Search results for: small and large farms

Authors: John Gaber, Youssef Ahmed, Hossam A.Gabbar, Jing Ren

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Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) operators have a large responsibility on their shoulders. They must allow the plant to generate a high amount of energy while inspecting and maintaining the safety of the plant. This type of occupation comes with high amounts of mental fatigue, and a small mistake can have grave consequences. Electroencephalography (EEG) is a method of gathering the electromagnetic waves emitted by a human brain. We propose a safety system by monitoring brainwaves for signs of mental fatigue. This requires an analysis of the tasks and mental models of the NPP operator, as well as risk factors on mental fatigue and attention that NPP operators face when performing their tasks. The brain waves generated from experiencing mental fatigue can then be monitored for. These factors are analyzed, developing an EEG-based monitoring system, which aims to alert NPP operators when levels of mental fatigue and attention start affecting their performance in task completion.

Keywords: EEG, power plant operator, psychology, task analysis

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Authors: Agholor Deborah Ewere, Emmanuel Ade, Seriki Idowu

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The role women entrepreneur plays to combat unemployment should not be underestimated, especially in countries with growing unemployment rates such as South Africa. Women entrepreneurs contribute significantly to economic development in South Africa, but their contribution has not been adequately studied and developed. Hence, the study identified business strategies adopted by women entrepreneurs to sustain growth and development of entrepreneurship. Survey research design approach was adopted and convenience sampling method was used for sample selection. The structured questionnaire was used to elicit information from the respondents. The findings revealed some of the operational challenges women entrepreneur faced to include lack of finance, marketing skills and planning and also showed that the strategies adopted by women entrepreneurs have a positive effect on the success of small businesses. It was recommended among others that the women entrepreneurs should take some time to study the nature of challenges other women have faced in business and possibly provide solutions to such issues before starting their own business. It was however concluded that unless the operational challenges named above are resolved, the role of women entrepreneurs in the developing nations will continue to experience deprived economic growth, development and display substandard competitiveness.

Keywords: business, entrepreneurs, small, strategies, success, women

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Authors: Kwangho Lee, Joongmyeon Bae

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Fuel cells are spotlighted in the world for being highly efficient and environmentally friendly. A hydrogen fuel for a fuel cell is obtained from a number of sources. Most of fuel cell for APU(Auxiliary power unit) system using diesel fuel as a hydrogen source. Diesel fuel has many advantages, such as high hydrogen storage density, easy to transport and also well-infra structure. However, conventional diesel reforming system for PEMFC(Proton exchange membrane fuel cell) requires a large volume and complex CO removal system for the lower the CO level to less than 10ppm. In addition, the PROX(Preferential Oxidation) reaction cooling load is needed because of the strong exothermic reaction. However, the hydrogen separation membrane that we propose can be eliminated many disadvantages, because the volume is small and permeates only pure hydrogen. In this study, we were conducted to the pressurized diesel reforming and water-gas shift reaction experiment for the hydrogen permeable membrane application.

Keywords: hydrogen, diesel, reforming, ATR, WGS, PROX, membrane, pressure

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Authors: Margit Kastner

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To overcome the negative consequences associated with large class sizes and to support students in developing the necessary competences (e.g., critical thinking, problem-solving, or team-work skills) a marketing course has been redesigned by implementing project-based learning with peer assessment (PBL&PA). This means that students can voluntarily take advantage of this supplementary offer and explore -in addition to attending the lecture where clicker questions are asked- a real-world problem, find a solution, and assess the results of peers while working in small collaborative groups. In order to handle this with little further effort, the process is technically supported by the university’s e-learning system in such a way that students upload their solution in form of an assignment which is then automatically distributed to peer groups who have to assess the work of three other groups. Finally, students’ work is graded automatically considering both, students’ contribution to the project and the conformity of the peer assessment. The purpose of this study is to evaluate students’ perception of PBL&PA using an online-questionnaire to collect the data. More specifically, it aims to discover students’ motivations for (not) working on a project and the benefits and problems students encounter. In addition to the survey, students’ performance was analyzed by comparing the final grades of those who participated in PBL&PA with those who did not participate. Among the 260 students who filled out the questionnaire, 47% participated in PBL&PA. Besides extrinsic motivations (bonus credits), students’ participation was often motivated by learning and social benefits. Reasons for not working on a project were connected to students’ organization and management of their studies (e.g., time constraints, no/wrong information) and teamwork concerns (e.g., missing engagement of peers, prior negative experiences). In addition, high workload and insufficient extrinsic motivation (bonus credits) were mentioned. With regards to benefits and problems students encountered during the project, students provided more positive than negative comments. Positive aspects most often stated were learning and social benefits while negative ones were mainly attached to the technical implementation. Interestingly, bonus credits were hardly named as a positive aspect meaning that intrinsic motivations have become more important when working on the project. Team aspects generated mixed feelings. In addition, students who voluntarily participated in PBL&PA were, in general, more active and utilized further course offers such as clicker questions. Examining students’ performance at the final exam revealed that students without participating in any of the offered active learning tasks performed poorest in the exam while students who used all activities were best. In conclusion, the goals of the implementation were met in terms of students’ perceived benefits and the positive impact on students’ exam performance. Since the comparison of the automatic grading with faculty grading showed valid results, it is possible to rely only on automatic grading in the future. That way, the additional workload for faculty will be within limits. Thus, the implementation of project-based learning with peer assessment can be recommended for large classes.

Keywords: automated grading, large classes, peer assessment, project-based learning

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Authors: Nolitha L. Skenjana, Bongani P. Kubheka, Maxwell A. Poswal

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The Eastern Cape Province of South Africa is characterized by subsistence farming, which is mostly distributed in the rural areas of the province. It is estimated that cereal crops such as maize and sorghum, and vegetables such as cabbage are grown in more than 400.000 rural households, with maize being the most dominant crop. However, compared to commercial agriculture, small-scale farmers receive minimal support from research and development, limited technology transfer on the latest production practices and systems and have poor production infrastructure and equipment. Similarly, there is limited farmers' appreciation on best practices in insect pest management and control. The paper presents findings from the primary literature and personal observations on insect pest management practices of small-scale farmers in the province. Inferences from literature and personal experiences in the production areas have led to a number of deductions regarding the level of exposure and extent of vulnerability. Farmers' pest management practices, which included not controlling at all though there is a pest problem, resulted in their crop stands to be more vulnerable to pest attacks. This became more evident with the recent brown locust, African armyworm, and Fall armyworm outbreaks, and with the incidences of opportunistic phytophagous insects previously collected on wild hosts only, found causing serious damages on crops. In most of these occurrences, damage to crops resulted in low or no yield. Improvements on farmers' reaction and response to pest problems were only observed in areas where focused awareness campaigns and trainings on specific pests and their management techniques were done. This then calls for a concerted effort from all role players in the sphere of small-scale crop production, to train and equip farmers with relevant skills, and provide them with information on affordable and climate-smart strategies and technologies in order to create a state of preparedness. This is necessary for the prevention of substantial crop losses that may exacerbate food insecurity in the province.

Keywords: Eastern Cape Province, small-scale farmers, insect pest management, vulnerability

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Authors: Hana Barak, Alex Sivan, Ariel Kushmaro

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Microorganisms are the most diverse and abundant life forms on Earth and account for a large portion of the Earth’s biomass and biodiversity. To date though, our knowledge regarding microbial life is lacking, as it is based mainly on information from cultivated organisms. Indeed, microbiologists have borrowed from astrophysics and termed the ‘uncultured microbial majority’ as ‘microbial dark matter’. The realization of how diverse and unexplored microorganisms are, actually stems from recent advances in molecular biology, and in particular from novel methods for sequencing microbial small subunit ribosomal RNA genes directly from environmental samples termed next-generation sequencing (NGS). This has led us to use NGS that generates several gigabases of sequencing data in a single experimental run, to identify and classify environmental samples of microorganisms. In metagenomics sequencing analysis (both 16S and shotgun), sequences are compared to reference databases that contain only small part of the existing microorganisms and therefore their taxonomy assignment may reveal groups of unknown microorganisms or origins. These unknowns, or the ‘microbial sequences dark matter’, are usually ignored in spite of their great importance. The goal of this work was to develop an improved bioinformatics method that enables more complete analyses of the microbial communities in numerous environments. Therefore, NGS was used to identify previously unknown microorganisms from three different environments (industrials wastewater, Negev Desert’s rocks and water wells at the Arava valley). 16S rRNA gene metagenome analysis of the microorganisms from those three environments produce about ~4 million reads for 75 samples. Between 0.1-12% of the sequences in each sample were tagged as ‘Unassigned’. Employing relatively simple methodology for resequencing of original gDNA samples through Sanger or MiSeq Illumina with specific primers, this study demonstrates that the mysterious ‘Unassigned’ group apparently contains sequences of candidate phyla. Those unknown sequences can be located on a phylogenetic tree and thus provide a better understanding of the ‘sequences dark matter’ and its role in the research of microbial communities and diversity. Studying this ‘dark matter’ will extend the existing databases and could reveal the hidden potential of the ‘microbial dark matter’.

Keywords: bacteria, bioinformatics, dark matter, Next Generation Sequencing, unknown

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Authors: Ji Su Kim, Bo Ram Choi, Ju Yeon Cho, Hyukjin Lee

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Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) 19 deletion mutation gene is over-expressed in carcinoma patient. EGFR 19 deletion mutation is known as typical biomarker of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), which one section in the coding exon 19 of EGFR is deleted. Therefore, there have been many attempts over the years to detect EGFR 19 deletion mutation for replacing conventional diagnostic method such as PCR and tissue biopsy. We developed a simple and facile detection platform based on Rolling Circle Amplification (RCA), which provides highly amplified products in isothermal amplification of the ligated DNA template. Limit of detection (~50 nM) and a faster detection time (~30 min) could be achieved by introducing RCA.

Keywords: EGFR19, cancer, diagnosis, rolling circle amplification (RCA), hydrogel

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Authors: Youssef Abdelli, Rachid Nasri

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The large amplitude free vibration analysis of three-layered symmetric sandwich beams is carried out using two different approaches. The governing nonlinear partial differential equations of motion in free natural vibration are derived using Hamilton's principle. The formulation leads to two nonlinear partial differential equations that are coupled both in axial and binding deformations. In the first approach, the method of multiple scales is applied directly to the governing equation that is a nonlinear partial differential equation. In the second approach, we discretize the governing equation by using Galerkin's procedure and then apply the shooting method to the obtained ordinary differential equations. In order to check the validity of the solutions obtained by the two approaches, they are compared with the solutions obtained by two approaches; they are compared with the solutions obtained numerically by the finite difference method.

Keywords: finite difference method, large amplitude vibration, multiple scales, nonlinear vibration

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Authors: Waleed Omri

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With the growth of the small business sector in emerging markets, developing a better understanding of what drives 'day-to-day' entrepreneurial activities has become an important issue for academicians and practitioners. Innovation, as an entrepreneurial behavior, revolves around individuals who creatively engage in new organizational efforts. In a similar vein, the innovation behaviors and processes at the organizational member level are central to any corporate entrepreneurship strategy. Despite the broadly acknowledged importance of entrepreneurship and innovation at the individual level in the establishment of successful ventures, the literature lacks evidence on how entrepreneurs can effectively harness their skills and knowledge in the workplace. The existing literature illustrates that religion can impact the day-to-day work behavior of entrepreneurs, managers, and employees. Religious beliefs and practices could affect daily entrepreneurial activities by fostering mental abilities and traits such as creativity, intelligence, and self-efficacy. In the present study, we define religious capital as a set of personal and intangible resources, skills, and competencies that emanate from an individual’s religious values, beliefs, practices, and experiences and may be used to increase the quality of economic activities. Religious beliefs and practices give individuals a religious satisfaction, which can lead them to perform better in the workplace. In addition, religious ethics and practices have been linked to various positive employee outcomes in terms of organizational change, job satisfaction, and entrepreneurial intensity. As investigations of their consequences beyond direct task performance are still scarce, we explore if religious capital plays a role in entrepreneurs’ innovative behavior. In sum, this study explores the determinants of individual entrepreneurial behavior by investigating the relationship between religious capital and entrepreneurs’ innovative behavior in the context of small businesses. To further explain and clarify the religious capital-innovative behavior link, the present study proposes a model to examine the mediating role of entrepreneurial creativity. We use both Islamic work ethics (IWE) and Islamic religious practices (IRP) to measure Islamic religious capital. We use structural equation modeling with a robust maximum likelihood estimation to analyze data gathered from 289 Tunisian small businesses and to explore the relationships among the above-described variables. In line with the theory of planned behavior, only religious work ethics are found to increase the innovative behavior of small businesses’ owner-managers. Our findings also clearly demonstrate that the connection between religious capital-related variables and innovative behavior is better understood if the influence of entrepreneurial creativity, as a mediating variable of the aforementioned relationship, is taken into account. By incorporating both religious capital and entrepreneurial creativity into the innovative behavior analysis, this study provides several important practical implications for promoting innovation process in small businesses.

Keywords: entrepreneurial behavior, small business, religion, creativity

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Authors: Feng-jie Xie, Jian-hong Yan

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Based on the complex network theory, we construct the air cargo network of the Belt and Road area, analyze its regional distribution and structural characteristics, measure the robustness of the network. The regional distribution results show that Southeast Asia and China have the most prominent development in the air cargo network of the Belt and Road area, Central Asia is the least developed. The structure characteristics found that the air cargo network has obvious small-world characteristics; the degree distribution has single-scale property; it shows a significant rich-club phenomenon simultaneously. The network robustness is measured by two attack strategies of degree and betweenness, but the betweenness of network nodes has a greater impact on network connectivity. And identified 24 key cities that have a large impact on the robustness of the network under the two attack strategies. Based on these results, recommendations are given to maintain the air cargo network connectivity in the Belt and Road area.

Keywords: air cargo, complex network, robustness, structure properties, The Belt and Road

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Authors: Corinne Zurmuehle, Andreas Christoph Weber

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In 2019, the Swiss Federal Institute of Sport Magglingen (SFISM) conducted a mixed-methods study on the Swiss elite sports system, which yielded a large quantity of research data. In a quantitative online survey, 1151 elite sports athletes, 542 coaches, and 102 Performance Directors of national sports federations (NF) have submitted their perceptions of the national support measures of the Swiss elite sports system. These data provide an essential database for the further development of the Swiss elite sports system. The results were published in a report presenting the results divided into 40 Olympic summer and 14 winter sports (Olympic classification). The authors of this paper assume that, in practice, this division is too unspecific to assess where further measures would be needed. The aim of this paper is to find appropriate parameters for data visualization in order to identify disparities in sports promotion that allow an assessment of where further interventions by Swiss Olympic (NF umbrella organization) are required. Method: First, the variable 'salary earned from sport' was defined as a variable to measure the impact of elite sports promotion. This variable was chosen as a measure as it represents an important indicator for the professionalization of elite athletes and therefore reflects national level sports promotion measures applied by Swiss Olympic. Afterwards, the variable salary was tested with regard to the correlation between Olympic classification [a], calculating the Eta coefficient. To estimate the appropriate parameters for data visualization, the correlation between salary and four further parameters was analyzed by calculating the Eta coefficient: [a] sport; [b] prioritization (from 1 to 5) of the sports by Swiss Olympic; [c] gender; [d] employment level in sports. Results & Discussion: The analyses reveal a very small correlation between salary and Olympic classification (ɳ² = .011, p = .005). Gender demonstrates an even small correlation (ɳ² = .006, p = .014). The parameter prioritization was correlating with small effect (ɳ² = .017, p = .001) as did employment level (ɳ² = .028, p < .001). The highest correlation was identified by the parameter sport with a moderate effect (ɳ² = .075, p = .047). The analyses show that the disparities in sports promotion cannot be determined by a particular parameter but presumably explained by a combination of several parameters. We argue that the possibility of combining parameters for data visualization should be enabled when the analysis is provided to Swiss Olympic for further strategic decision-making. However, the inclusion of multiple parameters massively multiplies the number of graphs and is therefore not suitable for practical use. Therefore, we suggest to apply interactive dashboards for data visualization using Business Intelligence Software. Practical & Theoretical Contribution: This contribution provides the first attempt to use Business Intelligence Software for strategic decision-making in national level sports regarding the prioritization of national resources for sports and athletes. This allows to set specific parameters with a significant effect as filters. By using filters, parameters can be combined and compared against each other and set individually for each strategic decision.

Keywords: data visualization, business intelligence, Swiss elite sports system, strategic decision-making

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Authors: Gangmin Li, Fan Yang

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Personalized recommendation is crucial for any recommendation system. One of the techniques for personalized recommendation is to identify the intention. Traditional user intention identification uses the user’s selection when facing multiple items. This modeling relies primarily on historical behaviour data resulting in challenges such as the cold start, unintended choice, and failure to capture intention when items are new. Motivated by recent advancements in Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, we present an approach for user intention identification by embracing LLMs with Chain-of-Thought (CoT) prompting. We use the initial user profile as input to LLMs and design a collection of prompts to align the LLM's response through various recommendation tasks encompassing rating prediction, search and browse history, user clarification, etc. Our tests on real-world datasets demonstrate the improvements in recommendation by explicit user intention identification and, with that intention, merged into a user model.

Keywords: personalized recommendation, generative user modelling, user intention identification, large language models, chain-of-thought prompting

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Authors: A. J. Otjen

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Native American communities are struggling with unemployment and depressed economies. A major cause is a lack of business knowledge, education, and cultural desire. And yet, in the history of the American West, Native Americans were considered the best traders and negotiators for everything from furs to weapons to buffalo. To improve these economies, there has been an effort to reintroduce that heritage to todays and tomorrows generation of tribal members, such Crow, Cheyenne, and Blackfeet. Professors at the College of Business Montana State University-Billings (MSUB) teach tribal students in Montana to create business plans. These plans have won national small business plan competitions. The teaching and advising method used at MSUB is uniquely successful as theses business students are now five time national champions. This article reviews the environment and the method of learning to achieve a winning small business plan with Native American students. It discusses the five plans that became national champions. And it discusses the problems and solutions discovered in the process of achieving results. Students who participated in this endeavor have graduated and become CPAs, MBAs, and gainfully employed in their chosen professions. They have also worked to improve the economies of their native lands and homes. By educating members of these communities with business strategy and plan development, they are better able to impact their own economies.

Keywords: entrepreneurship, native American economies, small businesses, unemployment

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Authors: Barbara Montwill

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The last three decades of continuing increase in the farming of aquatic animals worldwide placed a biosecurity in a different perspective. An introduction of new countries, technologies, species to aquaculture, increased movement of animals are a few factors the might be associated with biosecurity risks. Most farms depend on trade for various inputs such as broodstock, post-larvae/fingerlings and feed. These inputs represent potential pathways by which pathogens can enter farming operations and create conditions for emergence of new or reoccurrence of diseases and production loses. Farm biosecurity should be considered an essential component of a national aquatic animal biosecurity program and together with adequate import and export controls can lead to the development of successful aquaculture industry as a reliable source of safe seafood product. This presentation would describe some biosecurity management approaches to minimize the negative impact of aquatic diseases on production and preserve the power of antibiotics.

Keywords: aquaculture, biosecurity, antibiotics, antibiotics residues

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Authors: Nadia Ezzat Al-Kirbasee, Ahlam Hussein Hassan, Shatha Raheem Helal Alhimidi, Doaa Ezzat Al-Kirbasee, Muhsen Abood Muhsen Al-Ibadi

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Through DFT/QTAIM calculations, we have provided new insights into the nature of the M-M, M-H, M-O, and M-C bonds of the (Cp*Ru)n(Cp*Os)3−n(μ3-O)2(μ-H)(Cp* = η5-C5Me5, n= 3,2,1,0). The topological analysis of the electron density reveals important details of the chemical bonding interactions in the clusters. Calculations confirm the absence of bond critical points (BCP) and the corresponding bond paths (BP) between Ru-Ru, Ru-Os, and Os-Os. The position of bridging hydrides and Oxo atoms coordinated to Ru-Ru, Ru-Os, and Os-Os determines the distribution of the electron densities and which strongly affects the formation of the bonds between these transition metal atoms. On the other hand, the results confirm that the four clusters contain a 6c–12e and 4c–2e bonding interaction delocalized over M3(μ-H)(μ-O)2 and M3(μ-H), respectively, as revealed by the non-negligible delocalization indexes calculations. The small values for electron density ρ(b) above zero, together with the small values, again above zero, for laplacian ∇2ρ(b) and the small negative values for total energy density H(b) are shown by the Ru-H, Os-H, Ru-O, and Os-O bonds in the four clusters are typical of open shell interactions. Also, the topological data for the bonds between Ru and Os atoms with the C atoms of the pentamethylcyclopentadienyl (Cp*) ring ligands are basically similar and show properties very consistent with open shell interactions in the QTAIM classification.

Keywords: metal-metal and metal-ligand interactions, organometallic complexes, topological analysis, DFT and QTAIM analyses

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Authors: R. Hasterok, A. Betekhtin, N. Borowska, A. Braszewska-Zalewska, E. Breda, K. Chwialkowska, R. Gorkiewicz, D. Idziak, J. Kwasniewska, M. Kwasniewski, D. Siwinska, A. Wiszynska, E. Wolny

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In contrast to animals, the organisation of plant genomes at the cytomolecular level is still relatively poorly studied and understood. However, the Brachypodium genus in general and B. distachyon in particular represent exceptionally good model systems for such study. This is due not only to their highly desirable ‘model’ biological features, such as small nuclear genome, low chromosome number and complex phylogenetic relations, but also to the rapidly and continuously growing repertoire of experimental tools, such as large collections of accessions, WGS information, large insert (BAC) libraries of genomic DNA, etc. Advanced cytomolecular techniques, such as fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH) with evermore sophisticated probes, empowered by cutting-edge microscope and digital image acquisition and processing systems, offer unprecedented insight into chromatin organisation at various phases of the cell cycle. A good example is chromosome painting which uses pools of chromosome-specific BAC clones, and enables the tracking of individual chromosomes not only during cell division but also during interphase. This presentation outlines the present status of molecular cytogenetic analyses of plant genome structure, dynamics and evolution using B. distachyon and some of its relatives. The current projects focus on important scientific questions, such as: What mechanisms shape the karyotypes? Is the distribution of individual chromosomes within an interphase nucleus determined? Are there hot spots of structural rearrangement in Brachypodium chromosomes? Which epigenetic processes play a crucial role in B. distachyon embryo development and selective silencing of rRNA genes in Brachypodium allopolyploids? The authors acknowledge financial support from the Polish National Science Centre (grants no. 2012/04/A/NZ3/00572 and 2011/01/B/NZ3/00177)

Keywords: Brachypodium, B. distachyon, chromosome, FISH, molecular cytogenetics, nucleus, plant genome organisation

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Authors: Brian Ceh, Alison Jackson-Holland

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Food deserts are a reality in some cities. These deserts can be described as a shortage of healthy food options within close proximity of consumers. The shortage in this case is typically facilitated by a lack of stores in an urban area that provide adequate fruit and vegetable choices. This study explores new avenues to better understand food deserts by examining modes of transportation that are available to shoppers or consumers, e.g. walking, automobile, or public transit. Further, this study is unique in that it not only explores the location of large grocery stores, but small grocery and convenience stores too. In this study, the relationship between some socio-economic indicators, such as personal income, are also explored to determine any possible association with food deserts. In addition, to help facilitate our understanding of food deserts, complex network spatial models that are built on adequate algorithms are used to investigate the possibility of food deserts in the city of Hamilton, Canada. It is found that Hamilton, Canada is adequate serviced by retailers who provide healthy food choices and that the food desert phenomena is almost absent.

Keywords: Canada, desert, food, Hamilton, store

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Authors: Nkongho Ayuketang Arreyndip, Ebobenow Joseph

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In this paper, to model a real life wind turbine, a probabilistic approach is proposed to model the dynamics of the blade elements of a small axial wind turbine under extreme stochastic wind speeds conditions. It was found that the power and the torque probability density functions even though decreases at these extreme wind speeds but are not infinite. Moreover, we also found that it is possible to stabilize the power coefficient (stabilizing the output power) above rated wind speeds by turning some control parameters. This method helps to explain the effect of turbulence on the quality and quantity of the harness power and aerodynamic torque.

Keywords: probability, probability density function, stochastic, turbulence

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Authors: Hugo Espinosa-Andrews

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Introduction: Yogurt is widely accepted worldwide due to its high nutritional value, consistency, and texture. Their rheological properties play a significant role in consumer acceptance and are related to the manufacturing process and formulation. Typically, the viscoelastic characteristics of yogurts are studied using the small amplitude oscillatory shear test; however, the initial stages of flow and oral processing are described in the nonlinear zone, in which a large amplitude oscillatory stress test is applied. The objective of this work was to analyze the nonlinear viscoelastic behavior of commercial yogurts using Lissajous curves. Methods: Two commercial yogurts were purchased in a local store in Guadalajara Jalisco Mexico: a natural Greek-style yogurt and a low-fat traditional yogurt. Viscoelastic properties were evaluated using a large amplitude oscillatory stress procedure (LAOS). A crosshatch geometry of 40 mm and a truncation of 1000 µm were used. Stress sweeps were performed at 6.28 rad/s from 1 to 250 Pa at 5°C. The nonlinear viscoelastic properties were analyzed using the Lissajous curves. Results: The yogurts showed strain-viscoelastic behavior related to deformation-dependent materials. In the low-strain region, the elastic modulus predominated over the viscous modulus, showing gel-elastic properties. The sol-gel transitions were observed at approximately 66.5 Pa for the Greek yogurt, double that detected for traditional yogurt. The viscoelastic behavior of the yogurts was characteristic of weak excess deformation: behavior indicating a stable molecular structure at rest, and moderate structure at medium shear-forces. The normalized Lissajous curves characterized viscoelastic transitions of the yogurt as the stress increased. Greater viscoelasticity deformation was observed in Greek yogurt than in traditional yogurt, which is related to the presence of a protein network with a greater degree of crosslinking. Conclusions: The yogurt composition influences the viscoelastic properties of the material. Yogurt with the higher percentage of protein has greater viscoelastic and viscous properties, which describe a product of greater consistency and creaminess.

Keywords: yogurt, viscoelastic properties, LAOS, elastic modulus

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Authors: Teerada Apibunyopas, Nithinant Thammakoranonta

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Many organizations bring e-Learning to use as a tool in their training and human development department. It is getting more popular because it is easy to access to get knowledge all the time and also it provides a rich content, which can develop the employees skill efficiently. This study focused on the factors that affect using e-Learning efficiently, so it will make job satisfaction increased. The questionnaires were sent to employees in large commercial banks, which use e-Learning located in Bangkok, the results from multiple linear regression analysis showed that employee’s characteristics, characteristics of e-Learning, learning and growth have influence on job satisfaction.

Keywords: e-Learning, job satisfaction, learning and growth, Bangkok

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Authors: Melliti Rihab, Zaeid Sonia, Khechine Wiem, Daldoul Amira

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Introduction: Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death. Its incidence is increasing, and its prognosis remains pejorative. We present the clinical, pathological, and therapeutic characteristics of bronchopulmonary cancer (BPC) in Tunisia. Methods: Retrospective study including patients followed in the oncology department of the University Hospital of Monastir between April 2014 and December 2021 suffering from lung cancer. Results: These are 117 patients, including 86.3% men and 13.7% women (sex ratio 6.3). The average age was 64 years ± 9 (37-83), with 95.7% being over 50 years old. Patients were smokers in 82% of cases. The clinical signs were dominated by chest pain (27.5%) and dyspnea in 21.1% of cases. In 6 patients, an episode of COVID-19 infection revealed the diagnosis. Half of the patients had a PS between 0 and 1. Small cell lung cancer was present in 18 patients (15.4%). The majority of non small cell lung cancer was of the adenocarcinoma type (68.7%). The diagnosis was late (stage IV) in 62.4% of cases. BPC was metastatic to bone (52%), contralateral lung (25.9%), and brain (27.3%). Patients were oligometastatic in 26% of cases. Surgery and radiotherapy were performed respectively in 14.5% and 23.1% of cases. Three-quarters of the patients had had nutrition (75.2%). The ROS1 mutation was present in 1 patient. PDL-1 expression was >40% in 2 patients. Survival was mean eight months ± 7.4. Conclusion: Lung cancer is diagnosed at a late stage in Tunisia. The lack of molecular study for non-small cell PBC and the lack of marketing authorization for tyrosine kinase inhibitors in Tunisia make the management incomplete.

Keywords: SCLC, NCSLC, ROS1, PDL1

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Authors: Mohamed Boualem Salah

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The size and shape of soil particles reflect the formation history of the grains. In turn, the macro scale behavior of the soil mass results from particle level interactions which are affected by particle shape. Sphericity, roundness and smoothness characterize different scales associated to particle shape. New experimental data and data from previously published studies are gathered into two databases to explore the effects of particle shape on packing as well as small and large-strain properties of sandy soils. Data analysis shows that increased particle irregularity (angularity and/or eccentricity) leads to: an increase in emax and emin, a decrease in stiffness yet with increased sensitivity to the state of stress, an increase in compressibility under zero-lateral strain loading, and an increase in critical state friction angle φcs and intercept Γ with a weak effect on slope λ. Therefore, particle shape emerges as a significant soil index property that needs to be properly characterized and documented, particularly in clean sands and gravels. The systematic assessment of particle shape will lead to a better understanding of sand behavior.

Keywords: angularity, eccentricity, shape particle, behavior of soil

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Authors: Hirofumi Miyajima, Kazuya Kishida, Noritaka Shigei, Hiromi Miyajima

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Most of self-tuning fuzzy systems, which are automatically constructed from learning data, are based on the steepest descent method (SDM). However, this approach often requires a large convergence time and gets stuck into a shallow local minimum. One of its solutions is to use fuzzy rule modules with a small number of inputs such as DIRMs (Double-Input Rule Modules) and SIRMs (Single-Input Rule Modules). In this paper, we consider a (generalized) DIRMs model composed of double and single-input rule modules. Further, in order to reduce the redundant modules for the (generalized) DIRMs model, pruning and generative learning algorithms for the model are suggested. In order to show the effectiveness of them, numerical simulations for function approximation, Box-Jenkins and obstacle avoidance problems are performed.

Keywords: Box-Jenkins's problem, double-input rule module, fuzzy inference model, obstacle avoidance, single-input rule module

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Authors: Mehmet Akoz, Mustafa Kul

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Ewes and goats are seasonally polyestrus animals. Their reproductive activities are associated with the reduction or extending of daylight. Melatonin releasing from pineal gland regulates the sexual activities depending on daylight. In recent years, number of ewes decreased in our country. This situation dispatched to developing of some methods to increase productivity. Small ruminants can be synchronized with the natural and medical methods. known methods from natural light set with ram and goat participation. The most important natural methods of male influence, daylight is regulated and feed. On the other hand, progestagens, PGF2α, melatonin, and gonadotropins are commonly used for the purpose of estrus synchranization. But it is not effective PGF2α anestrous season The short-term and long-term progesterone treatment was effective to synchronize estrus in small ruminats during both breeding and anestrus seasons. Alternative choices of progesterone/progestagen have been controlled internal drug release (CIDR) devices, supplying natural progesterone, norgestomet implants, and orally active melengestrol acetate Melatonin anestrous season and should be applied during the transition period, but the season can be synchronized. Estrus synchronisation shortens anestrus season, decreases labor for mating/insemination and estrus pursuit, and induces multiple pregnancies.

Keywords: ewes, goat, synchronization, progestagen, PGF2α

Procedia PDF Downloads 340

Authors: Fikremariam Beyene, Getachew Bekele

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Ethiopia is currently on the move with various projects to raise the amount of power generated in the country. The progress observed in recent years indicates this fact clearly and indisputably. The rural electrification program, the modernization of the power transmission system, the development of wind farm is some of the main accomplishments worth mentioning. As it is well known, currently, wind power is globally embraced as one of the most important sources of energy mainly for its environmentally friendly characteristics, and also that once it is installed, it is a source available free of charge. However, integration of wind power plant with an existing network has many challenges that need to be given serious attention. In Ethiopia, a number of wind farms are either installed or are under construction. A series of wind farm is planned to be installed in the near future. Ashegoda Wind farm (13.2°, 39.6°), which is the subject of this study, is the first large scale wind farm under construction with the capacity of 120 MW. The first phase of 120 MW (30 MW) has been completed and is expected to be connected to the grid soon. This paper is concerned with the investigation of the wind farm interaction with the national grid under transient operating condition. The main concern is the fault ride through (FRT) capability of the system when the grid voltage drops to exceedingly low values because of short circuit fault and also the active and reactive power behavior of wind turbines after the fault is cleared. On the wind turbine side, a detailed dynamic modelling of variable speed wind turbine of a 1 MW capacity running with a squirrel cage induction generator and full-scale power electronics converters is done and analyzed using simulation software DIgSILENT PowerFactory. On the Ethiopian electric power corporation side, after having collected sufficient data for the analysis, the grid network is modeled. In the model, a fault ride-through (FRT) capability of the plant is studied by applying 3-phase short circuit on the grid terminal near the wind farm. The results show that the Ashegoda wind farm can ride from voltage deep within a short time and the active and reactive power performance of the wind farm is also promising.

Keywords: squirrel cage induction generator, active and reactive power, DIgSILENT PowerFactory, fault ride-through capability, 3-phase short circuit

Procedia PDF Downloads 164

Authors: R. G. Ramírez-Chavarría, C. Sánchez-Pérez, V. Argueta-Díaz

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In this paper we present the design of an optical device based on a Herriott multi-pass cell fabricated on a small sized acrylic slab for heat flux measurements using the deflection of a laser beam propagating inside the cell. The beam deflection is produced by the heat flux conducted to the acrylic slab due to a gradient in the refractive index. The use of a long path cell as the sensitive element in this measurement device, gives the possibility of high sensitivity within a small size device. We present the optical design as well as some experimental results in order to validate the device’s operation principle.

Keywords: heat flux, Herriott cell, optical beam deflection, thermal conductivity

Procedia PDF Downloads 647

Authors: Robert Pellerin, Michel Gamache, Remi Trudeau, Nathalie Perrier

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The context of large engineering projects is particularly favorable to the appearance of engineering changes and contractual modifications. These elements are potential causes for claims. In this paper, we investigate one of the critical components of the claim management process: the calculation of the impacts of changes in terms of losses of productivity due to the need to accelerate some project activities. When project changes are initiated, delays can arise. Indeed, project activities are often executed in fast-tracking in an attempt to respect the completion date. But the acceleration of project execution and the resulting rework can entail important costs as well as induce productivity losses. In the past, numerous methods have been proposed to quantify the duration of delays, the gains achieved by project acceleration, and the loss of productivity. The calculation related to those changes can be divided into two categories: direct cost and indirect cost. The direct cost is easily quantifiable as opposed to indirect costs which are rarely taken into account during the calculation of the cost of an engineering change or contract modification despite several research projects have been made on this subject. However, proposed models have not been accepted by companies yet, nor they have been accepted in court. Those models require extensive data and are often seen as too specific to be used for all projects. These techniques are also ignoring the resource constraints and the interdependencies between the causes of delays and the delays themselves. To resolve this issue, this research proposes a simulation model that mimics how major engineering changes or contract modifications are handled in large construction projects. The model replicates the use of overtime in a reactive scheduling mode in order to simulate the loss of productivity present when a project change occurs. Multiple tests were conducted to compare the results of the proposed simulation model with statistical analysis conducted by other researchers. Different scenarios were also conducted in order to determine the impact the number of activities, the time of occurrence of the change, the availability of resources, and the type of project changes on productivity loss. Our results demonstrate that the number of activities in the project is a critical variable influencing the productivity of a project. When changes occur, the presence of a large number of activities leads to a much lower productivity loss than a small number of activities. The speed of reducing productivity for 30-job projects is about 25 percent faster than the reduction speed for 120-job projects. The moment of occurrence of a change also shows a significant impact on productivity. Indeed, the sooner the change occurs, the lower the productivity of the labor force. The availability of resources also impacts the productivity of a project when a change is implemented. There is a higher loss of productivity when the amount of resources is restricted.

Keywords: engineering changes, indirect costs overtime, productivity, scheduling, simulation

Procedia PDF Downloads 234

Authors: R. Jannat, N. S. Juyena, F. Y. Bari, M. N. Islam

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Understanding anatomy of female reproductive organs is very much important to identify any variation in disease condition. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine the morphometry of female reproductive tract in small ruminant using ultrasonography. The reproductive tracts of 2l does and 20 ewes were collected, and both gross and ultrasonographic image measurements were performed to study morphometry of cervix, body of uterus, horn of uterus and ovary. Water bath ultrasonography technique was used with trans-abdominal linear probe for image measurements. Results revealed significant (P<0.001) variation among gross and image measurements of cervix, body of uterus and ovaries in does whereas, significant (P<0.001) variation existed between gross and image measurements of ovaries diameter in ewes. Gross measurements were proportionately higher than image measurements in both species. The mean length and width were found higher in right ovaries than those of left ovaries. In addition, the diameter of right ovaries was higher than those of left ovaries in both species. Pearson's correlation revealed a positive relation between two measurements. Moreover, it was found that echogenicity varied with reproductive organs. This is a model study. This study may help to identify female reproductive structures by trans-abdominal ultrasonography.

Keywords: female reproductive tract, morphometry, small ruminants, ultrasonography

Procedia PDF Downloads 266

Authors: Chante Van Tonder, Bart Bossink, Chris Schachtebeck, Cecile Nieuwenhuizen

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Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) play a key role in national economies around the world, being contributors to economic and social well-being. Due to this, the success, growth and competitiveness of SMEs are critical. However, there are many factors that undermine this, such as resource constraints, poor information communication infrastructure (ICT), skills shortages and poor management. The Fourth Industrial Revolution offers new tools and opportunities such as digital transformation and business model innovation (BMI) to the SME sector to enhance its competitiveness. Adopting and leveraging digital technologies such as cloud, mobile technologies, big data and analytics can significantly improve business efficiencies, value proposition and customer experiences. Digital transformation can contribute to the growth and competitiveness of SMEs. However, SMEs are lagging behind in the participation of digital transformation. Extant research lacks conceptual and empirical research on how digital transformation drives BMI and the impact it has on the growth and competitiveness of SMEs. The purpose of the study is, therefore, to close this gap by developing and empirically validating a conceptual model to determine if SMEs are achieving BMI through digital transformation and how this is impacting the growth, competitiveness and overall business performance. An empirical study is being conducted on 300 SMEs, consisting of 150 South-African and 150 Dutch SMEs, to achieve this purpose. Structural equation modeling is used, since it is a multivariate statistical analysis technique that is used to analyse structural relationships and is a suitable research method to test the hypotheses in the model. Empirical research is needed to gather more insight into how and if SMEs are digitally transformed and how BMI can be driven through digital transformation. The findings of this study can be used by SME business owners, managers and employees at all levels. The findings will indicate if digital transformation can indeed impact the growth, competitiveness and overall performance of an SME, reiterating the importance and potential benefits of adopting digital technologies. In addition, the findings will also exhibit how BMI can be achieved in light of digital transformation. This study contributes to the body of knowledge in a highly relevant and important topic in management studies by analysing the impact of digital transformation on BMI on a large number of SMEs that are distinctly different in economic and cultural factors

Keywords: business models, business model innovation, digital transformation, SMEs

Procedia PDF Downloads 232

Authors: N. Boutra, N. Ravot, J. Benoit, O. Picon

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Submarine power cables used for offshore wind farms electric energy distribution and transmission are subject to numerous threats. Some of the risks are associated with transport, installation and operating in harsh marine environment. This paper describes the feasibility of an electromagnetic low frequency sensing technique for submarine power cable failure prediction. The impact of a structural damage shape and material variability on the induced electric field is evaluated. The analysis is performed by modeling the cable using the finite element method, we use sensitivity analysis in order to identify the main damage characteristics affecting electric field variation. Lastly, we discuss the results obtained.

Keywords: electromagnetism, finite element method, sensitivity analysis, submarine power cables

Procedia PDF Downloads 349