Search results for: response spectrum method

Authors: Akolo Ajige

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Christian-Muslim relations had been existing for a long time in Nigeria. Despite the long standing relations between the two faith communities, there had been occasional religious crises in Nigeria (especially in Northern part of Nigeria). These crises have rendered some people homeless, left some without a family, while property worth millions of naira destroyed, and thereby putting some people in perpetual trauma. The situation seemed to be entirely different in Nasarawa State where there is relative peace between Christians and Muslims. The purpose of the study therefore was to examine Christian-Muslim relations in Nasarawa State. Its objectives were to: (i) identify the factors responsible for the peaceful coexistence between Christians and Muslims in Nasarawa State; (ii) state how they were relating in times of politics, worship, celebration of religious festivals etc; (iii) discuss how issues which could have led to crises were resolved between the two faiths, and (iv) examine the roles played by the religious leaders, traditional rulers and the media on peaceful co-existence between the Muslims and the Christians in Nasarawa State. Historical and Comparative methods were adopted in this research. Historical method helped to evaluate the history of Islam and Christianity in Nasarawa State, while comparative method was adopted to assess the extent of interaction of Muslims and Christians in the State. The study employed primary and secondary sources as tools for gathering information.

Keywords: historo-religious, christian, muslim, relations

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Authors: Felix U. Asoiro, Kingsley O. Anyichie, Meshack I. Simeon, Chinenye E. Azuka

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The work was aimed at studying the effects of microwave drying (450 W) and hot air oven drying on the drying kinetics and physico-functional properties of yams and cocoyams species. The yams and cocoyams were cut into chips of thicknesses of 3mm, 5mm, 7mm, 9mm, and 11mm. The drying characteristics of yam and cocoyam chips were investigated under microwave drying and hot air oven temperatures (50oC – 90oC). Drying methods, temperature, and thickness had a significant effect on the drying characteristics and physico-functional properties of yam and cocoyam. The result of the experiment showed that an increase in the temperature increased the drying time. The result also showed that the microwave drying method took lesser time to dry the samples than the hot air oven drying method. The iodine affinity of starch for yam was higher than that of cocoyam for the microwaved dried samples over those of hot air oven-dried samples. The results of the analysis would be useful in modeling the drying behavior of yams and cocoyams under different drying methods. It could also be useful in the improvement of shelf life for yams and cocoyams as well as designs of efficient systems for drying, handling, storage, packaging, processing, and transportation of yams and cocoyams.

Keywords: coco yam, drying, microwave, modeling, energy consumption, iodine affinity, drying ate

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Authors: Fatemeh Rouhi, Hadi Nassiri

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Earning forecast is a key element in economic decisions but there are some situations, such as conflicts of interest in financial reporting, complexity and lack of direct access to information has led to the phenomenon of information asymmetry among individuals within the organization and external investors and creditors that appear. The adverse selection and moral hazard in the investor's decision and allows direct assessment of the difficulties associated with data by users makes. In this regard, the role of trustees in corporate governance disclosure is crystallized that includes controls and procedures to ensure the lack of movement in the interests of the company's management and move in the direction of maximizing shareholder and company value. Therefore, the earning forecast of companies in the capital market and the need to identify factors influencing this study was an attempt to make relationship between moral hazard and corporate governance with earning forecast quality companies operating in the capital market and its impact on Earnings Forecasts quality by the company to be established. Getting inspiring from the theoretical basis of research, two main hypotheses and sub-hypotheses are presented in this study, which have been examined on the basis of available models, and with the use of Panel-Data method, and at the end, the conclusion has been made at the assurance level of 95% according to the meaningfulness of the model and each independent variable. In examining the models, firstly, Chow Test was used to specify either Panel Data method should be used or Pooled method. Following that Housman Test was applied to make use of Random Effects or Fixed Effects. Findings of the study show because most of the variables are positively associated with moral hazard with earnings forecasts quality, with increasing moral hazard, earning forecast quality companies listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange is increasing. Among the variables related to corporate governance, board independence variables have a significant relationship with earnings forecast accuracy and earnings forecast bias but the relationship between board size and earnings forecast quality is not statistically significant.

Keywords: corporate governance, earning forecast quality, moral hazard, financial sciences

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Authors: Anurak Khrueakham, Tassanee Chanphuthin

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Indigo is a well-known natural blue dye that is used hither to even though synthetic ones are commercially available. The removal of indigo from effluents is difficult due to its resistance towards biodegradation which causes an aquatic environment effect. Fenton process is a reaction between hydrogen peroxide H2O2 and Fe2+ to generate •OH (highly reactive oxidant (E◦= 2.8 V)). Additionally, •OH is non-selective oxidant which is capable of destroying wide range of organic pollutants in water and wastewater. The aims of this research were to investigate the effect of H2O2, Fe2+ and pH on indigo wastewater oxidation by Fenton process. A liter reactor was operated in all experiments. The batch reactor was prepared by filling 1 liter of indigo wastewater. The pH was adjusted to the desired value; then, FeSO4 at predetermined amount was added. Finally, H2O2 was immediately added to start the Fenton’s reaction. The Fenton oxidation of indigo wastewater was operated for 60 minutes. Residual H2O2 was analyzed using titanium oxalate method. The Fe2+ concentration was determined by phenanthroline method. COD was determined using closed-reflux titrimetric method to indicate the removal efficiency. The results showed that at pH 2 increasing the initial ferrous concentration from 0.1 mM to 1 mM enhanced the indigo removal from 36% to 59%. Fenton reaction was rapidly due to the high generation rate of •OH. The degradation of indigo increased with increasing pH up to pH 3. This can be explained that the scavenging effect of the •OH by H+ in the condition of low pH is severe to form an oxonium ion, resulting in decrease the production of •OH and lower the decolorization efficiency of indigo. Increasing the initial H2O2 concentration from 5 mM to 20 mM could enhance the decolorization. The COD removal was increased from 35% to 65% with increasing H2O2 concentration from 5 mM to 20 mM. The generations of •OH were promoted by the increase of initial H2O2 concentration. However, the higher concentration of H2O2 resulted in the reduction of COD removal efficiency. The initial ferrous concentrations were studied in the range of 0.05-15.0 mM. The results found that the COD removals increased with increasing ferrous concentrations. The COD removals were increased from 32% to 65% when increase the ferrous concentration from 0.5 mM to 10.0 mM. However, the COD removal did not significantly change at higher 10.0 mM. This is because •OH yielding was lower level of oxidation, therefore, the COD removals were not improved. According to the studies, the Fenton’s reagents were important factors for COD removal by Fenton process. The optimum condition for COD removal of indigo dye wastewater was 10.0 mM of ferrous, 20 mM of H2O2 and at pH 3.

Keywords: indigo dye, fenton oxidation, wastewater treatment, advanced oxidation processes

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Authors: Mehdi Rahimi-Nasrabadi, Seied Mahdi Pourmortazavi

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Taguchi robust design as a statistical method was applied for optimization of the process parameters in order to tunable, simple and fast synthesis of europium (III) tungstate nanoparticles. Europium (III) tungstate nanoparticles were synthesized by a chemical precipitation reaction involving direct addition of europium ion aqueous solution to the tungstate reagent solved in aqueous media. Effects of some synthesis procedure variables i.e., europium and tungstate concentrations, flow rate of cation reagent addition, and temperature of reaction reactor on the particle size of europium (III) tungstate nanoparticles were studied experimentally in order to tune particle size of europium (III) tungstate. Analysis of variance shows the importance of controlling tungstate concentration, cation feeding flow rate and temperature for preparation of europium (III) tungstate nanoparticles by the proposed chemical precipitation reaction. Finally, europium (III) tungstate nanoparticles were synthesized at the optimum conditions of the proposed method and the morphology and chemical composition of the prepared nano-material were characterized by means of X-Ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, FT-IR spectroscopy, and fluorescence.

Keywords: europium (III) tungstate, nano-material, particle size control, procedure optimization

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Authors: M. Karthigayan, M. Rizon, Sazali Yaacob, R. Nagarajan, M. Muthukumaran, Thinaharan Ramachandran, Sargunam Thirugnanam

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In this paper, using a set of irregular and regular ellipse fitting equations using Genetic algorithm (GA) are applied to the lip and eye features to classify the human emotions. Two South East Asian (SEA) faces are considered in this work for the emotion classification. There are six emotions and one neutral are considered as the output. Each subject shows unique characteristic of the lip and eye features for various emotions. GA is adopted to optimize irregular ellipse characteristics of the lip and eye features in each emotion. That is, the top portion of lip configuration is a part of one ellipse and the bottom of different ellipse. Two ellipse based fitness equations are proposed for the lip configuration and relevant parameters that define the emotions are listed. The GA method has achieved reasonably successful classification of emotion. In some emotions classification, optimized data values of one emotion are messed or overlapped to other emotion ranges. In order to overcome the overlapping problem between the emotion optimized values and at the same time to improve the classification, a fuzzy clustering method (FCM) of approach has been implemented to offer better classification. The GA-FCM approach offers a reasonably good classification within the ranges of clusters and it had been proven by applying to two SEA subjects and have improved the classification rate.

Keywords: ellipse fitness function, genetic algorithm, emotion recognition, fuzzy clustering

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Authors: Elena G. Salina, Vadim A. Makarov

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With the emergence of primary resistance to the current drugs and wide distribution of latent tuberculosis infection, a need for new compounds with a novel mode of action is growing steadily. Copper-mediated innate immunity and antibacterial toxicity propose novel strategies in TB drug discovery and development. Transcriptome of M. tuberculosis was obtained by RNA-seq, intracellular copper content was measured by ISP MS and complexes of 1-hydroxy-2-thiopyridines with copper were detected by HPLC.1-hydroxy-2-thiopyridine derivatives were found to be highly active in vitro against both actively growing and dormant non-culturable M. tuberculosis. Transcriptome response to 1-hydroxy-2-thiopyridines revealed signs of copper toxicity in M. tuberculosis bacilli. Indeed, Cu was found to accumulate inside cells treated with 1-hydroxy-2-thiopyridines. These compounds were found to form stable charged lipophylic complexes with Cu²⁺ ions which transport into mycobacterial cell. Subsequent metabolic destruction of the complex led to transformation of 1-hydroxy-2-thiopyridines into 2-methylmercapto-2-ethoxycarbonylpyridines, which did not possess antitubercular activity and releasing of free Cu²⁺ in the cytoplasm. 1-hydroxy-2-thiopyridines are a potent class of Cu-dependent inhibitors of M. tuberculosis which may control M. tuberculosis infection by impairment of copper homeostasis. Acknowledgment: This work was financially supported by the Ministry of Education and Science of the RussianFederation (Agreement No 14.616.21.0065; unique identifier RFMEFI61616X0065).

Keywords: copper toxicity, drug discovery, M. tuberculosis inhibitors, 2-thiopyridines

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Authors: Jayme R. T. Silva, Paulo G. P. Toro, Angelo Passaro, Giannino P. Camillo, Antonio C. Oliveira

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An in-house C++ code has been developed, at the Prof. Henry T. Nagamatsu Laboratory of Aerothermodynamics and Hypersonics from the Institute of Advanced Studies (Brazil), to estimate the aerothermodynamic properties around the Hypersonic Vehicle Integrated to the Scramjet. In the future, this code will be applied to the design of the Brazilian Scramjet Technological Demonstrator 14-X B. The first step towards accomplishing this objective, is to apply the in-house C++ code at the leading edge of a flat plate, simulating the leading edge of the 14-X Hypersonic Vehicle, making possible the wave phenomena of oblique shock and boundary layer to be analyzed. The development of modern hypersonic space vehicles requires knowledge regarding the characteristics of hypersonic flows in the vicinity of a leading edge of lifting surfaces. The strong interaction between a shock wave and a boundary layer, in a high supersonic Mach number 4 viscous flow, close to the leading edge of the plate, considering no slip condition, is numerically investigated. The small slip region is neglecting. The study consists of solving the fluid flow equations for unstructured meshes applying the SIMPLE algorithm for Finite Volume Method. Unstructured meshes are generated by the in-house software ‘Modeler’ that was developed at Virtual’s Engineering Laboratory from the Institute of Advanced Studies, initially developed for Finite Element problems and, in this work, adapted to the resolution of the Navier-Stokes equations based on the SIMPLE pressure-correction scheme for all-speed flows, Finite Volume Method based. The in-house C++ code is based on the two-dimensional Navier-Stokes equations considering non-steady flow, with nobody forces, no volumetric heating, and no mass diffusion. Air is considered as calorically perfect gas, with constant Prandtl number and Sutherland's law for the viscosity. Solutions of the flat plate problem for Mach number 4 include pressure, temperature, density and velocity profiles as well as 2-D contours. Also, the boundary layer thickness, boundary conditions, and mesh configurations are presented. The same problem has been solved by the academic license of the software Ansys Fluent and for another C++ in-house code, which solves the fluid flow equations in structured meshes, applying the MacCormack method for Finite Difference Method, and the results will be compared.

Keywords: boundary-layer, scramjet, simple algorithm, shock wave

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Authors: Ashraf M. S. Soliman, Mohsen Elhasadi

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The present study was undertaken to evaluate the impact of ambient particles emitted from an industrial complex located at El-Fatyah on growth, phytomass partitioning and accumulation, pigment content and nutrient uptake of two economically important crop species; barley (Hordeum vulgare L.Family: Poaceae) and broad bean (Vicia faba L. Family: Fabaceae) growing in the region. It was obvious from the present investigation that chlorophyll and carotenoid content showed significant responses to the industrial dust. Generally, the total pigment content of the two investigated crops in the two locations continually increased till the plant age reached 70 days after sowing then begins to decrease till the end of the growing season..The total uptake of N, P and K in the two studied species decreased in response to industrial dust in the study area compared to control location. In conclusion, barley and broad bean are very sensitive to air pollutants, and may consider as bioindicators for atmospheric pollution. Pollutants caused damage of their leaves, impair plant growth, hindered nutrient uptake and consequently limit primary productivity.

Keywords: Effect of Industrial Complex on barley and broad bean

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Authors: Haw-Long Lee, Win-Jin Chang, Yu-Ching Yang

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In the paper, the coupled equation of motion for the dynamic displacement of a fullerene moving in a (10,10) single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) is derived using nonlocal Timoshenko beam theory, including the effects of rotary inertia and shear deformation. The effects of confined stiffness between the fullerene and nanotube, foundation stiffness, and nonlocal parameter on the dynamic behavior are analyzed using the Runge-Kutta Method. The numerical solution is in agreement with the analytical result for the special case. The numerical results show that increasing the confined stiffness and foundation stiffness decrease the dynamic displacement of SWCNT. However, the dynamic displacement increases with increasing the nonlocal parameter. In addition, result using the Euler beam theory and the Timoshenko beam theory are compared. It can be found that ignoring the effects of rotary inertia and shear deformation leads to an underestimation of the displacement.

Keywords: single-walled carbon nanotube, nanoparticle delivery, Nonlocal Timoshenko beam theory, Runge-Kutta Method, Van der Waals force

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Authors: Mehdi Tavana, Seyedeh Zeinab Peighambarzadeh

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Excretory urography is used for morphologic and especially functional studies of the urinary tracts. There are many indications for excretory urography in humans and animals. Intravenous urography is the most practical method, other urography techniques were manipulated because of difficulties for finding veins in small size of the patients. At the best of times, the combination of small veins and abundant subcutaneous tissue make vascular access difficult or impossible, therefore, another methods of administration of contrast media is desired. This study was performed to evaluate the feasibility of intraosseous injection of iodixanol in providing a safe and diagnostic urogram in Persian squirrel. Fourteen hundreds mg iodine per kilogram body weight of iodixanol were injected subcutaneously over tibial tuberosity on ten clinically healthy adult Persian squirrels with no signs of urinary system disorder. Lateral and ventrodorsal radiographs were taken every 2 minutes until the pyelogram was finished. Intraosseous injection of iodixanol was successful to show nephrogram, pyelogram, uretrogram and cystogram clearly. There were no abnormal clinical signs after one week of experiments. Biochemical and hematological profiles were in normal ranges. It is concluded that intraosseous urography is an effective and reliable method for urography studies in squirrel. Microscopic examinations of the kidneys and the site of injection after one week were normal.

Keywords: intraosseous urography, iodixanol, Persian squirrel, morphologic

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Authors: Shobha Kumari Yadav, Yubaraj Satyal, Ajaya Dixit

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In addressing groundwater depletion, it is important to develop evidence base so to be used in assessing the state of its degradation. Groundwater data is limited compared to meteorological data, which impedes the groundwater use and management plan. Monitoring of groundwater levels provides information base to assess the condition of aquifers, their responses to water extraction, land-use change, and climatic variability. It is important to maintain a network of spatially distributed, long-term monitoring wells to support groundwater management plan. Monitoring involving local community is a cost effective approach that generates real time data to effectively manage groundwater use. This paper presents the relationship between rainfall and spring flow, which are the main source of freshwater for drinking, household consumptions and agriculture in hills of Nepal. The supply and withdrawal of water from springs depends upon local hydrology and the meteorological characteristics- such as rainfall, evapotranspiration and interflow. The study offers evidence of the use of scientific method and community based initiative for managing groundwater and springshed. The approach presents a method to replicate similar initiative in other parts of the country for maintaining integrity of springs.

Keywords: citizen science, groundwater, water resource management, Nepal

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Authors: Golak Bihari Mahanta, Bibhuti Bhusan Biswal, B. B. V. L. Deepak, Amruta Rout, Gunji Balamurali

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Robots are widely used in the manufacturing industry for rapid production with higher accuracy and precision. With the help of End-of-Arm Tools (EOATs), robots are interacting with the environment. Robotic grippers are such EOATs which help to grasp the object in an automation system for improving the efficiency. As the robotic gripper directly influence the quality of the product due to the contact between the gripper surface and the object to be grasped, it is necessary to design and optimize the gripper mechanism configuration. In this study, geometric and kinematic modeling of the parallel gripper is proposed. Grey wolf optimizer algorithm is introduced for solving the proposed multiobjective gripper optimization problem. Two objective functions developed from the geometric and kinematic modeling along with several nonlinear constraints of the proposed gripper mechanism is used to optimize the design variables of the systems. Finally, the proposed methodology compared with a previously proposed method such as Teaching Learning Based Optimization (TLBO) algorithm, NSGA II, MODE and it was seen that the proposed method is more efficient compared to the earlier proposed methodology.

Keywords: gripper optimization, metaheuristics, , teaching learning based algorithm, multi-objective optimization, optimal gripper design

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Authors: Mahfoud Benzerzour, Mouhamadou Amar, Nor-edine Abriak

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In this study, a sediment was used as a secondary raw material in cement substitution with prior treatment. The treatment adopted is a physical treatment involving grinding and separation to obtain different fractions, using a dry method (1 mm, 250µm, 120µm) and washing method (250µm and 120µm). They were subsequently heat treated at temperatures of 650°C, 750°C and 850°C for 1 hour and 3 hours, in order to enable chemical activation by decarbonation or by pozzolanic activation of the material. Different characterization techniques were performed. The determination of main physical and chemical characteristics was obtained through multiple tests: particle size distribution, specific density, the BET surface area, the initial setting time and hydration heat calorimetry Langavant. The chemical tests include: ATG analysis, X-ray diffractometry (XRD) and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) which were used to quantify the fractions, phases and chemical elements present. Compression tests were performed conforming NF EN 196-1 French standard, over terms of 7 days - 14 days - 28 days and 60 days on all formulated mortars: reference mortar based on 100% CEM I 52.5N binder and cement substituted mortars with 8% and 15% by treated sediment. This clearly evidenced contribution due to the chemical activity which was confirmed by calorimetry monitoring and strength investigation.

Keywords: sediment, characterization, grinding, heat treatment, substitution

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Authors: Ali Yasin, Ali Kamran, Muhammad Safdar

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In order to reduce the hefty cost involved in terms of time and project cost, the development and application of advanced numerical tools to address the burn-back analysis problem in solid rocket motor design and development is the need of time. Several advanced numerical schemes have been developed in recent times, but their usage in the design of propellant grain of solid rocket motors is very rare. In this paper, an advanced numerical technique named the Level-Set method has been utilized for the burn-back analysis of star grain to study the effect of geometrical parameters on ballistic performance indicators such as solid loading, neutrality, and sliver percentage. In the level set technique, simple finite difference methods may fail quickly and require more sophisticated non-oscillatory schemes for feasible long-time simulation. For internal ballistic calculations, a simplified equilibrium pressure method is utilized. Preliminary results of the operative conditions, for all the combustion time, of star grain burn-back using level set techniques are compared with published results using CAD technique to test the developed numerical model.

Keywords: solid rocket motor, internal ballistic, level-set technique, star grain

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Authors: Longfei Wang, Selçuk Köse

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Hardware Trojan becomes great concern as integrated circuit (IC) technology advances and not all manufacturing steps of an IC are accomplished within one company. Real-time hardware Trojan detection is proven to be a feasible way to detect randomly activated Trojans that cannot be detected at testing stage. On-chip sensors serve as a great candidate to implement real-time hardware Trojan detection, however, the optimization of on-chip sensors has not been thoroughly investigated and the location of Trojan has not been carefully explored. On-chip sensor ellipse distribution method and equivalent mapping technique are proposed based on the characteristics of on-chip power delivery network in this paper to address the optimization and distribution of on-chip sensors for real-time hardware Trojan detection as well as to estimate the location and current consumption of hardware Trojan. Simulation results verify that hardware Trojan activation can be effectively detected and the location of a hardware Trojan can be efficiently estimated with less than 5% error for a realistic power grid using our proposed methods. The proposed techniques therefore lay a solid foundation for isolation and even deactivation of hardware Trojans through accurate location of Trojans.

Keywords: hardware trojan, on-chip sensor, power distribution network, power/ground noise

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Authors: N. Cetinkaya, Y. S. Kuleyin

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The aim of this study was to estimate the digestibility of the fruit internal skin of different varieties of hazelnuts to propose hazelnut fruit skin as an alternative feed source as roughage in ruminant nutrition. In 2015, the fruit internal skins of three different varieties of round hazelnuts (RH), pointed hazelnuts (PH) and almond hazelnuts (AH) were obtained from hazelnut processing factory then their crude nutrients analysis were carried out. Organic matter digestibility (OMD) and metabolisable energy (ME) values of hazelnut fruit skins were estimated from gas measured by in vitro gas production method. Their antioxidant activities were determined by spectrophotometric method. Crude nutrient values of three different varieties were; organic matter (OM): 87.83, 87.81 and 87.78%), crude protein (CP): 5.97, 5.93 and 5.89%, neutral detergent fiber (NDF): 30.30, 30.29 and 30.29%, acid detergent fiber (ADF): 48.68, 48.67 and 48.66% and acid detergent lignin (ADL): 25.43, 25.43 and 25.39% respectively. OMD from 24 h incubation time of RH, PH and AH were 22.04, 22.46 and 22.74%; ME_GP values were 3.69, 3.75 and 3.79 MJ/kg DM; and antioxidant activity values were 94.60, 94.54 and 94.52 IC 50 mg/mL respectively. The fruit internal skin of different varieties of hazelnuts may be considered as an alternative roughage for ruminant nutrition regarding to their crude and digestible nutritive values. Moreover, hazelnut fruit skin has a rich antioxidant content so it may be used as a feed additive for both ruminant and non-ruminant animals.

Keywords: antioxidant activity, hazelnut fruit skin, metabolizable energy, organic matter digestibility

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Authors: Sara Ignoto, Elena M. Scalisi, Carmen Sica, Martina Contino, Greta Ferruggia, Antonio Salvaggio, Santi C. Pavone, Gino Sorbello, Loreto Di Donato, Roberta Pecoraro, Maria V. Brundo

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The new fifth generation technology (5G), which should favor high data-rate connections (1Gbps) and latency times lower than the current ones (<1ms), has the characteristic of working on different frequency bands of the radio wave spectrum (700 MHz, 3.6-3.8 GHz and 26.5-27.5 GHz), thus also exploiting higher frequencies than previous mobile radio generations (1G-4G). The higher frequency waves, however, have a lower capacity to propagate in free space and therefore, in order to guarantee the capillary coverage of the territory for high reliability applications, it will be necessary to install a large number of repeaters. Following the introduction of this new technology, there has been growing concern in recent years about the possible harmful effects on human health and several studies were published using several animal models. This study aimed to observe the possible short-term effects induced by 5G-millimeter waves on heartbeat of early life stages of Danio rerio using DanioScope software (Noldus). DanioScope is the complete toolbox for measurements on zebrafish embryos and larvae. The effect of substances can be measured on the developing zebrafish embryo by a range of parameters: earliest activity of the embryo’s tail, activity of the developing heart, speed of blood flowing through the vein, length and diameters of body parts. Activity measurements, cardiovascular data, blood flow data and morphometric parameters can be combined in one single tool. Obtained data are elaborate and provided by the software both numerical as well as graphical. The experiments were performed at 27 GHz by a no commercial high gain pyramidal horn antenna. According to OECD guidelines, exposure to 5G-millimeter waves was tested by fish embryo toxicity test within 96 hours post fertilization, Observations were recorded every 24h, until the end of the short-term test (96h). The results have showed an increase of heartbeat rate on exposed embryos at 48h hpf than control group, but this increase has not been shown at 72-96 h hpf. Nowadays, there is a scant of literature data about this topic, so these results could be useful to approach new studies and also to evaluate potential cardiotoxic effects of mobile radiofrequency.

Keywords: Danio rerio, DanioScope, cardiotoxicity, millimeter waves.

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Authors: Sanja Jovanovic, Aleksandar Simic, Ognjan Skrobic, Dragan Masulovic, Aleksandra Djuric-Stefanovic

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Introduction: Achalasia is an idiopathic primary esophageal motility disorder characterized by esophageal peristalsis and impaired swallow-induced relaxation of the lower esophageal sphincter (LES). It is a rare disease that affects both genders with an incidence of 1/100.000 and a prevalence rate of 10/100,000 per year. Objective: Laparoscopic Heller myotomy (LHM) represents a therapy of choice for patients with achalasia, providing excellent outcomes. The aim of this study was to evaluate the significance of computed tomography (CT) in analyzing achalasia subtypes and timed barium esophagogram (TBE) in evaluation of LHM success, as a part of standardized diagnostic protocol. Method: Fifty-one patients with achalasia, confirmed by manometric studies, in addition to standardized diagnostic methods, underwent CT and TBE. CT was done with multiplanar reconstruction, measuring the wall thickness above the esophago-gastric junction in the axial plane. TBE was performed preoperatively and two days postoperatively swallowing low-density barium sulfate, and plane upright frontal films were performed 1, 2 and 5 minutes after the ingestion. In all patients, LHM was done, and pre and postoperative height and weight of the barium column were compared. Results: According to CT findings we divided patients into 3 subtypes of achalasia according to wall thickness: < 4mm as subtype one, between 4 - 9mm as II, and > 10 mm as subtype 3. Correlation of manometric results, as a reference values, and CT findings indicated CT sensitivity of 90% and specificity of 70 % in establishing subtypes of achalasia. The preoperative values of TBE at 1, 2 and 5 minutes were: median barium column height 17.4 ± 7.4, 15.9 ± 6.2 and 13.9 ± 6.2 cm; median column width 5 ± 1.5, 4.7 ± 1.6 and 4.5 ± 1.8 cm respectively. LHM significantly reduced these values (height 7 ± 4.6, 5.8 ± 4.2, 3.7 ± 3.4 cm; width 2.9 ± 1.3, 2.6 ± 1.3 and 2.4 ± 1.4 cm), indicating the quantitative estimates of emptying as excellent (p value < 0.01). Conclusion: CT has high sensitivity and specificity in evaluation of achalasia subtypes, and can be introduced as an additional method for standardized evaluation of these patients. The quantitative assessment of TBE based on measurements of the barium column is an accurate and beneficial method, which adequately estimates esophageal emptying success of LHM.

Keywords: achalasia, computed tomography, esophagography, myotomy

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Authors: Shota Nagata, Kazuya Okubo, Toru Fujii

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The purpose of this study is to investigate the proper condition in extracting carbon fibers as the reinforcement of composite molded by injection method. Recycled carbon fibers were extracted from wasted CFRP by pyrolyzing epoxy matrix of CFRP under air atmosphere at different temperature conditions 400, 600 and 800°C in this study. Recycled carbon fiber reinforced polypropylene (RCF/PP) pellets were prepared using twin screw extruder. The RCF/PP specimens were molded into dumbbell shaped specimens using injection molding machine. The tensile strength of recycled carbon fiber was decreased with rising pyrolysis temperature from 400 to 800°C. However, superior mechanical properties of tensile strength, tensile modulus and fracture strain of RCF/PP specimen were obtained when the extracting temperature was 600°C. Almost fibers in RCF/PP specimens were aligned in the mold filling direction in this study when the extracting temperature was 600°C. To discuss the results, the failure mechanisms of RCF/PP specimens was shown schematically. Finally, it was concluded that the temperature condition at 600°C should be selected in extracting carbon fibers as the reinforcement of RCF/PP composite molded by injection method.

Keywords: CFRP, recycled carbon fiber, injection molding, mechanical properties, fiber orientation, failure mechanism

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Authors: Kevin De Castro Cogle, Mirian Kubo, Maria Anastasiadi, Fady Mohareb, Claire Rossi

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Background: The bioaccessibility of bioactive compounds is a critical determinant of the nutritional quality of various food products. Despite its importance, there is a limited number of comprehensive studies aimed at assessing how the composition of a food matrix influences the bioaccessibility of a compound of interest. This knowledge gap has prompted a growing need to investigate the intricate relationship between food matrix formulations and the bioaccessibility of bioactive compounds. One such class of bioactive compounds that has attracted considerable attention is curcuminoids. These naturally occurring phytochemicals, extracted from the roots of Curcuma longa, have gained popularity owing to their purported health benefits and also well known for their poor bioaccessibility Project aim: The primary objective of this research project is to systematically assess the influence of matrix composition on the bioaccessibility of curcuminoids. Additionally, this study aimed to develop a series of predictive models for bioaccessibility, providing valuable insights for optimising the formula for functional foods and provide more descriptive nutritional information to potential consumers. Methods: Food formulations enriched with curcuminoids were subjected to in vitro digestion simulation, and their bioaccessibility was characterized with chromatographic and spectrophotometric techniques. The resulting data served as the foundation for the development of predictive models capable of estimating bioaccessibility based on specific physicochemical properties of the food matrices. Results: One striking finding of this study was the strong correlation observed between the concentration of macronutrients within the food formulations and the bioaccessibility of curcuminoids. In fact, macronutrient content emerged as a very informative explanatory variable of bioaccessibility and was used, alongside other variables, as predictors in a Bayesian hierarchical model that predicted curcuminoid bioaccessibility accurately (optimisation performance of 0.97 R2) for the majority of cross-validated test formulations (LOOCV of 0.92 R2). These preliminary results open the door to further exploration, enabling researchers to investigate a broader spectrum of food matrix types and additional properties that may influence bioaccessibility. Conclusions: This research sheds light on the intricate interplay between food matrix composition and the bioaccessibility of curcuminoids. This study lays a foundation for future investigations, offering a promising avenue for advancing our understanding of bioactive compound bioaccessibility and its implications for the food industry and informed consumer choices.

Keywords: bioactive bioaccessibility, food formulation, food matrix, machine learning, probabilistic modelling

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Authors: Dr., Suchita Daokar

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Background: Successful orthodontic treatment has always relied on anchorage. The stability of the implants depends on bone quantity, mini-implant design, and placement conditions. Out of the various methods of gaining stability, Platelet concentrations are gaining popularity for various reasons. PRF is a minimally invasive method, and there are various studies that has shown its role in enhancing the stability of general implants. However, there is no literature found regarding the effect of PRF in enhancing the stability of the orthodontic implant. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate and assess the efficacy of PRF on the stability of the orthodontic implant. Methods: The study comprised of 9 subjects aged above 18 years of age. The split mouth technique was used; Group A (where implants were coated before insertion) and group B (implant were normally inserted). The stability of the implant was measured using resonance frequency analysis at insertion (T0), 24 hours (T1), 2 weeks (T2), at 4 weeks (T3), at 6 weeks (T4), and 8 weeks (T5) after insertion. Result: Statistically significant findings were found when group A was compared to group B using ANOVA test (p<0.05). The stability of the implant of group A at each time interval was greater than group B. The implant stability was high at T0 and reduces at T2, and increasing through T3 to T5. The stability was highest at T5. Conclusion: A chairside, minimally invasive procedure ofPRF coating on implants have shown promising results in improving the stability of orthodontic implants and providing scope for future studies.

Keywords: Orthodontic implants, stablity, resonance Frequency Analysis, pre

Procedia PDF Downloads 189

Authors: Sandip Tambare, Revati Ghadge

Abstract:

Alcohol withdrawal syndrome continue to be concerning health issue worldwide in alcoholics. Many current option for treating alcohol withdrawal signs are habit forming causing dependency of sedatives. The divine science of Ayurveda recommends Nasya for improvement of alcohol withdrawal signs. As per the latest reports 1/3 of the Indian population is using alcohol in an unhealthy manner, the complication being wide and varied among which, the Alcohol Withdrawal Syndrome is the dominant one. The presentation varies from mild sleep loss or anxiety to delirium. Ayurveda has given utmost in the context of Madatyaya(Alcoholism). Various protocols based on the identification of the status of tridoshas are explained which includes sodhana, samana and satwavachaya chikitsa. Various medications are being used, with appreciated effects in the clinical practice. As per reports, the panchakarma procedure nasya seems highly effective, in managing of the alcohol withdrawal syndrome. Nasya with Ksheerabala Taila is given for 7 days in the condition of Alcohol Withdrawal syndrome and it was the non Randomized trial with 30 subjects satisfying the DSM V criteria for alcohol withdrawl and the assessment was done using the Clinical Institute Withdrawal Assessment for Alcohol Scale revised (CIWA-Ar). Conclusion: Among the symptoms which were studied after the interventions, it was found that there was high significant response in almost all the symptoms in the given subjects. The eternal science of Ayurveda is able to answer the existing problem of alcohol and its abuse in the society.

Keywords: nasya, alcohol withdrawal, madatyaya, ksheerabala taila

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Authors: Mehwish Jamil Noor

Abstract:

Morphological features of pollen (sculpturing) were useful for identification of different floral taxa. In this study 49 pollen grains, types belonging to 25 families were studied using Scanning Electron Microscope. Shape and sculpturing of pollen ranging from Psilate, scabrate to reticulate, bireticulate and echinolophate. Honey pollen was identified using morphological features, number and arrangement of pore and colpi, size and shape. It presents the first attempt from Pakistan involving extraction of pollen from honey, its identification and taxonomic analysis. Among pollen studied diversity in shape and sculpturing has been observed ranging from Psilate, scabrate to reticulate to bireticulate and echinolophate condition. Pollen has been identified with the help of morphological feature, number and arrangement of pore and colpi, size and shape, reference slides, light microscopic data and previous literature have been consulted for pollen identification. Pollen of closely related species resemble each other therefore pollen identification of airborne and honey pollen is not possible till species level. Survey of flora was carried in parallel to keep the record about the allergenic and melliferous preference of specific sites through surveys and interviews. Their pollination season and geographical distribution were recorded. Two hundred and five including wild and cultivated taxa were identified belonging to sixty-seven families. Major bee attracting wild shrub and trees includes Justicia adhatoda, Acacia nilotica, Ziziphus jujuba, Taraxicum officinalis, Artemisia dubia, Casuarina sp., Ulmus sp., Broussonetia papyrifera, Cupressus sp. or Pinus roxburghii etc. Cultivated crops like Pennisetum typhoides, Nigella sativa, Triticum sativum along with fruit trees of Pyrus, Prunus, Eryobotria, Citrus etc. are popular melliferous floras. Exotic/ introduced species like Eucalyptus or Parthenium hysterophorus, are also frequently visited by bees indicating the significance of those plants in the honey industry. It is concluded that different microscopic analysis techniques give more clear and authentic pictures of and melliferous pollen identification which is well supported by the floral calendar. The diversity of pollen are observed in case of melliferous pollen, and most of the windborne pollen were found less sculptured or psilate expressing the adaptation to the specific mode of pollination. Pollen morphology and sculpturing would serve as a reference for future studies.

Keywords: pollen, allergenic flora, sem, pollen key, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM)

Procedia PDF Downloads 187

Authors: Ayshan Gurbanova

Abstract:

Despite based on the fact that drill bit which is the smallest part of bottom hole assembly costs only in between 10% and 15% of the total expenses made, they are the first equipment that is in contact with the formation itself. Hence, it is consequential to choose the appropriate type and dimension of drilling bit, which will prevent majority of problems by not demanding many tripping procedure. However, within the advance in technology, it is now seamless to be beneficial in the terms of many concepts such as subsequent time of operation, energy, expenditure, power and so forth. With the intention of applying the method to Azerbaijan, the field of Shallow Water Absheron Peninsula has been suggested, where the mainland has been located 15 km away from the wildcat wells, named as “NKX01”. It has the water depth of 22 m as indicated. In 2015 and 2016, the seismic survey analysis of 2D and 3D have been conducted in contract area as well as onshore shallow water depth locations. With the aim of indicating clear elucidation, soil stability, possible submersible dangerous scenarios, geohazards and bathymetry surveys have been carried out as well. Within the seismic analysis results, the exact location of exploration wells have been determined and along with this, the correct measurement decisions have been made to divide the land into three productive zones. In the term of the method, Electric Impulse Technology (EIT) is based on discharge energies of electricity within the corrosivity in rock. Take it simply, the highest value of voltages could be created in the less range of nano time, where it is sent to the rock through electrodes’ baring as demonstrated below. These electrodes- higher voltage powered and grounded are placed on the formation which could be obscured in liquid. With the design, it is more seamless to drill horizontal well based on the advantage of loose contact of formation. There is also no chance of worn ability as there are no combustion, mechanical power exist. In the case of energy, the usage of conventional drilling accounts for 1000 𝐽/𝑐𝑚3 , where this value accounts for between 100 and 200 𝐽/𝑐𝑚3 in EIT. Last but not the least, from the test analysis, it has been yielded that it achieves the value of ROP more than 2 𝑚/ℎ𝑟 throughout 15 days. Taking everything into consideration, it is such a fact that with the comparison of data analysis, this method is highly applicable to the fields of Azerbaijan.

Keywords: drilling, drill bit cost, efficiency, cost

Procedia PDF Downloads 54

Authors: M. Al-Farttoosi, M. Y. Rafiq, J. Summerscales, C. Williams

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Structures can be subjected to impact loading from various sources like earthquake, tsunami, missiles and explosions. The impact loading can cause different degrees of damage to concrete structures. The demand for strengthening and rehabilitation of damaged structures is increasing. In recent years, Car0bon Fibre Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) matrix composites has gain more attention for strengthening and repairing these structures. To study the impact behaviour of the reinforced concrete (RC) beams strengthened or repaired using CFRP, a heavy impact test machine was designed and manufactured .The machine included a newly designed support system for beams together with various instrumentation. This paper describes the support design configuration of the impact test machine, instrumentation and dynamic analysis of the concrete beams. To evaluate the efficiency of the new impact test machine, experimental impact tests were conducted on simple supported reinforced concrete beam. Different methods were used to determine the impact force and impact response of the RC beams in terms of inertia force, maximum deflection, reaction force and fracture energy. The manufactured impact test machine was successfully used in testing RC beams under impact loading and used successfully to test the reinforced concrete beams strengthened or repaired using CFRP under impact loading.

Keywords: beam, concrete, impact, machine

Procedia PDF Downloads 405

Authors: Sarah Sayed El- Tawab, Emmanuel Kamal Azix Saba

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Objectives: Somatosensory blink reflex (SBR) is an eye blink response obtained from electrical stimulation of peripheral nerves or skin area of the body. It has been studied in various neurological diseases as well as among healthy subjects in different population. We designed this study to detect SBR positivity in patients with facial palsy and patients with post facial syndrome, to relate the facial palsy severity and the presence of SBR, and to associate between trigeminal BR changes and SBR positivity in peripheral facial palsy patients. Methods: 50 patients with peripheral facial palsy and post-facial syndrome 31 age and gender matched healthy volunteers were enrolled to this study. Facial motor conduction studies, trigeminal BR, and SBR were studied in all. Results: SBR was elicited in 67.7% of normal subjects, in 68% of PFS group, and in 32% of PFP group. On the non-paralytic side SBR was found in 28% by paralyzed side stimulation and in 24% by healthy side stimulation among PFP patients. For PFS group SBR was found on the non- paralytic side in 48%. Bilateral SBR elicitability was higher than its unilateral elicitability. Conclusion: Increased brainstem interneurons excitability is not essential to generate SBR. The hypothetical sensory-motor gating mechanism is responsible for SBR generation.

Keywords: somatosensory evoked blink reflex, post facial syndrome, blink reflex, enchanced gain

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Authors: Eleni Peristeri, Georgia Fotiadou, Ianthi-Maria Tsimpli

Abstract:

The local-global dimension has been studied extensively in healthy controls and preference for globally processed stimuli has been validated in both the visual and auditory modalities. Critically, the local-global dimension has an inherent interference resolution component, a type of cognitive control, and left-prefrontal-cortex-damaged (LPFC) individuals have exhibited inability to override habitual response behaviors in item recognition tasks that involve representational interference. Eight patients with damage in the left PFC (age range: 32;5 to 69;0. Mean age: 54;6 yrs) and twenty age- and education-matched language-unimpaired adults (mean age: 56;7yrs) have participated in the study. Distinct performance patterns were found between the language-unimpaired and the LPFC-damaged group which have mainly stemmed from the latter’s difficulty with inhibiting global stimuli in incongruent trials. Overall, the local-global attentional dimension affects LPFC-damaged individuals with non-fluent aphasia in non-language domains implicating distinct types of inhibitory processes depending on the level of processing.

Keywords: left lateral prefrontal cortex damage (LPFC), local-global non-language attention, representational interference, non-fluent aphasia

Procedia PDF Downloads 455

Authors: Kamyar Tolouei, Ehsan Moosavi

Abstract:

In open-pit mines, the long-term production scheduling optimization problem (LTPSOP) is a complicated problem that contains constraints, large datasets, and uncertainties. Uncertainty in the output is caused by several geological, economic, or technical factors. Due to its dimensions and NP-hard nature, it is usually difficult to find an ideal solution to the LTPSOP. The optimal schedule generally restricts the ore, metal, and waste tonnages, average grades, and cash flows of each period. Past decades have witnessed important measurements of long-term production scheduling and optimal algorithms since researchers have become highly cognizant of the issue. In fact, it is not possible to consider LTPSOP as a well-solved problem. Traditional production scheduling methods in open-pit mines apply an estimated orebody model to produce optimal schedules. The smoothing result of some geostatistical estimation procedures causes most of the mine schedules and production predictions to be unrealistic and imperfect. With the expansion of simulation procedures, the risks from grade uncertainty in ore reserves can be evaluated and organized through a set of equally probable orebody realizations. In this paper, to synthesize grade uncertainty into the strategic mine schedule, a stochastic integer programming framework is presented to LTPSOP. The objective function of the model is to maximize the net present value and minimize the risk of deviation from the production targets considering grade uncertainty simultaneously while satisfying all technical constraints and operational requirements. Instead of applying one estimated orebody model as input to optimize the production schedule, a set of equally probable orebody realizations are applied to synthesize grade uncertainty in the strategic mine schedule and to produce a more profitable and risk-based production schedule. A mixture of metaheuristic procedures and mathematical methods paves the way to achieve an appropriate solution. This paper introduced a hybrid model between the augmented Lagrangian relaxation (ALR) method and the metaheuristic algorithm, the Harris Hawks optimization (HHO), to solve the LTPSOP under grade uncertainty conditions. In this study, the HHO is experienced to update Lagrange coefficients. Besides, a machine learning method called Random Forest is applied to estimate gold grade in a mineral deposit. The Monte Carlo method is used as the simulation method with 20 realizations. The results specify that the progressive versions have been considerably developed in comparison with the traditional methods. The outcomes were also compared with the ALR-genetic algorithm and ALR-sub-gradient. To indicate the applicability of the model, a case study on an open-pit gold mining operation is implemented. The framework displays the capability to minimize risk and improvement in the expected net present value and financial profitability for LTPSOP. The framework could control geological risk more effectively than the traditional procedure considering grade uncertainty in the hybrid model framework.

Keywords: grade uncertainty, metaheuristic algorithms, open-pit mine, production scheduling optimization

Procedia PDF Downloads 87

Authors: Qing Dai, Zhengkui Lin, Jiajia Zhang, Yi Qu

Abstract:

Based on activity method, this paper focuses on morning commuting behavior when commuters travel with autonomous vehicles (AVs). Firstly, a net utility function of commuters is constructed by the activity utility of commuters at home, in car and at workplace, and the disutility of travel time cost and that of schedule delay cost. Then, this net utility function is applied to build an equilibrium model. Finally, under the assumption of constant marginal activity utility, the properties of equilibrium are analyzed. The results show that, in autonomous driving, the starting and ending time of morning peak and the number of commuters who arrive early and late at workplace are the same as those in manual driving. In automatic driving, however, the departure rate of arriving early at workplace is higher than that of manual driving, while the departure rate of arriving late is just the opposite. In addition, compared with manual driving, the departure time of arriving at workplace on time is earlier and the number of people queuing at the bottleneck is larger in automatic driving. However, the net utility of commuters and the total net utility of system in automatic driving are greater than those in manual driving.

Keywords: autonomous cars, bottleneck model, activity utility, user equilibrium

Procedia PDF Downloads 98