Search results for: sample average approximation

Authors: Pradapet Krutchangthong, Jirawat Sudsawart

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This research aims to study the health tourism administration and factors related to health tourism promotion at Ban Nam Chieo Community, Laem Ngop, Trat Province. The sample in this research is 361 tourists who use the service and Ban Nam Chieo Community residents who provide the service. Sampling was done from a population size of 3,780 using Taro Yamane’s formula. The tools used in the study were questionnaires and interviews. The statistics used in this research are percentage, mean and standard deviation. The result of Model Development of Health Tourism at Ban Nam Chieo Community, Laem Ngop , Trat Province shows that most of them are female with bachelor degree. They are government officers with an average income between 16,001-20,000 Baht. Suggested health system activities for health tourism development are: 1) health massage, 2) herbal compress, 3) exercise in the water by walking on shell. Meanwhile, factors related to health tourism promotion at Ban Nam Chieo Community, Laem Ngop, Trat Province are: 1) understanding the context of the community and service providers, 2) cooperation from related government and private sectors.

Keywords: health tourism, health system activities, promotion, administration

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Authors: Amjad Abdullah, Amjad Yahya, Bushra Aljohani, Amani Alghamdi

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Change point detection is an important part of data analysis. The presence of a change point refers to a significant change in the behavior of a time series. In this article, we examine the detection of multiple change points of parameters of the exponential Lomax distribution, which is broad and flexible compared with other distributions while fitting data. We used the Schwarz information criterion and binary segmentation to detect multiple change points in publicly available data on the average temperature in the ozone layer. The change points were successfully located.

Keywords: binary segmentation, change point, exponentialLomax distribution, information criterion

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Authors: S. Abdulsalam, A. D. I. Suleiman, N. M. Musa, M. Yusuf

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Environment free of pollutants should be the concern of every individual but with industrialization and urbanization it is difficult to achieve. In view of achieving a pollution limited environment at low cost, a study was conducted on the use of bioremediation technology to remediate hydrocarbons and three heavy metals namely; copper (Cu), zinc (Zn) and iron (Fe) from a typical petroleum refinery wastewater in a closed system. Physicochemical and microbiological characteristics on the wastewater sample revealed that it was polluted with the aforementioned pollutants. Isolation and identification of microorganisms present in the wastewater sample revealed the presence of Bacillus subtilis, Micrococcus luteus, Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis. Bioremediation experiments carried out on five batch reactors with different compositions but at same environmental conditions revealed that treatment T5 (boosted with the association of Bacillus subtilis, Micrococcus luteus) gave the best result in terms of oil and grease content removal (i.e. 67% in 63 days). In addition, these microorganisms were able of reducing the concentrations of heavy metals in the sample. Treatments T5, T3 (boosted with Bacillus subtilis only) and T4 (boosted with Micrococcus luteus only) gave optimum percentage uptakes of 65, 75 and 25 for Cu, Zn and Fe respectively.

Keywords: boosted, bioremediation, closed system, aeration, uptake, wastewater

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Authors: Sudarat Jiamyangyuen, Tipawan Thongsook, Riantong Singanusong, Chanida Saengtubtim

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Rice is a staple food as well as exported commodity of Thailand. Rice bran, a 10.5% constituent of rice grain, is a by-product of rice milling process. Rice bran is normally used as a raw material for rice bran oil production or sold as feed with a low price. Therefore, this study aimed to increase value of defatted rice bran as obtained after extracting of rice bran oil. Conventionally, the protein in defatted rice bran was extracted using alkaline extraction and acid precipitation, which results in reduction of nutritious components in rice bran. Rice bran protein concentrate is suitable for those who are allergenic of protein from other sources eg. milk, wheat. In addition to its hypoallergenic property, rice bran protein also contains good quantity of lysine. Thus it may act as a suitable ingredient for infant food formulations while adding variety to the restricted diets of children with food allergies. The objectives of this study were to compare properties of rice bran protein concentrate (RBPC) extracted from defatted rice bran using enzymes together with precipitation step using polysaccharides (alginate and carrageenan) to those of a control sample extracted using a conventional method. The results showed that extraction of protein from rice bran using enzymes exhibited the higher protein recovery compared to that extraction with alkaline. The extraction conditions using alcalase 2% (v/w) at 50 C, pH 9.5 gave the highest protein (2.44%) and yield (32.09%) in extracted solution compared to other enzymes. Rice bran protein concentrate powder prepared by a precipitation step using alginate (protein in solution: alginate 1:0.006) exhibited the highest protein (27.55%) and yield (6.62%). Precipitation using alginate was better than that of acid. RBPC extracted with alkaline (ALK) or enzyme alcalase (ALC), then precipitated with alginate (AL) (samples RBP-ALK-AL and RBP-ALC-AL) yielded the precipitation rate of 75% and 91.30%, respectively. Therefore, protein precipitation using alginate was then selected. Amino acid profile of control sample, and sample precipitated with alginate, as compared to casein and soy protein isolated, showed that control sample showed the highest content among all sample. Functional property study of RBP showed that the highest nitrogen solubility occurred in pH 8-10. There was no statically significant between emulsion capacity and emulsion stability of control and sample precipitated by alginate. However, control sample showed a higher of foaming and lower foam stability compared to those of sample precipitated with alginate. The finding was successful in terms of minimizing chemicals used in extraction and precipitation steps in preparation of rice bran protein concentrate. This research involves in a production of value-added product in which the double amount of protein (28%) compared to original amount (14%) contained in rice bran could be beneficial in terms of adding to food products eg. healthy drink with high protein and fiber. In addition, the basic knowledge of functional property of rice bran protein concentrate was obtained, which can be used to appropriately select the application of this value-added product from rice bran.

Keywords: alginate, carrageenan, rice bran, rice bran protein

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Authors: Beatriz Rebocho, Elisabete Valente, Carla Palma, Andreia Guilherme, Filipa Bessa, Paula Sobral

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The global accumulation of plastic in the oceans is a growing problem. Plastic is transported from its source to the oceans via rivers, which are considered the main route for plastic particles from land-based sources to the ocean. These plastics undergo physical and chemical degradation resulting in microplastics. The i-Plastic project aims to understand and predict the dispersion, accumulation and impacts of microplastics (5 mm to 1 µm) and nano plastics (below 1 µm) in marine environments from the tropical and temperate land-ocean interface to the open ocean under distinct flow and climate regimes. Seasonal monitoring of the fluxes of microplastics was carried out in (three) coastal areas in Brazil, Portugal and Spain. The present work shows the first results of in-situ seasonal monitoring and mapping of microplastics in ocean waters between Ovar and Vieira de Leiria (Portugal), in which 43 surface water samples and 43 water column samples were collected in contrasting seasons (spring and autumn). The spring and autumn surface water samples were collected with a 300 µm and 150 µm pore neuston net, respectively. In both campaigns, water column samples were collected using a conical mesh with a 150 µm pore. The experimental procedure comprises the following steps: i) sieving by a metal sieve; ii) digestion with potassium hydroxide to remove the organic matter original from the sample matrix. After a filtration step, the content is retained on a membrane and observed under a stereomicroscope, and physical and chemical characterization (type, color, size, and polymer composition) of the microparticles is performed. Results showed that 84% and 88% of the surface water and water column samples were contaminated with microplastics, respectively. Surface water samples collected during the spring campaign averaged 0.35 MP.m-3, while surface water samples collected during autumn recorded 0.39 MP.m-3. Water column samples from the spring campaign had an average of 1.46 MP.m-3, while those from the autumn recorded 2.54 MP.m-3. In the spring, all microplastics found were fibers, predominantly black and blue. In autumn, the dominant particles found in the surface waters were fibers, while in the water column, fragments were dominant. In spring, the average size of surface water particles was 888 μm, while in the water column was 1063 μm. In autumn, the average size of surface and water column microplastics was 1333 μm and 1393 μm, respectively. The main polymers identified by Attenuated Total Reflectance (ATR) and micro-ATR Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy from all samples were low-density polyethylene (LDPE), polypropylene (PP), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and polyvinyl chloride (PVC). The significant difference between the microplastic concentration in the water column between the two campaigns could be due to the remixing of the water masses that occurred that week due to the occurrence of a storm. This work presents preliminary results since the i-Plastic project is still in progress. These results will contribute to the understanding of the spatial and temporal dispersion and accumulation of microplastics in this marine environment.

Keywords: microplastics, Portugal, Atlantic Ocean, water column, surface water

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Authors: Mateusz Kudasik, Katarzyna Kozieł

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The work included detailed studies of CO₂/CH₄ exchange on a shale core from the Lewino-1G2 well (Poland) from a depth of 3408 m. The sample permeability coefficients were determined under conditions of confining pressure from 5 MPa to 35 MPa. These studies showed that at a confining pressure of 35 MPa – corresponding to a depth of about 1000 m, the shale core was impermeable in the direction perpendicular to the bedding, and in the direction parallel to the bedding, the sample had very low permeability (k∞=0.001 mD). The sorption tests performed showed low sorption capacities, which amounted to a maximum of 1.28 cm³/g in relation to CO₂ and 0.87 cm³/g to CH₄ at a pressure of 1.4 MPa. The most important study used to assess the possibilities of CO₂ storage and gas recovery from shale rocks were the CO₂/CH₄ exchange experiments, which were carried out under confining pressure conditions of 5 MPa and 30 MPa. These experiments were carried out on a unique apparatus, which makes it possible to apply a confining pressure corresponding to in situ conditions. The obtained results made it possible to carry out a comprehensive balance of gas exchange during the injection of CO₂ into the shale sample, with simultaneous recovery of CH₄. Based on the conducted sorption and gas exchange studies on the core sample under confining pressure conditions, it was found that in situ conditions, at the depths of shale gas occurrence in Poland of 3000-4000 m, where the confining pressure can be about 100 MPa: (i) poorly developed pore structure, (ii) very low permeability, and (iii) low sorption properties, make shale rocks poorly predisposed to the application of CO₂ storage technology with simultaneous recovery of CH₄. Without the stimulation of CO₂/CH₄ exchange rates through fracturing processes, the effectiveness of CO₂-ESGR technology on shale rock is very low. The research presented in this work is extremely important from the point of view of precise assessment of the potential of CO₂-ESGR technology.

Keywords: shale gas, shale rocks, CO₂/CH₄ exchange, permeability, sorption, CO₂, CH₄

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Authors: Nalin Simasathiansophon

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This research aims to study English communication of Thai travel agencies and the impact of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) on Thai travel industry. A questionnaire was used in this research. The multi-stage sampling method was also utilized with 474 respondents from 79 Thai travel agencies. Descriptive statistics included percentage, average, and standard deviation. The findings revealed that English communication for most travel agencies was between the poor and intermediate level and therefore improvement is needed, especially the listening and speaking skills. In other words, the majority of respondents needed more training in terms of communicating in English. Since the age average of travel agencies was around 30-39 years, the training technique should integrate communicating skills together, such as stimulating technique or cooperating technique that could encourage travel agencies to use English in communicating with foreigners.

Keywords: travel agencies, English communication, AEC, Thai

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Authors: Michael Lousis

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The systematic identification of the most conspicuous and significant errors made by learners during three-years of testing of their progress in learning Arithmetic are presented in this article. How these errors have changed over three-years of school instruction of Arithmetic also is shown. The sample is comprised of two hundred (200) English students and one hundred and fifty (150) Greek students. These students were purposefully selected according to their participation in each testing session in the development of the three-year Kassel Project in England and Greece, in both domains simultaneously in Arithmetic and Algebra. The data sample includes six test-scripts corresponding to three testing sessions in both Arithmetic and Algebra respectively.

Keywords: arithmetic, errors, Kassel Project, progress of learning

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Authors: Johnson Oladele Fatokun, I. P. Akpan

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In this paper, the one-dimensional time dependent Schrödinger equation is discretized by the method of lines using a second order finite difference approximation to replace the second order spatial derivative. The evolving system of stiff ordinary differential equation (ODE) in time is solved numerically by an L-stable trapezoidal-like integrator. Results show accuracy of relative maximum error of order 10-4 in the interval of consideration. The performance of the method as compared to an existing scheme is considered favorable.

Keywords: Schrodinger’s equation, partial differential equations, method of lines (MOL), stiff ODE, trapezoidal-like integrator

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Authors: Ann Enright

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More than ever, animal shelters need to identify ways to reduce the number of animals entering shelter facilities and the incidence of euthanasia. Managing animal overpopulation using euthanasia can have detrimental health and emotional consequences for the shelter staff involved. There are also community expectations with moral and financial implications to consider. To achieve the goals of reducing animal intake and the incidence of euthanasia, shelter best practice involves combining programs, procedures and partnerships to increase live release rates (LRR), reduce the incidence of disease, length of stay (LOS) and shelter intake whilst overall remaining financially viable. Analysing daily processes, tracking outcomes and implementing simple strategies enabled shelter staff to more effectively focus their efforts and achieve amazing results. The objective of this retrospective study was to assess the effect of implementing the capacity for care (C4C) management model. Data focusing on the average daily number of animals on site for a two year period (2016 – 2017) was exported from a shelter management system, Customer Logic (CL) Vet to Excel for manipulation and comparison. Following the implementation of C4C practices the average daily number of animals on site was reduced by >50%, (2016 average 103 compared to 2017 average 49), average LOS reduced by 50% from 8 weeks to 4 weeks and incidence of disease reduced from ≥ 70% to less than 2% of the cats on site at the completion of the study. The total number of stray cats entering the shelter due to council contracts reduced by 50% (486 to 248). Improved cat outcomes were attributed to strategies that increased adoptions and reduced euthanasia of poorly socialized cats, including foster programs. To continue to achieve improvements in LRR and LOS, strategies to decrease intake further would be beneficial, for example, targeted sterilisation programs. In conclusion, the study highlighted the benefits of using C4C as a management tool, delivering a significant reduction in animal intake and euthanasia with positive emotional, financial and community outcomes.

Keywords: animal welfare, capacity for care, cat, euthanasia, length of stay, managed intake, shelter

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Authors: Ebtesam. E. Ateia, L. M. Salah, A. H. El-Bassuony

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The aim of the presented study was the possibility of developing a nanosized material with enhanced structural properties that was suitable for many applications. Nanostructure ferrite of composition Ni0.5 Zn0.5 Cr0.1 Fe1.9 O4 were prepared by sol–gel, co-precipitation, citrate-gel, flash and oxalate precursor methods. The Structural and micro structural analysis of the investigated samples were carried out. It was observed that the lattice parameter of cubic spinel was constant, and the positions of both tetrahedral and the octahedral bands had a fixed position. The values of the lattice parameter had a significant role in determining the stoichiometric cation distribution of the composition.The average crystalline sizes of the investigated samples were from 16.4 to 69 nm. Discussion was made on the basis of a comparison of average crystallite size of the investigated samples, indicating that the co-precipitation method was the the effective one in producing small crystallite sized samples.

Keywords: chemical preparation, ferrite, grain size, nanocomposites, sol-gel

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Authors: Siyang Wang, Yujin Hu, Xuelin Wang, Wenqian Zhang

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Austenitic stainless steels are widely used in nuclear industry to manufacture critical components owing to their excellent corrosion resistance at high temperatures. Almost all the components used in nuclear power plants are produced by surface finishing (surface cold work) such as milling, grinding and so on. The change of surface states induced by machining has great influence on the corrosion behavior. In the present study, long time oxidation behavior of machined 316 austenitic stainless steel exposed to simulated pressure water reactor environment was investigated considering different surface states. Four surface finishes were produced by electro-polishing (P), grinding (G), and two milling (M and M1) processes respectively. Before oxidation, the surface Vickers micro-hardness, surface roughness of each type of sample was measured. Corrosion behavior of four types of sample was studied by using oxidation weight gain method for six oxidation periods. The oxidation time of each period was 120h, 216h, 336h, 504h, 672h and 1344h, respectively. SEM was used to observe the surface morphology of oxide film in several period. The results showed that oxide film on austenitic stainless steel has a duplex-layer structure. The inner oxide film is continuous and compact, while the outer layer is composed of oxide particles. The oxide particle consisted of large particles (nearly micron size) and small particles (dozens of nanometers to a few hundred nanometers). The formation of oxide particle could be significantly affected by the machined surface states. The large particle on cold worked samples (grinding and milling) appeared earlier than electro-polished one, and the milled sample has the largest particle size followed by ground one and electro-polished one. For machined samples, the large particles were almost distributed along the direction of machining marks. Severe exfoliation was observed on one milled surface (M) which had the most heavily cold worked layer, while rare local exfoliation occurred on the ground sample (G) and the other milled sample (M1). The electro-polished sample (P) entirely did not exfoliate.

Keywords: austenitic stainless steel, oxidation, machining, SEM

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Authors: Shiv Jyoti Pandey, Shveta Puri, G. M. Bhat, Neha Raina

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The Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) region of Northwest Himalaya has a long history of earthquake activity which falls within Seismic Zones IV and V. To know the crustal structure beneath this region, we utilized teleseismic receiver function method. This paper presents the results of the analyses of the teleseismic earthquake waves recorded by 10 seismic observatories installed in the vicinity of major thrusts and faults. The teleseismic waves at epicentral distance between 30o and 90o with moment magnitudes greater than or equal to 5.5 that contains large amount of information about the crust and upper mantle structure directly beneath a receiver has been used. The receiver function (RF) technique has been widely applied to investigate crustal structures using P-to-S converted (Ps) phases from velocity discontinuities. The arrival time of the Ps, PpPs and PpSs+ PsPs converted and reverberated phases from the Moho can be combined to constrain the mean crustal thickness and Vp/Vs ratio. Over 500 receiver functions from 10 broadband stations located in the Jammu & Kashmir region of Northwest Himalaya were analyzed. With the help of H-K stacking method, we determined the crustal thickness (H) and average crustal Vp/Vs ratio (K) in this region. We also used Neighbourhood algorithm technique to verify our results. The receiver function results for these stations show that the crustal thickness under Jammu & Kashmir ranges from 45.0 to 53.6 km with an average value of 50.01 km. The Vp/Vs ratio varies from 1.63 to 1.99 with an average value of 1.784 which corresponds to an average Poisson’s ratio of 0.266 with a range from 0.198 to 0.331. High Poisson’s ratios under some stations may be related to partial melting in the crust near the uppermost mantle. The crustal structure model developed from this study can be used to refine the velocity model used in the precise epicenter location in the region, thereby increasing the knowledge to understand current seismicity in the region.

Keywords: H-K stacking, Poisson’s ratios, receiver function, teleseismic

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Authors: Zhao Yang Liu, Jing Tao

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The Asian long-horned beetle, Anoplophora glabripennis (Motschulsky) (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae: Lamiinae), is a wood-borer and polyphagous xylophages native to Asia and killing healthy trees. As it causes serious danger to trees, the beetle has been paid close attention in the world. However, the genetic markers limited, especially microsatellite. In this study, 24 novel simple sequence repeat (SSR) molecular markers, a powerful tool for genetic diversity studies and linkage map construction, were developed and characterized from whole genome shotgun sequences. We developed SSR loci of 2 to 6 repeated and perfect units including 9895 points, the density of SSRs was found one SSR per 56.57 kb and the abundance of SSR was 0.02/kb, besides 140 types of repeats motifs were found. Half of the 48 pairs SSR primers (containing 4 di-, 7 tri-, 2 tetra- and 11 hexamers SSRs) we selected randomly from 1222 pairs of primers were polymorphism. The number of alleles for these markers in 48 individuals varied from 3 to 21 with an average of 7.71, the number of effective alleles ranged from 1.22 to 9.97 with an average of 3.54. Besides this, the polymorphic information content (PIC) ranged from 0.18 to 0.89 with a mean of 0.65, And Shannon's Information index (I) ranged from 0.46 to 2.62 with an average of 1.44. The results suggest that the method for screening of SSR in the whole genome is feasible and efficient. SSR markers developed in this study can be used for population genetic studies of A. glabripennis. Moreover, they may also be helpful for the development of microsatellites for other Coleoptera.

Keywords: SSR markers, Anoplophora glabripennis, genetic diversity, whole genome

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Authors: Kevin Wongleedee, Atcharapun Daiporn

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This research paper was aimed to examine the level of satisfaction of the faculty and staff members who participated in the ASEAN camp. The population of this study included all the faculty and staff members who participated in the activities of the ASEAN camp during January 2014. Based on 106 faculty and staff members who answered the questionnaire, the data were complied by using SPSS. Mean and standard deviation were utilized in analyzing the data. The findings revealed that the average mean of satisfaction was 4.16, and standard deviation was 0.6634. Moreover, the mean average can be used to rank the level of satisfaction from each of the following factors: useful knowledge, technique of explaining knowledge, understanding materials, appropriateness of knowledge, document available, time of activities, service from staff, and public relation.

Keywords: ASEAN camp, customer, satisfaction, faculty and staff members

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Authors: Shahab Shafayyan, Tara Naderi

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Biogas is the product of decomposition of organic materials. A variety of sources, including animal wastes, municipal solid wastes, sewage and agricultural wastes may be used to produce biogas in an anaerobic process. The main forming material of biogas is methane gas, which can be used directly in a variety of ways, such as heating and as fuel, which is very common in a number of countries, such as China and India. In this article, the cost of biogas production from animal fertilizers, and its refined form, bio methane gas has been studied and it is shown that it can be an alternative for natural gas in terms of costs, in the near future. The cost of biogas purification to biomethane is more than three times the cost of biogas production for an average unit. Biomethane production costs, calculated for a small unit, is about $9/MMBTU and for an average unit is about $5.9/MMBTU.

Keywords: biogas, biomethane, anaerobic digestion, economic evaluation

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Authors: Samriti Wadhwa, Beena Kumari

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Background and Significance: Residue levels of ready mix (chlorpyriphos 50% and cypermethrin 5%), cypermethrin and chlorpyriphos individually in sandy loam soil under okra fruits (Variety, Varsha Uphar) were determined; a field experiment was conducted at Research Farm of Department of Entomology of Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agriculture University, Hisar, Haryana, India. Persistence behavior of cypermethrin and chlorpyriphos was studied following application of a pre-mix formulation of insecticides viz. Action-505EC, chlorpyriphos (Radar 20 EC) and cypermethrin (Cyperkill 10 EC) at the recommended dose and double the recommended dose along with control at fruiting stage. Pesticide application also leads to decline in soil acarine fauna which is instrumental in the breakdown of the litter because of which minerals are released into the soil. So, by this study, one can evaluate the safety of pesticides for the soil health. Methodology: Action-505EC (chlorpyriphos 50% and cypermethrin 5%) at 275 g a .i. ha⁻¹ (single dose) and 550 g a. i. ha⁻¹ (double dose), chlorpyriphos (Radar 20 EC) at 200 g a. i. ha⁻¹ (single dose) and 400 g a. i. ha⁻¹ (double dose) and cypermethrin (Cyperkill 10 EC) at 50 g a. i. ha⁻¹ (single dose) and 100 g a. i. ha⁻¹ (double dose) were applied at the fruiting stage on okra crop. Samples of soils from okra field were collected periodically at 0 (1h after spray), 1, 3, 5, 7, 10, 15 days and at harvest after application as well of control soil sample. After air drying, adsorbing through Florisil and activated charcoal and eluting with hexane: acetone (9:1) then residues in soils were estimated by a gas chromatograph equipped with a capillary column and electron capture detector. Results: No persistence of cypermethrin in ready-mix in soil under okra fruits at single and double dose was observed. In case of chlorpyriphos in ready-mix, average initial deposits on 0 (1 h after treatment) day was 0.015 mg kg⁻¹ and 0.036 mg kg⁻¹ which persisted up to 5 days and up to 7 days for single and double dose, respectively. After that residues reached below a detectable level of 0.010 mg kg⁻¹. Experimental studies on cypermethrin individually revealed that average initial deposits on 0 (1 h after treatment) were 0.008 mg kg⁻¹ and 0.012 mg kg⁻¹ which persisted up to 3 days and 5 days for single and double dose, respectively after that residues reached to below detectable level. The initial deposits of chlorpyriphos individually in soil were found to be 0.055 mg kg⁻¹ and 0.113 mg kg⁻¹ which persisted up to 7 days and 10 days at a lower dose and higher dose, respectively after that residues reached to below determination level. Conclusion: In soil under okra crop, only individual cypermethrin in both the doses persisted whereas no persistence of cypermethrin in ready-mix was observed. Persistence of chlorpyriphos individually is more as compared to chlorpyriphos in ready-mix in both the doses. Overall, the persistence of chlorpyriphos in soil under okra crop is more than cypermethrin.

Keywords: chlorpyriphos, cypermethrin, okra, ready mix, soil

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Authors: Natália Bruno Chaves, Richardes Caúla, Roosevelt do Vale, Daniela Toneti, Rafaela Carvalho, Renata Silva Lopes, Antônio Carlos Júnior, Adner Nobre, Viviane Santiago, Yara Alana Caldato, Estefania Rodriguez Urrego, André Buarque Lemos, Catarina Nucci Stetner, Marcos Mauro Barreto, Stefany Moreira Lima, Mara Cavalcante, Ticiane Ribeiro

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The Well Born (Nascer Bem – in Portuguese) Program was created in the Hapvida health network with the aim of improving access to safe and quality prenatal care for users. In addition to offering a line of prenatal care, the inclusion of obstetric nursing and the decentralization of childbirth, bring security that professionals did not indicate the route of delivery for professional convenience. The introduction of the nursing consultation came to reinforce the care to our users, strengthening their bond and reception. In 2021, the program maintained an average of 40% of normal births in the north, northeast and central-west regions of Brazil, an average above that observed in the rest of the country's private health systems, around 20%. In addition, the neonatal hospitalization rate of this population remained around 5.1%, a figure below the national average. With these data, the “Nascer Bem” program is affirmed as a safe and effective strategy for the promotion of safe normal birth.

Keywords: quality, safe, prenatal, obstetric nursing

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Authors: K. R. Phaneesh, Anirudh Bhat, G. Mukherjee, K. T. Kashyap

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Extensive Monte Carlo Potts model simulations were performed on 2D square lattice to investigate the effects of simulated higher temperatures effects on grain growth kinetics. A range of simulation temperatures (KTs) were applied on a matrix of size 10002 with Q-state 64, dispersed with a wide range of second phase particles, ranging from 0.001 to 0.1, and then run to 100,000 Monte Carlo steps. The average grain size, the largest grain size and the grain growth exponent were evaluated for all particle fractions and simulated temperatures. After evaluating several growth parameters, the critical temperature for a square lattice, with eight nearest neighbors, was found to be KTs = 0.4.

Keywords: average grain size, critical temperature, grain growth exponent, Monte Carlo steps

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Authors: Sammani Danwawu Abdullahi

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Vertex Enumeration Algorithms explore the methods and procedures of generating the vertices of general polyhedra formed by system of equations or inequalities. These problems of enumerating the extreme points (vertices) of general polyhedra are shown to be NP-Hard. This lead to exploring how to count the vertices of general polyhedra without listing them. This is also shown to be #P-Complete. Some fully polynomial randomized approximation schemes (fpras) of counting the vertices of some special classes of polyhedra associated with Down-Sets, Independent Sets, 2-Knapsack problems and 2 x n transportation problems are presented together with some discovered open problems.

Keywords: counting with uncertainties, mathematical programming, optimization, vertex enumeration

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Authors: Mohanad Rezeq, Tarik Aouam, Frederik Gailly

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In times of armed conflicts, various security checkpoints are placed by authorities to control the flow of merchandise into and within areas of conflict. The flow of humanitarian trucks that is added to the regular flow of commercial trucks, together with the complex security procedures, creates congestion and long waiting times at the security checkpoints. This causes distribution costs to increase and shortages of relief aid to the affected people to occur. Our research proposes a decision-support tool to assist planners and policymakers in building efficient plans for the distribution of relief aid, taking into account congestion at security checkpoints. The proposed tool is built around a multi-item humanitarian distribution planning model based on multi-phase design science methodology that has as its objective to minimize distribution and back ordering costs subject to capacity constraints that reflect congestion effects using nonlinear clearing functions. Using the 2014 Gaza War as a case study, we illustrate the application of the proposed tool, model the underlying relief-aid humanitarian supply chain, estimate clearing functions at different security checkpoints, and conduct computational experiments. The decision support tool generated a shipment plan that was compared to two benchmarks in terms of total distribution cost, average lead time and work in progress (WIP) at security checkpoints, and average inventory and backorders at distribution centers. The first benchmark is the shipment plan generated by the fixed capacity model, and the second is the actual shipment plan implemented by the planners during the armed conflict. According to our findings, modeling and optimizing supply chain flows reduce total distribution costs, average truck wait times at security checkpoints, and average backorders when compared to the executed plan and the fixed-capacity model. Finally, scenario analysis concludes that increasing capacity at security checkpoints can lower total operations costs by reducing the average lead time.

Keywords: humanitarian distribution planning, relief-aid distribution, congestion, clearing functions

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Authors: Zeinab Jokar, Mohammad Reza Moslemi

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In this work, we study the behavior of introducing atomic size vacancy in a graphene nanoribbon superlattice. Our investigations are based on the density functional theory (DFT) with the Local Density Approximation in Atomistix Toolkit (ATK). We show that, in addition to its shape, the position of vacancy has a major impact on the electrical properties of a graphene nanoribbon superlattice. We show that the band gap of an armchair graphene nanoribbon may be tuned by introducing an appropriate periodic pattern of vacancies. The band gap changes in a zig-zag manner similar to the variation of the band gap of a graphene nanoribbon by changing its width.

Keywords: AGNR, antidot, atomistic toolKit, vacancy

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Authors: Sinchai Poolklai

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The purpose of this research paper was aimed to examine the level of satisfaction of the faculty members who participated in the ASEAN camp, Chantaburi, Thailand. The population of this study included all the faculty members of Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University who participated in the training and activities of the ASEAN camp during March, 2014. Among a total of 200 faculty members who answered the questionnaire, the data was complied by using SPSS program. Percentage, mean and standard deviation were utilized in analyzing the data. The findings revealed that the average mean of satisfaction was 4.37, and standard deviation was 0.7810. Moreover, the mean average can be used to rank the level of satisfaction from each of the following factors: lower cost, less time consuming, faster delivery, more effective learning, and lower environment impact.

Keywords: ASEAN camp, e-learning, satisfaction, application

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Authors: Mohamed Al-Badrashiny, Abdelghani Bellaachia

Abstract:

This paper presents a classifier ensemble approach for predicting the survivability of the breast cancer patients using the latest database version of the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program of the National Cancer Institute. The system consists of two main components; features selection and classifier ensemble components. The features selection component divides the features in SEER database into four groups. After that it tries to find the most important features among the four groups that maximizes the weighted average F-score of a certain classification algorithm. The ensemble component uses three different classifiers, each of which models different set of features from SEER through the features selection module. On top of them, another classifier is used to give the final decision based on the output decisions and confidence scores from each of the underlying classifiers. Different classification algorithms have been examined; the best setup found is by using the decision tree, Bayesian network, and Na¨ıve Bayes algorithms for the underlying classifiers and Na¨ıve Bayes for the classifier ensemble step. The system outperforms all published systems to date when evaluated against the exact same data of SEER (period of 1973-2002). It gives 87.39% weighted average F-score compared to 85.82% and 81.34% of the other published systems. By increasing the data size to cover the whole database (period of 1973-2014), the overall weighted average F-score jumps to 92.4% on the held out unseen test set.

Keywords: classifier ensemble, breast cancer survivability, data mining, SEER

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Authors: Mahmoud S. Ahmed, Hany A. Mohamed, Mohamed A. Omara, Mohamed F. Abdeen

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Experimental study of natural convection heat transfer inside smooth and rough surfaces of vertical and inclined equilateral triangular channels of different inclination angles with a uniformly heated surface are performed. The inclination angle is changed from 15º to 90º. Smooth and rough surface of average roughness (0.02 mm) are used and their effect on the heat transfer characteristics are studied. The local and average heat transfer coefficients and Nusselt number are obtained for smooth and rough channels at different heat flux values, different inclination angles and different Rayleigh numbers (Ra) 6.48 × 105 ≤ Ra ≤ 4.78 × 106. The results show that the local Nusselt number decreases with increase of axial distance from the lower end of the triangular channel to a point near the upper end of channel, and then, it slightly increases. Higher values of local Nusselt number for rough channel along the axial distance compared with the smooth channel. The average Nusselt number of rough channel is higher than that of smooth channel by about 8.1% for inclined case at θ = 45o and 10% for vertical case. The results obtained are correlated using dimensionless groups for both rough and smooth surfaces of the inclined and vertical triangular channels.

Keywords: natural heat transfer convection, constant heat flux, open channels, heat transfer

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Authors: Nurshafika Adira Bt Audi Ashraf, Habsah Alwi

Abstract:

This study describes the series of analysis conducted after the use of Vacuum far Infra Red. Parameter including the constant drying temperature at 40°C with pressure difference (-400 bar, -500 bar and -600 bar) and constant drying pressure at -400 bar with difference temperature (40°C, 50°C and 60°C). The dried leaves with constant temperature and constant pressure is compared with the fresh leaves via several analysis including TGA, FTIR and Chromameter. Results indicated that the fresh leaves shows three degradation stages while temperature constant shows four stages of degradation and at constant pressure of -400 bar, five stages of degradation is shown. However, at the temperature constant with pressure -500 bar, five degradation stages are identified and at constant pressure with temperature 40°C, three stage of degradation is presence. It is assumed that it is due to the difference size of the sample as the particle size is decrease, the peak temperature shown in TG curves is also decrease which lead to the rapid ignition. Based on the FTIR analysis, fresh leaves gives the high presence of O-H and C=O group where both of the constant parameters give the absence of those due to the drying effects. In color analysis, the constant drying parameters (pressure and temperature) both shows that as the temperature increases, the average total of color change is also increases.

Keywords: chromameter, FTIR, TGA, Vaccum far infrared dying

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Authors: Sabry Shaaban, Tom McNamara, Sarah Hudson

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This article studies the performance of unpaced serial production lines that are subject to breakdown and are imbalanced in terms of both of their processing time means (MTs) and buffer storage capacities (BCs). Simulation results show that the best pattern in terms of throughput is a balanced line with respect to average buffer level; the best configuration is a monotone decreasing MT order, together with an ascending BC arrangement. Statistical analysis shows that BC, patterns of MT and BC imbalance, line length and degree of imbalance all contribute significantly to performance. Results show that unbalanced lines cope well with unreliability.

Keywords: unreliable unpaced serial lines, simulation, unequal mean operation times, uneven buffer capacities, patterns of imbalance, throughput, average buffer level

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Authors: Ude N. Callistus, Amulu F. Ndidi, Onukwuli D. Okechukwu, Amulu E. Patrick

Abstract:

Power law approximation was used in this study to evaluate the reaction orders of calcium oxide, CaO catalyzed transesterification of refined cottonseed oil and methanol. The kinetics study was carried out at temperatures of 45, 55 and 65 ^oC. The kinetic parameters such as reaction order 2.02 and rate constant 2.8 hr^-1g^-1cat, obtained at the temperature of 65 ^oC best fitted the kinetic model. The activation energy, Ea obtained was 127.744 KJ/mol. The results indicate that the transesterification reaction of the refined cottonseed oil using calcium oxide catalyst is approximately second order reaction.

Keywords: refined cottonseed oil, transesterification, CaO, heterogeneous catalysts, kinetic model

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Authors: Ying Guo, Miaochan Li, David Yang, Xiao-Yan Li

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This paper examines the relevance of accounting information to stock prices at different periods using manufacturing companies listed in China’s Growth Enterprise Market (GEM). We find that both the average stock price at fiscal year-end and the average stock price one month after fiscal year-end are more relevant to the accounting information than the closing stock price four months after fiscal year-end. This implies that Chinese stock markets react before the public disclosure of accounting information, which may be due to information leak before official announcements. Our findings confirm that accounting information is relevant to stock prices for Chinese listed manufacturing companies, which is a critical question to answer for investors who have interest in Chinese companies.

Keywords: accounting information, response time, value relevance, stock price

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Authors: Maha Hammami, Olfa Benouda Sioud

Abstract:

This study investigates the reliability of management earnings forecasts with reference to these two ingredients: verifiability and neutrality. Specifically, we examine the biasedness (or accuracy) of management earnings forecasts and company specific characteristics that can be associated with accuracy. Based on sample of 102 IPO prospectuses published for admission on NYSE Euronext Paris from 2002 to 2010, we found that these forecasts are on average optimistic and two of the five test variables, earnings variability and financial leverage are significant in explaining ex post bias. Acknowledging the possibility that the bias is the result of the managers’ forecasting behavior, we then examine whether managers decide to under-predict, over-predict or forecast accurately for self-serving purposes. Explicitly, we examine the role of financial distress, operating performance, ownership by insiders and the economy state in influencing managers’ forecasting preferences. We find that managers of distressed firms seem to over-predict future earnings. We also find that when managers are given more stock options, they tend to under-predict future earnings. Finally, we conclude that the management earnings forecasts are affected by an intentional bias due to managers’ forecasting preferences.

Keywords: intentional bias, management earnings forecasts, neutrality, verifiability

Procedia PDF Downloads 235