Search results for: solution process

Authors: Snezana Rajkovic, Miroslava Markovic, Ljubinko Rakonjac, Aleksandar Lucic, Radoslav Rajkovic

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Woolly apple aphid, Eriosoma lanigerum (Hausmann) is a widely distributed pest of apple trees, especially where its parasites have been killed by insecticides. It can also be found on pear, hawthorn, mountain ash, and elm trees. Relatively small to medium-sized aphids, characterized by a reddish-brown body, a blood-red stain when crushed and a fluffy, flocculent wax covering. Specialized dermal glands produce the characteristic fluffy or powdery wax, which gives E. lanigerum its characteristic 'woolly' appearance. Also, woolly apple aphid is a problemm in nursery production of spure.The experiments were carried out in the nursery “Nevade” in Gornji Milanovac, "Srbijasume" on the spruce seedlings, aged 2 years. In this study, organic insecticide King Bo, aqueous solution (a. i. oxymatrine 0.2% + psoralen 0.4%), manufacturer Beijing Kingbo Biotech Co. Ltd., Beijing, China. extracted from plants and used as pesticides in nursery production were investigated. King Bo, bioinsecticide is manufactured from refined natural herbal extract several wild medicinal plants, such as Sophora flavescens Ait, Veratrum nigrum L, A. Carmichael, etc. Oxymatrine 2.4 SL is a stomach poison that has antifeeding and repellent action. This substance stimulates development and growth in a host plant and also controls the appearance of downy mildew.The trials were set according to instructions of methods-monitoring of changes in the number of larvae and adults compared to before treatment. The treatment plan was made according to fully randomized block design. The experiment was conducted in four repetitions. The basic plot had the area of 25 m2. Phytotoxicity was estimated by PP methods 1/135 (2), the intensity of infection according to Towsend-Heuberger, the efficiency by Abbott, the analysis of variance with Ducan test and PP/181 (2).

Keywords: bioinsecticide, efficacy, nurssery production, woolly apple aphid

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Authors: Adel A. Ghobbar

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The airline industry is continuously challenging how to safely increase the service life of the aircraft with limited maintenance budgets. Operators are looking for the most qualified maintenance providers of aircraft components, offering the finest customer service. Component owner and maintenance provider is offering an Abacus agreement (Aircraft Component Leasing) to increase the efficiency and productivity of the customer service. To increase the customer service, the current focus on No Fault Found (NFF) units must change into the focus on Early Failure (EF) units. Since the effect of EF units has a significant impact on customer satisfaction, this needs to increase the reliability of EF units at minimal cost, which leads to the goal of this paper. By identifying the reliability of early failure (EF) units with regards to No Fault Found (NFF) units, in particular, the root cause analysis with an integrated cost analysis of EF units with the use of a failure mode analysis tool and a cost model, there will be a set of EF maintenance improvements. The data used for the investigation of the EF units will be obtained from the Pentagon system, an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system used by Fokker Services. The Pentagon system monitors components, which needs to be repaired from Fokker aircraft owners, Abacus exchange pool, and commercial customers. The data will be selected on several criteria’s: time span, failure rate, and cost driver. When the selected data has been acquired, the failure mode and root cause analysis of EF units are initiated. The failure analysis approach tool was implemented, resulting in the proposed failure solution of EF. This will lead to specific EF maintenance improvements, which can be set-up to decrease the EF units and, as a result of this, increasing the reliability. The investigated EFs, between the time period over ten years, showed to have a significant reliability impact of 32% on the total of 23339 unscheduled failures. Since the EFs encloses almost one-third of the entire population.

Keywords: supportability, no fault found, FMEA, early failure, availability, operational reliability, predictive model

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Authors: Gianpaolo Ghiani, Emanuela Guerriero, Emanuele Manni, Alessandro Romano

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In this article, we deal with a variant of the classical course timetabling problem that has a practical application in many areas of education. In particular, in this paper we are interested in high schools remedial courses. The purpose of such courses is to provide under-prepared students with the skills necessary to succeed in their studies. In particular, a student might be under prepared in an entire course, or only in a part of it. The limited availability of funds, as well as the limited amount of time and teachers at disposal, often requires schools to choose which courses and/or which teaching units to activate. Thus, schools need to model the training offer and the related timetabling, with the goal of ensuring the highest possible teaching quality, by meeting the above-mentioned financial, time and resources constraints. Moreover, there are some prerequisites between the teaching units that must be satisfied. We first present a Mixed-Integer Programming (MIP) model to solve this problem to optimality. However, the presence of many peculiar constraints contributes inevitably in increasing the complexity of the mathematical model. Thus, solving it through a general purpose solver may be performed for small instances only, while solving real-life-sized instances of such model requires specific techniques or heuristic approaches. For this purpose, we also propose a heuristic approach, in which we make use of a fast constructive procedure to obtain a feasible solution. To assess our exact and heuristic approaches we perform extensive computational results on both real-life instances (obtained from a high school in Lecce, Italy) and randomly generated instances. Our tests show that the MIP model is never solved to optimality, with an average optimality gap of 57%. On the other hand, the heuristic algorithm is much faster (in about the 50% of the considered instances it converges in approximately half of the time limit) and in many cases allows achieving an improvement on the objective function value obtained by the MIP model. Such an improvement ranges between 18% and 66%.

Keywords: heuristic, MIP model, remedial course, school, timetabling

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Authors: Kgomotso Matobole, Natania De Wet, Tefo Mbambo, Hilary Rutto, Tumisang Seodigeng

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Nitrogen and phosphorus are nutrients which are required in the ecosystem, however, at high levels, these nutrients contribute to the process of eutrophication in the receiving water bodies, which threatens aquatic organisms. Hence it is vital that they are removed before the water is discharged. This phenomenon increases the cost related to wastewater treatment. This raises the need for the development of processes that are cheaper. Activated biocarbon was used in batch and filtration system to remove nitrates and phosphates. The batch system has higher nutrients removal capabilities than the filtration system. For phosphate removal, 93 % removal is achieved at the adsorbent of 300 g while for nitrates, 84 % removal is achieved when 200 g of activated carbon is loaded.

Keywords: waste water treatment, phosphates, nitrates, activated carbon, agricultural waste

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Authors: W. Scott Jackson

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This paper explains the declension of Puritan clerical power following the Great Migration up until when Massachusetts lost its charter in 1684. Historian Perry Miller argued that an overall declension in Puritan culture occurred during this period. However, that notion has been dispelled. There is a resurging field exploring declension in areas outside of Miller’s scope of Puritan culture. I determine that colonial New England existed as a functional theocracy by using Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of symbolic capital to explain clerical power through symbolic and religious misdirection and conversion. I explore civil and economic power struggles in colonial New England during the decades following the Great Migration to establish that Puritan culture did not largely decline. Instead, it was the Puritan clergy’s power that waned during this period.

Keywords: Bourdieu, Historical Sociology, Symbolic Capital, Puritan

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Authors: Masami Usui

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Kazuo Ishiguro’s challenging novel, The Buried Giant, embodies how contemporary writers and readers have to discover the voices buried in our history. By avoiding setting or connecting the modern and contemporary historical incidents such as World War II this time, Ishiguro ventures into retelling myth, transfiguring historical facts, and revealing what has been forgotten in a process of establishing history and creating mythology. As generally known, modernist writers in the twentieth century employed materials from authorized classical mythologies, especially Greek mythology. As an heir of this tradition, Ishiguro imposes his mission of criticizing the repeatedly occurring yet easily-forgotten history of dictatorship and a slaughter on mythology based on King Arthur and its related heroes and myths in Britain. On an open ground, Ishiguro can start his own mythical story and space.

Keywords: English literature, fantasy, globalism, history

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Authors: Majid Davoodi Makinejad, Reza Ghaeli

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Developing sustainable and environment-friendly products has become a major concern in the car manufacturing industry. New legislation ‘End of Life Vehicle’ increased design complexities of bumper system parameters e.g. design for disassembly, design for remanufacturing and recycling. ELV processing employs dismantling, shredding and landfill. The bumper is designed to prevent physical damage, reduce aerodynamic drag force as well as being aesthetically pleasing to the consumer. Design for dismantling is the first step in ELVs approach in the bumper system. This study focused on the analysis of ELV value in redesign solutions of the bumper system in comparison with the conventional concept. It provided a guideline to address the critical consideration in material, manufacturing and joining methods of bumper components to take advantages in easy dismounting, separation and recycling.

Keywords: sustainable development, environmental friendly, bumper system, end of life vehicle

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Authors: Khalid Mohammed Idrees

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Endodontic treatment aims to reverse the disease process and thereby eliminate the associated signs of symptoms. When the treatment itself appears to initiate the onset of pain and /or swelling (endodontic flare-up), the result can be distressing to both the patient and the operator. Patient might even consider postoperative symptoms as a bench mark against which the clinician’s skills are measured. Obviously the treatment with the lowest prevalence of postoperative pain is usually the treatment of choice as long as effectiveness and cost are not compromised. Knowledge of the cause and mechanism behind intra appointment flare-up is of utmost importance for the clinician to properly prevent or manage this undesirable condition. This review lecture will discuss the causative factors of flare-up with special attention to the microorganism role, various modalities of preventive measures would be discussed. Those measures are based on scientific evidence combined with the long clinical experience of the lecturer.

Keywords: endodontic flare-up, causative factors, inflammatory mediators, preventive measures

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Authors: Alessandra Turini Bolsoni Silva, Nilson Rogério Da Silva

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The hospitalization process for long periods and the experience of invasive and painful clinical procedures can trigger a set of stressors in children, family members and professionals, leading to stress. Mothers are, in general, the main caregivers and, therefore, have a high degree of sadness and stress with an impact on mental health. However, the father, in the face of the mother's absence, needs to assume other responsibilities such as domestic activities and healthy children in addition to work activities. In addition, he has to deal with changes in family and work relationships during the child's hospitalization, with disagreements and changes in the relationship with the partner, changes in the relationship with the children, and finding it difficult to reconcile the new tasks as a caregiver and work. A consequence of the hospitalization process is the interruption of the routine activities of both the child and the family members responsible for the care, who can go through stressful moments due to the consequences of family breakdown, attention focused only on the child and sleepless nights. In this sense, both the mother and the father can have their health affected by their child's hospitalization. The present study aims to compare the prevalence of stress and overload in mothers and fathers of hospitalized children, as well as possible associations with activities related to care. The participants were 10 fathers and 10 mothers of children hospitalized in a hospital located in a medium-sized city in the interior of São Paulo. Three instruments were used for data collection: 1) Script to characterize the participants; 2) The Lipp Stress Symptom Inventory (ISSL, 2000) 3) Zarit Burden Interview Protocol – ZBT. Contact was made with the management of the hospital in order to present the objectives of the project, then authorization was requested for the participation of the parents; after an agreement, the time and place were convenient for the participant to carry out the interview. Thus, they signed the Free and Informed Consent Term. Data were analyzed according to the instrument application manuals and organized in Figures and Tables. The results revealed that fathers and mothers have their family and professional routine affected by the hospitalization of their children, with the consequent presence of stress and overload indicators. However, the study points to a greater presence of stress and overload in mothers due to their role as the main caregiver, often interrupting their professional life to exercise care. In the case of the father, the routine is changed due to taking on household chores and taking care of the other children, with the professional life being less affected. It is hoped that the data can guide future interventions that promote and develop strategies that favor care and, at the same time, preserve the health of caregivers and that include mothers and fathers, considering that both are affected, albeit in a different way.

Keywords: stress, overload, caregivers, parents

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Authors: Dolly Nyaguthii Wanjau

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This study contributes to our understanding of how lecturers assess soft skills in accounting programmes, with the intention of producing graduates that are better prepared for the world of work. Insights were obtained through semi-structured interviews with twelve South African universities that offer chartered accountant training and accredited by SAICA. It was found that the lecturers assessed soft skills using traditional methods of assessments such as tests, assignments, and examinations. However, there were missed opportunities to embrace ICT tools in the assessment process, and this could be attributed to a lack of resources within the participating universities. Given the increasing use of digital tools for business activities, it is important that ICT tools be embraced as an inseparable part of soft skills because employers are increasingly looking for accounting graduates with digital skills.

Keywords: accounting, assessment, ICT skills, SAICA, soft skills

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Authors: Ruichong Zhang, Fadi Sawaged, Lotfi Gargab

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This paper introduces a wave-based approach for system identification of high-rise building structures with a pair of seismic recordings, which can be used to evaluate structural integrity and detect damage in post-earthquake structural condition assessment. The fundamental of the approach is based on wave features of generalized impulse and frequency response functions (GIRF and GFRF), i.e., wave responses at one structural location to an impulsive motion at another reference location in time and frequency domains respectively. With a pair of seismic recordings at the two locations, GFRF is obtainable as Fourier spectral ratio of the two recordings, and GIRF is then found with the inverse Fourier transformation of GFRF. With an appropriate continuous model for the structure, a closed-form solution of GFRF, and subsequent GIRF, can also be found in terms of wave transmission and reflection coefficients, which are related to structural physical properties above the impulse location. Matching the two sets of GFRF and/or GIRF from recordings and the model helps identify structural parameters such as wave velocity or shear modulus. For illustration, this study examines ten-story Millikan Library in Pasadena, California with recordings of Yorba Linda earthquake of September 3, 2002. The building is modelled as piecewise continuous layers, with which GFRF is derived as function of such building parameters as impedance, cross-sectional area, and damping. GIRF can then be found in closed form for some special cases and numerically in general. Not only does this study reveal the influential factors of building parameters in wave features of GIRF and GRFR, it also shows some system-identification results, which are consistent with other vibration- and wave-based results. Finally, this paper discusses the effectiveness of the proposed model in system identification.

Keywords: wave-based approach, seismic responses of buildings, wave propagation in structures, construction

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Authors: Aniela Pop, Ianina Birsan, Corina Orha, Rodica Pode, Florica Manea

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Carbon nanofiber-epoxy composite electrode has been investigated through voltammetric and amperometric techniques in order to detect parabens from aqueous solutions. The occurrence into environment as emerging pollutants of these preservative compounds has been extensively studied in the last decades, and consequently, a rapid and reliable method for their quantitative quantification is required. In this study, methylparaben (MP) and propylparaben (PP) were chosen as representatives for paraben class. The individual electrochemical detection of each paraben has been successfully performed. Their electrochemical oxidation occurred at the same potential value. Their simultaneous quantification should be assessed electrochemically only as general index of paraben class as a cumulative signal corresponding to both MP and PP from solution. The influence of pH on the electrochemical signal was studied. pH ranged between 1.3 and 9.0 allowed shifting the detection potential value to smaller value, which is very desired for the electroanalysis. Also, the signal is better-defined and higher sensitivity is achieved. Differential-pulsed voltammetry and square-wave voltammetry were exploited under the optimum pH conditions to improve the electroanalytical performance for the paraben detection. Also, the operation conditions were selected, i.e., the step potential, modulation amplitude and the frequency. Chronomaprometry application as the easiest electrochemical detection method led to worse sensitivity, probably due to a possible fouling effect of the electrode surface. The best electroanalytical performance was achieved by pulsed voltammetric technique but the selection of the electrochemical technique is related to the concrete practical application. A good reproducibility of the voltammetric-based method using carbon nanofiber-epoxy composite electrode was determined and no interference effect was found for the cation and anion species that are common in the water matrix. Besides these characteristics, the long life-time of the electrode give to carbon nanofiber-epoxy composite electrode a great potential for practical applications.

Keywords: carbon nanofiber-epoxy composite electrode, electroanalysis, methylparaben, propylparaben

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Authors: Thales Maluf, Nazem Nascimento

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The development of society relies heavily on the total amount of energy obtained and its consumption. Over the years, there has been an advancement on energy attainment, which is directly related to some natural resources and developing systems. Some of these resources should be highlighted for its remarkable presence in world´s energy grid, such as water, petroleum, and gas, while others deserve attention for representing an alternative to diversify the energy grid, like geothermal sources. Therefore, because all these resources can be extracted from the underground, drilling wells is a mandatory activity in terms of exploration, and it involves a previous geological study and an adequate preparation. It also involves a cleaning process and an extraction process that can be executed by different procedures. For that reason, this research aims the enhancement of exploration processes through a comparative analysis of drilling costs and techniques used to produce them. The analysis itself is based on a bibliographical review based on books, scientific papers, schoolwork and mainly explore drilling methods and technologies, equipment used, well measurements, extraction methods, and production costs. Besides techniques and costs regarding the drilling processes, some properties and general characteristics of these sources are also compared. Preliminary studies show that there are some major differences regarding the exploration processes, mostly because these resources are naturally distinct. Water wells, for instance, have hundreds of meters of length because water is stored close to the surface, while oil, gas, and geothermal production wells can reach thousands of meters, which make them more expensive to be drilled. The drilling methods present some general similarities especially regarding the main mechanism of perforation, but since water is a resource stored closer to the surface than the other ones, there is a wider variety of methods. Water wells can be drilled by rotary mechanisms, percussion mechanisms, rotary-percussion mechanisms, and some other simpler methods. Oil and gas production wells, on the other hand, require rotary or rotary-percussion drilling with a proper structure called drill rig and resistant materials for the drill bits and the other components, mostly because they´re stored in sedimentary basins that can be located thousands of meters under the ground. Geothermal production wells also require rotary or rotary-percussion drilling and require the existence of an injection well and an extraction well. The exploration efficiency also depends on the permeability of the soil, and that is why it has been developed the Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS). Throughout this review study, it can be verified that the analysis of the extraction processes of energy resources is essential since these resources are responsible for society development. Furthermore, the comparative analysis of costs and well drilling techniques for water, geothermal energy, oil, and gas production, which is the main goal of this research, can enable the growth of energy generation field through the emergence of ideas that improve the efficiency of energy generation processes.

Keywords: drilling, water, oil, Gas, geothermal energy

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Authors: Shahab Shafayyan, Tara Naderi

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Biogas is the product of decomposition of organic materials. A variety of sources, including animal wastes, municipal solid wastes, sewage and agricultural wastes may be used to produce biogas in an anaerobic process. The main forming material of biogas is methane gas, which can be used directly in a variety of ways, such as heating and as fuel, which is very common in a number of countries, such as China and India. In this article, the cost of biogas production from animal fertilizers, and its refined form, bio methane gas has been studied and it is shown that it can be an alternative for natural gas in terms of costs, in the near future. The cost of biogas purification to biomethane is more than three times the cost of biogas production for an average unit. Biomethane production costs, calculated for a small unit, is about $9/MMBTU and for an average unit is about $5.9/MMBTU.

Keywords: biogas, biomethane, anaerobic digestion, economic evaluation

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Authors: Serafino Di Rosario

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ReS is a sustainable hand-built temporary acoustic shell, developed since 2011 and built during the architectural workshop at Villa Pennisi in Musica in Acireale, Sicily, each year since 2012. The design concept aims to provide a portable structure by reducing the on-site construction problems and the skills required by the builders together with maximizing the acoustic performance for the audience and the musicians. The shell is built using only wood, recycled for the most part, and can be built and dismantled by non-specialized workers in just three days. This paper describes the research process, which spans over four years and presents the final results in form of acoustic simulations performed by acoustic modeling software and real world measurements. ReS is developed by the ReS team who has been presented with the Peter Lord Award in 2015 by the Institute of Acoustics in the UK.

Keywords: acoustic shell, outdoor natural amplification, computational design, room acoustics

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Authors: Vivek Paul, Abel Nelly, Shoeb A Adeel, R. Tilak, S. Maheshwaran, S. Pulikeshi, Roshan Antony, C. S. Suraj

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This paper presents the complete design and development cycle of a 20 cm span fixed wing micro air vehicle that was developed at CSIR-NAL, under the micro air vehicle development program. The design is a cropped delta flying wing MAV with a modified N22 airfoil of 12.3% thickness. The design was fabricated using the fused deposition method- RPT technique. COTS components were procured and integrated into this RPT prototype. A commercial autopilot that was proven in the earlier MAV designs was used for this MAV. The MAV was flown fully autonomous for 14mins at an open field. The flight data showed good performance as expected from the MAV design. The paper also describes about the process involved in the design of MAVs.

Keywords: autopilot, autonomous mode, flight testing, MAV, RPT

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Authors: Riaz Ahmed Mangrio

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Reduplication in Urdu-Hindi affects all major word categories, particles, and even nonsensical words. It conveys a variety of meanings, including distribution, emphasis, iteration, adjectival and adverbial. This study will primarily discuss reduplicative structures of nonsensical words in Urdu-Hindi and then briefly look at some examples from other Indo-Aryan languages to introduce the debate regarding the same structures in them. The goal of this study is to present counter-evidence against Keane (2005: 241), who claims “the base in the cases of lexical and phrasal echo reduplication is always independently meaningful”. However, Urdu-Hindi reduplication derives meaningful compounds from nonsensical words e.g. gũ mgũ (A) ‘silent and confused’ and d̪əb d̪əb-a (N) ‘one’s fear over others’. This needs a comprehensive examination to see whether and how the various structures form patterns of a base-reduplicant relationship or, rather, they are merely sub lexical items joining together to form a word pattern of any grammatical category in content words. Another interesting theoretical question arises within the Optimality framework: in an OT analysis, is it necessary to identify one of the two constituents as the base and the other as reduplicant? Or is it best to consider this a pattern, but then how does this fit in with an OT analysis? This may be an even more interesting theoretical question. Looking for the solution to such questions can serve to make an important contribution. In the case at hand, each of the two constituents is an independent nonsensical word, but their echo reduplication is nonetheless meaningful. This casts significant doubt upon Keane’s (2005: 241) observation of some examples from Hindi and Tamil reduplication that “the base in cases of lexical and phrasal echo reduplication is always independently meaningful”. The debate on the point becomes further interesting when the triplication of nonsensical words in Urdu-Hindi e.g. aẽ baẽ ʃaẽ (N) ‘useless talk’ is also seen, which is equally important to discuss. The example is challenging to Harrison’s (1973) claim that only the monosyllabic verbs in their progressive forms reduplicate twice to result in triplication, which is not the case with the example presented. The study will consist of a thorough descriptive analysis of the data for the purpose of documentation, and then there will be OT analysis.

Keywords: reduplication, urdu-hindi, nonsensical, optimality theory

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Authors: Wisu Suntoyo, Dedy Sushandoyo

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Innovation and digital transformation are essential for firms’ competitiveness in the digital age. The competition in Indonesia’s banking industry provides an intriguing case study for understanding how digital transformation can generate innovation in established companies. The empirical evidence of this study is mainly based on interviews and annual reports examining four established banks in their various states of digital transformation. The findings of this study reveal that banks’ digital transformations that lead to innovations differ in terms of the activities undertaken and the outcomes achieved depending on the state of advancement in which they are. Digital transformation is a complex and challenging process, and this study finds that with this strategy, established banks have shown capable of generating innovation. Banks can choose types of transformation activities that generate radical, architectural, modular, or even incremental innovations.

Keywords: digital transformation, innovations, banking industry, established banks

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Authors: Liang-Yi Lin, Hsunling Bai

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In this work, transition metal (metal= Co, Fe, Ni, Cu, and Mn) modified cerium oxide catalysts supported on mesoporous aluminosilicate particles (Ce/Al-MSPs) were prepared using waste silicate as the precursors through aerosol-assisted flow process, and their catalytic performances were investigated for acetone incineration. Tests on the bimetallic Ce/Al-MSPs and Mn/Al-MSPs and trimetallic Mn-Ce, Fe-Ce, Co-Ce, Ni-Ce, and Cu-Ce/Al-MSPs in the temperature range of 100-300 oC demonstrated that Ce was the main active metal while Mn acted as a suitable promoter in acetone incineration reactions. Among tested catalysts, Mn-Ce/Al-MSPs with a Mn/Ce molar ratio of 2/1 exhibited the highest acetone catalytic activity. Moreover, the synergetic effect was observed for trimetallic Mn-Ce/Al-MSPs on the acetone removal as compared to the bimetallic Ce/Al-MSPs or Mn/Al-MSPs catalysts.

Keywords: acetone, catalytic oxidation, cerium oxide, mesoporous silica

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Authors: Michael Zaidman, Naum Simanovsky

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Introduction. Symptomatic tarsal coalition with rigid flat foot often demands operative solution. An isolated coalition resection does not guarantee pain relief; correction of co-existing foot deformity may be required. The objective of the study was to analyze the results of combination of tarsal coalition resection and arthroereisis. Patients and methods. We retrospectively reviewed medical records and radiographs of children operatively treated in our institution for symptomatic calcaneonavicular or talocalcaneal coalition between the years 2019 and 2022. Eight patients (twelve feet), 4 boys and 4 girls with mean age 11.2 years, were included in the study. In six patients (10 feet) calcaneonavicular coalition was diagnosed, two patients (two feet) sustained talonavicular coalition. To quantify degrees of foot deformity, we used calcaneal pitch angle, lateral talar-first metatarsal (Meary's) angle, and talonavicular coverage angle. The clinical results were assessed using the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) Ankle Hindfoot Score. Results. The mean follow-up was 28 month. The preoperative mean talonavicular coverage angle was 17,75º as compared with postoperative mean angle of 5.4º. The calcaneal pitch angle improved from mean 6,8º to 16,4º. The mean preoperative Meary’s angle of -11.3º improved to mean 2.8º. The preoperative mean AOFAS score improved from 54.7 to 93.1 points post-operatively. In nine of twelve feet, overall clinical outcome judged by AOFAS scale was excellent (90-100 points), in three feet was good (80-90 points). Six patients (ten feet) obviously improved their subtalar range of motion. Conclusion. For symptomatic stiff or rigid flat feet associated with tarsal coalition, the combination of coalition resection and arthroereisis leads to normalization of radiographic parameters, clinical and functional improvement with good patient’s satisfaction and likely to be more effective than the isolated procedures.

Keywords: rigid flat foot, tarsal coalition resection, arthroereisis, outcome

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Authors: Isadora Bugarin, Taygoara F. de Oliveira

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Binary fluids and emulsions, in general, are present in a vast range of industrial, medical, and scientific applications, showing complex behaviors responsible for defining the flow dynamics and the system operation. However, the literature describing those highlighted fluids in non-isothermal models is currently still limited. The present work brings a detailed investigation on droplet migration due to natural convection in square enclosure, aiming to clarify the effects of drop viscosity on the flow dynamics by showing how distinct viscosity ratios (droplet/ambient fluid) influence the drop motion and the final movement pattern kept on stationary regimes. The analysis was taken by observing distinct combinations of Rayleigh number, drop initial position, and viscosity ratios. The Navier-Stokes and Energy equations were solved considering the Boussinesq approximation in a laminar flow using the finite differences method combined with the Level Set method for binary flow solution. Previous results collected by the authors showed that the Rayleigh number and the drop initial position affect drastically the motion pattern of the droplet. For Ra ≥ 10⁴, two very marked behaviors were observed accordingly with the initial position: the drop can travel either a helical path towards the center or a cyclic circular path resulting in a closed cycle on the stationary regime. The variation of viscosity ratio showed a significant alteration of pattern, exposing a large influence on the droplet path, capable of modifying the flow’s behavior. Analyses on viscosity effects on the flow’s unsteady Nusselt number were also performed. Among the relevant contributions proposed in this work is the potential use of the flow initial conditions as a mechanism to control the droplet migration inside the enclosure.

Keywords: binary fluids, droplet motion, level set method, natural convection, viscosity

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Authors: A. A. AlRasheed, A. Atkins, R. Campion

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This paper focuses on using knowledge management and visualisation concepts to improve the patients and hospitals employee’s workflow. Hospitals workflow is a complex and complicated process and poor patient flow can put both patients and a hospital’s reputation at risk, and can threaten the facility’s financial sustainability. Healthcare leaders are under increased pressure to reduce costs while maintaining or increasing patient care standards. In this paper, a framework is proposed to help improving patient experience, staff satisfaction, and operational efficiency across hospitals by using knowledge management based visualisation concepts. This framework is using real-time visibility to track and monitor location and status of patients, staff, rooms, and medical equipment.

Keywords: knowledge management, improvements, visualisation, workflow

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Authors: Rima Almalla

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The purpose of the research project in Geography is to evaluate the applicability of urban green infrastructure approach in Finnish climate. The key focus will be on the operation and efficiency of green infrastructure on urban stormwater management. Green infrastructure approach refers to the employment of sufficient green covers as a modern and smart environmental solution to improve the quality of urban environments. Green infrastructure provides a wide variety of micro-scale ecosystem services, such as stormwater runoff management, regulation of extreme air temperatures, reduction of energy consumption, plus a variety of social benefits and human health and wellbeing. However, the cold climate of Finland with seasonal ground frost, snow cover and relatively short growing season bring about questions of whether green infrastructure works as efficiently as expected. To tackle this question, green infrastructure solutions will be studied and analyzed with manifold methods: stakeholder perspectives regarding existing and planned GI solutions will be collected by web based questionnaires, semi structured interviews and group discussions, and analyzed in both qualitative and quantitative methods. Targeted empirical field campaigns will be conducted on selected sites. A systematic literature review with global perspective will support the analyses. The findings will be collected, compiled and analyzed using geographic information systems (GIS). The findings of the research will improve our understanding of the functioning of green infrastructure in the Finnish environment in urban stormwater management, as a landscape element for citizens’ wellbeing, and in climate change mitigation and adaptation. The acquired information will be shared with stakeholders in interactive co-design workshops. As green covers have great demand and potential globally, the conclusions will have relevance in other cool climate regions and may support Finnish business in green infrastructure sector.

Keywords: climate change adaptation, climate change, green infrastructure, stormwater

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Authors: Anuja Singh, Avik K. Pati, Ashok K. Mishra

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Organic fluorophores with π-conjugated scaffolds are important because of their interesting optoelectronic properties. In recent years, our lab has been engaged in understanding the photophysics of small diacetylene bridged fluorophores and found the diynes as a promising class of π-conjugated fluorophores. Building on this understanding, recently we have focused on the photophysics of a less explored class of cross-conjugated Y-shaped enediynes (one double and two triple bonds). Here we present the photophysical properties of such enediynes which show interesting photophysical properties that include dual emissions from locally excited (LE) and intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) states and ring size dependent aggregate fluorescence in non-aqueous media. The dyes also show prominent aggregate fluorescence in mixed-aqueous solvents and solid powder form. We further show that the solid state fluorescence can be reversibly switched multiple of cycles by external stimuli, highlighting their potential applications in solid states. The enediynes with push-pull electronic substituents/moieties exhibit high contrast fluorescence color switching upon continuous photon illumination. The intriguing photophysical outcomes of the enediynyl fluorophores are judiciously exploited to generate single-component white light emission in binary solvent mixtures and sense polar aprotic vapor in polymer film matrices. The photophysical behavior of the dyes is further successfully utilized to monitor the microenvironment changes of biologically relevant anisotropic media such as bile salts. In summary, the newly introduced cross-conjugated enediynes enrich the toolbox of organic fluorophores and vouch to display versatile applications.

Keywords: aggregation in solution and solid state, enediynes, physical photochemistry and photophysics, vapor sensing and white light emission

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Authors: Tomas Vencurik, Jiri Nykodym

Abstract:

This study compares the intensity of game load among player positions and between the 1st and the 2nd half of the games. Two guards, three forwards, and three centers (female basketball players) participated in this study. The heart rate (HR) and its development were monitored during two competitive games. Statistically insignificant differences in the intensity of game load were recorded between guards, forwards, and centers below and above 85% of the maximal heart rate (HRmax) and in the mean HR as % of HRmax (87.81±3.79%, 87.02±4.37%, and 88.76±3.54%, respectively). Moreover, when the 1st and the 2nd half of the games were compared in the mean HR (87.89±4.18% vs. 88.14±3.63% of HRmax), no statistical significance was recorded. This information can be useful for coaching staff, to manage and to precisely plan the training process.

Keywords: game load, heart rate, player positions, the 1st, the 2nd half of the games

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Authors: Vilma Zydziunaite, Gitana Balezentiene, Vilma Zydziunaite

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Teaching is one of most responsible profession, and it is not only a job of an artisan. This profes-sion needs a developed ability to identify oneself with the chosen teaching profession. Research questions: How teachers characterize their authentic individual professional identity? What factors teachers exclude, which support and limit the professional identity? Aim was to develop the grounded theory (GT) about teacher’s professional identity (TPI). Research methodology is based on Charmaz GT version. Data were collected via semi-structured interviews with the he sample of 12 teachers. Findings. 15 extracted categories revealed that the core of TPI is teacher’s professional calling. Premises of TPI are family support, motives for choos-ing teacher’s profession, teacher’s didactic competence. Context of TPI consists of teacher compli-ance with the profession, purposeful preparation for pedagogical studies, professional growth. The strategy of TPI is based on teacher relationship with school community strengthening. The profes-sional frustration limits the TPI. TPI outcome includes teacher recognition, authority; professional mastership, professionalism, professional satisfaction. Dimensions of TPI GT the past (reaching teacher’s profession), present (teacher’s commitment to professional activity) and future (teacher’s profession reconsideration). Conclusions. The substantive GT describes professional identity as complex, changing and life-long process, which develops together with teacher’s personal identity and is connected to professional activity. The professional decision "to be a teacher" is determined by the interaction of internal (professional vocation, personal characteristics, values, self-image, talents, abilities) and external (family, friends, school community, labor market, working condi-tions) factors. The dimensions of the TPI development includes: the past (the pursuit of the teaching profession), the present (the teacher's commitment to professional activity) and the future (the revi-sion of the teaching profession). A significant connection emerged - as the teacher's professional commitment strengthens (creating a self-image, growing the teacher's professional experience, recognition, professionalism, mastery, satisfaction with pedagogical activity), the dimension of re-thinking the teacher's profession weakens. This proves that professional identity occupies an im-portant place in a teacher's life and it affects his professional success and job satisfaction. Teachers singled out the main factors supporting a teacher's professional identity: their own self-image per-ception, professional vocation, positive personal qualities, internal motivation, teacher recognition, confidence in choosing a teaching profession, job satisfaction, professional knowledge, professional growth, good relations with the school community, pleasant experiences, quality education process, excellent student achievements.

Keywords: grounded theory, teacher professional identity, semi-structured interview, school, students, school community, family

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Authors: Zaky Musyarof, Dwi Yono Sutarto, Dwima Rindy Atika, R. B. Fajriya Hakim

Abstract:

Each country should be responsible for the safety of people, especially responsible for the safety of people living in disaster-prone areas. One of those services is provides evacuation route for them. But all this time, the selection of evacuation route is seem doesn’t well organized, it could be seen that when a disaster happen, there will be many accumulation of people on the steps of evacuation route. That condition is dangerous to people because hampers evacuation process. By some methods in Statistical analysis, author tries to give a suggestion how to prepare evacuation route which is organized and based on people habit. Those methods are association rules, sequential pattern mining, hierarchical cluster analysis and fuzzy logic.

Keywords: association rules, sequential pattern mining, cluster analysis, fuzzy logic, evacuation route

Procedia PDF Downloads 486

Authors: Aprilia, Wei Liang Keith Nguyen, Shu Beng Tor, Gerald Gim Lee Seet, Chee Kai Chua

Abstract:

Automated remanufacturing process is of great interest in today’s marine and offshore industry. Most of the current remanufacturing processes are carried out manually and hence they are error prone, labour-intensive and costly. In this paper, a conceptual framework for automated remanufacturing is presented. This framework involves the integration of 3D non-contact digitization, adaptive surface reconstruction, additive manufacturing and machining operation. Each operation is operated and interconnected automatically as one system. The feasibility of adaptive surface reconstruction on marine and offshore engineering components is also discussed. Several engineering components were evaluated and the results showed that this proposed system is feasible. Conclusions are drawn and further research work is discussed.

Keywords: adaptive surface reconstruction, automated remanufacturing, automatic repair, reverse engineering

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Authors: Layaly Ayoub, Mariana Ribeiro

Abstract:

Introduction: Breast cancer is currently considered the leading cause of cancer-related deaths among women in Brazil. Mastectomy, essential in this treatment, often necessitates subsequent breast reconstruction to restore physical appearance and aid in the emotional and psychological recovery of patients. The choice between immediate or delayed reconstruction is influenced by factors such as the type and stage of cancer, as well as the patient's overall health. The decision between autologous breast reconstruction or implant-based reconstruction requires a detailed analysis of individual conditions and needs. Objectives: This study analyzes the techniques and indications used in post-mastectomy breast reconstruction. Methodology: Literature review conducted in the PubMed and SciELO databases, focusing on articles that met the inclusion and exclusion criteria and descriptors. Results: After mastectomy, breast reconstruction is commonly performed. It is necessary to determine the type of technique to be used in each case depending on the specific characteristics of each patient. The tissue expander technique is indicated for patients with sufficient skin and tissue post-mastectomy, who do not require additional radiotherapy, and who opt for a less complex surgery with a shorter recovery time. This procedure promotes the gradual expansion of soft tissues where the definitive implant will be placed. Both temporary and permanent expanders offer flexibility, allowing for adjustment in the expander size until the desired volume is reached, enabling the skin and tissues to adapt to the breast implant area. Conversely, autologous reconstruction is indicated for patients who will undergo radiotherapy, have insufficient tissue, and prefer a more natural solution. This technique uses the transverse rectus abdominis muscle (TRAM) flap, the latissimus dorsi muscle flap, the gluteal flap, and local muscle flaps to shape a new breast, potentially combined with a breast implant. Conclusion: In this context, it is essential to conduct a thorough evaluation regarding the technique to be applied, as both have their benefits and challenges.

Keywords: indications, post-mastectomy, breast reconstruction, techniques

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Authors: Khaled M. El-Naggar

Abstract:

This paper presents a fast and efficient technique for monitoring and supervising power system disturbances generated due to dynamic performance of power systems or faults. Monitoring power system quantities involve monitoring fundamental voltage, current magnitudes, and their frequencies as well as their negative and zero sequence components under different operating conditions. The proposed technique is based on simulated annealing optimization technique (SA). The method uses digital set of measurements for the voltage or current waveforms at power system bus to perform the estimation process digitally. The algorithm is tested using different simulated data to monitor the symmetrical components of power system waveforms. Different study cases are considered in this work. Effects of number of samples, sampling frequency and the sample window size are studied. Results are reported and discussed.

Keywords: estimation, faults, measurement, symmetrical components

Procedia PDF Downloads 448