Search results for: source of knowledge

Authors: M. Amparo Núñez-Andrés, Felipe Buill, Albert Prades

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More and more frequently, geomatics techniques such as terrestrial laser scanning or digital photogrammetry, either terrestrial or from drones, are being used to obtain digital terrain models (DTM) used for the monitoring of geological phenomena that cause natural disasters, such as landslides, rockfalls, debris-flow. One of the main multitemporal analyses developed from these models is the quantification of volume changes in the slopes and hillsides, either caused by erosion, fall, or land movement in the source area or sedimentation in the deposition zone. To carry out this task, it is necessary to filter the point clouds of all those elements that do not belong to the slopes. Among these elements, vegetation stands out as it is the one we find with the greatest presence and its constant change, both seasonal and daily, as it is affected by factors such as wind. One of the best-known indexes to detect vegetation on the image is the NVDI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index), which is obtained from the combination of the infrared and red channels. Therefore it is necessary to have a multispectral camera. These cameras are generally of lower resolution than conventional RGB cameras, while their cost is much higher. Therefore we have to look for alternative indices based on RGB. In this communication, we present the results obtained in Georisk project (PID2019‐103974RB‐I00/MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033) by using the GLI (Green Leaf Index) and ExG (Excessive Greenness), as well as the change to the Hue-Saturation-Value (HSV) color space being the H coordinate the one that gives us the most information for vegetation filtering. These filters are applied both to the images, creating binary masks to be used when applying the SfM algorithms, and to the point cloud obtained directly by the photogrammetric process without any previous filter or the one obtained by TLS (Terrestrial Laser Scanning). In this last case, we have also tried to work with a Riegl VZ400i sensor that allows the reception, as in the aerial LiDAR, of several returns of the signal. Information to be used for the classification on the point cloud. After applying all the techniques in different locations, the results show that the color-based filters allow correct filtering in those areas where the presence of shadows is not excessive and there is a contrast between the color of the slope lithology and the vegetation. As we have advanced in the case of using the HSV color space, it is the H coordinate that responds best for this filtering. Finally, the use of the various returns of the TLS signal allows filtering with some limitations.

Keywords: RGB index, TLS, photogrammetry, multispectral camera, point cloud

Procedia PDF Downloads 154

Authors: Natcha Wattanaprapa, Alongkorn Taengtong, Phachaya Chaiwchan

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This study investigates and promotes the distribution of community enterprise products of Samut Songkhram province by using e-commerce web technology to help distribute the products. This study also aims to develop the information system to be able to operate on multiple platforms and promote the easy usability on smartphones to increase the efficiency and promote the distribution of community enterprise products of Samut Songkhram province in three areas including Baan Saraphi learning center, the learning center of Bang Noi Floating market as well as Bang Nang Li learning center. The main structure consists of spreading the knowledge regarding the tourist attraction in the area of community enterprise, e-commerce system of community enterprise products, and Chatbot. The researcher developed the system into an application form using the software package to create and manage the content on the internet. Connect management system (CMS) word press was used for managing web pages. Add-on CMS word press was used for creating the system of Chatbot, and the database of PHP My Admin was used as the database management system. The evaluation by the experts and users in 5 aspects, including the system efficiency, the accuracy in the operation of the system, the convenience and ease of use of the system, the design, and the promotion of product distribution in Samut Songkhram province by using questionnaires revealed that the result of evaluation in the promotion of product distribution in Samut Songkhram province was the highest with the mean of 4.20. When evaluating the efficiency of the developed system, it was found that the result of system efficiency was the highest level with a mean of 4.10.

Keywords: community enterprise, digital commerce, promotion of product distribution, Samut Songkhram province

Procedia PDF Downloads 148

Authors: Lili Yang, Jirui Gong, Qinpu Luo, Min Liu, Bo Yang, Zihe Zhang

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Anthropogenic activities have increased nitrogen (N) inputs to grassland ecosystems. Knowledge of the impact of N addition on litter decomposition is critical to understand ecosystem carbon cycling and their responses to global climate change. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of N addition and litter types on litter decomposition of a semi-arid temperate grassland during growing and non-growing seasons in Inner Mongolia, northern China, and to identify the relation between litter decomposition and C: N: P stoichiometry in the litter-soil continuum. Six levels of N addition were conducted: CK, N1 (0 g Nm−2 yr−1), N2 (2 g Nm−2 yr−1), N3 (5 g Nm−2 yr−1), N4 (10 g Nm−2 yr−1) and N5 (25 g Nm−2 yr−1). Litter decomposition rates and nutrient release differed greatly among N addition gradients and litter types. N addition promoted litter decomposition of S. grandis, but exhibited no significant influence on L. chinensis litter, indicating that the S. grandis litter decomposition was more sensitive to N addition than L. chinensis. The critical threshold for N addition to promote mixed litter decomposition was 10 -25g Nm−2 yr−1. N addition altered the balance of C: N: P stoichiometry between litter, soil and microbial biomass. During decomposition progress, the L. chinensis litter N: P was higher in N2-N4 plots compared to CK, while the S. grandis litter C: N was lower in N3 and N4 plots, indicating that litter N or P content doesn’t satisfy microbial decomposers with the increasing of N addition. As a result, S. grandis litter exhibited net N immobilization, while L. chinensis litter net P immobilization. Mixed litter C: N: P stoichiometry satisfied the demand of microbial decomposers, showed net mineralization during the decomposition process. With the increasing N deposition in the future, mixed litter would potentially promote C and nutrient cycling in grassland ecosystem by increasing litter decomposition and nutrient release.

Keywords: C: N: P stoichiometry, litter decomposition, nitrogen addition, nutrient release

Procedia PDF Downloads 486

Authors: Gabriel K. Nzulu, Lina Rostorm, Hans Högberg, Jun Liu, per Eklund, Lars Hultman, Martin Magnuson

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Altered and gangue quartz in hydrothermal veins from the Kubi Gold deposit in Dunkwa on Offin in the central region of Ghana are investigated for possible Au associated pathfinder minerals and to provide understanding and increase the knowledge of the mineral hosting and alteration processes in quartz. X-ray diffraction, air annealing furnace, differential scanning calorimetry, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy have been applied on different quartz types outcropping from surface and bed rocks at the Kubi Gold Mining to reveal the material properties at different temperatures. From the diffraction results of the fresh and annealed quartz samples, we find that the samples contain pathfinder and the impurity minerals FeS₂, biotite, TiO₂, and magnetite. These minerals, under oxidation process between 574-1400 °C temperatures experienced hematite alterations and a transformation from α-quartz to β-quartz and further to cristobalite as observed from the calorimetry scans for hydrothermally exposed materials. The energy dispersive spectroscopy revealed elemental species of Fe, S, Mg, K, Al, Ti, Na, Si, O, and Ca contained in the samples and these are attributed to the impurity phase minerals observed in the diffraction. The findings also suggest that during the hydrothermal flow regime, impurity minerals and metals can be trapped by voids and faults. Under favorable temperature conditions the trapped minerals can be altered to change color at different depositional stages by oxidation and reduction processes leading to hematite alteration which is a useful pathfinder in mineral exploration.

Keywords: quartz, hydrothermal, minerals, hematite, x-ray diffraction, crystal-structure, defects

Procedia PDF Downloads 96

Authors: Mohammad Javad Afroughi, Vahid Hosseini, Jason S. Olfert

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Both traffic-generated particles and noise have been associated with the development of cardiovascular diseases, especially in near-highway environments. Although noise and particulate matters (PM) have different mechanisms of dispersion, sharing the same emission source in urban areas (road traffics) can result in a similar degree of variability in their levels. This study investigated the temporal variation of and correlation between noise levels, PM concentrations and traffic intensities near a major highway in Tehran, Iran. Tehran particulate concentration is highly influenced by road traffic. Additionally, Tehran ultrafine particles (UFP, PM<0.1 µm) are mostly emitted from combustion processes of motor vehicles. This gives a high possibility of a strong association between traffic-related noise and UFP in near-highway environments of this megacity. Hourly average of equivalent continuous sound pressure level (Leq), total number concentration of UFPs, mass concentration of PM2.5 and PM10, as well as traffic count and speed were simultaneously measured over a period of three days in winter. Additionally, meteorological data including temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and direction were collected in a weather station, located 3 km from the monitoring site. Noise levels showed relatively low temporal variability in near-highway environments compared to PM concentrations. Hourly average of Leq ranged from 63.8 to 69.9 dB(A) (mean ~ 68 dB(A)), while hourly concentration of particles varied from 30,800 to 108,800 cm-3 for UFP (mean ~ 64,500 cm-3), 41 to 75 µg m-3 for PM2.5 (mean ~ 53 µg m-3), and 62 to 112 µg m-3 for PM10 (mean ~ 88 µg m-3). The Pearson correlation coefficient revealed strong relationship between noise and UFP (r ~ 0.61) overall. Under downwind conditions, UFP number concentration showed the strongest association with noise level (r ~ 0.63). The coefficient decreased to a lesser degree under upwind conditions (r ~ 0.24) due to the significant role of wind and humidity in UFP dynamics. Furthermore, PM2.5 and PM10 correlated moderately with noise (r ~ 0.52 and 0.44 respectively). In general, traffic counts were more strongly associated with noise and PM compared to traffic speeds. It was concluded that noise level combined with meteorological data can be used as a proxy to estimate PM concentrations (specifically UFP number concentration) in near-highway environments of Tehran. However, it is important to measure joint variability of noise and particles to study their health effects in epidemiological studies.

Keywords: noise, particulate matter, PM10, PM2.5, ultrafine particle

Procedia PDF Downloads 194

Authors: Olumuyiwa Olusola Falowo

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One of the objectives of the Millennium Development Goals is to have sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation. In line with this objective, an assessment of groundwater quality was carried out in Odigbo Local Government Area of Ondo State in November – February, 2019 to assess the drinking, domestic and irrigation uses of the water. Samples from 30 randomly selected ground water sources; 16 shallow wells and 14 from boreholes and analyzed using American Public Health Association method for the examination of water and wastewater. Water quality index calculation, and diagrams such as Piper diagram, Gibbs diagram and Wilcox diagram have been used to assess the groundwater in conjunction with irrigation indices such as % sodium, sodium absorption ratio, permeability index, magnesium ratio, Kelly ratio, and electrical conductivity. In addition statistical Principal component analysis were used to determine the homogeneity and source(s) influencing the chemistry of the groundwater. The results show that all the parameters are within the permissible limit of World Health Organization. The physico-chemical analysis of groundwater samples indicates that the dominant major cations are in decreasing order of Na+, Ca2+, Mg2+, K+ and the dominant anions are HCO-3, Cl-, SO-24, NO-3. The values of water quality index varies suggest a Good water (WQI of 50-75) accounts for 70% of the study area. The dominant groundwater facies revealed in this study are the non-carbonate alkali (primary salinity) exceeds 50% (zone 7); and transition zone with no one cation-anion pair exceeds 50% (zone 9), while evaporation; rock–water interaction, and precipitation; and silicate weathering process are the dominant processes in the hydrogeochemical evolution of the groundwater. The study indicates that waters were found within the permissible limits of irrigation indices adopted, and plot on excellent category on Wilcox plot. In conclusion, the water in the study area are good/suitable for drinking, domestic and irrigation purposes with low equivalent salinity concentrate and moderate electrical conductivity.

Keywords: equivalent salinity concentration, groundwater quality, hydrochemical facies, principal component analysis, water-rock interaction

Procedia PDF Downloads 148

Authors: A. Ouargui, N. Belouaggadia, M. Ezzine

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In Morocco, the building sector is largely responsible for the evolution of energy consumption. The control of energy in this sector remains a major issue despite the rise of renewable energies. The design of an environmentally friendly building requires mastery and knowledge of energy and bioclimatic aspects. This implies taking into consideration of all the elements making up the building and the way in which energy exchanges take place between these elements. In this context, thermal insulation seems to be an ideal starting point for reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. In this context, thermal insulation seems to be an ideal starting point for reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. The aim of this work is to provide some solutions to reduce energy consumption while maintaining thermal comfort in the building. The objective of our work is to present an experimental study on the characterization of local materials used in the thermal insulation of buildings. These are paper recycling stabilized with cement and clay. The thermal conductivity of these materials, which were constituted based on sand, clay, cement; water, as well as treated paper, was determined by the guarded-hot-plate method. It involves the design of two materials that will subsequently be subjected to thermal and mechanical tests to determine their thermophysical properties. The results show that the thermal conductivity decreases as well in the case of the paper-cement mixture as that of the paper-clay and seems to stabilize around 40%. Measurements of mechanical properties such as flexural strength have shown that the enrichment of the studied material with paper makes it possible to reduce the flexural strength by 20% while optimizing the conductivity.

Keywords: building, composite material, insulation, thermal conductivity, paper residue

Procedia PDF Downloads 127

Authors: Estibe Dagne Mekonnen

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In recent years, the prevalence of undernourishment was 30 percent for sub-Saharan Africa, compared with 16 percent for Asia and the Pacific (Ali, 2011). In Ethiopia, almost 40 percent of the total population in the country and 57 percent of Addis Ababa population lives below the international poverty line of US$ 1.25 per day (UNICEF, 2009). This study aims to analyze the determinant of household food secrity in Addis Ababa city administration. Primary data were collected from a survey of 256 households in the selected sub-city, namely Addis Ketema, Arada, and Kolfe Keranio, in the year 2022. Both Purposive and multi-stage cluster random sampling procedures were employed to select study areas and respondents. Descriptive statistics and order logistic regression model were used to test the formulated hypotheses. The result reveals that out of the total sampled households, 25% them were food secured, 13% were mildly food insecure, 26% were moderately food insecure and 36% were severely food insecure. The study indicates that household family size, house ownership, household income, household food source, household asset possession, household awareness on inflation, household access to social protection program, household access to credit and saving and household access to training and supervision on food security have a positive and significant effect on the likelihood of household food security status. However, marital status of household head, employment sector of household head, dependency ratio and household’s nonfood expenditure has a negative and significant influence on household food security status. The study finally suggests that the government in collaboration with financial institutions and NGO should work on sustaining household food security by creating awareness, providing credit, facilitate rural-urban linkage between producer and consumer and work on urban infrastructure improvement. Moreover, the governments also work closely and monitor consumer good suppliers, if possible find a way to subsidize consumable goods to more insecure households and make them to be food secured. Last but not least, keeping this country’s peace will play a crucial role to sustain food security.

Keywords: determinants, household, food security, order logit model, Addis Ababa

Procedia PDF Downloads 74

Authors: Esmael Makarian, Ayub Elyasi, Fatemeh Saberi, Olusegun Stanley Tomomewo

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Geothermal reservoirs (GTRs) have garnered global recognition as a sustainable energy source. The Thermo-Hydro-Mechanical-Chemical (THMC) integration coupling proves to be a practical and effective method for optimizing production in GTRs. The study outcomes demonstrate that THMC coupling serves as a versatile and valuable tool, offering in-depth insights into GTRs and enhancing their operational efficiency. This is achieved through temperature analysis and pressure changes and their impacts on mechanical properties, structural integrity, fracture aperture, permeability, and heat extraction efficiency. Moreover, THMC coupling facilitates potential benefits assessment and risks associated with different geothermal technologies, considering the complex thermal, hydraulic, mechanical, and chemical interactions within the reservoirs. However, THMC-coupling utilization in GTRs presents a multitude of challenges. These challenges include accurately modeling and predicting behavior due to the interconnected nature of processes, limited data availability leading to uncertainties, induced seismic events risks to nearby communities, scaling and mineral deposition reducing operational efficiency, and reservoirs' long-term sustainability. In addition, material degradation, environmental impacts, technical challenges in monitoring and control, accurate assessment of resource potential, and regulatory and social acceptance further complicate geothermal projects. Addressing these multifaceted challenges is crucial for successful geothermal energy resources sustainable utilization. This paper aims to illuminate the challenges and opportunities associated with THMC coupling in enhanced geothermal systems. Practical solutions and strategies for mitigating these challenges are discussed, emphasizing the need for interdisciplinary approaches, improved data collection and modeling techniques, and advanced monitoring and control systems. Overcoming these challenges is imperative for unlocking the full potential of geothermal energy making a substantial contribution to the global energy transition and sustainable development.

Keywords: geothermal reservoirs, THMC coupling, interdisciplinary approaches, challenges and opportunities, sustainable utilization

Procedia PDF Downloads 69

Authors: Amber Elyse Corrigan, Alexander Smith, Anna Pennington, Ben Carter, Jonathan Hewitt

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Background and Purpose: Morbidity secondary to stroke is highly heterogeneous, but it is important to both patients and clinicians in post-stroke management and adjustment to life after stroke. The consideration of post-stroke morbidity clinically and from the patient perspective has been poorly measured. The patient-reported outcome measures (PROs) in morbidity assessment help improve this knowledge gap. The primary aim of this study was to consider the association between PRO outcomes and stroke predictors. Methods: A multicenter prospective cohort study assessed 549 stroke patients at 19 hospital sites across England and Wales during 2019. Following a stroke event, demographic, clinical, and PRO measures were collected. Prevalence of morbidity within PRO measures was calculated with associated 95% confidence intervals. Predictors of domain outcome were calculated using a multilevel generalized linear model. Associated P -values and 95% confidence intervals are reported. Results: Data were collected from 549 participants, 317 men (57.7%) and 232 women (42.3%) with ages ranging from 25 to 97 (mean 72.7). PRO morbidity was high post-stroke; 93.2% of the cohort report post-stroke PRO morbidity. Previous stroke, diabetes, and gender are associated with worse patient-reported outcomes across both the physical and cognitive domains. Conclusions: This large-scale multicenter cohort study illustrates the high proportion of morbidity in PRO measures. Further, we demonstrate key predictors of adverse outcomes (Diabetes, previous stroke, and gender) congruence with clinical predictors. The PRO has been demonstrated to be an informative and useful stroke when considering patient-reported outcomes and has wider implications for considerations of PROs in clinical management. Future longitudinal follow-up with PROs is needed to consider association of long-term morbidity.

Keywords: morbidity, patient-reported outcome, PRO, stroke

Procedia PDF Downloads 131

Authors: Sourabh Jain, Parul Madan

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Traffic noise pollution has become a challenging problem for all metro cities of India due to rapid urbanization, growing population and rising number of vehicles and transport development. In Delhi the prime source of noise pollution is vehicular traffic. In Delhi it is found that the ambient noise level (Leq) is exceeding the standard permissible value at all the locations. Noise barriers or enclosures are definitely useful in obtaining effective deduction of traffic noise disturbances in urbanized areas. US’s Federal Highway Administration Model (FHWA) and Calculation of Road Traffic Noise (CORTN) of UK are used to develop spread sheets for noise prediction. Spread sheets are also developed for evaluating effectiveness of existing boundary walls abutting houses in mitigating noise, redesigning them as noise barriers. Study was also carried out to examine the changes in noise level due to designed noise barrier by using both models FHWA and CORTN respectively. During the collection of various data it is found that receivers are located far away from road at Rithala and Moolchand sites and hence extra barrier height needed to meet prescribed limits was less as seen from calculations and most of the noise diminishes by propagation effect.On the basis of overall study and data analysis, it is concluded that FHWA and CORTN models under estimate noise levels. FHWA model predicted noise levels with an average percentage error of -7.33 and CORTN predicted with an average percentage error of -8.5. It was observed that at all sites noise levels at receivers were exceeding the standard limit of 55 dB. It was seen from calculations that existing walls are reducing noise levels. Average noise reduction due to walls at Rithala was 7.41 dB and at Panchsheel was 7.20 dB and lower amount of noise reduction was observed at Friend colony which was only 5.88. It was observed from analysis that Friends colony sites need much greater height of barrier. This was because of residential buildings abutting the road. At friends colony great amount of traffic was observed since it is national highway. At this site diminishing of noise due to propagation effect was very less.As FHWA and CORTN models were developed in excel programme, it eliminates laborious calculations of noise. There was no reflection correction in FHWA models as like in CORTN model.

Keywords: IFHWA, CORTN, Noise Sources, Noise Barriers

Procedia PDF Downloads 133

Authors: Terentes Printzios Dimitrios, Loanna Gourgouli, Vlachopoulos Charalambos

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Aims: Atrial fibrillation (AF) remains one of the major causes of stroke, heart failure, sudden death and cardiovascular morbidity. Ablation techniques are becoming more appealing after the latest results of randomized trials showing the overall clinical benefit. On the other hand, imaging techniques and the frontier application of 3D printing are emerging as a valuable ally for cardiac procedures. However, no randomized trial has directly assessed the impact of preprocedural imaging and especially 3D printing guidance for AF ablation. The present study is designed to investigate for the first time the effect of 3D printing of the heart on the safety and effectiveness of the ablation procedure. Methods and design: The 3D-GALA trial is a randomized, open-label, controlled, multicentre clinical trial of 2 parallel groups designed to enroll a total of 100 patients undergoing ablation using cryo-balloon for paroxysmal and persistent AF. Patients will be randomized with a patient allocation ratio of 1: 1 to preprocedural MRI scan of the heart and 3D printing of left atrium and pulmonary veins and cryoablation versus standard cryoablation without imaging. Patients will be followed up to 6 months after the index procedure. The primary outcome measure is the reduction of radiation dose and contrast amount during pulmonary veins isolation. Secondary endpoints will include the percentage of atrial fibrillation relapse at 24h-Holter electrocardiogram monitoring at 6 months after initial treatment. Discussion: To our knowledge, the 3D-GALA trial will be the first study to provide evidence about the clinical impact of preprocedural imaging and 3D printing before cryoablation.

Keywords: atrial fibrillation, cardiac MRI, cryoablation, 3-d printing

Procedia PDF Downloads 178

Authors: Y. N. Shashidhara, B. S. Shakuntala

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Introduction: Nursing practice is undergoing tremendous changes and challenges. In order to meet social challenges and needs, nursing practice must be research based. Research is needed to evaluate the effectiveness of nursing treatment modalities, to determine the impact of nursing care on the health of the patients or to test the theory of nursing practice. Objective of the study to explore the attitude of staff nurses on Nursing research and its utilization Methodology: The descriptive study design was adopted and 300 staff nurses were selected by systematic random sampling technique from eight hospitals. The attitude on nursing research was assessed by validated and reliable self-administered attitude scale which consists of 40 items. Results: The overall attitude mean score 130.2 (SD 11.5) regarding attitude on Nursing research and its utilization. Some of the findings are the majority of staff nurses (51% agreed and 18.3% strongly agreed) that they have all the motivation to use research findings if they get support. Nearly 25.3 percent of staff nurses agreed and 10.7 percent strongly agreed that they do not have time to conduct research. The majority of staff nurses 53.7 percent agreed that research will help in updating Nursing profession. Nearly 32.6 percent of staff nurses agreed and 20.5 percent strongly agreed that being able to use will make them better nurses. About 45.3 percent and 17.3 percent agreed and strongly agreed that knowledge gained through experience is more useful than research. Most (40%) of nurses agreed that thy do not have the authority to change the patient care practice. The majority of staff nurses (45.7 percent agreed and 13 percent strongly agreed) feel the research will consume their personal time. Majority, 50 percent of staff nurses agreed and 16.7 percent strongly agreed that to conduct and utilize research findings requires financial support. Majority 50 percent of staff nurses agreed and 12 percent strongly agreed that physicians will cooperate and value nursing research findings. Majority 67.3 percent of staff nurses had moderate positive and 32.7 percent of staff nurses had highly positive attitude towards Nursing research and its utilization. Conclusion: With this study we understanding that, the staff nurses have positive attitude regarding nursing research. If the nurses are supported and motivated for research utilization we can improve the patient care.

Keywords: nurses, attitude, nursing research, research utilization

Procedia PDF Downloads 260

Authors: Abeer Alhazmi

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Introduction: Clinical education is considered a significant part of the learning process for nurses and nursing students. However, recruiting high- caliber individuals to train them to be tomorrow’s educators/teachers has been a recurrent challenge. One of the troubling challenges in this field is the absent of proper training programmes to train educators to be future education professionals and leaders. Aim: To explore the impact of a stage 1 and stage 2 clinical instructor courses on developing leadership skills for nurses as educators.Theoretical Framework: Informed by a symbolic interactionist framework, this research explored the Impact of stage 1 and stage 2 clinical instructor courses on nurses' knowledge, attitudes, and leadership skills. Method: Using Glaserian grounded theory method the data were derived from 3 focus groups and 15 in-depth interviews with nurse educators/clinical instructors and nurses who attended stage 1 and stage 2 clinical instructor courses at King Abdu-Aziz University Hospital (KAUH). Findings: The findings of the research are represented in the core category exploring new identity as educator and its two constituent categories Accepting change, and constructing educator identity. The core and sub- categories were generated through a theoretical exploration of the development of educator’s identity throughout stage 1 and stage 2 clinical instructor courses. Conclusion: The social identity of the nurse educators was developed and changed during and after attending stage 1 and stage 2 clinical instructor courses. In light of an increased understanding of the development process of educators identity and role, the research presents implications and recommendations that may contribute to the development of nursing educators in general and in Saudi Arabia in specific.

Keywords: clinical instructor course, educators, identity work, clinical nursing

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Authors: Nicoleta Simona Vedeanu, Rares Stiufiuc, Dana Alina Magdas

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A detailed knowledge of the teeth structure is mandatory to understand and explain the defects and the dental pathology, but especially to take a correct decision regarding dental prophylaxis and treatment. The present work is an alternative study to the traditional investigation methods used in dentistry, a study based on the use of modern, sensitive physical methods to investigate human enamel and dentin. For the present study, several teeth collected from patients of different ages were used for structural and dietary investigation. The samples were investigated by Raman spectroscopy for the molecular structure analysis of dentin and enamel, atomic force microscopy (AFM) to view the dental topography at the micrometric size and mass spectrometry for isotopic ratios as a fingerprint of patients’ personal diet. The obtained Raman spectra and their interpretation are in good correlation with the literature and may give medical information by comparing affected dental structures with healthy ones. AFM technique gave us the possibility to study in details the dentin and enamel surface to collect information about dental hardness or dental structural changes. δ¹³C values obtained for the studied samples can be classified in C4 category specific to young people and children diet (sweets, cereals, juices, pastry). The methods used in this attempt furnished important information about dentin and enamel structure and dietary habits and each of the three proposed methods can be extended at a larger level in the study of the teeth structure.

Keywords: AFM, dentine, enamel, Raman spectroscopy

Procedia PDF Downloads 145

Authors: Muna Khushaim

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Aluminum-based alloys play a key role in modern engineering, especially in the aerospace industry. Introduction of solute atoms such as Li and Cu is the main approach to improve the strength in age-hardenable Al alloys via the precipitation hardening phenomenon. Knowledge of the decomposition process of the microstructure during the precipitation reaction is particularly important for future technical developments. The objective of this study is to investigate the nano-scale chemical composition in the Al-Cu, Al-Li and Al-Li-Cu during the early stage of the precipitation sequence and to describe whether this compositional difference correlates with variations in the observed precipitation kinetics. Comparing the random binomial frequency distribution and the experimental frequency distribution of concentrations in atom probe tomography data was used to investigate the early stage of decomposition in the different binary and ternary alloys which were experienced different heat treatments. The results show that an Al-1.7 at.% Cu alloy requires a long ageing time of approximately 8 h at 160 °C to allow the diffusion of Cu atoms into Al matrix. For the Al-8.2 at.% Li alloy, a combination of both the natural ageing condition (48 h at room temperature) and a short artificial ageing condition (5 min at 160 °C) induces increasing on the number density of the Li clusters and hence increase number of precipitated δ' particles. Applying this combination of natural ageing and short artificial ageing conditions onto the ternary Al-4 at.% Li-1.7 at.% Cu alloy induces the formation of a Cu-rich phase. Increasing the Li content in the ternary alloy up to 8 at.% and increasing the ageing time to 30 min resulted in the precipitation processes ending with δ' particles. Thus, the results contribute to the understanding of Al-alloy design.

Keywords: aluminum alloy, atom probe tomography, early stage, decomposition

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Authors: Sarai Guerrero, Lijia Liu

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Zinc gallogermanate (ZGGO) is a persistent phosphor that can emit in the near infrared (NIR) range once dopped with Cr³⁺ enabling its use for in-vivo deep-tissue bio-imaging. Such a property also allows for its application in cancer diagnosis and therapy. Given this, work into developing a synthetic procedure that can be done using common laboratory instruments and equipment as well as understanding ZGGO overall, is in demand. However, the ZGGO nanoparticles must have a size compatible for cell intake to occur while still maintaining sufficient photoluminescence. The nanoparticle must also be made biocompatible by functionalizing the surface for hydrophilic solubility and for high particle uniformity in the final product. Additionally, most research is completed on doped ZGGO, leaving a gap in understanding the base form of ZGGO. It also leaves a gap in understanding how doping affects the synthesis of ZGGO. In this work, the first step of optimizing the particle size via the crystalline size of ZGGO was done with undoped ZGGO using the organic acid, oleic acid (OA) for organic ligand-assisted biphasic hydrothermal synthesis. The effects of this synthesis procedure on ZGGO’s crystallinity were evaluated using Powder X-Ray Diffraction (PXRD). OA was selected as the capping ligand as experiments have shown it beneficial in synthesizing sub-10 nm zinc gallate (ZGO) nanoparticles as well as palladium nanocrystals and magnetite (Fe₃O₄) nanoparticles. Later it is possible to substitute OA with a different ligand allowing for hydrophilic solubility. Attenuated Total Reflection Fourier-Transform Infrared (ATR-FTIR) was used to investigate the surface of the nanoparticle to investigate and verify that OA had capped the nanoparticle. PXRD results showed that using this procedure led to improved crystallinity, comparable to the high-purity reagents used on the ZGGO nanoparticles. There was also a change in the crystalline size of the ZGGO nanoparticles. ATR-FTIR showed that once capped ZGGO cannot be annealed as doing so will affect the OA. These results point to this new procedure positively affecting the crystallinity of ZGGO nanoparticles. There are also repeatable implying the procedure is a reliable source of highly crystalline ZGGO nanoparticles. With this completed, the next step will be working on substituting the OA with a hydrophilic ligand. As these ligands effect the solubility of the nanoparticle as well as the pH that the nanoparticles can dissolve in, further research is needed to verify which ligand is best suited for preparing ZGGO for bio-imaging.

Keywords: biphasic hydrothermal synthesis, crystallinity, oleic acid, zinc gallogermanate

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Authors: Francesco Ruscio, Paolo Paoletti, Jens Thomas, Paul Myers, Sebastiano Fichera

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This paper presents the development of a low-cost monitoring system for a hydroponic urban vertical farm, enabling its automation and a quantitative assessment of the farm performance. Urban farming has seen increasing interest in the last decade thanks to the development of energy efficient and affordable LED lights; however, the optimal configuration of such systems (i.e. amount of nutrients, light-on time, ambient temperature etc.) is mostly based on the farmers’ experience and empirical guidelines. Moreover, even if simple, the maintenance of such systems is labor intensive as it requires water to be topped-up periodically, mixing of the nutrients etc. To unlock the full potential of urban farming, a quantitative understanding of the role that each variable plays in the growth of the plants is needed, together with a higher degree of automation. The low-cost monitoring system proposed in this paper is a step toward filling this knowledge and technological gap, as it enables collection of sensor data related to water and air temperature, water level, humidity, pressure, light intensity, pH and electric conductivity without requiring any human intervention. More sensors and actuators can also easily be added thanks to the modular design of the proposed platform. Data can be accessed remotely via a simple web interface. The proposed platform can be used both for quantitatively optimizing the setup of the farms and for automating some of the most labor-intensive maintenance activities. Moreover, such monitoring system can also potentially be used for high-level decision making, once enough data are collected.

Keywords: automation, hydroponics, internet of things, monitoring system, urban farming

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Authors: Alisher Ibragimov, Sofya Senotrusova, Aleksandra Beliaeva, Egor Ushakov, Yuri Markin

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Mammography plays a critical role in screening for breast cancer in women, and artificial intelligence has enabled the automatic detection of diseases in medical images. Many of the current techniques used for mammogram analysis focus on a single view (mediolateral or craniocaudal view), while in clinical practice, radiologists consider multiple views of mammograms from both breasts to make a correct decision. Consequently, computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) systems could benefit from incorporating information gathered from multiple views. In this study, the introduce a method based on a Siamese neural network (SNN) model that simultaneously analyzes mammographic images from tri-view: bilateral and ipsilateral. In this way, when a decision is made on a single image of one breast, attention is also paid to two other images – a view of the same breast in a different projection and an image of the other breast as well. Consequently, the algorithm closely mimics the radiologist's practice of paying attention to the entire examination of a patient rather than to a single image. Additionally, to the best of our knowledge, this research represents the first experiments conducted using the recently released Vietnamese dataset of digital mammography (VinDr-Mammo). On an independent test set of images from this dataset, the best model achieved an AUC of 0.87 per image. Therefore, this suggests that there is a valuable automated second opinion in the interpretation of mammograms and breast cancer diagnosis, which in the future may help to alleviate the burden on radiologists and serve as an additional layer of verification.

Keywords: breast cancer, computer-aided diagnosis, deep learning, multi-view mammogram, siamese neural network

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Authors: Ellen Lagast, Melissa Ceuterick, Mark Leys

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Although adolescence is a stressful period with an increased risk for mental illnesses such as anxiety and depression, little in-depth knowledge is available on the determinants of the use of psychotropic drugs (BZD/SSRIs) and the effects. A qualitative research with adolescents in Flanders was performed. Based on indepth interviews, the interviewees indicate feelings of ambiguity towards their medication use because on the one hand the medication helps to manage their mental vulnerability and disrupted lives, but on the other hand they experience a loss of control of their self and their environment. Undesired side-effects and stigma led to a negative pharmaceutical self. The interviewed youngsters also express dissatisfaction about the prescription behavior with regard to psychotropic drugs of their general practitioner (GP). They wished to have received more information about alternative non-pharmaceutical treatment options. Notwithstanding these comments, the majority of the interviewees maintained trust in their GP to act in their best interest. This paper will relate the prescription behavior in primary care to the organization of mental health care to better understand the “phamaceuticalization” and medicalization of mental health problems in Belgium. Belgium implemented fundamental mental health care reforms to collaborate, to integrate care and to optimize continuity of care. Children and adolescents still are confronted with long waiting lists to access (non-medicalized) mental health services. This access to mental health care partly explains general practitioners’ prescription behavior of psychotropics. Moreover, multidisciplinary practices have not pervaded primary health care yet. Medicalization and pharmaceuticalization of mental health vulnerabilities of youth are both a structural and cultural problem.

Keywords: adolescents, antidepressants, benzodiazepines, mental health system, psychotropic drugs

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Authors: Olarinde Olaniran, Oluyomi A. Sowemimo

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Toxoplasmosis is frequently misdiagnosed or underdiagnosed, and it is the third most common cause of hospitalization due to food-borne infection. Intra-uterine infection with Toxoplasma gondii due to active parasitaemia during pregnancy can cause severe and often fatal cerebral damage, abortion, and stillbirth of a fetus. The aim of the study was to investigate the prevalence of T. gondii infection in women of childbearing age in selected communities of Osun State with a view to determining the risk factors which predispose to the T. gondii infection. Five (5) ml of blood was collected by venopuncture into a plain blood collection tube by a medical laboratory scientist. Serum samples were separated by centrifuging the blood samples at 3000 rpm for 5 mins. The sera were collected with Eppendorf tubes and stored at -20°C analysis for the presence of IgG and IgM antibodies against T. gondii by commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit (Demeditec Diagnostics GmbH, Germany) conducted according to the manufacturer’s instructions. The optical densities of wells were measured by a photometer at a wavelength of 450 nm. Data collected were analysed using appropriate computer software. The overall seroprevalence of T. gondii among the women of child-bearing age in selected seven communities in Osun state was 76.3%. Out of 76.3% positive for Toxoplasma gondii infection, 70.0% were positive for anti- T. gondii IgG, and 32.3% were positive for IgM, and 26.7% for both IgG and IgM. The prevalence of T. gondii was lowest (58.9%) among women from Ile Ife, a peri-urban community, and highest (100%) in women residing in Alajue, a rural community. The prevalence of infection was significantly higher (P= 0.000) among Islamic women (87.5%) than in Christian women (70.8%). The highest prevalence (86.3%) was recorded in women with primary education, while the lowest (61.2%) was recorded in women with tertiary education (p =0.016). The highest prevalence (79.7%) was recorded in women that reside in rural areas, and the lowest (70.1%) was recorded in women that reside in peri-urban area (p=0.025). The prevalence of T. gondii infection was highest (81.4%) in women with one miscarriage, while the prevalence was lowest in women with no miscarriages (75.9%). The age of the women (p=0.042), Islamic religion (p=0.001), the residence of the women (p=0.001), and water source were all positively associated with T. gondii infection. The study concluded that there was a high seroprevalence of T. gondii recorded among women of child-bearing age in the study area. Hence, there is a need for health education and create awareness of the disease and its transmission to women of reproductive age group in general and pregnant women in particular to reduce the risk of T. gondii in pregnant women.

Keywords: seroepidemiology, Toxoplasma gondii, women, child-bearing, age, communities, Ile -Ife, Nigeria

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Authors: Patompong Satapornpong, Therdpong Tempark, Pawinee Rerknimitr, Jettanong Klaewsongkram, Chonlaphat Sukasem

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Dapsone (4, 4’-diaminodiphenyl sulfone, DDS) is broadly used for the treatment of inflammatory diseases and infections such as; leprosy, Pneumocystis jiroveci pneumonia in patients with HIV infection, neutrophilic dermatoses, dermatitis herpetiformis and autoimmune bullous disease. The severe cutaneous adverse drug reactions (SCARs) including, Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS), toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) and drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DRESS) are rare but severe life-threatening adverse drug reactions. Dapsone is one of many culprit drugs induced SJS, TEN and DRESS. Notwithstanding, to our knowledge, there are no studies of the association of HLA class I alleles and dapsone-induced SCARs in non-leprosy Thai patients. This investigation was a prospective cohort study, which performed in a total of 45 non-leprosy patients. Fifteen patients of dapsone-induced SCARs were classified as following the RegiSCAR criteria, and 30 dapsone-tolerant controls were exposed to dapsone more than 6 months without any evidence of cutaneous reactions. The genotyping of HLA-A, -B and –C were performed using sequence-specific oligonucleotides (PCR-SSOs). The Ethics Committee of Ramathibodi hospital, Mahidol University, approved this study. Among all HLA class I alleles, HLA-A*24:07, HLA-B*13:01, HLA-B*15:02, HLA-C*03:04 and HLA-C*03:09 were significantly associated with dapsone-induced SCARs (OR = 10.55, 95% CI = 1.06 – 105.04, p = 0.0360; OR = 56.00, 95% CI = 8.27 – 379.22, p = 0.0001; OR = 7.00, 95% CI = 1.17 – 42.00, p = 0.0322; OR = 6.00, 95% CI = 1.24 – 29.07, p = 0.0425 and OR = 17.08, 95% CI = 0.82 – 355.45, p = 0.0321, respectively). Furthermore, HLA-B*13:01 allele had strong association with dapsone-induced SJS-TEN and DRESS when compared with dapsone-tolerant controls (OR = 42.00, 95% CI = 2.88 – 612.31, p = 0.0064 and OR = 63.00, 95% CI = 7.72 – 513.94 and p = 0.0001, respectively). Consequently, HLA-B*13:01 might serve as a pharmacogenetic marker for screening before initiating the therapy with dapsone for prevention of dapsone-induced SCARs.

Keywords: dapsone-induced SCARs, HLA-B*13:01, HLA class I alleles, severe cutaneous adverse reactions, Thai

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Authors: Suhail Shersad

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Introduction In developing countries, the access to higher education for the lower socioeconomic strata is very poor at less than 0.05%. The challenges faced by prospective students in these circumstances to pursue higher education have been explored through direct interaction with them and their families in urban slums of New Delhi. This study included evaluation of the demographics, social indices, expectations and perceptions of selected communities. Results The results show that the poor life expectancy, low exposure to technology, lack of social infrastructure and poor sanitary conditions have reduced their drive for academic achievements. This is despite a good level of intelligence and critical thinking skills among these students. The perception of the community including parents shows that despite their desire to excel, there are too may roadblocks to achieving a fruitful professional life for the next generation. Discussion The prerequisites of higher education may have to be revisited to be more inclusive of socially handicapped students. The knowledge, skills and attributes required for higher education system should form the baseline for creating a roadmap for higher secondary education suited for local needs. Conventional parameters like marks and grading have to be re-looked so that life skills and vocational training form part of the core curriculum. Essential skills should be incorporated at an earlier age, providing an alternative pathway for such students to join higher education. Conclusion: There is a need to bridge the disconnect that exists between higher education planning, the needs of the concerned cohorts and the existing higher secondary education. The variables that contribute to making such a decision have to be examined further. Keywords: prerequisites of higher education, social mobility, society expectations, access to higher education

Keywords: access to higher education, prerequisites of higher education, society expectations, social mobility

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Authors: Leila Mohammadi

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This paper presents the impact of persuasive communication implemented by fertility clinics websites, and how this information influences women at their decision-making for undertaking this procedure. The influential factors for women decisions to do social egg freezing (SEF) are analyzed from a framing theory perspective, with a specific focus on the impact of persuasive information on women’s decision making. This study follows a quantitative approach. A two-phase survey has been conducted to examine the interest rate to undertake SEF. In the first phase, a questionnaire was available during a month (May 2015) to women to answer whether or not they knew enough information of this process, with a total of 230 answers. The second phase took place in the two last weeks of July 2015. All the respondents were invited to a seminars called ‘All about egg freezing’ and afretwards they were requested to answer the second questionnaire. After the seminar, in which they were given an extensive amount of information about egg freezing, a total of 115 women replied the questionnaire. The collected data during this process were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Most of the respondents changed their opinion in the second questionaire which was after receiving information. Although in the first questionnaire their self-evaluation of having knowledge about this process and the implemented technologies was very high, they realized that they still need to access more information from different sources in order to be able to make a decision. The study reached the conclusion that persuasive and framed information by clinics would affect the decisions of these women. Despite the reasons women have to do egg freezing and their motivations behind it, providing people necessary information and unprejudiced data about this process (such as its positive and negative aspects, requirements, suppositions, possibilities and consequences) would help them to make a more precise and reasonable decision about what they are buying.

Keywords: decision making, fertility clinics, framing theory, persuasive information, social egg freezing

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Authors: Maria Viktoria Melgo

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This study aimed to determine the possible association between calcium intake and wealth indices of selected female adults. Specifically, it aimed to: a) determine the calcium intake adequacy of the respondents. b) determine the relationship, if any, between calcium intake adequacy, area and wealth indices. The study used the survey design and employed convenience sampling in selecting participants. Two hundred females aged 20 – 64 years old were covered in the study from depressed and non-depressed areas. Data collected were calcium intake taken from two 24-hour food recall and Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) and wealth indices using housing characteristics, household assets and access to utilities and infrastructure. Descriptive statistics and Chi-square test were used to determine the frequency distribution and association between the given variables, respectively, using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) and OpenEpi software. The results showed that there were 86% of respondents in the depressed area with an inadequate calcium intake while there were 78% of respondents in the non-depressed area with an adequate calcium intake. No significant relationship was obtained in most wealth indices with calcium intake adequacy and area but appliance and ownership of main material of the house showed a significant relationship to calcium intake adequacy by area. The study recommends that the Local Government Unit (LGU) should provide seminars or nutrition education that will further enhance the knowledge of the people in the community. The study also recommends to conduct a similar study but with different, larger sample size, different location nonetheless if it is in urban or rural and include the anthropometry measurement of the respondents.

Keywords: association, calcium intake adequacy, metro Manila, Philippines, wealth indices

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Authors: Asanga Gunawansa, Shenella Fonseka

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On-demand bonds, also known as unconditional bonds, are commonplace in the construction industry as a means of safeguarding the employer from any potential non-performance by a contractor. On-demand bonds may be obtained from commercial banks, and they serve as an undertaking by the issuing bank to honour payment on demand without questioning and/or considering any dispute between the employer and the contractor in relation to the underlying contract. Thus, whether or not a breach had occurred under the underlying contract, which triggers the demand for encashment by the employer, is not a question the bank needs to be concerned with. As a result, an unconditional bond allows the beneficiary to claim the money almost without any condition. Thus, an unconditional bond is as good as cash-in-hand. In the past, establishing fraud on the part of the employer, of which the bank had knowledge, was the only ground on which a bank could dishonour a claim made under an on-demand bond. However, recent jurisprudence in common law countries shows that courts are beginning to consider unconscionable conduct on the part of the employer in claiming under an on-demand bond as a ground that contractors could rely on the prevent the banks from honouring such claims. This has created uncertainty in connection with on-demand bonds and their liquidity. This paper analyzes recent judicial decisions in four common law jurisdictions, namely, England, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Sri Lanka, to identify the scope of using the concept of “unconscionability” as a ground for preventing unreasonable claims for encashment of on-demand bonds. The objective of this paper is to argue that on-demand bonds have lost their effectiveness as “cash-in-hand” and that this is, in fact, an advantage and not an impediment to international commerce, as the purpose of such bonds should not be to provide for illegal and unconscionable conduct by the beneficiaries.

Keywords: fraud, performance guarantees, on-demand bonds, unconscionability

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Authors: Faith Maina

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Slender leaf (Crotalaria brevidens and Crotalaria ochroleuca), African indigenous vegetables, are an important source of nutrients, income and traditional medicines in Kenya. However, their production is constrained by poor quality seed, due to lack of standardized agronomic and storage practices. Factors that affect the quality of seed in storage include the duration of storage, seed moisture, temperature, relative humidity, oxygen pressure during storage, diseases, and pests. These factors vary with the type of storage method used. The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of various storage methods on seed quality of slender leaf and recommend the best methods of seed storage to the farmers in Western Kenya. Seeds from various morphotypes of slender leaf that had high germination percentage (90%) were stored in pots, jars, brown paper bags and polythene bags in Kakamega and Siaya. Other seeds were also stored in a freezer at the University of Eldoret. In Kakamega County average room temperature was 23°C and relative humidity was 85% during the storage period of May to July 2006. Between December and February 2006 the average room temperature was 26°C while relative humidity was 80% in the same county. In Siaya County, the average room temperature was 25°C and relative humidity was 80% during storage period of May to July 2006. In the same county, the average temperature was 28°C and relative humidity 65% during the period of December and February 2006. Storage duration was 90 days for each season. Seed viability and vigour, was determined for each storage method. Data obtained from storage experiments was subjected to ANOVA and T-tests using Statistical Analysis Software (SAS). Season of growth and storage methods significantly influenced seed quality in Kakamega and Siaya counties. Seeds from the long rains season had higher seed quality than those grown during the short rains season. Generally, seeds stored in pots, brown paper bags, jars and freezer had higher seed quality than those stored in polythene bags. It was concluded that in order to obtain high-quality seeds farmers should store slender leaf seeds in pots or brown paper bags or plastic jars or freezer.

Keywords: Crotalaria sp, seed, quality, storage

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Authors: Mohannad Tarrad

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The research deals with the beginnings of the vernacular Jordanian architecture since the establishment of the Jordanian state in the early nineteenth century until now, where the Jordanian architecture was based on the interactions of the Jordanian society with the surrounding environment, where the local materials available in the construction area were used, and the construction systems inherited from previous civilizations were used. The builders in Jordan relied on exchanging knowledge and transferring it from one generation to another, where they were able to formulate a construction style capable of responding to the requirement of architectural spaces, and each region of Jordan has its own way of building, as there are various geographical areas in Jordan, including agricultural, mountainous and desert areas. Then the research touched on a historical study of the architectural space and identifying the value of the architectural space in the Jordanian social life, which is related to the customs and traditions of a society influenced by the Arab Islamic civilization, and then the construction, the structural structure, its characteristics and the constituent elements of the building were defined in the vernacular l Jordanian architecture. From the structural point of view, and then to identify the structural materials used in the structural structure and the impact of the structural structure on the design from several aspects, leading to the interior space and the factors affecting it. The research aims to explain and clarify the interconnected design and construction solutions in the vernacular Jordanian architecture in a manner that respects the environmental context, taking into account the material cost of the building, where the financial situation of the home owner plays an important role in choosing the building material and construction method. Case studies from heritage buildings from several Jordanian regions will be analyzed to illustrate the idea of the research.

Keywords: construction systems, architectural space, environmental context, Jordanian architecture

Procedia PDF Downloads 203

Authors: Piyanee Klainin-Yobas, Debbie Ramirez, Zenaida Fernandez, Jenneth Sarmiento, Wareerat Thanoi, Jeanette Ignacio, Ying Lau

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In many countries, university students experience various stressors that may negatively affect their psychological well-being (PWB). Hence, they are at risk for physical and mental problems. This research aimed to examine the predicting effects of mindfulness, self-efficacy, and social support on psychological well-being among undergraduate students. A non-experimental research was conducted at a university in the Philippines. All students enrolled in undergraduate programs were eligible for this study unless they had chronic medical or mental health problems. Power analysis was used to calculate an adequate sample size and a convenience sampling of 630 was recruited. Data were collected through online self-reported questionnaires from year 2013 to 2015. All self-reported scales used in this study had sound psychometric properties. Descriptive statistics, correlational analyses, and structural equation modeling were performed to analyze the research data. Results showed that the participants were mostly Filipino, female, Christian, and in Schools of Nursing. Mindfulness, self-efficacy, support from family, support from friends, and support from significant others were significant predictors of psychological well-being. Mindfulness was the strongest predictor of positive psychological well-being whereas self-efficacy was the strongest predictor of negative psychological well-being. In conclusion, findings from this study add knowledge to the existing literature regarding the predictors of psychological well-being. Psychosocial interventions, with the focus on strengthening mindfulness and self-efficacy, could be delivered to undergraduate students to help them enhance psychological well-being. More studies can be undertaken to test the interventions and multi-centered research can be conducted to enhance generalizability of research findings.

Keywords: mindfulness, self-efficacy, social support, psychological wellbeing

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Authors: Aid Abdelkrim

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A method of fatigue damage accumulation based upon application of energy parameters of the fatigue process is proposed in the paper. Using this model is simple, it has no parameter to be determined, it requires only the knowledge of the curve W–N (W: strain energy density N: number of cycles at failure) determined from the experimental Wöhler curve. To examine the performance of nonlinear models proposed in the estimation of fatigue damage and fatigue life of components under random loading, a batch of specimens made of 6082 T 6 aluminium alloy has been studied and some of the results are reported in the present paper. The paper describes an algorithm and suggests a fatigue cumulative damage model, especially when random loading is considered. This work contains the results of uni-axial random load fatigue tests with different mean and amplitude values performed on 6082T6 aluminium alloy specimens. The proposed model has been formulated to take into account the damage evolution at different load levels and it allows the effect of the loading sequence to be included by means of a recurrence formula derived for multilevel loading, considering complex load sequences. It is concluded that a ‘damaged stress interaction damage rule’ proposed here allows a better fatigue damage prediction than the widely used Palmgren–Miner rule, and a formula derived in random fatigue could be used to predict the fatigue damage and fatigue lifetime very easily. The results obtained by the model are compared with the experimental results and those calculated by the most fatigue damage model used in fatigue (Miner’s model). The comparison shows that the proposed model, presents a good estimation of the experimental results. Moreover, the error is minimized in comparison to the Miner’s model.

Keywords: damage accumulation, energy model, damage indicator, variable loading, random loading

Procedia PDF Downloads 396