Search results for: reduced scale

Authors: O. C. Abbah, O. Obidoa, J. Omale

Abstract:

Prostate tumor is fast becoming a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in human male adults, with 50 percent of men aged 50 years and above having histological evidence of the benign tumor. The study was set out to undertake phytochemical screening and proximate analysis of the pulp of A. muricata fruit - soursop; to determine the acute toxicity of the fruit pulp extract and its effect on male albino Wistar rats with concurrent induction of experimental benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH). Eighteen rats (average weight of 100g) were used for the lethality studies and were orally administered graded doses of aqueous extracts of the fruit pulp up to 5000 mg/kg body weight. Twenty five rats weighing 150-200g were divided into five groups of five rats each for the tumor studies. The groups included four controls – Hormone control, HC, which took Testosterone, T; and Estradiol, E2 – only, in olive oil as vehicle; Vehicle control, VC; Soursop control, SC, which received the extract only; VS, Vehicle and Soursop – and the Test group, TG (500mg/kg b.w.). All rats were dosed orally. Tumor was induced with exogenous Testosterone propionate: Estradiol valerate at 300µg: 80µg/kg b.w. (respectively) in olive oil, administered subcutaneously in the inguinal region of the rats on alternate days for 21 days. Administration of the fruit pulp at graded doses up to 5000mg/kg resulted in no lethality even after 72 hours. Results from tumor studies revealed that the administration of the fruit extracts significantly (p < 0.05) reduced the relative prostate weight of the TG compared with the HC, with values of 006±0.001 and 0.010±0.003 respectively. Treatment with vehicle, soursop and vehicle with soursop caused no significant (p>0.05) change in prostate size, with their respective relative prostate weights being 0.002±0.001, 0.004±0.002 and 0.002±0.001 compared with TG. Also, treatment with A. muricata fruit extract significantly decreased (p < 0.05) serum prostate specific antigen, PSA, in TG compared with HC, with values 0.055±0.017 and 0.194±0.068 ng/ml respectively. Furthermore, A. muricata administration displayed Testosterone boosting, Estradiol lowering and consequently testosterone-estradiol ratio increasing potential at the end of the 21 days. The preventive property of soursop against experimental BPH was corroborated by histological evidence in this study. The study concludes that A. muricata fruit holds a great potential for benign prostate tumor prevention and, possibly, management.

Keywords: annona muricata, benign prostate tumor, hormone, preventive potential, soursop

Procedia PDF Downloads 308

Authors: Muhammad Farhan Saeed, Waheed Aslam Khan, Muhammad Nadeem, Iftikhar Ahmad, Zakir Ali

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Milk is an important and fundamental nutrition source of human diet. In Pakistan, the milk used by the consumer is of low quality and is often contaminated due to the lack of quality controls. Mycotoxins produced from molds which contaminate the agriculture commodities of animal feed. Mycotoxins are poisons which affect the animals when they consume contaminated feeds. Aflatoxin AFM1 is naturally occurring form of mycotoxins in milk which is carcinogenic. To assess public awareness regarding milk Aflatoxin contamination, a population-based survey using a questionnaire was carried out from general public and from farmers of both rural and urban areas. It was revealed from the data that people of rural area were more satisfied about quality of available milk but the awareness level about milk contamination was found lower in both areas. Total 297 samples of milk were collected from rural (n=156) and urban (n=141) areas of district Vehari during June-July 2015. Milk samples were collected from three different point sources; farmer, milkman and milkshop. These point sources had three types of dairy milk including cow milk, buffalo milk and mixed milk. After performing ELISA test 18 samples with positive ELISA results were maintain per source for further analysis for aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) by High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). Higher percentages of samples were found exceeding the permissible limit for urban area. In rural area about 15% samples and from urban area about 35% samples were exceeded the permissible limit of AFM1 with 0.05µg/kg set by European Union. From urban areas about 55% of buffalo, 33% of cows and 17% of mixed milk samples were exceeded the permissible AFM1 level as compared with 17%, 11% and 17% for milk samples from rural areas respectively. Samples from urban areas 33%, 44% and 28% were exceeded the permissible AFM1 level for farmer, milkman and of milk shop respectively as compared with 28% and 17% of farmer and milkman’s samples from rural areas respectively. The presence of AFM1 in milk samples demands the implementation of strict regulations and also urges the need for continuous monitoring of milk and milk products in order to minimize the health hazards. Regulations regarding aflatoxins contamination and adulteration should be strictly imposed to prevent health problems related to milk quality. Permissible limits for aflatoxin should be enforced strongly in Pakistan so that economic loss due to aflatoxin contamination can be reduced.

Keywords: Vehari, aflatoxins AFM1, milk, HPLC

Procedia PDF Downloads 365

Authors: Jeounghee Kim

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Objective: To describe the incidence of complication, according to the stage of Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury (TSCI) which was treated at Asan Medical Center (AMC), Korea. Hereafter, it should be developed in nursing management protocol of traumatic SCI. Methods. Retrospectively reviewed hospital records about the patients who were admitted AMC Patients with traumatic spinal cord injury until January 2005 and December 2016 were analyzed (n=97). AMC is a single institution of 2,700 beds where patients with trauma and severe trauma can be treated. Patients who were admitted to the emergency room due to spinal cord injury and who underwent intensive care unit, general ward, and rehabilitation ward. To identify long-term complications, we excluded patients who were operated on to other hospitals after surgery. Complications such as respiratory(pneumonia, atelectasis, pulmonary embolism, and others), cardiovascular (hypotension), urinary (autonomic dysreflexia, urinary tract infection (UTI), neurogenic bladder, and others), and skin systems (pressure ulcers) from the time of admission were examined through medical records and images. Results: SCI was graded according to ASIA scale. The initial grade was checked at admission. (grade A 55(56.7%), grade B 14(14.4)%, grade C 11(11.3%), grade D 15(15.5%), and grade E 2(2.1%). The grade was rechecked when the patient was discharged after treatment. (grade A 43(44.3%), grade B 15(15.5%), grade C 12(12.4%), grade D 21(21.6%), and grade E 6(6.2%). The most common complication after SCI was UTI 24cases (mean 36.5day), sore 24cases (40.5day), and Pneumonia which was 23 cases after 10days averagely. The other complications after SCI were neuropathic pain 19 cases, surgical site infection 4 cases. 53.6% of patient who had SCI were educated about intermittent catheterization at discharge from hospital. The mean hospital stay of all SCI patients was 61days. Conclusion: The Complications after traumatic SCI were developed at various stages from acute phase to chronic phase. Nurses need to understand fully the time-course of complication in traumatic SCI to provide evidence-based practice.

Keywords: spinal cord injury, complication, nursing, rehabilitation

Procedia PDF Downloads 210

Authors: A. Luli, A. Santona

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It is rare for individuals that are involved in a relationship to think about the possibility of having procreation problems in the near present or in the future. However, infertility is a condition that affects millions of people all around the world. Often, infertile individuals have to deal with experiences of psychological, relational and social problems. In these cases, they have to review their choices and take into consideration, if it is necessary, new ones. Different studies have examined the different decisions that infertile individuals have to go through dealing with infertility and its treatment, but none of them is focused on the decision-making style used by infertile individuals to solve their problem and on the factors that influences it. The aim of this paper is to define the style of decision-making used by infertile persons to give a solution to the ‘problem’ and the potential predictive role of the attachment and of the dyadic adjustment. The total sample is composed by 251 participants, divided in two groups: the experimental group composed by 114 participants, 62 males and 52 females, age between 25 and 59 years, and the control group composed by 137 participants, 65 males and 72 females, age between 22 and 49 years. The battery of instruments used is composed by: the General Decision Making Style (GDMS), the Experiences in Close Relationships Questionnaire Revised (ECR-R), Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS), and the Symptom Checklist-90-R (SCL-90-R). The results from the analysis of the samples showed a prevalence of the rational decision-making style for both males and females. No significant statistical difference was found between the experimental and control group. Also the analyses showed a significant statistical relationship between the decision making styles and the adult attachment styles for both males and females. In this case, only for males, there was a significant statistical difference between the experimental and the control group. Another significant statistical relationship was founded between the decision making styles and the adjustment scales for both males and females. Also in this case, the difference between the two groups was founded to be significant only of males. These results contribute to enrich the literature on the subject of decision-making styles in infertile individuals, showing also the predictive role of the attachment styles and the adjustment, confirming in this was the few results in the literature.

Keywords: adjustment, attachment, decision-making style, infertility

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Authors: M. Ghosh, A. Miroux, L. A. I. Kestens

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At molecular or micrometre scale, practically all materials are neither homogeneous nor isotropic. The concept of texture is used to identify the structural features that cause the properties of a material to be anisotropic. For metallic materials, the anisotropy of the mechanical behaviour originates from the crystallographic nature of plastic deformation, and is therefore controlled by the crystallographic texture. Anisotropy in mechanical properties often constitutes a disadvantage in the application of materials, as it is often illustrated by the earing phenomena during drawing. However, advantages may also be attained when considering other properties (e.g. optimization of magnetic behaviour to a specific direction) by controlling texture through thermo-mechanical processing). Nevertheless, in order to have better control over the final properties it is essential to relate texture with materials processing route and subsequently optimise their performance. However, up to date, few studies have been reported about the evolution of texture in 6061 aluminium alloy during warm processing (from room temperature to 250ºC). In present investigation, recrystallized 6061 aluminium alloy samples were subjected to tensile and plane strain compression (PSC) at room and warm temperatures. The gradual change of texture following both deformation modes were measured and discussed. Tensile tests demonstrate the mechanism at low strain while PSC does the same at high strain and eventually simulate the condition of rolling. Cube dominated texture of the initial rolled and recrystallized AA6061 sheets were replaced by domination of S and R components after PSC at room temperature, warm temperature (250ºC) though did not reflect any noticeable deviation from room temperature observation. It was also noticed that temperature has no significant effect on the evolution of grain morphology during PSC. The band contrast map revealed that after 30% deformation the substructure inside the grain is mainly made of series of parallel bands. A tendency for decrease of Cube and increase of Goss was noticed after tensile deformation compared to as-received material. Like PSC, texture does not change after deformation at warm temperature though. n-fibre was noticed for all the three textures from Goss to Cube.

Keywords: AA 6061, deformation, temperature, tensile, PSC, texture

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Authors: Kanik Sharma

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In the year of 2011, the global production of carbon nano-materials (CNMs) was around 3,500 tons, and it is projected to expand at a compound annual growth rate of 30.6%. Expanding markets for applications of CNMs, such as carbon nano-tubes (CNTs) and carbon nano-fibers (CNFs), place ever-increasing demands on lowering their production costs. Current technologies for CNM generation require intensive premium feedstock consumption and employ costly catalysts; they also require input of external energy. Industrial-scale CNM production is conventionally achieved through chemical vapor deposition (CVD) methods which consume a variety of expensive premium chemical feedstocks such as ethylene, carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrogen (H2); or by flame synthesis techniques, which also consume premium feedstock fuels. Additionally, CVD methods are energy-intensive. Renewable and replenishable feedstocks, such as those found in municipal, industrial, agricultural recycling streams have a more judicious reason for usage, in the light of current emerging needs for sustainability. Agricultural sugarcane bagasse and corn residues, scrap tire chips as well as post-consumer polyethylene (PE) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottle shreddings when either thermally treated by sole pyrolysis or by sequential pyrolysis and partial oxidation result in the formation of gaseous carbon-bearing effluents which when channeled into a heated reactor, produce CNMs, including carbon nano-tubes, catalytically synthesized therein on stainless steel meshes. The structure of the nano-material synthesized depends on the type of feedstock available for pyrolysis, and can be determined by analysing the feedstock. These feedstocks could supersede the use of costly and often toxic or highly-flammable chemicals such as hydrocarbon gases, carbon monoxide and hydrogen, which are commonly used as feedstocks in current nano-manufacturing process for CNMs.

Keywords: nanomaterials, waste plastics, sugarcane bagasse, pyrolysis

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Authors: B. Laurita

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The importance of Water Harvesting (WH) as an effective mean to deal with water scarcity is universally recognized. The collection and storage of rainwater, floodwater or quick runoff and their conversion to productive uses can ensure water availability for domestic and agricultural use, enabling a lower exploitation of the aquifer, preventing erosion events and providing significant ecosystem services. At the same time, it has been proven that it can reduce the insurgence of water conflicts if supported by a cooperative process of planning and management. On the other hand, the construction of water harvesting structures changes the hydrological regime, affecting upstream-downstream dynamics and changing water allocation, often causing contentions. Furthermore, dynamics existing between water harvesting and water conflict are not properly investigated yet. Thus, objective of this study is to analyze the relations between water harvesting and the insurgence of water conflicts, providing a solid theoretical basis and foundations for future studies. Two search engines were selected in order to perform the study: Google Scholar and Scopus. Separate researches were conducted on the mutual influences between water conflicts and the four main water harvesting techniques: rooftop harvesting, surface harvesting, underground harvesting, runoff harvesting. Some of the aforementioned water harvesting techniques have been developed and implemented on scales ranging from the small, household-sided ones, to gargantuan dam systems. Instead of focusing on the collisions related to large-scale systems, this review is aimed to look for and collect examples of the effects that the implementation of small water harvesting systems has had on the access to the water resource and on water governance. The present research allowed to highlight that in the studies that have been conducted up to now, water harvesting, and in particular those structures that allow the collection and storage of water for domestic use, is usually recognized as a positive, palliative element during contentions. On the other hand, water harvesting can worsen and, in some cases, even generate conflicts for water management. This shows the necessity of studies that consider both benefits and negative influences of water harvesting, analyzing its role respectively as triggering or as mitigating factor of conflicting situations.

Keywords: arid areas, governance, water conflicts, water harvesting

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Authors: Gaelle Candel, David Naccache

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t-SNE is an embedding method that the data science community has widely used. It helps two main tasks: to display results by coloring items according to the item class or feature value; and for forensic, giving a first overview of the dataset distribution. Two interesting characteristics of t-SNE are the structure preservation property and the answer to the crowding problem, where all neighbors in high dimensional space cannot be represented correctly in low dimensional space. t-SNE preserves the local neighborhood, and similar items are nicely spaced by adjusting to the local density. These two characteristics produce a meaningful representation, where the cluster area is proportional to its size in number, and relationships between clusters are materialized by closeness on the embedding. This algorithm is non-parametric. The transformation from a high to low dimensional space is described but not learned. Two initializations of the algorithm would lead to two different embeddings. In a forensic approach, analysts would like to compare two or more datasets using their embedding. A naive approach would be to embed all datasets together. However, this process is costly as the complexity of t-SNE is quadratic and would be infeasible for too many datasets. Another approach would be to learn a parametric model over an embedding built with a subset of data. While this approach is highly scalable, points could be mapped at the same exact position, making them indistinguishable. This type of model would be unable to adapt to new outliers nor concept drift. This paper presents a methodology to reuse an embedding to create a new one, where cluster positions are preserved. The optimization process minimizes two costs, one relative to the embedding shape and the second relative to the support embedding’ match. The embedding with the support process can be repeated more than once, with the newly obtained embedding. The successive embedding can be used to study the impact of one variable over the dataset distribution or monitor changes over time. This method has the same complexity as t-SNE per embedding, and memory requirements are only doubled. For a dataset of n elements sorted and split into k subsets, the total embedding complexity would be reduced from O(n²) to O(n²=k), and the memory requirement from n² to 2(n=k)², which enables computation on recent laptops. The method showed promising results on a real-world dataset, allowing to observe the birth, evolution, and death of clusters. The proposed approach facilitates identifying significant trends and changes, which empowers the monitoring high dimensional datasets’ dynamics.

Keywords: concept drift, data visualization, dimension reduction, embedding, monitoring, reusability, t-SNE, unsupervised learning

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Authors: Saeid Gharechelou, Ryutaro Tateishi

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Earthquake is an inevitable catastrophic natural disaster. The damages of buildings and man-made structures, where most of the human activities occur are the major cause of casualties from earthquakes. A comparison of optical and SAR data is presented in the case of Kathmandu valley which was hardly shaken by 2015-Nepal Earthquake. Though many existing researchers have conducted optical data based estimated or suggested combined use of optical and SAR data for improved accuracy, however finding cloud-free optical images when urgently needed are not assured. Therefore, this research is specializd in developing SAR based technique with the target of rapid and accurate geospatial reporting. Should considers that limited time available in post-disaster situation offering quick computation exclusively based on two pairs of pre-seismic and co-seismic single look complex (SLC) images. The InSAR coherence pre-seismic, co-seismic and post-seismic was used to detect the change in damaged area. In addition, the ground truth data from field applied to optical data by random forest classification for detection of damaged area. The ground truth data collected in the field were used to assess the accuracy of supervised classification approach. Though a higher accuracy obtained from the optical data then integration by optical-SAR data. Limitation of cloud-free images when urgently needed for earthquak evevent are and is not assured, thus further research on improving the SAR based damage detection is suggested. Availability of very accurate damage information is expected for channelling the rescue and emergency operations. It is expected that the quick reporting of the post-disaster damage situation quantified by the rapid earthquake assessment should assist in channeling the rescue and emergency operations, and in informing the public about the scale of damage.

Keywords: Sentinel-1A data, Landsat-8, earthquake damage, InSAR, rapid damage monitoring, 2015-Nepal earthquake

Procedia PDF Downloads 167

Authors: Mohammad Mirwais Yusufi

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Skillful management is one of the most important success factors for today’s farms. When a farm is well managed, it can generate funds for its sustainability. Grape is one of the most diffused fruits in the world and one of the most important cash crops with high potential of production in Afghanistan as well. While there are several organizations intervening for improvement of this cash crop, the quality and quantity are still not satisfactory for producers and external markets. The situation has not changed over the years. Therefore, a survey was conducted in 2017 with 60 grape growers, supported by questionnaires in Mirbachakot, Kalakan and Shakardara districts of Kabul province. The purpose was to get an understanding of the current socio-demographic characteristics of farmers, management methods, constraints, farm size, yield and contribution of grape farming to household income. Findings indicate that grape farming was predominant 83.3% male, 16.6% female and small-scale farmers were the main grape producers, 60% < 1 ha of land under grape production. Likewise, 50% had more than > 10 years and 33.3% between 1-5 years’ experience in grape farming. The high level of illiteracy and diseases had significant digit effect on growth, yield and quality of grapes. The results showed that vineyard management operations to protect grapes from mechanical damage are very poor or completely absent. Comparing developed countries, table grape is one of the fruits with the highest input of technology, while in developing countries the cost of labor is low but the purchase of the equipment is very high due to financial situation. Hence the low quality and quantity of grape are influenced by poor management methods, such as non-availability of experts and lack of technical guidance in the study site. Thereby, the study suggested that improved agricultural extension services and managerial skills could contribute to addressing the problems.

Keywords: constraints, effect, management, Kabul

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Authors: Salem Alsanusi, Abdulla Alakad

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An experimental investigation to study the behaviour of under flexure reinforced concrete T-Beams. Those Beams were loaded to pre-designated stress levels as percentage of calculated collapse loads. Repairing these beans by either reinforced concrete jacket, or by externally bolted steel plates were utilized. Twelve full scale beams were tested in this experimental program scheme. Eight out of the twelve beams were loaded under different loading levels. Tests were performed for the beams before and after repair with Reinforced Concrete Jacket (RCJ). The applied Load levels were 60%, 77% and 100% of the calculated collapse loads. The remaining four beams were tested before and after repair with Bolted Steel Plate (BSP). Furthermore, out previously mentioned four beams two beams were loaded to the calculated failure load 100% and the remaining two beams were not subjected to any load. The eight beams recorded for the RCJ test were repaired using reinforced concrete jacket. The four beams recorded for the BSP test were all repaired using steel plate at the bottom. All the strengthened beams were gradually loaded until failure occurs. However, in each loading case, the beams behaviour, before and after strengthening, were studied through close inspection of the cracking propagation, and by carrying out an extensive measurement of deformations and strength. The stress-strain curve for reinforcing steel and the failure strains measured in the tests were utilized in the calculation of failure load for the beams before and after strengthening. As a result, the calculated failure loads were close to the actual failure tests in case of beams before repair, ranging from 85% to 90% and also in case of beams repaired by reinforced concrete jacket ranging from 70% to 85%. The results were in case of beams repaired by bolted steel plates ranging from (50% to 85%). It was observed that both jacketing and bolted steel plate methods could effectively restore the full flexure capacity of the damaged beams. However, the reinforced jacket has increased the failure load by about 67%, whereas the bolted steel plates recovered the failure load.

Keywords: rehabilitation, strengthening, reinforced concrete, beams deflection, bending stresses

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Authors: D. Sigirli

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The Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve is a commonly used statistical tool for evaluating the diagnostic performance of screening and diagnostic test with continuous or ordinal scale results which aims to predict the presence or absence probability of a condition, usually a disease. When the test results were measured as numeric values, sensitivity and specificity can be computed across all possible threshold values which discriminate the subjects as diseased and non-diseased. There are infinite numbers of possible decision thresholds along the continuum of the test results. The ROC curve presents the trade-off between sensitivity and the 1-specificity as the threshold changes. The empirical ROC curve which is a non-parametric estimator of the ROC curve is robust and it represents data accurately. However, especially for small sample sizes, it has a problem of variability and as it is a step function there can be different false positive rates for a true positive rate value and vice versa. Besides, the estimated ROC curve being in a jagged form, since the true ROC curve is a smooth curve, it underestimates the true ROC curve. Since the true ROC curve is assumed to be smooth, several smoothing methods have been explored to smooth a ROC curve. These include using kernel estimates, using log-concave densities, to fit parameters for the specified density function to the data with the maximum-likelihood fitting of univariate distributions or to create a probability distribution by fitting the specified distribution to the data nd using smooth versions of the empirical distribution functions. In the present paper, we aimed to propose a smooth ROC curve estimation based on the boundary corrected kernel function and to compare the performances of ROC curve smoothing methods for the diagnostic test results coming from different distributions in different sample sizes. We performed simulation study to compare the performances of different methods for different scenarios with 1000 repetitions. It is seen that the performance of the proposed method was typically better than that of the empirical ROC curve and only slightly worse compared to the binormal model when in fact the underlying samples were generated from the normal distribution.

Keywords: empirical estimator, kernel function, smoothing, receiver operating characteristic curve

Procedia PDF Downloads 151

Authors: Carmela Monterroso, Marc Romero-Estonllo, Carlos Pascual, Beatriz Rodríguez-Garrido

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The mobilization of heavy metals from polluted soils causes their transfer to natural waters, with consequences for ecosystems and human health. Phytostabilization techniques are applied to reduce this mobility, through the establishment of a vegetal cover and the application of soil amendments. In this work, the capacity of different organic amendments to improve water quality and reduce the mobility of metals in mine-tailings was evaluated. A field pilot test was carried out with leaching columns installed on an old Cu mine ore (NW of Spain) which forms part of the PhytoSUDOE network of phytomanaged contaminated field sites (PhytoSUDOE/ Phy2SUDOE Projects (SOE1/P5/E0189 and SOE4/P5/E1021)). Ten columns (1 meter high by 25 cm in diameter) were packed with untreated mine tailings (control) or those treated with organic amendments. Applied amendments were based on different combinations of municipal wastes, bark chippings, biomass fly ash, and nanoparticles like aluminum oxides or ferrihydrite-type iron oxides. During the packing of the columns, rhizon-samplers were installed at different heights (10, 20, and 50 cm) from the top, and pore water samples were obtained by suction. Additionally, in each column, a bottom leachate sample was collected through a valve installed at the bottom of the column. After packing, the columns were sown with grasses. Water samples were analyzed for: pH and redox potential, using combined electrodes; salinity by conductivity meter: bicarbonate by titration, sulfate, nitrate, and chloride, by ion chromatography (Dionex 2000); phosphate by colorimetry with ammonium molybdate/ascorbic acid; Ca, Mg, Fe, Al, Mn, Zn, Cu, Cd, and Pb by flame atomic absorption/emission spectrometry (Perkin Elmer). Porewater and leachate from the control columns (packed with unamended mine tailings) were extremely acidic and had a high concentration of Al, Fe, and Cu. In these columns, no plant development was observed. The application of organic amendments improved soil conditions, which allowed the establishment of a dense cover of grasses in the rest of the columns. The combined effect of soil amendment and plant growth had a positive impact on water quality and reduced mobility of aluminum and heavy metals.

Keywords: leaching, organic amendments, phytostabilization, polluted soils

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Authors: Armin Bodaghkhani, Bruce Colbourne, Yuri S. Muzychka

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The process of spray-cloud formation and flow kinematics produced from breaking wave impact on vertical and slant lab-scale bow-shaped models were experimentally investigated. Bubble Image Velocimetry (BIV) and Image Processing (IP) techniques were applied to study the various types of wave-model impacts. Different wave characteristics were generated in a tow tank to investigate the effects of wave characteristics, such as wave phase velocity, wave steepness on droplet velocities, and behavior of the process of spray cloud formation. The phase ensemble-averaged vertical velocity and turbulent intensity were computed. A high-speed camera and diffused LED backlights were utilized to capture images for further post processing. Various pressure sensors and capacitive wave probes were used to measure the wave impact pressure and the free surface profile at different locations of the model and wave-tank, respectively. Droplet sizes and velocities were measured using BIV and IP techniques to trace bubbles and droplets in order to measure their velocities and sizes by correlating the texture in these images. The impact pressure and droplet size distributions were compared to several previously experimental models, and satisfactory agreements were achieved. The distribution of droplets in front of both models are demonstrated. Due to the highly transient process of spray formation, the drag coefficient for several stages of this transient displacement for various droplet size ranges and different Reynolds number were calculated based on the ensemble average method. From the experimental results, the slant model produces less spray in comparison with the vertical model, and the droplet velocities generated from the wave impact with the slant model have a lower velocity as compared with the vertical model.

Keywords: spray charachteristics, droplet size and velocity, wave-body interactions, bubble image velocimetry, image processing

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Authors: Canan Duzan

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For most language learners, mastery of the speaking skill is the proof of the mastery of the foreign language. On the other hand, the speaking skill is considered as the most difficult aspect of language learning to develop for both learners and teachers. Especially in countries like Turkey where exposure to the target language is minimum and resources and opportunities provided for language practice are scarce, teaching and learning to speak the language become a real struggle for teachers and learners alike. Data collected from students, instructors, faculty members and the business sector in needs analysis studies conducted previously at Middle East Technical University (METU) consistently revealed the need for addressing the problem of lack of confidence in speaking English. Action was taken during the design of the only EAP speaking course offered in Modern Languages Department since lack of confidence is considered to be a serious barrier for effective communication and causes learners to suffer from insecurity, uncertainty and fear. “Confidence building” served as the guiding principle in the syllabus design, nature of the tasks created for the course and the assessment procedures to help learners become more confident speakers of English. In order to see the effectiveness of the decisions made during the design phase of the course and whether students become more confident speakers upon completion of the course, a case study was carried out with 100 students at METU. A questionnaire including both Likert-Scale and open-ended items were administered to students to collect data and this data were analyzed using the SPSS program. Group interviews were also carried out to gain more insight into the effectiveness of the course in terms of building speaking confidence. This presentation will explore the specific actions taken to develop students’ confidence based on the findings of program evaluation studies and to what extent the students believe these actions to be effective in improving their confidence. The unique design of this course and strategies adopted for confidence building are highly applicable in other EAP contexts and may yield similar positive results.

Keywords: confidence, EAP, speaking, strategy

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Authors: Anna M. Salejda, Urszula Tril, Grażyna Krasnowska

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The aim of this study was to analyze selected quality characteristics of cooked pork sausages manufactured with the addition of Sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides L.) berries preparations. Stuffings of model sausages consisted of pork, backfat, water and additives such a curing salt and sodium isoascorbate. Functional additives used in production process were two preparations obtained from dried Sea buckthorn berries in form of powder and brew. Powder of dried berries was added in amount of 1 and 3 g, while water infusion as a replacement of 50 and 100% ice water included in meat products formula. Control samples were produced without functional additives. Experimental stuffings were heat treated in water bath and stored for 4 weeks under cooled conditions (4±1ºC). Physical parameters of colour, texture profile and technological parameters as acidity, weight losses and water activity were estimated. The effect of Sea buckthorn berries preparations on lipid oxidation during storage of final products was determine by TBARS method. Studies have shown that addition of Sea buckthorn preparations to meat-fatty batters significant (P≤0.05) reduced the pH values of sausages samples after thermal treatment. Moreover, the addition of berries powder caused significant differences (P ≤ 0.05) in weight losses after cooking process. Analysis of results of texture profile analysis indicated, that utilization of infusion prepared from Sea buckthorn dried berries caused increase of springiness, gumminess and chewiness of final meat products. At the same time, the highest amount of Sea buckthorn berries powder in recipe caused the decrease of all measured texture parameters. Utilization of experimental preparations significantly decreased (P≤0.05) lightness (L* parameter of color) of meat products. Simultaneously, introduction of 1 and 3 grams of Sea buckthorn berries powder to meat-fatty batter increased redness (a* parameter) of samples under investigation. Higher content of substances reacting with thiobarbituric acid was observed in meat products produced without functional additives. It was observed that powder of Sea buckthorn berries added to meat-fatty batters caused higher protection against lipid oxidation in cooked sausages.

Keywords: sea buckthorn, meat products, texture, color parameters, lipid oxidation

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Authors: Arifuzzaman Nayeem, Tafannum Torsha, Tanvir Manzur, Shaurav Alam

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Performance evaluation of reinforced concrete (RC) beams subjected to accidental fire is significant for post-fire capacity measurement. Mechanical properties of any RC beam degrade due to heating since the strength and modulus of concrete and reinforcement suffer considerable reduction under elevated temperatures. Moreover, fire-induced thermal dilation and shrinkage cause internal stresses within the concrete and eventually result in cracking, spalling, and loss of stiffness, which ultimately leads to lower service life. However, conducting full-scale comprehensive experimental investigation for RC beams exposed to fire is difficult and cost-intensive, where the finite element (FE) based numerical study can provide an economical alternative for evaluating the post-fire capacity of RC beams. In this study, an attempt has been made to study the fire behavior of RC beams using FE software package ABAQUS under different durations of fire. The damaged plasticity model of concrete in ABAQUS was used to simulate behavior RC beams. The effect of temperature on strength and modulus of concrete and steel was simulated following relevant Eurocodes. Initially, the result of FE models was validated using several experimental results from available scholarly articles. It was found that the response of the developed FE models matched quite well with the experimental outcome for beams without heat. The FE analysis of beams subjected to fire showed some deviation from the experimental results, particularly in terms of stiffness degradation. However, the ultimate strength and deflection of FE models were similar to that of experimental values. The developed FE models, thus, exhibited the good potential to predict the fire behavior of RC beams. Once validated, FE models were then used to analyze several RC beams having different strengths (ranged between 20 MPa and 50 MPa) exposed to the standard fire curve (ASTM E119) for different durations. The post-fire performance of RC beams was investigated in terms of load-deflection behavior, flexural strength, and deflection characteristics.

Keywords: fire durations, flexural strength, post fire capacity, reinforced concrete beam, standard fire

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Authors: Ramzi Suleiman

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Recently, the author proposed an observationally-based relativity theory termed information relativity theory (IRT). The theory is simple and is based only on basic principles, with no prior axioms and no free parameters. For the case of a body of mass in uniform rectilinear motion relative to an observer, the theory transformations uncovered a matter-dark matter duality, which prescribes that the sum of the densities of the body's baryonic matter and dark matter, as measured by the observer, is equal to the body's matter density at rest. It was shown that the theory transformations were successful in predicting several important phenomena in small particle physics, quantum physics, and cosmology. This paper extends the theory transformations to the cases of rotating disks and spheres. The resulting transformations for a rotating disk are utilized to derive predictions of the radial distributions of matter and dark matter densities in rotationally supported galaxies based solely on their observed rotation curves. It is also shown that for galaxies with flattening curves, good approximations of the radial distributions of matter and dark matter and of the dark matter fraction could be obtained from one measurable scale radius. Test of the model on five galaxies, chosen randomly from the SPARC database, yielded impressive predictions. The rotation curves of all the investigated galaxies emerged as accurate traces of the predicted radial density distributions of their dark matter. This striking result raises an intriguing physical explanation of gravity in galaxies, according to which it is the proximal drag of the stars and gas in the galaxy by its rotating dark matter web. We conclude by alluding briefly to the application of the proposed model to stellar systems and black holes. This study also hints at the potential of the discovered matter-dark matter duality in fixing the standard model of elementary particles in a natural manner without the need for hypothesizing about supersymmetric particles.

Keywords: dark matter, galaxies rotation curves, SPARC, rotating disk

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Authors: Savitha Janakiraman, Shivakumar M. C

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Anidulafungin, an advanced class of antifungal agent used for the treatment of chronic fungal infections, is derived from Echinocandin B nucleus, an intermediate metabolite of Echinocandin B produced by Aspergillus nidulans. The enzyme acylase derived from the fermentation broth of Actinoplanes utahensis (NRRL 12052) plays a key role in the bioconversion of echinocandin B to echinocandin B nucleus. The membrane-bound nature of acylase and low levels of expression contributes to the rate-limiting process of enzymatic deacylation, hence low yields of ECB nucleus and anidulafungin. In the present study, this is addressed through novel genetic engineering approaches of overexpression and heterologous expression studies, immobilization of whole cells of Actinoplanes utahensis (NRRL 12052) and Co-cultivation studies. Overexpression of the acylase gene in Actinoplanes utahensis (NRRL 12052) was done by increasing the gene copy number to increase the echinocandin B nucleus production. Echinocandin B acylase gene, under the control of a PermE* promoter, was cloned in pSET152 vector and introduced into Actinoplanes utahensis (NRRL12052) by a ɸC31-directed site-specific recombination method. The resultant recombinant strain (C2-18) showed a 3-fold increase in acylase expression, which was confirmed by HPLC analysis. Pichia pastoris is one of the most effective and versatile host systems for the production of heterologous proteins. The ECB acylase gene was cloned into pPIC9K vector with AOX1 promoter and was transformed into Pichia pastoris (GS115). The acylase expression was confirmed by protein expression and bioconversion studies. The heterologous expression of acylase in Pichia pastoris, is a milestone in the development of antifungals. Actively growing cells of Actinoplanes utahensis (NRRL 12052) were immobilized and tested for bioconversion ability which showed >90% conversion in each cycle. The stability of immobilized cell beads retained the deacylation ability up to 60 days and reusability was confirmed up to 4 cycles. The significant findings from the study have revealed that immobilization of whole cells of Actinoplanes utahensis (NRRL 12052) could be an alternative option for bioconversion of echinocandin B to echinocandin B nucleus, which has not been reported to date. The concept of co-cultivation of Aspergillus nidulans and Actinoplanes utahensis strains for the production of the echinocandin B nucleus was also carried out in order to produce echinocandin B nucleus. The process completely reduced the ECB purification step and, therefore, could be recommended as an ingenious method to improve the yield of the ECB nucleus.

Keywords: acylase, anidulafungin, antifungals, Aspergillus nidulans

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Authors: Abhishek N. Srivastava, Rahul Singh, Sumedha Chakma

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The rapid urbanization in the developing countries is generating an enormous amount of waste leading to the creation of unregulated landfill sites at various places at its disposal. The liquid waste, known as leachate, produced from these landfills sites is severely affecting the surrounding water quality. The water quality in the proximity areas of the landfill is found affected by various physico-chemical parameters of leachate such as pH, alkalinity, total hardness, conductivity, chloride, total dissolved solids (TDS), total suspended solids (TSS), sulphate, nitrate, phosphate, fluoride, sodium and potassium, biological parameters such as biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), Faecal coliform, and heavy metals such as cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), iron (Fe), mercury (Hg), arsenic (As), cobalt (Co), manganese (Mn), zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), chromium (Cr), nickel (Ni). However, all these parameters are distributive in leachate that produced according to the nature of waste being dumped at various landfill sites, therefore, it becomes very difficult to predict the main responsible parameter of leachate for water quality contamination. The present study is endeavour the comparative analysis of the physical, chemical and biological parameters of various landfills in India viz. Okhla landfill, Ghazipur landfill, Bhalswa ladfill in NCR Delhi, Deonar landfill in Mumbai, Dhapa landfill in Kolkata and Kodungayaiyur landfill, Perungudi landfill in Chennai. The statistical analysis of the parameters was carried out using the Statistical Packages for the Social Sciences (SPSS) and LandSim 2.5 model to simulate the long term effect of various parameters on different time scale. Further, the uncertainties characterization of various input parameters has also been analysed using fuzzy alpha cut (FAC) technique to check the sensitivity of various water quality parameters at the proximity of numerous landfill sites. Finally, the study would help to suggest the best method for the prevention of pollution migration from the landfill sites on priority basis.

Keywords: landfill leachate, water quality, LandSim, fuzzy alpha cut

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Authors: Mehrdad Abkenari, Orod Zarrinkafsh, Mohsen Ramezan Shirazi

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Construction projects initiate in complicated dynamic environments and, due to the close relationships between project parameters and the unknown outer environment, they are faced with several uncertainties and risks. Success in time, cost and quality in large scale construction projects is uncertain in consequence of technological constraints, large number of stakeholders, too much time required, great capital requirements and poor definition of the extent and scope of the project. Projects that are faced with such environments and uncertainties can be well managed through utilization of the concept of risk management in project’s life cycle. Although the concept of risk is dependent on the opinion and idea of management, it suggests the risks of not achieving the project objectives as well. Furthermore, project’s risk analysis discusses the risks of development of inappropriate reactions. Since evaluation and prioritization of construction projects has been a difficult task, the network structure is considered to be an appropriate approach to analyze complex systems; therefore, we have used this structure for analyzing and modeling the issue. On the other hand, we face inadequacy of data in deterministic circumstances, and additionally the expert’s opinions are usually mathematically vague and are introduced in the form of linguistic variables instead of numerical expression. Owing to the fact that fuzzy logic is used for expressing the vagueness and uncertainty, formulation of expert’s opinion in the form of fuzzy numbers can be an appropriate approach. In other words, the evaluation and prioritization of construction projects on the basis of risk factors in real world is a complicated issue with lots of ambiguous qualitative characteristics. In this study, evaluated and prioritization the risk parameters and factors with fuzzy logy method by combination of three method DEMATEL (Decision Making Trial and Evaluation), ANP (Analytic Network Process) and TOPSIS (Technique for Order-Preference by Similarity Ideal Solution) on Construction Management.

Keywords: fuzzy logy, risk, prioritization, assessment

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Authors: M. El-haj, Z. Olama, H. Holail

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Single cell oils (SCOs) accumulated by oleaginous fungi have emerged as a potential alternative feedstock for biodiesel production. Five fungal strains were isolated from the Lebanese environment namely Fusarium oxysporum, Mucor hiemalis, Penicillium citrinum, Aspergillus tamari, and Aspergillus niger that have been selected among 39 oleaginous strains for their potential ability to accumulate lipids (lipid content was more than 40% on dry weight basis). Wide variations were recorded in the environmental factors that lead to maximum lipid production by fungi under test and were cultivated under submerged fermentation on medium containing glucose as a carbon source. The maximum lipid production was attained within 6-8 days, at pH range 6-7, 24 to 48 hours age of seed culture, 4 to 6.107 spores/ml inoculum level and 100 ml culture volume. Eleven culture conditions were examined for their significance on lipid production using Plackett-Burman factorial design. Reducing sugars and nitrogen source were the most significant factors affecting lipid production process. Maximum lipid yield was noticed with 15.62, 14.48, 12.75, 13.68 and 20.41g/l for Fusarium oxysporum, Mucor hiemalis, Penicillium citrinum, Aspergillus tamari, and Aspergillus niger respectively. A verification experiment was carried out to examine model validation and revealed more than 94% validity. The profile of extracted lipids from each fungal isolate was studied using thin layer chromatography (TLC) indicating the presence of monoacylglycerols, diaacylglycerols, free fatty acids, triacylglycerols and sterol esters. The fatty acids profiles were also determined by gas-chromatography coupled with flame ionization detector (GC-FID). Data revealed the presence of significant amount of oleic acid (29-36%), palmitic acid (18-24%), linoleic acid (26.8-35%), and low amount of other fatty acids in the extracted fungal oils which indicate that the fatty acid profiles were quite similar to that of conventional vegetable oil. The cost of lipid production could be further reduced with acid-pretreated lignocellulotic corncob waste, whey and date molasses to be utilized as the raw material for the oleaginous fungi. The results showed that the microbial lipid from the studied fungi was a potential alternative resource for biodiesel production.

Keywords: agro-industrial waste products, biodiesel, fatty acid, single cell oil, Lebanese environment, oleaginous fungi

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Authors: Thomas Weber, Nina Strobel, Thomas Kohne, Eberhard Abele

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In context of the energy transition in Germany, the importance of so-called virtual power plants in the energy supply continues to increase. The progressive dismantling of the large power plants and the ongoing construction of many new decentralized plants result in great potential for optimization through synergies between the individual plants. These potentials can be exploited by mathematical optimization algorithms to calculate the optimal application planning of decentralized power and heat generators and storage systems. This also includes linear or linear mixed integer optimization. In this paper, procedures for reducing the number of decision variables to be calculated are explained and validated. On the one hand, this includes combining n similar installation types into one aggregated unit. This aggregated unit is described by the same constraints and target function terms as a single plant. This reduces the number of decision variables per time step and the complexity of the problem to be solved by a factor of n. The exact operating mode of the individual plants can then be calculated in a second optimization in such a way that the output of the individual plants corresponds to the calculated output of the aggregated unit. Another way to reduce the number of decision variables in an optimization problem is to reduce the number of time steps to be calculated. This is useful if a high temporal resolution is not necessary for all time steps. For example, the volatility or the forecast quality of environmental parameters may justify a high or low temporal resolution of the optimization. Both approaches are examined for the resulting calculation time as well as for optimality. Several optimization models for virtual power plants (combined heat and power plants, heat storage, power storage, gas turbine) with different numbers of plants are used as a reference for the investigation of both processes with regard to calculation duration and optimality.

Keywords: CHP, Energy 4.0, energy storage, MILP, optimization, virtual power plant

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Authors: Lota Largavista

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This study entitled, ‘The Organizational Structure, Development Features, and Metadiscoursal Elements in the Expository Writing of Freshman College Writers’ aimed to examine essays written by college students. It seeks to examine the organizational structure and development features of the essays and describe their defining characteristics, the linguistic elements at both macrostructural and microstructural discourse levels and the types of textual and interpersonal metadiscourse markers that are employed in order to negotiate meanings with their prospective readers. The different frameworks used to analyze the essays include Toulmin’s ( 1984) model for argument structure, Olson’s ( 2003) three-part essay structure; Halliday and Matthiesen (2004) in Herriman (2011) notions of thematic structure, Danes (1974) thematic progression or method of development, Halliday’s (2004) concept of grammatical and lexical cohesion ;Hyland’s (2005) metadiscourse strategies; and Chung and Nation’s( 2003) four-step scale for technical vocabulary. This descriptive study analyzes qualitatively and quantitatively how freshman students generally express their written compositions. Coding of units is done to determine what linguistic features are present in the essays. Findings revealed that students’ expository essays observe a three-part structure having all three moves, the Introduction, the Body and the Conclusion. Stance assertion, stance support, and emerging moves/strategies are found to be employed in the essays. Students have more marked themes on the essays and also prefer constant theme progression as their method of development. The analysis of salient linguistic elements reveals frequently used cohesive devices and metadiscoursal strategies. Based on the findings, an instructional learning plan is being proposed. This plan is characterized by a genre approach that focuses on expository and linguistic conventions.

Keywords: metadiscourse, organization, theme progression, structure

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Authors: Marko Spasojevic, Ying Hei Chui, Yuxiang Chen

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Increasing the level of exterior insulation in residential buildings is a popular way for improving the thermal characteristic of building enclosure and reducing heat loss. However, the layout and properties of materials composing the wall have a great effect on moisture accumulation within the wall cavity, long-term durability of a wall as well as the structural performance. A one-dimensional hygrothermal modeling has been performed to investigate moisture condensation risks and the drying capacity of standard 2×4 and 2×6 light wood-frame wall assemblies including exterior low-permeance extruded polystyrene (XPS) insulation. The analysis considered two different wall configurations whereby the rigid insulation board was placed either between Oriented Strand Board (OSB) sheathing and the stud or outboard to the structural sheathing. The thickness of the insulation varied between 0 mm and 50 mm and the analysis has been conducted for eight different locations in Canada, covering climate zone 4 through zone 8. Results show that the wall configuration with low-permeance insulation inserted between the stud and OSB sheathing accumulates more moisture within the stud cavity, compared to the assembly with the same insulation placed exterior to the sheathing. On the other hand, OSB moisture contents of the latter configuration were markedly higher. Consequently, the analysis of hygrothermal performance investigated and compared moisture accumulation in both the OSB and stud cavity. To investigate the structural performance of the wall and the effect of soft insulation layer inserted between the sheathing and framing, forty nail connection specimens were tested. Results have shown that both the connection strength and stiffness experience a significant reduction as the insulation thickness increases. These results will be compared with results from a full-scale shear wall tests in order to investigate if the capacity of shear walls with insulated sheathing would experience a similar reduction in structural capacities.

Keywords: hygrothermal analysis, insulated sheathing, moisture performance, nail joints, wood shear wall

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

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

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

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Authors: Luan Vardari, Dena Arapi Vardari

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The Balkan countries, known for their diverse landscapes and cultural heritage, face the dual challenge of promoting economic growth while addressing pressing environmental concerns. In recent years, the concept of green finance has emerged as a powerful tool to achieve sustainable development and mitigate the environmental impact of various sectors, including architecture. This extended abstract explores the untapped potential of green finance in architecture within the Balkan region and highlights its role in driving sustainable construction practices and fostering a greener future. The abstract begins by defining green finance and emphasizing its relevance in the context of the architectural sector in Balkan countries. It underlines the benefits of green finance, such as economic growth, environmental conservation, and social well-being. Integrating green finance into architectural projects is important as a means to achieve sustainable development goals while promoting financial viability. Also, delves into the current state of green building practices in the Balkan countries and identifies the need for financial support to further drive adoption. It explores the existing regulatory frameworks and policies that promote sustainable architecture and discusses how green finance can complement these initiatives. Unique challenges faced by Balkan countries are highlighted, along with the potential opportunities that green finance presents in overcoming these challenges. We highlight successful sustainable architectural projects in the region to showcase the practical application of green finance in the Balkans. These projects exemplify the effective utilization of green finance mechanisms, resulting in tangible economic and environmental impacts, including job creation, energy efficiency, and reduced carbon emissions. The abstract concludes by identifying replicable models and lessons learned from these projects that can serve as a blueprint for future sustainable architecture initiatives in the Balkans. The importance of collaboration and knowledge sharing among stakeholders is emphasized. Engaging architects, financial institutions, governments, and local communities is crucial to promoting green finance in architecture. The abstract suggests the establishment of knowledge exchange platforms and regional/international networks to foster collaboration and facilitate the sharing of expertise among Balkan countries.

Keywords: sustainable finance, renewable energy, Balkan region, investment opportunities, green infrastructure, ESG criteria, architecture

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Authors: Zhu Xinxin, Wang Hui, Yang Kai

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Heat flux is one of the most important test parameters in the ground thermal protection test. Slug calorimeter is selected as the main sensor measuring heat flux in arc wind tunnel test due to the convenience and low cost. However, because of excessive lateral heat transfer and the disadvantage of the calculation method, the heat flux measurement error of the slug calorimeter is large. In order to enhance measurement accuracy, the heat insulation structure and heat flux calculation method of slug calorimeter were improved. The heat transfer model of the slug calorimeter was built according to the energy conservation principle. Based on the heat transfer model, the insulating sleeve of the hollow structure was designed, which helped to greatly decrease lateral heat transfer. And the slug with insulating sleeve of hollow structure was encapsulated using a package shell. The improved insulation structure reduced heat loss and ensured that the heat transfer characteristics were almost the same when calibrated and tested. The heat flux calibration test was carried out in arc lamp system for heat flux sensor calibration, and the results show that test accuracy and precision of slug calorimeter are improved greatly. In the meantime, the simulation model of the slug calorimeter was built. The heat flux values in different temperature rise time periods were calculated by the simulation model. The results show that extracting the data of the temperature rise rate as soon as possible can result in a smaller heat flux calculation error. Then the different thermal contact resistance affecting calculation error was analyzed by the simulation model. The contact resistance between the slug and the insulating sleeve was identified as the main influencing factor. The direct comparison calibration correction method was proposed based on only heat flux calibration. The numerical calculation correction method was proposed based on the heat flux calibration and simulation model of slug calorimeter after the simulation model was solved by solving the contact resistance between the slug and the insulating sleeve. The simulation and test results show that two methods can greatly reduce the heat flux measurement error. Finally, the improved slug calorimeter was tested in the arc wind tunnel. And test results show that the repeatability accuracy of improved slug calorimeter is less than 3%. The deviation of measurement value from different slug calorimeters is less than 3% in the same fluid field. The deviation of measurement value between slug calorimeter and Gordon Gage is less than 4% in the same fluid field.

Keywords: correction method, heat flux calculation, heat insulation structure, heat transfer model, slug calorimeter

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Authors: Cansu Bozer, Saadet İrem Turgut

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Artificial intelligence (AI) has become one of the most important technologies of the digital age and is transforming many sectors, including education. The advantages offered by AI, such as automation, personalised learning, and data analytics, create new opportunities for both teachers and students in education systems. Preschool education plays a fundamental role in the cognitive, social, and emotional development of children. In this period, the foundations of children's creative thinking, problem-solving, and critical thinking skills are laid. Educational technologies, especially artificial intelligence-based applications, are thought to contribute to the development of these skills. For example, artificial intelligence-supported digital learning tools can support learning processes by offering activities that can be customised according to the individual needs of each child. However, the successful use of artificial intelligence-based applications in preschool education can be realised under the guidance of teachers who have the right knowledge about this technology. Therefore, it is of great importance to measure preschool teachers' awareness levels of artificial intelligence and to understand which variables affect this awareness. The aim of this study is to measure preschool teachers' awareness levels of artificial intelligence and to determine which factors are related to this awareness. In line with this purpose, teachers' level of knowledge about artificial intelligence, their thoughts about the role of artificial intelligence in education, and their attitudes towards artificial intelligence will be evaluated. The study will be conducted with 100 teachers working in Turkey using a descriptive survey model. In this context, ‘Artificial Intelligence Awareness Level Scale for Teachers’ developed by Ferikoğlu and Akgün (2022) will be used. The collected data will be analysed using SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) software. Descriptive statistics (frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation) and relationship analyses (correlation and regression analyses) will be used in data analysis. As a result of the study, the level of artificial intelligence awareness of preschool teachers will be determined, and the factors affecting this awareness will be identified. The findings obtained will contribute to the determination of studies that can be done to increase artificial intelligence awareness in preschool education.

Keywords: education, child development, artificial intelligence, preschool teachers

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Authors: Hadas Hirsch

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Clothing is aimed at concealing and revealing the body, protecting it, and manifesting religious, political, and social declarations. The material and symbolic meanings of clothing and its raw materials are evaluated through the context of their social, cultural, and religious systems. The raw materials for clothing that were frequent and familiar in the 7th century Arab Peninsula were wool, leather, cotton, and some kinds of silk. The spread of the Muslim empire and the intersections with other religions and cultures enable the trickling of new raw materials that were unknown to Muslims or unaccepted. The sources for this research are hadith collections that discuss in details various kinds of textiles and their origin, together with a legal explanation that permits or prohibits its use. The paper will describe and analyze this discussion by contextualizing it in social, religious, and cultural reality that creates a structure of socio-religious dependency. The aim is not to identify, catalogue, and technically analyze fabrics but to reveal their role in Muslims’ life as a means of creating dependency for the community and setting borders inside and outside. The analysis is built upon a scale that starts with the most recommended raw materials, then comes the permitted ones and, in the end, the prohibited raw materials. This mapping will provide an insight into the ways textiles, as a cultural medium, help to shape and redefine identities and, at the same time, enable a sphere for creative expression within socio-cultural and religious limits and context. To sum up, hadith literature has the main role is characterizing Muslim clothing, from garments to textiles and colors, including multiple variations and contradicting aspects. The Muslim style of clothing and, in particular, textiles is a manifestation of the socio-religious structure of dependency that creates differentiated Muslim identity together with subdivision of gendered groups. Some other aspects are the tension between authenticity and imitation and the jurists’ pragmatic and practice attitude that enables an individual sphere of expression within the limits of jurisprudence.

Keywords: Hadith, jurisprudence, medieval Islam, material culture

Procedia PDF Downloads 90