Search results for: full scale tests

Authors: Ammar Amsyar Abdul Haddi, Mohd Hasni Jaafar

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Heavy metals are elements naturally presented in the environment that can cause adverse effect to health. But not much literature was found on effects toward lung function, where impairment of lung function may lead to various lung diseases. The objective of the study is to explore the lung function impairment, urinary heavy metal level, and its associated factors among the community in Klang valley, Malaysia. Sampling was done in Kuala Lumpur suburb public and housing areas during community events throughout March 2019 till October 2019. respondents who gave the consent were given a questionnaire to answer and was proceeded with a lung function test. Urine samples were obtained at the end of the session and sent for Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) analysis for heavy metal cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) concentration. A total of 200 samples were analysed, and of all, 52% of respondents were male, Age ranging from 18 years old to 74 years old with a mean age of 38.44. Urinary samples show that 12% of the respondent (n=22) has Cd level above than average, and 1.5 % of the respondent (n=3) has urinary Pb at an above normal level. Bivariate analysis show that there was a positive correlation between urinary Cd and urinary Pb (r= 0.309; p<0.001). Furthermore, there was a negative correlation between urinary Cd level and full vital capacity (FVC) (r=-0.202, p=0.004), Force expiratory volume at 1 second (FEV1) (r = -0.225, p=0.001), and also with Force expiratory flow between 25-75% FVC (FEF25%-75%) (r= -0.187, p=0.008). however, urinary Pb did not show any association with FVC, FEV1, FEV1/FVC, or FEF25%-75%. Multiple linear regression analysis shows that urinary Cd remained significant and negatively affect FVC% (p=0.025) and FEV1% (p=0.004) achieved from the predicted value. On top of that, other factors such as education level (p=0.013) and duration of smoking(p=0.003) may influencing both urinary Cd and performance in lung function as well, suggesting Cd as a potential mediating factor between smoking and impairment of lung function. however, there was no interaction detected between heavy metal or other influencing factor in this study. In short, there is a negative linear relationship detected between urinary Cd and lung function, and urinary Cd is likely to affects lung function in a restrictive pattern. Since smoking is also an influencing factor for urinary Cd and lung function impairment, it is highly suggested that smokers should be screened for lung function and urinary Cd level in the future for early disease prevention.

Keywords: lung function, heavy metals, community

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Authors: Ghada Salem, Nihal Kabel

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Objective: This in vitro study was carried out to assess the microleakage properties of nano-filled glass ionomer in comparison to resin-reinforced glass ionomers. Material and Methods: 40 deciduous molar teeth were included in this study. Class-II cavity was prepared in a standard form for all the specimens. The teeth were randomly distributed into two groups (20 per group) according to the restorative material used either nano-glass ionomer or Photac Fill glass ionomer restoration. All specimens were thermocycled for 1000 cycles between 5 and 55 °C. After that, the teeth were immersed in 2% methylene blue dye then sectioned and evaluated under a stereomicroscope. Microleakage was assessed using linear dye penetration and on a scale from zero to five. Results: Two way ANOVA test revealed a statistically significant lower degree of microleakage in both occlusal and gingival restorations (0.4±0.2), (0.9±0.1) for nano-filled glass ionomer group in comparison to resin modified glass ionomer (2.3±0.7), (2.4±0.5). No statistical difference was found between gingival and occlusal leakage regarding the effect of the measured site. Conclusion: Nano-filled glass ionomer shows superior sealing ability which enables this type of restoration to be used in minimum invasive treatment.

Keywords: microleakage, nanoionomer, resin-reinforced glass ionomer, proximal cavity preparation

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Authors: Lee Seungheon, Kim Ba-Ro

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In this study, the anti-stress effects of the ethanolic extract of Hydrangeae Dulcis Folium (EHDF) were investigated. To determine the effects of EHDF on physical stress, changes in the whole-body cortisol level and behaviour were monitored in zebrafish. To induce physical stress, we used the net handling stress (NHS). Fish were treated with EHDF for 6 min before they were exposed to stress, and the fish were either evaluated via behavioural tests, including a novel tank test and an open field test or sacrificed to collect body fluid from the whole body. The results indicate that increased anxiety-like behaviours in the novel tank test and open field test under stress were recovered by treatment with EHDF at 5, 10 and 20 mg/L (P < 0.05). Moreover, compared with the normal group, which was not treated with NHS, the whole-body cortisol level was significantly increased by treatment with NHS in the control group. Compared with the control group, pre-treatment with EHDF at concentrations of 5, 10 and 20 mg/L for 6 min significantly prevented the increase in the whole-body cortisol level induced by NHS (P < 0.05). In addition, adrenocorticotropin hormone (ACTH) challenge studies showed that EHDF completely blocked the effects of ACTH (0.2 IU/g, IP) on cortisol secretion. These results suggest that EHDF may be a good anti-stress candidate and that its mechanism of action may be related to its positive effects on cortisol release.

Keywords: net handling stress, zebrafish, hydrangeae dulcis folium, whole-body cortisol, novel tank test, open field test

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Authors: Jaishree Ranganathan, Poonam Rajurkar, Angelina A. Tzacheva, Zbigniew W. Ras

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In today’s world, business often depends on the customer feedback and reviews. Sentiment analysis helps identify and extract information about the sentiment or emotion of the of the topic or document. Attribute selection is a challenging problem, especially with large datasets in actionable pattern mining algorithms. Action Rule Mining is one of the methods to discover actionable patterns from data. Action Rules are rules that help describe specific actions to be made in the form of conditions that help achieve the desired outcome. The rules help to change from any undesirable or negative state to a more desirable or positive state. In this paper, we present a Lexicon based weighted scheme approach to identify emotions from customer feedback data in the area of manufacturing business. Also, we use Rough sets and explore the attribute selection method for large scale datasets. Then we apply Actionable pattern mining to extract possible emotion change recommendations. This kind of recommendations help business analyst to improve their customer service which leads to customer satisfaction and increase sales revenue.

Keywords: actionable pattern discovery, attribute selection, business data, data mining, emotion

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Authors: María Magdalena Méndez-González, Miguel García Rocha, Carlos Manuel Yermo De la Cruz

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Calcium phosphate (Ca5(PO4)3(X)) is widely used in orthopedic applications and is widely used as powder and granules. However, their presence in bone is in the form of nanometric needles 60 nm in length with a non-stoichiometric phase of apatite contains CO3-2, Na+, OH-, F-, and other ions in a matrix of collagen fibers. The crystal size, morphology control and interaction with cells are essential for the development of nanotechnology. The structural results of calcium phosphate, synthesized by chemical precipitation with crystal size of 22.85 nm are presented in this paper. The calcium phosphate powders were analyzed by X-ray diffraction, energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), infrared spectroscopy and FT-IR transmission electron microscopy. Network parameters, atomic positions, the indexing of the planes and the calculation of FWHM (full width at half maximum) were obtained. The crystal size was also calculated using the Scherer equation d (hkl) = cλ/βcosѲ. Where c is a constant related to the shape of the crystal, the wavelength of the radiation used for a copper anode is 1.54060Å, Ѳ is the Bragg diffraction angle, and β is the width average peak height of greater intensity. Diffraction pattern corresponding to the calcium phosphate called hydroxyapatite phase of a hexagonal crystal system was obtained. It belongs to the space group P63m with lattice parameters a = 9.4394 Å and c = 6.8861 Å. The most intense peak is obtained 2Ѳ = 31.55 (FWHM = 0.4798), with a preferred orientation in 121. The intensity difference between the experimental data and the calculated values is attributable to the temperature at which the sintering was performed. The intensity of the highest peak is at angle 2Ѳ = 32.11. The structure of calcium phosphate obtained was a hexagonal configuration. The intensity changes in the peaks of the diffraction pattern, in the lattice parameters at the corners, indicating the possible presence of a dopant. That each calcium atom is surrounded by a tetrahedron of oxygen and hydrogen was observed by infrared spectra. The unit cell pattern corresponds to hydroxyapatite and transmission electron microscopic crystal morphology corresponding to the hexagonal phase with a preferential growth along the c-plane was obtained.

Keywords: structure, nanoparticles, calcium phosphate, metallurgical and materials engineering

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Authors: Rebecca M. Dagger, Katy Hadgraft, Matthew Teggart, Peter Angell

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Background: There is a growing body of evidence that demonstrates the association between sedentary behaviour, cardiometabolic risk and all-cause mortality. Since full time working adults spend approximately 8 hours per day in the workplace, interventions to reduce sedentary behaviour at work may alleviate some of the negative health outcomes associated with sedentary behaviour. The aims of this pilot study were to assess the impacts of using a Sit-Stand workstation on markers of cardiometabolic health in a cohort of desk workers. Methods: Twenty eight participants were recruited and randomly assigned to a control (n=5 males, 9 females, mean age 37 years ± 9.4 years) or intervention group (n= 5 males, 9 females, mean age 42 years ± 12.7 years). All participants attended the labs on 2 occasion’s pre and post intervention, following baseline measurements the intervention participants had the Sit Stand Workstations (Ergotron, USA) installed for a 10 week intervention period. The Sit Stand workstations allow participants to stand or sit at their usual workstation and participants were encouraged to the use the desk in a standing position at regular intervals throughout the working day. Cardiometabolic risk markers assessed were body mass, body composition (using bio impedance analysis; Tanita, Tokyo), fasting blood Total Cholesterol (TC), lipid profiles (HDL-C, LDL-C, TC: HDL-C ratio), triglycerides and fasting glucose (Cholestech LDX), resting systolic and diastolic blood pressure and resting heart rate. ANCOVA controlling for baseline values was used to assess the group difference in changes in risk markers between pre and post intervention. Results: The 10 week intervention was associated with significant reductions in some cardiometabolic risk factors. There were significant group effects on change in body mass (F (1,25)=5.915, p<0.05), total body fat percentage (F(1,25)=12.615, p<0.01), total fat mass (F (1,25)=6.954, p<0.05), and systolic blood pressure (F (1,25)=5.012, p<0.05). There were no other significant group effects on changes in other cardiometabolic risk markers. Conclusion: This pilot study highlights the importance of reducing sedentary behaviour in the workplace for reduction in cardiometabolic risk markers. Further research is required to support these findings.

Keywords: sedentary behaviour, caridometabolic risk, evidence, risk makers

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Authors: Cigdem Yangin-Gomec, Aigerim Jaxybayeva, Orhan Ince

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In this study, the anaerobic treatability of chicken manure diluted with tap water (with an influent feed ratio of 1 kg of fresh chicken manure to 6 liter of tap water) was investigated in a lab-scale anaerobic sludge bed (ASB) reactor inoculated with the granular sludge already adapted to chicken manure. The raw waste digested in this study was the manure from laying-hens having average total solids (TS) of about 30% with ca. 60% volatile content. The ASB reactor was fed semi-continuously at ambient operating temperature range (17-23^◦C) at a HRT of 13 and 26 days for about 6 months, respectively. The respective average total and soluble chemical oxygen demand (COD) removals were ca. 90% and 75%, whereas average biomethane production rate was calculated ca. 180 lt per kg of COD_removed from the ASB reactor at an average HRT of 13 days. Moreover, total suspended solids (TSS) and volatile suspended solids (VSS) in the influent were reduced more than 97%. Hence, high removals of the organic compounds with respective biogas production made anaerobic stabilization of the diluted chicken manure by ASB reactor at ambient operating temperatures viable. By this way, external heating up to 35^◦C (i.e. anaerobic processes have been traditionally operated at mesophilic conditions) could be avoided in the scope of this study.

Keywords: ambient anaerobic digestion, biogas recovery, poultry manure, renewable energy

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Authors: Bruno Coelho Lima, Joao F.A. Martos, Paulo G. P. Toro, Israel S. Rego

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The shock tube is a ground-facility widely used in aerospace and aeronautics science and technology for studies on gas dynamic and chemical-physical processes in gases at high-temperature, explosions and dynamic calibration of pressure sensors. A shock tube in its simplest form is comprised of two separate tubes of equal cross-section by a diaphragm. The diaphragm function is to separate the two reservoirs at different pressures. The reservoir containing high pressure is called the Driver, the low pressure reservoir is called Driven. When the diaphragm is broken by pressure difference, a normal shock wave and non-stationary (named Incident Shock Wave) will be formed in the same place of diaphragm and will get around toward the closed end of Driven. When this shock wave reaches the closer end of the Driven section will be completely reflected. Now, the shock wave will interact with the boundary layer that was created by the induced flow by incident shock wave passage. The interaction between boundary layer and shock wave force the separation of the boundary layer. The aim of this paper is to make an analysis of influences of separation of the boundary layer in the reservoir pressure in the shock tube. A comparison among CDF (Computational Fluids Dynamics), experiments test and analytical analysis were performed. For the analytical analysis, some routines in Python was created, in the numerical simulations (Computational Fluids Dynamics) was used the Ansys Fluent, and the experimental tests were used T1 shock tube located in IEAv (Institute of Advanced Studies).

Keywords: boundary layer separation, moving shock wave, shock tube, transient simulation

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Authors: G. Murtaza, H. Faiza, M. Rafiq, S. Gul, F. Raza, Sarwat Anjum

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Our objective was to investigate whether and how extensively there is a correlation between aging in men, gonadotropin hormone regulation, and a decline in sperm parameters and whether it is possible to identify an age limit beyond which the decrease in sperm feature and hormonal regulation reaches statistical significance. A total of one hundred and twenty men (age: 20–50 years) were divided into two groups; each group contained 60 males (Group A with a young age of 20–35 years and Group B with an older age of 36–50 years) who visited the Center for Reproductive Medicine (CRM) in Peshawar General Hospital (PGH) Peshawar, Pakistan. Clinical assessment and sperm analysis were investigated. Hormone testing and semen analysis were carried out in accordance with World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. Hormone tests, sperm morphology, and the total motile spermatozoa count (TMS) were computed. SPSS 20.0 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA) was used for the statistical analysis. It was observed that the testosterone levels in Group A (mean = 3.770) and Group B (mean = 3.995) were comparable, with a significant P-value <0.005 in both age groups. Furthermore, similar levels are shown by follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) (Group A mean = 19.73, Group B mean = 15.64) and luteinizing hormone (LH) (Group A mean = 12.25, Group B mean = 11.93) in both groups, with a significant P = <0.005. Sperm concentrations were most similar in Group A, with a mean of 4.44, and in Group B, with a mean of 4.42 and a significant P value of 0.005 in both groups. Additionally, it was discovered that sperm motility was higher in Group A, with a mean of 22.40 and a P-value of 0.052, which was non-significant when compared to Group B. Morphological differences were also observed in both age groups. This research found that advancing in male age does not affect sex hormone regulation; in contrast, the fraction of motile and morphologically normal spermatozoa decreases as male age increases, with the strongest evidence being when the age exceeds 40 years. To clarify the causes and clinical implications of these correlations, more research is necessary.

Keywords: gonadotropins, motility, spermatozoa, testosterone

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Authors: Zahra Heydari

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Introduction: One of the major clinical issues is acute renal failure, which is caused by ischemia-reperfusion of the kidney and is associated with high mortality. Despite advances in this area, important issues such as tissue necrosis, cell apoptosis, and so on in damaged tissue are suggestive for more researches and study on this subject. Objective: Evaluation of the potential utility of Ezetimibe in reducing injuries and cell death induced by kidney ischemia/ reperfusion through inducing expression changes of different cellular pathways in adult Sprague-Dawley rats. Materials and methods: Forty rats weighing 180-200g were divided into 4 groups. For this purpose, the first right kidneys of the rats were removed during surgery. After 20 days, the left renal artery was closed with a soft clamp and reperfusion was performed. After 24 hours, blood samples were collected and sent to the laboratory with kidneys to measure bax and bcl-2 by Western blotting and histopathological tests. Results: Quantitative damage reviews of Kidney tissue indicates damage Acute and severe tubular lesions were observed in the ischemia group. Also, the amount of injury was significantly reduced in the treatment group. There was also a significant difference between the ischemia and sham groups. In general, the results show that a single dose of 1.2 mg/kg of ezetimibe can reduce the bax/ bcl-2 ratio compared to the ischemia group. In general, the results showed Ezetimibe is effective in reducing cell damage and death due to ischemia/ reperfusion after renal ischemia through changes in the expression of various cellular pathways in rats.

Keywords: acute renal failure, renal ischemia-reperfusion injury, ezetimibe, apoptosis

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Authors: Priti Saha, Biswajit Paul

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Rapid urbanization and industrialization have increased the demand of groundwater. However, the present era has evident an enormous level of groundwater pollution. Therefore, water quality assessment is paramount importance to evaluate its suitability for drinking, irrigation and industrial use. This study focus to evaluate the groundwater quality of an industrial city in eastern India through interdisciplinary techniques. The multi-purpose Water Quality Index (WQI) assess the suitability for drinking as well as irrigation of forty sampling locations, where 2.5% and 15% of sampling locations have excellent water quality (WQI:0-25) as well as 15% and 40% have good quality (WQI:25-50), which represents its suitability for drinking and irrigation respectively. However, the industrial water quality was assessed through Ryznar Stability Index (LSI), which affirmed that only 2.5% of sampling locations have neither corrosive nor scale forming properties (RSI: 6.2-6.8). These techniques with the integration of geographical information system (GIS) for spatial assessment indorsed its effectiveness to identify the regions where the water bodies are suitable to use for drinking, irrigation as well as industrial activities. Further, the sources of these contaminants were identified through factor analysis (FA), which revealed that both the geogenic as well as anthropogenic sources were responsible for groundwater pollution. This research demonstrates the effectiveness of statistical and GIS techniques for the analysis of environmental contaminants.

Keywords: groundwater, water quality analysis, water quality index, WQI, factor analysis, FA, spatial assessment

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Authors: Paria Soleimani, Arezoo Neshati

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Myocardial infarction is one of the leading causes of ‎death in the world. Some of these deaths occur even before the patient ‎reaches the hospital. Myocardial infarction occurs as a result of ‎impaired blood supply. Because the most of these deaths are due to ‎coronary artery disease, hence the awareness of the warning signs of a ‎heart attack is essential. Some heart attacks are sudden and intense, but ‎most of them start slowly, with mild pain or discomfort, then early ‎detection and successful treatment of these symptoms is vital to save ‎them. Therefore, importance and usefulness of a system designing to ‎assist physicians in the early diagnosis of the acute heart attacks is ‎obvious.‎ The purpose of this study is to determine how well a predictive ‎model would perform based on the only patient-reportable clinical ‎history factors, without using diagnostic tests or physical exams. This ‎type of the prediction model might have application outside of the ‎hospital setting to give accurate advice to patients to influence them to ‎seek care in appropriate situations. For this purpose, the data were ‎collected on 711 heart patients in Iran hospitals. 28 attributes of clinical ‎factors can be reported by patients; were studied. Three logistic ‎regression models were made on the basis of the 28 features to predict ‎the risk of heart attacks. The best logistic regression model in terms of ‎performance had a C-index of 0.955 and with an accuracy of 94.9%. ‎The variables, severe chest pain, back pain, cold sweats, shortness of ‎breath, nausea, and vomiting were selected as the main features.‎

Keywords: Coronary heart disease, Acute heart attacks, Prediction, Logistic ‎regression‎

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Authors: Bassam Band, Simon Freeman, Rohan Munir, Hisham Band

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Objective: To determine efficacy of facial physiotherapy provided for patients with facial nerve palsy. Design: Retrospective study Subjects: 54 patients diagnosed with Facial nerve palsy were included in the study after they met the selection criteria including unilateral facial paralysis and start of therapy twelve months after the onset of facial nerve palsy. Interventions: Patients received the treatment offered at a facial physiotherapy clinic consisting of: Trophic electrical stimulation, surface electromyography with biofeedback, neuromuscular re-education and myofascial release. Main measures: The Sunnybrook facial grading scale was used to evaluate the severity of facial paralysis. Results: This study demonstrated the positive impact of physiotherapy for patient with facial nerve palsy with improvement of 24.2% on the Sunnybrook facial grading score from a mean baseline of 34.2% to 58.2%. The greatest improvement looking at different causes was seen in patient who had reconstructive surgery post Acoustic Neuroma at 31.3%. Conclusion: The therapy shows significant improvement for patients with facial nerve palsy even when started 12 months post onset of paralysis across different causes. This highlights the benefit of this non-invasive technique in managing facial nerve paralysis and possibly preventing the need for surgery.

Keywords: facial nerve palsy, treatment, physiotherapy, bells palsy, acoustic neuroma, ramsey-hunt syndrome

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Authors: Lila Boulekbache-Makhlouf, Fatiha Brahmi

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This study was carried out with the aim of enriching fresh cheese with the food by-products, which are the leaves of shallots and the peels of potatoes. Firstly, the conditions for extracting the total polyphenols using ultrasound are optimized. Then, the contents of total polyphenols PPT , flavonoids and antioxidant activity were evaluated for the extracts obtained by adopting the optimal parameter. On the other hand, we have carried out some physicochemical, microbiological and sensory analyzes of the cheese produced. The maximum total polyphenols value of 70.44 mg GAE gallic acid equivalent / g of dry matter DM of shallot leaves was reached with 40% (v/v) ethanol, an extraction time of 90 min and a temperature of 10 °C. While, the maximum TPP total polyphenols content of potato peels of 45.03 ± 4.16 mg gallic acid equivalent / g of dry matter DM was obtained using an ethanol /water mixture (40%, v/v), a time of 30 min and a temperature of 60 °C and the flavonoid contents were 13.99 and 7.52 QE quercetin equivalent/g dry matter DM, respectively. From the antioxidant tests, we deduced that the potato peels present a higher antioxidant power with the concentration of extracts causing a 50% inhibition IC50s of 125.42 ± 2.78 μg/mL for 2,2-diphényl 1-picrylhydrazyle DPPH, of 87.21 ± 7.72 μg/mL for phosphomolybdate and 200.77 ± 13.38 μg/mL for iron chelation, compared with the results obtained for shallot leaves which were 204.29 ± 0.09, 45.85 ± 3,46 and 1004.10 ± 145.73 μg/mL, respectively. The results of the physicochemical analyzes have shown that the formulated cheese was compliant with standards. Microbiological analyzes show that the hygienic quality of the cheese produced was satisfactory. According to the sensory analysis, the experts liked the cheese enriched with the powder and pieces of the leaves of the shallots.

Keywords: shallots leaves, potato peels, ultrasound extraction, phenolics, cheese

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Authors: Chan Ka Lok Sobel

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Recently, several famous Asian films have been remade in North America, set in the context of U.S. society and with the financial and cultural scale of Hollywood cinema. Notably, the practice of remaking films is interactive, with famous Hollywood films also being remade in Asia; for example, Charlie’s Angels (McG, 2002) was remade as So Close (Yuen, 2002), Seven (Fincher, 1995) was remade as Double Vision (Fu, 2002), and Cellular (Ellis, 2004) was remade as Connected (Chan, 2008). Conversely, Asian films such as Infernal Affairs (Lau & Mak, 2002), il Mare (Lee, 2000), and Bangkok Dangerous (Pang, 2000) were remade into Hollywood blockbuster films The Departed (Scorsese, 2006), The Lake House (Agresti, 2006), and Bangkok Dangerous (Pang, 2007), respectively. This research examined Asian cinema and Hollywood remakes from the perspective of cultural hybridization and partition in the context of global capitalism and postmodernism. Using Infernal Affairs and The Departed as a case study, key concepts such as crosscultural adaptation, intercultural and global communication competence, and cultural identity and authorship were compared and analyzed.

Keywords: remake and originality, double cultural identity, studio system, genre and authorship

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Authors: I. Badhrees

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This paper is an attempt to describe some of the results that had been found through a journey of study in the field of particle physics. This study consists of two parts, one about the measurement of the cross section of the decay of the Z particle in two electrons, and the other deals with the measurement of the cross section of the multi-photon absorption process using a beam of laser in the Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber. The first part of the paper concerns the results based on the analysis of a data sample containing 8120 ee candidates to reconstruct the mass of the Z particle for each event where each event has an ee pair with PT(e) > 20GeV, and η(e) < 2.5. Monte Carlo templates of the reconstructed Z particle were produced as a function of the Z mass scale. The distribution of the reconstructed Z mass in the data was compared to the Monte Carlo templates, where the total cross section is calculated to be equal to 1432 pb. The second part concerns the Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber, LAr TPC, the results of the interaction of the UV Laser, Nd-YAG with λ= 266mm, with LAr and through the study of the multi-photon ionization process as a part of the R&D at Bern University. The main result of this study was the cross section of the process of the multi-photon ionization process of the LAr, σe = 1.24±0.10stat±0.30sys.10 -56cm4.

Keywords: ATLAS, CERN, KACST, LArTPC, particle physics

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Authors: Nikolett Deutsch, Éva Pintér, Péter Bagó, Miklós Hetényi

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Strategic technology management has emerged and evolved parallelly with strategic management paradigms. It focuses on the opportunity for organizations operating mainly in technology-intensive industries to explore and exploit technological capabilities upon which competitive advantage can be obtained. As strategic technology management involves multifunction within an organization, requires broad and diversified knowledge, and must be developed and implemented with business objectives to enable a firm’s profitability and growth, excellence in strategic technology management provides unique opportunities for organizations in terms of building a successful future. Accordingly, a framework supporting the evaluation of the technological readiness level of management can significantly contribute to developing organizational competitiveness through a better understanding of strategic-level capabilities and deficiencies in operations. In the last decade, several innovation maturity assessment models have appeared and become designated management tools that can serve as references for future practical approaches expected to be used by corporate leaders, strategists, and technology managers to understand and manage technological capabilities and capacities. The aim of this paper is to provide a comprehensive review of the state-of-the-art innovation maturity frameworks, to investigate the critical lessons learned from their application, to identify the similarities and differences among the models, and identify the main aspects and elements valid for the field and critical functions of technology management. To this end, a systematic literature review was carried out considering the relevant papers and articles published in highly ranked international journals around the 27 most widely known innovation maturity models from four relevant digital sources. Key findings suggest that despite the diversity of the given models, there is still room for improvement regarding the common understanding of innovation typologies, the full coverage of innovation capabilities, and the generalist approach to the validation and practical applicability of the structure and content of the models. Furthermore, the paper proposes an initial structure by considering the maturity assessment of the technological capacities and capabilities - i.e., technology identification, technology selection, technology acquisition, technology exploitation, and technology protection - covered by strategic technology management.

Keywords: innovation capabilities, innovation maturity models, technology audit, technology management, technology management maturity models

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Authors: Sandip Tambare, Revati Ghadge

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Alcohol withdrawal syndrome continue to be concerning health issue worldwide in alcoholics. Many current option for treating alcohol withdrawal signs are habit forming causing dependency of sedatives. The divine science of Ayurveda recommends Nasya for improvement of alcohol withdrawal signs. As per the latest reports 1/3 of the Indian population is using alcohol in an unhealthy manner, the complication being wide and varied among which, the Alcohol Withdrawal Syndrome is the dominant one. The presentation varies from mild sleep loss or anxiety to delirium. Ayurveda has given utmost in the context of Madatyaya(Alcoholism). Various protocols based on the identification of the status of tridoshas are explained which includes sodhana, samana and satwavachaya chikitsa. Various medications are being used, with appreciated effects in the clinical practice. As per reports, the panchakarma procedure nasya seems highly effective, in managing of the alcohol withdrawal syndrome. Nasya with Ksheerabala Taila is given for 7 days in the condition of Alcohol Withdrawal syndrome and it was the non Randomized trial with 30 subjects satisfying the DSM V criteria for alcohol withdrawl and the assessment was done using the Clinical Institute Withdrawal Assessment for Alcohol Scale revised (CIWA-Ar). Conclusion: Among the symptoms which were studied after the interventions, it was found that there was high significant response in almost all the symptoms in the given subjects. The eternal science of Ayurveda is able to answer the existing problem of alcohol and its abuse in the society.

Keywords: nasya, alcohol withdrawal, madatyaya, ksheerabala taila

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Authors: Musa M. Umar, S. G. Ado

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The paper examines the activities of the National Programme for food security (NPFS) for averting food insecurity in Nigeria and beyond. The components of the NPFS include site development, outreach, community development and management support. On each site, core activities comprise crop productivity, production diversification and agro-processing. The outreach activities consist of inputs and commodity marketing, rural finance, strengthening research-extension-farmers-inputs linkages, health and nutrition and expansion of site activities. The community development activities include small-scale rural infrastructure, micro-earth dams and community forestry. The overall benefits include food security, improved productivity, marketing and processing, enhanced land and water use, increased animal production and fish catches, improved nutrition, reduction in post-harvest losses and value addition, improved rural infrastructure and diversification of production leading to improved livelihood. The NPFS would poster sustained development of small-holder agricultural and income generation.

Keywords: food-security, community development, post-harvest, production

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Authors: Yousef Almutairi, Yajue Wu

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Various large-scale trends have characterized the current century thus far, including increasing shifts towards urbanization and greater movement. It is predicted that there will be 9.3 billion people on Earth in 2050 and that over two-thirds of this population will be city dwellers. Moreover, in larger cities worldwide, mass transportation systems, including underground systems, have grown to account for the majority of travel in those settings. Underground networks are vulnerable to fires, however, endangering travellers’ safety, with various examples of fire outbreaks in this setting. This study aims to increase knowledge of the impacts of extreme climatic conditions on fires, including the role of the high ambient temperatures experienced in Middle Eastern countries and specifically in Saudi Arabia. This is an element that is not always included when assessments of fire safety are made (considering visibility, temperatures, and flows of smoke). This paper focuses on a tunnel within Riyadh’s underground system as a case study and includes simulations based on computational fluid dynamics using ANSYS Fluent, which investigates the impact of various ventilation systems while identifying smoke density, speed, pressure and temperatures within this tunnel.

Keywords: fire, subway tunnel, CFD, mechanical ventilation, smoke, temperature, harsh weather

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Authors: Azreen Jihan Che Mohd Hashim, Rosidah Musa

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Although 'Spiritual Intelligence' (SI) is hard to measure, it is impossible without a noble value that may affect the attitude in purchasing behavior process, so this paper aims to report on a pilot study analysis results in order to evaluate the degree of SI towards consumers’ attitude in purchasing halal cosmetics and, in turn, to reaffirm intention to purchase by using Theory Planned Behaviour (TPB). It is a descriptive cross-sectional study among the Muslim women as the subjects, working and staying in Klang valley area in Malaysia. The purpose of the study is to develop a new measurement scale to unravel and decompose the underlying dimensions of SI from the perspective of the Muslim deemed imperative. About 200 respondents of users and non-users of halal cosmetics are selected. The structure equation modeling (SEM) was conducted to examine the relationships among god, society and self, which are the dimensions of SI. A finding indicates that, in influencing attitude, those who obligate high spiritual intelligence have a good relationship with god, society and self which may influence them to purchase halal cosmetic product. This study offers important findings and implications for future research as it presents a framework on the importance of SI.

Keywords: spiritual intelligence, god, society, self, young adult Muslim female

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Authors: Sarish Rehman, Kishwar Khan, Yanglong Hou

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Among the existed myriad energy-storage technologies, lithium–sulfur batteries (LSBs) show the appealing potential for the ubiquitous growth of next-generation electrical energy storage application, owing to their unparalleled theoretical energy density of 2600 Wh/kg that is over five times larger than that of conventional lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). Despite its significant advances, its large scale implementations are plagued by multitude issues: particularly the intrinsic insulating nature of the sulfur (10-30 S/cm), mechanical degradation of the cathode due to large volume changes of sulfur up to 80 % during cycling and loss of active material (producing polysulfide shuttle effect). We design a unique structure, namely silicon/silica (Si/SiO2) crosslink with hierarchical porous carbon spheres (Si/SiO2@C), and use it as a new and efficient sulfur host to prepare Si/SiO2@C-S hybrid spheres to solve the hurdle of the polysulfides dissolution. As results of intriguing structural advantages developed hybrids spheres, it acts as efficient polysulfides reservoir for enhancing lithium sulfur battery (LSB) in the terms of capacity, rate ability and cycling stability via combined chemical and physical effects.

Keywords: high specific surface area, high power density, high content of sulfur, lithium sulfur battery

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Authors: Muthana A. M. Jamel Al-Gburi

Abstract:

Elimination of carbon dioxide (CO2) gas from the atmosphere is very important but complicated since there is increasing in the amounts of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, which mainly caused by some of the human activities and the burning of fossil fuels. So that will lead to global warming. The global warming affects the earth temperature causing an increase to a higher level and, at the same time, creates tornadoes and storms. In this project, we are going to do a new technique for extracting carbon dioxide directly from the air and change it to useful minerals and Nano scale fibers made of carbon by using several chemical processes through chemical reactions. So, that could lead to an economical and healthy way to make some valuable building materials. Also, it may even work as a weapon against environmental change. In our device (Carbone Dioxide Domestic Extractor), we are using Ocean-seawater to dissolve the CO₂ gas and then converted it into carbonate minerals by using a number of additives like Shampoo, clay, and MgO. Note that the atmospheric air includes CO₂ gas, has circulated within the seawater by the air pump. More, that we will use a number of chemicals agents to convert the water acid into useful minerals. After we constructed the system, we did intense experiments and investigations to find the optimum chemical agent, which must be work at the environmental condition. Further to that, we will measure the solubility of CO₂ and other salts in the seawater.

Keywords: global warming, CO₂ gas, ocean-sea water, additives, solubility level

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Authors: Calvince Okome Odeny

Abstract:

There is a current action to increase radiotherapy services in Kenya. The National government of Kenya, in collaboration with the county governments, has embarked on building radiotherapy centers in all 47 regions of the country. As these new centers are established in Kenya, it has to be ensured that minimum radiation safety standards are in place prior to operation. For full implementation of this, it is imperative that more Research and training for regulators are done on radiation protection, and safety and national regulatory infrastructure is geared towards ensuring radiation protection and safety in all aspects of the use of external radiotherapy practices. The present work aims at reviewing the level of protection and safety for patients and staff during external beam radiotherapy using Linac in Kenya and provides relevant guidance to improve protection and safety. A retrospective evaluation was done to verify whether those occupationally exposed workers and patients are adequately protected from the harmful effect of radiation exposure during the treatment procedures using Linac. The project was experimental Research, also including an analysis of resource documents obtained from the literature and international organizations. The critical findings of the work revealed that the key elements of protection of occupationally exposed workers and patients include a comprehensive quality Management system governing all planned activities from siting, safety, and design of the Facility, construction, acceptance testing, commissioning, operation, and decommissioning of the Facility; Government empowering the Regulatory Authority to license Medical Linear facilities and to enforce the applicable regulations to ensure adequate protection; A comprehensive Radiation Protection and Safety program must be established to ensure adequate safety and protection of workers and patients during treatment planning and treatment delivery of patients and categories of staff associated with the Facility must be well educated and trained to perform professionally with a commitment to sound safety culture. Relevant recommendations from the findings are shared with the Medical Linear Accelerator facilities and the regulatory authority to provide guidance and continuous improvement of protection and safety to improve regulatory oversight.

Keywords: oncology, radiotherapy, protection, staff

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Authors: Kazem Sabet-Bokati, Ilia Rodionov, Marciel Gaier, Kevin Plucknett

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Protective coatings play a pivotal role in mitigating corrosion and preserving the integrity of metallic structures exposed to harsh environmental conditions. The diversity of corrosive environments necessitates the development of protective coatings suitable for various conditions. Accurately selecting and interpreting analysis methods is crucial in identifying the most suitable protective coatings for the various corrosive environments. This study conducted a comprehensive comparative analysis of traditional and advanced methods to assess the anti-corrosion performance of sacrificial and barrier coatings. The protective performance of pure epoxy, zinc-rich epoxy, and cold galvanizing coatings was evaluated using salt spray tests, together with electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and potentiodynamic polarization methods. The performance of each coating was thoroughly differentiated under both atmospheric and immersion conditions. The distinct protective performance of each coating against atmospheric corrosion was assessed using traditional standard methods. Additionally, the electrochemical responses of these coatings in immersion conditions were systematically studied, and a detailed discussion on interpreting the electrochemical responses is provided. Zinc-rich epoxy and cold galvanizing coatings offer superior anti-corrosion performance against atmospheric corrosion, while the pure epoxy coating excels in immersion conditions.

Keywords: corrosion, barrier coatings, sacrificial coatings, salt-spray, EIS, polarization

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Authors: Vasilii V. Ananev

Abstract:

Oil-and-gas potential of Cuba is found through the discoveries among which there are the most large-scale deposits, such as the Boca de Jaruco and Varadero fields of heavy oils. Currently, the petroleum and petroleum products needs of the island state are satisfied by own sources by less than a half. The prospects of the hydrocarbon resource base development are connected with the adjacent water area of the Gulf of Mexico where foreign companies had been granted license blocks for geological study and further development since 2001. Two Russian companies - JSC Gazprom Neft and OJSC Zarubezhneft, among others, took part in the development of the Cuban part of the Gulf of Mexico. Since 2004, five oil wells have been drilled by various companies in the deep waters of the exclusive economic zone of Cuba. Commercial oil-and-gas bearing prospects have been established in neither of them for both geological and technological reasons. However, only a small part of the water area has been covered by drilling and the productivity of the drill core has been tested at the depth of Cretaceous sediments only. In our opinion, oil-and-gas bearing prospects of the exclusive economic zone of the Republic of Cuba in the Gulf of Mexico remain undervalued and the mentioned water area needs additional geological exploration. The planning of exploration work in this poorly explored region shall be carried out systematically and it shall be based on the results of the regional scientific research.

Keywords: Cuba, catoche, geology, exploration

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Authors: Ayman Othman, Tallat Ali

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The successive increase of generated waste materials like glass has led to many environmental problems. Using crushed waste glass in hot mix asphalt paving has been though as an alternative to landfill disposal and recycling. This paper discusses the possibility of utilizing crushed waste glass, as a part of fine aggregate in hot mix asphalt in Egypt. This is done through evaluation of the mechanical properties of asphalt concrete mixtures mixed with waste glass and determining the appropriate glass content that can be adapted in asphalt pavement. Four asphalt concrete mixtures with various glass contents, namely; 0%, 4%, 8% and 12% by weight of total mixture were studied. Evaluation of the mechanical properties includes performing Marshall stability, indirect tensile strength, fracture energy and unconfined compressive strength tests. Laboratory testing had revealed the enhancement in both compressive strength and Marshall stability test parameters when the crushed glass was added to asphalt concrete mixtures. This enhancement was accompanied with a very slight reduction in both indirect tensile strength and fracture energy when glass content up to 8% was used. Adding more than 8% of glass causes a sharp reduction in both indirect tensile strength and fracture energy. Testing results had also shown a reduction in the optimum asphalt content when the waste glass was used. Measurements of the heat loss rate of asphalt concrete mixtures mixed with glass revealed their ability to hold heat longer than conventional mixtures. This can have useful application in asphalt paving during cold whether or when a long period of post-mix transportation is needed.

Keywords: waste glass, hot mix asphalt, mechanical performance, indirect tensile strength, fracture energy, compressive strength

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Authors: Ali Obeydavi, Majid Rahimi

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This study explores the synthesis and characterization of Fe-Cr-Mo-Co-C-B-Si thin film metallic glasses fabricated using the pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique on silicon wafer and 304 stainless steel substrates. it systematically varied the laser pulse numbers (20,000; 30,000; 40,000) and energies (130, 165, 190 mJ) to investigate their effects on the microstructural, mechanical, and corrosion properties of the deposited films. Comprehensive characterization techniques, including grazing incidence X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy with selected area electron diffraction, were utilized to assess the amorphous structure and surface morphology. Results indicated that increased pulse numbers and laser energies led to enhanced deposition rates and film thicknesses. Nanoindentation tests demonstrated that the hardness and elastic modulus of the amorphous thin films significantly surpassed those of the 304 stainless steel substrate. Additionally, electrochemical polarization and impedance spectroscopy revealed that the Fe-based metallic glass coatings exhibited superior corrosion resistance compared to the stainless steel substrate. The observed improvements in mechanical and corrosion properties are attributed to the unique amorphous structure achieved through the PLD process, highlighting the potential of these materials for protective coatings in aggressive environments.

Keywords: thin film metallic glasses, pulsed laser deposition, mechanical properties, corrosion resistance

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Authors: Khalid Al Mutairi, Mashhor Mansor, Magdy El-Bana, Asyraf Mansor, Saud AL-Rowaily

Abstract:

Urban expansion and the associated increase in anthropogenic pressures have led to a great loss of the Red Sea’s biodiversity. Floristic composition, diversity, and environmental controls were investigated for 210 relive's on twenty coral islands of Farasan in the Red Sea, Saudi Arabia. Multivariate statistical analyses for classification (Cluster Analysis), ordination (Detrended Correspondence Analysis (DCA), and Redundancy Analysis (RDA) were employed to identify vegetation types and their relevance to the underlying environmental gradients. A total of 191 flowering plants belonging to 53 families and 129 genera were recorded. Geophytes and chamaephytes were the main life forms in the saline habitats, whereas therophytes and hemicryptophytes dominated the sandy formations and coral rocks. The cluster analysis and DCA ordination identified twelve vegetation groups that linked to five main habitats with definite floristic composition and environmental characteristics. The constrained RDA with Monte Carlo permutation tests revealed that elevation and soil salinity were the main environmental factors explaining the vegetation distributions. These results indicate that the flora of the study archipelago represents a phytogeographical linkage between Africa and Saharo-Arabian landscape functional elements. These findings should guide conservation and management efforts to maintain species diversity, which is threatened by anthropogenic activities and invasion by the exotic invasive tree Prosopis juliflora (Sw.) DC.

Keywords: biodiversity, classification, conservation, ordination, Red Sea

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Authors: Júlia Cristina Bonaldo, Christophe L. Martin, Martiniano Piccico, Keith Beale, Roop Kishore, Severine Romero-Baivier

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Refractory composite materials employed in steel casting applications are prone to cracking and material damage because of the very high operating temperature (thermal shock) and mismatched properties of the constituent phases. The fracture behavior of a model MgO-C composite refractory is investigated to quantify and characterize its thermal shock resistance, employing a cold crushing test and Brazilian test with fractographic analysis. The discrete element method (DEM) is used to generate numerical refractory composites. The composite in DEM is represented by an assembly of bonded particle clusters forming perfectly spherical aggregates and single spherical particles. For the stresses to converge with a low standard deviation and a minimum number of particles to allow reasonable CPU calculation time, representative volume element (RVE) numerical packings are created with various numbers of particles. Key microscopic properties are calibrated sequentially by comparing stress-strain curves from crushing experimental data. Comparing simulations with experiments also allows for the evaluation of crack propagation, fracture energy, and strength. The crack propagation during Brazilian experimental tests is monitored with digital image correlation (DIC). Simulations and experiments reveal three distinct types of fracture. The crack may spread throughout the aggregate, at the aggregate-matrix interface, or throughout the matrix.

Keywords: refractory composite, fracture mechanics, crack propagation, DEM

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