Search results for: sequential change detection

Authors: Deli Mona, Rafika Husni

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The aim of this research is to evaluate the effect of lighting distance on surface hardness of light composite resin. We held laboratory experimental research with post-test only group design. The samples used are 30 disc-like hybrid composite resins with the diameter is 6 mm and the thickness is 2 mm, lighted by an LED for 20 seconds. They were divided into 3 groups, and every group was consisted by 10 samples, which were 0 mm, 2 mm, and 5 mm lighting distance group. Every samples group was treated with hardness test, Vicker Hardness Test, then analyzed with one-way ANOVA test to evaluate the effect of lighting distance differences on surface hardness of light composite resin. Statistic test result shown hardness mean change of composite renin between 0 mm and 2 mm lighting distance with 0.00 significance (p<0.05), between 0 mm and 5 mm lighting distance with 0.00 significance (p<0.05), and 2 mm and 5 mm lighting distance with 0.05 significance (p<0.05). According to the result of this research, we concluded that the further lighting distance, the more surface hardness decline of hybrid composite resin.

Keywords: composite resin hybrid, tip distance, microhardness, light curing LED

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Authors: Ranitha Guna Selvi D, Ramakrishnan R, Mohideen Abdul Kader

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Purpose: To study the role of Vision centers in managing preventable blindness through refractive error correction in Rural South India. Methods: A retrospective analysis of patients attending 15 Vision centers in Rural South India from a period of January 2021 to December 2021 was done. Medical records of 10,85,81 patients both new and reviewed, 79,562 newly registered patients and 29,019 review patient’s from15 Vision centers were included for data analysis. All the patients registered at the vision center underwent basic eye examination, including visual acuity, IOP measurement, Slit-lamp examination, retinoscopy, Fundus examination etc. Results: A total of 1,08,581 patients were included in the study. Of the total 1,08,581 patients, 79,562 were newly registered patients at Vision center and 29,019 were review patients. Males were 52,201(48.1%) and Females were 56,308(51.9) among them. The mean age of all examined patients was 41.03 ± 20.9 years (Standard deviation) and ranged from 01 – 113 years. Presenting mean visual acuity was 0.31 ± 0.5 in the right eye and 0.31 ± 0.4 in the left eye. Of the 1,08,581 patients 22,770 patients had refractive error in right eye and 22,721 patients had uncorrected refractive error in left eye. Glass prescription was given to 17,178 (15.8%) patients. 8,109 (7.5%) patients were referred to the base hospital for specialty clinic expert opinion or for cataract surgery. Conclusion: Vision center utilizing teleconsultation for comprehensive eye screening unit is a very effective tool in reducing the avoidable visual impairment caused due to uncorrected refractive error. Vision Centre model is believed to be efficient as it facilitates early detection and management of uncorrected refractive errors.

Keywords: refractive error, uncorrected refractive error, vision center, vision technician, teleconsultation

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Authors: Yudhajit Datta, Hamsi Iyer, Jonathan Bandi, Ankit Sethia

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Motion Tracking and Stereo Vision are complicated, albeit well-understood problems in computer vision. Existing softwares that combine the two approaches to perform stereo motion tracking typically employ complicated and computationally expensive procedures. The purpose of this study is to create a simple and effective solution capable of combining the two approaches. The study aims to explore a strategy to combine the two techniques of two-dimensional motion tracking using Kalman Filter; and depth detection of object using Stereo Vision. In conventional approaches objects in the scene of interest are observed using a single camera. However for Stereo Motion Tracking; the scene of interest is observed using video feeds from two calibrated cameras. Using two simultaneous measurements from the two cameras a calculation for the depth of the object from the plane containing the cameras is made. The approach attempts to capture the entire three-dimensional spatial information of each object at the scene and represent it through a software estimator object. In discrete intervals, the estimator tracks object motion in the plane parallel to plane containing cameras and updates the perpendicular distance value of the object from the plane containing the cameras as depth. The ability to efficiently track the motion of objects in three-dimensional space using a simplified approach could prove to be an indispensable tool in a variety of surveillance scenarios. The approach may find application from high security surveillance scenes such as premises of bank vaults, prisons or other detention facilities; to low cost applications in supermarkets and car parking lots.

Keywords: kalman filter, stereo vision, motion tracking, matlab, object tracking, camera calibration, computer vision system toolbox

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Authors: H. M. Wang, C. J. Chang

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As the threat of global climate change is more seriously, "net zero emissions by 2050" has become a common global goal. In order to reduce the consumption of petrochemical raw materials and reduce carbon emissions, low-carbon fiber materials have become key materials in the future global textile supply chain. This project uses polyolefin raw materials to modify through synthesis and amination to develop low-temperature dyeable polypropylene fibers, endow them with low-temperature dyeability and high color fastness that can be combined with acid dyes, and improve the problem of low coloring strength. The color fastness to washing can reach the requirement of commerce with 3.5 level or more. Therefore, we realize the entry of polypropylene fiber into the clothing textile supply chain, replace existing fiber raw materials, solve the problem of domestic chemical fiber, textile, and clothing industry's plight of no low-carbon alternative new material sources, and provide the textile industry with a solution to achieve the goal of net zero emissions in 2050.

Keywords: acid dyes, dyeing, low-temperature, polypropylene fiber

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Authors: Neha Verma, Manik Rakhra

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Statement of the Problem: Nowadays, a tremendous increase in population and advanced industrialization augment the problems related to air and water pollutions. Growing industries promoting environmental danger, which is an alarming threat to the ecosystem. For safeguard, the environment, detection of perilous gases and release of colored wastewater is required for eutrophication pollution. Researchers around the globe are trying their best efforts to save the environment. For this remediation advanced oxidation process is used for potential applications. ZnO is an important semiconductor photocatalyst with high photocatalytic and gas sensing activities. For efficient photocatalytic and gas sensing properties, it is necessary to prepare a doped/co-doped ZnO compound to decrease the electron-hole recombination rates. However, lanthanide doped and co-doped metal oxide is seldom studied for photocatalytic and gas sensing applications. The purpose of this study is to describe the best photocatalyst for the photodegradation of dyes and gas sensing properties. Methodology & Theoretical Orientation: Economical framework has to be used for the synthesis of ZnO. In the depth literature survey, a simple combustion method is utilized for gas sensing and photocatalytic activities. Findings: Rare earth doped and co-doped ZnO nanoparticles were the best photocatalysts for photodegradation of organic dyes and different gas sensing applications by varying various factors such as pH, aging time, and different concentrations of doping and codoping metals in ZnO. Complete degradation of dye was observed only in min. Gas sensing nanodevice showed a better response and quick recovery time for doped/co-doped ZnO. Conclusion & Significance: In order to prevent air and water pollution, well crystalline ZnO nanoparticles were synthesized by rapid and economic method, which is used as photocatalyst for photodegradation of organic dyes and gas sensing applications to sense the release of hazardous gases from the environment.

Keywords: ZnO, photocatalyst, photodegradation of dye, gas sensor

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Authors: Amadou Banda Ndione, Charles Awono Onana

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In this paper the compartmental approach is applied to build a macroeconomic model characterized by countries. We consider a total of N countries that are subdivided into three compartments according to their economic status: D(t) denotes the compartment of developing countries at time t, E(t) stands for the compartment of emerging countries at time t while A(t) represents advanced countries at time t. The model describes the process of economic development and includes the notion of openness through collaborations between countries. Two delays appear in this model to describe the average time necessary for collaborations between countries to become efficient for their development process. Our model represents the different stages of development. It further gives the conditions under which a country can change its economic status and demonstrates the short-term positive effect of openness on economic growth. In addition, we investigate bifurcation by considering the delay as a bifurcation parameter and examine the onset and termination of Hopf bifurcations from a positive equilibrium. Numerical simulations are provided in order to illustrate the theoretical part and to support discussion.

Keywords: compartmental systems, delayed dynamical system, economic development, fiscal policy, hopf bifurcation

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Authors: Stephen L. Roberts

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This article offers a critical analysis of the rise of syndromic surveillance systems for the advanced detection of pandemic threats within contemporary global health security frameworks. The article traces the iterative evolution and ascendancy of three such novel syndromic surveillance systems for the strengthening of health security initiatives over the past two decades: 1) The Program for Monitoring Emerging Diseases (ProMED-mail); 2) The Global Public Health Intelligence Network (GPHIN); and 3) HealthMap. This article demonstrates how each newly introduced syndromic surveillance system has become increasingly oriented towards the integration of digital algorithms into core surveillance capacities to continually harness and forecast upon infinitely generating sets of digital, open-source data, potentially indicative of forthcoming pandemic threats. This article argues that the increased centrality of the algorithm within these next-generation syndromic surveillance systems produces a new and distinct form of infectious disease surveillance for the governing of emergent pathogenic contingencies. Conceptually, the article also shows how the rise of this algorithmic mode of infectious disease surveillance produces divergences in the governmental rationalities of global health security, leading to the rise of an algorithmic governmentality within contemporary contexts of Big Data and these surveillance systems. Empirically, this article demonstrates how this new form of algorithmic infectious disease surveillance has been rapidly integrated into diplomatic, legal, and political frameworks to strengthen the practice of global health security – producing subtle, yet distinct shifts in the outbreak notification and reporting transparency of states, increasingly scrutinized by the algorithmic gaze of syndromic surveillance.

Keywords: algorithms, global health, pandemic, surveillance

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Authors: Maria De Los Angeles Ortega, Denis Bruneau, Patrick Sebastian, Jean-Pierre Nadeau, Alain Sommier, Saed Raji

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Phase change materials (PCM) present attractive features that made them a passive solution for thermal comfort assessment in buildings during summer time. They show a large storage capacity per volume unit in comparison with other structural materials like bricks or concrete. If their use is matched with the peak load periods, they can contribute to the reduction of the primary energy consumption related to cooling applications. Despite these promising characteristics, they present some drawbacks. Commercial PCMs, as paraffines, offer a low thermal conductivity affecting the overall performance of the system. In some cases, the material can be enhanced, adding other elements that improve the conductivity, but in general, a design of the unit that optimizes the thermal performance is sought. The material selection is the departing point during the designing stage, and it does not leave plenty of room for optimization. The PCM melting point depends highly on the atmospheric characteristics of the building location. The selection must relay within the maximum, and the minimum temperature reached during the day. The geometry of the PCM container and the geometrical distribution of these containers are designing parameters, as well. They significantly affect the heat transfer, and therefore its phenomena must be studied exhaustively. During its lifetime, an air-PCM unit in a building must cool down the place during daytime, while the melting of the PCM occurs. At night, the PCM must be regenerated to be ready for next uses. When the system is not in service, a minimal amount of thermal exchanges is desired. The aforementioned functions result in the presence of sensible and latent heat storage and release. Hence different types of mechanisms drive the heat transfer phenomena. An experimental test was designed to study the heat transfer phenomena occurring in a circular tube bundle air-PCM exchanger. An in-line arrangement was selected as the geometrical distribution of the containers. With the aim of visual identification, the containers material and a section of the test bench were transparent. Some instruments were placed on the bench for measuring temperature and velocity. The PCM properties were also available through differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) tests. An evolution of the temperature during both cycles, melting and solidification were obtained. The results showed some phenomena at a local level (tubes) and on an overall level (exchanger). Conduction and convection appeared as the main heat transfer mechanisms. From these results, two approaches to analyze the heat transfer were followed. The first approach described the phenomena in a single tube as a series of thermal resistances, where a pure conduction controlled heat transfer was assumed in the PCM. For the second approach, the temperature measurements were used to find some significant dimensionless numbers and parameters as Stefan, Fourier and Rayleigh numbers, and the melting fraction. These approaches allowed us to identify the heat transfer phenomena during both cycles. The presence of natural convection during melting might have been stated from the influence of the Rayleigh number on the correlations obtained.

Keywords: phase change materials, air-PCM exchangers, convection, conduction

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Authors: Hülya Torun, Ondřej Novák, Jaromír Mikulík, Miroslav Strnad, Faik A. Ayaz

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World climate is changing. Millions of people in the world still face chronic undernourishment for conducting a healthy life and the world’s population is growing steadily. To meet this growing demand, agriculture and food systems must adapt to the adverse effects of climate change and become more resilient, productive and sustainable. From this perspective, to determine tolerant cultivars for undesirable environmental conditions will be necessary food production for sustainable development. Among abiotic stresses, soil salinity is one of the most detrimental global fact restricting plant sources. Development of salt-tolerant lines is required in order to increase the crop productivity and quality in salt-treated lands. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate the morphological and physiological responses of barley cultivars accessions to salinity stress by NaCl. For this purpose, it was aimed to determine the crosstalk between some endogenous phytohormones and exogenous salicylic acid (SA) in two different vegetative parts (leaves and roots) of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.; Poaceae; 2n=14; Ince-04) which is detected salt-tolerant. The effects of SA on growth parameters, leaf relative water content (RWC), endogenous phytohormones; including indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), cytokinins (CKs), abscisic acid (ABA), jasmonic acid (JA) and ethylene were investigated in barley cultivars under salinity stress. SA was applied to 17-day-old seedlings of barley in two different ways including before (pre-treated for 24 h) and simultaneously with NaCl stress treatment. NaCl (0, 150, 300 mM) exposure in the hydrophonic system was associated with a rapid decrease in growth parameters and RWC, which is an indicator of plant water status, resulted in a strong up-regulation of ABA as a stress indicator. Roots were more dramatically affected than leaves. Water conservation in 150 mM NaCl treated-barley plants did not change, but decreased in 300 mM NaCl treated plants. Pre- and simultaneously treatment of SA did not significantly alter growth parameters and RWC. ABA, JA and ethylene are known to be related with stress. In the present work, ethylene also increased, similarly to ABA, but not with the same intensity. While ABA and ethylene increased by the increment of salt concentrations, JA levels rapidly decreased especially in roots. Both pre- and simultaneously SA applications alleviated salt-induced decreases in 300 mM NaCl resulted in the increment of ABA levels. CKs and IAA are related to cell growth and development. At high salinity (300 mM NaCl), CKs (cZ+cZR) contents increased in both vegetative organs while IAA levels stayed at the same level with control groups. However, IAA increased and cZ+cZR rapidly decreased in leaves of barley plants with SA treatments before salt applications (in pre- SA treated groups). Simultaneously application of SA decreased CKs levels in both leaves and roots of the cultivar. Due to increasing concentrations of NaCl in association with decreasing ABA, JA and ethylene content and increments in CKs and IAA were recorded with SA treatments. As results of the study, in view of all the phytohormones that we tested, exogenous SA induced greater tolerance to salinity particularly when applied before salinity stress.

Keywords: Barley, Hordeum vulgare, phytohormones, salicylic acid, salinity

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Authors: Reyhaneh Saeedi

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Iran is a capable zone for the earthquake that follows the loss of lives and financial damages. To have sheltering for earthquake victims is one of the basic requirements although it is hard to select suitable places for temporary resettling after an earthquake happens. Before these kinds of disasters happen, the best places for resettling the victims must be designated. This matter is an important issue in disaster management and planning. Geospatial Information System(GIS) has a determining role in disaster management, it can determine the best places for temporary resettling after such a disaster. In this paper, the best criteria have been determined associated with their weights and buffers by use of research and questionnaire for locating the best places. In this paper, AHP method is used as decision model and to locate the best places for temporary resettling is done based on the selected criteria. Also, in this research are made the buffer layers of criteria and change them to the raster layers. Later on, the raster layers are multiplied on desired weights then, the results are added together. Finally, there are suitable places for resettling of victims by desired criteria by different colors with their optimum rate in ArcGIS software.

Keywords: disaster management, temporary resettlement, earthquake, criteria

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Authors: Young Nam Chun, Mun Sup Lim

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Carbon dioxide and methane, the major components of biomass pyrolysis/gasification gas and biogas, top the list of substances that cause climate change, but they are also among the most important renewable energy sources in modern society. The purpose of this study is to convert carbon dioxide and methane into high-quality energy using char and commercial activated carbon obtained from biomass pyrolysis as a microwave receptor. The methane reforming process produces hydrogen and carbon. This carbon is deposited in the pores of the microwave receptor and lowers catalytic activity, thereby reducing the methane conversion rate. The deposited carbon was removed by carbon gasification due to the supply of carbon dioxide, which solved the problem of microwave receptor inactivity. In particular, the conversion rate remained stable at over 90% when the ratio of carbon dioxide to methane was 1:1. When the reforming results of carbon dioxide and methane were compared after fabricating nickel and iron catalysts using commercial activated carbon as a carrier, the conversion rate was higher in the iron catalyst than in the nickel catalyst and when no catalyst was used. 

Keywords: microwave, gas reforming, greenhouse gas, microwave receptor, catalyst

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Authors: Adam Abdalla Elbashir Adam, Xiaomin Cheng, Xiang Shui Miao

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In this work, the effect of the magnetron sputtering system parameters on the optical properties of the Mn doped GeTe were investigated. The optical properties of the Ge_1-xMn_xTe thin films with different thicknesses are determined by analyzing the transmittance and reflectance data. The energy band gaps of the amorphous Mn-doped GeTe thin films with different thicknesses were calculated. The obtained results demonstrated that the energy band gap values of the amorphous films are quite different and they are dependent on the films thicknesses. The extinction coefficients of amorphous Mn-doped GeTe thin films as function of wavelength for different thicknesses were measured. The results showed that the extinction coefficients of all films are varying inversely with their optical transmission. Moreover, the results emphasis that, not only the microstructure, electrical and magnetic properties of Mn doped GeTe thin films vary with the films thicknesses but also the optical properties differ with the film thickness.

Keywords: phase change magnetic materials, transmittance, absorbance, extinction coefficients

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Authors: Stephanos Vassilopoulos

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Positive psychology interventions (PPIs) targeting optimism and hope in young children are scarce. This pilot study explored the feasibility and promise of the “Feel Good - Think Positive” intervention, a brief, manualized, multicomponent group PPI for young children. The intervention aimed to enhance participants’ optimism, hope, and self-esteem while reducing their anxiety levels. Forty-one students (Mage = 9.68, SD = 1.64) participated in the intervention and provided data on optimism, hope, self-esteem, and anxiety at baseline and after the intervention was concluded. Analyses showed a significant increase in optimism and self-esteem and a significant decrease in anxiety. However, no change was observed in hope levels. The results complement previous studies of school-based PPIs and hint at the promise of designing feasible interventions that can be easily incorporated into school curriculum and produce both a promoting and a remedial effect in young children.

Keywords: positive psychology intervention, positive education, hope, children

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Authors: Saeed Vahedikamal, Ian Hepburn

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Microwave Kinetic Inductance Detectors (MKIDs) are considered as one of the most promising photon detectors of the future in many Astronomical applications such as exoplanet detections. The MKID advantages stem from their single photon sensitivity (ranging from UV to optical and near infrared), photon energy resolution and high temporal capability (~microseconds). There has been substantial progress in the development of these detectors and MKIDs with Megapixel arrays is now possible. The unique capability of recording an incident photon and its energy (or wavelength) while also registering its time of arrival to within a microsecond enables an array of MKIDs to produce a four-dimensional data block of x, y, z and t comprising x, y spatial, z axis per pixel spectral and t axis per pixel which is temporal. This offers the possibility that the spectrum and brightness variation for any detected piece of space debris as a function of time might offer a unique identifier or fingerprint. Such a fingerprint signal from any object identified in multiple detections by different observers has the potential to determine the orbital features of the object and be used for their tracking. Modelling performed so far shows that with a 20 cm telescope located at an Astronomical observatory (e.g. La Palma, Canary Islands) we could detect sub cm objects at GEO. By considering a Lambertian sphere with a 10 % reflectivity (albedo of the Moon) we anticipate the following for a GEO object: 10 cm object imaged in a 1 second image capture; 1.2 cm object for a 70 second image integration or 0.65 cm object for a 4 minute image integration. We present details of our modelling and the potential instrument for a dedicated GEO surveillance system.

Keywords: space debris, orbital debris, detection system, observation, microwave kinetic inductance detectors, MKID

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Authors: Omar A. Shaneb, Adell S. Amer

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Reduction of CO2 emissions has become a priority for several countries due to increasing concerns about global warming and climate change, especially in the developed countries. Residential sector is considered one of the most important sectors for considerable reduction of CO2 emissions since it represents a significant amount of the total consumed energy in those countries. A significant CO2 reduction cannot be achieved unless some initiatives have been adopted in the policy of these countries. Introducing micro combined heat and power (µCHP) systems into residential energy systems is one of these initiatives, since such a technology offers several advantages. Moreover, µCHP technology has the opportunity to be operated not only by natural gas but it could also be operated by renewable fuels. However, this technology can be operated by different operation strategies. Each strategy has some advantages and disadvantages. This paper provides a review of different operation strategies of such a technology used for residential energy systems, especially for single dwellings. The review summarizes key points that outline the trend of previous research carried out in this field.

Keywords: energy management, µCHP systems, residential energy systems, sustainable houses, operation strategy.

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Authors: D. Subedi, D. Sharma

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Current transformers (CTs) are used to transform large primary currents to a small secondary current. Since most standard equipment’s are not designed to handle large primary currents the CTs have an important part in any electrical system for the purpose of Metering and Protection both of which are integral in Power system. Now a days due to advancement in solid state technology, the operation times of the protective relays have come to a few cycles from few seconds. Thus, in such a scenario it becomes important to study the transient response of the current transformers as it will play a vital role in the operating of the protective devices. This paper shows the steady state and transient behavior of current transformers and how it changes with change in connected burden. The transient and steady state response will be captured using the data acquisition software LabVIEW. Analysis is done on the real time data gathered using LabVIEW. Variation of current transformer characteristics with changes in burden will be discussed.

Keywords: accuracy, accuracy limiting factor, burden, current transformer, instrument security factor

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Authors: Xuri Tang, Ting Pan

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Metaphor institutionalization refers to the propagation of a metaphor that leads to its acceptance in speech community as a norm of the language. Such knowledge is important to both theoretical studies of metaphor and practical disciplines such as lexicography and language generation. This paper reports an empirical study of metaphor institutionalization of 14 Chinese metaphors. It first explores the pattern of metaphor institutionalization by fitting the logistic function (or S-shaped curve) to time series data of conventionality of the metaphors that are automatically obtained from a large-scale diachronic Chinese corpus. Then it reports a questionnaire-based survey on the propagation scale of each metaphor, which is measured by the average number of subjects that can easily understand the metaphorical expressions. The study provides two pieces of evidence supporting the hypothesis that metaphor institutionalization is a phrase transition: (1) the pattern of metaphor institutionalization is an S-shaped curve and (2) institutionalized metaphors generally do not propagate to the whole community but remain in equilibrium state. This conclusion helps distinguish metaphor institutionalization from topicalization and other types of semantic change.

Keywords: metaphor institutionalization, phase transition, propagation scale, s-shaped curve

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Authors: Doo Ki Lee, Man Young Kim

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The Urea-Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) system is considered to be the most promising technology to fulfill the stringent emission regulation. In the Urea-SCR system, the urea solutions are used as the reducing agent, which is a eutectic composition (32.5wt% of urea). The advantage of this eutectic compositions is that it has a low freezing point approximately at -11 ℃, however, the problem of freezing occurs at low-temperature levels below that freezing point. To prevent freezing of urea solutions, we need heating systems that can melt by heating the frozen urea solutions in urea storage tank at low-temperature environment. In this study, therefore, a numerical investigation of three-dimensional unsteady heating problems analyzed to find the melting characteristics of the urea solutions on melting process. In this work, it can be found that the urea melting initiated by heat conduction from the heater is enhanced by the natural convection inside the melted liquid urea solutions due to the temperature difference. Also, liquid urea solutions are initially concentrated on the upper parts of the urea sender module.

Keywords: urea solution, melting, heat conduction, natural convection, liquid fraction, phase change

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Authors: Dorota Galeza

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This paper argues that networks, such as the ECN and the American network, are affected by certain small events which are inherent to path dependence and preclude the full evolution towards efficiency. It is advocated that the American network is superior to the ECN in many respects due to its greater flexibility and longer history. This stems in particular from the creation of the American network, which was based on a small number of cases. Such structure encourages further changes and modifications which are not necessarily radical. The ECN, by contrast, was established by legislative action, which explains its rigid structure and resistance to change. It might be the case that the ECN is subject not so much to path dependence but to past dependence. It might have to be replaced, as happened to its predecessor. This paper is an attempt to transpose the superiority of the American network on to the ECN. It looks at concepts such as judicial cooperation, harmonization of procedure, peer review and regulatory impact assessments (RIAs), and dispute resolution procedures. The aim is to adopt these concepts into the EU setting without recourse to legal transplantation. The major difficulty is that many of these concepts have been tested only in the US and it is difficult to tell whether they could be modified to meet EU standards. Concepts such as judicial cooperation might be difficult due to different language traditions in EU member states. It is hoped that greater flexibility, as in the American network, would boost legitimacy and transparency.

Keywords: ECN, networks, regulation, competition

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Authors: GüLcan Keskin

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In a globalizing world, it is more difficult for developing counties to gain a competitive advantage compared to developed countries. Entrepreneurship is an important factor for economic growth in developing countries. Entrepreneurship is not only in the success of an entrepreneur’s own businesses, but also plays an important role in regional and national development. Entrepreneurship is the factor that triggers change for the country to accelerate the creation, dissemination, and implementation of new thoughts, leading to the emergence of industries that supports economic growth and development as it increases productivity by creating a competitive advantage. Therefore, it is an important factor for countries to develop economically and socially in a global world. As the know-how of the local products belongs to the region, it is a value that should not be lost. Having know-how provides a competitive advantage to the region. On the other hand, traditional products can be tailored to today’s trade understanding to appeal to more audiences. The primary aim of the study is to examine the interaction mechanism between traditional products and innovation in the context of related literature. The second aim of the study is to show the effect the traditional products to competitive advantage.

Keywords: e-commerce, economic growth, entrepreneurship, traditional products

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Authors: Mutaz Dwairy

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Solid tumors have high interstitial fluid pressure (IFP), high mechanical stress, and low oxygen levels. Solid stresses may induce apoptosis, stimulate the invasiveness and metastasis of cancer cells, and lower their proliferation rate, while oxygen concentration may affect the response of cancer cells to treatment. Although tumors grow in a nonhomogeneous environment, many existing theoretical models assume homogeneous growth and tissue has uniform mechanical properties. For example, the brain consists of three primary materials: white matter, gray matter, and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Therefore, tissue inhomogeneity should be considered in the analysis. This study established a physical model based on convection-diffusion equations and continuum mechanics principles. The model considers the geometrical inhomogeneity of the brain by including the three different matters in the analysis: white matter, gray matter, and CSF. The model also considers fluid-solid interaction and explicitly describes the effect of mechanical factors, e.g., solid stresses and IFP, chemical factors, e.g., oxygen concentration, and biological factors, e.g., cancer cell concentration, on growing tumors. In this article, we applied the model on a brain tumor positioned within the white matter, considering the brain inhomogeneity to estimate solid stresses, IFP, the cancer cell concentration, oxygen concentration, and the deformation of the tissues within the neoplasm and the surrounding. Tumor size was estimated at different time points. This model might be clinically crucial for cancer detection and treatment planning by measuring mechanical stresses, IFP, and oxygen levels in the tissue.

Keywords: biomechanical model, interstitial fluid pressure, solid stress, tumor microenvironment

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Authors: Ana Vulic, Tina Lesic, Nina Kudumija, Maja Kis, Manuela Zadravec, Nada Vahcic, Tomaz Polak, Jelka Pleadin

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Mycotoxins are toxic secondary metabolites produced by numerous types of molds. They can contaminate both food and feed so that they represent a serious public health concern. Production of dry-fermented meat products involves ripening, during which molds can overgrow the product surface, produce mycotoxins, and consequently contaminate the final product. Citrinin is a mycotoxin produced mainly by the Penicillium citrinum. Data on citrinin occurrence in both food and feed are limited. Therefore, there is a need for research on citrinin occurrence in these types of meat products. The LC-MS/MS method for citrinin determination was developed and validated. Sample preparation was performed using immunoaffinity columns, which resulted in clean sample extracts. Method validation included the determination of the limit of detection (LOD), the limit of quantification (LOQ), recovery, linearity, and matrix effect in accordance to the latest validation guidance. The determined LOD and LOQ were 0.60 µg/kg and 1.98 µg/kg, respectively, showing a good method sensitivity. The method was tested for its linearity in the calibration range of 1 µg/L to 10 µg/L. The recovery was 100.9 %, while the matrix effect was 0.7 %. This method was employed in the analysis of 47 samples of dry-fermented sausages collected from local households. Citrinin wasn’t detected in any of these samples, probably because of the short ripening period of the tested sausages that takes three months tops. The developed method shall be used to test other types of traditional dry-cured products, such as prosciuttos, whose surface is usually more heavily overgrown by surface molds due to the longer ripening period.

Keywords: citrinin, dry-fermented meat products, LC-MS/MS, mycotoxins

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Authors: Marwa A. A. Ragab, Amira F. El-Yazbi, Amr El-Hawiet

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The analysis of heavy metals in honey samples is crucial. When found in honey, they denote environmental pollution. Some of these heavy metals as lead either present at low or high concentrations are considered to be toxic. Other heavy metals, for example, copper and zinc, if present at low concentrations, they considered safe even vital minerals. On the contrary, if they present at high concentrations, they are toxic. Their voltammetric determination in honey represents a challenge due to the presence of other electro-active components as vitamins, which may overlap with the peaks of the metal, hindering their accurate and precise determination. The simultaneous analysis of some vitamins: nicotinic acid (B3) and riboflavin (B2), and heavy metals: lead, cadmium, and zinc, in honey samples, was addressed. The analysis was done in 0.1 M Potassium Chloride (KCl) using a hanging mercury drop electrode (HMDE), followed by chemometric manipulation of the voltammetric data using the derivative method. Then the derivative data were convoluted using discrete Fourier functions. The proposed method allowed the simultaneous analysis of vitamins and metals though their varied responses and sensitivities. Although their peaks were overlapped, the proposed chemometric method allowed their accurate and precise analysis. After the chemometric treatment of the data, metals were successfully quantified at low levels in the presence of vitamins (1: 2000). The heavy metals limit of detection (LOD) values after the chemometric treatment of data decreased by more than 60% than those obtained from the direct voltammetric method. The method applicability was tested by analyzing the selected metals and vitamins in real honey samples obtained from different botanical origins.

Keywords: chemometrics, overlapped voltammetric peaks, derivative and convoluted derivative methods, metals and vitamins

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Authors: Shaira Karishma Sheriff, Zarinah Hamid

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The Arab Spring, which commenced during the end of 2010 and accelerated during 2011, was caused primarily due to poverty, unemployment and a general recession in the Middle East and North African (MENA) region. The core motivation of this revolution could be said to be the need for political, economic and social reforms that the region desires to experience. Though GDP growth has been significant in the region, the income distribution mechanism in MENA countries has been ineffective. This results in low levels of education, substandard health care facilities, unemployment, and poverty. This paper argues that MENA countries have great potential for experiencing socioeconomic development by being less dependent on oil exports and enhancing their services sector through better education which would eventually lead to job creation. Furthermore, the region can encourage better trade and political integration by forming transparent and accountable governments. The notion of Nation-State needs to be addressed and the countries in the region need to look for ways to develop effective supra-national institutions for better political and economic integration that goes beyond geographical borders.

Keywords: political reforms, social reforms, economic development, nation-state, economic integration

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Authors: Lorenzo Maiorino, Fabio Fortuna, Giovanni Panebianco, Marco Sanzari, Gabriella Arcese, Valerio Maria Paolozzi

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It is well known that sport is a factor of social cohesion and the breaking down of barriers between people. From this point of view, the aim is to demonstrate how, through the (re)generation of sustainable structures, it is possible to give life to a new social, cultural, and economic pathway, where possible, in peripheral areas with problems of abandonment and degradation. The aim of this paper is, therefore, to study realities such as European programs and funds and to highlight the ways in which planning can be used to respond to critical issues such as urban decay, abandonment, and the mitigation of social differences. For this reason, the analysis will be carried out through the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) package, the Next Generation EU, the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), the Cohesion Fund, the European Social Fund, and other managed funds. The procedure will rely on sources and data of unquestionable origin, and the relation to the object of study in question will be highlighted. The project lends itself to be ambitious and exploring a further aspect of the sports theme, which, as we know, is one of the foundations for a healthy society.

Keywords: sport, social inclusion, urban regeneration, sports facilities, European funds

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Authors: Julia Baker

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Development plays a major role in stopping biodiversity loss. But the ‘silo species’ protection of legislation (where certain species are protected while many are not) means that development can be ‘legally compliant’ and result in biodiversity loss. ‘Net Gain’ (NG) policies can help overcome this by making it an absolute requirement that development causes no overall loss of biodiversity and brings a benefit. However, offsetting biodiversity losses in one location with gains elsewhere is controversial because people suspect ‘offsetting’ to be an easy way for developers to buy their way out of conservation requirements. Yet the good practice principles (GPP) of offsetting provide several advantages over existing legislation for protecting biodiversity from development. This presentation describes the learning from implementing NG approaches based on GPP. It regards major upgrades of the UK’s transport networks, which involved removing vegetation in order to construct and safely operate new infrastructure. While low-lying habitats were retained, trees and other habitats disrupting the running or safety of transport networks could not. Consequently, achieving NG within the transport corridor was not possible and offsetting was required. The first ‘lessons learnt’ were on obtaining a commitment from business leaders to go beyond legislative requirements and deliver NG, and on the institutional change necessary to embed GPP within daily operations. These issues can only be addressed when the challenges that biodiversity poses for business are overcome. These challenges included: biodiversity cannot be measured easily unlike other sustainability factors like carbon and water that have metrics for target-setting and measuring progress; and, the mindset that biodiversity costs money and does not generate cash in return, which is the opposite of carbon or waste for example, where people can see how ‘sustainability’ actions save money. The challenges were overcome by presenting the GPP of NG as a cost-efficient solution to specific, critical risks facing the business that also boost industry recognition, and by using government-issued NG metrics to develop business-specific toolkits charting their NG progress whilst ensuring that NG decision-making was based on rich ecological data. An institutional change was best achieved by supporting, mentoring and training sustainability/environmental managers for these ‘frontline’ staff to embed GPP within the business. The second learning was from implementing the GPP where business partnered with local governments, wildlife groups and land owners to support their priorities for nature conservation, and where these partners had a say in decisions about where and how best to achieve NG. From this inclusive approach, offsetting contributed towards conservation priorities when all collaborated to manage trade-offs between: -Delivering ecologically equivalent offsets or compensating for losses of one type of biodiversity by providing another. -Achieving NG locally to the development whilst contributing towards national conservation priorities through landscape-level planning. -Not just protecting the extent and condition of existing biodiversity but ‘doing more’. -The multi-sector collaborations identified practical, workable solutions to ‘in perpetuity’. But key was strengthening linkages between biodiversity measures implemented for development and conservation work undertaken by local organizations so that developers support NG initiatives that really count.

Keywords: biodiversity offsetting, development, nature conservation planning, net gain

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Authors: K. Govender, M. Sinclair

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This paper demonstrates a proof of concept whereby shorter trips and land use densification can be promoted through an alternative approach to planning and implementation of road infrastructure in the South African context. It briefly discusses how the development of the Compact City concept relies on a combination of promoting shorter trips and densification through a change in focus in road infrastructure provision. The methodology developed in this paper uses a traffic model to test the impact of synthesized deterrence functions on congestion locations in the road network through the assignment of traffic on the study network. The results from this study demonstrate that intelligent planning of road infrastructure can indeed promote reduced urban sprawl, increased residential density and mixed-use areas which are supported by an efficient public transport system; and reduced dependence on the freeway network with a fixed road infrastructure budget. The study has resonance for all cities where urban sprawl is seemingly unstoppable.

Keywords: compact cities, densification, road infrastructure planning, transportation modelling

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Authors: Tzong-Ying Hao, Mohammad T. Rahmani

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The Torre Central building is a 9-story shear wall structure located in Santiago, Chile, and has been instrumented since 2009. Events of different intensity (ambient vibrations, weak and strong earthquake motions) have been recorded, and thus the building can serve as a full-scale benchmark to evaluate the structural health monitoring method developed. The first part of this article presents an analysis of inter-story drifts, and of changes in the first system frequencies (estimated from the relative displacement response of the 8th-floor with respect to the basement from recorded data) as baseline indicators of the occurrence of damage. During 2010 Chile earthquake the system frequencies were detected decreasing approximately 24% in the EW and 27% in NS motions. Near the end of shaking, an increase of about 17% in the EW motion was detected. The structural health monitoring (SHM) method based on changes in wave traveling time (wave method) within a layered shear beam model of structure is presented in the second part of this article. If structural damage occurs the velocity of wave propagated through the structure changes. The wave method measures the velocities of shear wave propagation from the impulse responses generated by recorded data at various locations inside the building. Our analysis and results show that the detected changes in wave velocities are consistent with the observed damages. On this basis, the wave method is proven for actual implementation in structural health monitoring systems.

Keywords: Chile earthquake, damage detection, earthquake response, impulse response, layered shear beam, structural health monitoring, Torre Central building, wave method, wave travel time

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Authors: Mohamed M. M. Elnasharty, Azhar M. Elwan

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Irradiation deposits energy through ionisation changing the bio-system’s net dipole, allowing the use of dielectric parameters and thermodynamic state functions related to these parameters as biophysical detectors to electrical inhomogeneity within the biosystem. This part is concerned with the effect of Moringa leaves extract, natural supplement, on the response of the biosystem to two different dose rates of irradiation. Having Hb molecule as a representative to the biosystem to be least invasive to the biosystem, dielectric measurements were used to extract the relaxation time of certain process found in the Hb spectrum within the indicated frequency window and the interrelated thermodynamic state functions were calculated from the deduced relaxation time. The results showed that relaxation time was decreased for both dose rates indicating a strong influence of Moringa on the response of biosystem and consequently Hb molecule. This influence was presented in the relaxation time and other parameters as well.

Keywords: activation energy, DC conductivity, dielectric relaxation, enthalpy change, Moringa leaves extract, relaxation time

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Authors: Mei Han, Jinkou Zhao, Yuan Yao, Liangui Feng, Xianbin Ding, Guohui Wu, Chao Zhou, Lin Ouyang, Rongrong Lu, Bo Zhang

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To compare the HIV incidence estimated using BED capture enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (BED-CEIA) and observed in a cohort against the HIV incidence among men who have sex with men (MSM) measured by pooling polymerase chain reaction (pooling-PCR). A total of 617 MSM subjects were included in a respondent driven sampling survey in Chongqing in 2008. Among the 129 that were tested HIV antibody positive, 102 were defined with long-term infection, 27 were assessed for recent HIV infection (RHI) using BED-CEIA. The remaining 488 HIV negative subjects were enrolled to the prospective cohort and followed-up every 6 months to monitor HIV seroconversion. All of the 488 HIV negative specimens were assessed for acute HIV infection (AHI) using pooling-PCR. Among the 488 negative subjects in the open cohort, 214 (43.9%) were followed-up for six months, with 107 person-years of observation and 14 subjects seroconverted. The observed HIV incidence was 12.5 per 100 person-years (95% CI=9.1-15.7). Among the 488 HIV negative specimens, 5 were identified with acute HIV infection using pooling-PCR at an annual rate of 14.02% (95% CI=1.73-26.30). The estimated HIV-1 incidence was 12.02% (95% CI=7.49-16.56) based on BED-CEIA. The HIV incidence estimated with three different approaches was different among subgroups. In the highly HIV prevalent MSM, it costs US$ 1724 to detect one AHI case, while detection of one case of RHI with BED assay costs only US$ 42. Three approaches generated comparable and high HIV incidences, pooling PCR and prospective cohort are more close to the true level of incidence, while BED-CEIA seemed to be the most convenient and economical approach for at-risk population’s HIV incidence evaluation at the beginning of HIV pandemic. HIV-1 incidences were alarmingly high among MSM population in Chongqing, particularly within the subgroup under 25 years of age and those migrants aged between 25 to 34 years.

Keywords: BED-CEIA, HIV, incidence, pooled PCR, prospective cohort

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