Search results for: type classification

Authors: Kamran Siddique, Hiroyuki Asada, Yoshifumi Ogami

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The use of Micro Gas Turbine (MGT) as the engine in Unmanned Aerobic Vehicles (UAVs) and power source in Robotics is widespread these days. Research has been conducted in the past decade or so to improve the performance of different components of MGT. This type of engine has interrelated components which have non-linear characteristics. Therefore, the overall engine performance depends on the individual engine element’s performance. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) is one of the simulation method tools used to analyze or even optimize MGT system performance. In this study, the compressor of the MGT is designed, and performance optimization is being done using CFD. Performance of the micro compressor is improved in order to increase the overall performance of MGT. A high value of pressure ratio is to be achieved by studying the effect of change of different operating parameters like mass flow rate and revolutions per minute (RPM) and aerodynamical and geometrical parameters on the pressure ratio of the compressor. Two types of compressor designs are considered in this study; 3D centrifugal and ‘planar’ designs. For a 10 mm impeller, the planar model is the simplest compressor model with the ease in manufacturability. On the other hand, 3D centrifugal model, although more efficient, is very difficult to manufacture using current microfabrication resources. Therefore, the planar model is the best-suited model for a micro compressor. So. a planar micro compressor has been designed that has a good pressure ratio, and it is easy to manufacture using current microfabrication technologies. Future work is to fabricate the compressor to get experimental results and validate the theoretical model.

Keywords: computational fluid dynamics, microfabrication, MEMS, unmanned aerobic vehicles

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Authors: Marzieh Sayyad, Mohsen Salesi

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Metabolic syndrome (MetS), a collection of cardiometabolic risk factors, is linked to the development of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and diabetes. The prevalence of MetS is on the rise with more women affected than men. The goal of this study was to compare the effects of resistance and aerobic exercise training on metabolic syndrome components in non-athlete, middle-aged woman. 51 non-athlete overweight female participated voluntarily in this study. Participants were divided randomly into three groups including resistance, aerobic and control group (number of each group 17). 24 hours before the beginning of training program, the blood sample was taken in fasting state. The two training groups participated in sport activities for eight weeks, three times a week duration 60-90 minutes. Two days following the end of the 8th week, all the measurements were performed similar to the pretest phase. The data was analyzed using one-way analysis of variance. The results showed that aerobic exercise training significantly decreased weight (p=.05), triglyceride (p<0.01) and systolic blood pressure (p<0.02) and HDL-c (p<0.01) was significantly increased. Also in resistance exercise training group TG decreased significantly (p<0.01) and HDL-c (p<0.05) was significantly increased. This study demonstrated that a regular physical activity program improved several metabolic and physiological parameters in healthy, previously sedentary subjects with the metabolic syndrome. In conclusion, it seems that this type of training can be efficient, safe and inexpensive way in order to reduce and prevent metabolic syndrome.

Keywords: aerobic exercise, metabolic syndrome, overweight sedentary female, resistance exercise

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Authors: Artsiom Zinchanka

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The world faces now one of the largest migration crisis and the European Union meets challenges in accepting the flow of migrants that could not be handled finally at this step. This crisis is complicated with many factors, such as military conflict in the Middle East; absence of the appropriate conditions in the refugees’ camps; but also with the complicity of the migration flow consisting of the Sub-Saharan migrants. This type of migrants leave their homelands for many reasons including poverty, not appropriate level of social and economic conditions, absence of infrastructure and access to the education and medical care. In practice, when the restrictive approach directed to limit the flow of illicit migration and to send illicit migrants back to their homelands is not always working, the approach directed to the root causes of the migration crisis can be more effective in settling the crisis. The Cotonou Agreement and the following treaties concluded between the European Union, and Sub-Saharan states show that the European Union considers the development of human rights and appropriate social and economic conditions in the Sub-Saharan states as one of the most important factors addressing the migration crisis. The preventive approach as the efforts of the European Union to develop appropriate social and economic conditions in Sub-Saharan states is considered in this article, as well as its evolution and current condition. This article also considers pros and cons of this approach and the obstacles that this approach faces. The research methods include review of literature and documents, analytical and descriptive methods.

Keywords: migration crisis, preventive approach, Sub-Saharan States, the European Union

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Authors: Hidefumi Kawakatsu, Dong Li, Kosuke Kato

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In Japan, meat-type chickens are mainly classified into three categories: (1) Broilers, (2) Branded chickens, and (3) Jidori (Free-range local traditional pedigree chickens). The Jidori chickens are certified by the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, whilst, for the Branded chickens, there is no regulation with respect to their breed (genotype) or methods for rearing them. It is, therefore, relatively easy for poultry farmers to introduce Branded than Jidori chickens. The Branded chickens are normally fed a low-calorie diet with ingredients such as herbs, which lengthens their breeding period (compared with that of the Broilers) and increases their market value. In the field of inventory management, fast-growing animals such as broilers are categorised as ameliorating items. To the best of our knowledge, there are no previous studies that have explicitly considered smaller sized poultry farmers with limited breeding areas. This study develops an inventory model for a small sized poultry farmer that produces both the Broilers (Product 1) and the Branded chickens (Product 2) with different amelioration rates. The poultry farmer’s total profit per unit of time is formulated as a function of selling prices by using a price-dependent demand function. The existence of a unique optimal selling price for each product, which maximises the total profit, established. It has also been confirmed through numerical examples that, when the breeding area is fixed, the total profit could increase if the poultry farmer reduced the product quantity of Product 1 to introduce Product 2.

Keywords: amelioration, deterioration, small sized poultry farmers, optimal price

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Authors: Ben Levenger

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Social life revolves around a central meeting place or gathering space. It is where the community integrates, earns social skills, and ultimately becomes part of the community. Following this premise, public spaces are one of the most important spaces that downtowns offer, providing locations for people to be witnessed, heard, and most importantly, seamlessly integrate into the downtown as part of the community. To facilitate this, these local spaces must be envisioned and designed to meet the changing needs of a downtown, offering a space and purpose for everyone. This paper will dive deep into analyzing, designing, and implementing public space design for small plazas or gathering spaces. These spaces often require a detailed level of study, followed by a broad stroke of design implementation, allowing for adaptability. This paper will highlight how to assess needs, define needed types of spaces, outline a program for spaces, detail elements of design to meet the needs, assess your new space, and plan for change. This study will provide participants with the necessary framework for conducting a grass-roots-level assessment of public space and programming, including short-term and long-term improvements. Participants will also receive assessment tools, sheets, and visual representation diagrams. Urbanism, for the sake of urbanism, is an exercise in aesthetic beauty. An economic improvement or benefit must be attained to solidify these efforts' purpose further and justify the infrastructure or construction costs. We will deep dive into case studies highlighting economic impacts to ground this work in quantitative impacts. These case studies will highlight the financial impact on an area, measuring the following metrics: rental rates (per sq meter), tax revenue generation (sales and property), foot traffic generation, increased property valuations, currency expenditure by tenure, clustered development improvements, cost/valuation benefits of increased density in housing. The economic impact results will be targeted by community size, measuring in three tiers: Sub 10,000 in population, 10,001 to 75,000 in population, and 75,000+ in population. Through this classification breakdown, the participants can gauge the impact in communities similar to their work or for which they are responsible. Finally, a detailed analysis of specific urbanism enhancements, such as plazas, on-street dining, pedestrian malls, etc., will be discussed. Metrics that document the economic impact of each enhancement will be presented, aiding in the prioritization of improvements for each community. All materials, documents, and information will be available to participants via Google Drive. They are welcome to download the data and use it for their purposes.

Keywords: downtown, economic development, planning, strategic

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Authors: Abdullah M. Alzahrani, Abdel Halim Boussabaine

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There is an international consensus on the climate change in the entire world and this is as a result of the combination of the natural factors, such as volcanoes and hurricanes with increased of human activity on the earth, such as industrial renaissance. Where this solidarity increases emissions of greenhouse gases GHGs that considered as the main driver of climate change scenarios and related emerging risks and impacts on buildings. These climatic risks including damages, disruption and disquiet are set to increase and it is considered as the main challenges and difficulties facing built environment due to major implications on assets sector. Consequently, the threat from climate change patterns has a significant impact on a variety of complex human decisions, which affect all aspects of living. Understanding the relationship between buildings and such risks arising from climate change scenarios on buildings are the key in insuring the optimal timing and design of policies and systems, which affect all aspects of the built environment. This paper will uncovering this correlation between emerging climate change risks and the building assets. In addition, how these emerging risks can be classified in practical way in terms of their impact type on buildings. Hence, this mapping will assist professionals and interested parties in the building sector to cope with such risks in several systematic ways including development and designing of mitigation and adaptation strategies and processes of design, specification, construction, and operation; all these leads to successful management of assets.

Keywords: climate change, climate change risks, built environment, building sector, impacts

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Authors: Shahjada Selim

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Background: Erectile dysfunction (ED) is an important impediment to quality of life of men. ED is approximate, three times more common in diabetic than non-diabetic men, and diabetic men develop ED earlier than age-matched non-diabetic subjects. Glycemic control and other factors may contribute in developing and or deteriorating ED. Aim: The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence of ED and its risk factors in type 2 diabetic (T2DM) men in Bangladesh. Methods: During 2013-2014, 3980 diabetic men aged 30-69 years were interviewed at the out-patient departments of seven diabetic centers in Dhaka by using the validated Bengali version of the questionnaire of the International index of erectile function (IIEF) for evaluation of baseline erectile function (EF). The indexes indicate a very high correlation between the items and the questionnaire is consistently reliable. Data were analyzed with Chi-squared (χ²) test using SPSS software. P ≤ 0.05 was considered significant. Results: Out of 3790, ED was found in 2046 (53.98%) of T2DM men. The prevalence of ED was increased with age from 10.5% in men aged 30-39 years to 33.6% in those aged over 60 years (P < 0.001). In comparison with patients with reported diabetes lasting ≤ 5 years (26.4%), the prevalence of ED was less than in those with diabetes of 6-11 years (35.3%) and of 12-30 years (42.5%, P <0.001). ED increased significantly in those who had poor glycemic control. The prevalence of ED in patients with good, fair and poor glycemic control was 22.8%, 42.5% and 47.9% respectively (P = 0.004). Treatment modalities (medical nutrition therapy, oral agents, insulin, and insulin plus oral agents) had significant association with ED and its severity (P < 0.001). Conclusion: Prevalence of ED is very high among T2DM men in Bangladesh and can be reduced the burden by improving glycemic status. Glycemic control, duration of diabetes, treatment modalities, increasing age are associated with ED.

Keywords: erectile dysfunction, diabetes, men, Bangladesh

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Authors: Kouorsh Zarea, Fatemeh Hassani, Samira Beiranvand, Akram Mohamadi

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Background and Objectives: Medication error in hospitals is a major cause of the errors which disrupt the health care system. The aim of this study was to assess the nurses’ medication errors and related factors. Material and methods: This was a descriptive study on 225 nurses in various hospitals, selected through multistage random sampling. Data was collected by three researcher made tools; demographic, medication error and related factors questionnaires. Data was analyzed by descriptive statistics, Chi-square, Kruskal-Wallis, One-way analysis of variance. Results: Based on the results obtained, the type of medication errors giving drugs to patients later or earlier (55.6%), multiple oral medication together regardless of their interactions (36%) and the postoperative analgesic without a prescription (34.2%), respectively. In addition, factors such as the shortage of nurses to patients’ ratio (57.3%), high load functions (51.1%) and fatigue caused by the extra work (40.4%), were the most important factors affecting the incidence of medication errors. The fear of legal issues (40%) are the most important factor is the lack of reported medication errors. Conclusions: Based on the results, effective management and promotion motivate nurses. Therefore, increasing scientific and clinical expertise in the field of nursing medication orders is recommended to prevent medication errors in various states of nursing intervention. Employing experienced staff in areas with high risk of medication errors and also supervising less-experienced staff through competent personnel are also suggested.

Keywords: medication error, nurse, clinical care, drug errors

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Authors: Tianyou Wang

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Students' own intrinsic motivation is the main source of energy for learning activities, and their self-efficacy becomes a key factor affecting the learning effect. In today's increasingly common situation of online vocal music teaching, virtualized teaching scenarios have brought a considerable impact on students' personal efficacy. Since personal efficacy is the result of the interaction between environmental factors and subject characteristics, an empirical study was conducted to investigate the changes in students' self-efficacy, influencing factors, and characteristics in online vocal teaching scenarios based on the three dimensions of teachers, students, and technology. One hundred valid questionnaires were studied through a quantitative survey. The results showed that students' personal efficacy was significantly lower in online learning environments compared to offline vocal teaching and showed significant differences due to factors such as gender and class type; students' self-efficacy in online vocal teaching was significantly affected by factors such as technological environment, teaching style, and information technology ability. Based on the results of the study, it is recommended to pay attention to inquiry and practice in the teaching design, use singing projects as the teaching organization, grasp the learning process with the orientation of problem-solving, push the applicable vocal music teaching resources in time, lead students to explore and refine the problems and push students to learn independently according to the goals and plans.

Keywords: vocal pedagogy, self-efficacy, online learning, intrinsic motivation, information technology

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Authors: Donatien Niragira

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The progress of technology creates new expectations for patients. The world of deafness is no exception. In recent years, there have been considerable advances in the field of technologies aimed at assisting failing hearing. According to the usual medical vocabulary, hearing aids are actually orthotics. They do not replace an organ but compensate for a functional impairment. The Amplifier Hearing amplification is useful for a large number of people with hearing loss. Hearing aids restore speech audibility. However, their benefits vary depending on the quality of residual hearing. The hearing aid is not a "cure" for deafness. It cannot correct all affected hearing abilities. It should be considered as an aid to communication. The urge to judge from the audiogram alone should be resisted here, as audiometry only indicates the ability to detect non-verbal sounds. To prevent hearing aids from ending up in the drawer, it is important to ensure that the patient's disability situations justify the use of this type of orthosis. If the problems of receptive Pre-fitting counseling are crucial: the person with hearing loss must be informed of the advantages and disadvantages of amplification in his or her case. Their expectations must be realistic. They also need to be aware that the adaptation process requires a good deal of patience and perseverance. They should be informed about the various models and types of hearing aids, including all the aesthetic, functional and financial considerations. If the person's motivation "survives" pre-fitting counseling, we are in the presence of a good candidate for amplification. In addition to its relevance, it shows that the results found in this study significantly improve the quality of audibility in the patient, from where this technology must be made accessible everywhere in the world.

Keywords: auditives protheses, hearing, aids, no medicaly treatable deafnes

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Authors: Lobna Mnif Fakhfakh, Mohamed Chaieb

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Most ecological studies in North Africa reveal a process of continuous degradation of pastoral ecosystems as a result of overgrazing. This degradation appears across the depletion of perennial grass species. Indeed, the majority of steppic ecosystems are characterized by a low density of perennial grasses. This phenomenon reveals a drop in food value of rangelands, which is now estimated at less than 100 UF.ha -1. -1 Year in all North African steppes. However, for ecological restoration initiatives, some species such the genus of Stipagrostis and Stipa can be considered a good candidates species for effective pastoral improvement under arid bioclimate. The present work concerns Stipagrostis ciliata (Desf.) De Winter, perennial grasses, abundant in ecosystems characterized by the high content of gypsum (CaSO4)2H2O in the southern Tunisia. This tufted species with C4 biochemical photosynthesis type is able to grow and develop under high temperature and low annual rainfall, where the minimum water potential (ψmd), can reach -4 MPa during the summer season with a phenological growth maintained throughout the season unfavorable. At this point in the early autumn rains, S. ciliata begins its growth, especially with a heading which occurs 2-3 weeks after the first autumn rains. From the foregoing, it can be concluded that Stipagrostis ciliata is an excellent promising pastoral species for the ecological restoration, and enhancement of ecosystems biological productivity in arid bioclimate of North Africa.

Keywords: Stipagrostis ciliata, pastoral species, ecological restoration, arid bioclimate

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Authors: G. Espriú-Pérez, F. A. Vargas-Oviedo, I. Zenteno-Aguirrezábal, M. D. Moya-Bencomo

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One of the injuries with a higher incidence among university-level athletes in the North of Mexico is presented in the knee. This injury generates absenteeism in training and competitions for at least 8 weeks. There is no active quantitative methodology, or protocol, that directly contributes to the clinical evaluation performed by the medical personnel at the prevalence of knee injuries. The main objective is to contribute with a quantitative tool that allows further development of preventive and corrective measures to these injuries. The study analyzed 55 athletes for 6 weeks, belonging to the disciplines of basketball, volleyball, soccer and swimming. Using a motion capture system (Nexus®, Vicon®), a three-dimensional analysis was developed that allows the measurement of the range of movement of the joint. To focus on the performance of the lower limb, eleven different movements were chosen from the Functional Performance Test, Functional Movement Screen, and the Cincinnati Jump Test. The research identifies the profile of the natural movement of a healthy knee, with the use of medical guidance, and its differences between each sport. The data recovered by the single-leg crossover hop managed to differentiate the type of knee movement among athletes. A maximum difference of 60° of offset was found in the adduction movement between male and female athletes of the same discipline. The research also seeks to serve as a guideline for the implementation of protocols that help identify the recovery level of such injuries.

Keywords: Cincinnati jump test, functional movement screen, functional performance test, knee, motion capture system

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Authors: Mohammad Abbasi

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Cooperatives around the world, relying on the policy of mutual self-help, are a natural tool for Social and economic development, and securing the interests of local communities and social systems has changed. The social economy consists of institutions, cooperatives, bilateral organizations, and unions and associations and their activities have social and economic aspects. Due to the nature of cooperative companies, it can be claimed that all cooperatives have social and economic goals; Because every company A cooperative is formed with the aim of meeting the common needs of society members. These needs sometimes It is aimed at housing or health services, and sometimes cooperative members want to go through it Products and services, employment, and continuous income (for example, in most rural areas of Iran, needs are of this type) to have access. This article also examines the broad methods of participation of Iran's cooperatives in the economy It deals with social issues and provides innovative solutions to solve social issues and problems, and the potential for innovation and growth in using the cooperative model in order to meet economic needs and It proves the sociality of Canadians. In this article, cooperatives whose activities are mostly "social" are mentioned And the activity of many of them in cooperation with government programs in the fields of health, housing, etc. It is a kindergarten and they have proven that they have a cost-effective model in providing services. The conclusion of this discussion shows that the cooperative model for economic activity, with A hundred years of history in Iran has been able to show its value as a tool of innovation in the fields to to prove social, technological, and economic. Cooperatives with about 10 million members in Iran have shown that they are well-known and trusted by the people.

Keywords: types of cooperatives, social economy, Iran, non-governmental organizations, justice, consumption pattern

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Authors: Ia Kurashvili, Giorgi Darsavelidze, Giorgi Chubinidze, Marina Kadaria

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Boron-doped Czochralski (CZ) silicon of p-type, widely used in the photovoltaic industry is suffering from the light-induced-degradation (LID) of bulk electrophysical characteristics. This is caused by specific metastable B-O defects, which are characterized by strong recombination activity. In this regard, it is actual to suppress B-O defects in CZ silicon. One of the methods is doping of silicon by different isovalent elements (Ge, C, Sn). The present work deals with the investigations of the influence of germanium doping on the internal friction and shear modulus amplitude dependences in the temperature interval of 600-800⁰C and 0.5-5 Hz frequency range in boron-containing monocrystalline silicon. Experimental specimens were grown by Czochralski method (CZ) in [111] direction. Four different specimens were investigated: Si+0,5at%Ge:B (5.1015cm-3), Si+0,5at%Ge:B (1.1019cm-3), Si+2at%Ge:B (5.1015cm-3) and Si+2at%Ge:B (1.1019cm-3). Increasing tendency of dislocation density and inhomogeneous distribution in silicon crystals with high content of boron and germanium were revealed by metallographic studies on the optical microscope of NMM-80RF/TRF. Weak increase of current carriers-holes concentration and slight decrease of their mobility were observed by Van der Pauw method on Ecopia HMS-3000 device. Non-monotonous changes of dislocation origin defects mobility and microplastic deformation characteristics influenced by measuring temperatures and boron and germanium concentrations were revealed. Possible mechanisms of changes of mechanical characteristics in Si-Ge experimental specimens were discussed.

Keywords: dislocation, internal friction, microplastic deformation, shear modulus

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Authors: Karissa Graham, Andrew Campbell-Lloyd

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The deep inferior epigastric artery perforator flap (DIEP) is used to reconstruct large volumes of tissue. The DIEP flap is based on the deep inferior epigastric artery (DIEA) and vein. Accurate knowledge of the anatomy of these vessels allows for efficient dissection of the flap, minimal damage to surrounding tissue, and a well vascularized flap. A 54 year old lady was assessed for bilateral delayed autologous reconstruction with DIEP free flaps. The right DIEA was consistent with the described anatomy. The left DIEA had a vessel branching shortly after leaving the external iliac artery and before entering the muscle. This independent branch entered the muscle and had a long intramuscular course to the largest perforator. The main DIEA vessel demonstrated a type II branching pattern but had perforators that were too small to have a viable DIEP flap. There were no communicating arterial branches between the independent vessel and DIEA, however, there was one venous communication between them. A muscle sparing transverse rectus abdominis muscle flap was raised using the main periumbilical perforator from the independent vessel. Our case report demonstrated an unreported anatomical variant of the DIEA. A few anatomical variants have been described in the literature, including a unilateral absent DIEA and peritoneal-cutaneous perforators that had no connection to the DIEA. Doing a pre-operative CTA helps to identify these rare anatomical variations, which leads to safer, more efficient, and effective operating.

Keywords: aberrant anatomy, CT angiography, DIEP anatomy, free flap

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Authors: Esra Yel, Tabriz Aslanov, Merve Sogancioglu, Suheyla Kocaman, Gulnare Ahmetli

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The disposal of waste plastics has become a major worldwide environmental problem. Pyrolysis of waste plastics is one of the routes to waste minimization and recycling that has been gaining interest. In pyrolysis, the pyrolysed material is separated into gas, liquid (both are fuel) and solid (char) products. All fractions have utilities and economical value depending upon their characteristics. The first objective of this study is to determine the co-pyrolysis product fractions of waste HDPE- (high density polyethylene) and LDPE (low density polyethylene)-olive pomace (OP) and to determine the qualities of the solid product char. Chars obtained at 700 °C pyrolysis were used in biocomposite preparation as additive. As the second objective, the effects of char on biocomposite quality were investigated. Pyrolysis runs were performed at temperature 700 °C with heating rates of 5 °C/min. Biocomposites were prepared by mixing of chars with bisphenol-F type epoxy resin in various wt%. Biocomposite properties were determined by measuring electrical conductivity, surface hardness, Young’s modulus and tensile strength of the composites. The best electrical conductivity results were obtained with HDPE-OP char. For HDPE-OP char and LDPE-OP char, compared to neat epoxy, the tensile strength values of the composites increased by 102% and 78%, respectively, at 10% char dose. The hardness measurements showed similar results to the tensile tests, since there is a correlation between the hardness and the tensile strength.

Keywords: biocomposite, char, olive pomace, pyrolysis

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Authors: Shivani Kuttuva, James Sampson, Timothy Simmons, Vinayak Thattaruparambil, Holly Burton, Peter Coyne

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Anogenital mammary-like glands were established to be embryological remnants of breast tissue due to failed resolution of the ectodermal mammary ridge. However, recent studies are now considering this to represent normal constituents of the anogenital area with histological resemblance to the orthotopic breast tissue with multiple benign and malignant lesions arising from it. The incidence of the above has been predominant in females in the vulval region. Due to the paucity of cases reported in men, this poses a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge resulting in a delay in treatment and, thereby, poor outcomes. Our patient presented to the dermatology clinic with an itchy, purplish lesion in the peri-anal region which, on punch biopsy, was diagnosed to be Extra-mammary Paget’s disease and taken up for Wide local excision. Immunochemically, staining was positive for HER2, ER and Cytokeratin 7, keeping with the presence of actual breast tissue with no primary breast carcinoma. Due to the invasive nature of the disease, he required Abdominoperineal resection with flap reconstruction. Despite complete surgical clearance and adjuvant radiotherapy, the disease progressed to adjacent inguinal and obturator lymph nodes with origin resembling anogenital type mammary glands but histology negative for hormonal receptors of the breast.

Keywords: anogenital mammary-like glands, abdominoperineal resection, ectopic breast tissue, ectopic male breast carcinoma, peri-anal skin lesion

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Authors: Alberto Sanchidrián, José A. Parra, Jesús Alonso, Julián Pecharromán, Antonia Pacios, Consuelo Huerta

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Glass is a commonly used material in building; there is not a unique design solution as plates with a different number of layers and interlayers may be used. In most façades, a security glazing have to be used according to its performance in the impact pendulum. The European Standard EN 12600 establishes an impact test procedure for classification under the point of view of the human security, of flat plates with different thickness, using a pendulum of two tires and 50 kg mass that impacts against the plate from different heights. However, this test does not replicate the actual dimensions and border conditions used in building configurations and so the real stress distribution is not determined with this test. The influence of different boundary conditions, as the ones employed in construction sites, is not well taking into account when testing the behaviour of safety glazing and there is not a detailed procedure and criteria to determinate the glass resistance against human impact. To reproduce the actual boundary conditions on site, when needed, the pendulum test is arranged to be used "in situ", with no account for load control, stiffness, and without a standard procedure. Fracture stress of small and large glass plates fit a Weibull distribution with quite a big dispersion so conservative values are adopted for admissible fracture stress under static loads. In fact, test performed for human impact gives a fracture strength two or three times higher, and many times without a total fracture of the glass plate. Newest standards, as for example DIN 18008-4, states for an admissible fracture stress 2.5 times higher than the ones used for static and wing loads. Now two working areas are open: a) to define a standard for the ‘in situ’ test; b) to prepare a laboratory procedure that allows testing with more real stress distribution. To work on both research lines a laboratory that allows to test medium size specimens with different border conditions, has been developed. A special steel frame allows reproducing the stiffness of the glass support substructure, including a rigid condition used as reference. The dynamic behaviour of the glass plate and its support substructure have been characterized with finite elements models updated with modal tests results. In addition, a new portable impact machine is being used to get enough force and direction control during the impact test. Impact based on 100 J is used. To avoid problems with broken glass plates, the test have been done using an aluminium plate of 1000 mm x 700 mm size and 10 mm thickness supported on four sides; three different substructure stiffness conditions are used. A detailed control of the dynamic stiffness and the behaviour of the plate is done with modal tests. Repeatability of the test and reproducibility of results prove that procedure to control both, stiffness of the plate and the impact level, is necessary.

Keywords: glass plates, human impact test, modal test, plate boundary conditions

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Authors: Jain Jyoti, Jain Shorab, Sinha Shishir

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In the field of material engineering, composites are in great concern for their nonbiodegradability and their cost. In order to reduce its cost and weight, plant derived fibers witnessed miraculous triumph. Plant fibers can be of different types like seed fibers, blast fibers, leaf fibers, etc. Composites can be reinforced with exclusively one type of natural fiber or also can be combined with two or more different types of natural or synthetic fibers to boost up their specific properties. Among all natural fibers, wheat straw, bagasse, kenaf, pineapple leaf, banana, coir, ramie, flax, etc. pineapple leaf fibers have very good mechanical properties. Being hydrophilic in nature, pineapple leaf fibers have very less affinity towards all types of polymer matrixes like HDPE, LDPE, PET, epoxy, etc. Surface treatments like alkaline treatment in different concentrations were conducted to improve its adhesion and compatibility towards hydrophobic polymer matrix i.e. epoxy resin. Pineapple leaf fiber epoxy composites have been prepared using hand layup method. Effect of fiber loading and surface treatments have been studied for different mechanical properties i.e. tensile strength, flexural strength and impact properties of pineapple leaf fiber composites. Analysis of fiber morphology has also been studied using FTIR, XRD. Scanning electron microscopy has also been used to study and compare the morphology of untreated and treated fibers. Also, the fracture surface has been reviewed comparing the reported literature of other eminent researchers of this field.

Keywords: composite, mechanical, natural fiber, pineapple leaf fiber

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Authors: Monika Rani, Claudio Marchesi, Stefania Federici, Laura E. Depero

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Degradation of the aquatic environment by plastic litter, especially microplastics (MPs), i.e., any water-insoluble solid plastic particle with the longest dimension in the range 1µm and 1000 µm (=1 mm) size, is an unfortunate indication of the advancement of the Anthropocene age on Earth. Microplastics formed due to natural weathering processes are termed as secondary microplastics, while when these are synthesized in industries, they are called primary microplastics. Their presence from the highest peaks to the deepest points in oceans explored and their resistance to biological and chemical decay has adversely affected the environment, especially marine life. Even though the presence of MPs in the marine environment is well-reported, a legitimate and authentic analytical technique to sample, analyze, and quantify the MPs is still under progress and testing stages. Among the characterization techniques, vibrational spectroscopic techniques are largely adopted in the field of polymers. And the ongoing miniaturization of these methods is on the way to revolutionize the plastic recycling industry. In this scenario, the capability and the feasibility of a miniaturized near-infrared (MicroNIR) spectroscopy combined with chemometrics tools for qualitative and quantitative analysis of urban plastic waste collected from a recycling plant and microplastic mixture fragmented in the lab were investigated. Based on the Resin Identification Code, 250 plastic samples were used for macroplastic analysis and to set up a library of polymers. Subsequently, MicroNIR spectra were analysed through the application of multivariate modelling. Principal Components Analysis (PCA) was used as an unsupervised tool to find trends within the data. After the exploratory PCA analysis, a supervised classification tool was applied in order to distinguish the different plastic classes, and a database containing the NIR spectra of polymers was made. For the microplastic analysis, the three most abundant polymers in the plastic litter, PE, PP, PS, were mechanically fragmented in the laboratory to micron size. The distinctive arrangement of blends of these three microplastics was prepared in line with a designed ternary composition plot. After the PCA exploratory analysis, a quantitative model Partial Least Squares Regression (PLSR) allowed to predict the percentage of microplastics in the mixtures. With a complete dataset of 63 compositions, PLS was calibrated with 42 data-points. The model was used to predict the composition of 21 unknown mixtures of the test set. The advantage of the consolidated NIR Chemometric approach lies in the quick evaluation of whether the sample is macro or micro, contaminated, coloured or not, and with no sample pre-treatment. The technique can be utilized with bigger example volumes and even considers an on-site evaluation and in this manner satisfies the need for a high-throughput strategy.

Keywords: chemometrics, microNIR, microplastics, urban plastic waste

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Authors: Mustafa Metin Donma, Orkide Donma

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Vitamin deficiencies are common in obese individuals. Particularly, the status of vitamin B12 and its association with vitamin B9 (folate) and vitamin D is under investigation in recent time. Vitamin B12 is closely related to many vital processes in the body. In clinical studies, its involvement in fat metabolism draws attention from the obesity point of view. Obesity, in its advanced stages and in combination with metabolic syndrome (MetS) findings, may be a life-threatening health problem. Pediatric obesity is particularly important because it may be a predictor of severe chronic diseases during the adulthood period of the child. Due to its role in fat metabolism, vitamin B12 deficiency may disrupt metabolic pathways of the lipid and energy metabolisms in the body. The association of low B12 levels with obesity degree may be an interesting topic to be investigated. Obesity indices may be helpful at this point. Weight- and fat-based indices are available. Of them, body mass index (BMI) is in the first group. Fat mass index (FMI), fat-free mass index (FFMI) and diagnostic obesity notation model assessment-II (D2I) index lie in the latter group. The aim of this study is to clarify possible associations between vitamin B12 status and obesity indices in the pediatric population. The study comprises a total of one hundred and twenty-two children. Thirty-two children were included in the normal body mass index (N-BMI) group. Forty-six and forty-four children constitute groups with morbid obese children without MetS and with MetS, respectively. Informed consent forms and the approval of the institutional ethics committee were obtained. Tables prepared for obesity classification by World Health Organization were used. Metabolic syndrome criteria were defined. Anthropometric and blood pressure measurements were taken. Body mass index, FMI, FFMI, D2I were calculated. Routine laboratory tests were performed. Vitamin B9, B12, D concentrations were determined. Statistical evaluation of the study data was performed. Vitamin B9 and vitamin D levels were reduced in MetS group compared to children with N-BMI (p>0.05). Significantly lower values were observed in vitamin B12 concentrations of MetS group (p<0.01). Upon evaluation of blood pressure as well as triglyceride levels, there exist significant increases in morbid obese children. Significantly decreased concentrations of high density lipoprotein cholesterol were observed. All of the obesity indices and insulin resistance index exhibit increasing tendency with the severity of obesity. Inverse correlations were calculated between vitamin D and insulin resistance index as well as vitamin B12 and D2I in morbid obese groups. In conclusion, a fat-based index, D2I, was the most prominent body index, which shows a strong correlation with vitamin B12 concentrations in the late stage of obesity in children. A negative correlation between these two parameters was a confirmative finding related to the association between vitamin B12 and obesity degree.

Keywords: body mass index, children, D2I index, fat mass index, obesity

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Authors: Jerzy Bański

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The purpose of the paper is to describe the role of urban-rural partnership in social and economic development. The concept of urban-rural collaboration is relatively new and assumes the need to link large metropolitan areas with surrounding rural areas in a number of ways. It is strongly related to the existing concept of polycentric spatial development. At the European Union level, the first document to address the need for urban-rural partnerships was the European Spatial Development Perspective from 1999. The paper focuses on factors that generate social and economic success on examples of several metropolitan territories in Poland (Warsaw, Poznan, Wroclaw, Krakow). A survey focused on rural communes made it possible to assess key success factors (location, social and economic, technological and organizational) that could be later used to determine the right course of action in the area of urban-rural cooperation, with the desired outcome being effective metropolitan area development. The main challenges to urban-rural partnership are issues associated with spatial planning, infrastructure and public services. These are areas of the greatest conflict of interest, too. Any analysis of urban-rural cooperation in metropolitan areas really needs to focus on the unique nature of this type of relationship. This includes issues such as commuting to work in the urban core and vice versa, complementarity of technical infrastructure, and joint strategic planning. Other forms of cooperation should focus on the tourist and recreational aspects of areas surrounding the urban core.

Keywords: partnership, rural areas, urbanization, metropolitan areas, Poland

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Authors: M. Caruffo, P. Navarrete, C. G. Feijoo, L. Sáenz

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Disease prevention through the use of vaccines has been crucial to achieve the current level of production in the salmon industry. However, vaccines have been developed based largely on inactivated bacterial formulations, using the whole pathogen. These formulations have demonstrated excellent efficacy against extracellular bacterial pathogens. However diseases with the greatest economic impacts correspond to intracellular bacterial and viral pathogens, vaccines based on these types of agents have shown a discrete effectiveness. It is for these reasons that the development of subunit vaccines based on defined antigens offers a promising solution. The main problem is that subunit vaccines offer a low immunogenicity, since they lack immunostimulatory elements, so that the development of new adjuvants platforms becomes an important challenge for this type of formulations. We evaluate the effect of a formulation based on proteoliposomes of Vibrio anguillarum administered by immersion as a new adjuvant strategy, allowing efficient stimulation of the innate immune system. Proteoliposomes physicochemical properties were evaluated in its ability to produce an inflammatory process. Using zebrafish (Danio rerio) larvae as a model species and the transgenic line (Tg(mpx: GFP)i114) allowed us to track the neutrophil migration in real time. Additionally we evaluated the gene expression of some molecular markers involved in the development of the innate immune response characterizing the adjuvant capacity of the formulation.

Keywords: adjuvants, vaccine development, zebrafish, innate immunity

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Authors: Bohsiu Wu

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Among serious crimes, child homicide is a rather rare event. However, the killing of children stirs up a special type of emotion in society that pales other criminal acts. This study examines the relevancy of three possible community-level explanations for child homicide: social deprivation, female empowerment, and social isolation. The social deprivation hypothesis posits that child homicide results from lack of resources in communities. The female empowerment hypothesis argues that a higher female status translates into a higher level of capability to prevent child homicide. Finally, the social isolation hypothesis regards child homicide as a result of lack of social connectivity. Child homicide data, aggregated by US postal ZIP codes in California from 1990 to 1999, were analyzed with a negative binomial regression. The results of the negative binomial analysis demonstrate that social deprivation is the most salient and consistent predictor among all other factors in explaining child homicide victimization at the ZIP-code level. Both social isolation and female labor force participation are weak predictors of child homicide victimization across communities. Further, results from the negative binomial regression show that it is the communities with a higher, not lower, degree of female labor force participation that are associated with a higher count of child homicide. It is possible that poor communities with a higher level of female employment have a lesser capacity to provide the necessary care and protection for the children. Policies aiming at reducing social deprivation and strengthening female empowerment possess the potential to reduce child homicide in the community.

Keywords: child homicide, deprivation, empowerment, isolation

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Authors: H. K. G. K. D. K. Hapuhinna, R. D. Gunaratne, H. M. J. C. Pitawala

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Hydroxyapatite is a bioceramic which can be used for applications in orthopedics and dentistry due to its structural similarity with the mineral phase of mammalian bones and teeth. In this study, it was synthesized, chemically changing natural Eppawala chloroapatite mineral as a value-added product. Sol-gel approach and solid state sintering were used to synthesize products using diluted nitric acid, ethanol and calcium hydroxide under different conditions. Synthesized Eppawala hydroxyapatite powder was characterized using X-ray Fluorescence (XRF), X-ray Powder Diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA) and Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) in order to find out its composition, crystallinity, presence of functional groups, bonding type, surface morphology, microstructural features, and thermal dependence and stability, respectively. The XRD results reflected the formation of a hexagonal crystal structure of hydroxyapatite. Elementary composition and microstructural features of products were discussed based on the XRF and SEM results of the synthesized hydroxyapatite powder. TGA and DSC results of synthesized products showed high thermal stability and good material stability in nature. Also, FTIR spectroscopy results confirmed the formation of hydroxyapatite from apatite via the presence of hydroxyl groups. Those results coincided with the FTIR results of mammalian bones including human bones. The study concludes that there is a possibility of producing hydroxyapatite using commercially available Eppawala chloroapatite in Sri Lanka.

Keywords: dentistry, Eppawala chlorapatite, hydroxyapatite, orthopedics

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Authors: Maharani Yulisti, Amin Mugera, James Fogarty

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Food safety standards have received significant attention in the fisheries global market due to health issues, free trade agreements, and increasing aquaculture production. Vertical coordination throughout the supply chain of fish producing and exporting countries is needed to meet food safety demands imposed by importing countries. However, the complexities of the supply chain governance structures and difficulties in standard implementation can generate safety uncertainty and high transaction costs. Using a Transaction Cost Economics framework, this paper examines the alignment between food safety standards and the governance structures in the shrimp supply chain in Indonesia. We find the supply chain is organized closer to the hierarchy-like governance structure where private standard (organic standard) are implemented and more towards a market-like governance structure where public standard (IndoGAP certification) are more prevalent. To verify the statements, two cases are examined from Sidoarjo district as a centre of shrimp production in Indonesia. The results show that public baseline FSS (Food Safety Standards) need additional mechanism to achieve a coordinated chain-wide response because uncertainty, asset specificity, and performance measurement problems are high in this chain. Organic standard as private chain-wide FSS is more efficient because it has been achieved by hierarchical-like type of governance structure.

Keywords: governance structure, shrimp value chain, food safety standards, transaction costs economics

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Authors: Marco Lopes, Pedro D. Gaspar, Maria P. Simões

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This paper reviews the different concepts that have been investigated concerning the mechanization of fruit thinning as well as multiple working principles and solutions that have been developed for feature extraction of horticultural products, both in the field and industrial environments. The research should be committed towards selective methods, which inevitably need to incorporate some kinds of sensor technology. Computer vision often comes out as an obvious solution for unstructured detection problems, although leaves despite the chosen point of view frequently occlude fruits. Further research on non-traditional sensors that are capable of object differentiation is needed. Ultrasonic and Near Infrared (NIR) technologies have been investigated for applications related to horticultural produce and show a potential to satisfy this need while simultaneously providing spatial information as time of flight sensors. Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) technology also shows a huge potential but it implies much greater costs and the related equipment is usually much larger, making it less suitable for portable devices, which may serve a purpose on smaller unstructured orchards. Portable devices may serve a purpose on these types of orchards. In what concerns sensor methods, on-tree fruit detection, major challenge is to overcome the problem of fruits’ occlusion by leaves and branches. Hence, nontraditional sensors capable of providing some type of differentiation should be investigated.

Keywords: fruit thinning, horticultural field, portable devices, sensor technologies

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Authors: Nadir A. Carreon, Christa Sonderer, Aakarsh Rao, Roman Lysecky

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With the advent of complex software and increased connectivity, the security of life-critical medical devices is becoming an increasing concern, particularly with their direct impact on human safety. Security is essential, but it is impossible to develop completely secure and impenetrable systems at design time. Therefore, it is important to assess the potential impact on the security and safety of exploiting a vulnerability in such critical medical systems. The common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) calculates the severity of exploitable vulnerabilities. However, for medical devices it does not consider the unique challenges of impacts to human health and privacy. Thus, the scoring of a medical device on which human life depends (e.g., pacemakers, insulin pumps) can score very low, while a system on which human life does not depend (e.g., hospital archiving systems) might score very high. In this paper, we propose a medical vulnerability scoring system (MVSS) that extends CVSS to address the health and privacy concerns of medical devices. We propose incorporating two new parameters, namely health impact, and sensitivity impact. Sensitivity refers to the type of information that can be stolen from the device, and health represents the impact on the safety of the patient if the vulnerability is exploited (e.g., potential harm, life-threatening). We evaluate fifteen different known vulnerabilities in medical devices and compare MVSS against two state-of-the-art medical device-oriented vulnerability scoring systems and the foundational CVSS.

Keywords: common vulnerability system, medical devices, medical device security, vulnerabilities

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Authors: Vighnesh Daas, David B. Tann, Mahmood Datoo

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The incorporation of recycled plastic fibres in concrete as reinforcement is a potential sustainable alternative for replacement of ordinary steel bars. It provides a scope for waste reduction and re-use of plastics in the construction industry on a large scale. Structural use of fibre reinforced concrete is limited to short span members and low reliability classes. In this study, recycled carpet fibres made of 95% polypropylene with length of 45mm were used for experimental investigations. The performance of recycled polypropylene fibres under structural loading has been compared with commercially available virgin fibres at low volume fractions of less than 1%. A series of 100 mm cubes and 125x200x2000 mm beams were used to conduct strength tests in bending and compression to measure the influence of type and volume of fibres on the structural behaviour of fibre reinforced concrete beams. The workability of the concrete mix decreased as a function of fibre content and resulted in a modification of the mix design. The beams failed in a pseudo-ductile manner with an enhanced bending capacity. The specimens showed significant improvement in the post-cracking behaviour and load carrying ability as compared to conventional reinforced concrete members. This was associated to the binding properties of the fibres in the concrete matrix. With the inclusion of fibres at low volumes of 0-0.5%, there was reduction in crack sizes and deflection. This study indicates that the inclusion of recycled polypropylene fibres at low volumes augments the structural behaviour of concrete as compared to conventional reinforced concrete as well as virgin fibre reinforced concrete.

Keywords: fibre reinforced concrete, polypropylene, recycled, strength

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Authors: Beier Zhu, Rui Zhang, Qi Song

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Text contained within fixed-layout documents can be of great semantic value and so requires a high localization accuracy, such as ID cards, invoices, cheques, and passports. Recently, algorithms based on deep convolutional networks achieve high performance on text detection tasks. However, for text localization in fixed-layout documents, such algorithms detect word bounding boxes individually, which ignores the layout information. This paper presents a novel architecture built on convolutional neural networks (CNNs). A global text localization network and a regional bounding-box regression network are introduced to tackle the problem in a coarse-to-fine manner. The text localization network simultaneously locates word bounding points, which takes the layout information into account. The bounding-box regression network inputs the features pooled from arbitrarily sized RoIs and refine the localizations. These two networks share their convolutional features and are trained jointly. A typical type of fixed-layout documents: ID cards, is selected to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed system. These networks are trained on data cropped from nature scene images, and synthetic data produced by a synthetic text generation engine. Experiments show that our approach locates high accuracy word bounding boxes and achieves state-of-the-art performance.

Keywords: bounding box regression, convolutional networks, fixed-layout documents, text localization

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