Search results for: total load approach

Authors: Mukhtar Raban

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As part of Nelson Mandela University’s journey of repositioning its learning and teaching agenda, the university adopted and foregrounded a humanizing pedagogy-aligning with institutional goals of critically transforming the academic project. The university established the Humanizing Pedagogy Praxis and Research Niche (HPPRN) as a centralized hub for coordinating institutional work exploring and advancing humanizing pedagogies and tasked the unit with developing and enacting a model for humanizing pedagogy exploration. This investigation endeavored to report on the development and enactment of a model that sought to institutionalize a humanizing pedagogy at a South African university. Having followed a qualitative approach, the investigation presents the case study of Nelson Mandela University’s HPPRN and the model it subsequently established and enacted for the advancement towards a more common institutional understanding, interpretation and application of the humanizing pedagogy. The study adopted an interpretive lens for analysis, complementing the qualitative approach of the investigation. The primary challenge that confronted the HPPRN was the development of a ‘living model’ that had to complement existing institutional initiatives while accommodating a renewed spirit of critical reflection, innovation and research of continued and new humanizing pedagogical exploration and applications. The study found that the explicit consideration of tenets of humanizing and critical pedagogies in underpinning and framing the HPPRN Model contributed to the sense of ‘lived’ humanizing pedagogy experiences during enactment. The multi-leveled inclusion of critical reflection in the development and enactment stages was found to further the processes of praxis employed at the university, which is integral to the advancement of humanizing and critical pedagogies. The development and implementation of a model that seeks to institutionalize the humanizing pedagogy at a university rely not only on sound theoretical conceptualization but also on the ‘richness of becoming more human’ explicitly expressed and encountered in praxes and application.

Keywords: humanizing pedagogy, critical pedagogy, institutional implementation, praxis

Procedia PDF Downloads 157

Authors: Mohammadbagher Asghariaghamashhadi

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Internet users normally are automatically linked to an advertisement sponsored by a bidder when Internet users enter any trademarked keyword on a search engine. This advertisement appears beside the search results. Through the process of keyword advertising, advertisers can connect with many Internet users and let them know about their goods and services. This concept has generated heated disagreements among legal scholars, trademark proprietors, advertisers, search engine owners, and consumers. Therefore, use of trademarks in keyword advertising has been one of the most debatable issues in trademark law for several years. This entirely new way of using trademarks over the Internet has provoked a discussion concerning the core concepts of trademark law. In respect to legal issues, European Union (EU) trademark law is mostly governed by the Trademark Directive and the Community Trademark Regulation. Article 5 of the directive and Article 9 of the trademark regulation determine the circumstances in which a trademark owner holds the right to prohibit a third party’s use of his/her registered sign. Harmonized EU trademark law proved to be ambiguous on whether using of a trademark is amounted to trademark infringement or not. The case law of the European Court of Justice (ECJ), with reference to this legislation, is mostly unfavorable to trademark owners. This ambivalence was also exhibited by the case law of EU Member States. European keyword advertisers simply could not tell which use of a competitor‘s trademark was lawful. In recent years, ECJ has continuously expanded the scope and reach of trademark protection in the EU. It is notable that Inconsistencies in the Court’s system of infringement criteria clearly come to the fore and this approach has been criticized by analysts who believe that the Court should have adopted a more traditional approach to the analysis of trademark infringement, which was suggested by its Advocate General, in order to arrive at the same conclusion. Regarding case law of keyword advertising within Europe, one of the most disputable cases is Interflora vs. Marks and Spencer, which is still on-going. This study examines and critically analyzes the decisions of the ECJ, the high court of England, and the Court of Appeals of England and address critically keyword advertising issue within European trademark legislation.

Keywords: ECJ, Google, Interflora, keyword advertising, Marks and Spencer, trademark infringement

Procedia PDF Downloads 329

Authors: Tarul Garg, P. N. Agrawal

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We propose to define the q-analogue of the α-Bernstein Kantorovich operators and then introduce the q-bivariate generalization of these operators to study the approximation of functions of two variables. We obtain the rate of convergence of these bivariate operators by means of the total modulus of continuity, partial modulus of continuity and the Peetre’s K-functional for continuous functions. Further, in order to study the approximation of functions of two variables in a space bigger than the space of continuous functions, i.e. Bögel space; the GBS (Generalized Boolean Sum) of the q-bivariate operators is considered and degree of approximation is discussed for the Bögel continuous and Bögel differentiable functions with the aid of the Lipschitz class and the mixed modulus of smoothness.

Keywords: Bögel continuous, Bögel differentiable, generalized Boolean sum, K-functional, mixed modulus of smoothness

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Authors: Fabrizio Ascione, Martina Borrelli, Rosa Francesca De Masi, Silvia Ruggiero, Giuseppe Peter Vanoli

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The Directive 2010/31/EC 'Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 may 2010 on the energy performance of buildings' moved the targets of the previous version toward more ambitious targets, for instance by establishing that, by 31 December 2020, all new buildings should demand nearly zero-energy. Moreover, the demonstrative role of public buildings is strongly affirmed so that also the target nearly zero-energy buildings is anticipated, in January 2019. On the other hand, given the very low turn-over rate of buildings (in Europe, it ranges between 1-3%/yearly), each policy that does not consider the renovation of the existing building stock cannot be effective in the short and medium periods. According to this proposal, the study provides a novel, holistic approach to design the refurbishment of educational buildings in colder cities of Mediterranean regions enabling stakeholders to understand the uncertainty to use numerical modelling and the real environmental and economic impacts of adopting some energy efficiency technologies. The case study is a university building of Molise region in the centre of Italy. The proposed approach is based on the application of the cost-optimal methodology as it is shown in the Delegate Regulation 244/2012 and Guidelines of the European Commission, for evaluating the cost-optimal level of energy performance with a macroeconomic approach. This means that the refurbishment scenario should correspond to the configuration that leads to lowest global cost during the estimated economic life-cycle, taking into account not only the investment cost but also the operational costs, linked to energy consumption and polluting emissions. The definition of the reference building has been supported by various in-situ surveys, investigations, evaluations of the indoor comfort. Data collection can be divided into five categories: 1) geometrical features; 2) building envelope audit; 3) technical system and equipment characterization; 4) building use and thermal zones definition; 5) energy building data. For each category, the required measures have been indicated with some suggestions for the identifications of spatial distribution and timing of the measurements. With reference to the case study, the collected data, together with a comparison with energy bills, allowed a proper calibration of a numerical model suitable for the hourly energy simulation by means of EnergyPlus. Around 30 measures/packages of energy, efficiency measure has been taken into account both on the envelope than regarding plant systems. Starting from results, two-point will be examined exhaustively: (i) the importance to use validated models to simulate the present performance of building under investigation; (ii) the environmental benefits and the economic implications of a deep energy refurbishment of the educational building in cold climates.

Keywords: energy simulation, modelling calibration, cost-optimal retrofit, university building

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Authors: Waqas Ali

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Concrete is broadly used as a structural material in the construction of buildings. When the concrete is exposed to elevated temperature, its strength evaluation is very necessary in the existing structure. In this study, the effect of temperature and the reliability of the core test has been evaluated. For this purpose, the cylindrical cores were extracted from High strength concrete (HSC) specimens that were exposed to the temperature ranging from 300 ℃ to 900 ℃ with a constant duration of 4 hr. This study compares the difference between the standard heated cylinders and the cores taken from them after curing of 90 days. The difference of cylindrical control and binary mix samples and extracted cores revealed that there is 12.19 and 12.38% difference at 300℃, while this difference was found to increase up to 12.89%, 13.03% at 500 ℃. Furthermore, this value is recorded as 12.99%, 13.57% and 14.40%, 14.38% at 700 ℃ and 900 ℃, respectively. A total of four equations were developed through a regression model for the prediction of the strength of concrete for both standard cylinders and extracted cores whose R square values were 0.9733, 0.9627 and 0.9473, 0.9452, respectively.

Keywords: high strength, temperature, core, reliability

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Authors: Lik Hang Gary Wong

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Background: Practice learning is crucial for preparing the healthcare profession to meet the real challenge upon graduation. Students are required to demonstrate their competence in managing interpersonal challenges, such as teamwork with other professionals and communicating well with the service users, during the placement. Such competence precedes clinical practice, and it may eventually affect students' actual performance in a clinical context. Unfortunately, there were limited studies investigating how such competence affects students' performance in practice learning. Objectives: The aim of this study is to investigate how self-rated interpersonal competence affects students' actual performance during clinical placement. Methods: 40 occupational therapy students from Hong Kong were recruited in this study. Prior to the clinical placement (level two or above), they completed an online survey that included the Interpersonal Communication Competence Scale (ICCS) measuring self-perceived competence in interpersonal communication. Near the end of their placement, the clinical educator rated students’ performance with the Student Practice Evaluation Form - Revised edition (SPEF-R). The SPEF-R measures the eight core competency domains required for an entry-level occupational therapist. This study adopted the cross-sectional observational design. Pearson correlation and multiple regression are conducted to examine the relationship between students' interpersonal communication competence and their actual performance in clinical placement. Results: The ICCS total scores were significantly correlated with all the SPEF-R domains, with correlation coefficient r ranging from 0.39 to 0.51. The strongest association was found with the co-worker communication domain (r = 0.51, p < 0.01), followed by the information gathering domain (r = 0.50, p < 0.01). Regarding the ICCS total scores as the independent variable and the rating in various SPEF-R domains as the dependent variables in the multiple regression analyses, the interpersonal competence measures were identified as a significant predictor of the co-worker communication (R² = 0.33, β = 0.014, SE = 0.006, p = 0.026), information gathering (R² = 0.27, β = 0.018, SE = 0.007, p = 0.011), and service provision (R² = 0.17, β = 0.017, SE = 0.007, p = 0.020). Moreover, some specific communication skills appeared to be especially important to clinical practice. For example, immediacy, which means whether the students were readily approachable on all social occasions, correlated with all the SPEF-R domains, with r-values ranging from 0.45 to 0.33. Other sub-skills, such as empathy, interaction management, and supportiveness, were also found to be significantly correlated to most of the SPEF-R domains. Meanwhile, the ICCS scores correlated differently with the co-worker communication domain (r = 0.51, p < 0.01) and the communication with the service user domain (r = 0.39, p < 0.05). It suggested that different communication skill sets would be required for different interpersonal contexts within the workplace. Conclusion: Students' self-perceived interpersonal communication competence could predict their actual performance during clinical placement. Moreover, some specific communication skills were more important to the co-worker communication but not to the daily interaction with the service users. There were implications on how to better prepare the students to meet the future challenge upon graduation.

Keywords: interpersonal competence, clinical education, healthcare professional education, occupational therapy, occupational therapy students

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Authors: J. V. Thanikal, M. Torrijos, Philipe Sousbie, S. M. Rizwan, R. Senthil Kumar, Hatem Yezdi

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Co-digestion is one of the advantages of anaerobic digestion process because; several wastes having complimentary characteristics can be treated in a single process. The anaerobic co-digestion process, which can be defined as the simultaneous treatment of two –or more – organic biodegradable waste streams by anaerobic digestion offers great potential for the proper disposal of the organic fraction of solid waste coming from source or separate collection systems. The results of biogas production for sewage sludge, when used as a single substrate, were low (350ml/d), and also the biodegradation rate was slow. Sewage sludge as a co-substrate did not show much effect on biogas yield. The vegetable substrates (Potato, Carrot, Spinach) with a total charge of 27–36 g VS, with a HRT starting from 3 days and ending with 1 day, shown a considerable increase in biogas yield 3.5-5 l/d.

Keywords: anaerobic digestion, co-digestion, vegetable substrate, sewage sludge

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Authors: Andreas Johansson

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Conceptual understanding needs to be grounded on observation of physical phenomena, experiences or metaphors. Observation of physical phenomena using demonstration experiments has a long tradition within physics education and students need to develop mental models to relate the observations to concepts from scientific theories. This study investigates how live and video experiments involving an acoustic trap to visualize particle-field interaction, field properties and particle properties can help develop students' mental models and how they can be used differently to realize their potential as teaching tools. Initially, they were treated as analogs and the lesson designs were kept identical. With a design-based approach, the experimental and video designs, as well as best practices for a respective teaching tool, were then developed in iterations. Variation theory was used as a theoretical framework to analyze the planned respective realized pattern of variation and invariance in order to explain learning outcomes as measured by a pre-posttest consisting of conceptual multiple-choice questions inspired by the Force Concept Inventory and the Force and Motion Conceptual Evaluation. Interviews with students and teachers were used to inform the design of experiments and videos in each iteration. The lesson designs and the live and video experiments has been developed to help teachers improve student learning and make school physics more interesting by involving experimental setups that usually are out of reach and to bridge the gap between what happens in classrooms and in science research. As students’ conceptual knowledge also rises their interest in physics the aim is to increase their chances of pursuing careers within science, technology, engineering or mathematics.

Keywords: acoustic trap, design-based research, experiments, variation theory

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Authors: Thomas Heffernan, Nick Neave, Colin Hamilton, Gill Case

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Hoarding is the acquisition of and failure to discard possessions, leading to excessive clutter and significant psychological/emotional distress. From a cognitive-behavioural approach, excessive hoarding arises from information-processing deficits, as well as from problems with emotional attachment to possessions and beliefs about the nature of possessions. In terms of information processing, hoarders have shown deficits in executive functions, including working memory, planning, inhibitory control, and cognitive flexibility. However, this previous research is often confounded by co-morbid factors such as anxiety, depression, or obsessive-compulsive disorder. The current study adopted a cognitive-behavioural approach, specifically assessing executive deficits and working memory in a non-clinical sample of hoarders, compared with non-hoarders. In this study, a non-clinical sample of 40 hoarders and 73 non-hoarders (defined by The Savings Inventory-Revised) completed the Adult Executive Functioning Inventory, which measures working memory and inhibition, Dysexecutive Questionnaire-Revised, which measures general executive function and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, which measures mood. The participant sample was made up of unpaid young adult volunteers who were undergraduate students and who completed the questionnaires on a university campus. The results revealed that, after observing no differences between hoarders and non-hoarders on age, sex, and mood, hoarders reported significantly more deficits in inhibitory control and general executive function when compared with non-hoarders. There was no between-group difference on general working memory. This suggests that non-clinical hoarders have a specific difficulty with inhibition-control, which enables you to resist repeated, unwanted urges. This might explain the hoarder’s inability to resist urges to buy and keep items that are no longer of any practical use. These deficits may be underpinned by general executive function deficiencies.

Keywords: hoarding, memory, executive, deficits

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Authors: Amir Abbas Kamanbedast, Masood Mohammad Shafipor, Amir Ghotboddin

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Fish way is a structure that in generally using to migrate to the place where they are spawned and is made near the spillway. Preventing fish spawning or migrating to their original place by fishway structures can affect their lives in the river or even erase one access to intended environment. The main objective of these structures is establishing a safe path for fish migration. In the present study first the hydraulic specifications of Hamidieh diversion dam were assessed and then it is problems were evaluated. In this study the dimensions of the fish way, including velocity of pools, were evaluated by CCHE2D software. Then by change slope in this structure streamlines like velocity in the pools were measured. For calibration can be use measuring local velocities in some pools. The information can be seen the fishway width of 0.3 m has minimum rate of descent in the total number of structures (pools and overflow).

Keywords: fishway, velocity, Hamidieh-Diversion Dam, CCHE2D model

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Authors: Ramorola Mmankoko Ziphorah

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Videoconference technology represents a recent experiment of technology integration into teaching and learning in South Africa. Increasingly, videoconference technology is commonly used as a substitute for the traditional face-to-face approaches to teaching and learning in helping tutors to reshape and change their teaching practices. Interestingly, though, some studies point out that videoconference technology is commonly used for knowledge dissemination by tutors and not so much for the actual teaching of course content in Open and Distance Learning context. Though videoconference technology has become one of the dominating technologies available among Open and Distance Learning institutions, it is not clear that it has been used as effectively to bridge the learning distance in time, geography, and economy. While tutors are prepared theoretically, in most tutor preparation programs, on the use of videoconference technology, there are still no practical guidelines on how they should go about integrating this technology into their course teaching. Therefore, there is an urgent need to focus on tutor development, specifically on their capacities and skills to use videoconference technology. The assumption is that if tutors become competent in the use of the videoconference technology for course teaching, then their use in Open and Distance Learning environment will become more commonplace. This is the imperative of the 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR) on education generally. Against the current vacuum in the practice of using videoconference technology for course teaching, the current study proposes a qualitative phenomenological approach to investigate the efficacy of videoconferencing as an approach to student learning. Using interviews and observation data from ten participants in Open and Distance Learning institution, the author discusses how dialogue and structure interacted to provide the participating tutors with a rich set of opportunities to deliver course content. The findings to this study highlight various challenges experienced by tutors when using videoconference technology. The study suggests tutor development programs on their capacity and skills and on how to integrate this technology with various teaching strategies in order to enhance student learning. The author argues that it is not merely the existence of the structure, namely the videoconference technology, that provides the opportunity for effective teaching, but that is the interactions, namely, the dialogue amongst tutors and learners that make videoconference technology an attractive vehicle for challenging and changing tutors practice.

Keywords: open distance learning, transactional distance, tutor, videoconference

Procedia PDF Downloads 118

Authors: Mohammad Aminnia, Mahmood Hosseini

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Environmental and functional conditions sometimes necessitate the architectural plan of the building to be asymmetric, and this result in an asymmetric structure. In such cases, finding an optimal pattern for locating the components of the lateral load bearing system, including shear walls, in the building’s plan is desired. In case of shear walls, in addition to the location, the shape of the wall cross-section is also an effective factor. Various types of shear wall and their proper layout might come effective in better stiffness distribution and more appropriate seismic response of the building. Several studies have been conducted in the context of analysis and design of shear walls; however, few studies have been performed on making decisions for the location and form of shear walls in multi-story buildings, especially those with irregular plan. In this study, an attempt has been made to obtain the most reliable seismic behavior of multi-story reinforced concrete vertically chamfered buildings by using more appropriate shear walls form and arrangement in 7-, 10-, 12-, and 15-story buildings. The considered forms and arrangements include common rectangular walls and L-, T-, U- and Z-shaped plan, located as the core or in the outer frames of the building structure. Comparison of seismic behaviors of the buildings, including maximum roof displacement, and particularly the formation of plastic hinges and their distribution in the buildings’ structures, have been done based on the results of a series of nonlinear time history analyses by using a set of selected earthquake records. Results show that shear walls with U-shaped cross-section, placed as the building central core, and also walls with Z-shaped cross-section, placed at the corners give the building more reliable seismic behavior.

Keywords: vertically chamfered buildings, non-linear time history analyses, l-, t-, u- and z-shaped plan walls

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Authors: Nishantha Giguruwa

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This research investigates the transformative potential of smart container farming, building upon the successful cultivation of Japanese mushrooms at Sakai Farms in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, under the strategic collaboration with the Daikei Group. Inspired by this success, the study focuses on establishing an advanced urban strawberry farming laboratory with the aim of understanding strawberry farming technologies, fostering collaboration, and strategizing marketing approaches for both local and global markets. Positioned within the business framework of Sakai Farms and the Daikei Group, the study underscores the sustainability and forward-looking solutions offered by smart container farming in agriculture. The global significance of strawberries is emphasized, acknowledging their economic and cultural importance. The detailed examination of strawberry farming intricacies informs the technological framework developed for smart containers, implemented at Sakai Farms. Integral to this research is the incorporation of controlled bee pollination, a groundbreaking addition to the smart container farming model. The study anticipates future trends, outlining avenues for continuing exploration, stakeholder collaborations, policy considerations, and expansion strategies. Notably, the author expresses a strategic intent to approach the global market, leveraging the foreign student/faculty base at Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, where the author is affiliated. This unique approach aims to disseminate the research findings globally, contributing to the broader landscape of agricultural innovation. The integration of controlled bee pollination within this innovative framework not only enhances sustainability but also marks a significant stride in the evolution of urban agriculture, aligning with global agricultural trends.

Keywords: smart container farming, urban agriculture, strawberry farming technologies, controlled bee pollination, agricultural innovation

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Authors: Abul B. M. M. K. Islam, Mandar Dave, Roderick V. Jensen, Ashok R. Amin

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A systems approach was applied to characterize differentially expressed transcripts, bioinformatics pathways, and proteins and prostaglandins (PGs) from lung fibroblasts procured from wild-type (WT), COX-1-/- and COX-2-/- mice to understand system level control mechanism. Bioinformatics analysis of COX-2 and COX-1 ablated cells induced COX-1 and COX-2 specific signature respectively, which significantly overlapped with an 'IL-1β induced inflammatory signature'. This defined novel cross-talk signals that orchestrated coordinated activation of pathways of sterile inflammation sensed by cellular stress. The overlapping signals showed significant over-representation of shared pathways for interferon y and immune responses, T cell functions, NOD, and toll-like receptor signaling. Gene Ontology Biological Process (GOBP) and pathway enrichment analysis specifically showed an increase in mRNA expression associated with: (a) organ development and homeostasis in COX-1-/- cells and (b) oxidative stress and response, spliceosomes and proteasomes activity, mTOR and p53 signaling in COX-2-/- cells. COX-1 and COX-2 showed signs of functional pathways committed to cell cycle and DNA replication at the genomics level. As compared to WT, metabolomics analysis revealed a significant increase in COX-1 mRNA and synthesis of basal levels of eicosanoids (PGE2, PGD2, TXB2, LTB4, PGF1α, and PGF2α) in COX-2 ablated cells and increase in synthesis of PGE2, and PGF1α in COX-1 null cells. There was a compensation of PGE2 and PGF1α in COX-1-/- and COX-2-/- cells. Collectively, these results support a broader, differential and collaborative regulation of both COX-1 and COX-2 pathways at the metabolic, signaling, and genomics levels in cellular homeostasis and sterile inflammation induced by cellular stress.

Keywords: cyclooxygenases, inflammation, lung fibroblasts, systemic

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Authors: Chapman Eze Nnadozie

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Communication, the activity of conveying information, remains a vital resource for the growth and development of any given society. Mobile communication, popularly known as global system for mobile communication (GSM) is a globally accepted standard for digital cellular communication. GSM, which is a wireless technology, remains the fastest growing communication means worldwide. Indeed, mobile phones have become a critical business tool and part of everyday life in both developed and developing countries. This study examines the effects of mobile communication on the Nigerian populace. The methodology used in this study is the survey research method with the main data collection tool as questionnaires. The questionnaires were administered to a total of seventy respondents in five cities across the country, namely: Aba, Enugu, Bauchi, Makurdi, and Lagos. The result reveals that though there is some quality of service issues, mobile communication has very significant positive efforts on the economic and social development of the Nigerian populace.

Keywords: effect, mobile communication, populace, GSM, wireless technology, mobile phone

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Authors: Yuva Bellik, Selles Mohamed Amar

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The beneficial health effects including antioxidant properties of mint (Mentha spicata) and honey bees (Apis mellifera) have been extensively studied. However, there is no data about the effects of their associated use. In this study the total phenolic and flavonoid contents for individual extracts of mint and honey and their combination were determined. The antioxidant activity was investigated by using reducing power, 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), 2,2´- azinobis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid diamonium salt (ABTS), and chelating power methods. The results showed that individual extracts contained important quantity of phenolics and flavonoids and their combination was found to produce best antioxidant activity. A significant linear correlation between the phenolic/flavonoid contents and antioxidant activity, especially with reducing power and free radical scavenging abilities, was observed.

Keywords: honey, mint, synergy, antioxidant activity

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Authors: Weiam Daear, Patrick Lai, Elmar Prenner

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The human body offers many avenues that could be used for drug delivery. The pulmonary route, which is delivered through the lungs, presents many advantages that have sparked interested in the field. These advantages include; 1) direct access to the lungs and the large surface area it provides, and 2) close proximity to the blood circulation. The air-blood barrier of the alveoli is about 500 nm thick. The air-blood barrier consist of a monolayer of lipids and few proteins called the lung surfactant and cells. This monolayer consists of ~90% lipids and ~10% proteins that are produced by the alveolar epithelial cells. The two major lipid classes constitutes of various saturation and chain length of phosphatidylcholine (PC) and phosphatidylglycerol (PG) representing 80% of total lipid component. The major role of the lung surfactant monolayer is to reduce surface tension experienced during breathing cycles in order to prevent lung collapse. In terms of the pulmonary drug delivery route, drugs pass through various parts of the respiratory system before reaching the alveoli. It is at this location that the lung surfactant functions as the air-blood barrier for drugs. As the field of nanomedicine advances, the use of nanoparticles (NPs) as drug delivery vehicles is becoming very important. This is due to the advantages NPs provide with their large surface area and potential specific targeting. Therefore, studying the interaction of NPs with lung surfactant and whether they affect its stability becomes very essential. The aim of this research is to develop a biomimetic model of the human lung surfactant followed by a biophysical analysis of the interaction of polymeric NPs. This biomimetic model will function as a fast initial mode of testing for whether NPs affect the stability of the human lung surfactant. The model developed thus far is an 8-component lipid system that contains major PC and PG lipids. Recently, a custom made 16:0/16:1 PC and PG lipids were added to the model system. In the human lung surfactant, these lipids constitute 16% of the total lipid component. According to the author’s knowledge, there is not much monolayer data on the biophysical analysis of the 16:0/16:1 lipids, therefore more analysis will be discussed here. Biophysical techniques such as the Langmuir Trough is used for stability measurements which monitors changes to a monolayer's surface pressure upon NP interaction. Furthermore, Brewster Angle Microscopy (BAM) employed to visualize changes to the lateral domain organization. Results show preferential interactions of NPs with different lipid groups that is also dependent on the monolayer fluidity. Furthermore, results show that the film stability upon compression is unaffected, but there are significant changes in the lateral domain organization of the lung surfactant upon NP addition. This research is significant in the field of pulmonary drug delivery. It is shown that NPs within a certain size range are safe for the pulmonary route, but little is known about the mode of interaction of those polymeric NPs. Moreover, this work will provide additional information about the nanotoxicology of NPs tested.

Keywords: Brewster angle microscopy, lipids, lung surfactant, nanoparticles

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Authors: Aticha Kwaengsopha, Kevin Wongleedee

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Destination image can cause an increase and decrease in the growth rate of international tourists visiting Thailand. This paper drew upon data collected from an international tourist survey conducted in Bangkok, Thailand during January to March of 2014. The survey was structured primarily to obtain international tourists’ opinions towards the importance of destination image factors that they encountered during their trip in Thailand. A total of 200 respondents were elicited as data input for mean, SD, and t-test. The findings revealed that the overall level of importance of these factors was not very high. The findings also revealed the three most important factors as tourist experience, interesting place, and pleasing destination. In addition, the result for t-test revealed that there was not much effect from gender differences in opinions of the level concerning importance for destination image factors.

Keywords: destination image, international tourists, Thailand, revisit

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Authors: Rong-Yang Lai, Jia-Yu Wu, Chih-Han Chang, Yung-Chung Chen

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The dental bridge is one of the clinical methods of the treatment for missing teeth. The dental bridge is generally designed for two layers, containing the inner layer of the framework(zirconia) and the outer layer of the porcelain-fused to framework restorations. The design of a conventional bridge is generally based on the antagonist tooth profile so that the framework evenly indented by an equal thickness from outer contour. All-ceramic dental bridge made of zirconia have well demonstrated remarkable potential to withstand a higher physiological occlusal load in posterior region, but it was found that there is still the risk of all-ceramic bridge failure in five years. Thus, how to reduce the incidence of failure is still a problem to be solved. Therefore, the objective of this study is to develop mechanical designs for all-ceramic dental bridges framework by reducing the stress and enhancing fracture resistance under given loading conditions by finite element method. In this study, dental design software is used to design dental bridge based on tooth CT images. After building model, Bi-directional Evolutionary Structural Optimization (BESO) Method algorithm implemented in finite element software was employed to analyze results of finite element software and determine the distribution of the materials in dental bridge; BESO searches the optimum distribution of two different materials, namely porcelain and zirconia. According to the previous calculation of the stress value of each element, when the element stress value is higher than the threshold value, the element would be replaced by the framework material; besides, the difference of maximum stress peak value is less than 0.1%, calculation is complete. After completing the design of dental bridge, the stress distribution of the whole structure is changed. BESO reduces the peak values of principle stress of 10% in outer-layer porcelain and avoids producing tensile stress failure.

Keywords: dental bridge, finite element analysis, framework, automatic program

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Authors: Jim Shih-Chiao Chin, Yu Ting Yeh, Shui Lien Chen, Yi-Fen Tsai

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his study is taking Adidas Company as the object, explored the brand awareness directly or indirectly affects brand affect and word of mouth. First, explored the brand awareness on category fit and image fit, and examined the influence of category fit and image fit on extension attitude. This study then designates the effect of extension attitude on brand affect and word-of-mouth. The relationship of brand awareness on brand affect and word-of-mouth was also explored. The study participants are people who have purchased Adidas extension products. A total of 700 valid questionnaires were collected and statistical software AMOS 20.0 was used to examine the research hypotheses by using structural equation modeling (SEM). Finally, theoretical implications and research directions are provided for future studies.

Keywords: brand extension, brand awareness, product category fit, brand image fit, brand affect, word-of-mouth (WOM)

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Authors: S. Rustagi, N. S. Sodhi, B. Dhillon, T. Kaur

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The objective of this study was to check whether there is any relationship between electromyographic (EMG) and textural parameters during food texture evaluation. In this study, a total of eighteen mastication variables were measured for entire mastication, per chew mastication and three different stages of mastication (viz. early, middle and late) by EMG for five different foods using eight human subjects. Cluster analysis was used to reduce the number of mastication variables from 18 to 5, so that principal component analysis (PCA) could be applied on them. The PCA further resulted in two meaningful principal components. The principal component scores for each food were measured and correlated with five textural parameters (viz. hardness, cohesiveness, chewiness, gumminess and adhesiveness). Correlation coefficients were found to be statistically significant (p < 0.10) for cohesiveness and adhesiveness while if we reduce the significance level (p < 0.20) then chewiness also showed correlation with mastication parameters.

Keywords: electromyography, mastication, sensory, texture

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Authors: Enerit Saçdanaku, Idriz Haxhiu

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In this study was monitored the population of the European Pond Turtle, Emys orbicularis (Linnaeus, 1758) in the area of Narta Lagoon, Vlora Bay (Albania), from August to October 2014. A total of 54 individuals of E. orbicularis were studied using different methodologies. Curved Carapace Length (CCL), Plastron Length (PL) and Curved Carapace Width (CCW) were measured for each individual of E. orbicularis and were statistically analyzed. All captured turtles were separated in seven different size–classes based on their carapace length (CCL). Each individual of E. orbicularis was marked by notching the carapace (marginal scutes). Form all individuals captured resulted that 37 were females (68.5%), 14 males (25.9%), 3 juveniles (5.5%), while 18 individuals of E. orbicularis were recaptured for the first and some for the second time.

Keywords: Emys orbicularis, female, juvenile, male, population, size–classes

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Authors: Samah Benmerbi, Kamal Amroun, Abdelkamel Tari

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The increasing number of Web service (WS)providers throughout the globe, have produced numerous Web services providing the same or similar functionality. Therefore, there is a need of tools developing the best answer of queries by selecting and composing services with total transparency. This paper reviews various QoS based Web service selection mechanisms and architectures which facilitate qualitatively optimal selection, in other fact Web service composition is required when a request cannot be fulfilled by a single web service. In such cases, it is preferable to integrate existing web services to satisfy user’s request. We introduce an automatic Web service composition method based on hypergraph decomposition using hypertree decomposition method. The problem of selection and the composition of the web services is transformed into a resolution in a hypertree by exploring the relations of dependency between web services to get composite web service via employing an execution order of WS satisfying global request.

Keywords: web service, web service selection, web service composition, QoS, hypergraph decomposition, BE hypergraph decomposition, hypertree resolution

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Authors: A. Ikusika, O. I. Poppola

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This study was carried out to delineate possible structures that may favour the accumulation of tantalite, a magnetic mineral. A ground based technique was employed using proton precision magnetometer G-856 AX. A total of ten geophysical traverses were established in the study area. The acquired magnetic field data were corrected for drift. The trend analysis was adopted to remove the regional gradient from the observed data and the resulting results were presented as profiles. Quantitative interpretation only was adopted to obtain the depth to basement using Peter half slope method. From the geological setting of the area and the information obtained from the magnetic survey, a conclusion can be made that the study area is underlain by a rock unit of accumulated minerals. It is therefore suspected that the overburden is relatively thin within the study area and the metallic minerals are in disseminated quantity and at a shallow depth.

Keywords: basement, drift, magnetic field data, tantalite, traverses

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Authors: Sandrine Cardinal, Jean-Marc Pelletier, Guang Xie, Florian Mercier, Florent Delmas

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Bulk metallic glasses exhibit several superior properties, compared to their corresponding crystalline counterpart, such as high strength, high elastic limit or good corrosion resistance. Therefore they can be considered as good candidates for structural applications in many sectors. However, they are generally brittle and do not exhibit plastic deformation at room temperature. These materials are mainly obtained by rapid cooling from a liquid state to prevent crystallization, which limits their size. To overcome these two drawbacks: fragility and limited dimensions, composite metallic glass matrix reinforced by a second phase whose role is to slow crack growth are developed. Concerning the limited size of the pieces, the proposed solution is to get the material from amorphous powders by densifying under load. In this study, Cu50Zr45Al5 bulk metallic glassy matrix composites (MGMCs) containing different volume fraction (Vf) of Zr crystalline particles were manufactured by spark plasma sintering (SPS). Microstructure, thermal stability and mechanical properties of the MGMCs were investigated. Matrix of the composites remains a fully amorphous phase after consolidation at 420°C under 600 MPa. A good dispersion of the particles in the glassy matrix is obtained. Results show that the compressive strength decreases with Vf : 1670 MPa (Vf=0%) to 1300MPa (Vf=30%), the elastic modulus decreases but only slighty respectively 97.3GPa and 94.5 GPa and plasticity is improved from 0 to 4%. Fractographic investigation indicates a good bonding between amorphous and crystalline particles. In conclusion, present study has demonstrated that SPS method is useful for the synthesis of the bulk glassy composites. Large controlled microstructure specimens with interesting ductility can be obtained compared with others methods.

Keywords: composite, mechanical properties, metallic glasses, spark plasma sintering

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Authors: Archana Rao R., Deepak P., Chayashree P. D., Darshan H. S.

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Cognitive abilities in bilinguals have been widely studied over the last few decades. Bilingualism has been found to extensively facilitate the ability to store and manipulate information in Working Memory (WM). The mechanism of WM includes primary memory, attentional control, and secondary memory, each of which makes a contribution to WM. Many researches have been done in an attempt to measure WM capabilities through both verbal (phonological) and nonverbal tasks (visuospatial). Since there is a lot of speculations regarding the relationship between WM and bilingualism, further investigation is required to understand the nature of WM in bilinguals, i.e., with respect to sequential and simultaneous bilinguals. Hence the present study aimed to highlight the verbal working memory abilities in sequential and simultaneous bilinguals with respect to the processing and recall abilities of nouns and verbs. Two groups of bilinguals aged between 18-30 years were considered for the study. Group 1 consisted of 20 (10 males and 10 females) sequential bilinguals who had acquired L1 (Kannada) before the age of 3 and had exposure to L2 (English) for a period of 8-10 years. Group 2 consisted of 20 (10 males and 10 females) simultaneous bilinguals who have acquired both L1 and L2 before the age of 3. Working memory abilities were assessed using two tasks, and a set of stimuli which was presented in gradation of complexity and the stimuli was inclusive of frequent and infrequent nouns and verbs. The tasks involved the participants to judge the correctness of the sentence and simultaneously remember the last word of each sentence and the participants are instructed to recall the words at the end of each set. The results indicated no significant difference between sequential and simultaneous bilinguals in processing the nouns and verbs, and this could be attributed to the proficiency level of the participants in L1 and the alike cognitive abilities between the groups. And recall of nouns was better compared to verbs, maybe because of the complex argument structure involved in verbs. Similarly, authors found a frequency of occurrence of nouns and verbs also had an effect on WM abilities. The difference was also found across gradation due to the load imposed on the central executive function and phonological loop.

Keywords: bilinguals, nouns, verbs, working memory

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Authors: Babatunde Akeem Lawal

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In any organization, the primary aim is to maximize profit, but the major challenges facing them is the increase in cost of operation because of this there is increase in cost of production that could lead to inevitable cost control and cost reduction scheme which make it difficult for most organizations to operate at the cost efficient frontier. The study aims to critically examine and evaluate the application of cost control and cost reduction in organization performance and also to review budget as an effective tool of cost control and cost reduction. A descriptive survey research was adopted. A total number of 40 respondent retrieved were used for the study. The analysis of data collected was undertaken by applying appropriate statistical tools. Regression analysis was used to test the hypothesis with the use of SPSS. Based on the findings; it was evident that cost control has a positive impact on organizational performance and also the style of management has a positive impact on organizational performance.

Keywords: organization, cost reduction, cost control, performance, budget, profit

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Authors: Yuki Matsumoto, Yuma Ishimoto

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Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) with children has shown effective application to various problems such as anxiety and depression. Although there are barriers to access to mental health services including lack of professional services in communities and parental concerns about stigma, school has a significant role to address children’s health problems. Schools are regarded as a suitable arena for prevention and early intervention of mental health problems. In this line, CBT can be adaptable to school education and useful to enhance students’ social and emotional skills. However, Japanese school curriculum is rigorous so as to limit available time for implementation of CBT in schools. This paper describes Brief Cognitive Behavior Therapy (BCBT) with children in a Japanese school setting. The program has been developed in order to facilitate acceptability of CBT in schools and aimed to enhance students’ skills to manage anxiety and difficult behaviors. The present research used a single arm design in which 30 students aged 9-10 years old participated. The authors provided teachers a CBT training workshop (two hours) at two primary schools in Tokyo metropolitan area and recruited participants in the research. A homeroom teacher voluntarily delivered a 6-session BCBT program (15 minutes each) in classroom periods which is called as Kaerinokai, a meeting before leaving school. Students completed a questionnaire sheet at pre- and post-periods under the supervision of the teacher. The sheet included the Spence Child Anxiety Scale (SCAS), the Depression Self-Rating Scale for Children (DSRS), and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). The teacher was asked for feedback after the completion. Significant positive changes were found in the total and five of six sub-scales of the SCAS and the total difficulty scale of the SDQ. However, no significant changes were seen in Physical Injury Fear sub-scale of the SCAS, in the DSRS or the Prosocial sub-scale of the SDQ. The effect sizes are mostly between small and medium. The teacher commented that the program was easy to use and found positive changes in classroom activities and personal relationships. This preliminary research showed the feasibility of the BCBT in a school setting. The results suggest that the BCBT offers effective treatment for reduction in anxiety and in difficult behaviors. There is a good prospect of the BCBT suggesting that BCBT may be easier to be delivered than CBT by Japanese teachers to promote child mental health. The study has limitations including no control group, small sample size, or a short teacher training. Future research should address these limitations.

Keywords: brief cognitive behavior therapy, cognitive behavior therapy, mental health services in schools, teacher training workshop

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Authors: Rubijesmin Abdul Latif, Norshakirah Abdul Aziz, Mohd Taufik Abdul Jalil

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This paper focuses on the impact of online games among Malaysian undergraduate students. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether online games (especially MMOGs) impacted students positively or vice versa; focusing on three elements (time management, social life, and emotion). A total of 83 respondents comprised from 14 Malaysia universities, randomly selected undergraduate students who play MMOGs (casual and hardcore gamers i.e. addiction to MMOGs) were involved in this study. The results showed that MMOGs have only negative impact on students capabilities in time management, meanwhile as for the elements social life and emotion, MMOGs do not affect them negatively.

Keywords: internet game addiction, online games, MMOGs, impact, undergraduate students

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Authors: Naif A. Haddad

Abstract:

Greek, Hellenistic and Roman theatre heritage are exposed to multiple risks at varied times or simultaneously. There is no single reason why a theatre building becomes ‘at risk’, as each case has different circumstances which have led to the theatre building decay. There are complicated processes of destruction and distress that show divergence in theatre building materials' decay. Theatre modern use for cultural performances causes much of the risks concerning the physical structure and authenticity of theatre sites. In addition, there are some deterioration and deformations due to previous poor quality restorations and interventions through related excavation and conservation programmes as also risks to authenticity due to new additions. For preventive conservation, theatre natural and anthropogenic risks management can provide a framework for decision making. These risks to ancient theatre heritage may stem from exposure to one or more risk or synergy of many factors. We, therefore, need to link the theatre natural risks to the risks that come from anthropogenic factors associated with social and economic development. However, this requires a holistic approach, and systematic methodology for understanding these risks from various sources while incorporating specific actions, planning and strategies for each specific risk. Elaborating on recent relevant studies, and ERATO and ATHENA EU projects for ancient theaters and odea and general surveys, this paper attempts to discuss the main aspects of the ancient Greek, Hellenistic and Roman theatres risk related issues. Relevant case studies shall also be discussed and investigated to examine frameworks for risk mitigation, and related guidelines and recommendations that provide a systematic approach for sustainable management and planning in relation mainly to ‘compatible use’ of theatre sites.

Keywords: cultural heritage management, European ancient theatres projects, Anthropogenic risks mitigation, sustainable management and planning, preventive conservation, modern use, compatible use

Procedia PDF Downloads 284