Search results for: gravitational field

Authors: Ashvinie Thembiliyagoda, Kasun De Silva, Nimal Wijayaratna

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The lowering of the riverbed level as a result of water erosion is termed as scouring. This phenomenon remarkably undermines the potential stability of the bridge pier, causing a threat of failure or collapse. The formation of vortices in the vicinity of bridges due to the obstruction caused by river flow is the main reason behind this pursuit. Scouring is aggravated by factors including high flow rates, bridge pier geometry, sediment configuration etc. Tackling scour-related problems when they become severe is more costly and disruptive compared to implementing preventive measures based on predicted scour depths. This paper presents a comprehensive investigation of the development of a numerical model that could reproduce the scouring effect around bridge piers and estimate the scour depth. The numerical model was developed for one selected bridge in Sri Lanka, the Kelanisiri Bridge. HEC-RAS two-dimensional (2D) modeling approach was utilized for the development of the model and was calibrated and validated with field data. To further enhance the reliability of the model, a physical model was developed, allowing for additional validation. Results from the numerical model were compared with those obtained from the physical model, revealing a strong correlation between the two methods and confirming the numerical model's accuracy in predicting scour depths. The findings from this study underscore the ability of the HEC-RAS two-dimensional modeling approach for the estimation of scour depth around bridge piers. The developed model is able to estimate the scour depth under varying flow conditions, and its flexibility allows it to be adapted for application to other bridges with similar hydraulic and geomorphological conditions, providing a robust tool for widespread use in scour estimation. The developed two-dimensional model not only offers reliable predictions for the case study bridge but also holds significant potential for broader implementation, contributing to the improved design and maintenance of bridge structures in diverse environments.

Keywords: piers, scouring, HEC-RAS, physical model

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Authors: Ketaki D. Belsare, Nicholas F. Polizzi, Lior Shtayer, William F. DeGrado

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Nature utilizes metalloproteins to perform chemical transformations with activities and selectivities that have long been the inspiration for design principles in synthetic and biological systems. The chemical reactivities of metalloproteins are directly linked to local environment effects produced by the protein matrix around the metal cofactor. A complete understanding of how the protein matrix provides these interactions would allow for the design of functional metalloproteins. The de novo computational design of proteins have been successfully used in design of active sites that bind metals like di-iron, zinc, copper containing cofactors; however, precisely designing active sites that can bind small molecule ligands (e.g., substrates) along with metal cofactors is still a challenge in the field. The de novo computational design of a functional metalloprotein that contains a purposefully designed substrate binding site would allow for precise control of chemical function and reactivity. Our research strategy seeks to elucidate the design features necessary to bind the cofactor protoporphyrin IX (hemin) in close proximity to a substrate binding pocket in a four helix bundle. First- and second-shell interactions are computationally designed to control orientation, electronic structure, and reaction pathway of the cofactor and substrate. The design began with a parameterized helical backbone that positioned a single histidine residue (as an axial ligand) to receive a second-shell H-bond from a Threonine on the neighboring helix. The metallo-cofactor, hemin was then manually placed in the binding site. A structural feature, pi-bulge was introduced to give substrate access to the protoporphyrin IX. These de novo metalloproteins are currently being tested for their activity towards hydroxylation and epoxidation. The de novo designed protein shows hydroxylation of aniline to 4-aminophenol. This study will help provide structural information of utmost importance in understanding de novo computational design variables impacting the functional activities of a protein.

Keywords: metalloproteins, protein design, de novo protein, biocatalysis

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Authors: Ulriikka Savela-Huovinen, Hanni Muukkonen, Auli Toom

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The development of workplace as a learning environment has been emphasized in research field of workplace learning. The prior literature on sensory performance emphasized the individual’s competences as assessor, while the competences in the collaborative interactional and knowledge creation practices as workplace learning method are not often mentioned. In the present study aims to find out what kinds of competences and contexts are central when assessor conducts food sensory evaluation in authentic professional context. The aim was to answer the following questions: first, what kinds of competences does sensory evaluation require according to assessors? And second, what kinds of contexts for sensory evaluation do assessors report? Altogether thirteen assessors from three Finnish food companies were interviewed by using semi-structural thematic interviews to map practices and development intentions as well as to explicate already established practices. The qualitative data were analyzed by following the principles of abductive and inductive content analysis. Analysis phases were combined and their results were considered together as a cross-analysis. When evaluated independently required competences were perception, knowledge of specific domains and methods and cognitive skills e.g. memory. Altogether, 42% of analysis units described individual evaluation contexts, 53% of analysis units described collaborative interactional contexts, and 5% of analysis units described collaborative knowledge creation contexts. Related to collaboration, analysis reviewed learning, sharing and reviewing both external and in-house consumer feedback, developing methods to moderate small-panel evaluation and developing product vocabulary collectively between the assessors. Knowledge creation contexts individualized from daily practices especially in cases product defects were sought and discussed. The study findings contribute to the explanation that sensory assessors learn extensively from one another in the collaborative interactional and knowledge creation context. Assessors learning and abilities to work collaboratively in the interactional and knowledge creation contexts need to be ensured in the development of the expertise.

Keywords: assessor, collaboration, competences, contexts, learning and practices, sensory evaluation

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Authors: Akm Shahidullah

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This paper assessed the medicinal plants production and related entrepreneurial and management aspects with a focus to understand the present medicinal plants-based supply chain of Bangladesh. It delineated the overall supply chain and the extent of benefit that the plant-producingagrientrepreneursderive out of the existing system of the chain. The key objective was to put forward innovative supply chain strategiesthatcan leverage the benefit of the rural farmer-entrepreneur of medicinal plants. A field-based investigation was carried out in the Natore district of northwest Bangladesh, where a total of 225 farmers and households from eight villages were engaged in the production of medicinal plant species. The research had a survey with the agrientrepreneurs of two of those villages and focus group discussions at a union level to gather information about the price, buyers, seasonality, and overall supply infrastructure and trading mechanisms of the plant products. The research also gathered explanations on the overall supply chain system of the plants and plant-based processed products through key informant interviews with the local and regional selling agents, stockists, wholesalers, and secondary processors. The findings revealed that, in the existing supply chain system, the primary and wholesale secondary markets were mostly dominated by middlemen who cause market distortions and inflated prices due to a lack of coordination between the primary producers and secondary processors. The discoordination and inefficiencies in the supply chain system could be offset by the producer-processor relationship integration that could result in a multitude of benefits to both the parties in terms of price, quality, lead time, and overall control of the supply chain. Therefore, to ensure the growth of medicinal plants production, the industry users, secondary processors, and policy stakeholders should ensure that the primary producers get the fair share of the benefit; the producer-processor relationship integration in the supply chain offers to ensure that fairness with maximum producer surplus.

Keywords: medicinal-plants, agrientrepreneur, supply chain, relationship integration, Bangladesh

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Authors: AliAkbar Hafezi, Jalal Taherian, Jamshid Abedi, Mahsa Elahi, Behnam Kadkhodaei

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Background: Soft tissue sarcomas (STS) are generally treated with a combination of limb preservation surgery and radiation therapy. Today, preoperative radiation therapy is considered for accurate treatment volume and smaller field size. Therefore, this study was performed to compare preoperative with postoperative radiation therapy in patients with extremity STS. Methods: In this non-randomized clinical trial, patients with localized extremity STS referred to the orthopedic clinics in Iran from 2021 to 2023 were studied. Patients were randomly divided into two groups: preoperative and postoperative radiation therapy. The two groups of patients were compared in terms of acute (wound dehiscence and infection) and late (limb edema, subcutaneous fibrosis, and joint stiffness) complications and their severity, as well as local recurrence and other one-year outcomes. Results: A total of 80 patients with localized extremity STS were evaluated in two treatment groups. The groups were matched in terms of age, sex, history of diabetes mellitus, hypertension, smoking, involved side, involved extremity, lesion location, and tumor histopathology. The acute complications of treatment in the two groups of patients did not differ significantly (P > 0.05). Of the late complications, only joint stiffness between the two groups had significant statistical differences (P < 0.001). The severity of all three late complications in the postoperative radiation therapy group was significantly higher (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of the rate of local recurrence of other one-year outcomes (P > 0.05). Conclusion: This study showed that in patients with localized extremity STS, the two therapeutic approaches of adjuvant and neoadjuvant radiation therapy did not differ significantly in terms of local recurrence and distant metastasis during the one-year follow-up period and due to fewer late complications in preoperative radiotherapy group, this treatment approach can be a better choice than postoperative radiation therapy.

Keywords: soft tissue sarcoma, extremity, preoperative radiation therapy, postoperative radiation therapy

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Authors: Roshanak Nouralian

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The primary focus of my Ph.D. dissertation revolves around the interconnection between language and culture, as well as the crucial role that language plays in facilitating communication and fostering integration within the host society for immigrants. This research specifically focuses on Iranian students studying at various universities in Vienna. Throughout this study, I have attempted to examine and analyze their challenges in various life situations in Austria. The broad dimensions of the research question led the research process to apply a constructivist grounded theory strategy. I have also used critical discourse analysis that is in line with constructivist GT's point of view to look closely at the borders, contradictions, and inequalities that came up in the participants' real-life experiences. Data from individual interviews and group discussions have expanded the research trajectory beyond disciplinary boundaries toward a transdisciplinary approach. The research findings indicate how the language policy of the host society leads to the establishment of power relationships and the arousal of a sense of cultural dominance among the research participants. This study investigates the problems experienced by participants in their daily interactions within the host society. Additionally, the results illustrate the development of a dependency relationship between participants and their host society despite linguistic policies that cause a sense of cultural hegemony. Conversely, the obtained data allowed me to examine the participants' language ideologies. The findings of this study show that social linguistics has the potential to go beyond the boundaries of its field. This is possible by using a variety of research strategies and analyzing people's real-life experiences to find out how language affects different parts of their daily lives. Therefore, in this conference, discussing the logic of employing a constructivist GT strategy along with critical discourse analysis (CDA) in this research, I intend to discuss the achieved results.

Keywords: cultural adapttaion, language policy, language ideology, cultural hegemony, transdisciplinary research, constructivist grounded theory, critical discourse analysis

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Authors: Neeraj Shetye

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A common phenomenon between the rise of leaders like Mussolini and Adolf Hitler in the 20th century is their 'charisma'. They possessed the ability to seduce the crowd not just by the things they said but also by the way they said it. Aristotle defined rhetoric as an art of persuasion and reasoning which is how social scientists understand the concept. Political rhetoric in a modern democracy has several complexities including the huge number of speakers, quantity of information, diverse viewpoints, number of candidates and the impact of digital age. Politics in India since the seventies have been 'visibly dominated' by uses of rhetorical language and with a number of slogans. This idea of how language can steer an individual to establish or adopt a certain viewpoint has not been a focus of study in the Indian discourse. In a linguistically diverse region such as India, the idea of political rhetoric is vast and may not be accomplished in a year. There are in-depth studies by western thinkers on European or American political rhetoric unlike their Asian counterparts such as China, India or any of the Pacific nations. India saw an integration of states based on languages. Keeping this idea in mind, this paper aims to cover one political party that rose to its prominence over five decades and most significantly known for its conservative expression: Shivsena. Shivsena’s rise during the eighties and eventually establishing their government in the nineties are two fascinating periods to focus especially with a simultaneous rise of Bombay underworld, Babri demolition and major economic policy changes in the form of liberalisation (1991) and globalization (1995). This project attempts to study this with a two-fold methodology: literature review and fieldwork. There is an immense literature on Shivsena by both its admirers and critiques, contributing to both sides of the debate. Scholars have been writing about this party over these years and have keenly observed its growing popularity amongst the masses. There is just one intention behind this project, and it is to connect and analyse the vast, dispersed literature that is available and contribute to a field that has not been adequately analysed in the academic discourse.

Keywords: India, language, political rhetoric, Shivsena, slogans

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Authors: I. Kamika, S. Azizi, M. Tekere

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Nanotechnology promises significant improvements of advanced materials and manufacturing techniques with a vast range of applications, which are critical for the future competitiveness of national industries. The manipulations and productions of materials, whilst, controlling the optical properties and surface area to a nanosize scale enabled a birth of a new field known as nanotechnology. However, their rapidly developing industry raises concerns about the environmental impacts of nanoparticles, as their effects on functional bacterial community in wastewater treatment remain unclear. The present research assessed the impact of cerium Oxide nanoparticles (nCeO) on the bacterial microbiome of an activated sludge system, which influenced its performance of this system on nutrient removal. Out of 15875 reads sequenced, a total of 13133 reads were non-chimeric. The wastewater samples were more dominant to the unclassified bacteria (51.07% of bacteria community) followed with the classified bacteria (48.93). Proteobacteria was the most dominant phylum in both classified and unclassified bacteria, whereas 18% of bacteria could even not be assigned a phylum and remained unclassified suggesting hitherto vast untapped microbial diversity. The bacterial operational taxonomic units (OTUs) ranged from 1014 to 2629 over the experimental period. The denitrification related species including Diaphorobacter species, Thauera species and those in the Sphaerotilus and Leptothrix group were found to be inhibited in a high concentration of CeO-NP. The diversity indices suggested that the bacterial community inhabiting the wastewater samples were less diverse as the concentration of CeO increases. The canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) results highlighted that the bacterial community variance had the strongest relationship with water temperature, conductivity, pH, and dissolved oxygen (DO) content as well as nCeO. The results provided the relationships between the microbial community and environmental variables in the wastewater samples.

Keywords: bacterial community, next generation, cerium oxide, wastewater, activated sludge, nanoparticles, nanotechnology

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Authors: Meriem Taleb, Ghania Tail, Fatma Zohra Kara, Brahim Djedouani, T. Moussa

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Forensic entomology is the use of insects and their arthropod relatives as silent witnesses to aid legal investigations by interpreting information concerning a death. The main purpose of forensic entomology is to establish the postmortem interval or PMI Postmortem interval is a matter of crucial importance in the investigations of homicide and other untimely deaths when the body found is after three days. Forensic entomology has grown immensely as a discipline in the past thirty years. In Algeria, forensic entomology was introduced in 2010 by the National Institute for Criminalistics and Criminology of the National Gendarmerie (NICC). However, all the work that has been done so far in this growing field in Algeria has been unknown at both the national and international levels. In this context, the aim of this paper is to describe the state of forensic entomology in Algeria. The Laboratory of Entomology of the NICC is the only one of its kind in Algeria. It started its activities in 2010, consisting of two specialists. The main missions of the laboratory are estimation of the PMI by the analysis of entomological evidence, and determination if the body was moved. Currently, the laboratory is performing different tasks such as the expert work required by investigators to estimate the PMI using the insects. The estimation is performed by the accumulated degree days method (ADD) in most of the cases except for those where the cadaver is in dry decay. To assure the quality of the entomological evidence, crime scene personnel are trained by the laboratory of Entomology of the NICC. Recently, undergraduate and graduate students have been studying carrion ecology and insect activity in different geographic locations of Algeria using rabbits and wild boar cadavers as animal models. The Laboratory of Entomology of the NICC has also been involved in some of these research projects. Entomotoxicology experiments are also conducted with the collaboration of the Toxicology Department of the NICC. By dint of hard work that has been performed by the Laboratory of Entomology of the NICC, official bodies have been adopting more and more the use of entomological evidence in criminal investigations in Algeria, which is commendable. It is important, therefore, that steps are taken to fill in the gaps in the knowledge necessary for entomological evidence to have a useful future in criminal investigations in Algeria.

Keywords: forensic entomology, corpse, insects, postmortem interval, expertise, Algeria

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Authors: Selin Tosun

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The improvements in technology have started to transform the way we live, work, play, and commute in our cities. The emerging smart city understanding has been paving the way for more efficient, more useful, and more profitable cities. Smart sensors, smart lighting, smart waste, water and electricity management, smart transportation and communication systems are introduced to cities at a rapid pace. In today's world, innovation is often correlated with start-up companies and technological pioneers seeking broader economic objectives such as production and competitiveness. The government's position is primarily that of an enabler, with creativity mostly coming from the private sector. The paper argues that to achieve sustainable development, the ways in which smart and sustainable city approaches are being applied to cities need to be redefined. The research aims to address common discussions in the discourse of smart and sustainable cities criticizing the priority of lifestyle sterilization over human-centered sustainable interventions and social innovation strategies. The dichotomy between the fact that smart cities are mostly motivated by the competitive global market and the fact that the delocalization is, in fact, their biggest problem in the way of becoming authentic, sustainable cities is the main challenge that we face today. In other words, the key actors in smart cities have different and somewhat conflicting interests and demands. By reviewing the roles of the public and private actors in smart city making, the paper aspires to reconceptualize the understanding of “smartness” in achieving sustainable development in which the “smartness” is understood as a multi-layered complex phenomenon that can be channeled through different dynamics. The case cities around the world are explored and compared in terms of their technological innovations, governance and policy innovations, public-private stakeholder relationships, and the understanding of the public realm. The study aims to understand the current trends and general dynamics in the field, key issues that are being addressed, the scale that is preferred to reflect upon and the projects that are designed for the particular issues.

Keywords: smart city, sustainable development, technological innovation, social innovation

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Authors: Craig Wight

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Tourism visits to sites associated to varying degrees with death and dying have for some time inspired academic debate and research into what has come to be popularly described as ‘dark tourism’. Research to date has been based on the mobilisation of various social scientific methodologies to understand issues such as the motivations of visitors to consume dark tourism experiences and visitor interpretations of the various narratives that are part of the consumption experience. This thesis offers an alternative conceptual perspective for carrying out research into dark tourism by presenting a discourse analysis of Lithuanian occupation-themed museums using Foucault’s concept of ‘discursive formation’ from ‘Archaeology of Knowledge’. A constructivist methodology is therefore applied to locate the rhetorical representations of Lithuanian and Jewish subject positions and to identify the objects of discourse that are produced in five museums that interpret a historical era defined by occupation, the persecution of people and genocide. The discourses and consequent cultural function of these museums are examined, and the key finding of the research proposes that they authorise a particular Lithuanian individualism which marginalises the Jewish subject position and its related objects of discourse into abstraction. The thesis suggests that these museums create the possibility to undermine the ontological stability of Holocaust and the Jewish-Lithuanian subject which is produced as an anomalous, ‘non-Lithuanian’ cultural reference point. As with any Foucauldian archaeological research, it cannot be offered as something that is ‘complete’ since it captures only a partial field, or snapshot of knowledge, bound to a specific temporal and spatial context. The discourses that have been identified are perhaps part of a more elusive ‘positivity’ which is salient across a number of cultural and political surfaces which are ripe for a similar analytical approach in future. It is hoped that the study will motivate others to follow a discourse-analytical approach to research in order to further understand the critical role of museums in public culture when it comes to shaping knowledge about ‘inconvenient’ pasts.

Keywords: genocide heritage, foucault, Lithuanian tourism, discursive formatoin

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Authors: Nizamuddin Khan

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Integrated livestock and cropping system is very old agricultural practice since antiquity. It is an eco-friendly and sustainable farming system in which both the resources are optimally and rationally utilized through the recycling and re-utilization of their by-products. Indian farmers follow in- farm integrated farming system unlike in developed countries where both farm and off-farm system prevailed. The data on different components of the integrated farming system is very limited and that too is not widely available in published form. The primary source is the only option for understanding the mechanism, process, evaluation and performance of integrated livestock cropping system. Researcher generated data through the field survey of sampled respondents from sampled villages from Bulandshahr district of Uttar Pradesh. The present paper aims to understand the component group of system, degree, and level of integration, level of generation of employment, income, improvement in farm ecology, the economic viability of farmers and check in rural-urban migration. The study revealed that area witnessed intra farm integration in which both livestock and cultivation of crops take place on the same farm. Buffalo, goat, and poultry are common components of integration. Wheat, paddy, sugarcane and horticulture are among the crops. The farmers are getting 25% benefit more than those who do not follow the integrated system. Livestock husbandry provides employment and income through the year, especially during agriculture offseason. 80% of farmers viewed that approximately 35% of the total expenditure incurred is met from the livestock sector. Landless, marginal and small farmers are highly benefited from agricultural integration. About 70% of farmers acknowledged that using wastes of animals and crops the soil ecology is significantly maintained. Further, the integrated farming system is helpful in reducing rural to urban migration. An incentive with credit facilities, assured marketing, technological aid and government support is urgently needed for sustainable development of agriculture and farmers.

Keywords: integrated, recycle, employment, soil ecology, sustainability

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Authors: Zhang Dongqing

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Concern for students' mental health and the application of intelligent advanced technologies are driving changes in teaching models. The traditional teacher-centered classroom is beginning to transform into a student-centered smart interactive learning environment. Nowadays, smart classrooms are compatible with constructivist learning. This theory emphasizes the role of teachers in the teaching process as helpers and facilitators of knowledge construction, and students learn by interacting with them. The spatial design of classrooms is closely related to the teaching model and should also be developed in the direction of smart classroom design. The goal is to explore the impact of smart classroom layout on student-centered teaching environment and teacher-student interaction under the guidance of constructivist learning theory, by combining the design process and feedback analysis of the smart transformation project on the campus of Tongji University in Shanghai. During the research process, the theoretical basis of constructivist learning was consolidated through literature research and case analysis. The integration and visual field analysis of the traditional and transformed indoor floor plans were conducted using space syntax tools. Finally, questionnaire surveys and interviews were used to collect data. The main conclusions are as followed: flexible spatial layouts can promote students' learning effects and mental health; the interactivity of smart classroom layouts is different and needs to be combined with different teaching models; the public areas of teaching buildings can also improve the interactive learning atmosphere by adding discussion space. This article provides a data-based research basis for improving students' learning effects and mental health, and provides a reference for future smart classroom design.

Keywords: spatial layout, smart classroom, space syntax, renovation, educational environment

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Authors: Hong-Yan Wang, Jian-Bo Zhou, Simon A. Wilde

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Since the Paleozoic, the tectonic evolution of northeastern Eurasia has been dominated by the Paleo-Asian Ocean and the Paleo-Pacific Ocean tectonic domains. However, the spatiotemporal framework and the timing of the tectonic transition between these two oceanic domains remain enigmatic. To address this issue, this study investigated the petrological, geochronological, and geochemical characters of chlorite schist, andesite and sandstone along the convergent margin (Jilin-Yanji Suture) between the Northeast China terranes and the North China craton in central Jilin Province, China. The results show that the protoliths of chlorite schists and the andesite samples are high-Mg andesites formed in the Early Triassic (249 ± 3 Ma - 246 ± 4 Ma), and their magma source was produced by the metasomatized mantle wedge by subducted slab-derived fluids in a continental island arc setting. The sandstones are immature graywackes with a maximum depositional age of Early Triassic (248 ± 1 Ma), they were formed in a sedimentary basin (most likely an intra-arc basin) intimately associated with one or more continental arcs along the northeastern edge of the North China craton and their sediments were largely derived from coeval magmatic rocks in a juvenile continental arc. Based on the new results and the field investigation, this study suggests that the continental arcs along the northeastern edge of the North China Craton were caused by the southwestward subduction of the Jilin-Heilongjiang Ocean during the early Mesozoic. There is a distinct temporal gap between the closure of the Paleo-Asian Ocean (ca. 260 Ma) and the onset of Paleo-Pacific plate subduction (234–220 Ma), which is essentially coeval with the southwestward subduction of the Jilin-Heilongjiang Ocean between 256 Ma and 239 Ma, meaning the latter is a key link that marks the transition between these two tectonic domains.

Keywords: intra-arc basin, high-Mg andesites, early Mesozoic, Jilin-Heilongjiang Ocean, tectonic transition in northeastern Eurasia

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Authors: Mehena Fedoul

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This paper examines the intersection of race, gender, and disability through a Critical disability race theory and black feminist disability perspective in Keah Brown's memoir, "The Pretty One." The background of the study highlights the significance of intersectionality in understanding the multifaceted experiences of individuals who navigate multiple marginalized identities. The study contributes to the underrepresented field of disability studies from a Critical race and black feminist perspectives, shedding light on the unique challenges and resilience of black disabled women. The study employs a qualitative analysis of Keah Brown's memoir as a primary text. Drawing on intersectionality theory and black feminist disability scholarship, the analysis focuses on how Brown's memoir illuminates the ways in which her race, gender, and disability intersect and shape her lived experiences. The analysis reveals how Brown's memoir challenges traditional notions of disability, beauty, and empowerment through her unapologetic celebration of her blackness, femaleness, and disability. The major findings of the study indicate that Brown's memoir provides a powerful narrative of the complexity, uniqueness and richness of the lived experiences of black disabled women. It demonstrates how the intersectionality of race, gender, and disability shapes Brown's identity, body image, relationships, and societal interactions. The paper also highlights how Brown's memoir emphasizes the importance of inclusivity and intersectionality in understanding and addressing the challenges faced by black disabled women. In conclusion, this study offers a critical analysis of the intersection of race, gender, and disability in Keah Brown's memoir, "The Pretty One," from a black feminist disability perspective. It contributes to the growing body of literature that recognizes the significance of intersectionality in understanding the experiences of marginalized individuals in the disability community. The study underscores the need for more inclusive and intersectional perspectives in disability studies and advocates for greater recognition of the voices and experiences of black disabled women in academic and societal discourse.

Keywords: Intersectionality, black feminism, disability studies, keah brown

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Authors: Javeria Arain, Saad Malik

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The management of solid waste is a crucial and essential aspect of urban environmental management especially in a city with an ever increasing population such as Karachi. The total amount of municipal solid waste generated from Gulshan e Iqbal town on average is 444.48 tons per day and landfill sites are a widely accepted solution for final disposal of this waste. However, an improperly selected site can have immense environmental, economical and ecological impacts. To select an appropriate landfill site a number of factors should be kept into consideration to minimize the potential hazards of solid waste. The purpose of this research is to analyse the study area for the construction of an appropriate landfill site for disposal of municipal solid waste generated from Gulshan e-Iqbal Town by using geospatial techniques considering hydrological, geological, social and geomorphological factors. This was achieved using analytical hierarchy process and fuzzy analysis as a decision support tool with integration of geographic information sciences techniques. Eight most critical parameters, relevant to the study area, were selected. After generation of thematic layers for each parameter, overlay analysis was performed in ArcGIS 10.0 software. The results produced by both methods were then compared with each other and the final suitability map using AHP shows that 19% of the total area is Least Suitable, 6% is Suitable but avoided, 46% is Moderately Suitable, 26% is Suitable, 2% is Most Suitable and 1% is Restricted. In comparison the output map of fuzzy set theory is not in crisp logic rather it provides an output map with a range of 0-1, where 0 indicates least suitable and 1 indicates most suitable site. Considering the results it is deduced that the northern part of the city is appropriate for constructing the landfill site though a final decision for an optimal site could be made after field survey and considering economical and political factors.

Keywords: Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP), fuzzy set theory, Geographic Information Sciences (GIS), Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA)

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Authors: Azadeh Abbasikangevari

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Background and Objectives: Theatre and performance are two separate themes. What is presented in Iran as a performance is the species and ritual and traditional forms of the play. The Iranian performance has its roots in myth and ritual. Drama is essentially a Western phenomenon that has gradually entered Iran and influenced Iranian performance. A theatre is based on antagonism (axis) and protagonism (anti-axis), while performance has a monotonous and steady motion. The elements of Iranian performance include field, performance on the stage, and magnification in performance, all of which are based on narration. This type of narration has been present in Iranian modern drama. The objective of this study was to analyze the drama structure according to narration elements by a comparison between the Western theater and the Iranian performance and determining the structural differences in the type of narrative. Materials and Methods: In this study, the elements of the drama were analyzed using the library method among the available library resources. The review of the literature included research articles and textbooks which focused on Iranian plays, as well as books and articles which encompassed narrative and drama element. Data were analyzed in the comparative-descriptive method. Results: Examining and studying different kinds of Iranian performances, showed that the narrative has always been a characteristic feature of Iranian plays. Iranians have narrated the stories and myths and have had a particular skill of oral literature. Over time, they slowly introduced narrative culture into their art, where this element is the most important structural element in Iran's dramatic art. Considering the fact that narration in Iranian traditional play, such as Ta'ziyeh and Naghali, was oral and consequently, it was slowly forgotten and excluded from written theatrical texts. Since the drama has entered in its western form in Iran, the plays written by the authors were influenced by narrative elements existing in western plays. Conclusions: The narrative’s element has undoubtedly had an impact on modern Iranian drama and Iranian contemporary drama. Therefore, the element of narration is an integral part of the Iranian traditional play structure.

Keywords: drama methodology, Iranian performance, Iranian modern drama, narration

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Authors: Saimir Heta, Ilma Robo, Rialda Xhizdari, Kers Kapaj

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The stability of an ideal disinfectant should be constant regardless of the change in the atmospheric conditions of the environment where it is kept. If the conditions such as temperature or humidity change, it is understood that it will also be necessary to approach possible changes in the holding materials such as plastic or glass bottles with the aim of protecting, for example, the disinfectant from the excessive lighting of the environment, which can also be translated as an increase in the temperature of disinfectant as a fluid. Material and Methods: In this study, an attempt was made to find the most recent published data about the best possible combination of disinfectants indicated for use after dental procedures. This purpose of the study was realized by comparing the basic literature that is studied in the field of dentistry by students with the most published data in the literature of recent years about this topic. Each disinfectant is represented by a number called the disinfectant count, in which different factors can influence the increase or reduction of variables whose production remains a specific statistic for a specific disinfectant. Results: The changes in the atmospheric conditions where the disinfectant is deposited and stored in the environment are known to affect the stability of the disinfectant as a fluid; this fact is known and even cited in the leaflets accompanying the manufactured boxes of disinfectants. It is these cares, in the form of advice, which are based not only on the preservation of the disinfectant but also on the application in order to have the desired clinical result. Aldehydes have the highest constant among the types of disinfectants, followed by acids. The lowest value of the constant belongs to the class of glycols, the predecessors of which were the halogens, in which class there are some representatives with disinfection applications. The class of phenols and acids have almost the same intervals of constants. Conclusions: If the goal were to find the ideal disinfectant among the large variety of disinfectants produced, a good starting point would be to find something unchanging or a fixed, unchanging element on the basis of which the comparison can be made properties of different disinfectants. Precisely based on the results of this study, the role of the specific constant according to the specific disinfectant is highlighted. Finding an ideal disinfectant, like finding a medication or the ideal antibiotic, is an ongoing but unattainable goal.

Keywords: different disinfectants, ideal, specific constant, dental procedures

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Authors: Kimberley Kershaw, Denis Hyams-Ssekasi

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Although there is a wealth of information about refugees and Asylum seekers, Refugee job opportunities continue to be one of the most hotly contested areas and less researched within the social sciences. Refugees are a vital asset in the society due to their experiences, skills, and competences. However, society perceives them differently, and as such, their prior lived experiences are often underutilised. This research study gleans from the work conducted during the Refugee Employment Support Clinic delivered for 12 weeks within a University setting in the North West of England. The study is conducted using three perspectives, refugees, students, and researchers, allowing for identification of the challenges encountered by the refugees concerning job opportunities. Through the utilisation of the qualitative research method, the study has found that refugees experience a wide range of issues unrelated to their skills, prior experience, and education but rather due to the red tapes connected to their legal identity labelling. Refugees struggle to build reliable employment networks that appreciate and acknowledge their capabilities and talents, impacting their ability to navigate the labour market and classism. Notably, refugees are misunderstood within their new societies, and little care is taken to understand the unique struggles they face with respect to securing paid work in their industry or field of work due to their lack of experience in the UK. Unlike other European countries, it is evident that the UK has no strategic approach to enhancing the chances of paid or voluntary work for refugees. A clinic like this provided lenses for comprehending how refugees can be better supported with employment related opportunities. By creating a safe and conducive platform for honest and open discussion about employment and through collaborative approaches with local community agencies, doors were opened for social and professional networks to be built. The study concluded that there is a need for local communities and education establishments to be more aware of the prevailing challenges and in a position to support at all stages of their asylum claim in order for the perceptions of distrust and uncertainty around refugees to be minimised.

Keywords: refugees, employment, community, classism, education

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Authors: Akram Abi, Clarissa Müller, Hans-Joachim Jördening

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Laminaribiose is a beta-1,3-glycoside which is used in the medical field for the treatment of dermatitis and also can be used as a building block for new pharmaceutics. The conventional process of laminaribiose production is the uneconomical process of hydrolysis of laminarin extracted from natural polysaccharides of plant origin. A more economical approach however is attainable by enzymatically synthesis of laminaribiose via a reverse phosphorylase reaction catalyzed by laminaribiose phosphorylase (LP) from Euglena gracilis. Different cultivation methods of Euglena gracilis and the effect on LP production have been investigated. Buffered/unbuffered heterotrophic and mixotrophic cultivations of Euglena gracilis has been carried out. Changes of biomass and LP production, glucose level and pH, cell count and shape has been monitored in the course of time. The results obtained from experiments each in three repetitions, show that in the heterotrophic cultivation of Euglena gracilis not only more biomass is produced compared to mixotrophic cultivation, but also higher specific protein concentration is achieved. Furthermore, the LP activity test showed that the protein extracted from heterotrophically cultured cells has a higher LP activity. It was also observed that the cells develop in a distinctive different shape between these two cultures and have different length to width ratios. Taking the heterotrophic culture as the more efficient cultivation method in LP production, another comparative experiment between buffered and unbuffered heterothrophic culture was carried out that showed the unbuffered culture has advantages over the other one in respect of both LP production and resulting activity. A hetrotrophic cultivation of Euglena gracilis in a 5L bioreactor with controlled operating conditions showed a distinctive improvement of all the aspects of culture compared to the shaking flask cultivations. Biomass production was improved from 5 to more than 8 g/l (dry weight) which resulted in a specific protein concentration of 45 g/l in the heterotrophic cultivation in the bioreactor. In further attempts to improve LP production, different purification methods were tested and each method was checks through an activity assay. A laminaribiose yield of 35% was achieved which was by far the highest amount amongst different methods tested.

Keywords: euglena gracilis, heterotrophic culture, laminaribiose production, mixotrophic culture

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Authors: Mirad Böhm, Diede De Kok

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It goes without saying that for many NGOs a high level of safety and security are crucial issues, which often necessitates the support of military personnel to varying degrees. The relationship between military and NGO personnel is usually a difficult one and while there has been progress, clashes naturally still occur owing to different interpretations of mission objectives amongst many other challenges. NGOs tend to view safety and security as necessary steps towards their goal instead of fundamental pillars of their core ‘business’. The military perspective, however, considers them primary objectives; thus, frequently creating a different vision of how joint operations should be conducted. This paper will argue that internalizing safety and security into the NGO organizational culture is compelling in order to ensure a more effective cooperation with military partners and, ultimately, to achieve their goals. This can be accomplished through a change in perception of safety and security concepts as a fixed and major point on the everyday agenda. Nowadays, there are several training programmes on offer addressing such issues but they primarily focus on the individual level. True internalization of these concepts should reach further by encompassing a wide range of NGO activities, beginning with daily proceedings in office facilities far from conflict zones including logistical and administrative tasks such as budgeting, and leading all the way to actual and potentially hazardous missions in the field. In order to effectuate this change, a tool is required to help NGOs realize, firstly, how they perceive and define safety and security, and secondly, how they can adjust this perception to their benefit. The ‘safety culture ladder’ is a concept that suggests what organizations can and should do to advance their safety. While usually applied to private industrial scenarios, this work will present the concept as a useful instrument to visualize and facilitate the internalization process NGOs ought to go through. The ‘ladder’ allows them to become more aware of the level of their safety and security measures, and moreover, cautions them to take these measures proactively rather than reactively. This in turn will contribute to a rapprochement between military and NGO priority setting in regard to what constitutes a safe working environment.

Keywords: NGO-military cooperation, organisational culture, safety and security awareness, safety culture ladder

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Authors: Yaolin Tian, Shanxiong Chen, Fujia Zhao, Xiaoyu Lin, Hailing Xiong

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Ancient books are significant culture inheritors and their background textures convey the potential history information. However, multi-style texture recovery of ancient books has received little attention. Restricted by insufficient ancient textures and complex handling process, the generation of ancient textures confronts with new challenges. For instance, training without sufficient data usually brings about overfitting or mode collapse, so some of the outputs are prone to be fake. Recently, image generation and style transfer based on deep learning are widely applied in computer vision. Breakthroughs within the field make it possible to conduct research upon multi-style texture recovery of ancient books. Under the circumstances, we proposed a network of layout analysis and image fusion system. Firstly, we trained models by using Deep Convolution Generative against Networks (DCGAN) to synthesize multi-style ancient textures; then, we analyzed layouts based on the Position Rearrangement (PR) algorithm that we proposed to adjust the layout structure of foreground content; at last, we realized our goal by fusing rearranged foreground texts and generated background. In experiments, diversified samples such as ancient Yi, Jurchen, Seal were selected as our training sets. Then, the performances of different fine-turning models were gradually improved by adjusting DCGAN model in parameters as well as structures. In order to evaluate the results scientifically, cross entropy loss function and Fréchet Inception Distance (FID) are selected to be our assessment criteria. Eventually, we got model M8 with lowest FID score. Compared with DCGAN model proposed by Radford at el., the FID score of M8 improved by 19.26%, enhancing the quality of the synthetic images profoundly.

Keywords: deep learning, image fusion, image generation, layout analysis

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Authors: Sami Aboujafar

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Oil recovery in petroleum reservoirs is greatly affected by fluid-rock and fluid-fluid interactions. These interactions directly control rock wettability, capillary pressure and relative permeability curves. Laboratory core-floods and centrifuge experiments were conducted on sandstone and carbonate cores to study the effect of low and high brine salinity and viscosity and oil viscosity on residual saturations and relative permeability. Drainage and imbibition relative permeability in two phase system were measured, refined lab oils with different viscosities, heavy and light, and several brine salinities were used. Sensitivity analysis with different values for the salinity and viscosity of the fluids,, oil and water, were done to investigate the effect of these properties on water/oil relative permeability, residual oil saturation and oil recovery. Experiments were conducted on core material from viscous/heavy and light oil fields. History matching core flood simulator was used to study how the relative permeability curves and end point saturations were affected by different fluid properties using several correlations. Results were compared with field data and literature data. The results indicate that there is a correlation between the oil viscosity and/or brine salinity and residual oil saturation and water relative permeability end point. Increasing oil viscosity reduces the Krw@Sor and increases Sor. The remaining oil saturation from laboratory measurements might be too high due to experimental procedures, capillary end effect and early termination of the experiment, especially when using heavy/viscous oil. Similarly the Krw@Sor may be too low. The effect of wettability on the observed results is also discussed. A consistent relationship has been drawn between the fluid parameters, water/oil relative permeability and residual saturations, and a descriptor may be derived to define different flow behaviors. The results of this work will have application to producing fields and the methodologies developed could have wider application to sandstone and carbonate reservoirs worldwide.

Keywords: history matching core flood simulator, oil recovery, relative permeability, residual saturations

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Authors: Lok Yi Joyce Poon

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China's mobile payment market has boomed in the past few years. WeChat (Chinese name as Weixin) owned by Tencent is known as the fastest growing all-in-one social messaging platforms. The company has launched the WeChat Pay in 2013, in which users can link their credit card to their user account and make payments within the app’s built in digital wallet. WeChat Payment is a one-stop payment tool that can provide a seamless online experience for the shoppers to transfer money between WeChat users (peer-to-peer) and make payments online by scanning a QR code, a prominent facilitator for transactions in WeChat, to complete the payment with the app without directing the users to the external websites. The aims of this study are to examine the effectiveness of WeChat mobile payment in China as well as the impacts of the China teen’s online purchasing behavior since the establishment of WeChat Payment. The research method of this study is conducted by both online survey on Sojump, a popular online survey platform in China. A total of 120 respondents among 18 to 25 teens in China completed the survey. Data sources included participants’ response to an end-of-session questionnaire, encompassing with the types of multiple choice, open-ended questions. To have an in-depth analysis, a face-to-face interview with a Chinese teen who is a frequent user of the WeChat Pay. The main finding of the study shows that the majority of the teenagers frequently use the WeChat payment tool because of its convenience, user-friendliness and the scenarios offered within the WeChat Wallet. The respondents claimed that they will settle the bills in their daily lives via WeChat Pay. However, the respondents in the age group of 40 or above will not use the WeChat Pay due to the security concern and they do not see the app as a platform for commercial activities like online shopping. Throughout the study, it is recommended WeChat should put more efforts on the security issue and improve the payment technology by adopting the near-field communication terminals instead of requiring users to scan QR codes before they complete the transaction.

Keywords: digital wallet, mobile payment, online purchasing behavior, WeChat Pay

Procedia PDF Downloads 394

Authors: Dragan Zivotic, Mirjana Ilic, Aleksandra Perovic, Predrag Gavrilovic

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As with the provision of other services, the service quality perception is one of the key factors that the modern manager must pay attention to. Countries in which the state regulation is in transition also have specific features in providing fitness services. Identification of the dimensions in which the most significant different service quality perception between different types of fitness centers, enables managers to profile the offer according to the wishes and expectations of users. The aim of the paper was the comparison of the quality of services perception in the field of fitness in Serbia between three categories of fitness centers: the privately owned centers, the publicly owned centers, and the Public-private partnership centers. For this research 350 respondents of both genders (174 men and 176 women) were interviewed, aged between 18 and 68 years, being beneficiaries of fitness services for at least 1 year. Administered questionnaire with 100 items provided information about the 15 basic areas in which they expressed the service quality perception in the gym. The core sample was composed of 212 service users in private fitness centers, 69 service users in public fitness centers and 69 service users in the public-private partnership. Sub-samples were equal in representation of women and men, as well as by age and length of use of fitness services. The obtained results were subject of univariate analysis with the Kruskal-Wallis non-parametric analysis of variance. Significant differences between the analyzed sub-samples were not found solely in the areas of rapid response and quality outcomes. In the multivariate model, the results were processed by backward stepwise discriminant analysis that extracted 3 areas that maximize the differences between sub-samples: material and technical basis, secondary facilities and coaches. By applying the classification function 93.87% of private centers services users, 62.32% of public centers services users and 85.51% of the public-private partnership centers users of services were correctly classified (total 86.00%). These results allow optimizing the allocation of the necessary resources in profiling offers of a fitness center in order to optimally adjust it to the user’s needs and expectations.

Keywords: fitness, quality perception, management, public ownership, private ownership, public-private partnership, discriminative analysis

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Authors: Fazl Ullah, Rahmat Ullah

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This paper shows a comprehensive learning focused on the optimization of gas production in shale gas reservoirs through hydraulic fracturing. Shale gas has emerged as an important unconventional vigor resource, necessitating innovative techniques to enhance its extraction. The key objective of this study is to examine the influence of fracture parameters on reservoir productivity and formulate strategies for production optimization. A sophisticated model integrating gas flow dynamics and real stress considerations is developed for hydraulic fracturing in multi-stage shale gas reservoirs. This model encompasses distinct zones: a single-porosity medium region, a dual-porosity average region, and a hydraulic fracture region. The apparent permeability of the matrix and fracture system is modeled using principles like effective stress mechanics, porous elastic medium theory, fractal dimension evolution, and fluid transport apparatuses. The developed model is then validated using field data from the Barnett and Marcellus formations, enhancing its reliability and accuracy. By solving the partial differential equation by means of COMSOL software, the research yields valuable insights into optimal fracture parameters. The findings reveal the influence of fracture length, diversion capacity, and width on gas production. For reservoirs with higher permeability, extending hydraulic fracture lengths proves beneficial, while complex fracture geometries offer potential for low-permeability reservoirs. Overall, this study contributes to a deeper understanding of hydraulic cracking dynamics in shale gas reservoirs and provides essential guidance for optimizing gas production. The research findings are instrumental for energy industry professionals, researchers, and policymakers alike, shaping the future of sustainable energy extraction from unconventional resources.

Keywords: fluid-solid coupling, apparent permeability, shale gas reservoir, fracture property, numerical simulation

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Authors: Agoston Restas

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Introduction: This paper describes many initiatives and shows also practical examples which happened recently using Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) to support disaster management. Since the operation of manned aircraft at disasters is usually not only expensive but often impossible to use as well, in many cases managers fail to use the aerial activity. UAS can be an alternative moreover cost-effective solution for supporting disaster management. Methods: This article uses thematic division of UAS applications; it is based on two key elements, one of them is the time flow of managing disasters, other is its tactical requirements. Logically UAS can be used like pre-disaster activity, activity immediately after the occurrence of a disaster and the activity after the primary disaster elimination. Paper faces different disasters, like dangerous material releases, floods, earthquakes, forest fires and human-induced disasters. Research used function analysis, practical experiments, mathematical formulas, economic analysis and also expert estimation. Author gathered international examples and used own experiences in this field as well. Results and discussion: An earthquake is a rapid escalating disaster, where, many times, there is no other way for a rapid damage assessment than aerial reconnaissance. For special rescue teams, the UAS application can help much in a rapid location selection, where enough place remained to survive for victims. Floods are typical for a slow onset disaster. In contrast, managing floods is a very complex and difficult task. It requires continuous monitoring of dykes, flooded and threatened areas. UAS can help managers largely keeping an area under observation. Forest fires are disasters, where the tactical application of UAS is already well developed. It can be used for fire detection, intervention monitoring and also for post-fire monitoring. In case of nuclear accident or hazardous material leakage, UAS is also a very effective or can be the only one tool for supporting disaster management. Paper shows some efforts using UAS to avoid human-induced disasters in low-income countries as part of health cooperation.

Keywords: disaster management, floods, forest fires, Unmanned Aerial Systems

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Authors: Solmaz Eskandarion, Haniyeh Eftekhar, Amin Fallahi

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Introduction: Nowadays cosmetic dentistry has gained greater attention because of the changing demands of dentistry patients. Composite resin restorations play an important role in the field of esthetic restorations. Due to the variation between the resin composites, it is important to be aware of their mechanical properties and surface roughness. So, the aim of this study was to compare the mechanical properties (surface hardness, compressive strength, diametral tensile strength) and surface roughness of four kinds of resin composites after thermal aging process. Materials and Method: 10 samples of each composite resins (Gradia-direct (GC), Filtek Z250 (3M), G-ænial (GC), Filtek Z350 (3M- filtek supreme) prepared for evaluation of each properties (totally 120 samples). Thermocycling (with temperature 5 and 55 degree of centigrade and 10000 cycles) were applied. Then, the samples were tested about their compressive strength and diametral tensile strength using UTM. And surface hardness was evaluated with Microhardness testing machine. Either surface roughness was evaluated with Scanning electron microscope after surface polishing. Result: About compressive strength (CS), Filtek Z250 showed the highest value. But there were not any significant differences between 4 groups about CS. Either Filtek Z250 detected as a composite with highest value of diametral tensile strength (DTS) and after that highest to lowest DTS was related to: Filtek Z350, G-ænial and Gradia-direct. And about DTS all of the groups showed significant differences (P<0.05). Vickers Hardness Number (VHN) of Filtek Z250 was the greatest. After that Filtek Z350, G-ænial and Gradia-direct followed it. The surface roughness of nano-filled composites was less than Microhybrid composites. Either the surface roughness of GC Ganial was a little greater than Filtek Z250. Conclusion: This study indicates that there is not any evident significant difference between the groups amoung their mechanical properties. But it seems that Filtek Z250 showed slightly better mechanical properties. About surface roughness, nanofilled composites were better that Microhybrid.

Keywords: mechanical properties, surface roughness, resin composite, compressive strength, thermal aging

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Authors: Mst Shapna Akter, Hossain Shahriar

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One of the most important challenges in the field of software code audit is the presence of vulnerabilities in software source code. Every year, more and more software flaws are found, either internally in proprietary code or revealed publicly. These flaws are highly likely exploited and lead to system compromise, data leakage, or denial of service. C and C++ open-source code are now available in order to create a largescale, machine-learning system for function-level vulnerability identification. We assembled a sizable dataset of millions of opensource functions that point to potential exploits. We developed an efficient and scalable vulnerability detection method based on deep neural network models that learn features extracted from the source codes. The source code is first converted into a minimal intermediate representation to remove the pointless components and shorten the dependency. Moreover, we keep the semantic and syntactic information using state-of-the-art word embedding algorithms such as glove and fastText. The embedded vectors are subsequently fed into deep learning networks such as LSTM, BilSTM, LSTM-Autoencoder, word2vec, BERT, and GPT-2 to classify the possible vulnerabilities. Furthermore, we proposed a neural network model which can overcome issues associated with traditional neural networks. Evaluation metrics such as f1 score, precision, recall, accuracy, and total execution time have been used to measure the performance. We made a comparative analysis between results derived from features containing a minimal text representation and semantic and syntactic information. We found that all of the deep learning models provide comparatively higher accuracy when we use semantic and syntactic information as the features but require higher execution time as the word embedding the algorithm puts on a bit of complexity to the overall system.

Keywords: cyber security, vulnerability detection, neural networks, feature extraction

Procedia PDF Downloads 91

Authors: Qianhui Li, Christoph H. Bruecker

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Atherosclerotic plaques are typically found where flow separation and variations of shear stress occur. Although helical flow patterns and flow separations have been recorded in the aorta, their relation has not been clearly clarified and especially in the condition of artificial heart valve prostheses. Therefore, an experimental study is performed to investigate the hemodynamic performance of different mechanical heart valves (MHVs), i.e. the SJM Regent bileaflet mechanical heart valve (BMHV) and the Lapeyre-Triflo FURTIVA trileaflet mechanical heart valve (TMHV), in a transparent model of the human aorta under a physiological pulsatile right-hand helical flow condition. A typical systolic flow profile is applied in the pulse-duplicator to generate a physiological pulsatile flow which thereafter flows past an axial turbine blade structure to imitate the right-hand helical flow induced in the left ventricle. High-speed particle image velocimetry (PIV) measurements are used to map the flow evolution. A circular open orifice nozzle inserted in the valve plane as the reference configuration initially replaces the valve under investigation to understand the hemodynamic effects of the entered helical flow structure on the flow evolution in the aortic arch. Flow field analysis of the open orifice nozzle configuration illuminates the helical flow effectively delays the flow separation at the inner radius wall of the aortic arch. The comparison of the flow evolution for different MHVs shows that the BMHV works like a flow straightener which re-configures the helical flow pattern into three parallel jets (two side-orifice jets and the central orifice jet) while the TMHV preserves the helical flow structure and therefore prevent the flow separation at the inner radius wall of the aortic arch. Therefore the TMHV is of better hemodynamic performance and reduces the pressure loss.

Keywords: flow separation, helical aortic flow, mechanical heart valve, particle image velocimetry

Procedia PDF Downloads 177