Search results for: light gauge steel–concrete hybrid structure

Authors: Hadda Krarcha, S. Messaasdi

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In order to investigate Hafnium transition metal alloys HfM (M= Co, Ir, Os,Pt, Rh, Ru) phase diagrams in the region of 50/50% atomic ratio, we performed ab initio Full-Potential Linearized Augmented Plane Waves calculations of the enthalpies of formation of HfM compounds at B2 (CsCl) structure type. The obtained enthalpies of formation are discussed and compared to some of the existing models and available experimental data.

Keywords: enthalpy of formation, transition metal, binarry compunds, hafnium

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Authors: Noryani Natasha Yahaya, Anas Ibrahim, Juraidah Ahmad, Azura Ahmad, Mohd Ikmal Fazlan Rosli, Zailan Ramli, Muhd Sidek Muhd Norhasri

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The subgrade formation is an important element of the railway structure which holds overall track stability. Conventional track maintenance involves many substructure component replacements, as well as track re-ballasting on a regular basis is partially contributed to the embankment's long-term settlement problem. For subgrade long-term stability analysis, the geophysical method is commonly being used to diagnose those hidden sources/mechanisms of track deterioration problems that the normal visual method is unable to detect. Electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) is one of the applicable geophysical tools that are helpful in railway subgrade inspection/track monitoring due to its flexibility and reliability of the analysis. The ERT was conducted at KM 23.0 of Pinang Tunggal track to investigate the subgrade of railway track through the characterization/mapping on track formation profiling which was directly generated using 2D analysis of Res2dinv software. The profiles will allow examination of the presence and spatial extent of a significant subgrade layer and screening of any poor contact of soil boundary. Based on the finding, there is a mix/interpretation/intermixing of an interlayer between the sub-ballast and the sand. Although the embankment track considered here is at no immediate risk of settlement effect or any failure, the regular monitoring of track’s location will allow early correction maintenance if necessary. The developed data of track formation clearly shows the similarity of the side view with the assessed track. The data visualization in the 2D section of the track embankment agreed well with the initial assumption based on the main element structure general side view.

Keywords: ground track, assessment, resistivity, geophysical railway, method

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Authors: Showkat Ahmad Lone, Ahmadur Rahman, Ariful Islam

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The major assumption in accelerated life tests (ALT) is that the mathematical model relating the lifetime of a test unit and the stress are known or can be assumed. In some cases, such life–stress relationships are not known and cannot be assumed, i.e. ALT data cannot be extrapolated to use condition. So, in such cases, partially accelerated life test (PALT) is a more suitable test to be performed for which tested units are subjected to both normal and accelerated conditions. This study deals with estimating information about failure times of items under step-stress partially accelerated life tests using progressive failure-censored hybrid data with random removals. The life data of the units under test is considered to follow exponential life distribution. The removals from the test are assumed to have binomial distributions. The point and interval maximum likelihood estimations are obtained for unknown distribution parameters and tampering coefficient. An optimum test plan is developed using the D-optimality criterion. The performances of the resulting estimators of the developed model parameters are evaluated and investigated by using a simulation algorithm.

Keywords: binomial distribution, d-optimality, multiple censoring, optimal design, partially accelerated life testing, simulation study

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Authors: Sunil Dehipawala, Aregama Sirisumana, stephan Smith, P. Schneider, G. Tremberger Jr, D. Lieberman, Todd Holden, T. Cheung

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The arsenic and iron environments in different growth stages have been studied with EXAFS and XANES using Brookhaven Synchrotron Light Source. Collard Greens plants were grown and tissue samples were harvested. The project studied the EXAFS and XANES of tissue samples using As and Fe K-edges. The Fe absorption and the Fourier transform bond length information were used as a control comparison. The Fourier transform of the XAFS data revealed the coexistence of As (III) and As (V) in the As bonding environment inside the studied plant tissue samples, although the soil only had As (III). The data suggests that Collard Greens has a novel pathway to handle arsenic absorption in soil.

Keywords: EXAFS, fourier transform, metalloproteins, XANES

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Authors: Bolysbek Utelbayev, Tasmagambetova Aigerim, Toktasyn Raila, Markayev Yergali, Myrzakhanov Maxat

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Intensive development of secondary processes of destructive processing of crude oil has led to the occurrence of oil refining factories resources of C2-C4 hydrocarbons. Except for oil gases also contain basically C2-C4 hydrocarbon gases where some of the amounts are burned. All these data has induced interest to the study of producing alkylate from hydrocarbons С2-С4 which being as components of motor fuels. The purpose of this work was studying transformation propane-propene, butane-butene fractions at the presence of the ruthenium-chromic support catalyst whereas the carrier is served pillar - structural montmorillonite containing in native bentonite clay. In this work is considered condition and structure of the bentonite clay from the South-Kazakhstan area of the Republic Kazakhstan. For preparation rhodium support catalyst (0,5-1,0 mass. % Rh) was used chloride of rhodium-RhCl3∙3H2O, as a carrier was used modified bentonite clay. For modifying natural clay to pillar structural form were used polyhydroxy complexes of chromium. To aqueous solution of chloride chromium gradually flowed the solution of sodium hydroxide at gradual hashing up to pH~3-4. The concentration of chloride chromium was paid off proceeding from calculation 5-30 mmole Cr3+ per gram clay. Suspension bentonite (~1,0 mass. %) received by intensive washing it in water during 4 h, pH-water extract of clay makes -8-9. The acidity of environment supervised by means of digital pH meter OP-208/1. In order to prevent coagulation of a solution polyhydroxy complexes of chromium, it was slowly added to a suspension of clay. "Reserve of basicity" Cr3+:/OH-allowing to prevent coagulation chloride of rhodium made 1/3. After endurance processed suspensions of clay during 24 h, a deposit was washed by water and condensed. The sample, after separate from a liquid phase, dried at first at the room temperature, and then at 110°C (2h) with the subsequent rise the temperature up to 180°C (4h). After cooling the firm mass was pounded to a powder, it was shifted infractions with the certain sizes of particles. Fractions of particles modifying clay in the further were impregnated with an aqueous solution with rhodium-RhCl3∙3H2O (0,5-1,0 mаss % Rh ). Obtained pillar structural bentonite approaches heat resistance and its porous structure above the 773K. Pillar structural bentonite was used for preparation 1.0% Ru/Carrier (modifying bentonite) support catalysts where is realised alkylation of C2-C4 hydrocarbons. The process of alkylation is carried out at a partial pressure of hydrogen 0.5-1.0MPa. Outcome 2.2.4 three methyl pentane and 2.2.3 trimethylpentane achieved 40%. At alkylation butane-butene mixture outcome of the isooctane is achieved 60%. In this condition of studying the ethene is not undergoing to alkylation.

Keywords: alkylation, butene, pillar structure, ruthenium catalyst

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Authors: Ketwadee Madden

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Product or service image is among the vital factors that predict individuals’ choice of buying a product or services, goes to a place or attached to a person. Similarly, in the context of tourism, the destination image is a very important factor to which tourist considers before making their tour destination decisions. In light of this, the objective of this study is to conceptually investigate among French tourists, the determinants of Thailand’s tourism destination image. For this objective to be achieved, prior studies were reviewed, leading to the development of conceptual framework highlighting the determinants of destination image. In addition, this study develops some hypotheses that are to be empirically investigated. Aside these, based on the conceptual findings, suggestions on how to motivate European tourists to chose Thailand as their preferred tourism destination were made.

Keywords: cognitive destination image, affective destination image, motivations, risk perception, word of mouth

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Authors: Ayten Ekin Meşe, Selahattin Şentürk, Melike Duvanoğlu

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Petroleum refineries are a highly complex process industry with continuous production and high operating costs. Physical separation of crude oil starts with the crude oil distillation unit, continues with various conversion and purification units, and passes through many stages until obtaining the final product. To meet the desired product specification, process parameters are strictly followed. To be able to ensure the quality of distillates, routine analyses are performed in quality control laboratories based on appropriate international standards such as American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standard methods and European Standard (EN) methods. The cut point of distillates in the crude distillation unit is very crucial for the efficiency of the upcoming processes. In order to maximize the process efficiency, the determination of the quality of distillates should be as fast as possible, reliable, and cost-effective. In this sense, an alternative study was carried out on the crude oil distillation unit that serves the entire refinery process. In this work, studies were conducted with three different crude oil distillates which are Light Straight Run Naphtha (LSRN), Heavy Straight Run Naphtha (HSRN), and Kerosene. These products are named after separation by the number of carbons it contains. LSRN consists of five to six carbon-containing hydrocarbons, HSRN consist of six to ten, and kerosene consists of sixteen to twenty-two carbon-containing hydrocarbons. Physical properties of three different crude distillation unit products (LSRN, HSRN, and Kerosene) were determined using Near-Infrared Spectroscopy with multivariate calibration. The absorbance spectra of the petroleum samples were obtained in the range from 10000 cm⁻¹ to 4000 cm⁻¹, employing a quartz transmittance flow through cell with a 2 mm light path and a resolution of 2 cm⁻¹. A total of 400 samples were collected for each petroleum sample for almost four years. Several different crude oil grades were processed during sample collection times. Extended Multiplicative Signal Correction (EMSC) and Savitzky-Golay (SG) preprocessing techniques were applied to FT-NIR spectra of samples to eliminate baseline shifts and suppress unwanted variation. Two different multivariate calibration approaches (Partial Least Squares Regression, PLS and Genetic Inverse Least Squares, GILS) and an ensemble model were applied to preprocessed FT-NIR spectra. Predictive performance of each multivariate calibration technique and preprocessing techniques were compared, and the best models were chosen according to the reproducibility of ASTM reference methods. This work demonstrates the developed models can be used for routine analysis instead of conventional analytical methods with over 90% accuracy.

Keywords: crude distillation unit, multivariate calibration, near infrared spectroscopy, data preprocessing, refinery

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Authors: Soraya Abtouche, Zeyneb Ghoualem, Syrine Daoudi, Lina Ouldmohamed, Xavier Assfeld

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This work reports density functional theory calculations of the optimized geometries, molecular reactivity, energy gap,and thermodynamic properties of the free base (H2P) and their Zn (II) metallated (ZnP), bearing one, two, or three carboxylic acid groups using the hybrid functional B3LYP, Cam-B3lYP, wb97xd with 6-31G(d,p) basis sets. When donating groups are attached to the molecular dye, the bond lengths are slightly decreased, which is important for the easy transfer of an electron from donating to the accepting group. For all dyes, the highest occupied molecular orbital/lowest occupied molecular orbital analysis results in positive outcomes upon electron injection to the semiconductor and subsequent dye regeneration by the electrolyte. The ionization potential increases with increasing conjugation; therefore, the compound dye attached to one carboxylic acid group has the highest ionization potential. The results show higher efficiencies of those sensitized with ZnP. These results have been explained, taking into account the electronic character of the metal ion, which acts as a mediator in the injection step, and, on the other hand, considering the number of anchoring groups to which it binds to the surface of TiO2.

Keywords: DSSC, porphyrin, TD-DFT, electronic properties, donor-acceptor groups

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Authors: Sabin Stoica

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In this paper the theoretical challenges in the study of neutrinoless double beta decay are reviewed. Then, new upper limits of the neutrino mass parameters in the case of three isotopes are derived; 48Ca, 76Ge, and 82Se, assuming two possible mechanisms of occurrence of this nuclear process, namely the exchange of i) light left-handed neutrinos and ii) heavy right-handed neutrinos, between two nucleons inside the nucleus. The derivation is based on accurate calculations of the phase space factors and nuclear matrix elements performed with new high-performance computer codes, which are described in more detail in recent publications. These results are useful both for a better understanding of the scale of neutrino absolute mass and for the planning of future double beta decay experiments.

Keywords: double beta decay, neutrino properties, nuclear matrix elements, phase space factors

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Authors: Christine P. Gibson, Ramona Alex, Michael Farney, Johana Vallejo-Elias, Mitra Esfandiarei

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Aortic aneurysm is the leading cause of death in Marfan syndrome (MFS), a connective tissue disorder caused by mutations in fibrillin-1 gene (FBN1). MFS aneurysm is characterized by weakening of the aortic wall due to elastin fibers fragmentation and disorganization. The above-average height and distinct physical features make young adults with MFS desirable candidates for competitive sports; but little is known about the exercise limit at which they will be at risk for aortic rupture. On the other hand, aerobic cardiovascular exercise has been shown to have protective effects on the heart and aorta. We have previously reported that mild aerobic exercise can delay the formation of aortic aneurysm in a mouse model of MFS. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effects of various levels of exercise intensity on the progression of aortic aneurysm in the mouse model. Starting at 4 weeks of age, we subjected control and MFS mice to different levels of exercise intensity (8m/min, 10m/min, 15m/min, and 20m/min, corresponding to 55%, 65%, 75%, and 85% of VO2 max, respectively) on a treadmill for 30 minutes per day, five days a week for the duration of the study. At 24 weeks of age, aortic tissue were isolated and subjected to structural and functional studies using histology and wire myography in order to evaluate the effects of different exercise routines on elastin fragmentation and organization and aortic wall elasticity/stiffness. Our data shows that exercise training at the intensity levels between 55%-75% significantly reduces elastin fragmentation and disorganization, with less recovery observed in 85% MFS group. The reversibility of elasticity was also significantly restored in MFS mice subjected to 55%-75% intensity; however, the recovery was less pronounced in MFS mice subjected to 85% intensity. Furthermore, our data shows that smooth muscle cells (SMCs) contractilion in response to vasoconstrictor agent phenylephrine (100nM) is significantly reduced in MFS aorta (54.84 ± 1.63 mN/mm2) as compared to control (95.85 ± 3.04 mN/mm2). At 55% of intensity, exercise did not rescue SMCs contraction (63.45 ± 1.70 mN/mm2), while at higher intensity levels, SMCs contraction in response to phenylephrine was restored to levels similar to control aorta [65% (81.88 ± 4.57 mN/mm2), 75% (86.22 ± 3.84 mN/mm2), and 85% (83.91 ± 5.42 mN/mm2)]. This study provides the first time evidence that high intensity exercise (e.g. 85%) may not provide the most beneficial effects on aortic function (vasoconstriction) and structure (elastin fragmentation, aortic wall elasticity) during the progression of aortic aneurysm in MFS mice. On the other hand, based on our observations, medium intensity exercise (e.g. 65%) seems to provide the utmost protective effects on aortic structure and function in MFS mice. These findings provide new insights into the potential capacity, in which MFS patients could participate in various aerobic exercise routines, especially in young adults affected by cardiovascular complications particularly aortic aneurysm. This work was funded by Midwestern University Research Fund.

Keywords: aerobic exercise, aortic aneurysm, aortic wall elasticity, elastin fragmentation, Marfan syndrome

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Authors: Elitsa N. Kolentsova, Dimitar Y. Dimitrov, Petya Cv. Petrova, Georgi V. Avdeev, Diana D. Nihtianova, Krasimir I. Ivanov, Tatyana T. Tabakova

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Recently, copper and manganese-containing systems are recognized as active and selective catalysts in many oxidation reactions. The main idea of this study is to obtain more information about γ-Al₂O₃ supported Cu-La catalysts and to evaluate their activity to simultaneous oxidation of CO, CH₃OH and dimethyl ether (DME). The catalysts were synthesized by impregnation of support with a mixed aqueous solution of nitrates of copper, manganese and lanthanum under different conditions. XRD, HRTEM/EDS, TPR and thermal analysis were performed to investigate catalysts’ bulk and surface properties. The texture characteristics were determined by Quantachrome Instruments NOVA 1200e specific surface area and pore analyzer. The catalytic measurements of single compounds oxidation were carried out on continuous flow equipment with a four-channel isothermal stainless steel reactor in a wide temperature range. On the basis of XRD analysis and HRTEM/EDS, it was concluded that the active component of the mixed Cu-Mn-La/γ–alumina catalysts strongly depends on the Cu/Mn molar ratio and consisted of at least four compounds – CuO, La₂O₃, MnO₂ and Cu_1.5Mn_1.5O₄. A homogeneous distribution of the active component on the carrier surface was found. The chemical composition strongly influenced catalytic properties. This influence was quite variable with regards to the different processes.

Keywords: Cu-Mn-La oxide catalysts, carbon oxide, VOCs, deep oxidation

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Authors: Joanna Cabaj, Sylwia Baluta, Karol Malecha

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Catecholamines are vital neurotransmitters that mediate a variety of central nervous system functions, such as motor control, cognition, emotion, memory processing, and endocrine modulation. Dysfunctions in catecholamine neurotransmission are induced in some neurologic and neuropsychiatric diseases. Changeable neurotransmitters level in biological fluids can be a marker of several neurological disorders. Because of its significance in analytical techniques and diagnostics, sensitive and selective detection of neurotransmitters is increasingly attracting a lot of attention in different areas of bio-analysis or biomedical research. Recently, optical techniques for the detection of catecholamines have attracted interests due to their reasonable cost, convenient control, as well as maneuverability in biological environments. Nevertheless, with the observed need for a sensitive and selective catecholamines sensor, the development of a convenient method for this neurotransmitter is still at its basic level. The manipulation of nanostructured materials in conjunction with biological molecules has led to the development of a new class of hybrid-modified enzymatic sensors in which both enhancement of charge transport and biological activity preservation may be obtained. Immobilization of biomaterials on electrode surfaces is the crucial step in fabricating electrochemical as well as optical biosensors and bioelectronic devices. Continuing systematic investigation in manufacturing of enzyme–conducting sensitive systems, here is presented a convenient fluorescence as well as electrochemical sensing strategy for catecholamines detection.

Keywords: biosensors, catecholamines, fluorescence, enzymes

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Authors: Ogunsina Babatunde, Aregbesola Omotayo, Adebayo Adewale, Odunlami Johnson

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The physical properties of nine Nigerian staple food flours related to bulk handling and processing were investigated following standard procedures. The results showed that the moisture content, bulk density, angle of repose, water absorption capacity, swelling index, dispersability, pH and wettability of the flours ranged from 9.95 to 11.98%, 0.44 to 0.66 g/cm3, 31.43 to 39.65o, 198.3 to 291.7 g of water/100 g of sample, 5.53 to 7.63, 60.3 to 73.8%, 4.43 to 6.70, and 11 to 150 s. The particle size analysis of the flour samples indicated significant differences (p<0.05). The least gelation concentration of the flour samples ranged from 6 to 14%. The colour of the flours fell between light and saturated, with the exception of cassava, millet and maize flours which appear dark and dull. The properties of food flours depend largely on the inherent property of the food material and may influence their functional behaviour as food materials.

Keywords: properties, flours, staple food, bulk handling

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Authors: X. Han, S. Duan, C. Liu, C. Zhou, W. Zhu, L. Kong

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The ionic imprinting technique refers to the three-dimensional rigid structure with the fixed pore sizes, which was formed by the binding interactions of ions and functional monomers and used ions as the template, it has a high level of recognition to the ionic template. The preparation of monolithic column by the in-situ polymerization need to put the compound of template, functional monomers, cross-linking agent and initiating agent into the solution, dissolve it and inject to the column tube, and then the compound will have a polymerization reaction at a certain temperature, after the synthetic reaction, we washed out the unread template and solution. The monolithic columns are easy to prepare, low consumption and cost-effective with fast mass transfer, besides, they have many chemical functions. But the monolithic columns have some problems in the practical application, such as low-efficiency, quantitative analysis cannot be performed accurately because of the peak shape is wide and has tailing phenomena; the choice of polymerization systems is limited and the lack of theoretical foundations. Thus the optimization of components and preparation methods is an important research direction. During the preparation of ionic imprinted monolithic columns, pore-forming agent can make the polymer generate the porous structure, which can influence the physical properties of polymer, what’ s more, it can directly decide the stability and selectivity of polymerization reaction. The compounds generated in the pre-polymerization reaction could directly decide the identification and screening capabilities of imprinted polymer; thus the choice of pore-forming agent is quite critical in the preparation of imprinted monolithic columns. This article mainly focuses on the research that when using different pore-forming agents, the impact of zinc ion imprinted monolithic column on the enrichment performance of zinc ion.

Keywords: high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), ionic imprinting, monolithic column, pore-forming agent

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Authors: N. R. Mohamad, H. Ono, H. Haroon, A. Salleh, N. M. Z. Hashim

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In this research, we have studied and analyzed the modulation of light and liquid crystal in HPDLCs using Finite Domain Time Difference (FDTD) method. HPDLCs are modeled as a mixture of polymer and liquid crystals (LCs) that categorized as an anisotropic medium. FDTD method is directly solves Maxwell’s equation with less approximation, so this method can analyze more flexible and general approach for the arbitrary anisotropic media. As the results from FDTD simulation, the highest diffraction efficiency occurred at ±19 degrees (Bragg angle) using p polarization incident beam to Bragg grating, Q > 10 when the pitch is 1µm. Therefore, the liquid crystal is assumed to be aligned parallel to the grating constant vector during these parameters.

Keywords: birefringence, diffraction efficiency, finite domain time difference, nematic liquid crystals

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Authors: Zeynep Küçükakça, Nezaket Parlak, Mesut Gür, Tahsin Engin, Hasan Küçük

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In the current research, the single phase fluid flow and heat transfer characteristics are experimentally investigated. The experiments are conducted to cover transition zone for the Reynolds numbers ranging from 100 to 4800 by fused silica and stainless steel microtubes having diameters of 103-180 µm. The applicability of the Logarithmic Mean Temperature Difference (LMTD) method is revealed and an experimental method is developed to calculate the heat transfer coefficient. Heat transfer is supplied by a water jacket surrounding the microtubes and heat transfer coefficients are obtained by LMTD method. The results are compared with data obtained by the correlations available in the literature in the study. The experimental results indicate that the Nusselt numbers of microtube flows do not accord with the conventional results when the Reynolds number is lower than 1000. After that, the Nusselt number approaches the conventional theory prediction. Moreover, the scaling effects in micro scale such as axial conduction, viscous heating and entrance effects are discussed. On the aspect of fluid characteristics, the friction factor is well predicted with conventional theory and the conventional friction prediction is valid for water flow through microtube with a relative surface roughness less than about 4 %.

Keywords: microtube, laminar flow, friction factor, heat transfer, LMTD method

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Authors: Salwa Enneifer

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The research is intended to investigate Tunisian students’ own perception of the difficulties they encounter in the writing task. To achieve this objective, a questionnaire was administered to students enrolled in the ‘Faculty of Letters Arts and Humanities’ in Kairouan, in Tunisia. Students were classified into three groups: first-, second-, and third-year students. The researcher used 120 questionnaires filled in by the students as data for this study; moreover, 30 students participated in a semi-structured interview to complete the data. The questionnaire results revealed that Tunisian EFL students faced spelling and grammar difficulties. ANOVA also revealed that the first-year students did not recognise that Arabic and English greatly differ in their respective punctuation systems. The second-year class, however, was fully aware of this difference. Additionally, the interview shed light on other aspects or different difficulties experienced by students in writing: a cruel ‘lack of vocabulary’, Arabic language interference, the organisation of the essay and especially the academic essay, and difficulty with writing an argumentative essay.

Keywords: difficulties, writing, Tunisian, EFL students

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Authors: Rebecca Lynn

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The successful inclusion of students with disabilities depends upon many factors, including the collaboration between general and special education teachers for meeting student learning goals as outlined in the Individualized Education Plan (IEP). However, Individualized Education Plans do not provide sufficient information on accommodations and modifications for the variety of general education contexts and content areas in which a student may participate. In addition, general and special education teachers lack observation skills and tools for gathering essential information about the strengths and needs of students with disabilities in relation to general education instruction and classrooms. More research and tools are needed for planning adaptations that increase access to content in general education classrooms. This paper will discuss the outcomes of a qualitative field-based study of a structured observation instrument used for gathering information on student strengths and needs in relation to social, academic and regulatory expectations during instruction in general education classrooms. The study explores the following questions: To what extent does the observation structure and instrument increase collaborative planning of adaptations in general education classrooms for students with disabilities? To what extent does the observation structure and instrument change pedagogical practices and collaboration in general education classrooms for fostering successful inclusion? A hypothesis of this study was that use of the instrument in the context of lessons and in collaborative debriefing would increase awareness and use of meaningful adaptations, and lead to universal design in the planning of instruction. A finding of the study is a shift from viewing students with disabilities as passive participants to a more pedagogical inclusion as teachers developed skills in observation and created content/context-specific adaptations for students with disabilities in the general education classroom.

Keywords: adaptations, collaboration, inclusion, observations

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Authors: Leonid Rybakovski

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Contemporary media offer a variety of themes for the diverse tastes of their audiences. The Digital games medium was mostly perceived as an instrument of entertainment. But being a part of global trends while constantly pushing the boundaries of storytelling in virtual reality and standing on the edge of technology also brings huge responsibility for game designers around the globe. A very recent emerging topic over the last years was an individual's mental state. In recent years there has been a shift in mental problems representations in commercial game releases such as Hell blade: Senua's Sacrifice and Sea of Solitude. The aim of this study is to research the approach of mental illness representation in media and digital games over the years and to suggest alternatives for putting characters who suffer from mental illness at the forefront of the storyline. This study traces dominant representations of characters with mental illness in digital games, reflecting the major change of the game industry toward inclusiveness. At the same time, the research embraces a hybrid approach to the academic study of digital games and includes the development of a game that follows a post-traumatic young girl, forcing the users to live her life through her eyes. The game prototype was developed as part of the Mdes Game Design and Development program and consisted of academic research and game development practices.

Keywords: framing analysis, mental condition, up keying, game mechanics

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Authors: Jana Petru, Marie Kudrnova

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The use of technologies working with molten salts is conditioned by finding suitable construction materials that must meet several demanding criteria. In addition to temperature resistance, materials must also show corrosion resistance to salts; they must meet mechanical requirements and other requirements according to the area of use – for example, radiation resistance in Molten Salt Reactors. The present text describes an experimental device for studying the corrosion resistance of candidate materials in molten mixtures of salts and is a partial task of the international project ADAR, dealing with the evaluation of advanced nuclear reactors based on molten salts. The design of the device is based on a test exposure of Inconel 625 in the mixture of salts Hitec in a high temperature tube furnace. The result of the pre-exposure is, in addition to the metallographic evaluation of the behavior of material 625 in the mixture of nitrate salts, mainly a list of operational and construction problems that were essential for the construction of the new experimental equipment. The main output is a scheme of a newly designed gas-tight experimental apparatus capable of operating in an inert argon atmosphere, temperature up to 600 °C, pressure 3 bar, in the presence of a corrosive salt environment, with an exposure time of hundreds of hours. This device will enable the study of promising construction materials for nuclear energy.

Keywords: corrosion, experimental device, molten salt, steel

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Authors: Abdel Qader Al Bawab, Mohannad Odeh, Rami Amer

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Recently, there has been an increasing interest in innovative business development. Nevertheless, in the pharmacy practice field, there seems to be a gap in perceptions, attitudes, and knowledge about innovation between practicing pharmacists and academia. This study explores this gap and aspects of pharmaceutical innovation in Jordan, comparing pharmacists and last-year pharmacy students. A validated (r2 = 0.74) and reliable (Pearson’s r = 0.88) online questionnaire was designed to assess and compare knowledge, attitude, and perceptions about pharmaceutical innovation. A total of 397 participants (215 pharmacy students and 182 pharmaceutical professionals) responded. Compared with 50% of the pharmacists, only 32.1% of the students claimed that they knew the differences between pharmaceutical innovation, discovery, invention, and entrepreneurship [x2 (2) = 14.238, p = 0.001; Cramer’s V = 0.189]. Pharmacists demonstrated a higher level of trust in the innovative website design for their institution compared with students (25.3% vs. 16.3%, p < 0.001, Cramer’s V = 0.327). However, 60% of the students did not know the innovative design standards for websites, while the corresponding percentage was 37% for the pharmacists (p < 0.001; Cramer’s V = 0.327). The majority of the students were interested in pharmaceutical innovation (81.9%). Unfortunately, 76.3% never studied innovation in their pharmacy curricula. Similarly, most pharmacists (76.4%) considered adopting innovation, but only 30% had a concrete plan. For the field where pharmacists aim to innovate in the next 5 years, new pharmaceutical services were the dominant field (34.6%). Despite a positive attitude and perception, pharmacists and pharmacy students expressed poor knowledge about innovation. Policies to enhance awareness about innovation and professional educational tools should be implemented.

Keywords: pharmacy, innovation, knowledge, attitude, practice

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Authors: Fauzi Jarushi, Paul Cosentino, Edward Kalajian, Hadeel Dekhn

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At certain depths during large diameter displacement pile driving, rebound well over 0.25 inches was experienced, followed by a small permanent set during each hammer blow. High pile rebound (HPR) soils may stop the pile driving and results in a limited pile capacity. In some cases, rebound leads to pile damage, delaying the construction project, and the requiring foundations redesign. HPR was evaluated at seven Florida sites, during driving of square precast, prestressed concrete piles driven into saturated, fine silty to clayey sands and sandy clays. Pile Driving Analyzer (PDA) deflection versus time data recorded during installation, was used to develop correlations between cone penetrometer (CPT) pore-water pressures, pile displacements and rebound. At five sites where piles experienced excessive HPR with minimal set, the pore pressure yielded very high positive values of greater than 20 tsf. However, at the site where the pile rebounded, followed by an acceptable permanent set, the measured pore pressure ranged between 5 and 20 tsf. The pore pressure exhibited values of less than 5 tsf at the site where no rebound was noticed. In summary, direct correlations between CPTu pore pressure and rebound were produced, allowing identification of soils that produce HPR.

Keywords: CPTU, pore water pressure, pile rebound

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Authors: Ahmed A. Mohamed Aly

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Ground movements induced from excavations is a major cause of deformation and damage to the adjacent buildings and utilities. With the increasing rate of construction work in urban area, this problem is growing more significant and has become the cause of numerous legal disputes. This problem is investigated numerically in the present study using finite element method. Five-story reinforced concrete building rests on raft foundation is idealized as two dimensional model. The building is considered to be constructed adjacent to excavation affected by an adjacent excavation in medium sand. Excavation is supported using sheet pile wall. Two dimensional plane strain program PLAXIS is used in this study. 15 nodes triangular element is used to idealize soil with Mohr-Coulomb model. Five nodes isoperimetric beam element is used to idealize sheet pile and building. Interface element is used to represent the contact between beam element and soil. Two parameters were studied, the first is the foundation depth and the second is the building distance from the excavation. Nodal displacements and elements straining actions were obtained and studied from the analyzed finite element model results.

Keywords: excavation, relative distance, effective stresses, lateral deformation, relative depth

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Authors: Darwin Castillo Huamaní, Francisco A. M. Gomes

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The aim of the multi-material topology optimization (MTO) is to obtain the optimal topology of structures composed by many materials, according to a given set of constraints and cost criteria. In this work, we seek the optimal distribution of materials in a domain, such that the flexibility of the structure is minimized, under certain boundary conditions and the intervention of external forces. In the case we have only one material, each point of the discretized domain is represented by two values from a function, where the value of the function is 1 if the element belongs to the structure or 0 if the element is empty. A common way to avoid the high computational cost of solving integer variable optimization problems is to adopt the Solid Isotropic Material with Penalization (SIMP) method. This method relies on the continuous interpolation function, power function, where the base variable represents a pseudo density at each point of domain. For proper exponent values, the SIMP method reduces intermediate densities, since values other than 0 or 1 usually does not have a physical meaning for the problem. Several extension of the SIMP method were proposed for the multi-material case. The one that we explore here is the ordered SIMP method, that has the advantage of not being based on the addition of variables to represent material selection, so the computational cost is independent of the number of materials considered. Although the number of variables is not increased by this algorithm, the optimization subproblems that are generated at each iteration cannot be solved by methods that rely on second derivatives, due to the cost of calculating the second derivatives. To overcome this, we apply a globally convergent version of the sequential linear programming method, which solves a linear approximation sequence of optimization problems.

Keywords: globally convergence, multi-material design ordered simp, sequential linear programming, topology optimization

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Authors: Andrew Anis Fakhrey Mosaad

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Introduction: There are many different types of sleep disorders, each with serious implications for a person's health and a large financial burden on society. Method: This review offers a framework based on the International Classification of Sleep Disorders to aid in the diagnosis and treatment of sleep disorders. Differentiating between primary and secondary insomnia is covered, along with pharmacological and nonpharmacological therapy options. Common abnormalities of the circadian rhythm are mentioned along with their therapies, such as light therapy and chronotherapy. This article discusses the identification and management of periodic limb movement disorder and restless legs syndrome. The therapy of upper airway resistance syndrome and obstructive sleep apnea are the main topics of discussion. Conclusion: The range of narcolepsy symptoms and results, as well as diagnostic procedures and treatment, are discussed. The causes, outcomes, and treatments of many types of insomnias, such as sleep terrors, somnambulism, and rapid eye movement (REM) behavior sleep disorders, are discussed.

Keywords: diagnosis, treatment, sleep disorders, insomnia

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Authors: Tatiana A. Dolenko, Sergey A. Burikov, Alexander O. Efitorov, Sergey A. Dolenko

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In this study, a comparative analysis of the approaches associated with the use of neural network algorithms for effective solution of a complex inverse problem – the problem of identifying and determining the individual concentrations of inorganic salts in multicomponent aqueous solutions by the spectra of Raman scattering of light – is performed. It is shown that application of artificial neural networks provides the average accuracy of determination of concentration of each salt no worse than 0.025 M. The results of comparative analysis of input data compression methods are presented. It is demonstrated that use of uniform aggregation of input features allows decreasing the error of determination of individual concentrations of components by 16-18% on the average.

Keywords: inverse problems, multi-component solutions, neural networks, Raman spectroscopy

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Authors: G. Swati, D. Haranath

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Commercially available long afterglow /persistent phosphors are proprietary materials and hence the exact composition and phase responsible for their luminescent characteristics such as initial intensity and afterglow luminescence time are not known. Further to generate various emission colors, commercially available persistence phosphors are physically blended with fluorescent organic dyes such as rodhamine, kiton and methylene blue etc. Blending phosphors with organic dyes results into complete color coverage in visible spectra, however with time, such phosphors undergo thermal and photo-bleaching. This results in the loss of their true emission color. Hence, the current work is dedicated studies on inorganic based thermally and chemically stable primary color emitting nanophosphors namely SrAl2O4:Eu2+, Dy3+, (CaZn)TiO3:Pr3+, and Sr2MgSi2O7:Eu2+, Dy3+. SrAl2O4: Eu2+, Dy3+ phosphor exhibits a strong excitation in UV and visible region (280-470 nm) with a broad emission peak centered at 514 nm is the characteristic emission of parity allowed 4f65d1→4f7 transitions of Eu2+ (8S7/2→2D5/2). Sunlight excitable Sr2MgSi2O7:Eu2+,Dy3+ nanophosphors emits blue color (464 nm) with Commercial international de I’Eclairage (CIE) coordinates to be (0.15, 0.13) with a color purity of 74 % with afterglow time of > 5 hours for dark adapted human eyes. (CaZn)TiO3:Pr3+ phosphor system possess high color purity (98%) which emits intense, stable and narrow red emission at 612 nm due intra 4f transitions (1D2 → 3H4) with afterglow time of 0.5 hour. Unusual property of persistence luminescence of these nanophoshphors supersedes background effects without losing sensitive information these nanophosphors offer several advantages of visible light excitation, negligible substrate interference, high contrast bifurcation of ridge pattern, non-toxic nature revealing finger ridge details of the fingerprints. Both level 1 and level 2 features from a fingerprint can be studied which are useful for used classification, indexing, comparison and personal identification. facile methodology to extract high contrast fingerprints on non-porous and porous substrates using a chemically inert, visible light excitable, and nanosized phosphorescent label in the dark has been presented. The chemistry of non-covalent physisorption interaction between the long afterglow phosphor powder and sweat residue in fingerprints has been discussed in detail. Real-time fingerprint development on porous and non-porous substrates has also been performed. To conclude, apart from conventional dark vision applications, as prepared primary color emitting afterglow phosphors are potentional candidate for developing high contrast latent fingerprints.

Keywords: fingerprints, luminescence, persistent phosphors, rare earth

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Authors: Frezer Alem Kebede

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The notion of viewing ICT as merely support for the business process has shifted towards viewing ICT as a critical business enabler. As such, the need for ICT devices has increased, contributing to high electronic equipment acquisition and disposal. Hence, its use and disposal must be seen in light of environmental sustainability, i.e., in terms of green use and disposal. However, there are limited studies on green Use and Disposal framework to be used as guiding lens by organizations in developing countries. And this study endeavors to address that need taking one of the largest multinational ICT intensive company in the country. The design and development of this framework passed through several stages, initially factors affecting green use and disposal were identified after quantitative and qualitative data analysis then there were multiple brainstorming sessions for the design enhancement as participative modelling was employed. Given the difference in scope and magnitude of the challenges identified, the proposed framework approaches green use and disposal in four imperatives; strategically, tactically, operationally and through continuous improvement.

Keywords: energy efficiency, green disposal, green ICT, green use, green use and disposal framework, sustainability

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Authors: M. A. Moghaddas, M. Short, N. Wiley, A. Y. Yi, K. F. Graff

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The application of ultrasonic vibrations to machining processes has a long history, ranging from slurry-based systems able to drill brittle materials, to more recent developments involving low power ultrasonics for high precision machining, with many of these at the research and laboratory stages. The focus of this development is the application of high levels of ultrasonic power (1,000’s of watts) to standard, heavy duty machine tools – drilling being the immediate focus, with developments in milling in progress – with the objective of dramatically increasing system productivity through faster feed rates, this benefit arising from the thrust force reductions obtained by power ultrasonic vibrations. The presentation will describe development of an advanced drilling system based on a special, acoustically designed, rugged drill module capable of functioning under heavy duty production conditions, and making use of standard tool holder means, and able to obtain thrust force reductions while maintaining or improving surface finish and drilling accuracy. The characterization of the system performance will be described, and results obtained in drilling several materials (Aluminum, Stainless steel, Titanium) presented.

Keywords: dimensional accuracy, machine tool, productivity, surface roughness, thrust force, ultrasonic vibrations, ultrasonic-assisted drilling

Procedia PDF Downloads 275

Authors: Abdullah Ali Salamai

Abstract:

Smart healthcare management systems (SHMS) play a vital role in medical centers. SHMS has various risks and threats that affect patient care. So, risk management is the best choice to identify and mitigate these risks. This study proposed a multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) framework for identifying risks in SHMS and selecting the best project in SHMS to reduce risks. This study used the MCDM method to deal with conflict criteria. There are two MCDM methods: CRiteria Importance Through Intercriteria Correlation (CRITIC) and Additive Ration Assessment (ARAS). The CRITIC approach is used to compute the criteria weights, and the ARAS algorithm is used to select the appropriate projects in SHMS. The neutrosophic set (NS) was applied with MCDM methods to deal with inconsistent data in the evaluation process. The results show the Health Data Informational System project is the best. Sensitivity analysis was conducted to show the stability of the rank. The comparative study was conducted to show the effectiveness of the proposed methodology. The outcomes demonstrate the rank of projects is stable through all scenarios, and the proposed methodology is effective compared with other MCDM methods.

Keywords: risk management, portfolio management, smart healthcare, neutrosophic set, MCDM

Procedia PDF Downloads 29