Central Thrust, Sarahan Thrust

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Authors: S. Zenia, A. Menasseria, A. E. Kheidous, F. Larinouna, A. Smai, H. Saadi, F. Haddadj, A. Milla, F. Marniche

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Pheasant, is a bird of great ornamental value through the beauty of its form and colors, it is among the most popular birds. The present study was conducted in an experimental breeding. The objective of this work is to know the quality of the eggs of this bird. A total of 938 eggs were collected. To deepen the knowledge about the characteristics of external shell quality, biometric parameters were studied, among them we find the weight with a mean value of 29.2± 2, 24 g. Egg length (mm) and egg width (mm) mean value are respectively 43.01 ± 1,84 cm and 34.05 ± 1,44cm. The volume and shape index of eggs obtained are respectively 25,63±2,88cm3 and 79.00 ± 3%, shell index which recorded an average of 68%. Water loss recorded is 13%. Note that all these parameters and others may influence hatching. The analysis of variance applied for the comparison of egg weight shows that there is no significant difference in the same form factor (P> 0.05). Otherwise, the comparison test used shows a significant difference with P <0.05 for length, width, volume, density, indices of shell and water loss of eggs between the different. Indeed, several factors may explain the difference as the absence of sorting eggs during incubation and other factors that will be exposing later.

Keywords: analysis of variance, egg, hatching, morphometry of eggs Phaisan (Phasianus colchicus.L.)

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Authors: Hamid Ahmadi, Neda Azari-Dodaran

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A total of 270 nonlinear steady-state finite element (FE) analyses were performed on 54 FE models of two-planar circular hollow section (CHS) KK-joints subjected to axial loading at five different temperatures (20 ºC, 200 ºC, 400 ºC, 550 ºC, and 700 ºC). The primary goal was to investigate the effects of temperature and geometrical characteristics on the ultimate strength, modes of failure, and initial stiffness of the KK-joints. Results indicated that on an average basis, the ultimate load of a two-planar tubular KK-joint at 200 ºC, 400 ºC, 550 ºC, and 700 ºC is 90%, 75%, 45%, and 16% of the joint’s ultimate load at ambient temperature, respectively. Outcomes of the parametric study showed that replacing the yield stress at ambient temperature with the corresponding value at elevated temperature to apply the EN 1993-1-8 equations for the calculation of the joint’s ultimate load at elevated temperatures may lead to highly unconservative results that might endanger the safety of the structure. Results of the parametric study were then used to develop a set of design formulas, through nonlinear regression analyses, to calculate the ultimate load of two-planar tubular KK-joints subjected to axial loading at elevated temperatures.

Keywords: ultimate load, two-planar tubular KK-joint, axial loading, elevated temperature, parametric equation

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Authors: Paolo Russu

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This paper investigates the economic and ecological dynamics that emerge in Protected Areas (PAs) as a result of interactions between visitors to the area and the animals that live there. We suppose that the PAs contain two species whose interactions are determined by the Lotka-Volterra equations system. Visitors' decisions to visit PAs are influenced by the entrance cost required to enter the park as well as the chance of witnessing the species that live there. Visitors have contradictory effects on the species and thus on the sustainability of the protected areas: on the one hand, an increase in the number of tourists damages the natural habitat of the areas and thus the species living there; on the other hand, it increases the total amount of entrance fees that the managing body of the PAs can use to perform defensive expenditures that protect the species from extinction. For a given set of parameter values, the existence of saddle-node bifurcation, Hopf bifurcation, homoclinic orbits, and a Bogdanov–Takens bifurcation of codimension two has been investigated. The system displays periodic doubling and chaotic solutions, as demonstrated by numerical examples. Pontryagin's Maximum Principle was utilized to develop an optimal admission charge policy that maximized both social gain and ecosystem conservation.

Keywords: environmental preferences, singularities point, dynamical system, chaos

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Authors: Ashraf Muharam, Nasser Al-Hemiddi, El Sayed Amer

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Green roof is one of sustainable practice for reducing the environmental impact of a building. Green roofs are vegetation roofs that are partially or completely covered building's roof. It can provide multiple environmental benefits such as mitigation of urban heat island effect and protecting buildings against solar radiation. In Riyadh city buildings consume about 70 % of the total energy used in the building for cooling and heating because of the Riyadh's harsh and tropical climate. So, the study aim was identifying the thermal performance of extensive green roof and comparing its performance with concrete roof performance during summer season. The experimental validations results indicated that the extensive green roofs system was better than concrete roof system for lowering the indoor air temperature. It could reduce the indoor air temperature from 2°C to 5.5°C compared to the concrete roof system. Also, the finding of this study demonstrated that extensive green roof system could reduce 12% to 33% of energy consumption of air conditioning in Riyadh city during summer seasons by using environmentally friendly insulation.

Keywords: thermal performance, green roof system, concrete roof system, tropical climatic, internal temperatures

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Authors: Erva Kaygun

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The purpose of this research is to investigate the effects of positive psychology interventions on college students' positive-negative emotions, coronavirus anxiety, and career stress. 4 groups of college students are compared in terms of the level of exposure to PP constructs ( Non-Psychology, Psychology, Positive Psychology Course, and Positive Psychology Boot Camp). In this research, Pearson Correlation, independent t-tests, ANOVA, and Post-Hoc tests are conducted. Without being significant, the groups exposed to PP constructs showed higher positive emotions and total PERMA scores, whereas negative emotions, career stress, and coronavirus stress remained similar. It is crucial to indicate that career stress is higher among all psychology students when compared to non-psychology students. The results showed that the highest exposure group (PP Boot Camp) showed no difference in negative emotions, whereas higher PERMA scores and positive emotion scores were on the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) scale.

Keywords: positive psychology, college students, well being, anxiety

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Authors: T. S. Shashikumar

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Radon is a radioactive gas emitted from radium, a daughter product of uranium that occurs naturally in rocks and soil. Radon, together with its decay products, emits alpha particles that can damage lung tissue. The activity concentration of ²²²Ra has been analyzed in water samples collected from borewells and rivers in and around Hassan city, Karnataka State, India. The measurements were performed by Emanometry technique. The concentration of ²²²Rn in borewell waters varies from 18.49±1.89 to 397.26±12.3 Bql^-1 with geometric mean 120.48±12.87 Bql^-1 and in river waters it varies from 92.63±9.31 to 93.98±9.51 Bql^-1 with geometric mean of 93.16±9.33 Bql^-1. In the present study, the radon concentrations are higher in Adarshanagar and Viveka Nagar which are found to be 397.26±12.3 Bql^-1 and 325.78±32.56 Bql^-1. Most of the analysed samples show a ²²²Rn concentration more than 100 Bql^-1 and this can be attributed to the geology of the area where the ground waters are located, which is predominantly of granitic characteristic. The average inhalation dose and ingestion dose in the borewell water are found to be 0.405 and 0.033 µSvy^-1; and in river water it is found to be 0.234 and 0.019 µSvy^-1, respectively. The average total effective dose rate in borewell waters and river waters are found to be 0.433 and 0.253 µSvy^-1, which does not cause any health risk to the population of Hassan region.

Keywords: borewell, effective dose, emanometry, 222Rn

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Authors: Asaiel Alohaly

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A theoretical framework for corporate governance is needed to bridge the gap between the corporate governance of private companies and State-owned Enterprises (SOEs). The two dominant models, being shareholder and stakeholder, do not always address the specific requirements and challenges posed by ‘hybrid’ companies; namely, previously national bodies that have been privatised bffu t where the government retains significant control or holds a majority of shareholders. Thus, an exploratory theoretical study is needed to identify how ‘hybrid’ companies should be defined and why the state model should be acknowledged since it is the less conspicuous model in comparison with the shareholder and stakeholder models. This research focuses on ‘the state model of corporate governance to understand the complex ownership, control pattern, goals, and corporate governance of these hybrid companies. The significance of this research lies in the fact that there is a limited available publication on the state model. The outcomes of this research are as follows. It became evident that the state model exists in the ecosystem. However, corporate governance theories have not extensively covered this model. Though, there is a lot being said about it by OECD and the World Bank. In response to this gap between theories and industry practice, this research argues for the state model, which proceeds from an understanding of the institutionally embedded character of hybrid companies where the government is either a majority of the total shares or a controlling shareholder.

Keywords: corporate governance, control, shareholders, state model

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Authors: Christian Doppler, Gernot Hirschl, Gerhard Zsiga

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Starting from 2020, an EU-wide CO2-limitation of 95g/km is scheduled for the average of an OEMs passenger car fleet. Considering that, further measures of optimization on the diesel cycle will be necessary in order to reduce fuel consumption and emissions while keeping performance values adequate at the least. The present article deals with charge air cooling (CAC) on the basis of a diesel passenger car model in a 0D/1D-working process calculation environment. The considered engine is a 2.4 litre EURO VI diesel engine with variable geometry turbocharger (VGT) and low-pressure exhaust gas recirculation (LP EGR). The object of study was the impact of charge air cooling on the engine working process at constant boundary conditions which could have been conducted with an available and validated engine model in AVL BOOST. Part load was realized with constant power and NOx-emissions, whereas full load was accomplished with a lambda control in order to obtain maximum engine performance. The informative results were used to implement a simulation model in Matlab/Simulink which is further integrated into a full vehicle simulation environment via coupling with ICOS (Independent Co-Simulation Platform). Next, the dynamic engine behavior was validated and modified with load steps taken from the engine test bed. Due to the modular setup in the Co-Simulation, different CAC-models have been simulated quickly with their different influences on the working process. In doing so, a new cooler variation isn’t needed to be reproduced and implemented into the primary simulation model environment, but is implemented quickly and easily as an independent component into the simulation entity. By means of the association of the engine model, longitudinal dynamics vehicle model and different CAC models (air/air & water/air variants) in both steady state and transient operational modes, statements are gained regarding fuel consumption, NOx-emissions and power behavior. The fact that there is no more need of a complex engine model is very advantageous for the overall simulation volume. Beside of the simulation with the mentioned demonstrator engine, there have also been conducted several experimental investigations on the engine test bench. Here the comparison of a standard CAC with an intake-manifold-integrated CAC was executed in particular. Simulative as well as experimental tests showed benefits for the water/air CAC variant (on test bed especially the intake manifold integrated variant). The benefits are illustrated by a reduced pressure loss and a gain in air efficiency and CAC efficiency, those who all lead to minimized emission and fuel consumption for stationary and transient operation.

Keywords: air/water-charge air cooler, co-simulation, diesel working process, EURO VI fuel consumption

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Authors: Khaled Benyounes

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Determination of the rock mechanical properties such as unconfined compressive strength UCS, Young’s modulus E, and tensile strength by the Brazilian test Rtb is considered to be the most important component in drilling and mining engineering project. Research related to establishing correlation between strength and physical parameters of rocks has always been of interest to mining and reservoir engineering. For this, many rock blocks of limestone were collected from the quarry located in Meftah (Algeria), the cores were crafted in the laboratory using a core drill. This work examines the relationships between mechanical properties and some physical properties of limestone. Many empirical equations are established between UCS and physical properties of limestone (such as dry bulk density, velocity of P-waves, dynamic Young’s modulus, alteration index, and total porosity). Other correlations, UCS - tensile strength, dynamic Young’s modulus - static Young’s modulus have been find. Based on the Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion, we were able to establish mathematical relationships that will allow estimating the cohesion and internal friction angle from UCS and indirect tensile strength. Results from this study can be useful for mining industry for resolve range of geomechanical problems such as slope stability.

Keywords: limestone, mechanical strength, Young’s modulus, porosity

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Authors: Mokganya Mokgaetji Georginah

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Traditional medicine continued to play a pivotal role in treating various diseases affecting VhaVenda people. The Venda region is rich with different types of medicinal plants that are used to treat quite a variety of illnesses. This includes plants that are used as laxative. Laxative can be defined as a food composed of a combination of drugs that help to relieve constipation. The study was conducted in the Muledani Village of the Thulamela Municipality. The study investigated all plant forms that are used by Muledani residents as laxative. The semi-structured questionnaire was used to gather information from the respondents aged forty years and above. The households of the respondents were sampled randomly by visiting every tenth homestead in each street. Total of thirteen different plants was given by all respondents participated in the current research. Different parts of plants like Aloe arborences, Erythrina lysistemon, Terminalia sericea and others are used as laxative. Amongst all the plant parts, roots and barks are used by the respondents. They are either ground or boiled first before consumption. Furthermore, the study indicated that the plants can be used by people of all age groups only when the dosage of the medicine is taken into account. The use of traditional medicine as laxative is recommended as no side effects are experienced if the correct dosage is given to the relevant age group.

Keywords: medicinal plants, Muledani, Venda region, questionnaire

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Authors: Gao ya

Abstract:

This present study aims to find the relationship between self-efficacy and life satisfaction and the effects of self-efficacy on life satisfaction among Chinese people whose age is from 27-32, born between 1990 and 1995. People who were born between 1990 and 1995 are worthy to receive more attention now because the 90s was always received a lot of focus and labeled negatively as soon as they were born. And a large number of researches study people in individualism society more. So we chose the specific population whose age is from 27 to 32 live in a collectivist society. Demographic information was collected, including age, gender, education level, marital status, income level, number of children. We used the general self-efficacy scale(GSC) and the satisfaction with Life Scale(SLS) to collect data. A total of 350 questionnaires were distributed in and collected from mainland China, then 261 valid questionnaires were returned in the end, making a response rate of 74.57 percent. Some statistics techniques were used, like regression, correlation, ANOVA, T-test and general linear model, to measure variables. The findings were that self-efficacy positively related to life satisfaction. And self-efficacy influences life satisfaction significantly. At the same time, the relationship between demographic information and life satisfaction was analyzed.

Keywords: marital status, life satisfaction, number of children, self-efficacy, income level

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Authors: Darshan Panda, Lambodar Behera, M. J. Baig, Sudhanshu Sekhar

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Low light intensity is a significant limitation for grain yield and quality in rice. However, yield is not significantly reduced in low-light tolerant rice varieties. The work, therefore, planned for comparative transcriptome profiling under low light stress to decipher the genes involved and molecular mechanism of low light tolerance in rice. At the active tillering stage, 50% low light exposure for one day, three days, and five days were given to Swarnaprabha (low light tolerant) and IR8 (low light sensitive) rice varieties. Illumina (HiSeq) platform was used for transcriptome sequencing. A total of 6,652 and 12,042 genes were differentially expressed due to low light intensity in Swarnaprabha and IR8, respectively, as compared to control. CAB, LRP, SBPase, MT15, TF PCL1, and Photosystem I & II complex related gene expressions were mostly increased in Swarnaprabha upon the longer duration of low light exposure, which was not found in IR8 as compared to control. Their expressions were validated by qRT-PCR. The overall study suggested that the maintenance of grain yield in the tolerant variety under low light might be the result of accelerated expression of the genes, which enable the plant to keep the photosynthetic processes moving at the same pace even under low light.

Keywords: rice, low light, photosynthesis, yield

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Authors: Virupakshi Hiremata, Ratnakar M. Shet, Raghavendra Gunnaiah, Prashantha A.

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Muskmelon is a health-beneficial and refreshing dessert vegetable with a low shelf life. Mangalore melon, a genetic homeologue of muskmelon, has a shelf life of more than six months and is mostly used for culinary purposes. Understanding the genetics of shelf life, yield and yield-related traits and identification of markers linked to such traits is helpful in transfer of extended shelf life from Mangalore melon to the muskmelon through intra-specific hybridization. For QTL mapping, 276 F2 mapping population derived from the cross Arka Siri × SS-17 was genotyped with 40 polymorphic markers distributed across 12 chromosomes. The same population was also phenotyped for yield, shelf life and fruit quality traits. One major QTL (R2 >10) and fourteen minor QTLs (R2 <10) localized on four linkage groups, governing different traits were mapped in F2 mapping population developed from the intraspecific cross with a LOD > 5.5. The phenotypic varience explained by each locus varied from 3.63 to 10.97 %. One QTL was linked to shelf-life (qSHL-3-1), five QTLs were linked to TSS (qTSS-1-1, qTSS-3-3, qTSS-3-1, qTSS-3-2 and qTSS-1-2), two QTLs for flesh thickness (qFT-3-1, and qFT-3-2) and seven QTLs for fruit yield per vine (qFYV-3-1, qFYV-1-1, qFYV-3-1, qFYV1-1, qFYV-1-3, qFYV2-1 and qFYV6-1). QTL flanking markers may be used for marker assisted introgression of shelf life into muskmelon. Important QTL will be further fine-mapped for identifying candidate genes by QTLseq and RNAseq analysis. Fine-mapping of Important Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL) holds immense promise in elucidating the genetic basis of complex traits. Leveraging advanced techniques like QTLseq and RNA sequencing (RNA seq) is crucial for this endeavor. QTLseq combines next-generation sequencing with traditional QTL mapping, enabling precise identification of genomic regions associated with traits of interest. Through high-throughput sequencing, QTLseq provides a detailed map of genetic variations linked to phenotypic variations, facilitating targeted investigations. Moreover, RNA seq analysis offers a comprehensive view of gene expression patterns in response to specific traits or conditions. By comparing transcriptomes between contrasting phenotypes, RNA seq aids in pinpointing candidate genes underlying QTL regions. Integrating QTLseq with RNA seq allows for a multi-dimensional approach, coupling genetic variation with gene expression dynamics.

Keywords: QTL, shelf life, TSS, muskmelon and Mangalore melon

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Authors: Laleh Behboudi Tabrizi, Melika Naserzare

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Accumulating experimental and epidemiologic data smoker individuals are more prone to systemic inflammation than non-smokers. In this study we aimed to determine serum TNF-α and C-reactive protein (CRP) as pro-inflammatory cytokines in response to 3 months aerobic training in smoker men. A total 30 middle-aged healthy smokers selected for participate in this study and were divided into either control or exercise groups. The subjects in exercise group were completed a 3 months aerobic training program for 3 sessions per week at 60 – 80 % of maximal heart rate. Those in control group did nit participated in exercise training. Pre and post-training of CRP and TNF-α were measured in two groups. Student’s t-tests for paired samples were performed to determine whether there were signigcant within-group changes in the outcomes. P value of <0.05 was accepted as significant. No significant differences were found in anthropometrical and biochemical markers between two groups at baseline. Aerobic training program resulted in a significant decrease in anthropometrical markers and serum TNF-α but not in serum CRP in exercise group. All variables remained without changes in control groups. Based on these finding, it is concluded that aerobic training can be improve inflammatory cytokine with emphasis on TNF-α in smokers.

Keywords: cigarette, cytokine, chronic training, inflammation

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Authors: Bidzina Matsaberidze, Anna Sikharulidze, Gia Sirbiladze, Bezhan Ghvaberidze

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In the modern world emergency management decision support systems are actively used by state organizations, which are interested in extreme and abnormal processes and provide optimal and safe management of supply needed for the civil and military facilities in geographical areas, affected by disasters, earthquakes, fires and other accidents, weapons of mass destruction, terrorist attacks, etc. Obviously, these kinds of extreme events cause significant losses and damages to the infrastructure. In such cases, usage of intelligent support technologies is very important for quick and optimal location-transportation of emergency service in order to avoid new losses caused by these events. Timely servicing from emergency service centers to the affected disaster regions (response phase) is a key task of the emergency management system. Scientific research of this field takes the important place in decision-making problems. Our goal was to create an expert knowledge-based intelligent support system, which will serve as an assistant tool to provide optimal solutions for the above-mentioned problem. The inputs to the mathematical model of the system are objective data, as well as expert evaluations. The outputs of the system are solutions for Fuzzy Multi-Objective Emergency Location-Transportation Problem (FMOELTP) for disasters’ regions. The development and testing of the Intelligent Support System were done on the example of an experimental disaster region (for some geographical zone of Georgia) which was generated using a simulation modeling. Four objectives are considered in our model. The first objective is to minimize an expectation of total transportation duration of needed products. The second objective is to minimize the total selection unreliability index of opened humanitarian aid distribution centers (HADCs). The third objective minimizes the number of agents needed to operate the opened HADCs. The fourth objective minimizes the non-covered demand for all demand points. Possibility chance constraints and objective constraints were constructed based on objective-subjective data. The FMOELTP was constructed in a static and fuzzy environment since the decisions to be made are taken immediately after the disaster (during few hours) with the information available at that moment. It is assumed that the requests for products are estimated by homeland security organizations, or their experts, based upon their experience and their evaluation of the disaster’s seriousness. Estimated transportation times are considered to take into account routing access difficulty of the region and the infrastructure conditions. We propose an epsilon-constraint method for finding the exact solutions for the problem. It is proved that this approach generates the exact Pareto front of the multi-objective location-transportation problem addressed. Sometimes for large dimensions of the problem, the exact method requires long computing times. Thus, we propose an approximate method that imposes a number of stopping criteria on the exact method. For large dimensions of the FMOELTP the Estimation of Distribution Algorithm’s (EDA) approach is developed.

Keywords: epsilon-constraint method, estimation of distribution algorithm, fuzzy multi-objective combinatorial programming problem, fuzzy multi-objective emergency location/transportation problem

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Authors: Kien Tsong Chau, Zarina Samsudin, Wan Ahmad Jaafar Wan Yahaya

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The paper examined the capability of a prototype of a tangible multimedia system that was augmented with tangible objects in motivating young preschoolers in learning. Preschoolers’ learning behaviour is highly captivated and motivated by external physical stimuli. Hence, conventional multimedia which solely dependent on digital visual and auditory formats for knowledge delivery could potentially place them in inappropriate state of circumstances that are frustrating, boring, or worse, impede overall learning motivations. This paper begins by discussion with the objectives of the research, followed by research questions, hypotheses, ARCS model of motivation adopted in the process of macro-design, and the research instrumentation, Persuasive Multimedia Motivational Scale was deployed for measuring the level of motivation of subjects towards the experimental tangible multimedia. At the close, a succinct description of the findings of a relevant research is provided. In the research, a total of 248 preschoolers recruited from seven Malaysian kindergartens were examined. Analyses revealed that the tangible multimedia system improved preschoolers’ learning motivation significantly more than conventional multimedia. Overall, the findings led to the conclusion that the tangible multimedia system is a motivation conducive multimedia for preschoolers.

Keywords: tangible multimedia, preschoolers, multimedia, tangible objects

Procedia PDF Downloads 594