Search results for: past winner

Authors: Naga Velamakuri, Jyothi K. Reddy

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Quality must be designed into a product and not inspected has become the main motto of all the companies globally. Due to the rapidly increasing technology in the past few decades, the nature of demands from the consumers has become more sophisticated. To sustain this global revolution of innovation in production systems, companies have to take steps to accommodate this technology growth. In this process of understanding the customers' expectations, all the firms globally take steps to deliver a perfect output. Most of these techniques also concentrate on the consistent development and optimization of the product to exceed the expectations. Quality Function Deployment(QFD) and Modular Function Deployment(MFD) are such techniques which rely on the voice of the customer and help deliver the needs. In this paper, Quality Function Deployment and Modular Function Deployment techniques which help in converting the quantitative descriptions to qualitative outcomes are discussed. The area of interest would be to understand the scope of each of the techniques and the application range in product development when these are applied together to any problem. The research question would be mainly aimed at comprehending the limitations using modularity in product development.

Keywords: quality function deployment, modular function deployment, house of quality, methodology

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Authors: Utkarsh Goley

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Leather has been a valued material for clothing and accessories for centuries, and its use has evolved along with fashion trends and technological advancements. From ancient times when leather was used for practical purposes, to the modern fashion industry, where it is used for both functional and decorative purposes, leather has undergone significant changes in its production and usage. In recent years, there has been a growing awareness of ethical and sustainable fashion, leading to a shift towards alternative materials and production methods. The leather industry has responded to this by exploring new techniques and materials, such as vegetable-tanned leather and leather substitutes made from plant-based materials. The evolution of leather in the fashion industry is also closely tied to cultural and social trends. The use of leather has been associated with rebellion and counterculture in the past, and today it is often used to evoke a sense of luxury and sophistication. Despite the challenges and controversies surrounding its production, leather continues to be a popular material in the fashion industry, with designers and consumers alike valuing its durability, versatility, and aesthetic appeal. As fashion continues to evolve, so will the role and use of leather in the industry. This research paper provides a detailed overview of the evolution of leather in the fashion industry throughout the different decades and centuries.

Keywords: evolution, fashion, leather, sustainable

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Authors: A. P. Joshi, H. V. Warrior, J. P. Panda

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This paper is a continuation of the work carried out by various turbulence modelers in Oceanography on the topic of oceanic turbulent mixing. It evaluates the evolution of ocean water temperature and salinity by the appropriate modeling of turbulent mixing utilizing proper prescription of eddy viscosity. Many modelers in past have suggested including terms like shear, buoyancy and vorticity to be the parameters that decide the slow pressure strain correlation. We add to it the fact that dissipation anisotropy also modifies the correlation through eddy viscosity parameterization. This recalibrates the established correlation constants slightly and gives improved results. This anisotropization of dissipation implies that the critical Richardson’s number increases much beyond unity (to 1.66) to accommodate enhanced mixing, as is seen in reality. The model is run for a couple of test cases in the General Ocean Turbulence Model (GOTM) and the results are presented here.

Keywords: Anisotropy, GOTM, pressure-strain correlation, Richardson critical number

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Authors: Khaleel Bader Bataineh

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Past studies have maintained that the Arab learners' beliefs about language learning hold vital effects on their performance. Thus, this study was carried out to investigate the language learning beliefs of Irbid National University students. It aimed at identifying the language learning beliefs according to gender. This study is a descriptive design that employed survey questionnaire of Language Learning Beliefs Inventory (BALLI). The data were elicited from 83 English major students during the class sessions. The data were analyzed using an SPSS program in which frequency analysis and t-test were performed to examine the students’ responses. Thus, the major findings of this research indicated that there is a variation in responses with regards to the subjects’ beliefs about English learning. Also, the findings show significant differences in four questionnaire items according to gender. It is hoped that the findings provide valuable insights to educators about the learners’ beliefs which assist them to develop the teaching and learning English language process in Jordan universities.

Keywords: foreign language, students’ beliefs, language learning, Arab students

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Authors: Elisaveta Doncheva, Jelena Djokikj, Ognen Tuteski, Bojana Hadjieva

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In the past decade, additive manufacturing technology or 3D printing has been promoted as an efficient method for fabricating hybrid composite materials and structures with superior mechanical properties and complex shape and geometry. Fused deposition modeling (FDM) process is commonly used additive manufacturing technique for production of polymer products. Therefore, many studies and experiments are focused on investigating the possibilities for improving the obtained results on product properties as a key factor for expanding the spectrum of their application. This article provides an extensive review on recent research advances in FDM and reports on studies that cover the effects of process parameters, material, and design of the product properties. The paper conclusions provide a clear up-to date information for optimum efficiency and enhancement of the mechanical properties of 3D printed samples and recommends further research work and investigations.

Keywords: additive manufacturing, critical parameters, filament, print orientation, 3D printing

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Authors: Syazwani Ramli, Norhidayu Muhamad Zain

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Nowadays, the use of gelatin as biomaterials in tissue engineering are evolving especially in skin graft and wound dressing applications. Towards year 2018, Malaysia is in the way of planning to get the halal certification for biomedical device in order to cater the needs of Muslims and non-Muslims in Malaysia. However, the use of gelatins in tissue engineering are mostly derived from non-halal sources. Currently, gelatin production mostly comes from mammalian gelatin sources. Moreover, within these past years, just a few studies of the uses of gelatin in tissue engineering from halal perspective has been studied. Thus, this paper aims to give overview of the use of gelatin from different sources from halal perspectives. This review also discussing the current status of halal for the emerging biomedical devices. In addition, the different sources of gelatin used in tissue engineering are being identified and provides better alternatives for halal gelatin. Cold- water fish skin gelatin could be an effective alternative to substitute the mammalian sources. Therefore, this review is important because the information about the halal biomedical devices will delighted Muslim consumers and give better insight of halal gelatin in tissue engineering application.

Keywords: biomedical device, gelatin, halal, skin graft, tissue engineering

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Authors: Lukáš Klein, Karel Žídek

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Hyperspectral imaging counts among the most frequently used multidimensional sensing methods. While there are many approaches to capturing a hyperspectral data cube, optical compression is emerging as a valuable tool to reduce the setup complexity and the amount of data storage needed. Hyperspectral compressive imagers have been created in the past; however, they have primarily focused on relatively narrow sections of the electromagnetic spectrum. A broader spectral study of samples can provide helpful information, especially for applications involving the harmonic generation and advanced material characterizations. We demonstrate a broadband hyperspectral microscope based on the single-pixel camera principle. Captured spatially encoded data are processed to reconstruct a hyperspectral cube in a combined visible and near-infrared spectrum (from 400 to 2500 nm). Hyperspectral cubes can be reconstructed with a spectral resolution of up to 3 nm and spatial resolution of up to 7 µm (subject to diffraction) with a high compressive ratio.

Keywords: compressive imaging, hyperspectral imaging, near-infrared spectrum, single-pixel camera, visible spectrum

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Authors: Mehmet Savsar

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One of the most important factors affecting power plant performance is the reliability of the turbine units operated under different conditions. Reliability directly affects plant availability and performance. Therefore, it is very important to be able to analyze turbine units, as well as power plant system reliability and availability under various operational conditions. In this paper, data related to power station failures are collected and analyzed in detail for all power stations in the state of Kuwait. Failures are characterized and categorized. Reliabilities of various power plants are analyzed and availabilities are quantified. Based on calculated availabilities of all installed power plants, actual power output is estimated. Furthermore, based on the past 15 years of data, power consumption trend is determined and the demand for power in the future is forecasted. Estimated power output is compared to the forecasted demand in order to determine the need for future capacity expansion.

Keywords: power plants, reliability, availability, capacity, preventive maintenance, forecasting

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Authors: Valentina Dolmova

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What consumers choose to buy and who voters select on election days are two questions that have captivated the interest of both academics and practitioners for many decades. The importance of understanding what influences the behavior of those groups and whether or not we can predict or control it fuels a steady stream of research in a range of fields. By looking only at the past 40 years, more than 70 thousand scientific papers have been published in each field – consumer behavior and political psychology, respectively. From marketing, economics, and the science of persuasion to political and cognitive psychology - we have all remained heavily engaged. The ever-evolving technology, inevitable socio-cultural shifts, global economic conditions, and much more play an important role in choice-equations regardless of context. On one hand, this makes the research efforts always relevant and needed. On the other, the relatively low number of cross-field collaborations, which seem to be picking up only in more in recent years, makes the existing findings isolated into framed bubbles. By performing systematic research across both areas of psychology and building a parallel between theories and factors of influence, however, we find that there is not only a definitive common ground between the behaviors of consumers and voters but that we are moving towards a global model of choice. This means that the lines between contexts are fading which has a direct implication on what we should focus on when predicting or navigating buyers and voters’ behavior. Internal and external factors in four main categories determine the choices we make as consumers and as voters. Together, personal, psychological, social, and cultural create a holistic framework through which all stimuli in relation to a particular product or a political party get filtered. The analogy “consumer-voter” solidifies further. Leading academics suggest that this fundamental parallel is the key to managing successfully political and consumer brands alike. However, we distinguish additional four key stimuli that relate to those factor categories (1/ opportunity costs; 2/the memory of the past; 3/recognisable figures/faces and 4/conflict) arguing that the level of expertise a person has determines the prevalence of factors or specific stimuli. Our efforts take into account global trends such as the establishment of “celebrity politics” and the image of “ethically concerned consumer brands” which bridge the gap between contexts to an even greater extent. Scientists and practitioners are pushed to accept the transformative nature of both fields in social psychology. Existing blind spots as well as the limited number of research conducted outside the American and European societies open up space for more collaborative efforts in this highly demanding and lucrative field. A mixed method of research tests three main hypotheses, the first two of which are focused on the level of irrelevance of context when comparing voting or consumer behavior – both from the factors and stimuli lenses, the third on determining whether or not the level of expertise in any field skews the weight of what prism we are more likely to choose when evaluating options.

Keywords: buyers’ behaviour, decision-making, voters’ behaviour, social psychology

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Authors: Adrian Sauer, Lorenz Einberger, Florian Hilpert

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The advancements and technical innovations in the field of electric unmanned aviation over the past years opened the third dimension in areas like surveillance, logistics, and mobility for a wide range of private and commercial users. Researchers and companies are faced with the task of integrating their technology into airborne platforms. Especially start-ups and researchers require unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), which can be quickly developed for specific use cases without spending significant time and money. This paper shows a design approach for the rapid development of a lightweight automatic separate-lift-thrust (SLT) electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) UAV prototype, which is able to fulfill basic transportation as well as surveillance missions. The design approach does not require expensive or time-consuming design loop software. Thereby developers can easily understand, adapt, and adjust the presented method for their own project. The approach is mainly focused on crucial design aspects such as aerofoil, tuning, and powertrain.

Keywords: aerofoil, drones, rapid prototyping, powertrain

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Authors: Gagandeep Singh Grover, Vini Mahajan, Bhagmal, Priti Thaware, Jaspreet Takkar

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Dengue is a mosquito-borne viral disease endemic in many countries in the tropics and sub-tropics. The state of Punjab in India shows cyclical and seasonal variation in dengue cases. The Case Fatality Rate of Dengue has ranged from 0.6 to 1.0 in the past years. The department has initiated a review of the cases that have died due to dengue in order to know the exact cause of the death in a case of dengue. The study has been undertaken to know the other associated co-morbidities and factors causing death in a case of dengue. The study used the predesigned proforma on which the records (medical and Lab) were recorded and reviewed by the expert committee of the doctors. This study has revealed that cases of dengue having co-morbidities have a longer stay in the hospital. Fluid overload and co-morbidities have been found as major factors leading to death, however, in a confirmed case of dengue hepatorenal shutdown was found to be a major cause of mortality. The data obtained will help in sensitizing the treating physicians in order to decrease the mortality due to dengue in future.

Keywords: dengue, death, morbidities, DHF, DSS

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Authors: Luciane Lauffer

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Over the past decade, the expansion of women’s football as a competitive sport has gained more attention from the media and researchers. However, the practice of the sport is not new, and in Asia and Oceania, women’s football has emerged as a common physical activity in many countries since the 1970s. This study recovers the major occurrences that made women’s football possible in an international context, also resulting from the main achievements of the feminist movement in most Westernized countries. Using archival research, the author reviews documents that compose the history of the women’s game, marked by many imposed barriers imposed by social and gender norms. This materials present how women managed their sport in their respective countries and regions, mostly prompted by a spirit of cooperation and partnerships that allowed the staging of major international events. The findings point out that, despite the layers of gendered boundaries that attempted to contain the expansion of the sport, women from Asia and Oceania made the sport flourish and eventually achieving recognition at the international level.

Keywords: women’s football, gender norms, game development, Asia-pacific

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Authors: Mohammad Reza Ameri, Ali Massumi, Behnam Mahboubi

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The performance of masonry infilled frames during the past earthquakes shows that the infill panels play a major role as earthquake-resistant elements. The present study examines the influence of infill panels on seismic behavior of RC frame structures. For this purpose, several low- and mid-rise RC frames (two-, four-, seven-, and ten story) were numerically investigated. Reinforced masonry infill panels were then placed within the frames and the models were subjected to several nonlinear incremental static and dynamic analyses. The results of analyses showed that the use of reinforced masonry infill panels in RC frame structures can have beneficial effects on structural performance. It was confirmed that the use of masonry infill panels results in an increment in strength and stiffness of the framed buildings, followed by a reduction in displacement demand for the structural systems.

Keywords: reinforced masonry infill panels, nonlinear static analysis, incremental dynamic analysis, low-rise reinforced concrete frames, mid-rise reinforced concrete frames

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Authors: Gerard Lawrence

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This paper gives an in-depth discussion on Motivation in the Malaysian Armed Forces; highlighting it as a powerful and important tool upon which the well-being of an entire (or any) organization rests. It starts with the literal definition of the word and then the psychological aspects of it detailing the intricate mechanics and fundamentals in order to accurately and systematically harness it to create a motivated workforce. It then describes the types of motivation; positive and negative, its many facets and manifestation, clearly identifying each one point by point as well as drawing examples. The paper also deals with certain controversial practices like favoritism; nepotism and provides examples of military motivation both in historic and contemporary context. It strips the current system (and its flaws) to build, nurture and maintain motivation in the future. It shows how “past practice” may not necessarily be “best practice”, by providing the building blocks necessary to move forward and cautions on the inter-relation and differences between morale and motivation. As a conclusion the paper coins a theory of working in shifts for the military and urges careful research and planning as to IF this can raise if not maintain motivation in the new era.

Keywords: armed forces, Malaysia, motivation, military psychology

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Authors: Chien-Wan Hun, Shao-Fu Chang, Chien-Chon Chen, Ker-Jer Huang

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This study presents how to use a high-efficiency process for producing cesium iodide (CsI) crystal columns by rapid heating method. In the past, the heating rate of the resistance wire heating furnace was relatively slow and excessive iodine and CsI vapors were therefore generated during heating. Because much iodine and CsI vapors are produced during heating process, the composition of CsI crystal columns is not correct. In order to enhance the heating rate, making CsI material in the heating process can quickly reach the melting point temperature. This study replaced the traditional type of external resistance heating furnace with halogen-type quartz heater, and then, CsI material can quickly reach the melting point. Eventually, CsI melt can solidify in the anodic aluminum template forming CsI crystal columns.

Keywords: cesium iodide, high efficiency, vapor, rapid heating, crystal column

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Authors: Yasmine Abu Adla, Racha Soubra, Milana Kasab, Mohamad O. Diab, Aly Chkeir

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Over the past several years, researchers have shown a great interest in assessing the mobility of elderly people to measure their functional status. Usually, such an assessment is done by conducting tests that require the subject to walk a certain distance, turn around, and finally sit back down. Consequently, this study aims to provide an at home monitoring system to assess the patient’s status continuously. Thus, we proposed a technique to automatically detect when a subject sits down while walking at home. In this study, we utilized a Doppler radar system to capture the motion of the subjects. More than 20 features were extracted from the radar signals, out of which 11 were chosen based on their intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC > 0.75). Accordingly, the sequential floating forward selection wrapper was applied to further narrow down the final feature vector. Finally, 5 features were introduced to the linear discriminant analysis classifier, and an accuracy of 93.75% was achieved as well as a precision and recall of 95% and 90%, respectively.

Keywords: Doppler radar system, stand-to-sit phase, TUG test, machine learning, classification

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Authors: Zahra Kouzehgari

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Since the early emergence of chaos theory in the 1970s in mathematics and physical science, it has increasingly been developed and adapted in social sciences as well. The non-linear and dynamic characteristics of the theory make it a useful conceptual framework to interpret the complex social systems behavior. Regarding chaotic approach principals, sensitivity to initial conditions, dynamic adoption, strange attractors and unpredictability this paper aims to examine whether chaos approach could interpret the ancient social changes. To do this, at first, a brief history of the chaos theory, its development and application in social science as well as the principals making the theory, then its application in archaeological since has been reviewed. The study demonstrates that although based on existing archaeological records reconstruct the whole social system of the human past, the non-linear approaches in studying social complex systems would be of a great help in finding general order of the ancient societies and would enable us to shed light on some of the social phenomena in the human history or to make sense of them.

Keywords: archaeology, non-linear approach, chaos theory, ancient social systems

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Authors: Mustafa Karimi, Chikamoto Tomoyuki

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The building sector consumes 36% of total global energy used, whereas only residential buildings are responsible for 22% of that. In residential buildings, energy used for space heating and cooling represents the majority part of the total energy consumption. Although Afghanistan is amongst the lowest in energy usage globally, residential buildings’ energy consumption has caused serious environmental issues, especially in the capital city, Kabul. After decades of war in Afghanistan, redevelopment of the built environment started from scratch in the past years; therefore, to create sustainable urban areas, it is critical to find the most energy-efficient design parameters for buildings that will last for decades. This study aims to assess the impact of building orientation on the energy performance of buildings in Kabul. It is found that the optimal orientation for buildings in Kabul is South and South-southeast, while West-northwest and Northeast orientations are the worst in terms of energy performance. The difference in the total energy consumption between the best and the worst orientation is 17.5%.

Keywords: building orientation, energy consumption, residential buildings, Kabul, environmental issues

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Authors: Arun Goel

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Prediction of maximum local scour is necessary for the safety and economical design of the bridges. A number of equations have been developed over the years to predict local scour depth using laboratory data and a few pier equations have also been proposed using field data. Most of these equations are empirical in nature as indicated by the past publications. In this paper, attempts have been made to compute local depth of scour around bridge pier in dimensional and non-dimensional form by using linear regression, simple regression and SVM (Poly and Rbf) techniques along with few conventional empirical equations. The outcome of this study suggests that the SVM (Poly and Rbf) based modeling can be employed as an alternate to linear regression, simple regression and the conventional empirical equations in predicting scour depth of bridge piers. The results of present study on the basis of non-dimensional form of bridge pier scour indicates the improvement in the performance of SVM (Poly and Rbf) in comparison to dimensional form of scour.

Keywords: modeling, pier scour, regression, prediction, SVM (Poly and Rbf kernels)

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Authors: Ferry Syarifuddin

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The potential for growth in the Japanese halal industry is promising, especially for the export of processed food products, due to the significant increase in the Muslim population over the past decade. Japan is also the second largest destination for processed food export from developing countries. However, there has been a decline in the export of processed food from Indonesia, a Muslim-majority developing country, to Japan, dropping from $350 million in 2019 to $119 million in 2023. To address this issue, this study aims to assess the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) of Indonesian halal processed food products export to the Japanese market, investigate successful strategies employed by other countries and recommend the most prioritized strategy for exporting Indonesian halal processed food products to the Japan market. Our findings identify collaborating with Japan's food industry associations and trade organizations as the key strategy for successful export to the Japanese market.

Keywords: ANP-SWOT, export strategy, halal product, Japan market

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Authors: Rumman M. D. Raihanuzzaman, Lee Chang Chuan, Zonghan Xie, Reza Ghomashchi

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Cemented carbides, owing to their excellent mechanical properties, have been of immense interest in the field of hard materials for the past few decades. A number of processing techniques have been developed to obtain high quality carbide tools, with a wide range of grain size depending on the application and requirements. Microwave sintering is one of the heating processes, which has been used on a wide range of materials including ceramics. The complete understanding of microwave sintering and its contribution towards control of grain growth and on deformation of the resulting carbide materials needs further studies and attention. In addition, the effect of binder materials and their behaviour as a function of microwave sintering is another area that requires clear understanding. This review aims to focus on microwave sintering, providing information of how the process works and what type of materials it is best suited for. In addition, a closer look at some microwave sintered Tungsten Carbide-Cobalt samples will be taken and discussed, addressing some of the key issues and challenges faced in the research.

Keywords: cemented carbides, consolidation, microwave sintering, mechanical properties

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Authors: Gloria Chen

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In the past, when we complimented someone who had a good command of English, we would say ‘She/He speaks/writes standard English,’ or ‘His/Her English is standard.’ However, with English has becoming a ‘global language,’ many scholars and English users even create a plural form for English as ‘world Englishes,’ which indicates that national/racial varieties of English not only exist, but also are accepted to a certain degree. Now, a question will be raised when it comes to English teaching and learning: ‘What variety/varieties of English should be taught?’ This presentation will first explore Braj Kachru’s well-known categorization of the inner circle, the outer circle, and the expanding circle of English users, as well as inner circle varieties such as ‘Ebonics’ and ‘cockney’. The presentation then will discuss the purposes and contexts of English learning, and apply different approaches to different purposes and contexts. Three major purposes of English teaching/learning will be emphasized and considered: (1) communicative competence, (2) academic competence, and (3) intercultural competence. This presentation will complete with the strategies of ‘code switch’ and ‘register switch’ in teaching English to non-standard English speakers in both speaking and writing.

Keywords: world Englishes, standard and non-standard English, inner, outer, expanded circle communicative, academic, intercultural competence

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Authors: Yusra A. Ibrahim

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Educational efforts to address the school-to-prison pipeline (STPP) and retain students in school require equipping teachers with evidence-based approaches to handle social-emotional behavior (SEB) needs. One aspect of these efforts involves training teachers to utilize effective and current technologies, thereby reducing SEB challenges faced by students with disabilities in their classrooms. This literature review examines eight studies conducted within the past 10 years (from 2013 to 2023) that focus on enhancing SEB needs of students with disabilities using technology. The review reveals that autism spectrum disorder (ASD), emotional behavioral disorder (EBD), and attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are the predominant disabilities studied through technology interventions. Additionally, it highlights that these studies focused on examining the effectiveness of technologies in reducing disruptive behaviors, increasing on-task behaviors, reducing anxiety, and promoting social skills.

Keywords: school-to-prison pipeline, technology, evidence-based practices, EBD

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Authors: Oussama Derdous, Lakhdar Djemili, Hamza Bouchehed

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The potential risks associated with dam break flooding could be considerable and result in major damage, including loss of life and property destruction. In the past, Algeria experienced such flood disasters; let’s recall the failure of Fergoug dam in 1881, this accident cost 200 lives, many houses and bridges were destroyed by the flooding. Recently the Algerian government have obligated to dam owners the development of detailed dam break Emergency Action Plans for its 64 major dams. The research presented here was conducted within this framework, Zardezas dam which is located in the city of Skikda in the North East of Algeria was the case of study. The model HEC-RAS was used for the hydrodynamic routing of the dam break flood wave. In addition, Geographic Information System (GIS) was used to create inundation maps and produce a visualization of the flood propagation in the Saf-Saf River.The simulation results that demonstrate the significance of Zardezas dam break flooding; constitute a real tool for developing emergency response plans and assisting territorial communities in land use planning.

Keywords: dam break, HEC-RAS, GIS, inundation maps, Emergency Action Plan

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Authors: Arti Singh, Carolyn Jenkins, Oyedunni S. Arulogun, Mayowa O. Owolabi, Fred S. Sarfo, Bruce Ovbiagele, Enzinne Sylvia

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Background: Stroke, the leading cause of adult-onset disability and the second leading cause of death, is a major public health concern particularly pertinent in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), where nearly 80% of all global stroke mortalities occur. The Stroke Investigative Research and Education Network (SIREN) seeks to comprehensively characterize the genomic, sociocultural, economic, and behavioral risk factors for stroke and to build effective teams for research to address and decrease the burden of stroke and other non communicable diseases in SSA. One of the first steps to address this goal was to effectively engage the communities that suffer the high burden of disease in SSA. This study describes how the SIREN project engaged six sites in Ghana and Nigeria over the past three years, describing the community engagement activities that have arisen since inception. Aim: The aim of community engagement (CE) within SIREN is to elucidate information about knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and practices (KABP) about stroke and its risk factors from individuals of African ancestry in SSA, and to educate the community about stroke and ways to decrease disabilities and deaths from stroke using socioculturally appropriate messaging and messengers. Methods: Community Advisory Board (CABs), Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and community outreach programs. Results: 27 FGDs with 168 participants including community heads, religious leaders, health professionals and individuals with stroke among others, were conducted, and over 60 CE outreaches have been conducted within the SIREN performance sites. Over 5,900 individuals have received education on cardiovascular risk factors and about 5,000 have been screened for cardiovascular risk factors during the outreaches. FGDs and outreach programs indicate that knowledge of stroke, as well as risk factors and follow-up evidence-based care is limited and often late. Other findings include: 1) Most recognize hypertension as a major risk factor for stroke. 2) About 50% report that stroke is hereditary and about 20% do not know organs affected by stroke. 3) More than 95% willing to participate in genetic testing research and about 85% willing to pay for testing and recommend the test to others. 4) Almost all indicated that genetic testing could help health providers better treat stroke and help scientists better understand the causes of stroke. The CABs provided stakeholder input into SIREN activities and facilitated collaborations among investigators, community members and stakeholders. Conclusion: The CE core within SIREN is a first-of-its kind public outreach engagement initiative to evaluate and address perceptions about stroke and genomics by patients, caregivers, and local leaders in SSA and has implications as a model for assessment in other high-stroke risk populations. SIREN’s CE program uses best practices to build capacity for community-engaged research, accelerate integration of research findings into practice and strengthen dynamic community-academic partnerships within our communities. CE has had several major successes over the past three years including our multi-site collaboration examining the KABP about stroke (symptoms, risk factors, burden) and genetic testing across SSA.

Keywords: community advisory board, community engagement, focus groups, outreach, SSA, stroke

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Authors: Farhan Lafta Rashid, Khudhair Abass Dawood, Ahmed Hashim

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Recent advancements in nanotechnology have originated the new emerging heat transfer fluids called nanofluids. Nanofluids are prepared by dispersing and stably suspending nanometer sized solid particles in conventional heat transfer fluids. Past researches have shown that a very small amount of suspending nano-particles have the potential to enhance the thermo physical, transport, and radiative properties of the base fluid. At this research adding very small quantities of nano particle (TiO2) to pure water with different weights percent ranged 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, and 0.4 wt.%, we found that the best weight percent is 0.2 that gave more heat absorbed. Then adding glass impurities ranged 10, 20, and 30 wt. Percentage to the nano-fluid in order to enhance the absorbed heat so energy storage. The best glass weights percent is 0.3.

Keywords: energy storage, enhancement absorbed heat, glass impurities, solar energy

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Authors: Ronit Chakraborty, Sugata Banerji

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There has been a marked increase in the reported prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) among children in the US over the past two decades. This research has analyzed the growth in state-level ASD prevalence against 45 different potentially explanatory factors, including socio-economic, demographic, healthcare, public policy, and political factors. The goal was to understand if these factors have adequate predictive power in modeling the differential growth in ASD prevalence across various states and if they do, which factors are the most influential. The key findings of this study include (1) the confirmation that the chosen feature set has considerable power in predicting the growth in ASD prevalence, (2) the identification of the most influential predictive factors, (3) given the nature of the most influential predictive variables, an indication that a considerable portion of the reported ASD prevalence differentials across states could be attributable to over and under diagnosis, and (4) identification of Florida as a key outlier state pointing to a potential under-diagnosis of ASD there.

Keywords: autism spectrum disorder, clustering, machine learning, predictive modeling

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Authors: Behzad Moeini Sam, Sara Mohammadi Avandi

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The rituals of fire among the Iranians go back to the general Proto-Indo-European and Indo-Iranian eras when they lived in regions known as the Pontic-Caspian (Indo-Europeans) and Kazakhstan (the Andronovo culture belonging to the Indo-Iranian tribes), and we can get to know about their vulgar heritage despite their separation from each other during several millennia. The early Aryan settlers of Iran had brought their cults to their new home and were bequeathed to them by their Indo-Iranian ancestors. Tradition speaks of several great sacred Iranian fires consecrated by the pre-Zoroastrian kings. Ātar or fire corresponds to the Vedic Agni Atar's functions are elaborately delineated in the Later Avesta. This paper aims to show the fire cults among the Iranian Lur tribes that originate in the past. Therefore, it will be searched for rituals in equally Indo-European and Indo-Iranian Periods and Old Iranian Texts and their frequency among the Lur tribes. In addition to the library books, we tried to interview the chiefs of Lur tribes. Finally, we concluded that the fire among the Lur Tribes is a sequence of beliefs of the Proto-Indo-European and Indo-Iranian Periods reflected in Old and Middle Iranian texts.

Keywords: Indo-European, ancient Iran, fire, Lur, Zoroastrian

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Authors: Seongjun Kim, Sanghoon Shim, Jinwooung Kim, Jaehwan Jung, Sung-Ah Kim

Abstract:

As the development of information and communication technology, the convergence of machine learning of the ICT area and design is attempted. In this way, it is possible to grasp the correlation between various design elements, which was difficult to grasp, and to reflect this in the design result. In architecture, there is an attempt to predict the performance, which is difficult to grasp in the past, by finding the correlation among multiple factors mainly through machine learning. In architectural design area, some attempts to predict the performance affected by various factors have been tried. With machine learning, it is possible to quickly predict performance. The aim of this study is to propose a model that predicts performance according to the block arrangement of apartment housing through machine learning and the design alternative which satisfies the performance such as the daylight hours in the most similar form to the alternative proposed by the designer. Through this study, a designer can proceed with the design considering various design alternatives and accurate performances quickly from the early design stage.

Keywords: apartment housing, machine learning, multi-objective optimization, performance prediction

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Authors: D. Mokatsanyane, J. Jansen Van Rensburg

Abstract:

This paper analyses the influence and impact of COVID-19 on major agricultural commodity prices in South Africa. According to a World Bank report, the agricultural sector in South Africa has been unable to reduce the domestic food crisis that has been occurring over the past years, hence the increased rate of poverty, which is currently at 55.5 percent as of April 2020. Despite the significance of this sector, empirical findings concluded that the agricultural sector now accounts for 1.88 percent of South Africa's gross domestic product (GDP). Suggesting that the agricultural sector's contribution to the economy has diminished. Despite the low contribution to GDP, this primary sector continues to play an essential role in the economy. Over the past years, multiple factors have contributed to the soaring commodities prices, namely, climate shocks, biofuel demand, demand and supply shocks, the exchange rate, speculation in commodity derivative markets, trade restrictions, and economic growth. The COVID-19 outbursts have currently disturbed the supply and demand of staple crops. To address the disruption, the government has exempted the agricultural sector from closure and restrictions on movement. The spread of COVID-19 has caused turmoil all around the world, but mostly in developing countries. According to Statistic South Africa, South Africa's economy decreased by seven percent in 2020. Consequently, this has arguably made the agricultural sector the most affected sector since slumped economic growth negatively impacts food security, trade, farm livelihood, and greenhouse gas emissions. South Africa is sensitive to the fruitfulness of global food chains. Restrictions in trade, reinforced sanitary control systems, and border controls have influenced food availability and prices internationally. The main objective of this study is to evaluate the behavior of agricultural commodity prices pre-and during-COVID to determine the impact of volatility drivers on these crops. Historical secondary data of spot prices for the top five major commodities, namely white maize, yellow maize, wheat, soybeans, and sunflower seeds, are analysed from 01 January 2017 to 1 September 2021. The timeframe was chosen to capture price fluctuations between pre-COVID-19 (01 January 2017 to 23 March 2020) and during-COVID-19 (24 March 2020 to 01 September 2021). The Generalised Autoregressive Conditional Heteroscedasticity (GARCH) statistical model will be used to measure the influence of price fluctuations. The results reveal that the commodity market has been experiencing volatility at different points. Extremely high volatility is represented during the first quarter of 2020. During this period, there was high uncertainty, and grain prices were very volatile. Despite the influence of COVID-19 on agricultural prices, the demand for these commodities is still existing and decent. During COVID-19, analysis indicates that prices were low and less volatile during the pandemic. The prices and returns of these commodities were low during COVID-19 because of the government's actions to respond to the virus's spread, which collapsed the market demand for food commodities.

Keywords: commodities market, commodity prices, generalised autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity (GARCH), Price volatility, SAFEX

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