Search results for: selected reaction monitoring (SRM)

Authors: Muhammad Zaman Shakir, Mingfa Yao, Zohaib Iqbal

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This study proposed four Jet fuel surrogate (S1, S2 S3, and 4) with careful selection of seven large hydrocarbon fuel components, ranging from C₉-C₁₆ of higher molecular weight and higher boiling point, adapting the standard molecular distribution size of the actual jet fuel. The surrogate was composed of seven components, including n-propyl cyclohexane (C₉H₁₈), n- propylbenzene (C₉H₁₂), n-undecane (C₁₁H₂₄), n- dodecane (C₁₂H₂₆), n-tetradecane (C₁₄H₃₀), n-hexadecane (C₁₆H₃₄) and iso-cetane (iC₁₆H₃₄). The skeletal jet fuel surrogate reaction mechanism was developed by two approaches, firstly based on a decoupling methodology by describing the C₄ -C₁₆ skeletal mechanism for the oxidation of heavy hydrocarbons and a detailed H₂ /CO/C₁ mechanism for prediction of oxidation of small hydrocarbons. The combined skeletal jet fuel surrogate mechanism was compressed into 128 species, and 355 reactions and thereby can be used in computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation. The extensive validation was performed for individual single-component including ignition delay time, species concentrations profile and laminar flame speed based on various fundamental experiments under wide operating conditions, and for their blended mixture, among all the surrogate, S1 has been extensively validated against the experimental data in a shock tube, rapid compression machine, jet-stirred reactor, counterflow flame, and premixed laminar flame over wide ranges of temperature (700-1700 K), pressure (8-50 atm), and equivalence ratio (0.5-2.0) to capture the properties target fuel Jet-A, while the rest of three surrogate S2, S3 and S4 has been validated for Shock Tube ignition delay time only to capture the ignition characteristic of target fuel S-8 & GTL, IPK and RP-3 respectively. Based on the newly proposed HyChem model, another four surrogate with similar components and composition, was developed and parallel validations data was used as followed for previously developed surrogate but at high-temperature condition only. After testing the mechanism prediction performance of surrogates developed by the decoupling methodology, the comparison was done with the results of surrogates developed by the HyChem model. It was observed that all of four proposed surrogates in this study showed good agreement with the experimental measurements and the study comes to this conclusion that like the decoupling methodology HyChem model also has a great potential for the development of oxidation mechanism for heavy alkanes because of applicability, simplicity, and compactness.

Keywords: computational fluid dynamics, decoupling methodology Hychem, jet fuel, surrogate, skeletal mechanism

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Authors: Longlong Zhang, Xiaohua Zhu, Ping Zhao, Yu Wang

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The construction of mines, railways, highways, water conservancy projects, etc., have formed a large number of high steep slope wounds in China. Under the premise of slope stability and safety, the minimum cost, green and close to natural wound space repair, has become a new problem. Nowadays, in situ element testing and analysis, monitoring, field quantitative factor classification, and assignment evaluation will produce vast amounts of data. Data processing and analysis will inevitably differentiate the morphology, mineral composition, physicochemical properties between rock wounds, by which to dynamically match the appropriate techniques and materials for restoration. In the present research, based on the grid partition of the slope surface, tested the content of the combined oxide of rock mineral (SiO₂, CaO, MgO, Al₂O₃, Fe₃O₄, etc.), and classified and assigned values to the hardness and breakage of rock texture. The data of essential factors are interpolated and normalized in GIS, which formed the differential zoning map of slope space. According to the physical and chemical properties and spatial morphology of rocks in different zones, organic acids (plant waste fruit, fruit residue, etc.), natural mineral powder (zeolite, apatite, kaolin, etc.), water-retaining agent, and plant gum (melon powder) were mixed in different proportions to form rock aging agents. To spray the aging agent with different formulas on the slopes in different sections can affectively age the fresh rock wound, providing convenience for seed implantation, and reducing the transformation of heavy metals in the rocks. Through many practical engineering practices, a dynamic data platform of rock aging agent formula system is formed, which provides materials for the restoration of different slopes. It will also provide a guideline for the mixed-use of various natural materials to solve the complex, non-uniformity ecological restoration problem.

Keywords: data-driven, dynamic state, high steep slope, rock aging agent, wounds

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Authors: S. K. Gali

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Spentwash, An effluent of distillery is an environmental pollutant because of its high load of pollutants (pH: 2-4; BOD>40,000 mg/l, COD>100,000mg/l and TDS >70,000mg/l). But However, after subjecting it to primary treatment (bio-methanation), Its pollutant load gets drastically reduced (pH: 7.5-8.5, BOD<10,000 mg/l) and could be disposed off safely as a source of organic matter and plant nutrients for crop production. With the consent of State Pollution Control Board, the distilleries in Karnataka are taking up ‘one time controlled land application’ of bio-methanated spentwash in farmers’ fields. A monitoring study was undertaken in Belgaum district of Karnataka State with an objective of studying the effect of land application of bio-methanated spent wash of a distillery on soil properties and crop growth. The treated spentwash was applied uniformly to the fallow dry lands in different farmers’ fields during summer, 2012 at recommended rate (based on nitrogen requirement of crops). The application was made at least a fortnight before sowing/planting operations. The analysis of soils collected before land application of spentwash and after harvest of crops revealed that there was no adverse effect of applied spentwash on soil characteristics. A slight build up in soluble salts was observed but, however all the soils recorded EC of less than 2.0 dSm-1. An increase in soil organic carbon (SOC) and available nitrogen (N) by about 10 to 30 % was observed in the spentwash applied soils. The presence of good amount of biodegradable organics in the treated spentwash (BOD of 6550 mg/l) contributed for increase in SOC and N. A substantial build up in available potassium (K) status (50 to 200%) was observed due to spentwash application. This was attributed to the high K content in spentwash (6950 mg/l). The growth of crops in the spentwash applied fields was higher and farmers could get nearly 10 to 20 per cent higher yields, especially in sugarcane and corn. The analysis of ground water samples showed that the quality of water was not affected due to land application of treated spentwash. Apart from realizing higher crop yields, the farmers were able to save money on N and K fertilisers as the applied spentwash met the crop requirement. Hence, it could be concluded that the bio-methanated distillery spentwash can be gainfully utilized in crop production without polluting the environment.

Keywords: bio-methanation, pollutant, potassium status, soil organic carbon

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Authors: H. S. Aljabeili, E. A. Abd El-Hady, M. M. Abd El-Razik, M. Abd Elgadir

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The aim of the study is determining the quality characteristics of produced curing and dried camel meat contained some medicinal plants of thyme, rosemary, clove and ginger as natural preservatives. Camel meat samples were sliced and divided into five batches, one batch recorded as control sample was treated by the curing mixture (2.5%) contained the following ingredients: black pepper 1 gm, cumin 0.4 gm, spices mixture 0.5 gm, dried onion 3 gm, dried garlic 0.5 gm and salt 2 gm. To evaluate the effect of different natural preservatives sources of thyme, rosemary, clove and ginger, 3.0% of the aforementioned natural preservatives was mixed with the aforementioned curing mixture and used for curing the four batches of sliced camel meat. After curing process, cured sliced camel meat (control and treated with the natural preservatives) were conducting to drying process at 35 ± 3 °C for 36 h in a drying cabinet. The quality characteristics of prepared dried camel meat were evaluated such as chemical composition, microbiological characteristics and sensory characteristics. Based on the microbiological and sensory characteristics, it could be suggested that the selected medicinal plants specially thyme and rosemary could be used as natural preservatives for preparing semi dry camel meat without negative effects.

Keywords: curing, dried camel meat, medicinal plants, natural preservatives, quality characteristics

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Authors: Nicolas Haber

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The study addresses the conceptual design of Product-Service Systems (PSSs) as a means of innovating solutions with the aim of reducing the environmental load of conventional product based solutions. Functional approaches targeting PSS solutions are developed in instinctive methods within the constraints of the setting in which they are conceived. Adopting morphological matrices in designing PSS concepts allows a thorough understanding of the settings, stakeholders, and functional requirements. Additionally, such a methodology is robust and adaptable to product-oriented, use-oriented and result-oriented systems. The research is based on a functional decomposition of the task in a similar way as in product design; while extended to include service components, providers, and receivers, while assessing the adaptability and homogeneity of the selected components and actors. A use-oriented concept is presented via a practical case study at an agricultural boom-sprayer manufacturer to demonstrate the effectiveness of the morphological approach to justify its viability. Additionally, a life cycle analysis is carried out in order to evaluate the environmental advantages inherited in a PSS solution versus a conventional solution. In light of the applications presented, the morphological approach appears to be a valid and generic tactic to conceiving integrated solutions whilst capturing the interrelations between the actors and elements of an integrated product-service system.

Keywords: conceptual design, design for sustainability, functional decomposition, product-service systems

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Authors: Carolina Rezende, Julio Cesar Neves Monteiro

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Traditionally, History and fiction are considered to be opposing fields of study. While one is linked to the study of facts, things that have happened within the limits of ‘reality’, the other explores a made-up world, originated from imagination and fantasy. However, despite their apparent discrepancies, there is a fundamental trait that brings them closer. Historical narratives, similarly to fiction ones, are produced based on multiple interpretations of an event, which are transmitted in a rather subjective way by language. It is within this perspective of history and fiction intertwined that this paper aims to discuss the translation of historical facts in the graphic novel Angola Janga, by Marcelo D’Salete, as well as presenting it as a historical document. The novel, which is divided into 11 short stories, narrates the rebellions that took place in Serra da Barriga, between the 16th and 17th centuries, that resulted in the Guerra dos Palmares. The graphic novel in question is a result of the author’s 11-year historical and bibliographical research, which combines history and fiction in order to shed a light of the confrontation that history seems to overlook. Also, the book includes a foreword, glossary, chronological line of Guerra dos Palmares, as well as maps and references used by the author during his research. For that, a few segments from the book will be selected and translated in order to show such connection between history and fiction, and the discussion resulted from it will be based on the works of Southgate (2009), Pym (2001) and D’hulst (2001).

Keywords: graphic novel, history, fiction, Palmares

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Authors: Mukadder Baran, Mustafa Sözbilir

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The purpose of this paper is to investigate the applicabillity of the Context- and Problem-Based Learning (CPBL) in general chemistry course to the subject of “Thermodynamics” but also the influence of CPBL on students’ achievement, retention of knowledge, their interest, attitudes, motivation and problem-solving skills. The study group included 13 freshman students who were selected with the sampling method appropriate to the purpose among those taking the course of General Chemistry within the Program of Medical Laboratory Techniques at Hakkari University. The application was carried out in the Spring Term of the academic year of 2012-2013. As the data collection tool, Lesson Observation form were used. In the light of the observations held, it was revealed that CPBL increased the students’ intragroup and intergroup communication skills as well as their self-confidence and developed their skills in time management, presentation, reporting, and technology use; and that they were able to relate chemistry to daily life. Depending on these findings, it could be suggested that the area of use of CPBL be widened; that seminars related to constructive methods be organized for teachers. In this way, it is believed that students will not be passive in the group any longer. In addition, it was concluded that in order to avoid the negative effects of the socio-cultural structure on the education system, research should be conducted in places where there is socio-cultural obstacles, and appropriate solutions should be suggested and put into practice.

Keywords: chemistry, education, science, context-based learning

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Authors: Bayram Sahin, Baris Gezdirici, Murat Ceylan, Ibrahim Ates

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In this experimental study, the effects of heat transfer and flow characteristics on lattice geometric heat sinks, where high rates of heat removal are required, were investigated. The design parameters were Reynolds number, the height of heat sink (H), horizontal (Sy) and vertical (Sx) distances between heat sinks. In the experiments, the Reynolds number ranged from 4000 to 20000; heat sink heights were (H) 20 mm and 40 mm; the distances (Sy) between the heat sinks in the flow direction were45 mm, 32 mm, 23.3 mm; the distances (Sx) between the heat sinks perpendicular to the flow direction were selected to be 23.3 mm, 12.5 mm and 6 mm. A total of 90 experiments were conducted and the maximum Nusselt number and minimum friction coefficient were targeted. Experimental results have shown that heat sinks in lattice geometry have a significant effect on heat transfer enhancement. Under the different experimental conditions, the highest increase in Nusselt number was 283% while the lowest increase was calculated as 66% as compared with the straight channel results. The lowest increase in the friction factor was also obtained as 173% according to the straight channel results. It is seen that the increase in heat sink height and flow velocity increased the level of turbulence in the channel, leading to higher Nusselt number and friction factor values.

Keywords: forced convection, heat transfer enhancement, lattice geometric heat sinks, pressure drop

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Authors: Raja Al-Khalili

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Traveling abroad for British citizens in the eighteenth century was usually performed for two reasons. The first major form was for administering the expanding realm of the British Empire and its need for officials in governing the natives and facilitating the work of business companies. The other form of travel was for pleasure and involved a manifestation of wealth. This form of travel was a prelude for the modern industry of tourism and usually involved a tour of Europe and the Mediterranean. In both forms of travel the British encountered a myriad of cultures. Travel had fostered a sense of pride and confirmed an ethnocentric view of British superiority, but it also brought a critical self-examination of belonging to a colonial empire that thrives on the weaknesses of other nations. Women writers in particular have sought in the travels a kind of self-exploration of the nature of social patriarchy in a diversity of cultures. Both Lady Elizabeth Craven in A Journey through the Crimea to Constantinople (1789) and Lady Mary Wortley Montagu in Embassy Letters (1716-1718) have observed the culture of the Ottomans and then pursued to reflect on the social role of women in England.

Keywords: travel writing, Elizabeth Craven, Lady Mary Wortley, patriarchy

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Authors: Ibrahim Abdel Gadir Malik, Dafalla Siddig Dafalla, Abdelazim Ibrahim

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Jabal Omar is located in the western side of Makkah city in Saudi Arabia. The proposed Jabal Omar Development project includes several multi-storey buildings, roads, bridges and below ground structures founded at various depths. In this study, geological mapping and site inspection which covered pre-selected areas were carried out within the easily accessed parts. Geological features; including rock types, structures, degree of weathering, and geotechnical hazards were observed and analyzed with specified software and also were documented in form of photographs. The presence of joints and fractures in the area made the rock blocks small and weak. The site is full of jointing; it was observed that, the northern side consists of 3 to 4 jointing systems with 2 random fractures associated with dykes. The southern part is affected by 2 to 3 jointing systems with minor fault and shear zones. From the field measurements and observations, it was concluded that, the Jabal Omar intruded by andesitic and basaltic dykes of different thickness and orientation. These dykes made the outcrop weak, highly deformed and made the rock masses sensitive to weathering.

Keywords: rock, slope, stabilization, protection, Makkah

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Authors: Dekie Rawung, Abdul L. Abadi, Toto Himawan, Siegfried Berhimpon

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A case study on consumer' knowledge, attitude, and behavior on food safety issue related to pesticide residues in cabbage was conducted in the area of Manado and Tomohon city, North Sulawesi. A sample of 150 consumers were selected randomly on location (open market and supermarket) while they were purchasing vegetables. The data on consumers’ perception, knowledge, attitude and behavior on food safety issue regarding pesticide residues were collected using a 5-point, two-section Likert-Scale questionnaire, and the relationship of knowledge, attitude, and behavior on food safety issues were analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). It was found that, among many food safety issues, the illegal, non-food chemical preservatives were considered the most important one (by more than 35% respondents), followed by high cholesterol content and textile coloring chemical (> 27% respondents). The pesticide residues issue was only in the 4th place. The same results were seen on the issue of quality factors that determine the product selection during purchasing. The pesticide-free and organic products labels were considered much less important quality factors as compared with freshness and nutrition value which were considered the most and the second most important quality factors (almost 65% of respondents). SEM analysis showed that only knowledge and attitude on food safety that had the significant relation (coefficient value of 0.38), whereas those with behaviors were not significant.

Keywords: cabbage, consumer, food safety, pesticide residues

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Authors: Priya Bajaj, Baby Tabassum

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Arsenic is a poisonous metalloid, naturally occurring in soil, air, rocks and ground water. This dreadful metalloid commonly exists as inorganic compound, arsenic trioxide. WHO permitted maximum limit for arsenic in water is 0.01 mg/L, but some affected areas show ground water level of arsenic up to 3 mg/L even. Ground water arsenic pollution has created a number of health problems, viz. keratosis, melanosis, lesions and even skin cancers. The key objective of our nested study was to characterize arsenic induced hepatotoxicity and to find out some herbal protection against it. For the purpose, we selected albino rat (Rattus norvegicus) as model for arsenic induced liver injury and wild turmeric (Curcuma aromatica) leaf extract as remedy for it. The study was performed at acute (1 day) and subacute (7, 14 & 21 days) levels. The LD50 estimated for arsenic trioxide was 14.98 mg/kg body weight. In our investigation, we observed a significant restoration of altered hepatic lipid, cholesterol, protein and glycogen contents as well as liver weight, body-weight and hepato-somatic index by Curcuma aromatica leaf extract before arsenic intoxication. The results reveal excellent protective efficacy of Curcuma aromatica leaf extract that further can be exploited in remediation programme in heavy metal affected areas.

Keywords: arsenic, Curcuma aromatica, glycogen, lipids

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Authors: Jafar Ahmadi, Alireza Pour-Aboughadareh

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Wheat is the first and the most important grain of the world and its bakery property is due to glutenin and gliadin qualities. Wheat seed proteins were divided into four groups according to solubility. Two groups are albumin and globulin dissolving in water and salt solutions possessing metabolic activities. Two other groups are inactive and non-dissolvable and contain glutelins or glutenins and prolamins or gliadins. Gliadins are major components of the storage proteins in wheat endosperm. Gliadin proteins are separated into three groups based on electrophoretic mobility: α/β-gliadin, γ-gliadin, and ω-gliadin. It seems that little information is available about gliadin genes in Iranian wild relatives of wheat. Thus, the aim of this study was the evaluation of the wheat wild relatives collected from different origins of Zagros Mountains in Iran, involving coding gliadin genes using specific primers. For this, forty accessions of Triticum boeoticum and Triticum urartu were selected. For each accession, genomic DNA was extracted and PCRs were performed in total volumes of 15 μl. The amplification products were separated on 1.5% agarose gels. In results, for Gli-2A locus, three allelic variants were detected by Gli-2As primer pairs. The sizes of PCR products for these alleles were 210, 490 and 700 bp. Only five (13%) and two accessions (5%) produced 700 and 490 bp fragments when their DNA was amplified with the Gli.As.2 primer pairs. However, 37 of the 40 accessions (93%) carried 210 bp allele, and three accessions (8%) did not yield any product for this marker. Therefore, these germplasm could be used as rich gene pool to broaden the genetic base of bread wheat.

Keywords: diploied wheat, gliadin, Triticum boeoticum, Triticum urartu

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Authors: Ugwu O. C., Mamah R. O., Awudu W. S.

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This work is aimed at enhancing signal reception on a mobile radio network and minimizing outage probability in a mobile radio network using adaptive beamforming antenna arrays. In this research work, an empirical real-time drive measurement was done in a cellular network of Globalcom Nigeria Limited located at Ikeja, the headquarters of Lagos State, Nigeria, with reference base station number KJA 004. The empirical measurement includes Received Signal Strength and Bit Error Rate which were recorded for exact prediction of the signal strength of the network as at the time of carrying out this research work. The Received Signal Strength and Bit Error Rate were measured with a spectrum monitoring Van with the help of a Ray Tracer at an interval of 100 meters up to 700 meters from the transmitting base station. The distance and angular location measurements from the reference network were done with the help Global Positioning System (GPS). The other equipment used were transmitting equipment measurements software (Temsoftware), Laptops and log files, which showed received signal strength with distance from the base station. Results obtained were about 11% from the real-time experiment, which showed that mobile radio networks are prone to signal failure and can be minimized using an Adaptive Beamforming Antenna Array in terms of a significant reduction in Bit Error Rate, which implies improved performance of the mobile radio network. In addition, this work did not only include experiments done through empirical measurement but also enhanced mathematical models that were developed and implemented as a reference model for accurate prediction. The proposed signal models were based on the analysis of continuous time and discrete space, and some other assumptions. These developed (proposed) enhanced models were validated using MATLAB (version 7.6.3.35) program and compared with the conventional antenna for accuracy. These outage models were used to manage the blocked call experience in the mobile radio network. 20% improvement was obtained when the adaptive beamforming antenna arrays were implemented on the wireless mobile radio network.

Keywords: beamforming algorithm, adaptive beamforming, simulink, reception

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Authors: Avadhoot Bhosale, Robin Davis P., Pradip Sarkar

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The seismic performance of buildings with irregular distribution of mass, stiffness and strength along the height may be significantly different from that of regular buildings with masonry infill. Masonry infilled reinforced concrete (RC) frames are very common structural forms used for multi-storey building construction. These structures are found to perform better in past earthquakes owing to additional strength, stiffness and energy dissipation in the infill walls. The seismic performance of a building depends on the variation of material, structural and geometrical properties. The sensitivity of these properties affects the seismic response of the building. The main objective of the sensitivity analysis is to found out the most sensitive parameter that affects the response of the building. This paper presents a sensitivity analysis by considering 5% and 95% probability value of random variable in the infills characteristics, trying to obtain a reasonable range of results representing a wide number of possible situations that can be met in practice by using pushover analysis. The results show that the strength-related variation values of concrete and masonry, with the exception of tensile strength of the concrete, have shown a significant effect on the structural performance and that this effect increases with the progress of damage condition for the concrete. The seismic risk assessments of the selected frames are expressed in terms of reliability index.

Keywords: fragility curve, sensitivity analysis, reliability index, RC frames

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Authors: M. A. Akhavan-Behabadi, M. Najafi, A. Abbasi

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An empirical investigation was performed in order to study the heat transfer characteristics of R600a flow boiling inside horizontal flattened tubes and the simultaneous effect of nanoparticles on boiling heat transfer in flattened channel. Round copper tubes of 8.7 mm I.D. were deformed into flattened shapes with different inside heights of 6.9, 5.5, and 3.4 mm as test areas. The effect of different parameters such as mass flux, vapor quality and inside height on heat transfer coefficient was studied. Flattening the tube caused a significant enhancement in heat transfer performance, so that the maximum augmentation ratio of 163% was obtained in flattened channel with lowest internal height. A new correlation was developed based on the present experimental data to predict the heat transfer coefficient in flattened tubes. This correlation estimated 90% of the entire database within ±20%. The best flat channel with the point of view of heat transfer performance was selected to study the effect of nanoparticle on heat transfer enhancement. Four homogenized mixtures containing 1% weight fraction of R600a/oil with different CuO nanoparticles concentration including 0.5%, 1% and 1.5% mass fraction of R600a/oil/CuO were studied. Observations show that heat transfer was improved by adding nanoparticles, which lead to maximum enhancement of 79% compare to the pure refrigerant at the same test condition.

Keywords: nano fluids, heat transfer, flattend tube, transport phenomena

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Authors: Tuong Thi Van Thuy, Dao Van Toan, Nguyen Duc Phuc

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Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) were discovered in the 1970s with their unique properties of differentiation, immunomodulation, multiple secreting, and homing factors to injured organs. MSC-based therapies have emerged as a promising strategy for various diseases such as cancer, tissue regeneration, or immunologic/inflammatory-related diseases. This study evaluated the clinical application of MSCs for cancer therapy in trials registered on Clinical Trial as of July 2022. The results showed 40 clinical trials used MSCs in various cancer conditions. 62% of trials used MSCs for therapeutic purposes to minimize the side effects of cancer treatment. Besides, 38% of trials were focused on using MSCs as a therapeutic agent to treat cancer directly. Most trials (38/40) are ongoing phase I/II, and 2 are entering phase III. 84% of trials used allogeneic MSCs compared with 13% using autologous sources and 3% using both. 25/40 trials showed participants received a single dose of MSCs, while the most times were 12 times in a pancreatic cancer treatment trial. Conclusion: MSC-based therapy for cancer in clinical trials should be applied to (1) minimize the side effects of oncological treatments and (2) directly affect the tumor via selectively delivering anti-cancer payloads to tumor cells. Allogeneic MSCs are a priority selected in clinical cancer therapy.

Keywords: mesenchymal stem cells, MSC-based therapy, cancer condition, cancer treatment, clinical trials

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Authors: Amir Salamatzade, Marhamet HematPour

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Due to the increasing importance of psychological factors in the incidence and exacerbation of chronic diseases such as multiple sclerosis, the aim of this study was to determine the difference between emotional regulation strategies and psychological symptoms in patients with multiple sclerosis and normal people. The research method was causal-comparative (post-event). The statistical population of this research included all patients with multiple sclerosis referred to the MS Association of Rasht in the first quarter of 2021, approximately 350 people. The study sample also included 120 people (60 patients with multiple sclerosis and 60 normal people) who were selected by the available sampling method and completed the emotional regulation and anxiety, depression, and stress Lavibund and Lavibund (1995) questionnaires. Data were analyzed using an independent t-test and multivariate variance analysis. The results showed that there was a significant difference between the mean of emotional regulation strategies and the components of emotional reassessment and emotional inhibition between the two groups of patients with multiple sclerosis and normal individuals (p < 0.01). There is a significant difference between the mean of psychological symptoms and the components of depression, anxiety, and stress in the two groups of patients with multiple sclerosis and normal individuals. (p < 0.01). Based on this, it can be concluded that patients with multiple sclerosis have lower levels of emotional regulation strategies and higher levels of psychological symptoms than normal individuals.

Keywords: emotional regulation strategies, psychological symptoms, multiple sclerosis, normal Individuals

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Authors: Macdonald Kanyangale, Sandram Naluso

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Globally, researchers have struggled over time to adequately define the notion of health system to inform research. This study is significant because it proposes an integrative framework for a robust definition of the health system. The objective of this article is to examine major pitfalls in definitions of health system used in prior literature and implications of these for research and management. The study used methodological steps of a scoping review proposed by Arksey and O'Malley to identify and examine 24 definitions of a health system in articles selected from six databases and web search engines. Thematic analysis was used to delineate and categorise definitional pitfalls into broader themes. There are a plethora of five major pitfalls in the extant definitions of a health system which may easily scupper any unsuspecting researcher if not avoided or addressed in research. These definitional pitfalls are reductionist assumptions which ignore dynamic and complex connections, overly wide boundary and lack of specification of levels in a health system, and limited focus on process in a health system. In addition, there is the tendency of treating different components of the health system as equal and simplifying of the ontological complexity of the health system. Future scholars are advised to avoid or address the identified five major pitfalls if they are to develop robust definitions of an HS. The use of an integrative framework for a robust definition of a health system is recommended, while implications of the pitfalls are discussed as a basis and catalyst for complexity-informed research and managing interactively.

Keywords: complexity management, health system, pitfalls, reductionism, research

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Authors: Omotolani Victoria Somoye

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The paper examines modern approaches to the insurable interest, which is a fundamental principle of insurance law that affects the enforceability of insurance contracts. The study starts by examining the competing definitions of the nature of the insurable interest doctrine. It finds that while legal interest theory is seen to be sufficient as the test of insurable interest, the paper argues on how this approach deprives the insured of a full indemnity of losses suffered. The problem with the Nigerian and English current legislative framework is that it defines insurable interest as a legally recognized interest of the insured in the subject matter of insurance. However, other countries like Australia, the United States, South Africa, and more recently, Canada, have rejected the English test and trodden their own path along the factual expectancy line. The study justifies the rationale behind the departure of similar common law jurisdictions and argues that the English and Nigerian position, which appears to be too rigid, harsh on the insured, and no longer fit for purpose in the 21st century, should be revised. The paper concludes that the common law doctrine does not represent better interests of certainty, justice, and fairness, as well as not meeting the policy behind the requirement of insurable interest. This paper adopts a doctrinal comparative research methodology to examine complex areas of insurable interest in selected countries and work out some suggestions for reforming the Nigerian and English laws by referring to the approaches of other jurisdictions.

Keywords: Australia, common law, English law, insurable interest, insurance, Nigeria

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Authors: Olusola Joseph Adesina, Abiodun Ezekiel Adesina

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Efforts at improving the falling standard of education in the country call for the need-based assessment of the primary tier of education in Nigeria. Teachers’ cluster meeting intervention is a step towards enhancing the teachers’ professional competency, efficient and effective pupils’ academic achievement and attitudinal development. The study thus determined the impact of the intervention on pupils’ achievement in Oyo State, Nigeria. Three research questions and four hypotheses guided the study. Pre-test, post-test control group, quasi-experimental design was adopted for the study. Eight intact classes from eight different schools were randomly selected into treatment and control groups. Two response instruments, pupils academic achievement test (PAAT; r = 0.87) and pupils attitude to lesson scale (PALS; r = 0.80) were used for data collection. Mean, standard deviation and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) were used to analyse the collected data. The results showed that the teachers’ cluster meeting have significant impact on pupils academic achievement (F (1,327) =41.79; p<0.05) and attitudinal development (F (1,327) =26.01; p<0.05) in the core subjects of primary schools in Oyo State, Nigeria. The study therefore recommended among others that teachers’ cluster meeting should be sustained for teachers’ professional development and pupils’ upgradement in the State.

Keywords: teachers’ cluster meeting, pupils’ academic achievement, pupils’ attitudinal development, academic achievement

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Authors: Javad Rahimipour Anaraki, Saeed Samet, Mahdi Eftekhari, Chang Wook Ahn

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Feature selection and attribute reduction are crucial problems, and widely used techniques in the field of machine learning, data mining and pattern recognition to overcome the well-known phenomenon of the Curse of Dimensionality. This paper presents a feature selection method that efficiently carries out attribute reduction, thereby selecting the most informative features of a dataset. It consists of two components: 1) a measure for feature subset evaluation, and 2) a search strategy. For the evaluation measure, we have employed the fuzzy-rough dependency degree (FRFDD) of the lower approximation-based fuzzy-rough feature selection (L-FRFS) due to its effectiveness in feature selection. As for the search strategy, a modified version of a binary shuffled frog leaping algorithm is proposed (B-SFLA). The proposed feature selection method is obtained by hybridizing the B-SFLA with the FRDD. Nine classifiers have been employed to compare the proposed approach with several existing methods over twenty two datasets, including nine high dimensional and large ones, from the UCI repository. The experimental results demonstrate that the B-SFLA approach significantly outperforms other metaheuristic methods in terms of the number of selected features and the classification accuracy.

Keywords: binary shuffled frog leaping algorithm, feature selection, fuzzy-rough set, minimal reduct

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Authors: L. Heidari, M. Jalili Ghazizade

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In recent years, different petrochemical complexes have been established to produce aromatic compounds. Among them, Nouri Petrochemical Complex (NPC) is the largest producer of aromatic raw materials in the world, and is located in south of Iran. Environmental concerns have been raised in this region due to generation of different types of solid waste generated in the process of aromatics production, and subsequently, industrial waste characterization has been thoroughly considered. The aim of this study is qualitative and quantitative characterization of industrial waste generated in the aromatics production process and determination of the best method for industrial waste management. For this purpose, all generated industrial waste during the production process was determined using a checklist. Four main industrial wastes were identified as follows: spent industrial soil, spent catalyst, spent molecular sieves and spent N-formyl morpholine (NFM) solvent. The amount of heavy metals and organic compounds in these wastes were further measured in order to identify the nature and toxicity of such a dangerous compound. Then industrial wastes were classified based on lab analysis results as well as using different international lists of hazardous waste identification such as EPA, UNEP and Basel Convention. Finally, the best method of waste disposal is selected based on environmental, economic and technical aspects. 

Keywords: aromatic compounds, industrial soil, molecular sieve, normal formyl morpholine solvent

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Authors: S. Benkraouda, Z. Djelloul-Khedda, B. Yagoubi

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we present a method for early detection of forest fires from a thermal infrared satellite image, using the image matrix of the probability of belonging. The principle of the method is to compare a theoretical mathematical model to an experimental model. We considered that each line of the image matrix, as an embodiment of a non-stationary random process. Since the distribution of pixels in the satellite image is statistically dependent, we divided these lines into small stationary and ergodic intervals to characterize the image by an adequate mathematical model. A standard deviation was chosen to generate random variables, so each interval behaves naturally like white Gaussian noise. The latter has been selected as the mathematical model that represents a set of very majority pixels, which we can be considered as the image background. Before modeling the image, we made a few pretreatments, then the parameters of the theoretical Gaussian model were extracted from the modeled image, these settings will be used to calculate the probability of each interval of the modeled image to belong to the theoretical Gaussian model. The high intensities pixels are regarded as foreign elements to it, so they will have a low probability, and the pixels that belong to the background image will have a high probability. Finally, we did present the reverse of the matrix of probabilities of these intervals for a better fire detection.

Keywords: forest fire, forest fire detection, satellite image, normal distribution, theoretical gaussian model, thermal infrared matrix image

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Authors: Matthew Buns

Abstract:

Training specificity is imperative for successful performance of the elite athlete. Virtual reality (VR) has been successfully applied to a broad range of training domains. However, to date there is little research investigating the use of VR for sport training. The purpose of this study was to address the question of whether virtual reality (VR) training can improve real world hockey shooting performance. Twenty four volunteers were recruited and randomly selected to complete the virtual training intervention or enter a control group with no training. Four primary types of data were collected: 1) participant’s experience with video games and hockey, 2) participant’s motivation toward video game use, 3) participants technical performance on real-world hockey, and 4) participant’s technical performance in virtual hockey. One-way multivariate analysis of variance (ANOVA) indicated that that the intervention group demonstrated significantly more real-world hockey accuracy [F(1,24) =15.43, p <.01, E.S. = 0.56] while shooting on goal than their control group counterparts [intervention M accuracy = 54.17%, SD=12.38, control M accuracy = 46.76%, SD=13.45]. One-way multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) repeated measures indicated significantly higher outcome scores on real-world accuracy (35.42% versus 54.17%; ES = 1.52) and velocity (51.10 mph versus 65.50 mph; ES=0.86) of hockey shooting on goal. This research supports the idea that virtual training is an effective tool for increasing real-world hockey skill.

Keywords: virtual training, hockey skills, video game, esports

Procedia PDF Downloads 147

Authors: F. A. Hassona, M. M. Abu-Heleika, M. A. Hassan, A. E. Sidhom

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Application of electrical measurements to evaluate engineering properties of soils has gained a wide, promising field of research in recent years. So, understanding of the relation between in-situ electrical resistivity of clay soil, and their mechanical and physical properties consider a promising field of research. This would assist in introducing a new technique for the determination of soil properties based on electrical resistivity. In this work soil physical and mechanical properties of clayey soil have been determined by experimental tests and correlated with the in-situ electrical resistivity. The research program was conducted through measuring fifteen vertical electrical sounding stations along with fifteen selected boreholes. These samples were analyzed and subjected to experimental tests such as physical tests namely bulk density, water content, specific gravity, and grain size distribution, and Attereberg limits tests. Mechanical test was also conducted such as direct shear test. The electrical resistivity data were interpreted and correlated with each one of the measured experimental parameters. Based on this study mathematical relations were extracted and discussed. These results exhibit an excellent match with the results reported in the literature. This study demonstrates the utility of the developed methodology for determining the mechanical properties of soils easily and rapidly depending on their electrical resistivity measurements.

Keywords: electrical resistivity, clayey soil, physical properties, shear properties

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Authors: Madhu Gupta, Vikas Sharma, Suresh P. Vyas

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CD13 receptors are abundantly overexpressed in tumor cells as well as in neovasculature. The CD13 receptors were selected as a targeted site and polymeric nanoparticles (NPs) as a targeted delivery system. By combining these, a cyclic NGR (cNGR) peptide ligand was coupled on the terminal end of polyethylene glycol-b-poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PEG-b-PLGA) and prepared the dual targeted-NPs (cNGR-PEG-PTX-NPs) to enhance the intracellular delivery of anticancer drug to tumor cells and tumor endothelial cells via ligand-receptor interaction. In-vitro cytotoxicity studies confirmed that the presence of cNGR enhanced the cytotoxic efficiency by 2.8 folds in Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial (HUVEC) cells, while cytotoxicity was improved by 2.6 folds in human fibrosarcoma (HT-1080) cells as compared to non-specific stealth NPs. Compared with other tested NPs, cNGR-PEG-PTX-NPs revealed more cytotoxicity by inducing more apoptosis and higher intracellular uptake. The tumor volume inhibition rate was 59.7% in case of cNGR-PEG-PTX-NPs that was comparatively more with other formulations, indicating that cNGR-PEG-PTX-NPs could more effectively inhibit tumor growth. As a consequence, the cNGR-PEG-PTX-NPs play a key role in enhancing tumor therapeutic efficiency for treatment of CD13 receptor specific solid tumor.

Keywords: cyclic NGR, CD13 receptor, targeted polymeric NPs, solid tumor, intracellular delivery

Procedia PDF Downloads 437

Authors: G. Senoga, D. Nakimuli, B. Ndagire, B. Lukwago, D. Kyamagwa

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Background: The COVID-19 epidemic affected the education sector, with some private schools closing while other children missed schooling for fear contracting COVID-19. Post COVID-19, PSIU in collaborated with Kampala City Council Authority Directorate of Education and Social Science, Water and Sanitation department, and Directorate of Public Health and Environment to improve sanitation and hygiene among pupils and staff in 50 public and private school system in Kampala city. The “Be Clean, Stay Healthy Campaign” used a behavioral change approach in educating, reinforcing and engaging learners on proper hand washing behaviors, proper toilet usage and garbage disposal. In April 2022, 40 Washa lots were constructed, to reduce the pupil - hand wash station ratio; distributed KCCA approved printed materials; oriented 50 teachers, WASH committees to execute and implement hygiene promotion. To ensure sustainability, WASH messages were memorized and practiced through hand washing songs, Pledge, prayer, Poems, Skits, Music, dance and drama, coupled with participatory, practical demonstrations using peer to peer approach, guest speakers at assemblies and in classes. This improved hygiene and sanitation practices. Premised on this, PSI conducted an end line assessment to explore the impact of a hand washing campaign in regards to improvements in hand washing practices and hand hygiene among pupils, accessibility, functionality and usage of the constructed hygiene and sanitation facilities. Method: A cross-sectional post intervention assessment using a mixed methods approach, targeting headteachers, wash committee members and pupils less <17 years was used. Quantitative approaches with a mix of open-ended questions were used in purposively selected respondents in 50 schools. Primary three to primary seven pupils were randomly selected, data was analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS) Outcomes and Findings: 46,989 pupils (51% female), 1,127 and 524 teaching and non-teaching staff were reached by the intervention, respectively. 96% of schools trained on sanitation, sustainable water usage and hygiene constituted 17-man school WASH committees with teacher, parents and pupils representatives. (31%) of the WASH committees developed workplans, (78%) held WASH meetings monthly. This resulted into improved sanitation, water usage, waste management, proper use of toilets, and improved pupils’ health with reduced occurrences of stomach upsets, diarrhoea initially attributed to improper use of latrines and general waste management. Teachers reported reduced number of school absenteeism due to improved hygiene and general waste management at school, especially proper management of sanitary pads. School administrations response rate in purchase of hygiene equipment’s and detergents like soap improved. Regular WASH meetings in classes, teachers and community supervision ensured WASH facilities are used appropriately. Conclusion and Recommendations: Practical behaviour change innovations improves pupil’s knowledge and understanding of hygiene messages and usage. Over 70% of pupils had clear recall of key WASH Messages. There is need for continuous water flow in the Washa lots, harvesting rain water would reduce water bills while complementing National water supply coupled with increasing on Washa lots in densely populated schools.

Keywords: handwashing, hygyiene, sanitation, behaviour change

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Authors: Heewon Jeong, Seongpyo Kim, Joon Ha Kim

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Over the last few tens of years, the coastal regions of Korea have experienced red tide algal blooms, which are harmful and toxic to both humans and marine organisms due to their potential threat. It was accelerated owing to eutrophication by human activities, certain oceanic processes, and climate change. Previous studies have tried to monitoring and predicting the algae concentration of the ocean with the bio-optical algorithms applied to color images of the satellite. However, the accurate estimation of algal blooms remains problems to challenges because of the complexity of coastal waters. Therefore, this study suggests a new method to identify the concentration of red tide algal bloom from images of geostationary ocean color imager (GOCI) which are representing the water environment of the sea in Korea. The method employed GOCI images, which took the water leaving radiances centered at 443nm, 490nm and 660nm respectively, as well as observed weather data (i.e., humidity, temperature and atmospheric pressure) for the database to apply optical characteristics of algae and train deep learning algorithm. Convolution neural network (CNN) was used to extract the significant features from the images. And then artificial neural network (ANN) was used to estimate the concentration of algae from the extracted features. For training of the deep learning model, backpropagation learning strategy is developed. The established methods were tested and compared with the performances of GOCI data processing system (GDPS), which is based on standard image processing algorithms and optical algorithms. The model had better performance to estimate algae concentration than the GDPS which is impossible to estimate greater than 5mg/m³. Thus, deep learning model trained successfully to assess algae concentration in spite of the complexity of water environment. Furthermore, the results of this system and methodology can be used to improve the performances of remote sensing. Acknowledgement: This work was supported by the 'Climate Technology Development and Application' research project (#K07731) through a grant provided by GIST in 2017.

Keywords: deep learning, algae concentration, remote sensing, satellite

Procedia PDF Downloads 183

Authors: B. Z. Abubakar, J. P. Voh, B. F. Umar, S. Khalid, A. A. Barau, J. Aigbe

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The study was conducted to identify and assess the various community development programmes designed and executed by Sokoto Agricultural and Community Development Project (SACDP) with the assistance of International Funds for Agricultural Development (IFAD) among women beneficiaries in Kwacciyar-lalle and Mogonho communities of Sokoto state. A simple random sampling technique was employed to select 20 project beneficiaries in each of the selected communities, making a total of 40 beneficiaries. Structured questionnaire, descriptive statistics such as frequencies and percentages and also participatory methodologies such as focus group discussion and pair wise ranking were used to analyze the data. Results showed that majority of the beneficiaries (75%) were married and undertook animal rearing as their major occupation. Results further showed that (85%) of the beneficiaries were involved in decision making, which enhanced their participation. Pair-wise ranking showed dug well as the most preferred activity, followed by construction of Islamic school in Kwacciyar-lalle while well construction followed by provision of improved animal species were most preferred in Mogonho. Recommendations made in the light of achieving people’s participation include provision of more infrastructural facilities and working materials.

Keywords: community development, focus group, pair-wise ranking, infrastructure

Procedia PDF Downloads 372