Search results for: villa house type

Authors: Chan Jong Park, Hye Min Park, Jeong Ho Kim, Ki Hyun Park, Koan Sik Joo

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This research used the MCNPX simulation program to evaluate the utility of a filter that was developed to minimize the damage to a semiconductor device during defect testing with X-ray. The X-ray generator was designed using the MCNPX code, and the X-ray absorption spectrum of the semiconductor device was obtained based on the designed X-ray generator code. To evaluate the utility of the filter, the X-ray absorption rates of the semiconductor device were calculated and compared for Ag, Rh, Mo and V filters with thicknesses of 25μm, 50μm, and 75μm. The results showed that the X-ray absorption rate varied with the type and thickness of the filter, ranging from 8.74% to 49.28%. The Rh filter showed the highest X-ray absorption rates of 29.8%, 15.18% and 8.74% for the above-mentioned filter thicknesses. As shown above, the characteristics of the X-ray absorption with respect to the type and thickness of the filter were identified using MCNPX simulation. With these results, both time and expense could be saved in the production of the desired filter. In the future, this filter will be produced, and its performance will be evaluated.

Keywords: X-ray, MCNPX, filter, semiconductor, damage

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Authors: Mequanent Wale Mekonen, Edoardo Otranto, Angela Alibrandi

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Diabetic kidney disease is one of the main microvascular complications caused by diabetes. Several clinical and biochemical variables are reported to be associated with diabetic kidney disease in people with type 2 diabetes. However, their interrelations could distort the effect estimation of these variables for the disease's progression. The objective of the study is to determine how the biochemical and clinical variables in people with type 2 diabetes are interrelated with each other and their effects on kidney disease progression through advanced statistical methods. First, principal component analysis was used to explore how the biochemical and clinical variables intercorrelate with each other, which helped us reduce a set of correlated biochemical variables to a smaller number of uncorrelated variables. Then, ordered logit regression models (cumulative, stage, and adjacent) were employed to assess the effect of biochemical and clinical variables on the order-level response variable (progression of kidney function) by considering the proportionality assumption for more robust effect estimation. This retrospective cross-sectional study retrieved data from a type 2 diabetic cohort in a polyclinic hospital at the University of Messina, Italy. The principal component analysis yielded three uncorrelated components. These are principal component 1, with negative loading of glycosylated haemoglobin, glycemia, and creatinine; principal component 2, with negative loading of total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein; and principal component 3, with negative loading of high-density lipoprotein and a positive load of triglycerides. The ordered logit models (cumulative, stage, and adjacent) showed that the first component (glycosylated haemoglobin, glycemia, and creatinine) had a significant effect on the progression of kidney disease. For instance, the cumulative odds model indicated that the first principal component (linear combination of glycosylated haemoglobin, glycemia, and creatinine) had a strong and significant effect on the progression of kidney disease, with an effect or odds ratio of 0.423 (P value = 0.000). However, this effect was inconsistent across levels of kidney disease because the first principal component did not meet the proportionality assumption. To address the proportionality problem and provide robust effect estimates, alternative ordered logit models, such as the partial cumulative odds model, the partial adjacent category model, and the partial continuation ratio model, were used. These models suggested that clinical variables such as age, sex, body mass index, medication (metformin), and biochemical variables such as glycosylated haemoglobin, glycemia, and creatinine have a significant effect on the progression of kidney disease.

Keywords: diabetic kidney disease, ordered logit model, principal component analysis, type 2 diabetes

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Authors: Aruma Baduge Kithma Hansanee De Silva

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Haskap (Lonicera caerulea L.), also known as blue honeysuckle, is a recently commercialized berry crop in Canada. Haskap berries are rich in polyphenols, including anthocyanins, which are known for potential health-promoting effects. Cyanidin-3-O-glucoside (C3G) is the most prominent anthocyanin of haskap berries. Recent literature reveals the efficacy of C3G in reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D), which has become an increasingly common health issue around the world. The T2D is characterized as a metabolic disorder of hyperglycemia and insulin resistance. It has been demonstrated that C3G has anti-diabetic effects in various ways, including improvement in insulin sensitivity, and inhibition of activities of carbohydrate-hydrolyzing enzymes, including alpha-amylase and alpha-glucosidase. The goal of this study was to investigate the influence of variety and harvesting date on haskap composition, biological properties, and antidiabetic properties. The polyphenolic compounds present in four commercially grown haskap cultivars, Aurora, Rebecca, Larissa and Evie among five harvesting stages (H1-H5), were extracted separately in 80% ethanol and analyzed to characterize their phenolic profiles. The haskap berries contain different types of polyphenols including flavonoids and phenolic acids. Anthocyanin is the major type of flavonoid. C3G is the most prominent type of anthocyanin, which accounts for 79% of total anthocyanin in all extracts. The variety Larissa at H5 contained the highest average C3G content, and its ethanol extract had the highest (1212.3±63.9 mg/100g FW) while, Evie at H1 contained the lowest C3G content (96.9±40.4 mg/100g FW). The average C3G content of Larissa from H1 – H5 varies from 208 – 1212 mg/100g FW. Quarcetin-3-Rutinoside (Q3Rut) is the major type of flavonol and highest is observed in Rebecca at H4 (47.81 mg/100g FW). The haskap berries also contained phenolic acids, but approximately 95% of the phenolic acids consisted of chlorogenic acid. The cultivar Larissa has a higher level of anthocyanin than the other four cultivars. The highest total phenolic content is observed in Evie at H5 (2.97±1.03 mg/g DW) while the lowest in Rebecca at H1 (1.47±0.96 mg/g DW). The antioxidant capacity of Evie at H5 was higher (14.40±2.21 µmol TE/ g DW) among other cultivars and the lowest observed in Aurora at H3 (5.69±0.34 µmol TE/ g DW). Furthermore, Larissa H5 shows the greatest inhibition of carbohydrate-hydrolyzing enzymes including alpha-glucosidase and alpha-amylase. In conclusion Larissa, at H5 demonstrated highest polyphenol composition and antidiabetic properties.

Keywords: anthocyanin, cyanidin-3-O-glucoside, haskap, type 2 diabetes

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Authors: Benoit Atge, Alice Dhersin, Oscar Da Silva Cacao, Beatrice Martinez, Dominique Ducint, Catherine Verdun-Esquer, Isabelle Baldi, Mathieu Molimard, Antoine Villa, Mireille Canal-Raffin

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Introduction: Healthcare workers' exposure to antineoplastic drugs (AD) is a burning issue for occupational medicine practitioners. Biological monitoring of occupational exposure (BMOE) is an essential tool for assessing AD contamination of healthcare workers. In addition to BMOE, surface sampling is a useful tool in order to understand how workers get contaminated, to identify sources of environmental contamination, to verify the effectiveness of surface decontamination way and to ensure monitoring of these surfaces. The objective of this work was to develop a complete tool including a kit for surface sampling and a quantification analytical method for AD traces detection. The development was realized with the three following criteria: the kit capacity to sample in every professional environment (healthcare services, veterinaries, etc.), the detection of very low AD traces with a validated analytical method and the easiness of the sampling kit use regardless of the person in charge of sampling. Material and method: AD mostly used in term of quantity and frequency have been identified by an analysis of the literature and consumptions of different hospitals, veterinary services, and home care settings. The kind of adsorbent device, surface moistening solution and mix of solvents for the extraction of AD from the adsorbent device have been tested for a maximal yield. The AD quantification was achieved by an ultra high-performance liquid chromatography method coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS). Results: With their high frequencies of use and their good reflect of the diverse activities through healthcare, 15 AD (cyclophosphamide, ifosfamide, doxorubicin, daunorubicin, epirubicin, 5-FU, dacarbazin, etoposide, pemetrexed, vincristine, cytarabine, methothrexate, paclitaxel, gemcitabine, mitomycin C) were selected. The analytical method was optimized and adapted to obtain high sensitivity with very low limits of quantification (25 to 5000ng/mL), equivalent or lowest that those previously published (for 13/15 AD). The sampling kit is easy to use, provided with a didactic support (online video and protocol paper). It showed its effectiveness without inter-individual variation (n=5/person; n= 5 persons; p=0,85; ANOVA) regardless of the person in charge of sampling. Conclusion: This validated tool (sampling kit + analytical method) is very sensitive, easy to use and very didactic in order to control the chemical risk brought by AD. Moreover, BMOE permits a focal prevention. Used in routine, this tool is available for every intervention of occupational health.

Keywords: surface contamination, sampling kit, analytical method, sensitivity

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Authors: Muhardiyan Erawan, Zaenal Mutaqin

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Balingara River is one of the rivers with the type Gravel-Bed in Indonesia. Gravel-Bed Rivers easily deformed in a relatively short time due to several variables, that are climate (rainfall), river discharge, topography, rock types, and land cover. To determine stream channel changes in Balingara River used Landsat 7 and 8 and analyzed planimetric or two dimensions. Parameters to determine changes in the stream channel are sinuosity ratio, Brice Index, the extent of erosion and deposition. Changes in stream channel associated with changes in land cover then analyze with a descriptive analysis of spatial and temporal. The location of a stream channel has a low gradient in the upstream, and middle watershed with the type of rock in the form of gravel is more easily changed than other locations. Changes in the area of erosion and deposition influence the land cover changes.

Keywords: Brice Index, erosion, deposition, gravel-bed, land cover change, sinuosity ratio, stream channel change

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Authors: Paweł Stączek, Tomasz Plech, Aleksandra Strzelczyk, Katarzyna Dzitko, Monika Wujec, Edyta Kuśmierz, Piotr Paneth, Agata Paneth

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In this contribution, we will describe the inhibitory potency of nine thiosemicarbazide derivatives against bacterial type IIA topoisomerases, their antibacterial profile, and molecular modeling evaluation. We have found that one of the tested compounds, 4-benzoyl-1-(2-methyl-furan-3-ylcarbonyl) thiosemicarbazide, remarkably inhibits the activity of S. aureus DNA gyrase with the IC50 below 5 μM. Besides, this compound displays antibacterial activity on Staphylococcus spp. and E. faecalis at non-cytotoxic concentrations in mammalian cells, with minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) values at 25 μg/mL. Based on the enzymatic and molecular modeling studies we propose two factors, i.e. geometry of molecule and hydrophobic/hydrophilic balance as important molecular properties for developing thiosemicarbazide derivatives as potent Staphylococcus aureus DNA gyrase inhibitors.

Keywords: bioactivity, drug design, topoisomerase, molecular modeling

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Authors: A. Papadopoulou

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When people are asked to provide an oral description of a space they usually provide a Tour description, which is a dynamic type of spatial narrative centered on the narrator’s body, rather than a Map description, which is a static type of spatial narrative focused on the organization of the space as seen from above. Also, subjects with training in the architecture discipline tend to adopt a Tour perspective of space when the narrative refers to a space they have actually experienced but tend to adopt a Map perspective when the narrative refers to a space they have merely imagined. This pilot study aims to investigate whether the Tour description, which is the most common mode in the oral descriptions of experienced space, is a cognitive perspective taken in the process of designing a space. The study investigates whether a spatial description provided by a subject with architecture training in the type of a Tour description would be accurately translated into a spatial layout by other subjects with architecture training. The subjects were given the Tour description in written form and were asked to make a plan drawing of the described space. The results demonstrate that when we conceive and design space we do not adopt the same rules and cognitive patterns that we adopt when we reconstruct space from our memory. As shown by the results of this pilot study, the rules that underlie the Tour description were not detected in the translation from narratives to drawings. In a different phase, the study also investigates how would subjects with architecture training describe space when forced to take a Tour perspective in their oral description of a space. The results of this second phase demonstrate that if intentionally taken, the Tour perspective leads to descriptions of space that are more detailed and focused on experiential aspects.

Keywords: architecture, design process, embodied cognition, map description, oral narratives, tour description

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Authors: Mohammad Saeed Bahramy

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Transition metal dichalcogenides have experienced a resurgence of interest in the past few years owing to their rich properties, ranging from metals and superconductors to strongly spin-orbit-coupled semiconductors and charge-density-wave systems. In all these cases, the transition metal d-electrons mainly determine the ground state properties. This presentation focuses on the chalcogen-derived states. Combining density-functional theory calculations with spin- and angle-resolved photoemission, it is shown that these states generically host a coexistence of type I and type II three-dimensional bulk Dirac fermions as well as ladders of topological surface states and surface resonances. It will be discussed how these naturally arise within a single p-orbital manifold as a general consequence of a trigonal crystal field, and as such can be expected across many compounds. Our finding opens a new route to design topological materials with advanced functionalities.

Keywords: topology, electronic structure, Dirac semimetals, transition metal dichalcogenides

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Authors: Noura Al Akkari, Aurélie Foucquier, Sylvain Lespinats

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Load monitoring is a management process for energy consumption towards energy savings and energy efficiency. Non Intrusive Load Monitoring (NILM) is one method of load monitoring used for disaggregation purposes. NILM is a technique for identifying individual appliances based on the analysis of the whole residence data retrieved from the main power meter of the house. Our NILM framework starts with data acquisition, followed by data preprocessing, then event detection, feature extraction, then general appliance modeling and identification at the final stage. The event detection stage is a core component of NILM process since event detection techniques lead to the extraction of appliance features. Appliance features are required for the accurate identification of the household devices. In this research work, we aim at developing a new event detection methodology with accurate load disaggregation to extract appliance features. Time-domain features extracted are used for tuning general appliance models for appliance identification and classification steps. We use unsupervised algorithms such as Dynamic Time Warping (DTW). The proposed method relies on detecting areas of operation of each residential appliance based on the power demand. Then, detecting the time at which each selected appliance changes its states. In order to fit with practical existing smart meters capabilities, we work on low sampling data with a frequency of (1/60) Hz. The data is simulated on Load Profile Generator software (LPG), which was not previously taken into consideration for NILM purposes in the literature. LPG is a numerical software that uses behaviour simulation of people inside the house to generate residential energy consumption data. The proposed event detection method targets low consumption loads that are difficult to detect. Also, it facilitates the extraction of specific features used for general appliance modeling. In addition to this, the identification process includes unsupervised techniques such as DTW. To our best knowledge, there exist few unsupervised techniques employed with low sampling data in comparison to the many supervised techniques used for such cases. We extract a power interval at which falls the operation of the selected appliance along with a time vector for the values delimiting the state transitions of the appliance. After this, appliance signatures are formed from extracted power, geometrical and statistical features. Afterwards, those formed signatures are used to tune general model types for appliances identification using unsupervised algorithms. This method is evaluated using both simulated data on LPG and real-time Reference Energy Disaggregation Dataset (REDD). For that, we compute performance metrics using confusion matrix based metrics, considering accuracy, precision, recall and error-rate. The performance analysis of our methodology is then compared with other detection techniques previously used in the literature review, such as detection techniques based on statistical variations and abrupt changes (Variance Sliding Window and Cumulative Sum).

Keywords: electrical disaggregation, DTW, general appliance modeling, event detection

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Authors: Auzair Mehmood, Mohammad Arif

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The LCT (Li, Cs and Ta rich)-type pegmatites, genetically related to peraluminous S-type granites, are being mined for strategic metals (SMs) and rare earth elements (REEs) around the world. This study investigates the SMs and REEs potentials of pegmatites that are spatially associated with an S-type granitic suite of the Himalayan sequence, specifically Mansehra Granitic Complex (MGC), northwest Pakistan. Geochemical signatures of the pegmatites and some of their mineral extracts were analyzed using Inductive Coupled Plasma Mass Spectroscopy (ICP-MS) technique to explore and generate potential prospects (if any) for SMs and REEs. In general, the REE patterns of the studied whole-rock pegmatite samples show tetrad effect and possess low total REE abundances, strong positive Europium (Eu) anomalies, weak negative Cesium (Cs) anomalies and relative enrichment in heavy REE. Similar features have been observed on the REE patterns of the feldspar extracts. However, the REE patterns of the muscovite extracts reflect preferential enrichment and possess negative Eu anomalies. The trace element evaluation further suggests that the MGC pegmatites have undergone low levels of fractionation. Various trace elements concentrations (and their ratios) including Ta versus Cs, K/Rb (Potassium/Rubidium) versus Rb and Th/U (Thorium/Uranium) versus K/Cs, were used to analyze the economically viable mineral potential of the studied rocks. On most of the plots, concentrations fall below the dividing line and confer either barren or low-level mineralization potential of the studied rocks for both SMs and REEs. The results demonstrate paucity of the MGC pegmatites with respect to Ta-Nb (Tantalum-Niobium) mineralization, which is in sharp contrast to many Pan-African S-type granites around the world. The MGC pegmatites are classified as muscovite pegmatites based on their K/Rb versus Cs relationship. This classification is consistent with the occurrence of rare accessory minerals like garnet, biotite, tourmaline, and beryl. Furthermore, the classification corroborates with an earlier sorting of the MCG pegmatites into muscovite-bearing, biotite-bearing, and subordinate muscovite-biotite types. These types of pegmatites lack any significant SMs and REEs mineralization potentials. Field relations, such as close spatial association with parent granitic rocks and absence of internal zonation structure, also reflect the barren character and hence lack of any potential prospects of the MGC pegmatites.

Keywords: exploration, fractionation, Himalayas, pegmatites, rare earth elements

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Authors: Morteza Habibi, Reza Amrollahi

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The Aluminum made targets were placed at the central part of a Fillipov type (90KJ) plasma focus cathode. These targets were exposed to perpendicular dense plasma stream incidence. Melt layer erosion by melt motion, surface smoothing, and bubble formation were some of different effects caused by diverse working conditions. Micro hardness of surface layer tends to decrease particularly in the central region of the sample where destruction is more intense. The most pronouced melt motion is registered in the region of the maximum gradient of pressure and the etching of aluminium surface is noticeable in the central part of target. The crater with a maximum depth of 200µm, and the diameter of about 8.5mm is observed close to the mountains. Adding Krypton admixture to the Deuterium gas lead to collapsing bubbles and greater surface damage.

Keywords: fillipov type plasma focus, al target interaction, bubbling effect, melt layer motion, surface smoothing

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Authors: Catherine Maware, Olufemi Adetunji

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The paper is aimed at developing a model to measure the impact of Lean manufacturing deployment on organizational performance. The model will help industry practitioners to assess the impact of implementing Lean constructs on organizational performance. It will also harmonize the measurement models of Lean performance with the house of Lean that seems to have become the industry standard. The sheer number of measurement models for impact assessment of Lean implementation makes it difficult for new adopters to select an appropriate assessment model or deployment methodology. A literature review is conducted to classify the Lean performance model. Pareto analysis is used to select the Lean constructs for the development of the model. The model is further formalized through the use of Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) in defining the underlying latent structure of a Lean system. An impact assessment measurement model developed can be used to measure Lean performance and can be adopted by different industries.

Keywords: impact measurement model, lean bundles, lean manufacturing, organizational performance

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Authors: Yihua Wang, Yunru Lai

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Statistical process control has been successfully applied in a variety of industries. In some applications, the quality of a process or product is better characterized and summarized by a functional relationship between a response variable and one or more explanatory variables. A collection of this type of data is called a profile. Profile monitoring is used to understand and check the stability of this relationship or curve over time. The independent assumption for the error term is commonly used in the existing profile monitoring studies. However, in many applications, the profile data show correlations over time. Therefore, we focus on a general linear regression model with a first-order autocorrelation between profiles in this study. We propose an exponentially weighted moving average charting scheme to monitor this type of profile. The simulation study shows that our proposed methods outperform the existing schemes based on the average run length criterion.

Keywords: autocorrelation, EWMA control chart, general linear regression model, profile monitoring

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Authors: Mi̇hri̇ban Müge Aras

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The present study aims to investigate the learner autonomy usage of prep school students. This research focuses on the prep school students' autonomy habits according to their self-regulated studies, age and duration of learning English. The research also analyzes whether prep school students have strong autonomy to learn the English language or depend on teachers and English classes only. The participants of the study consisted of 32 prep school students. The "Likert- type of questionnaire " was adopted by the researcher from the survey of Dede (2017). The scale was a one-dimensional 4-Likert type, which has the options of 1=never, 2= sometimes, 3=often, and 4=always. There are 19 questions in the questionnaire to understand the autonomy of students when they try to learn English. Descriptive statistics and OneANOVA were used to analyze the data. The results of the study showed that there is no significant correlation between their ages and their duration of learning English according to their autonomy studies for English.

Keywords: learner autonomy, self-regulated learning, independent learning, English language learning, prep school students

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Authors: Narong Anurak

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The objectives of this research were to investigate the knowledge and understanding of public relations principles for public relations officials of the office of the faculty of management science in Ratjabhat Suan Sunandha University and to determine the approach of public relations for the Office of Faculty of Management Science.  The questionnaire was utilized as a tool to collect data. Statistics utilized included frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, and regression analysis. The results of the research showed that the public relations officials misunderstood on public relations principles. The lack of the perception in media of the target groups both in-house and outside caused the misunderstanding on the roles, mission, and responsibilities. It would be beneficial to public relations division and other divisions of the office of the faculty of management science to be trained and obtained more knowledge and skills on the public relations to support the public relations work for the organization.

Keywords: faculty of management science, preparation in media, public relations, Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University

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Authors: S. Kaci, A. Keffous, O. Fellahi, I. Bozetine, H. Menari

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In this paper, we report the fabrication and characterization of Acropora-like lead sulfide nanostructured thin films using chemical bath deposition. The method has the strong points of low temperature and no surfactant, comparing with the other method. The preferential growth directions of the broad branches were indexed as along (200) directions. The photoelectrochemical property of the as-deposited thin films was also investigated. Photoelectrochemical characterization was performed in the aim to determine the flat band potential (Vfb) and to confirm the n-type character of PbS, elucidated from the J(V) curves both in the dark and under illumination. The apparition of the photocurrent Jph started at a potential VON of −0.41 V/ECS and increased towards the anodic direction, which is typical of n-type behavior. The near infrared absorbance spectrum displayed an absorbance edge at 1959 nm, showing blue shift comparing to bulk PbS (3020 nm). These nanostructured lead sulfide thin films may have potential application as dispersed photoelectrode capable of generating H2 under visible light.

Keywords: lead sulfide, nanostructures, photo-conversion, thin films

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Authors: Christoph Koester

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Supplier selection is one of the key issues in supply chain management with a growing emphasis on sustainability driven by increasing stakeholder expectations and proactivity. In addition, new regulations, such as the German Supply Chain Act, fostered the inclusion of sustainable incl. governance selection criteria in the selection process. In order to provide a systematic approach to select the most suitable sustainable suppliers, this study quantifies the importance and prioritizes the relevant selection criteria across 17 German industries using the Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process. Results show that economic criteria are still the most important in the selection decision averaging a global weight of 51%. However, environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria are combined, on average, almost equally important, with global weights of 22%, 16%, and 11%, respectively. While the type of industry influences criteria weights, other factors, such as type of purchasing or demographic factors, appear to have little impact.

Keywords: ESG, fuzzy analytical hierarchy process, sustainable supplier selection, sustainability

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Authors: Zohreh Derikvand

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Nanoreactors Zr-MCM-41were prepared via the reaction of ZrOCl2, Fumed silica, sodium hydroxide and cethyltrimethyl ammonium bromide under hydrothermal condition. The prepared nanoreactors were characterized by FT-IR spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning electron micrographs (SEM) and nitrogen adsorption-desorption. The XRD pattern of Zr-MCM-41 exhibits a high-intensity (100) and two low-intensity reflections (110 and 200) which are characteristic of hexagonal structure, exhibiting the long-range order and good textural uniformity of mesoporous structure. Based on the green chemistry approach, we report an efficient and environmentally benign protocol to study the catalytic activity of Zr-MCM-41 in the Biginelli type reactions initially. Nanoreactors Zr-MCM-41 were used as highly recoverable and reusable catalyst for synthesis of 3,4-dihydropyrimidin-2(1H)-one, octahydroquinazolinone, benzimidazolo-quinazolineone and 4,6-diarylpyrimidin-2(1H)-one. The methodology offers several advantages such as short reaction time, high yields and simple operation. The catalyst was active up to three cycles.

Keywords: Zr-MCM-41 nanoreactors, Biginelli like reactions, 3, 4-dihydropyrimidin-2(1H)-ones, ctahydroquinazolinones

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Authors: Irina M. Kolesnikova, Andrey M. Gaponov, Sergey A. Roumiantsev, Tatiana V. Grigoryeva, Alexander V. Laikov, Alexander V. Shestopalov

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Background. Neuropathy is a common complication of obesity. In this regard, the content of neurotrophins in such patients is of particular interest. Neurotrophins are the proteins that regulate neuron survival and neuroplasticity and include brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and nerve growth factor (NGF). However, the risk of complications depends on the metabolic type of obesity. Metabolically unhealthy obesity (MUHO) is associated with a high risk of complications, while this is not the case with metabolically healthy obesity (MHO). Therefore, the aim of our work was to study the effect of the obesity metabolic type on serum neurotrophins levels. Patients, materials, methods. The study included 134 healthy donors and 104 obese patients. Depending on the metabolic type of obesity, the obese patients were divided into subgroups with MHO (n=40) and MUHO (n=55). In the blood serum, the concentration of BDNF and NGF was determined. In addition, the content of adipokines (leptin, asprosin, resistin, adiponectin), myokines (irisin, myostatin, osteocrin), indicators of carbohydrate, and lipid metabolism were measured. Correlation analysis revealed the relationship between the studied parameters. Results. We found that serum BDNF concentration was not different between obese patients and healthy donors, regardless of obesity metabolic type. At the same time, in obese patients, there was a decrease in serum NGF level versus control. A similar trend was characteristic of both MHO and MUHO. However, MUHO patients had a higher NGF level than MHO patients. The literature indicates that obesity is associated with an increase in the plasma concentration of NGF. It can be assumed that in obesity, there is a violation of NGF storage in platelets, which accelerates neurotrophin degradation. We found that BDNF concentration correlated with irisin levels in MUHO patients. Healthy donors had a weak association between NGF and VEGF levels. No such association was found in obese patients, but there was an association between NGF and leptin concentrations. In MHO, the concentration of NHF correlated with the content of leptin, irisin, osteocrin, insulin, and the HOMA-IR index. But in MUHO patients, we found only the relationship between NGF and adipokines (leptin, asprosin). It can be assumed that in patients with MHO, the replenishment of serum NGF occurs under the influence of muscle and adipose tissue. In the MUHO patients only the effect of adipose tissue on NGF was observed. Conclusion. Obesity, regardless of metabolic type, is associated with a decrease in serum NGF concentration. We showed that muscle and adipose tissues make a significant contribution to the serum NGF pool in the MHO patients. In MUHO there is no effect of muscle on the NGF level, but the effect of adipose tissue remains.

Keywords: neurotrophins, nerve growth factor, NGF, brain-derived neurotrophic factor, BDNF, obesity, metabolically healthy obesity, metabolically unhealthy obesity

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Authors: A. Qayyum, G. Bilal, H. M. Waheed

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The objectives of the study were to determine phenotypic variations in Hairy goats for quantitative and qualitative traits and to analyze the relationship between different body measurements and body weight in Hairy goats. Data were collected from the Barani Livestock Production Research Institute (BLPRI) at Kherimurat, Attock and potential farmers who were raising hairy goats in the Potohar region. Twelve (12) phenotypic parameters were measured on 99 adult Hairy goat (18 male and 81 female). Four qualitative and 8 quantitative traits were investigated. Qualitative traits were visually observed and expressed as percentages. Descriptive analysis was done on quantitative variables. All hairy goats had predominately black body coat color (72%), whereas white (11%) and brown (11%) body coat color were also observed. Both the pigmented (45.5%) and non-pigmented (54.5%) type of body skin were observed in the goat breed. Horns were present in the majority (91%) of animals. Most of the animals (83%) had straight facial head profiles. Analysis was performed in SAS On-Demand for Academics using PROC mixed model procedure. Overall means ± SD of body weight (BW), body length (BL), height at wither (HAW), ear length (EL), head length (HL), heart girth (HG), tail length (TL) and MC (muzzle circumference) were 41.44 ± 12.21 kg, 66.40 ± 7.87 cm, 75.17 ± 7.83 cm, 22.99 ± 6.75 cm, 15.07 ± 3.44 cm, 76.54 ± 8.80 cm, 18.28 ± 4.18 cm, and 26.24 ± 5.192 cm, respectively. Sex had a significant effect on BL and HG (P < 0.05), whereas BW, HAW, EL, HL, TL, and MC were not significantly affected (P > 0.05). The herd had a significant effect on BW, BL, HAW, HL, HG, and TL (P < 0.05) except EL and MC (P > 0.05). Hairy goats appear to have the potential for selection as mutton breeds in the Potohar region of Punjab. The findings of the present study would help in the characterization and conservation of hairy goats using genetic and genomic tools in the future.

Keywords: body weight, Hairy goat, type traits Punjab, Pakistan

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Authors: Emmanuel A. David, Rebecca O. Soremekun, Roseline I. Aderemi-Williams

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Background: The complexities involved in the management of diabetes mellitus require a multi-dimensional, multi-professional collaborative and continuous care by health care providers and a substantial self-care by the patients in order to achieve desired treatment outcomes. The effect of pharmacists’ care in the management of diabetes in resource-endowed nations is well documented in literature, but randomised-controlled assessment of the impact of pharmacist-led care among patients with diabetes in resource-limited settings like Nigeria and sub-Saharan Africa countries is scarce. Objective: To evaluate the impact of Pharmacist-led care on glycaemic control in patients with uncontrolled type 2 diabetes, using a randomised-controlled study design Methods: This study employed a prospective randomised controlled design, to assess the impact of pharmacist-led care on glycaemic control of 108 poorly controlled type 2 diabetic patients. A total of 200 clinically diagnosed type 2 diabetes patients were purposively selected using fasting blood glucose ≥ 7mmol/L and tested for long term glucose control using Glycated haemoglobin measure. One hundred and eight (108) patients with ≥ 7% Glycated haemoglobin were recruited for the study and assigned unique identification numbers. They were further randomly allocated to intervention and usual care groups using computer generated random numbers, with each group containing 54 subjects. Patients in the intervention group received pharmacist-structured intervention, including education, periodic phone calls, adherence counselling, referral and 6 months follow-up, while patients in usual care group only kept clinic appointments with their physicians. Data collected at baseline and six months included socio-demographic characteristics, fasting blood glucose, Glycated haemoglobin, blood pressure, lipid profile. With an intention to treat analysis, Mann-Whitney U test was used to compared median change from baseline in the primary outcome (Glycated haemoglobin) and secondary outcomes measure, effect size was computed and proportion of patients that reached target laboratory parameter were compared in both arms. Results: All enrolled participants (108) completed the study, 54 in each study. Mean age was 51±11.75 and majority were female (68.5%). Intervention patients had significant reduction in Glycated haemoglobin (-0.75%; P<0.001; η2 = 0.144), with greater proportion attaining target laboratory parameter after 6 months of care compared to usual care group (Glycated haemoglobin: 42.6% vs 20.8%; P=0.02). Furthermore, patients who received pharmacist-led care were about 3 times more likely to have better glucose control (AOR 2.718, 95%CI: 1.143-6.461) compared to usual care group. Conclusion: Pharmacist-led care significantly improved glucose control in patients with uncontrolled type 2 diabetes mellitus and should be integrated in the routine management of diabetes patients, especially in resource-limited settings.

Keywords: glycaemic control , pharmacist-led care, randomised-controlled trial , type 2 diabetes mellitus

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Authors: Rabinder Singh Bharj, Sandeep Kumar

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This investigation presents preparation of sample and analysis of results of ballistic impact test as per EN 1063 on the size, thickness, number, position, and type of the bonding interlayer Polyvinyl Butyral, Poly Carbonate and Poly Urethane on bullet proof glass. It was observed that impact energy absorbed by bullet proof glass increases with the increase of the total thickness from 33mm to 42mm to 51mm for all the three samples respectively. Absorption impact energy is greater for samples with more number of bonding interlayers than with the number of glass layers for uniform increase in total sample thickness. There is no effect on the absorption impact energy with the change in position of the bonding interlayer.

Keywords: absorbed energy, bullet proof glass, laminated glass, safety glass

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Authors: Eghosa Morgan, Bourtarbouch Mahjouba, Heida El Ouahabi, Poluyi Edward, Diawarra Seylan

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Non-AIDS lymphoma, a type of primary central nervous system (CNS) lymphoma is an uncommon aggressive infiltrative malignant tumour involving several sites in the central nervous system, such as the periventricular region and leptomeninges. In this article, the authors presented a 26-year old man with painless progressive right exophthalmos and scalp swelling with no symptoms and signs of intracranial hypertension and hyperthyroidism. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) done revealed isointense masses with brilliant homogenous enhancement on contrast administration resembling a meningioma, with a dura tail – like attachment as seen in meningioma. He had surgery for the right orbital tumour and histopathological diagnosis confirmed our suspicion of lymphoma (B type). Steroid was given in the post-operative period which led to significant regression of the tumours, hence its description as ‘vanishing tumour’. He is presently receiving methotrexate-based chemotherapy and subsequently planned for radiotherapy.

Keywords: central nervous system (CNS), meningioma, non-aids lymphoma, orbital

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Authors: Chin-Chih Chang

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Many manufacturing systems suffer failures due to complex degradation processes and various environment conditions such as random shocks. Consider an operating system is subject to random shocks and works at random times for successive jobs. When successive jobs often result in production losses and performance deterioration, it would be better to do maintenance or replacement at a planned time. A preventive replacement (PR) policy is presented to replace the system before a failure occurs at a continuous time T. In such a policy, the failure characteristics of the system are designed as follows. Each job would cause a random amount of additive damage to the system, and the system fails when the cumulative damage has exceeded a failure threshold. Suppose that the deteriorating system suffers one of the two types of shocks with age-dependent probabilities: type-I (minor) shock is rectified by a minimal repair, or type-II (catastrophic) shock causes the system to fail. A corrective replacement (CR) is performed immediately when the system fails. In summary, a generalized maintenance model to scheduling replacement plan for an operating system is presented below. PR is carried out at time T, whereas CR is carried out when any type-II shock occurs and the total damage exceeded a failure level. The main objective is to determine the optimal continuous schedule time of preventive replacement through minimizing the mean cost rate function. The existence and uniqueness of optimal replacement policy are derived analytically. It can be seen that the present model is a generalization of the previous models, and the policy with preventive replacement outperforms the one without preventive replacement.

Keywords: preventive replacement, working time, cumulative damage model, minimal repair, imperfect maintenance, optimization

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Authors: Noura Al Akkari, Aurélie Foucquier, Sylvain Lespinats

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Load monitoring is a management process for energy consumption towards energy savings and energy efficiency. Non Intrusive Load Monitoring (NILM) is one method of load monitoring used for disaggregation purposes. NILM is a technique for identifying individual appliances based on the analysis of the whole residence data retrieved from the main power meter of the house. Our NILM framework starts with data acquisition, followed by data preprocessing, then event detection, feature extraction, then general appliance modeling and identification at the final stage. The event detection stage is a core component of NILM process since event detection techniques lead to the extraction of appliance features. Appliance features are required for the accurate identification of the household devices. In this research work, we aim at developing a new event detection methodology with accurate load disaggregation to extract appliance features. Time-domain features extracted are used for tuning general appliance models for appliance identification and classification steps. We use unsupervised algorithms such as Dynamic Time Warping (DTW). The proposed method relies on detecting areas of operation of each residential appliance based on the power demand. Then, detecting the time at which each selected appliance changes its states. In order to fit with practical existing smart meters capabilities, we work on low sampling data with a frequency of (1/60) Hz. The data is simulated on Load Profile Generator software (LPG), which was not previously taken into consideration for NILM purposes in the literature. LPG is a numerical software that uses behaviour simulation of people inside the house to generate residential energy consumption data. The proposed event detection method targets low consumption loads that are difficult to detect. Also, it facilitates the extraction of specific features used for general appliance modeling. In addition to this, the identification process includes unsupervised techniques such as DTW. To our best knowledge, there exist few unsupervised techniques employed with low sampling data in comparison to the many supervised techniques used for such cases. We extract a power interval at which falls the operation of the selected appliance along with a time vector for the values delimiting the state transitions of the appliance. After this, appliance signatures are formed from extracted power, geometrical and statistical features. Afterwards, those formed signatures are used to tune general model types for appliances identification using unsupervised algorithms. This method is evaluated using both simulated data on LPG and real-time Reference Energy Disaggregation Dataset (REDD). For that, we compute performance metrics using confusion matrix based metrics, considering accuracy, precision, recall and error-rate. The performance analysis of our methodology is then compared with other detection techniques previously used in the literature review, such as detection techniques based on statistical variations and abrupt changes (Variance Sliding Window and Cumulative Sum).

Keywords: general appliance model, non intrusive load monitoring, events detection, unsupervised techniques;

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Authors: Jinny Hong, Jeanne C. Watson

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Three types of autobiographical memory recall -specific, episodic, and generic- were examined in relation to the quality of descriptions and in-session levels of emotional arousal. Correlational analyses and general estimating equation were conducted to test the relationships between 1) quality of descriptions and type of memory, 2) type of memory and emotional arousal, and 3) quality of descriptions and emotional arousal. The data was transcripts drawn from an archival randomized-control study comparing cognitive-behavioral therapy and emotion-focused therapy in a 16-week treatment for depression. Autobiographical memory recall segments were identified and sorted into three categories: specific, episodic, and generic. Quality of descriptions of these segments was then operationalized and measured using the Referential Activity Scale, and each memory segment was rated on four dimensions: concreteness, specificity, clarity, and overall imagery. Clients’ level of emotional arousal for each recall was measured using the Client’s Expression Emotion Scale. Contrary to the predictions, generic memories are associated with higher emotional arousal ratings and descriptive language ratings compared to specific memories. However, a positive relationship emerged between the quality of descriptions and expressed emotional arousal, indicating that the quality of descriptions in which memories are described in sessions is more important than the type of memory recalled in predicting clients’ level of emotional arousal. The results from this study provide a clearer understanding of the role of memory recall types and use of language in activating emotional arousal in psychotherapy sessions in a depressed sample.

Keywords: autobiographical memory recall, emotional arousal, psychotherapy for depression, quality of descriptions, referential activity

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Authors: M. Kaviani Darani, S. Bastani, M. Ghahari, P. Kardar

Abstract:

In this paper the NaYF4: Yb3+, Tm3+ nanocrystals were synthesized by hydrothermal method. Different chelating ligand type (citric acid, butanoic acid, and AOT) was selected to investigate the effect of their concentration on upconversion efficiency. Crystal structure and morphology have been well characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis. Photo luminescence were recorded on a spectrophotometer equipped with 980 nm laser diode az excitation source and an integerating sphere. The products with various morphologies range from sphere to cubic, hexagonal,prism and nanorods were prepared at different ratios. The particle size was found to be dependent on the nucleation rate, which, in turn, was affected by type and concentration of ligands. The optimum amount of chelate to RE ratio was obtained 0.75, 1.5, and 1 for Citric Acid, Butanoic Acid and AOT, respectively. Emissions in the UV (1D2-3H6), blue-violet(1D2-3F4), blue (1G4-3H6), red (1G4-3F4), and NIR (1G4-3H5) were observed and were the direct result of subsequent transfers of energy from the Yb3+ ion to the Tm3+ ion.

Keywords: upconversion nanoparticles, NaYF4, lanthanide, hydrothermal

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Authors: Luthfi Assholam Solamat

Abstract:

Nowadays many people do not know the soil failure pattern as an important part in planning the under structure caused by the loading occurs. This is because the soil is located under the foundation, so it cannot be seen directly. Based on this study, the idea occurs to do a study for testing the soil failure pattern, especially the type of sand soil under the foundation. The necessity of doing this to the design of building structures on the land which is the initial part of the foundation structure that met with waves/vibrations during an earthquake. If the underground structure is not strong it is feared the building thereon more vulnerable to the risk of building damage. This research focuses on the search of soil failure pattern, which the most applicable in the field with the loading periodic re-testing of a particular time with the help of the integrated video visual observations performed. The results could be useful for planning under the structure in an effort to try the upper structure is minimal risk of the earthquake.

Keywords: soil failure pattern, earthquake, under structure, sand soil testing method

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Authors: Joshua Chima Chizoba, Wisdom Izuchukwu Uzoma, Elizabeth Ifeyiwa Okoyeh

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Water cannot be optimally used and sustained unless the quality is periodically assessed. The study area Umunneochi and environs are located in south eastern part of Nigeria. It stretches geographically from latitudes 50501N to 60000N and longitudes 70201E to 70301. The major geologic formations in the area include the Asu River group, Nkporo Shale, and Ajali Sandstone. The aim of this study is to evaluate the hydrochemical characteristics of surface and ground water sources in parts of Umunneochi and environs in order to establish portability of the water sources for drinking, domestic and irrigation purposes. A total of 15 samples were collected randomly from streams, springs and wells. The samples were analyzed for physicochemical parameters and heavy metals using handheld digital kits, photometer, titration method and Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS) following acceptable standards. The obtained analytical data were interpreted, and results were compared with World Health Organization (WHO) standard. The concentration of pH, SO42-and Cl- range from 5.81 mg/l – 6.07 mg/l, 41.93 mg/l – 142.95 mg/l and 20.00 mg/l – 111 mg/l respectively, while Pb and Zn revealed a relative low mean concentration of 0.14 mg/l and 0.40 mg/l, which are all within (WHO) permissible limits except pH. About 27% of the samples are moderately hard. This is attributed to the mining activities in the areas. The abundance of cations and anions in the area are in the order of K+>Na+>Mg2+>Ca2+ and SO4->Cl->HCO3->NO3-, respectively. Chloride, bicarbonate, and nitrate are all within the permissible limits. 13.33% of the total samples contain Sulphate above the standard permissible limits. The values of calculated Water Quality Index (WQI) are less than 50 indicating excellent water. The predominant water-type in the study area is Na-Cl water type and mixed Ca-Mg-Cl water type based on the sample plots on the Piper diagram. The Sodium Absorption Ratio (SAR) calculations showed excellent water for consumption and also good water for irrigation purpose with low sodium and alkalinity ratio respectively. Government water projects are recommended in the area for sustainable domestic and agricultural water supply to ease the stress of water supply problems.

Keywords: groundwater, hydrochemical, physichochemical, water-type, sodium adsorption ratio

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Authors: A. Bouloufa, F. Khaled, K. Djessas

Abstract:

This paper presents a new structure of solar cell based on p-type microcrystalline silicon as an absorber and n-type aluminum doped zinc oxide (ZnO:Al) transparent conductive oxide as an optical window. The ZnO:Al layer deposited by rf-magnetron sputtering at room temperature yields a low resistivity about 7,64.10-2Ω.cm and more than 85% mean optical transmittance in the VIS–NIR range, with an optical band gap of 3.3 eV. These excellent optical properties of this layer in combination with an optimal contact at the front surface result in a superior light trapping yielding to efficiencies about 20%. In order to improve efficiency, we have used a p+-µc-Si thin layer highly doped as a back surface field which minimizes significantly the impact of rear surface recombination velocity on voltage and current leading to a high efficiency of 24%. Optoelectronic parameters were determined using the current density-voltage (J-V) curve by means of a numerical simulation with Analysis of Microelectronic and Photonic Structures (AMPS-1D) device simulator.

Keywords: optical window, thin film, solar cell, efficiency

Procedia PDF Downloads 287