Search results for: flat panel displays

Authors: P. D. Pastuszak

Abstract:

The present work is devoted to thermographic studies of curved composite panels (unidirectional GFRP) with subsurface defects. Various artificial defects, created by inserting PTFE stripe between individual layers of a laminate during manufacturing stage are studied. The analysis is conducted both with the use finite element method and experiments. To simulate transient heat transfer in 3D model with embedded various defect sizes, the ANSYS package is used. Pulsed Thermography combined with optical excitation source provides good results for flat surfaces. Composite structures are mostly used in complex components, e.g., pipes, corners and stiffeners. Local decrease of mechanical properties in these regions can have significant influence on strength decrease of the entire structure. Application of active procedures of thermography to defect detection and evaluation in this type of elements seems to be more appropriate that other NDT techniques. Nevertheless, there are various uncertainties connected with correct interpretation of acquired data. In this paper, important factors concerning Infrared Thermography measurements of curved surfaces in the form of cylindrical panels are considered. In addition, temperature effects on the surface resulting from complex geometry and embedded and real defect are also presented.

Keywords: active thermography, composite, curved structures, defects

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Authors: Nisrin R. Abdelal, Steven L. Donaldson

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Composite materials are widely used in aviation industry due to their superior properties; however, they are susceptible to delamination. Through-thickness stitching is one of the techniques to alleviate delamination. Kevlar is one of the most common stitching materials; in contrast, it is expensive and presents stitching fabrication challenges. Therefore, this study compares the performance of Kevlar with an inexpensive and easy-to-use nylon fiber in stitching to alleviate delamination. Three laminates of unidirectional carbon fiber-epoxy composites were manufactured using vacuum assisted resin transfer molding process. One panel was stitched with Kevlar, one with nylon, and one unstitched. Mode I interlaminar fracture tests were carried out on specimens from the three composite laminates, and the results were compared. Fractographic analysis using optical and scanning electron microscope were conducted to reveal the differences between stitching with Kevlar and nylon on the internal microstructure of the composite with respect to the interlaminar fracture toughness values.

Keywords: carbon, delamination, Kevlar, mode I, nylon, stitching

Procedia PDF Downloads 285

Authors: Ben Chater, Jingbang Pan, Mark Evernden, Jie Wang

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Traditional structural steel manufacturing routes normally produce prismatic members with flat plate elements. In these members, plate instability in the lowest buckling mode often dominates failure. It is proposed in the current study to use a new technology of metal 3D printing to print steel-plated elements with predefined imperfection patterns that can lead to higher modes of failure with increased buckling resistances. To this end, a numerical modeling program is carried out to explore various combinations of predefined buckling waves with different amplitudes in stainless steel square hollow section stub columns. Their stiffness, strength, and material consumption against the traditional structural steel members with the same nominal dimensions are assessed. It is found that depending on the slenderness of the plate elements; it is possible for an ‘imperfect’ steel member to achieve up to a 30% increase in strength with just a 3% increase in the material consumption. The obtained results shed some light on the significant potential of the new metal 3D printing technology in achieving unprecedented material efficiency and economical design in the future steel construction industry.

Keywords: 3D printing, additive manufacturing, buckling resistance, steel plate buckling, structural optimisation

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Authors: Jyotsna Rosario, K. R. Shanmugam

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Since elementary education is a merit good, considerable public resources are allocated to universalise it. However, elementary education outcomes vary across the Indian States. Evidences indicate that while some states are lagging in elementary education outcome primarily due to lack of resources and poor schooling infrastructure, others are lagging despite resource abundance and well-developed schooling infrastructure. Addressing the issue of efficiency, the study employs Stochastic Frontier Analysis for panel data of 27 Indian states from 2012-13 to 2017-18 to estimate the technical efficiency of State governments in generating enrolment. The mean efficiency of states was estimated to be 58%. Punjab, Meghalaya, and West Bengal were found to be the most efficient states. Whereas Jammu and Kashmir, Nagaland, Madhya Pradesh, and Odisha are one of the most inefficient states. This study emphasizes the efficient utilisation of public resources and helps in the identification of best practices.

Keywords: technical efficiency, public expenditure, elementary education outcome, stochastic frontier analysis

Procedia PDF Downloads 180

Authors: Rayan B. M. Ameen, Ian P. Jones, Yu Lung Chiu

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Single alpha-beta colony micro-pillars have been manufactured from a polycrystalline commercial Ti-6Al-4V sample using Focused Ion Beam (FIB). Each pillar contained two alpha lamellae separated by a thin fillet of beta phase. A nano-indenter was then used to conduct uniaxial micro-compression tests on Ti alloy single crystals, using a diamond flat tip as a compression platen. By controlling the crystal orientation along the micro-pillar using Electron back scattering diffraction (EBSD) different slip systems have been selectively activated. The advantage of the micro-compression method over conventional mechanical testing techniques is the ability to localize a single crystal volume which is characterizable after deformation. By matching the stress-strain relations resulting from micro-compression experiments to TEM (Transmission Electron Microscopy) studies of slip transmission mechanisms through the α-β interfaces, some proper constitutive material parameters such as the role of these interfaces in determining yield, strain-hardening behaviour, initial dislocation density and the critical resolved shear stress are suggested.

Keywords: α/β-Ti alloy, focused ion beam, micro-mechanical test, nano-indentation, transmission electron diffraction, plastic flow

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Authors: Milad Alizadeh Galdiani, Jabbar Ali Zakeri

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Lateral movement of CWR ballasted track occurs in sharp curves because of the lack of adequate lateral resistance. Several strategies have been proposed and used for increase the lateral resistance of ballasted tracks, but still there are some problems in tracks with small radius curves. In this paper, a new method has been presented for increase the lateral resistance. This method is using the lateral supports as numerical and field studies. In this paper, the field and laboratory tests have been conducted by using the single tie pressure test (STPT) and track panel loading test (LTPT). Then, their results were compared with the numerical results. The results of numerical and field tests showed that the lateral stiffness of ballasted tracks significantly increased when there were lateral supports in ballasted tracks. Also, the track structure had a bilinear behavior.

Keywords: ballasted railway, Lateral resistance, railway buckling, field and numerical studies

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Authors: Elison Eduardo Jardim Bierhals, Claudineia Brazil, Deivid Pires, Rafael Haag, Elton Gimenez Rossini

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This study evaluated the uncertainties involved in the solar radiation projections generated by the Brazilian Earth System Model (BESM) of the Weather and Climate Prediction Center (CPTEC) belonging to Coupled Model Intercomparison Phase 5 (CMIP5), with the aim of identifying efficiency in the projections for solar radiation of said model and in this way establish the viability of its use. Two different scenarios elaborated by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) were evaluated: RCP 4.5 (with more optimistic contour conditions) and 8.5 (with more pessimistic initial conditions). The method used to verify the accuracy of the present model was the Nash coefficient and the Statistical bias, as it better represents these atmospheric patterns. The BESM showed a tendency to overestimate the data ​​of solar radiation projections in most regions of the state of Rio Grande do Sul and through the validation methods adopted by this study, BESM did not present a satisfactory accuracy.

Keywords: climate changes, projections, solar radiation, uncertainty

Procedia PDF Downloads 246

Authors: Viriyavudh Sim, Woo Young Jung

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The failure of roof cladding mostly occurs due to the failing of the connection between claddings and purlins, which is the pull-out of the screw connecting the two parts when the pull-out load, i.e. typhoon, is higher than the resistance of the connection screw. As typhoon disasters in Korea are constantly on the rise, probability risk assessment (PRA) has become a vital tool to evaluate the performance of civil structures. In this study, we attempted to determine the fragility of roof cladding with the screw connection. Experimental study was performed to evaluate the pull-out resistance of screw joints between honeycomb panels and back frames. Subsequently, by means of Monte Carlo Simulation method, probability of failure for these types of roof cladding was determined. The results that the failure of roof cladding was depends on their location on the roof, for example, the edge most panel has the highest probability of failure.

Keywords: Monte Carlo Simulation, roof cladding, screw pull-out strength, wind fragility

Procedia PDF Downloads 250

Authors: Abdelazziz Aouiche, El Moundher Aouiche, Mouhamed Salah Soudani

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Renewable energy sources now significantly contribute to the replacement of traditional fossil fuel energy sources. One of the most potent types of renewable energy that has developed quickly in recent years is photovoltaic energy. We all know that solar energy, which is sustainable and non-depleting, is the best knowledge form of energy that we have at our disposal. Due to changing weather conditions, the primary drawback of conventional solar PV cells is their inability to track their maximum power point. In this study, we apply artificial neural networks (ANN) to automatically track and measure the maximum power point (MPP) of solar panels. In MATLAB, the complete system is simulated, and the results are adjusted for the external environment. The results are better performance than traditional MPPT methods and the results demonstrate the advantages of using neural networks in solar PV systems.

Keywords: modeling, photovoltaic panel, artificial neural networks, maximum power point tracking

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Authors: Abdelkrim Belhaoua, Jean-Pierre Radoux, Mariana Kuras, Vincent Récamier, Martial Piotto, Karim Elbayed, François Proust, Izzie Namer

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This paper proposes an augmented reality system dedicated to neurosurgery in order to assist the surgeon during an operation. This work is part of the ExtempoRMN project (Funded by Bpifrance) which aims at analyzing during a surgical operation the metabolic content of tumoral brain biopsy specimens by HRMAS NMR. Patients affected with a brain tumor (gliomas) frequently need to undergo an operation in order to remove the tumoral mass. During the operation, the neurosurgeon removes biopsy specimens using image-guided surgery. The biopsy specimens removed are then sent for HRMAS NMR analysis in order to obtain a better diagnosis and prognosis. Image-guided refers to the use of MRI images and a computer to precisely locate and target a lesion (abnormal tissue) within the brain. This is performed using preoperative MRI images and the BrainLab neuro-navigation system. With the patient MRI images loaded on the Brainlab Cranial neuro-navigation system in the operating theater, surgeons can better identify their approach before making an incision. The Brainlab neuro-navigation tool tracks in real time the position of the instruments and displays their position on the patient MRI data. The results of the biopsy analysis by 1H HRMAS NMR are then sent back to the operating theater and superimposed on the 3D localization system directly on the MRI images. The method we have developed to communicate between the HRMAS NMR analysis software and Brainlab makes use of a combination of C++, VTK and the Insight Toolkit using OpenIGTLink protocol.

Keywords: neuro-navigation, augmented reality, biopsy, BrainLab, HR-MAS NMR

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Authors: Jonghoon Chun, Insung Kim, Jonghyun Lim, Gun Ro

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We believe that it is possible to provide a solution to reduce patient safety accidents by displaying correct medical records and prescription information through interactive patient identification. Our system is based on the use of smart bands worn by patients and these bands communicate with the hybrid gateways which understand both BLE and Wifi communication protocols. Through the convergence of low-power Bluetooth (BLE) and hybrid gateway technology, which is one of short-range wireless communication technologies, we implement ‘Intelligent Patient Identification and Location Tracking System’ to prevent medical malfunction frequently occurring in medical institutions. Based on big data and IOT technology using MongoDB, smart band (BLE, NFC function) and hybrid gateway, we develop a system to enable two-way communication between medical staff and hospitalized patients as well as to store locational information of the patients in minutes. Based on the precise information provided using big data systems, such as location tracking and movement of in-hospital patients wearing smart bands, our findings include the fact that a patient-specific location tracking algorithm can more efficiently operate HIS (Hospital Information System) and other related systems. Through the system, we can always correctly identify patients using identification tags. In addition, the system automatically determines whether the patient is a scheduled for medical service by the system in use at the medical institution, and displays the appropriateness of the medical treatment and the medical information (medical record and prescription information) on the screen and voice. This work was supported in part by the Korea Technology and Information Promotion Agency for SMEs (TIPA) grant funded by the Korean Small and Medium Business Administration (No. S2410390).

Keywords: BLE, hybrid gateway, patient identification, IoT, safety management, smart band

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Authors: Bakr Ali Al-Gamrh, Ku Nor Izah B. Ku Ismail

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We investigate the relationship between corporate governance, leverage, risk, and firm performance. We use a firm level panel that spans the period 2008 to 2012 of all listed firms on Abu Dhabi Stock Exchange and Dubai Financial Market. After constructing an index of corporate governance strength, we find a negative effect of corporate governance on firm performance. We, however, discover that corporate governance strength indirectly improves the negative influence of leverage on firm performance in normal times. On the contrary, the results completely reversed when there is a black swan event. Corporate governance strength plays a significantly negative role in moderating the relationship between leverage and firm performance during the financial crisis. We also reveal that corporate governance strength increases firms’ risk and deteriorates performance during crisis. Results provide evidence that corporate governance indirectly plays a completely different role in different time periods.

Keywords: corporate governance, firm performance, risk, leverage, the UAE

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Authors: Masaru Sumida

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This study explored the feasibility of improving the hydraulic headbox of papermaking machines by studying the flow of wood-pulp suspensions behind a flat plate inserted in parallel and convergent channels. Pulp fiber concentrations of the wake downstream of the plate were investigated by flow visualization and optical measurements. Changes in the time-averaged and fluctuation of the fiber concentration along the flow direction were examined. In addition, the control of the flow characteristics in the two channels was investigated. The behaviors of the pulp fibers and the wake flow were found to be strongly related to the flow states in the upstream passages partitioned by the plate. The distribution of the fiber concentration was complex because of the formation of a thin water layer on the plate and the generation of Karman’s vortices at the trailing edge of the plate. Compared with the flow in the parallel channel, fluctuations in the fiber concentration decreased in the convergent channel. However, at low flow velocities, the convergent channel has a weak effect on equilibrating the time-averaged fiber concentration. This shows that a rectangular trailing edge cannot adequately disperse pulp suspensions; thus, at low flow velocities, a convergent channel is ineffective in ensuring uniform fiber concentration.

Keywords: fiber dispersion, headbox, pulp liquid, wake flow

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Authors: I. Algul, G. Akgun, H. Kurtaran

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Dynamic analysis of composite doubly curved panels with variable thickness subjected to different pulse types using Generalized Differential Quadrature method (GDQ) is presented in this study. Panels with variable thickness are used in the construction of aerospace and marine industry. Giving variable thickness to panels can allow the designer to get optimum structural efficiency. For this reason, estimating the response of variable thickness panels is very important to design more reliable structures under dynamic loads. Dynamic equations for composite panels with variable thickness are obtained using virtual work principle. Partial derivatives in the equation of motion are expressed with GDQ and Newmark average acceleration scheme is used for temporal discretization. Several examples are used to highlight the effectiveness of the proposed method. Results are compared with finite element method. Effects of taper ratios, boundary conditions and loading type on the response of composite panel are investigated.

Keywords: differential quadrature method, doubly curved panels, laminated composite materials, small displacement

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Authors: Shidokht Rashiddadash, Mojtaba Sadighi, Soheil Dariushi

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Since sandwich structures are used in many areas ranging from ships, trains, automobiles, aircrafts, bridge and building, connecting sandwich structures is necessary almost in all industries. So application of metallic joints between sandwich panels is increasing. Various joining methods are available such as mechanically fastened joints (riveting or bolting) or adhesively bonded joints and choosing one of them depends on the application. In this research, sandwich specimens were fabricated with two different types of metallic connections with dissimilar geometries. These specimens included beams and plates and were manufactured using glass-epoxy skins and aluminum honeycomb core. After construction of the specimens, bending and low velocity impact tests were executed on them and the behaviors of specimens were discussed. Numerical models were developed using LS-DYNA software and validated with test results. Finally, parametric studies were performed on the thicknesses and lengths of two connections by employing the numerical models.

Keywords: connection, honeycomb, low velocity impact, sandwich panel, static test

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Authors: Toufik Bensana, Medkour Mihoub, Slimane Mekhilef

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The use of vibration analysis has been established as the most common and reliable method of analysis in the field of condition monitoring and diagnostics of rotating machinery. Rolling bearings cover a broad range of rotary machines and plays a crucial role in the modern manufacturing industry. Unfortunately, the vibration signals collected from a faulty bearing are generally nonstationary, nonlinear and with strong noise interference, so it is essential to obtain the fault features correctly. In this paper, a novel numerical analysis method based on local mean decomposition (LMD) is proposed. LMD decompose the signal into a series of product functions (PFs), each of which is the product of an envelope signal and a purely frequency modulated FM signal. The envelope of a PF is the instantaneous amplitude (IA), and the derivative of the unwrapped phase of a purely flat frequency demodulated (FM) signal is the IF. After that, the fault characteristic frequency of the roller bearing can be extracted by performing spectrum analysis to the instantaneous amplitude of PF component containing dominant fault information. The results show the effectiveness of the proposed technique in fault detection and diagnosis of rolling element bearing.

Keywords: fault diagnosis, rolling element bearing, local mean decomposition, condition monitoring

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Authors: Seyed Sajjad Habibi

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The aim of this study is to investigate the impact of global financial crises and corporate financial crisis on tax evasion of companies listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange. For this purpose, panel data in the periods of financial crisis period (2007 to 2012) and without a financial crisis (2004, 2005, 2006, 2013, 2014, and 2015) was analyzed using multivariate linear regression. The results indicate a significant relationship between the corporate financial crisis (bankruptcy risk) and tax evasion in the global financial crisis period. The results also showed a significant relationship between the corporate bankruptcy risk and tax evasion in the period with no global financial crisis. A significant difference was found between the bankruptcy risk and tax evasion in the period of the global financial crisis and that with no financial crisis so that tax evasion increased in the financial crisis period.

Keywords: global financial crisis, corporate financial crisis, bankruptcy risk, tax evasion risk, emerging markets

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Authors: Christopher I. Ifeacho, Adeleke Omolade

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The paper examines the relationship between energy price dynamics and green growth in Sub Sahara African Countries. The quest for adopting green energy in order to improve green growth that can engender sustainability and stability has received more attention from researchers in recent times. This study uses a panel autoregressive distributed lag approach to investigate this relationship. Findings from the result showed that energy price dynamics and exchange rates have more short-run significant impacts on green growth in individual countries rather than the pooled result. Furthermore, the long-run result confirmed that inflation and capital have a significant long-run relationship with green growth. The causality test result revealed the existence of a bi-directional relationship between green growth and energy price dynamics. The study recommends caution in a currency devaluation and improvement in renewable energy production in the Sub Sahara Africa in order to achieve sustainable green growth.

Keywords: green growth, energy price dynamics, Sub Saharan Africa, relationship

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Authors: Muneeba Butt

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One of the most important physical evidence which leaves suspects at the crime scene is footprints. Analysis of footprints, which can provide useful information for personal identification, is helpful in crime scene investigation. For the current study, 200 samples collected (144 male and 56 female) from Pakistani population with a consent form. The footprints were collected by using black ink with an ink pad. The entire samples were photographed, and then the magnifying glass was used for visualization of individual characteristics including detail of toes, humps, phalange mark, and flat foot cracks in footprint patterns. The descriptive results of individualizing characteristics features were presented in tabular form with respective frequency and percentage. In the result in the male population, the prevalence of tibialis type (T-type) is highest. In the female population, the prevalence of midularis type (M-type) is highest. Humps on the first toe are more found in the male population rather than other humps. In the female population, humps on the third toe are more found rather than other humps. In the male population, the prevalence of phalange mark by toe 1 is highest followed by toe 3, toe 5, toe 2, toe 4 and in female population the prevalence of phalange mark by toe 1 is highest followed by toe 5, 4, 3 and 2. Creases marks are found highest in male population as compared to the female population.

Keywords: foot prints, toes, humps, cracks

Procedia PDF Downloads 159

Authors: Mahdy Elhusseiny, Richard Gearhart, Mariam Alyammahi

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In this study we analyse the impact of a number of major macroeconomic variables on industry-specific excess rates of return. In later specifications, we include time and recession fixed effects, to potentially capture time-specific trends that may have been changing over our panel. We have a number of results that bear mentioning. Seasonal and temporal factors found to have very large role in sector-specific excess returns. Increases in M1(money supply) decreases bank, insurance, real estate, and telecommunications, while increases industrial and transportation excess returns. The results indicate that the market return increases every sector-specific rate of return. The 2007 to 2009 recession significantly reduced excess returns in the bank, real estate, and transportation sectors.

Keywords: macroeconomic factors, industry returns, fixed effects, temporal factors

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Authors: Vishal Jaunky, Jonas Grafström

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The development of the European Union’s (EU) single economic market and rapid technological change has resulted in major structural changes in EU’s member states economies. The general liberalization process that the countries has undergone together has convinced the governments of the member states of need to upgrade their economic and training systems in order to be able to face the economic globalization. Several signs of economic convergence have been found but less is known about the knowledge production. This paper addresses the convergence pattern of technological innovation in 13 European Union (EU) states over the time period 1990-2011 by means of parametric and non-parametric techniques. Parametric approaches revolve around the neoclassical convergence theories. This paper reveals divergence of both the β and σ types. Further, we found evidence of stochastic divergence and non-parametric convergence approach such as distribution dynamics shows a tendency towards divergence. This result is supported with the occurrence of γ-divergence. The policies of the EU to reduce technological gap among its member states seem to be missing its target, something that can have negative long run consequences for the market.

Keywords: convergence, patents, panel data, European union

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Authors: Abdulrahman M. Homadi

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As a great source of renewable energy, solar energy is considered to be one of the most important in the world, since it will be one of solutions cover the energy shortage in the future. Photovoltaic (PV) is the most popular and widely used among solar energy technologies. However, PV efficiency is fairly low and remains somewhat expensive. High temperature has a negative effect on PV efficiency and cooling system for these panels is vital, especially in warm weather conditions. This paper presents the results of a simulation study carried out on silicon solar cells to assess the effects of elevation on enhancing the efficiency of solar panels. The study included four different terrains. The study also took into account the direction of the wind hitting the solar panels. To ensure the simulation mimics reality, six silicon solar panels are designed in two columns and three rows, facing to the south at an angle of 30 ^o. The elevations are assumed to change from 10 meters to 200 meters. The results show that maximum increase in efficiency occurs when the wind comes from the north, hitting the back of the panels.

Keywords: solar panels, elevation, wind direction, efficiency

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Authors: Prangya Ranjan Rout, Rajesh Roshan Dash, Puspendu Bhunia

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With the aim of enhancing the nutrient (ammonium and phosphate) removal from eutrophic wastewater with reduced cost, a novel media based multistage bio filter with drop aeration facility was developed in this work. The bio filter was packed with a discarded sponge iron industry by product, ‘dolochar’ primarily to remove phosphate via physicochemical approach. In the multi stage bio-filter drop, aeration was achieved by the process of percolation of the gravity-fed wastewater through the filter media and dropping down of wastewater from stage to stage. Ammonium present in wastewater got adsorbed by the filter media and biomass grown on the filter media and subsequently, got converted to nitrate through biological nitrification in the aerobic condition, as realized by drop aeration. The performance of the bio-filter in treating real eutrophic wastewater was monitored for a period of about 2 months. The influent phosphate concentration was in the range of 16-19 mg/L, and ammonium concentration was in the range of 65-78 mg/L. The average nutrient removal efficiency observed during the study period were 95.2% for phosphate and 88.7% for ammonium, with mean final effluent concentration of 0.91, and 8.74 mg/L, respectively. Furthermore, the subsequent release of nutrient from the saturated filter media, after completion of treatment process has been undertaken in this study and thin layer funnel analytical test results reveal the slow nutrient release nature of spent dolochar, thereby, recommending its potential agricultural application. Thus, the bio-filter displays immense prospective for treating real eutrophic wastewater, significantly decreasing the level of nutrients and keeping the effluent nutrient concentrations at par with the permissible limit and more importantly, facilitating the conversion of the waste materials into usable ones.

Keywords: ammonium removal, phosphate removal, multi-stage bio-filter, dolochar

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Authors: Cheng Wen, Zhang Jianhua

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This paper aims to probe into the general rules of industry specialization or diversification in a region during its process of economic growth and the specific reasons for the difference of industry specialization development in the eastern, central and western regions of China. It is found in this paper that the changes of regional industry specialization in China, like most of countries in the world, also present the U-shaped curve. Regional industrial structure is diversified in the first place. And when the per capita income exceeds a certain level, distribution of economic resources in this region will be concentrated again. From the perspective of rising total factor productivity and falling of transaction cost in the process of economic development, this paper comes up with a theoretical model to explain the U-shaped curve. Through the empirical test of China's provincial panel data, this paper explains the factors that cause the inequality of the industry specialization development in the eastern, central and western regions of China.

Keywords: u-shaped curve, regional industrial specialization, technological progress, transaction costs

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Authors: Warda Nasir, M. N. S. Qureshi

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Whistler waves are right handed circularly polarized waves and are frequently observed in space plasmas. The Low frequency branch of the Whistler waves having frequencies nearly around 100 Hz, known as Lion roars, are frequently observed in magnetosheath. Another feature of the magnetosheath is the observations of flat top electron distributions with single as well as two electron populations. In the past, lion roars were studied by employing kinetic model using classical bi-Maxwellian distribution function, however, could not be justified both on quantitatively as well as qualitatively grounds. We studied Whistler waves by employing kinetic model using non-Maxwellian distribution function such as the generalized (r,q) distribution function which is the generalized form of kappa and Maxwellian distribution functions by employing kinetic theory with single or two electron populations. We compare our results with the Cluster observations and found good quantitative and qualitative agreement between them. At times when lion roars are observed (not observed) in the data and bi-Maxwellian could not provide the sufficient growth (damping) rates, we showed that when generalized (r,q) distribution function is employed, the resulted growth (damping) rates exactly match the observations.

Keywords: kinetic model, whistler waves, non-maxwellian distribution function, space plasmas

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Authors: Ndje Ndje Mireille

Abstract:

For some years in Cameroon, there has been an increase in violence in schools. This violence has gone from verbal to physical, sometimes going as far as murder. At the centre of this violence, we find the student who is a teenager in the midst of both physical and psychological changes. The unpredictable transformations of his body, the unexpected emotions arrouse when he encouters someonelse, intrusion, shortcomings, boredom, loneliness and self-deception are the threats to which the teenager faces daily. From the psychopathological point of view, the greatest threat in adolesence is probably the depresive threat. During adolescence and for several resons, the subject is confronted with the self image. He displays certantity which sometimes hides great uncertaintity about what leads him to manifest some particular behaviours or undertake certain actions. Faced with aggressiveness twards those he confronts, he feels more or less guilt. This can lead a certain number of adolescents to feel heplessness faced to their vis-à-vis, faced to life. This helplessness is sometimes reinforced by the social, cultural and economic context in which they are. The teeneger then feels threatens by this depression which, when it reaches its extreme, it is manifested by the feeling that he can no longer do anything. Generally, the depressive threats manifest itself in defensive forms vis-à-vis with the depression itself. Reason why, it is indeed a threat and not a threshold already crossed. This threat often manifests itself in inappropriate forms of attack on one’s own body as seen in a number of repetitive risky behaviours. We also see teenegers confront peers and even adults through physical attacks and often go as far as murder. All these behaviours appears as an absurd way of attacking and at the same time confronting the feeling of remaining alive. This depressive threats can also be expressed in forms of attacks on an individual’s thinking abilities or more explicitely in the form of accademic downfall. The depressive threats does not sum up all the problems of adolescence, but, undoubtly represents currently, one of the deepest form of unease adolescents face.

Keywords: violence, school, depression threats, adolescent, behavior

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Authors: Christopher Ikechukwu Ifeacho

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The paper examines the relationship between energy price dynamics and green growth in Sub Sahara African Countries. The quest for adopting green energy in order to improve the green growth that can engender sustainability, and stability has received more attention from researchers in recent times. This study uses a panel Autoregressive distributed lag approach to investigate this relationship. Findings from the result showed that energy price dynamics and exchange rate have more short-run significant impacts on green growth in individual countries rather than the pooled result. Furthermore, the long-run result confirmed that inflation and capital have a significant long-run relationship with green growth. The causality test result revealed the existence of a bi-directional relationship between green growth and energy price dynamics. The study recommends caution in a currency devaluation and improvement in renewable energy production in the Sub Sahara Africa in order to achieve sustainable green growth.

Keywords: green growth, energy price dynamics, Sub Sahara Africa., sustainability

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Authors: Bashiru Olayinka Adisa, Najeem Lateef

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The integrated knowledge in the application of mechanical engineering, microprocessor and electronic sensor technologies is becoming the basic skill of a modern engineer in machinery based processes. To meet this objective, we have developed a cross-disciplinary industrial training to teach essential hard technical and soft project skills to the mechanical engineering students in mid-curriculum. Ten groups of students were selected to participate in a 150 hour program. The students were required to design and build a robot with ability to follow tracks and pick/place target blocks in specific locations. The students were trained to integrate the knowledge of computer aid design, electronics, sensor theories and motor technology to fabricate a workable robot as a major outcome of this course. On completion of the project, students competed for top robot honors by demonstrating their robots' movements and performance in pick/place to a panel of judges.

Keywords: electronics, sensor theories and motor, robot, technology

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Authors: Jacek Turski

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The visual space geometries are constructed in the Riemannian geometry framework from simulated iso-disparity conics in the horizontalvisual plane of the binocular system with the asymmetric eyes (AEs). For the eyes fixating at the abathic distance, which depends on the AE’s parameters, the iso-disparity conics are frontal straight lines in physical space. For allother fixations, the iso-disparity conics consist of families of the ellipses or hyperbolas depending on both the AE’s parameters and the bifoveal fixation. However, the iso-disparity conic’s arcs are perceived in the gaze direction asthe frontal lines and are referred to as visual geodesics. Thus, geometriesof physical and visual spaces are different. A simple postulate that combines simulated iso-disparity conics with basic anatomy od the human visual system gives the relative depth for the fixation at the abathic distance that establishes the Riemann matric tensor. The resulting geodesics are incomplete in the gaze direction and, therefore, give thefinite distances to the horizon that depend on the AE’s parameters. Moreover, the curvature vanishes in this eyes posture such that visual space is flat. For all other fixations, only the sign of the curvature canbe inferred from the global behavior of the simulated iso-disparity conics: the curvature is positive for the elliptic iso-disparity curves and negative for the hyperbolic iso-disparity curves.

Keywords: asymmetric eye model, iso-disparity conics, metric tensor, geodesics, curvature

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Authors: A. K. M. Kafi, S. N. Nina, Mashitah M. Yusoff

Abstract:

In this work, we have described a new 3-dimensional (3D) network of cross-linked Horseradish Peroxidase/Carbon Nanotube (HRP/CNT) on a thiol-modified Au surface in order to build up the effective electrical wiring of the enzyme units with the electrode. This was achieved by the electropolymerization of aniline-functionalized carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and 4-aminothiophenol -modified-HRP on a 4-aminothiophenol monolayer-modified Au electrode. The synthesized 3D HRP/CNT networks were characterized with cyclic voltammetry and amperometry, resulting the establishment direct electron transfer between the redox active unit of HRP and the Au surface. Electrochemical measurements reveal that the immobilized HRP exhibits high biological activity and stability and a quasi-reversible redox peak of the redox center of HRP was observed at about −0.355 and −0.275 V vs. Ag/AgCl. The electron transfer rate constant, KS and electron transfer co-efficient were found to be 0.57 s-1 and 0.42, respectively. Based on the electrocatalytic process by direct electrochemistry of HRP, a biosensor for detecting H2O2 was developed. The developed biosensor exhibits excellent electrocatalytic activity for the reduction of H2O2. The proposed biosensor modified with HRP/CNT 3D network displays a broader linear range and a lower detection limit for H2O2 determination. The linear range is from 1.0×10−7 to 1.2×10−4M with a detection limit of 2.2.0×10−8M at 3σ. Moreover, this biosensor exhibits very high sensitivity, good reproducibility and long-time stability. In summary, ease of fabrication, a low cost, fast response and high sensitivity are the main advantages of the new biosensor proposed in this study. These obvious advantages would really help for the real analytical applicability of the proposed biosensor.

Keywords: redox enzyme, nanomaterials, biosensors, electrical communication

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