Search results for: physical quality

Authors: M. Kessi

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We investigated the effect of the magnetic field on carrier transport phenomena in the transistor channel region of Double-Gate Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistor (MOSFET). This explores the Lorentz force and basic physical properties of solids exposed to a constant external magnetic field. The magnetic field modulates the electrons and potential distribution in the case of silicon Tunnel FETs. This modulation shows up in the device's external electrical characteristics such as ON current (ION), subthreshold leakage current (IOF), the threshold voltage (VTH), the magneto-transconductance (gm) and the output magneto-conductance (gDS) of Tunnel FET. Moreover, the channel doping concentration and potential distribution are obtained using the numerical method by solving Poisson’s transport equation in 3D modules semiconductor magnetic sensors available in Silvaco TCAD tools. The numerical simulations of the magnetic nano-sensors are relatively new. In this work, we present the results of numerical simulations based on 3D magnetic sensors. The results show excellent accuracy comportment and good agreement compared with that obtained in the experimental study of MOSFETs technology.

Keywords: single-gate MOSFET, magnetic field, hall field, Lorentz force

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Authors: Xiyue Wen

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With the rapid development of the city, old communities in the city are facing a series of problems. On one hand, aging facilities, obsolete spatial patterns, aging populations arouse in the aging of the community. On the other hand, public space is reduced and is taking up by cars parking or facilities setting, which lead to the collapse of traditional life in the old communities. That is to say, modern amenities haven’t helped to reform the old community, but have leading to tedious and inefficient, when it is not accommodated in the traditional space. Exploring a way is imminent to the east the contradiction between modern living facilities and spatial patterns of traditional. We select a typical site-GeDa Community in Xi’an, built in 70-80s，and carry out a concept calling 'Raising Landscape', which enables a convenient and efficient space for parking, as well as a high-quality yard for activities. In addition, the design implements low cost, simple construction, resident participation, so that it can be spread in the same texture of urban space.

Keywords: old communities, renewal strategy, raising landscape, public space, parking space

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Authors: Ramiz M. Shubbar, Dong In Lee, Hatem A. Gzar, Arthur S. Rood

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Air pollution is one of the biggest environmental problems in Baghdad, Iraq. The Daura refinery located nearest the center of Baghdad, represents the largest industrial area, which transmits enormous amounts of pollutants, therefore study the gaseous pollutants and particulate matter are very important to the environment and the health of the workers in refinery and the people whom leaving in areas around the refinery. Actually, some studies investigated the studied area before, but it depended on the basic Gaussian equation in a simple computer programs, however, that kind of work at that time is very useful and important, but during the last two decades new largest production units were added to the Daura refinery such as, PU_3 (Power unit_3 (Boiler 11&12)), CDU_1 (Crude Distillation unit_70000 barrel_1), and CDU_2 (Crude Distillation unit_70000 barrel_2). Therefore, it is necessary to use new advanced model to study air pollution at the region for the new current years, and calculation the monthly emission rate of pollutants through actual amounts of fuel which consumed in production unit, this may be lead to accurate concentration values of pollutants and the behavior of dispersion or transport in study area. In this study to the best of author’s knowledge CALPUFF model was used and examined for first time in Iraq. CALPUFF is an advanced non-steady-state meteorological and air quality modeling system, was applied to investigate the pollutants concentration of SO2, NO2, CO, and PM1-10μm, at areas adjacent to Daura refinery which located in the center of Baghdad in Iraq. The CALPUFF modeling system includes three main components: CALMET is a diagnostic 3-dimensional meteorological model, CALPUFF (an air quality dispersion model), CALPOST is a post processing package, and an extensive set of preprocessing programs produced to interface the model to standard routinely available meteorological and geophysical datasets. The targets of this work are modeling and simulation the four pollutants (SO2, NO2, CO, and PM1-10μm) which emitted from Daura refinery within one year. Emission rates of these pollutants were calculated for twelve units includes thirty plants, and 35 stacks by using monthly average of the fuel amount consumption at this production units. Assess the performance of CALPUFF model in this study and detect if it is appropriate and get out predictions of good accuracy compared with available pollutants observation. CALPUFF model was investigated at three stability classes (stable, neutral, and unstable) to indicate the dispersion of the pollutants within deferent meteorological conditions. The simulation of the CALPUFF model showed the deferent kind of dispersion of these pollutants in this region depends on the stability conditions and the environment of the study area, monthly, and annual averages of pollutants were applied to view the dispersion of pollutants in the contour maps. High values of pollutants were noticed in this area, therefore this study recommends to more investigate and analyze of the pollutants, reducing the emission rate of pollutants by using modern techniques and natural gas, increasing the stack height of units, and increasing the exit gas velocity from stacks.

Keywords: CALPUFF, daura refinery, Iraq, pollutants

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Authors: Avadhesh Kumar

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Background: The cell phone has rapidly become an integral, and, for some, an essential communication tool that is being used worldwide. Their use without any knowledge of their harmful effects like cancers and other health effects is not ‘quite’ safe. Studies on cancers due to electromagnetic radiations from cell phones are available, but there is a need to research on the detrimental physical and psychological effects on users like students. This study focused on certain psychological or mental health effects of cell phone usage amongst students. Materials and methods: The present study will be carried out on all the students of Banaras Hindu University. Students of both sexes from urban and rural backgrounds were selected at random and administered a pre- tested questionnaire which included aspects related to few common adverse psychological health signs and symptoms attributed to cell phone over-usage. Results: Stress was found to be the commonest symptom (51.47%) followed by irritability/anger (43.79%). Other common mental symptoms included lack of concentration and academic performance, insomnia, anxiety etc. Suggestions: This study confirms that the younger generation, who are the most frequent cell phone users, needs to be aware of the adverse health effects of cell phone usage especially the mental aspects and take preventive measures to minimize and control the same. Less dependence on the device, a curtailing time period spent on talking, communicating more by texting, etc. are some of the practical measures suggested.

Keywords: cell phones, psychological health effects, students, mental health

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Authors: Ching-Pin Tseng

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Cultural heritages are tangible and intangible catalysts for recollecting collective memories and cultural signification. Through visiting the heritage and with the aid of exhibition and visual indications, the visitor may visually and spatially grasp some fragments of the stories and occurrences of the site. However, there may be some discrepancies between the narration of historical happenings that occurred at the place and the spatial exhibition of the historic monument. Narratives of collective events may not be revealed merely by physical relics or objects. In order to build up a connection between the past and the present, the paper thus intends to discuss what means can engender vitalizations within cultural heritages. As the preservation of cultural heritages has been a universal consensus and common interests, its association with modern lives has also been an important issue. The paper will explore some site-specific theatres held in the art festivals in the south of Taiwan so as to examine the correlation between site-specific performances and the conservation of historic monuments. In the light of Victor Hugo’s argument that the place where events happened before can be silent characters for representing the reality of art and for impressing the spectator, this paper argues that site-specific theatres may bring vitality into tangible cultural heritages. At the end of this paper, the notion of localization will be utilized to examine the spatial setting and the materiality of scenic design in relation to the site-specific theatres within cultural heritages.

Keywords: site-specificity, cultural heritage, localization, materiality

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Authors: Nafe Moradkhani, Frederick Benaben, Benoit Montreuil, Ali Vatankhah Barenji, Dima Nazzal

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In the context of the global pandemic, the practical management of the 2020 presidential election in the USA was a strong concern. To anticipate and prepare for this election accurately, one of the main challenges was to confront (i) forecasts of voter turnout, (ii) capacities of the facilities and, (iii) potential configuration options of resources. The approach chosen to conduct this anticipative study consists of collecting data about forecasts and using simulation models to work simultaneously on resource allocation and facility configuration of polling places in Fulton County, Georgia’s largest county. A polling place is a dedicated facility where voters cast their ballots in elections using different devices. This article presents the results of the simulations of such places facing pre-identified potential risks. These results are oriented towards the efficiency of these places according to different criteria (health, trust, comfort). Then a dynamic framework is introduced to describe risks as physical forces perturbing the efficiency of the observed system. Finally, the main benefits and contributions resulting from this simulation campaign are presented.

Keywords: performance, decision support, simulation, artificial intelligence, risk management, election, pandemics, information system

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Authors: Lassaad Smirani

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In this paper we propose a Neurosymbolic Learning System (NLS) as a channel estimator for Long Term Evolution Advanced (LTE-A) uplink. The proposed system main idea based on Neural Network has modules capable of performing bidirectional information transfer between symbolic module and connectionist module. We demonstrate various strengths of the NLS especially the ability to integrate theoretical knowledge (rules) and experiential knowledge (examples), and to make an initial knowledge base (rules) converted into a connectionist network. Also to use empirical knowledge witch by learning will have the ability to revise the theoretical knowledge and acquire new one and explain it, and finally the ability to improve the performance of symbolic or connectionist systems. Compared with conventional SC-FDMA channel estimation systems, The performance of NLS in terms of complexity and quality is confirmed by theoretical analysis and simulation and shows that this system can make the channel estimation accuracy improved and bit error rate decreased.

Keywords: channel estimation, SC-FDMA, neural network, hybrid system, BER, LTE-A

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Authors: An Cheng, Hui-Mi Hsu, Sao-Jeng Chao, Wei-Ting Lin

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This study investigated the mechanical properties and durability of concrete produced using recycled fine aggregate (RFA) pre-coated with fly ash, slag, and a polymer solution (PVA). We investigated the physical and microscopic properties of fresh concrete while adjusting several of the fabrication parameters, such as the constituent makeup and thickness of RFA pre-coatings. The study is divided into two parts. The first part involves mortar testing in which the RFA used for coating had a water/cement ratio of 0.5 and fly ash, slag, and PVA viscosity of 5~6cps, 21~26cps, 25~30cps, or 44~50cps. In these tests, 100% of the natural fine aggregate was replaced by RCA. The second part of the study involved the mixing of concrete with 25% FRA, which was respectively coated with fly ash, slag, or PVA at a viscosity of 44~50cps. In these tests, the water/cement ratio was either .4 or 0.6. The major findings in this study are summarized as follows: Coating RFA coated with fly ash and PVA was shown to increase flow in the fresh concrete; however, the coating of FRA with slag resulted in a slight decrease in flow. Coating FRA with slag was shown to improve the compressive and splitting strength to a greater degree than that achieved by coating FRA with fly ash and PVA. The mechanical properties of concrete mixed with slag were shown to increase with the thickness of the coating. Coating FRA with slag was also shown to enhance the durability of the concrete, regardless of the water/cement ratio.

Keywords: recycled fine aggregates, pre-coated, fly ash, slag, pre-coated thickness

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Authors: Noor Zuhaira Abd Aziz

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Rice husk and kenaf filled with calcium carbonate (CaCO3) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) composite were prepared separately using twin-screw extruder at 50rpm. Different filler loading up to 30 parts of rice husk particulate and kenaf fiber were mixed with the fixed 30% amount of CaCO3 mineral filler to produce rice husk/CaCO3/HDPE and kenaf/CaCO3/HDPE hybrid composites. In this study, the effects of natural fiber for both rice husk and kenaf in CaCO3/HDPE composite on physical and mechanical properties were investigated. The property analyses showed that water absorption increased with the presence of kenaf and rice husk fillers. Natural fibers in composite significantly influence water absorption properties due to natural characters of fibers which contain cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin structures. The result showed that 10% of additional natural fibers into hybrid composite had caused decreased flexural strength, however additional of high natural fiber (>10%) filler loading has proved to increase its flexural strength.

Keywords: Hybrid composites, Water absorption, Mechanical properties

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Authors: Jiunde Lee, Meng-Yu Wun

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The present study attempted to explore how the range differences of ‘Geometric Field of Vision’ (GFOV) and differences in camera control in 3D simulation games, OMSI—The Bus Simulator of the 2013 PC version, affected players’ cognitive load, anxiety, and task performances. The study employed a between-subjects factorial experimental design. A total of 80 subjects completed experiment whose data were eligible for further analysis. The results of this study showed that in the difference of field of view, players had better task performances in a spacious view. Although cognitive resources consumed more of the players’ ‘mental demand,’ ‘physical demand’, and ‘temporal demand’, they had better performances in the experiment, and their anxiety was effectively reduced. On the other hand, in the narrow GFOV, players thought they spent more cognitive resources on ‘effort’ and ‘frustration degree,’ and had worse task performances, but it was not significant enough to reduce their anxiety. In terms of difference of camera control, players had worse performances since the fixed lens restricted their dexterous control. However, there was no significant difference in the players’ subjective cognitive resources or anxiety. The results further illustrated that task performances were affected by the interaction of GFOV and camera control.

Keywords: geometric field of view, camera lens, cognitive load, anxiety

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Authors: Rohollah Asadian Kohestani, Mustafa Hashemzadeh

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The present paper is the outcome of a field research that was conducted with the study objective of influencing factor's effect on the behavior of customers switching in the Saipa Emdad Khodro Company. To achieve this goal, six factors of service quality, service cost, waiting time to receive services, reputation of organization, costs of switching and the way to respond the needs of customers as the independent variables of research and their effect on the customer switching was studied as the variable related to the research. The statistical society of this research included all customers of the Saipa Emdad Khodro company that possess the vehicles of automobile manufacturing group of Saipa throughout the country and the statistical sample included 150 persons of such customers. The results of this research indicated that all under study factors excluding the reputation factor effect on the behavior of customer switching.

Keywords: customer services, switching cost, service price, customer switching behavior

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Authors: David Parmenter, Brian Millar

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Obstructive sleep apnoea is a common condition which is generally under-diagnosed. Poorly managed obstructive sleep apnoea carries serious health risks and can greatly impact on the sufferer's quality of life. This publication covers the aetiology, symptoms, and treatment of sleep apnoea. The treatment of Obstructive Sleep Apnoea is an emerging field, and the useful role of the Dental Team is relatively unknown, therefor this paper will highlight the role of the dental team in its treatment. The concept of mandibular advancement appliances, along with the clinical and laboratory stages for constructing them, are documented. It is the hope of the author that this publication will educate healthcare professionals on the role of dental practitioners in the multidisciplinary team for treating sleep apnoea. Objective: Individuals should be more aware of the demographic of patients at risk of sleep apnoea, how it is diagnosed and which group of sleep apnoea patients are suitable to refer for mandibular appliance therapy. Individuals should also be aware of what a mandibular advancement appliance is and how it helps treat obstructive sleep apnoea.

Keywords: sleep apnoea, snoring, sleep appliances, mandibular advancement appliance

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Authors: Bilal Ahmad Ashwar, Inam u nisa, Asima Shah, Adil Gani, Farooq Ahmad Masoodi

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The effects of 5% BHT and green tea extracts (GTE) on the physical, barrier, mechanical, thermal and antioxidant properties of potato starch films were investigated. Results showed both BHT and GTE significantly lowered solubility of films. Addition of BHT significantly decreased water vapour transmission rate. Both BHT and GTE promoted significant increase in the elastic modulus but a decrease in % EAB, however BHT was more effective in increasing elastic modulus. Increase in glass transition temperature (Tg) and enthalpy of transition (ΔH) of films was observed with the incorporation of GTE and BHT. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed smooth surface of the films. The DPPH radical scavenging ability of both BHT and GTE films were stronger in fatty food stimulant (95% ethanol. The GTE and BHT films were individually applied to fresh beef samples and were stored at 4 0C and room temperature for 10 days. Metmyoglobin formation and lipid oxidation (TBARS) were monitored periodically. The addition of GTE extracts and BHT resulted in decreases in metmyoglobin and TBARS values. We conclude that extracts of GTE and BHT have potential as preservatives for fresh beef.

Keywords: starch film, WVTR, tensile properties, SEM, thermal analysis, DPPH scavenging activity, TBARS, metmyoglobin

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Authors: R. Rama Kishore, Sunesh Malik

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Development in the usage of internet for different purposes in recent times creates great threat for the copy right protection of the digital images. Digital watermarking is the best way to rescue from the said problem. This paper presents detailed review of the different watermarking techniques, latest trends in the field and categorized like spatial and transform domain, blind and non-blind methods, visible and non visible techniques etc. It also discusses the different optimization techniques used in the field of watermarking in order to improve the robustness and imperceptibility of the method. Different measures are discussed to evaluate the performance of the watermarking algorithm. At the end, this paper proposes a watermarking algorithm using (k.n) shares of halftone visual cryptography (HVC) instead of (2, 2) share cryptography. (k,n) shares visual cryptography improves the security of the watermark. As halftone is a method of reprographic, it helps in improving the visual quality of watermark image. The proposed method uses fractional transformation to improve the robustness of the copyright protection of the method.

Keywords: digital watermarking, fractional transform, halftone, visual cryptography

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Authors: David Abad, M. Encarnación Lucas-Pérez, Antonio Minguez-Vera, José Yagüe

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We examine explicitly the relation between the gender diversity on corporate boards and the levels of information asymmetry in the stock market. Based on prior evidence that suggests that the presence of women on director boards increases the quantity and quality of public disclosure by firms, we expect firms with higher gender diversity on their boards to show lower levels of information asymmetry in the market. Using a Spanish sample for the period 2004-2009, proxies for information asymmetry estimated from high-frequency data, and a system GMM methodology, we find that the gender diversity on boards is negative associated with the level of information asymmetry in the stock market. Our findings support legislative changes implemented to increase the presence of women on boards in several European countries by providing evidence that gender diverse boards have beneficial effects on stock markets.

Keywords: corporate board, female directors, gender diversity, information asymmetry, market microstructure

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Authors: Wipada Chaiwchan, Patcharee Klinhom

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This research is aimed to develop the online-class scheduling management system and improve as a complex problem solution, this must take into consideration in various conditions and factors. In addition to the number of courses, the number of students and a timetable to study, the physical characteristics of each class room and regulations used in the class scheduling must also be taken into consideration. This system is developed to assist management in the class scheduling for convenience and efficiency. It can provide several instructors to schedule simultaneously. Both lecturers and students can check and publish a timetable and other documents associated with the system online immediately. It is developed in a web-based application. PHP is used as a developing tool. The database management system was MySQL. The tool that is used for efficiency testing of the system is questionnaire. The system was evaluated by using a Black-Box testing. The sample was composed of 2 groups: 5 experts and 100 general users. The average and the standard deviation of results from the experts were 3.50 and 0.67. The average and the standard deviation of results from the general users were 3.54 and 0.54. In summary, the results from the research indicated that the satisfaction of users was in a good level. Therefore, this system could be implemented in an actual workplace and satisfy the users’ requirement effectively

Keywords: timetable, schedule, management system, online

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Authors: A. Escoffier, A. Albrecht, F. Consigny

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In order to host the Football Euro in 2016, many French cities have launched architectural competitions in recent years to improve the quality of their stadiums. The winning project in Nice was designed by Wilmotte architects together with Elioth structural engineers. It has a capacity of 35,000 seats. Its roof structure consists of a complex 3D shape timber and steel lattice and is covered by 25,000m² of ETFE, 10,500m² of PES-PVC fabric and 8,500m² of photovoltaic panels. This paper focuses on the ETFE part of the cover. The stadium is one of the first constructions to use flat single layer ETFE on such a big area. Due to its relatively recent appearance in France, ETFE structures are not yet covered by any regulations and the existing codes for fabric structures cannot be strictly applied. Rather, they are considered as cladding systems and therefore have to be approved by an “Appréciation Technique d’Expérimentation” (ATEx), during which experimental tests have to be performed. We explain the method that we developed to justify the ETFE, which eventually led to bi-axial tests to clarify the allowable stress in the film.

Keywords: biaxial test, creep, ETFE, single layer, stadium roof

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Authors: Tessa Verhallen, Mama Africa

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By co-constructing personal narratives of sex workers in Namibia this paper represents how sex workers experience their violation of rights in Namibia. It is written from an emic (as an advisor for a sex worker-led organization named Rights not Rescue Trust) and an etic (as an ethnographer) point of view, in collaboration with the staff of the organization Rights not Rescue Trust. This organization represents circa 3000 members. The paper describes the current deplorable situation of sex workers in Namibia, encompassing the stigma and discrimination they face, their struggle to have their work decriminalized and their urge to advocate for human rights and the end of violations. Based on a triangular research design (ethnography, narratives, literature study, human rights’ training and counseling sessions) the authors show that sex workers, particularly LGBTI sex workers, are extremely vulnerable to emotional, physical, and sexual violence in Namibia. The main perpetrators of violence turn out to be not only clients and intimate partners but also law enforcement officers and health care workers who are supposed to protect and support sex workers. The sex workers’ narratives voice their disgraceful circumstances regarding how their rights are violated. It also highlights their importance to fight for their rights and access to health care, legal services and education in order to improve the sexual reproductive health of sex workers.

Keywords: HIV/aids, LGBTI, methodological innovative, sex work

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Authors: Chibuzor Dalmeida

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This paper shall discuss the factors affecting English Language Acquisition and Learning for Primary School in Nigeria. Learning English language is a difficult task mostly those at the primary school level. Pupils find it more difficult on vocabulary, grammar and sentence structure, idioms, pronunciation etc. Researchers have discovered the reasons behind these discrepancies and have formulated theories that could be of utmost assistance to English language teachers and students. This paper further looked at the following factors that include Learner Characteristics and Personal Traits, Situational and Environmental Factors, Prior Language Development and Competence and Age and Brain Development. It further recommended that pupils must learn new vocabulary, rules for grammar and sentence structure, idioms, pronunciation. Pupils whose families and communities set high standards for language acquisition learn more quickly than those who do not. Exposure to high-quality programs also essential. Pupils do best when they are allowed to speak their native language.

Keywords: acquisition, affecting, factors, learning

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Authors: Farrukh Jamil, Ala'a H. Al-Muhtaseb, Lamya Al-Haj, Mohab A. Al-Hinai

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Glycerol is considered as high boiling polar triol and immiscible with fossil fuel fractions due to which it is transformed into its respective ketals and acetals which help to improve the quality of diesel emitting less amount of aldehydes and carbon monoxide. Solketal visual appearance is transparent, and it is odorless organic liquid used as a fuel additive for diesel to improve its cold flow properties. Condensation of bio-glycerol with bio-acetone in presence of beta zeolite has been done for synthesizing solketal. It was observed that glycerol conversion and selectivity of solketal was largely effected by temperature, as it increases from 40 ºC to 60 ºC the conversion of glycerol rises from 80.04 % to 94.26 % and selectivity of solketal from 80.0 % to 94.21 % but further increase in temperature to 100 ºC glycerol conversion reduced to 93.06 % and solketal selectivity to 92.08 %. At the optimum conditions, the bio-glycerol conversion and solketal yield were about 94.26% and 94.21wt% respectively. This process offers an attractive route for converting bio-glycerol, the main by-product of biodiesel to solketal with bio-acetone; a value-added green product with potential industrial applications as a valuable green fuel additive or combustion promoter for gasoline/diesel engines.

Keywords: bio-glycerol, catalyst, green additive, biomass

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Authors: Hamid Fallah

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Asphalt is generally a mixture of stone materials with continuous granulation and a binder, which is usually bitumen. Asphalt is made in different shapes according to its use. The most familiar type of asphalt is hot asphalt or hot asphalt concrete. Stone materials usually make up more than 90% of the asphalt mixture. Therefore, stone materials have a significant impact on the quality of the resulting asphalt. According to the method of application and mixing, asphalt is divided into three categories: hot asphalt, protective asphalt, and cold asphalt. Cold mix asphalt is a mixture of stone materials and mixed bitumen or bitumen emulsion whose raw materials are mixed at ambient temperature. In some types of cold asphalt, the bitumen may be heated as necessary, but other materials are mixed with the bitumen without heating. Protective asphalts are used to make the roadbed impermeable, increase its abrasion and sliding resistance, and also temporarily improve the existing asphalt and concrete surfaces. This type of paving is very economical compared to hot asphalt due to the speed and ease of implementation and the limited need for asphalt machines and equipment. The present article, which is prepared in descriptive library form, introduces asphalt, its types, characteristics, and its application.

Keywords: asphalt, type of asphalt, asphalt concrete, sulfur concrete, bitumen in asphalt, sulfur, stone materials

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Authors: Simone Raimondi De Souza, Glaucia Maria Moraes De Oliveira, Ronir Raggio Luiz, Glorimar Rosa

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Introduction: Obesity is among the main risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Genesis is multifactorial, including genetic, hormonal and environmental factors disorders, among which inadequate feeding pattern, for which nutritional counseling strategies have proven effective. The consumption of beta-glucans (soluble fibers that reportedly promote satiety) present in oat bran can be an effective strategy for preventing and treating obesity. Other benefits have been observed with oat bran consumption, such as reduction of hypercholesterolemia and hyperglycemia, two other risk factors for CVD. Objectives: To analyze the effect of oat bran consumption associated with nutritional counseling in reducing body mass index (BMI), blood cholesterol, glucose profile, waist and neck circumference in obese individuals, and to evaluate the change in eating pattern. Methods: clinical trial, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, lasting 90 days with adults of both genders, with BMI ≥30kg/m2. The study was approved by the Ethics in Research involving human beings in a public institute of cardiology, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Individuals were invited to participate and accepted formally by signing the Terms of Consent. Participants were randomized into oat bran group (gOB) or placebo group (gPCB) and received, respectively: morning prepared consisting of 40g oat bran, 30g of skimmed milk powder and 1g sweetener sucralose; refined flour 40g rice, 30g of milk powder and 1g sweetener sucralose. The Ten Steps to Healthy Eating, of Brazilian Ministry of Health were used to support the nutritional counseling. Variables analyzed: gender; age; BMI, waist circumference (WC) neck circumference (NC); systolic blood pressure (SBP); diastolic blood pressure (DBP); food consumption, total cholesterol (TC), LDL-cholesterol (LDL-c), HDL-cholesterol (HDL-c), non-HDL cholesterol (nHDLc), triglycerides (TG), fasting glucose (FG), fasting insulin (FI) and HOMA-IR. Dietary intake was assessed by 24-hour dietary recall. The Diet Quality Index revised for the Brazilian population (IQD-R) assessed quality of feeding pattern. Statistical analyzes were performed using SPSS version 21, considering statistically significant p-value less than 0.05. Results: A total of 38 participants were included, age = 50 ± 7,6years, 63% women. 19 subjects were placed in gOB and 19 in gPCB. After intervention, statistically significant reductions were observed in the following parameters: in gOB: IQD-R, TC, LDL-c, nHDL-c, FI, SBP, DBP, BMI, WC, NC; in gPCB: IQD-R, LDL-c, SBP, DBP, BMI, WC, NC. No statistically significant differences were observed in the results between groups. Conclusion: Our results reinforce nutritional counseling as important strategy for prevention and treatment of obesity and suggest that inclusion of oat bran in daily diet can bring additional benefits controlling risk factors for CVD. More studies are needed to establish all benefits of oat bran to human health as well as the ideal daily dose for consumption.

Keywords: oat bran, cardiovascular disease, nutritional counseling, obesity

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Authors: Naser Ahmadi Sani, Karim Solaimani, Lida Razaghnia, Jalal Zandi

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In recent decades, rapid and incorrect changes in land-use have been associated with consequences such as natural resources degradation and environmental pollution. Detecting changes in land-use is one of the tools for natural resource management and assessment of changes in ecosystems. The target of this research is studying the land-use changes in Haraz basin with an area of 677000 hectares in a 15 years period (1996 to 2011) using LANDSAT data. Therefore, the quality of the images was first evaluated. Various enhancement methods for creating synthetic bonds were used in the analysis. Separate training sites were selected for each image. Then the images of each period were classified in 9 classes using supervised classification method and the maximum likelihood algorithm. Finally, the changes were extracted in GIS environment. The results showed that these changes are an alarm for the HARAZ basin status in future. The reason is that 27% of the area has been changed, which is related to changing the range lands to bare land and dry farming and also changing the dense forest to sparse forest, horticulture, farming land and residential area.

Keywords: Haraz basin, change detection, land-use, satellite data

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Authors: Ikram Kamal, Mohamed Blaghen

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Petroleum hydrocarbons are serious problems and global pollutants in the environment due to their toxicity, carcinogenicity and persistent organic pollutant properties. One of the approaches to enhance biodegradation of petroleum hydrocarbons is to use biosurfactant. Biosurfactants are amphiphilic biomolecules produced as metabolic by-products from microorganisms they received considerable attention in the field of environmental remediation processes such as bioremediation. Biosurfactants have been considered as a desirable alternative to synthetic surfactants in various applications particularly in the environmental field. In comparison with their synthetic counterparts, biosurfactants have been reported to be less toxic, biodegradable and persistent. In this study we have investigated the potential of bacterial strains collected aseptically from the lagoon Marchika (water and soil) in Nador, Morocco; for the production of biosurfactants. This study also aimed to optimize the biosurfactant production process by changing the variables that influence the type and amount of biosurfactant produced by these microorganisms such as: carbon sources and also other physical and chemical parameters such as temperature and pH. Emulsification index, methylene blue test and thin layer chromatography (TLC) revealed the ability of strains used in this study to produce compounds that could emulsify gasoline. In addition, a HPLC/MS was used to separate and identify different biosurfactants purified.

Keywords: petroleum hydrocarbons, biosurfactants, biodegradation, lagoon marchika, emulsification index

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Authors: Hailemariam Gebremichael Gebretsadik, Abrham Hagos Tesfaslasea

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To satisfy the high need for ICT entrepreneurship and rectify the weak entrepreneurial culture in Ethiopia, the country has established ICT Business incubation centers with the intention of preventing business failures, promoting innovation, and accelerating the growth and success of firms. This study investigates the role of business incubators and social capital on the innovation and growth of firms in Ethiopia. In this research, innovation and growth of firms were considered as dependent variables, whereas business incubation and social capital were treated as independent variables. The researcher employed an e-mail survey among 137 tenant Firms (Firms that joined and/or graduated to/from the Business incubation centers available in Ethiopia) to collect the data and obtained 113 responses that were appropriate for this research. The result of this study reveals that the dimensions of business incubation (physical resource, business support, and networking) have a significant effect on the innovation of Firms, but these dimensions of business incubation do not show a significant effect on the growth of firms. On the other hand, the dimensions of social capital (structural, cognitive, and relational) show a significant positive impact on the likelihood of Firms' growth but not on the innovation of firms. Moreover, the result of this study indicates that the dimensions of business incubation and social capital together have a significant effect on the likelihood of tenant firms innovating and growing.

Keywords: business incubation, innovation, social capital, tenant firms

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Authors: Anil Kumar

Abstract:

Public Bicycle System (PBS), generally known as Public Bicycle Share System or Bike-Share, is a service provided to the everyday commuters in which several cycles are available on the shared system. The concept of PBS is new to the people of India and requires more study in the fields of essential requirements, major infrastructural requirements, social acceptability, and various challenges. In various Indian cities, MRTS, BRTS, Monorail, and other modes of transport have been adopted for the main haul of transport. These modes take more time, space and are also expensive to implement. At the same time, the PBS system is more economical and takes less time to implement. The main benefit of the PBS system is that it is more environmentally friendly. PBS is being implemented in many Indian cities for public use, but various challenges are associated with this. The study aims to determine what are the basic infrastructural requirements for PBS in India, as well as to determine to what extent a Public Bike Sharing System can provide a quality and efficient service to passengers as a primary method of transportation.

Keywords: public bicycle sharing system, sustainable transport, infrastructure, smart city

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Authors: Hechmi Saidi, Noureddine Hamdi

Abstract:

The performance of hybrid amplify and forward - decode and forward (AF-DF) hybrid radio frequency/free space optical (RF/FSO) communication system, that adopts M-ary pulse position modulation (MPPM) techniques, is analyzed. Both exact and approximate symbol-error rates (SERs) are derived. The random variations of the received optical irradiance, produced by the atmospheric turbulence, is modeled by the gamma-gamma (GG) statistical distribution. A closed-form expression for the probability density function (PDF) is derived for the whole above system is obtained. Thanks to the use of hybrid AF-DF hybrid RF/FSO configuration and MPPM, the effects of atmospheric turbulence is mitigated; hence the capacity of combating atmospheric turbulence and the transmissitted signal quality are improved.

Keywords: free space optical, gamma gamma channel, radio frequency, decode and forward, error pointing, M-ary pulse position modulation, symbol error rate

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Authors: Youcef Lakhdar Hamina

Abstract:

In order to tame the ecological damage specificity, it is imperative to assert the procedural and objective liability aspect, which leads us to analyse current trends based on the development of preventive civil liability based on the precautionary principle. Our research focuses on the instruments of the environment protection in urban areas based on two complementary aspects appearing contradictory and refer directly to the institutional dimensions: - The preventive aspect: considered as a main objective of the environmental policy which highlights the different legal mechanisms for the environment protection by highlighting the role of administration in its implementation (environmental planning, tax incentives, modes of participation of all actors, etc.). - The healing-repressive aspect: considered as an approach for the identification of ecological damage and the forms of reparation (spatial and temporal-responsibility) to the impossibility of predicting with rigor and precision, the appearance of ecological damage, which cannot be avoided.

Keywords: environmental law, environmental taxes, environmental damage, eco responsibility, precautionary principle, environmental management

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Authors: Donna H. Gabor

Abstract:

This study aimed to develop and validate an electronic module in physics for first-year college students of Iloilo and find out if there would be a significant difference in the performance of students before and after using the electronic module. The e-module was composed of one topic with two sub-lessons in linear motion (kinematics). The participants of the study were classified into three groups: the subject matter experts who are physics instructors who suggested the content, physical appearance, and limitations of the e-module; the IT experts who are active both in teaching and developing computer programs; and 28 students divided into two groups, 15 in the pilot group and 13 in the final test group. A researcher created 30 items checklist form (difficulty of a sample problem, comprehension, application, and definition of terms) was prepared and validated by the experts in subject matter for gathering data. To test the difference in student performance in physics, the researcher prepared an achievement test containing 25 items, multiple choices. The findings revealed that there was an increase in the performance of students in the pretest and post-test. T-test results revealed that there was a significant difference in the test scores of the students before and after using the module which can be used as a future reference for linear motion as an additional teaching tool in physics.

Keywords: electronic module, kinematics, linear motion, physics

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Authors: Juan Xia, Jiaxu Yan, Ze Xiang Shen

Abstract:

The tuneable interlayer interactions in two-dimensional (2D) transition metal dichlcogenides (TMDs) offer an exciting platform for exploring new physics and applications by material variety, thickness, stacking sequence, electromagnetic filed, and stress/strain. Compared with the five methods mentioned above, high pressure is a clean and powerful tool to induce dramatic changes in lattice parameters and physical properties for 2D TMD materials. For instance, high pressure can strengthen the van der Waals interactions along c-axis and shorten the covalent bonds in atomic plane, leading to the typical first-order structural transition (2Hc to 2Ha for MoS2), or metallization. In particular, in the case of WTe₂, its unique symmetry endows the significant anisotropy and the corresponding unexpected properties including the giant magnetoresistance, pressure-induced superconductivity and Weyl semimetal states. Upon increasing pressure, the Raman peaks for WTe₂ at ~120 cm⁻¹, are gradually red-shifted and totally suppressed above 10 GPa, attributed to the possible structural instability of orthorhombic Td phase under high pressure and phase transition to a new monoclinic T' phase with inversion symmetry. Distinct electronic structures near Fermi level between the Td and T' phases may pave a feasible way to achieve the Weyl state tuning in one material without doping.

Keywords: 2D TMDs, electronic property, high pressure, first-principles calculations

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