Search results for: Flow of Information

Authors: Julianto Agung Saputro, Jogiyanto Hartono

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Multiple valuation is widely used by investors and practitioners but its accuracy is questionable. Multiple valuation inaccuracies are due to the unreliability of information used in valuation, inaccuracies comparison group selection, and use of individual multiple values. This study investigated the accuracy of valuation to examine factors that can increase the accuracy of the valuation of multiple ratios, that are discretionary accruals, the comparison group, and the composite of multiple valuation. These results indicate that multiple value adjustment method with discretionary accruals provides better accuracy, the industry comparator group method combined with the size and growth of companies also provide better accuracy. Composite of individual multiple valuation gives the best accuracy. If all of these factors combined, the accuracy of valuation of multiple ratios will give the best results.

Keywords: multiple, valuation, composite, accuracy

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Authors: Gilang Maulana, Dhika Rahma Qomariah, Yasin Fadil

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Purpose: This research meant to measure the magnitude of the influence of the quality of the presentation to the targeted audience perception in catching information presentation. Design/Methodology/Approach: This research uses a quantitative research method. The kind of data that uses in this research is the primary data. The population in this research are students the economics faculty of Semarang State University. The sampling techniques uses in this research is purposive sampling. The retrieving data uses questionnaire on 30 respondents. The data analysis uses descriptive analysis. Result: The quality of presentation influential positive against perception of the audience. This proved that the more qualified presentation will increase the perception of the audience. Limitation: Respondents were limited to only 30 people.

Keywords: quality of presentation, presentation, audience, perception, semarang state university

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Authors: Nilda Tri Putri, Muhammad Taufik

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Tools and agricultural machinery (Alsintan) is a tool used in agribusiness activities. Alsintan used to change the traditional farming systems generally use manual equipment into modern agriculture with mechanization. CV Nugraha Chakti Consultant make an action plan for industrial development Alsintan West Sumatra in 2012 to develop medium industries of Alsintan become a major industry of Alsintan, one of efforts made is increase the production capacity of the industry Alsintan. Production capacity for superior products as hydrotiller and threshers set each for 2.000 units per year. CV Citra Dragon as one of the medium industry alsintan in West Sumatra has a plan to relocate the existing plant to meet growing consumer demand each year. Increased production capacity and plant relocation plan has led to a change in the layout; therefore need to design the layout of the plant facility CV Citra Dragon. First step the to design of plant layout is design the layout of the production floor. The design of the production floor layout is done by applying group technology layout. The initial step is to do a machine grouping and part family using the Average Linkage Clustering (ALC) and Rank Order Clustering (ROC). Furthermore done independent work station design and layout design using the Modified Spanning Tree (MST). Alternative selection layout is done to select the best production floor layout between ALC and ROC cell grouping. Furthermore, to design the layout of warehouses, offices and other production support facilities. Activity Relationship Chart methods used to organize the placement of factory facilities has been designed. After structuring plan facilities, calculated cost manufacturing facility plant establishment. Type of layout is used on the production floor layout technology group. The production floor is composed of four cell machinery, assembly area and painting area. The total distance of the displacement of material in a single production amounted to 1120.16 m which means need 18,7minutes of transportation time for one time production. Alsintan Factory has designed a circular flow pattern with 11 facilities. The facilities were designed consisting of 10 rooms and 1 parking space. The measure of factory building is 84 m x 52 m.

Keywords: Average Linkage Clustering (ALC), Rank Order Clustering (ROC), Modified Spanning Tree (MST), Activity Relationship Chart (ARC)

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Authors: Yasuhiro Sato, Kodai Noma, Kenta Sawada, Kazumasa Adachi, Yoshinori Matsuura, Saori Iwanaga

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RFID system is used to identify objects such as passenger identification in public transportation, instead of linear or 2-dimensional barcodes. Key advantages of RFID system are to identify objects without physical contact, and to write arbitrary information into RFID tag. These advantages may help to improve maritime safety and efficiency of activity on the sea. However, utilization of RFID system for maritime scenes has not been considered. In this paper, we evaluate the availability of a generic RFID system operating on the sea. We measure RSSI between RFID tag floating on the sea and RFID antenna, and check whether a RFID reader can access a tag or not, while the distance between a floating buoy and the ship, and the angle are changed. Finally, we discuss the feasibility and the applicability of RFID system on the sea through the results of our preliminary experiment.

Keywords: RFID, experimental evaluation, RSSI, maritime use

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Authors: Bing Zhang, Jingyi Zhang, Mudan Chen

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Fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites have been extensively utilised in various industries due to their high specific strength, e.g., aerospace, renewable energy, automotive, and marine. However, they have relatively low electrical conductivity than metals, especially in the out-of-plane direction. Conductive metal strips or meshes are typically employed to protect composites when designing lightweight structures that may be subjected to lightning strikes, such as composite wings. Unfortunately, this approach downplays the lightweight advantages of FRP composites, thereby limiting their potential applications. Extensive studies have been undertaken to improve the electrical conductivity of FRP composites. The authors are amongst the pioneers who use through-thickness reinforcement (TTR) to tailor the electrical conductivity of composites. Compared to the conventional approaches using conductive fillers, the through-thickness reinforcement approach has been proven to be able to offer a much larger improvement to the through-thickness conductivity of composites. In this study, an advanced high-fidelity numerical modelling strategy is presented to investigate the effects of through-thickness reinforcement on both the in-plane and out-of-plane electrical conductivities of FRP composites. The critical micro-structural features of through-thickness reinforced composites incorporated in the modelling framework are 1) the fibre waviness formed due to TTR insertion; 2) the resin-rich pockets formed due to resin flow in the curing process following TTR insertion; 3) the fibre crimp, i.e., fibre distortion in the thickness direction of composites caused by TTR insertion forces. In addition, each interlaminar interface is described separately. An IMA/M21 composite laminate with a quasi-isotropic stacking sequence is employed to calibrate and verify the modelling framework. The modelling results agree well with experimental measurements for bothering in-plane and out-plane conductivities. It has been found that the presence of conductive TTR can increase the out-of-plane conductivity by around one order, but there is less improvement in the in-plane conductivity, even at the TTR areal density of 0.1%. This numerical tool provides valuable references as a design tool for through-thickness reinforced composites when exploring their electrical applications. Parametric studies are undertaken using the numerical tool to investigate critical parameters that affect the electrical conductivities of composites, including TTR material, TTR areal density, stacking sequence, and interlaminar conductivity. Suggestions regarding the design of electrical through-thickness reinforced composites are derived from the numerical modelling campaign.

Keywords: composite structures, design, electrical conductivity, numerical modelling, through-thickness reinforcement

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Authors: Boulis M. Ibrahim, Iordanis A. Kalaitzoglou

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A micro structural pricing model is proposed in which price components account for learning by incorporating changing expectations of the trading intensity and the risk level of incoming trades. An analysis of European carbon futures transactions finds expected trading intensity to increase the information component and decrease the liquidity component of price changes, but at different rates. Among the results, the expected persistence in trading intensity explains the majority of the auto correlations in the level and the conditional volatility of price changes, helps predict hourly patterns in the bid–ask spread and differentiates between the impact of buy versus sell and continuing versus reversing trades.

Keywords: CO2 emission allowances, market microstructure, duration, price discovery

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Authors: Serkan Aras, Emrah Gulay

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Combining various forecasting models is an important tool for researchers to attain more accurate forecasts. A great number of papers have shown that selecting single models as dissimilar models, or methods based on different information as possible leads to better forecasting performances. However, there is not a certain rule regarding the number of single models to be used in any combining methods. This study focuses on determining the optimal or near optimal number for single models with the help of statistical tests. An extensive experiment is carried out by utilizing some well-known time series data sets from diverse fields. Furthermore, many rival forecasting methods and some of the commonly used combining methods are employed. The obtained results indicate that some statistically significant performance differences can be found regarding the number of the single models in the combining methods under investigation.

Keywords: combined forecast, forecasting, M-competition, time series

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Authors: Christoph Opperer

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Space syntax is a theory and method for analyzing the spatial layout of buildings and urban environments to understand how they can influence patterns of human movement, social interaction, and behavior. While direct visibility is a key factor in space syntax research, important visual information such as light, color, texture, etc., are typically not considered, even though psychological studies have shown a strong correlation to the human perceptual experience within physical space – with light and color, for example, playing a crucial role in shaping the perception of spaciousness. Furthermore, these surface properties are often the visual features that are most salient and responsible for drawing attention to certain elements within the environment. This paper explores the potential of integrating these factors into general space syntax methods and visibility-based analysis of space, particularly for architectural spatial layouts. To this end, we use a combination of geometric (isovist) and topological (visibility graph) approaches together with image-based methods, allowing a comprehensive exploration of the relationship between spatial geometry, visual aesthetics, and human experience. Custom-coded ray-tracing techniques are employed to generate spherical panorama images, encoding three-dimensional spatial data in the form of two-dimensional images. These images are then processed through computer vision algorithms to generate saliency-maps, which serve as a visual representation of areas most likely to attract human attention based on their visual properties. The maps are subsequently used to weight the vertices of isovists and the visibility graph, placing greater emphasis on areas with high saliency. Compared to traditional methods, our weighted visibility analysis introduces an additional layer of information density by assigning different weights or importance levels to various aspects within the field of view. This extends general space syntax measures to provide a more nuanced understanding of visibility patterns that better reflect the dynamics of human attention and perception. Furthermore, by drawing parallels to traditional isovist and VGA analysis, our weighted approach emphasizes a crucial distinction, which has been pointed out by Ervin and Steinitz: the difference between what is possible to see and what is likely to be seen. Therefore, this paper emphasizes the importance of including surface properties in visibility-based analysis to gain deeper insights into how people interact with their surroundings and to establish a stronger connection with human attention and perception.

Keywords: space syntax, visibility analysis, isovist, visibility graph, visual features, human perception, saliency detection, raytracing, spherical images

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Authors: Chinchira Bunchutrakun

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The purposes of the study are to investigate the problems that the translators encountered when translating English idioms into Thai and study the strategies they applied in solving the problems. The original English version and the Thai translated version of each of two works of fiction were purposively selected for the study. The first was Mr. Maybe, written by Jane Green and translated by Montharat Songphao. The second was The Trials of Tiffany Trott, written by Isabel Wolff and translated by Jitraporn Notoda. Thirty idioms of two translated works of fiction were, then, analyzed. Questionnaires and interviews with the translators of each novel were conducted to obtain the best possible information. The results indicated that the only type of problem that occurred was cultural problems, and these were solved differently by the two translators.

Keywords: translation, idiom translation, fiction translation, problem-solution strategies

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Authors: Laura Simmer, Maria Kalt, Oliver Schauer

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Freight transport is growing fast, but many vehicles are empty or just partially loaded. The vision and concepts of the Physical Internet (PI) proposes to eliminate these inefficiencies. Aiming for a radical sustainability improvement, the PI – inspired by the Digital Internet – is a hyperconnected global logistic system, enabling seamless asset sharing and flow consolidation. The implementation of a PI in its full expression will be a huge challenge: the industry needs innovation and implementation support including change management approaches, awareness creation and good practices diffusion, legislative actions to remove antitrust and international commerce barriers, standardization and public incentives policies. In order to take a step closer to this future the project ‘Atropine - Fast Track to the Physical Internet’ funded under the Strategic Economic and Research Program ‘Innovative Upper Austria 2020’ was set up. The two-year research project unites several research partners in this field, but also industrial partners and logistics service providers. With Atropine, the consortium wants to actively shape the mobility landscape in Upper Austria and make an innovative contribution to an energy-efficient, environmentally sound and sustainable development in the transport area. This paper should, on the one hand, clarify the questions what the project Atropine is about and, on the other hand, how a proof of concept will be reached. Awareness building plays an important role in the project as the PI requires a reorganization of the supply chain and the design of completely new forms of inter-company co-operation. New business models have to be developed and should be verified by simulation. After the simulation process one of these business models will be chosen and tested in real life with the partner companies. The developed results - simulation model and demonstrator - are used to determine how the concept of the PI can be applied in Upper Austria. Atropine shall pave the way for a full-scale development of the PI vision in the next few decades and provide the basis for pushing the industry toward a new level of co-operation with more shared resources and increased standardization.

Keywords: Atropine, inter-company co-operation, Physical Internet, shared resources, sustainable logistics

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Authors: Kaveh Shahi, Helmi Z. M. Shafri, Ebrahim Taherzadeh

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In remote sensing, shadow causes problems in many applications such as change detection and classification. It is caused by objects which are elevated, thus can directly affect the accuracy of information. For these reasons, it is very important to detect shadows particularly in urban high spatial resolution imagery which created a significant problem. This paper focuses on automatic shadow detection based on a new spectral index for multispectral imagery known as Shadow Detection Index (SDI). The new spectral index was tested on different areas of World-View 2 images and the results demonstrated that the new spectral index has a massive potential to extract shadows effectively and automatically.

Keywords: spectral index, shadow detection, remote sensing images, World-View 2

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Authors: Pacharaporn Lekyan

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The purpose of this study is to explore the conflict management affecting the workplace and analyze the ability of the prediction of leadership of the headman and the methods to handle the conflict in an organization. The quantitative research and developed the questionnaire in order to collect information from the respondents from 200 samples from leader or manager who worked in frozen food factories in Thailand. The result analysis shows about the problem of the relationship between conflict management factors, leadership, and the confliction in organization. The emotion of the leader in the organization is not the only factor that can affect conflict management but also the emotion of surrounding people which this factor can happen all the time and shows that four out of five factors of interpersonal conflict management have affected on emotion intelligence and also shows that the behaviors of leadership have an influence on conflict management.

Keywords: conflict management, emotional intelligence, leadership, factories' employee

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Authors: Ali Kamal M. Sami, Safa Almukhtar, Alaa Al-Krush, Ismael Hama-Amin Akha Weas, Ruqaya Ahmed Alqais

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Introduction and Objectives Lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) are common among men with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). The combination of 5 alpha-reductase inhibitors and alpha-blockers has been used as a conservative treatment of male LUTS secondary to BPH. Nanotechnology structured water magnalife is a type of water that is produced by modulators and specific frequency and energy fields that transform ordinary water into this Nanowater. In this study, we evaluated the use of Nano-water with the conservative treatment and to see if it improves the outcome and gives better results in those patients with LUTS/BPH. Material and methods For a period of 3 months, 200 men with International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS)≥13, maximum flow rate (Qmax)≤ 15ml/s, and prostate volume > 30 and <80 ccs were randomly divided into two groups. Group A 100 men were given Nano-water with the (tamsulosindutasteride) and group B 100 men were given ordinary bottled water with the (tamsulosindutasteride). The water bottles were unlabeled and were given in a daily dose of 20ml/kg body weight. Dutasteride 0.5mg and tamsulosin 0.4 mg daily doses. Both groups were evaluated for the IPSS, Qmax, Residual Urine (RU), International Index of Erectile Function–Erectile Function (IIEF-EF) domain at the beginning (baseline data), and at the end of the 3 months. Results Of the 200 men with LUTS who were included in this study, 193 men were followed, and 7 men dropped out of the study for different reasons. In group A which included 97 men with LUTS, IPSS decreased by 16.82 (from 20.47 to 6.65) (P<0.00001) and Qmax increased by 5.73 ml/s (from 11.71 to 17.44) (P<0.00001) and RU <50 ml in 88% of patients (P<0.00001) and IIEF-EF increased to 26.65 (from 16.85) (P<0.00001). While in group B, 96 men with LUTS, IPSS decreased by 8.74(from 19.59 to 10.85)(P<0.00001) and Qmax increased by 4.67 ml/s(from 10.74 to 15.41)(P<0.00001), RU<50 ml in 75% of patients (P<0.00001), and IIEF-EF increased to 21(from 15.87)(P<0.00001). Group A had better results than group B. IPSS in group A decreased to 6.65 vs 10.85 in group B(P<0.00001), also Qmax increased to 17.44 in group A vs 15.41 in group B(P<0.00001), group A had RU <50 ml in 88% of patients vs 75% of patients in group B(P<0.00001).Group A had better IIEF-EF which increased to 26.65 vs 21 in group B(P<0.00001). While the differences between the baseline data of both groups were statistically not significant. Conclusion The use of nanotechnology structured water magnalife gives a better result in terms of LUTS and scores in patients with BPH. This combination is showing improvements in IPSS and even in erectile function in those men after 3 months.

Keywords: nano water, lower urinary tract symptoms, benign prostatic hypertrophy, erectile dysfunction

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Authors: Orhan Akınoğlu, Arif Çömek, Ersin Elmacı, Tuğba Gündoğdu

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The concept map is known to be a powerful tool to organize the ideas and concepts of an individuals’ mind. This tool is a kind of visual map that illustrates the relationships between the concepts of a certain subject. The effect of concept mapping on cognitive and affective qualities is one of the research topics among educational researchers for last decades. We educators want to utilize it both as an instructional tool or an assessment tool in classes. For that reason, this study aimed to determine the effect of concept mapping as a learning strategy in science classes on students’ academic achievement and attitude. The research employed a randomized pre-test post-test control group design. Data collected from 60 sixth grade students participated in the study from a randomly selected primary school in Turkey. Sixth-grade classes of the school were analyzed according to students’ academic achievement, science attitude, gender, mathematics, science courses grades, and their GPAs before the implementation. Two of the classes found to be equivalent (t=0,983, p>0,05) and one of them was defined as experimental and the other one control group randomly. During a 5-weeks period, the experimental group students (N=30) used the paper-based concept mapping method while the control group students (N=30) were taught with the traditional approach according to the science and technology education curriculum for light and sound subject. Both groups were taught by the same teacher who is experienced using concept mapping in science classes. Before the implementation, the teacher explained the theory of the concept maps and showed how to create paper-based concept mapping individually to the experimental group students for two hours. Then for two following hours she asked them to create some concept maps related to their former science subjects and gave them feedback by reviewing their concept maps to be sure that they can create during the implementation. The data were collected by science achievement test, science attitude scale and personal information form. Science achievement test and science attitude scale were implemented as pre-test and post-test while personal information form was implemented just as once. The reliability coefficient of the achievement test was KR20=0,76 and Cronbach’s Alpha of the attitude scale was 0,89. SPSS statistical software was used to analyze the data. According to the results, there was a statistically significant difference between the experimental and control group for academic achievement but not for attitude. The experimental group had significantly greater gains from academic achievement test than the control group (t=0,02, p<0,05). The findings showed that the paper-and-pencil concept mapping can be used as an effective method for students’ academic achievement in science classes. The results have implications for further researches.

Keywords: concept mapping, science education, constructivism, academic achievement, science attitude

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Authors: Yeliz Ekinci, Melis Koyuncu

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Successful planning of solid waste management systems requires successful prediction of the amount of solid waste generated in an area. Waste management planning can protect the environment and human health, hence it is tremendously important for countries. The lack of information in waste generation can cause many environmental and health problems. Turkey is a country that plans to join European Union, hence, solid waste management is one of the most significant criteria that should be handled in order to be a part of this community. Solid waste management system requires a good forecast of solid waste generation. Thus, this study aims to forecast solid waste generation in Turkey. Artificial Neural Network and Linear Regression models will be used for this aim. Many models will be run and the best one will be selected based on some predetermined performance measures.

Keywords: forecast, solid waste generation, solid waste management, Turkey

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Authors: Rory Patrick O'Kane

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More universities and third level institutions now require at least an IELTS Band 6 for entry into courses of study for non-native speakers of English. This presentation focuses on IELTS Academic Writing Tasks 1 and 2 and in particular on the marking criterion of Coherence and Cohesion. A requirement for candidates aiming at Band 6 and above is that they produce answers which show a clear, overall progression of information and ideas and which use cohesive devices effectively. With this in mind, the presenter will examine what exactly is meant by coherence and cohesion and various strategies which can be used to assist students in improving their scores in this area. A number of classroom teaching ideas will be introduced, and participants will have the opportunity to compare and discuss sample answers written by candidates for this examination with a specific focus on coherence and cohesion. Intended audience: Teachers of IELTS Academic Writing.

Keywords: coherence, cohesion, IELTS, strategies

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Authors: Eva L. Sanjuán, Jacinto Martín, M. Isabel Parra, Mario M. Pizarro

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In Extreme Value Theory, inference estimation for the parameters of the distribution is made employing a small part of the observation values. When block maxima values are taken, many data are discarded. We developed a new Bayesian inference model to seize all the information provided by the data, introducing informative priors and using the relations between baseline and limit parameters. Firstly, we studied the accuracy of the new model for three baseline distributions that lead to a Gumbel extreme distribution: Exponential, Normal and Gumbel. Secondly, we considered mixtures of Normal variables, to simulate practical situations when data do not adjust to pure distributions, because of perturbations (noise).

Keywords: bayesian inference, extreme value theory, Gumbel distribution, highly informative prior

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Authors: Kailash Chandra, Devanshu Gupta

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The Himalayan Mountains of India fall under two biogeographic zones Trans Himalaya (TH) and Himalaya and seven biotic provinces (TH-Ladakh Mountains, TH-Tibetan Plateau, TH-Sikkim, North-West Himalaya, West Himalaya, Central Himalaya, and East Himalaya). Because of the extreme environment and altitudinal variations, unique physiography, varied ecological conditions, and different vegetations, the Himalaya exhibit a rich assemblage of life, both flora, and fauna, further subjected to the impacts of climate change. To the authors’ best knowledge, there is no comprehensive account except for sporadic faunal investigations, to assess or interpret the insect diversity and their biogeographic distribution in Indian Himalaya (IH), one of the biodiversity hotspots. Therefore, in this paper, a compelling review of the extensive knowledge of insect diversity of IH is presented for the first time to the best of our knowledge. The inventory of the known insect species of IH was compiled from the exploration cum faunal-study data ready with the zoological survey of India, Kolkata as well as from the information published in the scientific literature till date. The species were listed with their valid names with their distribution in seven biotic provinces of IH. The insect fauna of IH represents about 38% of the identified insect diversity of India. The interpretation of data provided significant information in detecting possible gap areas in the taxonomic representation of different insect orders. Archaeognatha, Zygentoma, Ephemeroptera, Phasmida, Embioptera, Psocoptera, Phthiraptera, Strepsiptera, Megaloptera, Raphidioptera, Siphonaptera, and Mecoptera need revisions, and it is required to collect more samples from remote areas of the region. Scope for finding new taxa even in the most diverse orders, Coleoptera, Lepidoptera, Hymenoptera, Diptera, and Hemiptera cannot be overlooked. Exploration of cold deserts of Trans Himalaya and East Himalaya (Arunachal Pradesh) may result in a good number of new species from these regions. The most notable data was that many of the species recorded from Himalaya are still known from their type localities only, so there is an urgency to revisit and resurvey those collection localities for the evaluation of the status of those species. It is also required to assess and monitor the impact of climate change on the diversity of insects inhabiting in the fragile Himalayan ecosystem. DNA barcoding especially pests and biological control agents to solve the problems of identification in species complexes is also the need of the hour. In a nutshell, it can be concluded that the inventory of insects of this region is extensive but is far from final as every year hundreds of new species are described.

Keywords: catalog, climate change, diversity, DNA barcoding

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Authors: Natalia Oli, Abhinav Vaidya, Katja Pahkala, Gabriele Eiben, Alexandra Krettek

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The nutritional transition towards a high fat and energy dense diet, decreasing physical activity level, and poor cardiovascular health knowledge contributes to a rising burden of cardiovascular diseases in Nepal. Dietary and physical activity behaviors are formed early in life and influenced by family, particularly by mothers in the social context of Nepal. The purpose of this study was to explore knowledge, attitude and behavior of mothers regarding diet and physical activity of their pre-school children. Cross-sectional study was conducted in the semi-urban area of Duwakot and Jhaukhel communities near the capital Kathmandu. Between August and November 2014, nine trained enumerators interviewed all mothers having children aged 2 to 7 years in their homes. Questionnaire contained information about mothers’ socio-demographic characteristics; their knowledge, attitude, and behavior regarding diet and physical activity as well as their children’s diet and physical activity. Knowledge, attitude and behavior responses were scored. SPSS version 22.0 was used for data analyses. Out of the 1,052 eligible mothers, 962 consented to participate in the study. The mean age was 28.9 ± 4.5 years. The majority of them (73%) were housewives. Mothers with higher education and income had higher knowledge, attitude, and behavior scores (All p < 0.001) whereas housewives and farmers had low knowledge score (p < 0.001). They, along with laborers, also exhibited lower attitude (p<0.001) and behavior scores (p < 0.001). Children’s diet score increased with mothers’ level of education (p <0.001) and income (p=0.041). Their physical activity score, however, declined with increasing level of their mothers’ education (p < 0.001) and income (p < 0.001). Children’s overall behavior score correlated poorly with mothers’ knowledge (r = 0.009, p=0.003), attitude (r =0.012, p=0.001), and behavior (r = 0.007, p= 0.008). Such poor correlation can be due to existence of the barriers among mothers. Mothers reported such barriers as expensive healthy food, difficulty to give up favorite food, taste preference of others family members and lack of knowledge on healthy food. Barriers for physical activity were lack of leisure time, lack of parks and playgrounds, being busy by caring for children and old people, feeling lazy and embarrassed in front of others. Additionally, among the facilitators for healthy lifestyle, mentioned by mothers, were better information, family eating healthy food and supporting physical activity, advice of medical personnel regarding healthy lifestyle and own ill health. The study demonstrated poor correlation of mothers’ knowledge and attitude with children’s behavior regarding diet and physical activity. Hence improving mothers’ knowledge or attitude may not be enough to improve dietary and physical activity habits of their children. Barriers and facilitators that affect mothers’ practices towards their children should also be addressed due to future intervention.

Keywords: attitude, behavior, diet, knowledge, mothers, physical activity

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Authors: Masoumeh Ali Pouri, Hamid Haj Seyyed Javadi

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Nowadays, cloud processing is one of the important issues in information technology. Since scheduling of tasks graph is an NP-hard problem, considering approaches based on undeterminisitic methods such as evolutionary processing, mostly genetic and cuckoo algorithms, will be effective. Therefore, an efficient algorithm has been proposed for scheduling of tasks graph to obtain an appropriate scheduling with minimum time. In this algorithm, the new approach is based on making the length of the critical path shorter and reducing the cost of communication. Finally, the results obtained from the implementation of the presented method show that this algorithm acts the same as other algorithms when it faces graphs without communication cost. It performs quicker and better than some algorithms like DSC and MCP algorithms when it faces the graphs involving communication cost.

Keywords: cloud computing, scheduling, tasks graph, chakoos algorithm

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Authors: R. L. Shirole, N. L. Shirole, R. B. Patil, M. N. Saraf

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The present investigation aimed to elucidate the probable mechanism of antiasthmatic action of essential oil of Pistacia integerrima J.L. Stewart ex Brandis galls (EOPI). EOPI was investigated for its potential antiasthmatic action using in vitro antiallergic assays mast cell degranulation and soyabean lipoxidase enzyme activit, and spasmolytic action using isolated guinea pig ileum preparation. In vivo studies included lipopolysaccharide-induced bronchial inflammation in rats and airway hyperresponsiveness in ovalbumin in sensitized guinea pigs using spirometry. Data was analysed by GraphPad Prism 5.01 and results were expressed as means ± SEM. P < 0.05 was considered to be significant. EOPI inhibits 5-lipoxidase enzyme activity, DPPH scavenging activity and erythropoietin- induced angiogenesis. It showed dose dependent anti-allergic activity by inhibiting compound 48/80 induced mast cell degranulation. The finding that essential oil induced inhibition of transient contraction of acetylcholine in calcium free medium, and relaxation of S-(-)-Bay 8644-precontracted isolated guinea pig ileum jointly suggest that suggesting that the L-subtype Cav channel is involved in spasmolytic action of EOPI. Treatment with EOPI dose dependently (7.5, 15 and 30 mg/kg i.p.) inhibited lipopolysaccharide- induced increased in total cell count, neutrophil count, nitrate-nitrite, total protein, albumin levels in bronchoalveolar fluid and myeloperoxidase levels in lung homogenates. Mild diffused lesions involving focal interalveolar septal, intraluminal infiltration of neutrophils were observed in EOPI (7.5 &15 mg/kg) pretreated while no abnormality was detected in EOPI (30 mg/kg) and roflumilast (1mg/kg) pretreated rats. Roflumilast was used as standard. EOPI reduced the respiratory flow due to gasping in ovalbumin sensitized guinea pigs. The study demonstrates the effectiveness of EOPI in bronchial asthma possibly related to its ability to inhibit L-subtype Cav channel, mast cell stabilization, antioxidant, angiostatic and through inhibition of 5-lipoxygenase enzyme.

Keywords: asthma, lipopolysaccharide, spirometry, Pistacia integerrima J.L. Stewart ex Brandis, essential oil

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Authors: Deniz Erçelen, Özlem Selcuk Bozkurt

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The course of daily human life calls for the need for memories and remembering the time and place for certain events. Recalling memories takes up a substantial amount of time for an individual. Unfortunately, scientists lack the proper technology to fully understand and observe different brain regions that interact to form or retrieve memories. The hippocampus, a complex brain structure located in the temporal lobe, plays a crucial role in memory. The hippocampus forms memories as well as allows the brain to retrieve them by ensuring that neurons fire together. This process is called “neural synchronization.” Sadly, the hippocampus is known to deteriorate often with age. Proteins and hormones, which repair and protect cells in the brain, typically decline as the age of an individual increase. With the deterioration of the hippocampus, an individual becomes more prone to memory loss. Many memory loss starts off as mild but may evolve into serious medical conditions such as dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. In their quest to fully comprehend how memories work, scientists have created many different kinds of technology that are used to examine the brain and neural pathways. For instance, Magnetic Resonance Imaging - or MRI- is used to collect detailed images of an individual's brain anatomy. In order to monitor and analyze brain functions, a different version of this machine called Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging - or fMRI- is used. The fMRI is a neuroimaging procedure that is conducted when the target brain regions are active. It measures brain activity by detecting changes in blood flow associated with neural activity. Neurons need more oxygen when they are active. The fMRI measures the change in magnetization between blood which is oxygen-rich and oxygen-poor. This way, there is a detectable difference across brain regions, and scientists can monitor them. Electroencephalography - or EEG - is also a significant way to monitor the human brain. The EEG is more versatile and cost-efficient than an fMRI. An EEG measures electrical activity which has been generated by the numerous cortical layers of the brain. EEG allows scientists to be able to record brain processes that occur after external stimuli. EEGs have a very high temporal resolution. This quality makes it possible to measure synchronized neural activity and almost precisely track the contents of short-term memory. Science has come a long way in monitoring memories using these kinds of devices, which have resulted in the inspections of neurons and neural pathways becoming more intense and detailed.

Keywords: brain, EEG, fMRI, hippocampus, memories, neural pathways, neurons

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Authors: Mohammed Hussein, Abualseoud Hanani

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In Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite constellation system, routing data from the source all the way to the destination constitutes a daunting challenge because LEO satellite constellation resources are spare and the high speed movement of LEO satellites results in a highly dynamic network topology. This situation limits the applicability of traditional routing approaches that rely on exchanging topology information upon change or setup of a connection. Consequently, in recent years, many routing algorithms and implementation strategies for satellite constellation networks with Inter Satellite Links (ISLs) have been proposed. In this article, we summarize and classify some of the most representative solutions according to their objectives, and discuss their advantages and disadvantages. Finally, with a look into the future, we present some of the new challenges and opportunities for LEO satellite constellations in general and routing protocols in particular.

Keywords: LEO satellite constellations, dynamic topology, IP routing, inter-satellite-links

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Authors: Mohd Asrul Affendi Bi Abdullah, Nyi Nyi Naing

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The purpose of this study was to identify comparable manner between negative binomial death rate (NBDR) and zero inflated negative binomial death rate (ZINBDR) with died patients with (HIV + T B+) and (HIV + T B−). HIV and TB is a serious world wide problem in the developing country. Data were analyzed with applying NBDR and ZINBDR to make comparison which a favorable model is better to used. The ZINBDR model is able to account for the disproportionately large number of zero within the data and is shown to be a consistently better fit than the NBDR model. Hence, as a results ZINBDR model is a superior fit to the data than the NBDR model and provides additional information regarding the died mechanisms HIV+TB. The ZINBDR model is shown to be a use tool for analysis death rate according age categorical.

Keywords: zero inflated negative binomial death rate, HIV and TB, AIC and BIC, death rate

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Authors: Jade Martínez-Llinàs, Pere Colet

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By exploring the possible dynamical regimes in a prototypical model for mutually delay-coupled OEOs, here it is shown that two mutually coupled non-identical OEOs, besides in- and out-of-phase square-waves, can generate stable square-wave pulses synchronized at a quarter of the period (T/4) in a broad parameter region. The key point to obtain T/4 solutions is that the two OEO operate with mixed feedback, namely with negative feedback in one and positive in the other. Furthermore, the coexistence of multiple solutions provides a large degree of flexibility for tuning the frequency in the GHz range without changing any parameter. As a result the two coupled OEOs system is good candidate to be implemented for information encoding as a high-capacity memory device.

Keywords: nonlinear optics, optoelectronic oscillators, square waves, synchronization

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Authors: Adnan Alhazmi

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Background: UDL can be understood as a framework that holds the potential to elaborate the alternatives and platforms for the students with intellectual disabilities within general education settings and aims at offering flexible pathways that can support all the students in gaining a mastering over the goals of learning. This system of learning addresses the problem of the variability of the learner by delineating the diverse ways in which the individuals can understand, conceive, express and deal with the information. Goal: The aim of the proposed research is to examine the impact of the implementation of UDL in teaching practices for the students with intellectual disabilities in Saudi Arabian schools. Method: This research has used a combination of quantitative and qualitative designs. Survey questionnaires were used to gather the data for under this analytical descriptive method. The application of the qualitative interpretive approach was applied with the help of the interview to gather a detailed understanding on the aim of the research. For this purpose, the semi-structured interviews were conducted. Thus, the primary data will be gathered with the help of survey and interview to examine the impact of universal design learning implementation on teaching practices for intellectually disabled students in Saudi Arabian schools. The survey was conducted to examine the prevailing teaching practices for the students with intellectual disabilities in Saudi Arabia and evaluate if the teaching experience influences the current practices or not. The surveys were distributed to 50 teachers who teach the students with intellectual disabilities. However, the interviews were conducted to explore barriers of implementing UDL in Saudi Arabia and provide suggested guideline for the implementation of UDL in Saudi Arabia. The interviews, therefore, were with 10 teachers teaching the same subject. Findings: A key findings highlighted in this study revealed that the UDL framework serves as a crucial guide for teachers within inclusive settings to undertake meaningful planning for the individuals with intellectual disabilities so that they are able to access, participate, and grow within the general education curriculum. Other findings of the study highlighted the need to prepare the educators and all faculty members to understand the purpose and need for inclusion, the UDL framework so that better information about academic and social expectations for individuals with intellectual disabilities can be delivered. Conclusion: On the basis of the preliminary study undertaken on the subject of research, it could be suggested that UDL can serve to be an effective support for undertaking a meaningful inclusion of students with intellectual disability (ID) in general educational settings. It holds the potential role of working as an institutional design framework that could be used for designing curriculum for students with intellectual disabilities.

Keywords: intellectual disability, inclusion, universal design for learning, teaching practice

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Authors: Ketsada Sutthiumporn, Sittichot Thongkaw, Malee Santikunaporn

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In Thailand, biodiesel has been utilized as an attractive substitute of petroleum diesel and the government imposes a mandatory biodiesel blending requirement in transport sector to improve energy security, support agricultural sector and reduce emissions. Though biodiesel blend has many advantages over diesel fuel such as improved lubricity, low sulfur content and higher flash point, there are still some technical problems such as oxidative stability, poor cold- flow properties and impurity. Such problems were related to the fatty acid composition in feedstock. Moreover, Thailand has announced the use of low sulfur diesel as a base diesel and will be continually upgrading to EURO 5 in 2023. With ultra low sulfur content, it may affect the diesel fuel properties especially lubricity as well. Therefore, in this study, the physical and chemical properties of palm oil-based biodiesel in low sulfur diesel blends from different producers will be investigated by standard methods per ASTM and EN. Also, its economic benefits based on diesel price structure in Thailand will be highlighted. The appropriate biodiesel blend ratio can affect the physico-chemical properties and reasonable price in the country. Properties of biodiesel, including specific gravity, kinematic viscosity, FAME composition, flash point, sulfur, water, oxidation stability and lubricity were measured by standard methods of ASTM and EN. The results show that the FAME composition of biodiesel has the fatty acid of C12:0 to C20:1, mostly in C16:0, C18:0, C18:1, and C18:2, which were main characteristic compositions of palm biodiesel. The physical and chemical properties of biodiesel blended diesel was found to be increases with an increasing amount of biodiesel such as specific gravity, flash point and kinematic viscosity while sulfur value was decreased. Moreover, in this study, the various properties of each biodiesel blends were plotted to determine the appropriate proportional range of biodiesel-blended diesel with an optimum fuel price.It can be seen that the amount of B100 can be filled from 1% up to 7% in which the quality was in accordance with Notification of the department of Energy business.The understanding of relation between physico-chemical properties of palm oil-based biodiesel and pricing is beneficial to guide the better development of desired feedstock in Thailand and to implement biodiesel blends with comparative price and diesel engine performance.

Keywords: fatty acid methyl ester, biodiesel, fuel price structure, palm oil in Thailand

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Authors: Marouen Dghim, Mohsen Ferchichi

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The effect of synthetic jet actuation on the roll-up and the development of a wing tip vortex downstream a square-tipped rectangular wing was investigated experimentally using hotwire anemometry. The wing is equipped with a hallow cavity designed to generate a high aspect ratio synthetic jets blowing at an angles with respect to the spanwise direction. The structure of the wing tip vortex under the effect of fluidic actuation was examined at a chord Reynolds number Re_c=8×10^4. An extensive qualitative study on the effect of actuation on the spanwise pressure distribution at c⁄4 was achieved using pressure scanner measurements in order to determine the optimal actuation parameters namely, the blowing momentum coefficient, Cμ, and the non-dimensionalized actuation frequency, F^+. A qualitative study on the effect of actuation parameters on the spanwise pressure distribution showed that optimal actuation frequencies of the synthetic jet were found within the range amplified by both long and short wave instabilities where spanwise pressure coefficients exhibited a considerable decrease by up to 60%. The vortex appeared larger and more diffuse than that of the natural vortex case. Operating the synthetic jet seemed to introduce unsteadiness and turbulence into the vortex core. Based on the ‘a priori’ optimal selected parameters, results of the hotwire wake survey indicated that the actuation achieved a reduction and broadening of the axial velocity deficit. A decrease in the peak tangential velocity associated with an increase in the vortex core radius was reported as a result of the accelerated radial transport of angular momentum. Peak vorticity level near the core was also found to be largely diffused as a direct result of the increased turbulent mixing within the vortex. The wing tip vortex a exhibited a reduced strength and a diffused core as a direct result of increased turbulent mixing due to the presence of turbulent small scale vortices within its core. It is believed that the increased turbulence within the vortex due to the synthetic jet control was the main mechanism associated with the decreased strength and increased size of the wing tip vortex as it evolves downstream. A comparison with a ‘non-optimal’ case was included to demonstrate the effectiveness of selecting the appropriate control parameters. The Synthetic Jet will be operated at various actuation configurations and an extensive parametric study is projected to determine the optimal actuation parameters.

Keywords: flow control, hotwire anemometry, synthetic jet, wing tip vortex

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Authors: Z. A. Ahmad Noor Syukri, A. J. Nawal Aswan, S. V. Wong

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The motorcycle has become one of the most common type of vehicles used on the road, particularly in the Asia region, including Malaysia, due to its size-convenience and affordable price. This study focuses only on crashes involving motorcycles with passenger cars consisting 43 real world crashes obtained from in-depth crash investigation process from June 2016 till July 2017. The study collected and analyzed vehicle and site parameters obtained during crash investigation and injury information acquired from the patient-treating hospital. The investigation team, consisting of two personnel, is stationed at the Emergency Department of the treatment facility, and was dispatched to the crash scene once receiving notification of the related crashes. The injury information retrieved was coded according to the level of severity using the Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) and classified into different body regions. The data revealed that weekend crashes were significantly higher for the night time period and the crash occurrence was the highest during morning hours (commuting to work period) for weekdays. Bad weather conditions play a minimal effect towards the occurrence of motorcycle – passenger vehicle crashes and nearly 90% involved motorcycles with single riders. Riders up to 25 years old are heavily involved in crashes with passenger vehicles (60%), followed by 26-55 year age group with 35%. Male riders were dominant in each of the age segments. The majority of the crashes involved side impacts, followed by rear impacts and cars outnumbered the rest of the passenger vehicle types in terms of crash involvement with motorcycles. The investigation data also revealed that passenger vehicles were the most at-fault counterpart (62%) when involved in crashes with motorcycles and most of the crashes involved situations whereby both of the vehicles are travelling in the same direction and one of the vehicles is in a turning maneuver. More than 80% of the involved motorcycle riders had sustained yellow severity level during triage process. The study also found that nearly 30% of the riders sustained injuries to the lower extremities, while MAIS level 3 injuries were recorded for all body regions except for thorax region. The result showed that crashes in which the motorcycles were found to be at fault were more likely to occur during night and raining conditions. These types of crashes were also found to be more likely to involve other types of passenger vehicles rather than cars and possess higher likelihood in resulting higher ISS (>6) value to the involved rider. To reduce motorcycle fatalities, it first has to understand the characteristics concerned and focus may be given on crashes involving passenger vehicles as the most dominant crash partner on Malaysian roads.

Keywords: motorcycle crash, passenger vehicle, in-depth crash investigation, injury mechanism

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Authors: Ritu Shitak

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Humans are social mammals, of the primate order. Our biology, behaviour, and pathologies are unique to us. In our desire to understand, reduce solitary confinement one source of information is the many reports of social isolation of other social mammals, especially primates. A behavioural study was conducted in the department of pharmacology at Indira Gandhi Medical College, Shimla in Himachal Pradesh province in India using white albino mice. Different behavioural parameters were observed by using open field, tail suspension, tests for aggressive behaviour and social interactions and the effect of isolation was studied. The results were evaluated and the standard statistics were applied. The said study was done to establish facts that isolation itself impairs social behaviour and can lead to alcohol dependence as well as related drug dependence.

Keywords: social isolation, albino mice, drug dependence, isolation on social behaviour

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