Search results for: primary cell line establishment

Authors: Aminu Ololade Matilda

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Child abuse is a significant issue worldwide, affecting the socio-development and mental and physical health of young individuals. It is the maltreatment of a child by an adult or a child. This paper focuses on child abuse in Communities in Lagos State. The aim of this study is to investigate the extent of child abuse and its impact on the mood, social activities, self-worth, concentration, and academic performance of children in Communities in Lagos State. The primary research instrument used in this study was the interview (Forensic), which consisted of two sections. The first section gathered data on the details of the child and the forms and impacts of abuse experienced, while the second section focused on parental style. The study found that children who experienced various forms of abuse, such as emotional, neglect, physical, or sexual abuse, were hesitant to report it out of fear of threats or even death from the abuser. These abused children displayed withdrawn behaviour, depression, and low self-worth and underperformed academically compared to their peers who did not experience abuse. The findings align with socio-learning and intergenerational transmission of violence theories, which suggest that parents and caregivers who engage in child abuse often do so because they themselves experienced or witnessed abuse as children, thereby normalizing violence. The study highlights the prevalent issue of child abuse in Lagos State and emphasizes the need for advocacy programs and capacity building to raise awareness about child abuse and prevention. The distribution of the Child’s Rights Act in various sectors is also recommended to underscore the importance of protecting the rights of children. Additionally, the inclusion of courses on child abuse in the school curriculum is proposed to ensure children are educated on recognizing and reporting abuse.

Keywords: abuse, child, awareness, effects, emotional, neglect, physical, psychological, sexual, recognize, reporting, right

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Authors: Gabrielle Peck, Ryan Hayes

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This research presents the design and creation of a drone gas analyser, aimed at addressing the need for independent data collection and analysis of gas emissions during large-scale fires, particularly wasteland fires. The analyser drone, comprising a lightweight gas analysis system attached to a remote-controlled drone, enables the real-time assessment of smoke toxicity and the monitoring of gases released into the atmosphere during such incidents. The key components of the analyser unit included two gas line inlets connected to glass wool filters, a pump with regulated flow controlled by a mass flow controller, and electrochemical cells for detecting nitrogen oxides, hydrogen cyanide, and oxygen levels. Additionally, a non-dispersive infrared (NDIR) analyser is employed to monitor carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO₂), and hydrocarbon concentrations. Thermocouples can be attached to the analyser to monitor temperature, as well as McCaffrey probes combined with pressure transducers to monitor air velocity and wind direction. These additions allow for monitoring of the large fire and can be used for predictions of fire spread. The innovative system not only provides crucial data for assessing smoke toxicity but also contributes to fire prediction and management. The remote-controlled drone's mobility allows for safe and efficient data collection in proximity to the fire source, reducing the need for human exposure to hazardous conditions. The data obtained from the gas analyser unit facilitates informed decision-making by emergency responders, aiding in the protection of both human health and the environment. This abstract highlights the successful development of a drone gas analyser, illustrating its potential for enhancing smoke toxicity analysis and fire prediction capabilities. The integration of this technology into fire management strategies offers a promising solution for addressing the challenges associated with wildfires and other large-scale fire incidents. The project's methodology and results contribute to the growing body of knowledge in the field of environmental monitoring and safety, emphasizing the practical utility of drones for critical applications.

Keywords: fire prediction, drone, smoke toxicity, analyser, fire management

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Authors: Sumera, Sanila Amber, Fatima Javed Mirza, Amjad Ali, Saadia Zahid

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Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is a widely spread and fatal primary brain tumor with an increased risk of relapse in spite of aggressive treatment. The current procedures for GBM diagnosis include invasive procedures i.e. resection or biopsy, to acquire tumor mass. Implementation of negligibly invasive tests as a potential diagnostic technique and biofluid-based monitoring of GBM stresses on discovering biomarkers in CSF and blood. Therefore, we performed a comprehensive in silico analysis to identify potential circulating biomarkers for GBM. Initially, six gene and protein databases were utilized to mine brain-specific proteins. The resulting proteins were filtered using a channel of five tools to predict the secretory proteins. Subsequently, the expression profile of the secreted proteins was verified in the brain and blood using two databases. Additional verification of the resulting proteins was done using Plasma Proteome Database (PPD) to confirm their presence in blood. The final set of proteins was searched in literature for their relationship with GBM, keeping a special emphasis on secretome proteome. 2145 proteins were firstly mined as brain-specific, out of which 69 proteins were identified as secretory in nature. Verification of expression profile in brain and blood eliminated 58 proteins from the 69 proteins, providing a final list of 11 proteins. Further verification of these 11 proteins further eliminated 2 proteins, giving a final set of nine secretory proteins i.e. OPCML, NPTX1, LGI1, CNTN2, LY6H, SLIT1, CREG2, GDF1 and SERPINI1. Out of these 9 proteins, 7 were found to be linked to GBM, whereas 2 proteins are not investigated in GBM so far. We propose that these secretory proteins can serve as potential circulating biomarker signatures of GBM and will facilitate the development of minimally invasive diagnostic methods and novel therapeutic interventions for GBM.

Keywords: glioblastoma multiforme, secretory proteins, brain secretome, biomarkers

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Authors: Chiara Di Tucci, Giulia Galati, Giulia Mattei, Valentina Bonanni, Oriana Capri, Renzo D'Amelio, Ludovico Muzii, Pierluigi Benedetti Panici

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Objective: Infertility is an increasingly frequent health condition, which may depend on female or male factors. Oxidative stress (OS), resulting from a disrupted balance between reactive oxygen species (ROS) and protective antioxidants, affects the reproductive lifespan of men and women. In this review, we examine if alpha lipoic acid (ALA), among the oral supplements currently in use, has an evidence-based beneficial role in the context of female and male infertility. Methods: We performed a search from English literature using the PubMed database with the following keywords: 'female infertility', 'male infertility', 'semen', 'sperm', 'sub-fertile man', 'alpha-lipoic acid', ' alpha lipoic acid', 'lipoid acid', 'endometriosis', 'chronic pelvic pain', 'follicular fluid' and 'oocytes'. We included clinical trials, multicentric studies, and reviews. The total number of references found after automatically and manually excluding duplicates was 180. After the primary and secondary screening, 28 articles were selected. Results: The available literature demonstrates the positive effects of ALA in multiple processes, from oocyte maturation (0.87 ± 0.9% of oocyte in MII vs 0.81 ± 3.9%; p < .05) to fertilization, embryo development (57.7% vs 75.7% grade 1 embryo; p < .05) and reproductive outcomes. Its regular administration both in sub-fertile women and men has been shown to reduce pelvic pain in endometriosis (p < .05), regularize menstrual flow and metabolic disorders (p < .01), and improve sperm quality (p < .001). Conclusions: ALA represents a promising new molecule in the field of couple infertility. More clinical studies are needed in order to enhance its use in clinical practice.

Keywords: alpha lipoic acid, endometriosis, infertility, male factor, polycystic ovary syndrome

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Authors: Mohanapriya Subramanian, V. Raj

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Direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) are considered to be one of the most promising candidates for portable and stationary applications in the view of their advantages such as high energy density, easy manipulation, high efficiency and they operate with liquid fuel which could be used without requiring any fuel-processing units. Electrolyte membrane of DMFC plays a key role as a proton conductor as well as a separator between electrodes. Increasing concern over environmental protection, biopolymers gain tremendous interest owing to their eco-friendly bio-degradable nature. Pectin is a natural anionic polysaccharide which plays an essential part in regulating mechanical behavior of plant cell wall and it is extracted from outer cells of most of the plants. The aim of this study is to develop and demonstrate pectin based polymer composite membranes as methanol impermeable polymer electrolyte membranes for DMFCs. Pectin based nanocomposites membranes are prepared by solution-casting technique wherein pectin is blended with chitosan followed by the addition of optimal amount of sulphonic acid modified Titanium dioxide nanoparticle (S-TiO2). Nanocomposite membranes are characterized by Fourier Transform-Infra Red spectroscopy, Scanning electron microscopy, and Energy dispersive spectroscopy analyses. Proton conductivity and methanol permeability are determined into order to evaluate their suitability for DMFC application. Pectin-chitosan blends endow with a flexible polymeric network which is appropriate to disperse rigid S-TiO2 nanoparticles. Resulting nanocomposite membranes possess adequate thermo-mechanical stabilities as well as high charge-density per unit volume. Pectin-chitosan natural polymeric nanocomposite comprising optimal S-TiO2 exhibits good electrochemical selectivity and therefore desirable for DMFC application.

Keywords: biopolymers, fuel cells, nanocomposite, methanol crossover

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Authors: Ridho Widyantama Putra, Endang Wiwik Dyah Hastuti

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The study area is located in Lahat Regency, South Sumatra and is part of a 500 m – 2000 m elevated perbukitan barisan zone controlled by the main fault of Sumatra (Semangko Fault), administratively located on S4.08197 - E103.01403 and S4.16786 - E103.07700, the product of Semangko Fault in the form of normal fault flight trending north-southeast, composed of lithologic is a pyroclastic rock, volcanic rock and plutonic rock intrusion. On the Manna and Enggano sheets of volcanic quartenary products are located along perbukitan barisan zone. Petrology types of pyroclastic rocks encountered in the form of welded tuff, tuff lapilli, agglomerate, pyroclastic sandstone, pyroclastic claystone, and lava. Some pyroclastic material containing sulfide minerals (pyrite), the type of sedimentation flow with different grain size from ash to lapilli. The present of tuff lapilli covers almost 50% of the total research area, through observation petrography encountered minerals in the form of glass, quartz, palgioklas, and biotite. Lava in this area has been altered characterized by the presence of minerals such as chlorite and secondary biotite, this change is caused by the structure that develops in the hilly zone and is proved by the presence of secondary structures in the form of stocky and normal faults as well as the primary structure of columnar joint, From medial facies to distal facies, the division of facies is divided based on geomorphological observations and dominant types of lithology.

Keywords: tuff lapili, pyroclastic, mineral, petrography, volcanic, lava

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Authors: Cornelius Arome Omatola, Ropo Ebenezer Ogunsakin, Anyebe Bernard Onoja, Martin-Luther Oseni Okolo, Joseph Abraham-Oyiguh, Kehinde Charles Mofolorunso, Phoebe Queen Akoh, Omebije Patience Adejo, Joshua Idakwo, Therisa Ojomideju Okeme, Danjuma Muhammed, David Moses Adaji, Sunday Ocholi Samson, Ruth Aminu, Monday Eneojo Akor

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Gastroenteritis viruses are the leading etiologic agents of diarrhea in children worldwide. We present data from thirty-three (33) eligible studies published between 2003 and 2023 from African countries bearing the brunt of the virus-associated diarrheal mortality. Random effects meta-analysis with proportion, subgroups, and meta-regression analyses were employed. Overall, rotavirus with estimated pooled prevalence of 31.0% (95% CI 24.0–39.0) predominated in all primary care visits and hospitalizations, followed by norovirus, adenovirus, sapovirus, astrovirus, and aichivirus with pooled prevalence estimated at 15.0% (95% CI 12.0–20.0), 10% (95% CI 6-15), 4.0% (95% CI 2.0–6.0), 4% (95% CI 3-6), and 2.3% (95% CI 1-3), respectively. Predominant rotavirus genotype was G1P[8] (38%), followed by G3P[8] (11.7%), G9P[8] (8.7%), and G2P[4] (7.1%); although, unusual genotypes were also observed, including G3P[6] (2.7%), G8P[6] (1.7%), G1P[6] (1.5%), G10P[8] (0.9%), G8P[4] (0.5%), and G4P[8] (0.4%). The genogroup II norovirus predominated over the genogroup I-associated infections (84.6%, 613/725 vs 14.9%, 108/725), with the GII.4 (79.3%) being the most prevalent circulating genotype. In conclusion, this review showed that rotavirus remains the leading driver of viral diarrhea requiring health care visits and hospitalization among under-five years children in Africa. Thus, improved rotavirus vaccination in the region and surveillance to determine the residual burden of rotavirus and the evolving trend of other enteric viruses are needed for effective control and management of cases.

Keywords: enteric viruses, rotavirus, norovirus, adenovirus, astrovirus, gastroenteritis

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Authors: Obose Angela Oriazowanlan

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The role of entrepreneurship in preventing poverty and mitigating other post-retirement challenges has been acknowledged to be crucial for effective post-retirement life management, but financial constraints could constitute a bane to pre-retirees’ entrepreneurial intentions. Therefore, the study determined the financial knowledge that could spur their intentions and readiness for a business start that could enable them to surmount post-retirement life challenges. Two research questions guided the study. The descriptive survey research design was adopted and the population comprised all the pre-retirees in universities in Edo State. 250 respondents were randomly selected using the simple random sampling technique from three purposive selected universities. Primary data were gathered through the use of a structured questionnaire, which was validated and tested to have a reliability coefficient value of 0.84. The descriptive statistics of mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions and test the respondents’ homogeneity. The findings revealed, among others, that the respondents perceived the benefits of entrepreneurship-business startups to ensure their effective post-retirement life management but intended to rely totally on their retirement savings benefits with the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) for business startups. Based on the findings, it was recommended, among others, that pre-retirees should make contingency savings plans and that the employers and government should provide them with financial education in order to acquaint them with relevant financial knowledge to access other forms of business financing such as loans, bank overdraft, angel investors, venture capital and government grants among others prior to final disengagement.

Keywords: financial knowledge, entrepreneurial intentions, availability of business funds, business investment and fulfilled post-retirement living.

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Authors: Protus A. Lumiti, Susan O. Wekesa, Mary Omondi

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Performance is a key pillar to the accomplishment of the goals of all organizations, whether private, public or non- profit. Employees are the intellectual assets of the organization and they are an avenue to the achievement of competitive advantage. An employee welfare service in an organization is vital in fostering employee motivation and improving their productivity. In view of this, the main goal of this research was to determine the relationship between employee welfare practices and the performance of non-governmental organizations in Kenya. The study was guided by four objectives, namely: to establish, determine, evaluate and assess the relationship between employee welfare practices and the performance of non-governmental organizations in Kenya. The study utilized a survey design using both qualitative and quantitative approaches. In this study, a purposive, stratified and simple random sampling technique was used to arrive at a sample of 355 respondents who comprised senior managers, middle level managers and operational employees out of the targeted population of 14,283 employees of non-governmental organizations working in Nairobi County. The primary data collection tools were questionnaires supplemented by an interview schedule, while secondary data was obtained from reviewed journals, published books and articles. Data analysis was done using Statistical Packages for Social Sciences Software version 23. The study utilized multiple linear regression and a structural equation model. The findings of the study were that: employee welfare practices had a positive and significant relationship with the performance of Non-governmental organizations in Kenya. In addition, there was also a linear relationship between the independent variables and the dependent variable and the study concluded that there was a relationship between the predictor variable and the dependent variable of the study. The study recommended that management of No-governmental organization boards in Kenya should come up with a comprehensive policy document on employee welfare practices in order to enhance the performance of non-governmental organizations in Kenya.

Keywords: employee, economic, performance, welfare

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Authors: Tew Leh Ghee

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The study's goal is to determine how celebrity endorsement affects Malaysian consumers' attitudes and intentions to buy skincare products. Since customers now largely rely on celebrity endorsement to influence purchasing decisions in almost every business, celebrity endorsement is not, in reality, a new phenomenon. Even though the market for skincare products has a vast potential to be exploited, corporations have yet to seize this niche via celebrity endorsement. Basically, there hasn't been much study done to recognize the significance of celebrity endorsement in this industry. This research combined descriptive and quantitative methods with a self-administered survey as the primary data-gathering tool. All of the characteristics under study were measured using a 5-point Likert scale, and the questionnaire was written in English. A convenience sample method was used to choose respondents, and 360 sets of valid questionnaires were gathered for the study's statistical analysis. Preliminary statistical analyses were analyzed using SPSS version 20.0 (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences). The backdrop of the respondents' demographics was examined using descriptive analysis. All concept assessments' validity and reliability were examined using exploratory factor analysis, item-total statistics, and reliability statistics. Pearson correlation and regression analysis were used, respectively, to assess relationships and impacts between the variables under study. The research showed that, apart from competence, celebrity endorsements of skincare products in Malaysia had a favorable impact on attitudes and purchase intentions as evaluated by attractiveness and dependability. The research indicated that the most significant element influencing attitude and buy intention was the credibility of a celebrity endorsement. The study offered implications in order to provide potential improvements of celebrity endorsement in skincare goods in Malaysia. The study's last portion includes its limits and ideas for the future.

Keywords: trustworthiness, influential, phenomenon, celebrity emdorsement

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Authors: Sela Adjei

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This research delves into the nuanced representations of queerness in Ghana, presented through photographs, illustrations, film and music videos on social media and streaming platforms. The study focuses on the works of five Ghanaian artists (Va-Bene Elikem Fiatsi, Angel Maxine, Josephine Kuuire, Bright Ackwerh and Philip Nee Whang) within the context of Ghana's evolving media landscape. Of primary concern is a need to uncover the various aspects of queerness captured within the distinct artistic expressions of these five creatives. This study adopts a qualitative approach by analyzing artistic expressions of queerness in Ghana’s digital media spaces. Content analysis and visual semiotics served as the guiding tools to discuss and decipher the nuanced messages embedded in their works, considering both the visual and narrative aspects. This dual approach takes into account both the visual aesthetics and narrative elements, enhancing our understanding of the complex interplay between queerness and gender representation in the media. This study's contribution is twofold. First, it enriches the discourse surrounding queerness as portrayed by artists within Ghana's vibrant media landscape and situates their works within the broader discourse of global gender identities. Secondly, analyzing the creative output of these five Ghanaian artists broadens our understanding of gender minorities and the various challenges they face in Ghana (currently debating in parliament to pass an anti-LGBTQ+ bill that criminalizes activities related to gender minority groups). While focusing on the intersection of queerness, art, and gender identities, the reflections in this study challenge existing narratives and offer fresh insights into how these artists navigate and challenge societal norms through their creative expressions.

Keywords: queer, film, representation, streaming, media, gender

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Authors: Sanelisiwe Ndlovu

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Cities have become testbeds for automation and experimenting with artificial intelligence (AI) in managing urban services and public spaces. Smart Cities and AI systems are changing most human experiences from health and education to personal relations. For instance, in healthcare, social robots are being implemented as tools to assist patients. Similarly, in education, social robots are being used as tutors or co-learners to promote cognitive and affective outcomes. With that general picture in mind, one can now ask a further question about Smart Cities and artificial agents and their moral standing in the African context of personhood. There has been a wealth of literature on the topic of personhood; however, there is an absence of literature on African personhood in highly automated environments. Personhood in African philosophy is defined by the role one can and should play in the community. However, in today’s technologically advanced world, a risk is that machines become more capable of accomplishing tasks that humans would otherwise do. Further, on many African communitarian accounts, personhood and moral standing are associated with active relationality with the community. However, in the Smart City, human closeness is gradually diminishing. For instance, humans already do engage and identify with robotic entities, sometimes even romantically. The primary aim of this study is to investigate how African conceptions of personhood and community interact in a highly automated environment such as Smart Cities. Accordingly, this study lies in presenting a rarely discussed African perspective that emphasizes the necessity and the importance of relationality in handling Smart Cities and AI ethically. Thus, the proposed approach can be seen as the sub-Saharan African contribution to personhood and the growing AI debates, which takes the reality of the interconnectedness of society seriously. And it will also open up new opportunities to tackle old problems and use existing resources to confront new problems in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Keywords: smart city, artificial intelligence, personhood, community

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Authors: Penina Orenstein

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In today’s world, particularly with COVID-19 a constant worldwide threat, organizations need greater visibility over their supply chains more than ever before, in order to find areas for improvement and greater efficiency, reduce the chances of disruption and stay competitive. The concept of supply chain mapping is one where every process and route is mapped in detail between each vendor and supplier. The simplest method of mapping involves sourcing publicly available data including news and financial information concerning relationships between suppliers. An additional layer of information would be disclosed by large, direct suppliers about their production and logistics sites. While this method has the advantage of not requiring any input from suppliers, it also doesn’t allow for much transparency beyond the first supplier tier and may generate irrelevant data—noise—that must be filtered out to find the actionable data. The primary goal of this research is to build data maps of supply chains by focusing on a layered approach. Using these maps, the secondary goal is to address the question as to whether the supply chain is re-engineered to make improvements, for example, to lower the carbon footprint. Using a drill-down approach, the end result is a comprehensive map detailing the linkages between tier-one, tier-two, and tier-three suppliers super-imposed on a geographical map. The driving force behind this idea is to be able to trace individual parts to the exact site where they’re manufactured. In this way, companies can ensure sustainability practices from the production of raw materials through the finished goods. The approach allows companies to identify and anticipate vulnerabilities in their supply chain. It unlocks predictive analytics capabilities and enables them to act proactively. The research is particularly compelling because it unites network science theory with empirical data and presents the results in a visual, intuitive manner.

Keywords: data mining, supply chain, empirical research, data mapping

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Authors: Simona Moravcova, Jiri Novotny, Zdenka Bendova

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The pineal gland of the vertebrate brain is a circumventricular organ which serves as a major neuroendocrine gland with the primary function of rhythmic secretion of neurohormone melatonin under the control of the hypothalamic suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN). Soon after the onset of the darkness, the activity of the key rate-limiting enzyme for melatonin synthesis, arylalkylamine N-acetyltransferase (AANAT), raises due to the increased release of norepinephrine from sympathetic neurons terminating on the parenchymal cells where it binds to β-adrenergic receptors. Melatonin codes the length of the night, and it is well recognized for its anti-inflammatory effects. However, to our knowledge, less is known about the effect of the immune system on the melatonin biosynthesis and the precise role of the STAT3 in the signaling pathway leading to the expression of AANAT. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is the essential component in the outer surface membrane of gram-negative bacteria and acts as a strong stimulator of natural and innate immunity. STAT3 acts as an important factor in immune response. Here we investigated the effect of LPS on the components of the melatonergic synthetic pathway in the pineal gland. The experiments were performed both in vivo and in vitro. The changes in AANAT activity were determined by radioenzymatic assay. PCR analyses were carried out to detect aa-nat, icer, spi-3 and stat3 gene expression. From our results, it is apparent that the high basal level of phosphorylated forms of STAT3 can be elevated after systemic as well as in vitro administration of LPS. Our experiments have shown that LPS reduces melatonin synthesis, nevertheless, the activity of AANAT was increased. Moreover, the basal level of phosphorylated STAT3 counteracts β-adrenergic receptor-mediated aa-nat gene expression and sustains its own and spi-3 gene expression. In conclusion, LPS can affect immunomodulators such as melatonin in the pineal gland.

Keywords: AANAT, lipopolysaccharide, pineal gland, rat, STAT3

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Authors: Pattanapon Kayansamruaj, Ha Thanh Dong, Nopadon Pirarat, Channarong Rodkhum

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Streptococcus iniae (SI) is a devastating pathogenic bacteria causing heavy mortality in farmed fish. The application of commercialized bacterin vaccine has been reported failures as the outbreaks of the new serotype of SI were emerged in farms after vaccination and subsequently caused severe losses. In the present study, we attempted to develop effective DNA vaccines against SI infection using Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) as an animal model. Two monovalent DNA vaccines were constructed by the insertion of coding sequences of cell wall-associated virulence factors-encoding genes, comprised of eno (α-enolase) and mtsB (hydrophobic membrane protein), into cytomegalovirus expression vector (pCI-neo). In the animal trial, 30-g Nile tilapia were injected intramuscularly with 15 µg of each vaccine (mock vaccine group was injected by naked pCI-neo) and maintained for 35 days prior challenging with pathogenic SI at the dosage of 107 CFU/fish. At 13 days post-challenge, the relative percent survival of pEno, pMtsB and mock vaccine were 57%, 45% and 27%, respectively. The expression levels of immune responses-associated genes, namely, IL1β, TNF-α, TGF-β, COX2, IL-6, IL-12 and IL-13, were investigated from the spleen of experimental animal at 7 days post-vaccination (PV) and 7 days post-challenge (PC) using quantitative RT-PCR technique. Generally, at 7 days PV, the pEno vaccinated group exhibited highest level of up-regulation (1.7 to 2.9 folds) of every gene, but TGF-β, comparing to pMtsB and mock vaccine groups. However, at 7 days PC, pEno group showed significant up-regulation (1.4 to 8.5 folds) of immune-related genes as similar as mock vaccine group, while pMtsB group had lowest level of up-regulation (0.7 to 3.3 folds). Summarily, this study indicated that the pEno and pMtsB vaccines could elicit the immune responses of the fish and the magnitude of gene expression at 7 days PV was also consistent with the protection level conferred by the vaccine.

Keywords: gene expression, DNA vaccine, Nile tilapia, Streptococcus iniae

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Authors: Bibire Abdulkareem Hussein

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Job satisfaction and motivation are considered as major tools in sustaining institutional development, they are also the machinery used to achieve an institutional goals and objectives. However, it has been observed that some institutions failed in motivating and stimulating their workers; in contrast, workers may be motivated but not satisfied with the job and failed to perform efficiently and effectively. It is hoped that the study of this nature would be of significance value to all stakeholders in education specifically, lecturers in higher institutions in Nigeria. Also it significances will enhance lecturers’ effectiveness and performance in discharging their duties. It is against this backdrop that, this study investigated whether job satisfaction and motivation predict lecturers’ effectiveness in Nigeria Police Academy, Wudil, KanoState. The correlational research method was adopted for the study while purposive sampling technique was used to choose the institution and the sampled lectures (70). Simple random sampling technique was used to select one hundred cadets across the academy. Two instruments were used to elicit information from both lecturers and cadets. These were job satisfaction and motivation; and lecturers’ effectiveness Questionnaires. The instruments were subjected to pilot testing and found to have reliability coefficient of 0.69 and 0.71 respectively. The results of the study revealed that there was a significance relationship among job satisfaction, motivation and lecturers effectiveness in Nigeria Police Academy, Job satisfaction had a Beta weight (β) of .125, t = 3.253, p<0.05, Job motivation had a Beta weight (β) of .185, t = 3.849, p<0.05. There was a significance relationship between job satisfaction and lecturers’ effectiveness in Nigeria Police Academy the cal r is 0.21 while the crt r is 0.19. at p<0.05 and; there was a significance relationship between job motivation and lecturers effectiveness in Nigeria Police Academy the cal r is 0.20 while the crt r is 0.19 at p<0.05This study therefore concluded that there was a significance relationship among job satisfaction, motivation and lecturers effectiveness in Nigeria Police Academy s,In view of the findings of this study, the paper recommends that lecturers should be more pro-active and more effective in their primary assignment (teaching) in order to make meaningful impacts and inputs in the life of cadets and boost the standard of the academy. In the same vein, it is recommended that management should intensify efforts to improve lecturers’ welfares by providing more motivational techniques to enhance more productivity.

Keywords: academy, lecturers effectiveness, motivation, satisfaction

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Authors: Sepinoud Hamedi

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The ponder points to observationally look at the impact of carbon-neutrality approaches on the key assets required for Industry 4.0 driven savvy fabricating and how these assets can give a economical competitive advantage. The hypothetical system is coordinates with the regulation hypothesis and the resource-based see (RBV). The observational strategy is utilized for collecting information through studies and assist covariance-based auxiliary condition modeling is utilized to test the theories. Discoveries demonstrate that carbon–neutral-based government arrangements have a more grounded impact on unmistakable assets and human aptitudes than intangible assets related to Industry 4.0 driven shrewd fabricating. Moment, carbon–neutral arrangement arrangement with the firm’s maintainability destinations plays a directing impact on the relationship between carbon–neutral-based government arrangements and assets (substantial, intangible assets and human abilities) for Industry 4.0 driven shrewd fabricating. Finally, the three assets (substantial, intangible assets and human abilities) for Industry 4.0 driven savvy fabricating play a basic part in creating firms’ carbon–neutral capability and assist improving operational execution. Administrative suggestions incorporate venture in progressed advanced innovations, creating a solid mentality among workers and supply chain partners, and planning preparing programs for upgrading shrewd fabricating execution to create carbon-neutrality capability. This think about proposes a crossover hypothesis within the setting of carbon nonpartisanship by coordination institutional theory and RBV. Typically the primary think about that looks at the impact of carbon neutrality-based government arrangements on crucial Industry 4.0-driven savvy fabricating assets and the circuitous impact on carbon nonpartisanship capability and operational execution.

Keywords: carbon, industry 4.0, neutrality, RBV, nonpartisanship

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Authors: Ramanen Sugunesegran, Michael L. Williams

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Over the past two decades surgical approaches for mitral valve (MV) disease have evolved with the advent of minimally invasive techniques. Robotic mitral valve repair (RMVr) safety and efficacy has been well documented, however, mid- to long-term data are limited. The aim of this review was to provide a comprehensive analysis of the available mid- to long-term term data for RMVr. Electronic searches of five databases were performed to identify all relevant studies reporting minimum 5-year data on RMVr. Pre-defined primary outcomes of interest were overall survival, freedom from MV reoperation and freedom from moderate or worse mitral regurgitation (MR) at 5-years or more post-RMVr. A meta-analysis of proportions or means was performed, utilizing a random effects model, to present the data. Kaplan-Meier curves were aggregated using reconstructed individual patient data. Nine studies totaling 3,300 patients undergoing RMVr were identified. Rates of overall survival at 1-, 5- and 10-years were 99.2%, 97.4% and 92.3%, respectively. Freedom from MV reoperation at 8-years post RMVr was 95.0%. Freedom from moderate or worse MR at 7-years was 86.0%. Rates of early post-operative complications were low with only 0.2% all-cause mortality and 1.0% cerebrovascular accident. Reoperation for bleeding was low at 2.2% and successful RMVr was 99.8%. Mean intensive care unit and hospital stay were 22.4 hours and 5.2 days, respectively. RMVr is a safe procedure with low rates of early mortality and other complications. It can be performed with low complication rates in high volume, experienced centers. Evaluation of available mid-term data post-RMVr suggests favorable rates of overall survival, freedom from MV reoperation and freedom from moderate or worse MR recurrence.

Keywords: mitral valve disease, mitral valve repair, robotic cardiac surgery, robotic mitral valve repair

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Authors: Mahesh Kumar Jat, Manisha Choudhary

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Rapid population and economic growth resulted in changes in large-scale land use land cover (LULC) changes. Changes in the biophysical properties of the Earth's surface and its impact on climate are of primary concern nowadays. Different approaches, ranging from location-based relationships or modelling earth surface - atmospheric interaction through modelling techniques like surface energy balance (SEB) have been used in the recent past to examine the relationship between changes in Earth surface land cover and climatic characteristics like temperature and precipitation. A remote sensing-based model i.e., Surface Energy Balance Algorithm for Land (SEBAL), has been used to estimate the surface heat fluxes over Mahi Bajaj Sagar catchment (India) from 2001 to 2020. Landsat ETM and OLI satellite data are used to model the SEB of the area. Changes in observed precipitation and temperature, obtained from India Meteorological Department (IMD) have been correlated with changes in surface heat fluxes to understand the relative contributions of LULC change in changing these climatic variables. Results indicate a noticeable impact of LULC changes on climatic variables, which are aligned with respective changes in SEB components. Results suggest that precipitation increases at a rate of 20 mm/year. The maximum and minimum temperature decreases and increases at 0.007 ℃ /year and 0.02 ℃ /year, respectively. The average temperature increases at 0.009 ℃ /year. Changes in latent heat flux and sensible heat flux positively correlate with precipitation and temperature, respectively. Variation in surface heat fluxes influences the climate parameters and is an adequate reason for climate change. So, SEB modelling is helpful to understand the LULC change and its impact on climate.

Keywords: remote sensing, GIS, object based, classification

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Authors: Olayinka Adeniyi, Melissa Omino

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The field of data privacy and data protection in Africa is still an evolving area, with many African countries yet to enact legislation on the subject. While African Governments are bringing their legislation to speed in this field, how patriarchy pervades every sector of African thought and manifests in society needs to be considered. Moreover, the laws enacted ought to be inclusive, especially towards women. This, in a nutshell, is the essence of data feminism. Data feminism is a new way of thinking about data science and data ethics that is informed by the ideas of intersectional feminism. Feminising data privacy and protection will involve thinking women, considering women in the issues of data privacy and protection, particularly in legislation, as is the case in this paper. The line of thought of women inclusion is not uncommon when even international and regional human rights specific for women only came long after the general human rights. The consideration is that these should have been inserted or rather included in the original general instruments in the first instance. Since legislation on data privacy is coming in this century, having seen the rights and shortcomings of earlier instruments, then the cue should be taken to ensure inclusive wholistic legislation for data privacy and protection in the first instance. Data feminism is arguably an area that has been scantily researched, albeit a needful one. With the spate of increase in the violence against women spiraling in the cyber world, compounding the issue of COVID-19 and the needful response of governments, and the effect of these on women and their rights, fast forward, the research on the feminism of data privacy and protection in Africa becomes inevitable. This paper seeks to answer the questions, what is data feminism in the African context, why is it important in the issue of data privacy and protection legislation; what are the laws, if any, existing on data privacy and protection in Africa, are they women inclusive, if not, why; what are the measures put in place for the privacy and protection of women in Africa, and how can this be made possible. The paper aims to investigate the issue of data privacy and protection in Africa, the legal framework, and the protection or provision that it has for women if any. It further aims to research the importance and necessity of feminizing data privacy and protection, the effect of lack of it, the challenges or bottlenecks in attaining this feat and the possibilities of accessing data privacy and protection for African women. The paper also researches the emerging practices of data privacy and protection of women in other jurisprudences. It approaches the research through the methodology of review of papers, analysis of laws, and reports. It seeks to contribute to the existing literature in the field and is explorative in its suggestion. It suggests a draft of some clauses to make any data privacy and protection legislation women inclusive. It would be useful for policymaking, academic, and public enlightenment.

Keywords: feminism, women, law, data, Africa

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Authors: Rama Ajineh

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Neighborhoods are defined as local zones within settlements and cities recognized by individuals who live there, with their identities and given boundaries. Neighborhoods mainly structure individual’s lives, the small box which various social groups interact with each other, develop and become one strong entity. Also, it is a platform for more activities, providing many of the social services to enhance the connections between the people, giving a sense of community. However, some of these neighborhoods were unplanned and caused many social, economical and architectural problems to its residents in the first place, and to the city. A great example of such case is in Saudi Arabia, Jeddah, Al-Ruwais neighborhood, where the authority is planning to regenerate the area and make it a landmark for the city. Urban Regeneration of Unplanned Settlements is a process to make people live and work, now and in the future, and meet the various needs of the current and coming inhabitants, with a high-quality life for all. Through research, it was discovered that Urban regeneration plans on Al-Ruwais were planned regardless to the collective agreement of the inhabitants, giving themselves the absolute right to demolish and reconstruct the desired locations with a low compensation. Consequently, a deep research will be done on integrating the residents with the process, by showcasing examples of successful Urban Regenerations of Unplanned settlements in different cities. The research aims to understand the sustainable, and well-planned regeneration strategies used to enhance people’s living without harming them, and give sustainable urban solutions. Moreover, the research explores the definition of Sustainable Communities. The used methods in this paper are secondary research on site analysis and the relationship between the human and the neighborhood. The conclusion reveals the most successful fashion of Urban regeneration of Unplanned settlements and applies it to Al-Ruwais neighborhood considering the human factor as a primary element.

Keywords: architecture, human integration, original residents, site analysis, sustainable communities, urban sustainable solutions, urban regeneration

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Authors: Amare Setegn Enyew, Bikila Teklu Wodajo

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The primary aim of flexible pavement design is to ensure the development of economical and safe road infrastructure. However, failures can still occur due to improper or erroneous structural design. In Ethiopia, the design of flexible pavements relies on doing calculations manually and selecting pavement structure from catalogue. The catalogue offers, in eight different charts, alternative structures for combinations of traffic and subgrade classes, as outlined in the Ethiopian Roads Authority (ERA) Pavement Design Manual 2001. Furthermore, design modification is allowed in accordance with the structural number principles outlined in the AASHTO 1993 Guide for Design of Pavement Structures. Nevertheless, the manual calculation and design process involves the use of nomographs, charts, tables, and formulas, which increases the likelihood of human errors and inaccuracies, and this may lead to unsafe or uneconomical road construction. To address the challenge, a software called AASHERA has been developed for AASHTO 1993 and ERA design methods, using MATLAB language. The software accurately determines the required thicknesses of flexible pavement surface, base, and subbase layers for the two methods. It also digitizes design inputs and references like nomographs, charts, default values, and tables. Moreover, the software allows easier comparison of the two design methods in terms of results and cost of construction. AASHERA's accuracy has been confirmed through comparisons with designs from handbooks and manuals. The software can aid in reducing human errors, inaccuracies, and time consumption as compared to the conventional manual design methods employed in Ethiopia. AASHERA, with its validated accuracy, proves to be an indispensable tool for flexible pavement structure designers.

Keywords: flexible pavement design, AASHTO 1993, ERA, MATLAB, AASHERA

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Authors: Yusarina Mat-Isa, Zuraidah Mohd-Sanusi, Mohd-Nizal Haniff, Paul A. Barnes

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In view that money laundering has become eminent for banking institutions, it is an obligation for the banking institutions to adopt a risk-based approach as the integral component of the accepted policies on anti-money laundering. In doing so, those involved with the banking operations are the most critical group of personnel as these are the people who deal with the day-to-day operations of the banking institutions and are obligated to form a judgement on the level of impending risk. This requirement is extended to all relevant banking institutions staff, such as tellers and customer account representatives for them to identify suspicious customers and escalate it to the relevant authorities. Banking institutions staffs, however, face enormous challenges in identifying and distinguishing money launderers from other legitimate customers seeking genuine banking transactions. Banking institutions staffs are mostly educated and trained with the business objective in mind to serve the customers and are not trained to be “detectives with a detective’s power of observation”. Despite increasing awareness as well as trainings conducted for the banking institutions staff, their competency in assessing money laundering risk is still insufficient. Several gaps have prompted this study including the lack of behavioural perspectives in the assessment of money laundering risk in the banking institutions. Utilizing experimental approach, respondents are randomly assigned within a controlled setting with manipulated situations upon which judgement of the respondents is solicited based on various observations related to the situations. The study suggests that it is imperative that informed judgement is exercised in arriving at the decision to proceed with the banking services required by the customers. Judgement forms a basis of opinion for the banking institution staff to decide if the customers posed money laundering risk. Failure to exercise good judgement could results in losses and absorption of unnecessary risk into the banking institutions. Although the banking institutions are exposed with choices of automated solutions in assessing money laundering risk, the human factor in assessing the risk is indispensable. Individual staff in the banking institutions is the first line of defence who are responsible for screening the impending risk of any customer soliciting for banking services. At the end of the spectrum, the individual role involvement on the subject of money laundering risk assessment is not a substitute for automated solutions as human judgement is inimitable.

Keywords: banking institutions, experimental approach, money laundering, risk assessment

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Authors: Stacy Jarvis

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A silent culmination is a musical technique that creates or increases tension in a piece of music. It is a type of cadence in which the music gradually builds to a climax but suddenly stops without any resolution. This technique can create suspense and anticipation in the listener as they wait to find out what will happen next. It can also draw attention to a particular element of the music, such as a particular instrument or vocal line. Silent culminations can evoke a sense of mystery or ambiguity by not resolving the tension created. This technique has been used by composers of all musical genres, from classical to jazz, as well as in film scores. Silent culminations can also make a piece of music more dynamic and exciting. Verdi’s Aida is a classic example of the use of silent culminations to create tension and suspense. Throughout the opera, Verdi uses a technique of gradually building to a climax, only to abruptly stop without any resolution. This technique brings out the story's drama and intensity and creates anticipation for the climactic moments. For example, at the end of the second act, Verdi reaches a crescendo of tension as Aida and Radamès swear their undying love for one another, only to stop with a moment of silence. This technique also helps to draw attention to the important moments in the story, such as the duets between Aida and Radamès. By stopping the music just before it resolves, Verdi can create an atmosphere of anticipation and suspense that carries through to the opera's end. Silent culminations are used greatly in Aida and are integral to Verdi’s dramatic style. In his symphonic poem Mazeppa, Tchaikovsky uses silent culminations to emphasize the piece's drama and powerful emotions. The piece begins with a gentle introduction but quickly builds to a powerful climax. Throughout the piece, Tchaikovsky uses silent culminations to create tension and suspense, drawing the listener in and heightening the intensity of the music 2. The most dramatic moment of the piece comes when the music builds to a frantic climax and then suddenly cuts out, leaving the listener hanging in anticipation of what will happen next. This technique creates an intense atmosphere and leaves the listener eager to hear what comes next. In addition, the use of silent culminations helps to emphasize the strong emotions of the piece, such as fear, horror, and despair. By not resolving the tension with a resolution, the listener is left with a feeling of uneasiness and uncertainty that helps to convey the story of Mazeppa’s tragic fate.

Keywords: Verdi, Tchaikovsky, opera, culmination

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Authors: M. K. Witek-Hajduk, T. M. Napiórkowski

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A number of studies discussed the topic of benefits of retailers-manufacturers cooperation and coopetition. However, there are only few publications focused on the benefits of cooperation and coopetition between retailers and their suppliers of durable consumer goods; especially in the context of business model of cooperating partners. This paper aims to provide a clustering approach to segment retailers selling consumer durables according to the benefits they obtain from their cooperation with key manufacturers and differentiate the said retailers’ in term of the business models of cooperating partners. For the purpose of the study, a survey (with a CATI method) collected data on 603 consumer durables retailers present on the Polish market. Retailers are clustered both, with hierarchical and non-hierarchical methods. Five distinctive groups of consumer durables’ retailers are (based on the studied benefits) identified using the two-stage clustering approach. The clusters are then characterized with a set of exogenous variables, key of which are business models employed by the retailer and its partnering key manufacturer. The paper finds that the a combination of a medium sized retailer classified as an Integrator with a chiefly domestic capital and a manufacturer categorized as a Market Player will yield the highest benefits. On the other side of the spectrum is medium sized Distributor retailer with solely domestic capital – in this case, the business model of the cooperating manufactrer appears to be irreleveant. This paper is the one of the first empirical study using cluster analysis on primary data that defines the types of cooperation between consumer durables’ retailers and manufacturers – their key suppliers. The analysis integrates a perspective of both retailers’ and manufacturers’ business models and matches them with individual and joint benefits.

Keywords: benefits of cooperation, business model, cluster analysis, retailer-manufacturer cooperation

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Authors: JinWoog Lee, SeongHyeok Lee, ChanYong Choi, Yujin Lim, Hojin Cho

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Primary function of the trackbed in a conventional railway track system is to decrease the stresses in the subgrade to be in an acceptable level. A properly designed trackbed layer performs this task adequately. Many design procedures have used assumed and/or are based on critical stiffness values of the layers obtained mostly in the field to calculate an appropriate thickness of the sublayers of the trackbed foundation. However, those stiffness values do not consider strain levels clearly and precisely in the layers. This study proposes a method of computation of stiffness that can handle with strain level in the layers of the trackbed foundation in order to provide properly selected design values of the stiffness of the layers. The shear modulus values are dependent on shear strain level so that the strain levels generated in the subgrade in the trackbed under wheel loading and below plate of Repeated Plate Bearing Test (RPBT) are investigated by finite element analysis program ABAQUS and PLAXIS programs. The strain levels generated in the subgrade from RPBT are compared to those values from RC (Resonant Column) test after some consideration of strain levels and stress consideration. For comparison of shear modulus G obtained from RC test and stiffness moduli Ev2 obtained from RPBT in the field, many numbers of mid-size RC tests in laboratory and RPBT in field were performed extensively. It was found in this study that there is a big difference in stiffness modulus when the converted Ev2 values were compared to those values of RC test. It is verified in this study that it is necessary to use precise and increased loading steps to construct nonlinear curves from RPBT in order to get correct Ev2 values in proper strain levels.

Keywords: modulus, plate load test, resonant column test, trackbed foundation

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Authors: Qiong Li

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This study investigated in which condition computer-mediated communication (CMC) could promote pragmatic development. The focal feature included four Chinese sentence final particles (SFPs), a, ya, ba, and ne. They occur frequently in Chinese, and function as mitigators to soften the tone of speech. However, L2 acquisition of SFPs is difficult, suggesting the necessity of additional exposure to or explicit instruction on Chinese SFPs. This study follows this line and aims to explore two research questions: (1) Is CMC combined with data-driven instruction more effective than CMC alone in promoting L2 Chinese learners’ SFP use? (2) How does L2 Chinese learners’ SFP use change over time, as compared to the production of native Chinese speakers? The study involved 19 intermediate-level learners of Chinese enrolled at a private American university. They were randomly assigned to two groups: (1) the control group (N = 10), which was exposed to SFPs through CMC alone, (2) the treatment group (N = 9), which was exposed to SFPs via CMC and data-driven instruction. Learners interacted with native speakers on given topics through text-based CMC over Skype. Both groups went through six 30-minute CMC sessions on a weekly basis, with a one-week interval after the first two CMC sessions and a two-week interval after the second two CMC sessions (nine weeks in total). The treatment group additionally received a data-driven instruction after the first two sessions. Data analysis focused on three indices: token frequency, type frequency, and acceptability of SFP use. Token frequency was operationalized as the raw occurrence of SFPs per clause. Type frequency was the range of SFPs. Acceptability was rated by two native speakers using a rating rubric. The results showed that the treatment group made noticeable progress over time on the three indices. The production of SFPs approximated the native-like level. In contrast, the control group only slightly improved on token frequency. Only certain SFPs (a and ya) reached the native-like use. Potential explanations for the group differences were discussed in two aspects: the property of Chinese SFPs and the role of CMC and data-driven instruction. Though CMC provided the learners with opportunities to notice and observe SFP use, as a feature with low saliency, SFPs were not easily noticed in input. Data-driven instruction in the treatment group directed the learners’ attention to these particles, which facilitated the development.

Keywords: computer-mediated communication, data-driven instruction, pragmatic development, second language Chinese, sentence final particles

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Authors: J. Ritonja

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The biochemical technology has been developing extremely fast since the middle of the last century. The main reason for such development represents a requirement for large production of high-quality biologically manufactured products such as pharmaceuticals, foods, and beverages. The impact of the biochemical industry on the world economy is enormous. The great importance of this industry also results in intensive development in scientific disciplines relevant to the development of biochemical technology. In addition to developments in the fields of biology and chemistry, which enable to understand complex biochemical processes, development in the field of control theory and applications is also very important. In the paper, the control for the biochemical reactor for the milk fermentation was studied. During the fermentation process, the biophysical quantities must be precisely controlled to obtain the high-quality product. To control these quantities, the bioreactor’s stirring drive and/or heating system can be used. Available commercial biochemical reactors are equipped with open loop or conventional linear closed loop control system. Due to the outstanding parameters variations and the partial nonlinearity of the biochemical process, the results obtained with these control systems are not satisfactory. To improve the fermentation process, the self-tuning adaptive control system was proposed. The use of the self-tuning adaptive control is suggested because the parameters’ variations of the studied biochemical process are very slow in most cases. To determine the linearized mathematical model of the fermentation process, the recursive least square identification method was used. Based on the obtained mathematical model the linear quadratic regulator was tuned. The parameters’ identification and the controller’s synthesis are executed on-line and adapt the controller’s parameters to the fermentation process’ dynamics during the operation. The use of the proposed combination represents the original solution for the control of the milk fermentation process. The purpose of the paper is to contribute to the progress of the control systems for the biochemical reactors. The proposed adaptive control system was tested thoroughly. From the obtained results it is obvious that the proposed adaptive control system assures much better following of the reference signal as a conventional linear control system with fixed control parameters.

Keywords: adaptive control, biochemical reactor, linear quadratic regulator, recursive least square identification

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Authors: Ho-Ting Wu, Kai-Wei Ke, Bo-Yu Huang, Liang-Lin Yan, Chun-Ting Lin

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With the advances in advanced technology, wireless sensor network (WSN) has become one of the most promising candidates to implement the wireless industrial internet of things (IIOT) architecture. However, the legacy IEEE 802.15.4 based WSN technology such as Zigbee system cannot meet the stringent QoS requirement of low powered, real-time, and highly reliable transmission imposed by the IIOT environment. Recently, the IEEE society developed IEEE 802.15.4e Time Slotted Channel Hopping (TSCH) access mode to serve this purpose. Furthermore, the IETF 6TiSCH working group has proposed standards to integrate IEEE 802.15.4e with IPv6 protocol smoothly to form a complete protocol stack for IIOT. In this work, we develop key network technologies for IEEE 802.15.4e based wireless IIoT architecture, focusing on practical design and system implementation. We realize the OpenWSN-based wireless IIOT system. The system architecture is divided into three main parts: web server, network manager, and sensor nodes. The web server provides user interface, allowing the user to view the status of sensor nodes and instruct sensor nodes to follow commands via user-friendly browser. The network manager is responsible for the establishment, maintenance, and management of scheduling and topology information. It executes centralized scheduling algorithm, sends the scheduling table to each node, as well as manages the sensing tasks of each device. Sensor nodes complete the assigned tasks and sends the sensed data. Furthermore, to prevent scheduling error due to packet loss, a schedule inspection mechanism is implemented to verify the correctness of the schedule table. In addition, when network topology changes, the system will act to generate a new schedule table based on the changed topology for ensuring the proper operation of the system. To enhance the system performance of such system, we further propose dynamic bandwidth allocation and distributed scheduling mechanisms. The developed distributed scheduling mechanism enables each individual sensor node to build, maintain and manage the dedicated link bandwidth with its parent and children nodes based on locally observed information by exchanging the Add/Delete commands via two processes. The first process, termed as the schedule initialization process, allows each sensor node pair to identify the available idle slots to allocate the basic dedicated transmission bandwidth. The second process, termed as the schedule adjustment process, enables each sensor node pair to adjust their allocated bandwidth dynamically according to the measured traffic loading. Such technology can sufficiently satisfy the dynamic bandwidth requirement in the frequently changing environments. Last but not least, we propose a packet retransmission scheme to enhance the system performance of the centralized scheduling algorithm when the packet delivery rate (PDR) is low. We propose a multi-frame retransmission mechanism to allow every single network node to resend each packet for at least the predefined number of times. The multi frame architecture is built according to the number of layers of the network topology. Performance results via simulation reveal that such retransmission scheme is able to provide sufficient high transmission reliability while maintaining low packet transmission latency. Therefore, the QoS requirement of IIoT can be achieved.

Keywords: IEEE 802.15.4e, industrial internet of things (IIOT), scheduling mechanisms, wireless sensor networks (WSN)

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Authors: Hammam Aljabri, Hong G. Im

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Hydrogen is a promising future fuel to support the transition of the energy sector toward carbon neutrality. The direct utilization of H2 in Internal Combustion Engines (ICEs) is possible, and this technology faces mainly two challenges; high NOx emissions and severe knocking at mid to high loads. In this study, we numerically investigated the potential of H2 combustion in a truck-size engine operated in SI mode. To mitigate the knocking nature of H2 combustion, we have focused on studying the effects of three primary parameters; the compression ratio (CR), the air-fuel ratio, and the spark time. The baseline case was set using a CR of 16.5 and an equivalence ratio of 0.35. In simulations, the auto-ignition tendency was evaluated based on the maximum pressure rise rate and the local pressure fluctuations at the monitoring points set along the wall of the combustion chamber. To mitigate the auto-ignition tendency while enabling a wider range of engine operation, the effect of lowering the compression ratio was assessed. The results indicate that by lowering the compression ratio from 16.5:1 to 12.5:1, an indicated thermal efficiency of 47.5% can be achieved. Aiming to restrain the auto-ignition while maintaining good efficiency, a reduction in the equivalence ratio was examined under different compression ratios. The result indicates that higher compression ratios will require lower equivalence ratios, and due to practical limitations, a lower equivalence ratio of 0.25 was set as the limit. Using a compression ratio of 13.5 combined with an equivalence ratio of 0.3 resulted in an indicated thermal efficiency of 48.6%, that is, at a fixed spark time. It is found that under such lean conditions, the incomplete combustion losses and exhaust losses were high. Thus, advancing the spark time was assessed as a possible solution. The results demonstrated the advantages of advancing the spark time, where an indicated thermal efficiency exceeding 50% was achieved using a compression ratio of 14.5:1 and an equivalence ratio of 0.25.

Keywords: hydrogen, combustion, engine knock, SI engine

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