Search results for: standard 2-wire capacitor circuit system

Authors: Md. Ataur Rahman Bhuiyan, Quazi Mahabubul Hasan, Md. Rifat Ullah

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In this research, we did explore the effectiveness of the gaming environment in education and compared it with the traditional education system. We take several workshops in both learning environments. We measured student’s performance by providing a grading score (by professional academics) on their attitude in different criteria. We also collect data from survey questionnaires to understand student’s experiences towards education and study. Finally, we examine the impact of the different learning environments by applying statistical hypothesis tests, the T-test, and the ANOVA test.

Keywords: gamification, game-based learning, education, statistical analysis, human-computer interaction

Procedia PDF Downloads 236

Authors: Mohammad A. U. Khan, Tariq M. Khan, Yinan Kong

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Fingerprint image enhancement is one of the most important step in an automatic fingerprint identification recognition (AFIS) system which directly affects the overall efficiency of AFIS. The conventional fingerprint enhancement like Gabor and Anisotropic filters do fill the gaps in ridge lines but they fail to tackle scar lines. To deal with this problem we are proposing a method for enhancing the ridges and valleys with scar so that true minutia points can be extracted with accuracy. Our results have shown an improved performance in terms of enhancement.

Keywords: fingerprint image enhancement, removing noise, coherence, enhanced diffusion

Procedia PDF Downloads 518

Authors: Imad Khan, Imran Shafi, Sarmad Farooq

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Large diameter pipes, barrels, tubes, and ducts are used in a variety of applications covering civil and defense-related technologies. This may include heating/cooling networks, sign poles, bracing, casing, and artillery and tank gun barrels. These large diameter assemblies require regular inspection and cleaning to increase their life and reduce replacement costs. This paper describes the design, development, and testing results of an efficient yet simplified, low maintenance mechanical design controlled with minimal essential electronics using an electric motor for a non-technical staff. The proposed solution provides a simplified user interface and an automated cleaning mechanism that requires a single user to optimally clean pipes and barrels in the range of 105 mm to 203 mm caliber. The proposed system employs linear motion of specially designed brush along the barrel using a chain of specific strength and a pulley anchor attached to both ends of the barrel. A specially designed and manufactured gearbox is coupled with an AC motor to allow movement of contact brush with high torque to allow efficient cleaning. A suitably powered AC motor is fixed to the front adapter mounted on the muzzle side whereas the rear adapter has a pulley-based anchor mounted towards the breach block in case of a gun barrel. A mix of soft nylon and hard copper bristles-based large surface brush is connected through a strong steel chain to motor and anchor pulley. The system is equipped with limit switches to auto switch the direction when one end is reached on its operation. The testing results based on carefully established performance indicators indicate the superiority of the proposed user-friendly cleaning mechanism vis-à-vis its life cycle cost.

Keywords: pipe cleaning mechanism, limiting switch, pipe cleaning robot, large pipes

Procedia PDF Downloads 116

Authors: Zehra Aybike Kılıç, Alpin Köknel Yener

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Daylight is a powerful driver in terms of improving human health, enhancing productivity and creating sustainable solutions by minimizing energy demand. A proper daylighting system allows not only a pleasant and attractive visual and thermal environment, but also reduces lighting energy consumption and heating/cooling energy load with the optimization of aperture size, glazing type and solar control strategy, which are the major design parameters of daylighting system design. Particularly, in high-rise buildings where large openings that allow maximum daylight and view out are preferred, evaluation of daylight performance by considering the major parameters of the building envelope design becomes crucial in terms of ensuring occupants’ comfort and improving energy efficiency. Moreover, it is increasingly necessary to examine the daylighting design of high-rise residential buildings, considering the share of residential buildings in the construction sector, the duration of occupation and the changing space requirements. This study aims to identify a proper daylighting design solution considering window area, glazing type and solar control strategy for a high-residential building in terms of visual comfort and lighting energy efficiency. The dynamic simulations are carried out/conducted by DIVA for Rhino version 4.1.0.12. The results are evaluated with Daylight Autonomy (DA) to demonstrate daylight availability in the space and Daylight Glare Probability (DGP) to describe the visual comfort conditions related to glare. Furthermore, it is also analyzed that the lighting energy consumption occurred in each scenario to determine the optimum solution reducing lighting energy consumption by optimizing daylight performance. The results revealed that it is only possible that reduction in lighting energy consumption as well as providing visual comfort conditions in buildings with the proper daylighting design decision regarding glazing type, transparency ratio and solar control device.

Keywords: daylighting , glazing type, lighting energy efficiency, residential building, solar control strategy, visual comfort

Procedia PDF Downloads 181

Authors: Mitali Kedia, Parul Kapoor

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Public Art is a tool with the power to enrich and enlighten any place; it has been accepted and welcomed effortlessly by many cultures around the World. In this paper, we discuss the implications Public Art has had on the society and how it has evolved over the years, and how in India, art in this aspect is still overlooked and treated as an accessory. Urban aesthetics are still substantially limited to the installation of deities, political figures, and so on. The paper also discusses various possibilities and opportunities on how Public Art can boost a society; it also suggests a framework that can be incorporated in the legal system of the country to make it a part of the city development process.

Keywords: public art, urban fabric, placemaking, community welfare, public art program, imageability

Procedia PDF Downloads 196

Authors: Floriane Shala, Evangeline Wagner, Yichun Zhao

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Background: Proper educational training and support are proven to be major components of EHR (Electronic Health Record) implementation and use. However, the majority of health providers are not sufficiently trained in EHR use, leading to adverse events, errors, and decreased quality of care. In response to this, students studying Health Information Science, Public Health, Nursing, and Medicine should all gain a thorough understanding of EHR use at different levels for different purposes. The design of a usable and safe EHR system that accommodates the needs and workflows of different users, user groups, and disciplines is required for EHR learning to be efficient and effective. Objectives: This project builds several artifacts which seek to address both the educational and usability aspects of an educational EHR. The artifacts proposed are models for and examples of such an EHR with a configurable UI to be learned by students who need a background in EHR use during their degrees. Methods: Review literature and gather professional opinions from domain experts on usability, the use of workflow patterns, UI configurability and design, and the educational aspect of EHR use. Conduct interviews in a semi-casual virtual setting with open discussion in order to gain a deeper understanding of the principal aspects of EHR use in educational settings. Select a specific task and user group to illustrate how the proposed solution will function based on the current research. Develop three artifacts based on the available research, professional opinions, and prior knowledge of the topic. The artifacts capture the user task and user’s interactions with the EHR for learning. The first generic model provides a general understanding of the EHR system process. The second model is a specific example of performing the task of MRI ordering with a configurable UI. The third artifact includes UI mock-ups showcasing the models in a practical and visual way. Significance: Due to the lack of educational EHRs, medical professionals do not receive sufficient EHR training. Implementing an educational EHR with a usable and configurable interface to suit the needs of different user groups and disciplines will help facilitate EHR learning and training and ultimately improve the quality of patient care.

Keywords: education, EHR, usability, configurable

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Authors: Florenda B. Cardinoza

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This study was conducted to determine the determinants of Grade III and grade VI pupils’ performance in the National Achievement Test in the Division of Cavite City, School Year 2011-2012. Specifically, the research aimed to: (1) describe the demographic profile of the respondents in terms of age, sex, birth order, family size, family income, and occupation of parents; (2) determine the level of attitude towards NAT; and (3) describe the degree of relationship between the following variables: school support, teachers’ support, and lastly family support for the pupils’ performance in 2012 NAT. The study used the descriptive-correlation research method to investigate the determinants of pupils’ performance in the National Achievement Test of Public Elementary Schools in the Division of Cavite City. The instrument used in data gathering was a self-structured survey. The NAT result for SY 2011-2012 provided by NETRC and DepEd Cavite City was also utilized. The statistical tools used to process and analyze the data were frequency distribution, percentage, mean, standard deviation, Kruskall Wallis, Mann-Whitney, t-test for independent samples, One-way ANOVA, and Spearman Rank Correlational Coefficient. Results revealed that there were more female students than males in the Division of Cavite City; out of 659 respondents, 345 were 11 years old and above; 390 were females; 283 were categorized as first child in the family; 371 of the respondents were from small family; 327 had Php5000 and below family income; 450 of the fathers’ respondents were non professionals; and 431 of the mothers respondents had no occupation. The attitude towards NAT, with a mean of 1.65 and SD of .485, shows that respondents considered NAT important. The school support towards NAT, with a mean of 1.89 and SD of .520, shows that respondents received school support. The pupils had a very high attitude towards teachers’ support in NAT with a mean of 1.60 and SD of .572. Family support, with t-test of 16.201 with a p-value of 0.006, shows significant at 5 percent level. Thus, the determinants of pupils’ performance in NAT in terms of family support for NAT preparation is not significant according to their family income. The grade level, with the t-test is 4.420 and a p-value of 0.000, is significant at 5 percent level. Therefore, the determinants of pupils’ performance in NAT in terms of grade level for NAT preparation vary according to their grade level. For the determinants of pupils’ performance of NAT sample test for attitude towards NAT, school support, teachers’ support, and family support were noted highly significant with a p value of 0.000.

Keywords: achievement, determinants, national, performance, public, pupils', test

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Authors: Ismail S. Bostanci, Ebru Akkaya

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Microalgae-derived biodiesel, fertilizer or industrial chemicals' production with wastewater has great potential. Especially water from a municipal wastewater treatment plant is a very important nutrient source for biofuel production. Microalgae biomass production in open ponds system is lower cost culture systems. There are many hurdles for commercial algal biomass production in large scale. One of the important technical bottlenecks for microalgae production in open system is culture contamination. The algae culture contaminants can generally be described as invading organisms which could cause pond crash. These invading organisms can be competitors, parasites, and predators. Contamination is unavoidable in open systems. Potential contaminant organisms are already inoculated if wastewater is utilized for algal biomass cultivation. Especially, it is important to control contaminants to retain in acceptable level in order to reach true potential of algal biofuel production. There are several contamination management methods in algae industry, ranging from mechanical, chemical, biological and growth condition change applications. However, none of them are accepted as a suitable contamination control method. This experiment describes an innovative contamination control method, 'Recirculated Sedimentation Method', to manage contamination to avoid pond cash. The method can be used for the production of algal biofuel, fertilizer etc. and algal wastewater treatment. To evaluate the performance of the method on algal culture, an experiment was conducted for 90 days at a lab-scale raceway (60 L) reactor with the use of non-sterilized and non-filtered wastewater (secondary effluent and centrate of anaerobic digestion). The application of the method provided the following; removing contaminants (predators and diatoms) and other debris from reactor without discharging the culture (with microscopic evidence), increasing raceway tank’s suspended solids holding capacity (770 mg L-1), increasing ammonium removal rate (29.83 mg L-1 d-1), decreasing algal and microbial biofilm formation on inner walls of reactor, washing out generated nitrifier from reactor to prevent ammonium consumption.

Keywords: contamination control, microalgae culture contamination, pond crash, predator control

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Authors: Hassan Malami Alkanchi

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Acquiring the knowledge of Islamic business ethics nowadays for the conduct of business activities and other business transactions has become one of the best strategies for promoting lawful business as well as a successful business for economic development. The idea of infusing the significance of Islamic business ethics into the minds of Muslim individuals has spurred much enthusiasm in the last few decades. Putting this idea into practice posed significant impacts on the life of Muslim individuals for the development of business. The main objective of this paper is to explore the significant role of Muslim families' awareness in promoting Islamic business ethics for successful business economic development. The methodology adopted for the conduct of this study is qualitative research. The study employed a purposive sampling technique and considered it the most suitable method for data collection. The data collection techniques employed for this study were interviews and focus group discussions. The study used semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions for the data collection. The standard used for selecting the participants was strictly based on professionalism, relevance, expertise and the willingness of the participants to participate in the study. The participants interviewed include Muslim family experts, Islamic scholars, and media workers, comprising five (5) participants for each research subject. Twelve (15) participants were sampled for the study. The method of data analysis used is thematic and theoretical explanations. This paper analytically discusses the new and emerging ethical issues in relation to business activities as well as new strategies for the development of successful businesses for economic prosperity, growth, and development. The study findings revealed that the awareness of Muslim families in promoting Islamic business ethics has significantly contributed to changing the negative attitudes of some Muslim individuals' in relation to their business. Furthermore, findings of unveiled Muslim individuals immensely benefited towards understanding and having knowledge in relation to ethical business guidelines enshrined by the sharia in the conduct of pure business as well as strengthening Islamic business ethics through the teachings of the noble Quran and Sunnah.

Keywords: Muslim family, awareness, business ethics, economic development

Procedia PDF Downloads 82

Authors: O. Fiquet, P. Lemarignier

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Additive manufacturing may find numerous applications in the nuclear industry, for the same reason as for other industries, to enlarge design possibilities and performances and develop fabrication methods as a flexible route for future innovation. Additive Manufacturing applications in the design of structural metallic components for reactors are already developed at a high Technology Readiness Level (TRL). In the case of a Pressured Water Reactor using uranium oxide fuel pellets, which are ceramics, the transposition of already optimized Additive Manufacturing (AM) processes to UO₂ remains a challenge, and the progress remains slow because, to our best knowledge, only a few laboratories have the capability of developing processes applicable to UO₂. After the Fukushima accident, numerous research fields emerged with the study of ATF (Accident tolerant Fuel) fuel concepts, which aimed to improve fuel behaviour. One item concerns the increase of the pellet thermal performance by, for example, the addition of high thermal conductivity material into fissile UO₂. This additive phase may be metallic, and the end product will constitute a CERMET composite. Innovative designs of an internal metallic framework are proposed based on predictive calculations. However, because the well-known reference pellet manufacturing methods impose many limitations, manufacturing such a composite remains an arduous task. Therefore, the AM process appears as a means of broadening the design possibilities of CERMET manufacturing. If the external form remains a standard cylindrical fuel pellet, the internal metallic design remains to be optimized based on process capabilities. This project also considers the limitation to a maximum of 10% volume of metal, which is a constraint neutron physics considerations impose. The AM technique chosen for this development is robocasting because of its simplicity and low-cost equipment. It remains, however, a challenge to adapt a ceramic 3D printing process for the fabrication of UO₂ fuel. The investigation starts with surrogate material, and the optimization of slurry feedstock is based on alumina. The paper will present the first printing of Al2O3-Mo CERMET and the expected transition from ceramic-based alumina to UO₂ CERMET.

Keywords: nuclear, fuel, CERMET, robocasting

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Authors: Mohita Gangwar Sharma

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Different factors are compelling manufacturers to move towards the phenomenon of servitization i.e. when firms go beyond giving support to the customers in operating the equipment. The challenges that are being faced in this transition by the manufacturing firms from being a product provider to a product- service provider are multipronged. Product-Service Systems (PSS) lies in between the pure-product and pure-service continuum. Through this study, we wish to understand the dimensions of ‘PSS-quality’. We draw upon the quality literature for both the product and services and through an expert survey for a specific transportation sector using analytical hierarchical process (AHP) derive a conceptual model that can be used as a comprehensive measurement tool for PSS offerings.

Keywords: servitisation, quality, product-service system, AHP

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Authors: Alan T. Sassler

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Biofouling is a significant issue for ships, especially those based in warm water ports. Biofouling damages hull coatings, degrades platform hydrodynamics, blocks cooling water intakes, and returns, reduces platform range and speed, and increases fuel consumption. Although platforms are protected to some degree by antifouling paints, these paints are much less effective on stationary platforms, and problematic biofouling can occur on antifouling paint-protected stationary platforms in some environments in as little as a matter of weeks. Remediation hull cleaning operations are possible, but they are very expensive, sometimes result in damage to the vessel’s paint or hull and are generally not completely effective. Ultrasound with sufficient intensity focused on specific frequency ranges can be used to prevent the growth of biofouling organisms. The use of ultrasound to prevent biofouling isn't new, but systems to date have focused on protecting platforms by shaking the hull using internally mounted transducers similar to those used in ultrasonic cleaning machines. While potentially effective, this methodology doesn't scale well to large platforms, and there are significant costs associated with installing and maintaining these systems, which dwarf the initial purchase price. An alternative approach has been developed, which uses highly directional pier-mounted transducers to project high-intensity spread-spectrum ultrasonic energy into the water column focused near the surface. This focused energy has been shown to prevent biofouling at ranges of up to 50 meters from the source. Spreading the energy out over a multi-kilohertz band makes the system both more effective and more environmentally friendly. This system has been shown to be both effective and inexpensive in small-scale testing and is now being characterized on a larger scale in selected marinas. To date, test results have been collected in Florida marinas suggesting that this approach can be used to keep ensonified areas of thousands of square meters free from biofouling, although care must be taken to minimize shaded areas.

Keywords: biofouling, ultrasonic, environmentally friendly antifoulant, marine protection, antifouling

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Authors: Manuela Amorim, Cláudia S. Marques, Maria Conceição Calhau, Hélder J. Pinheiro, Maria Manuela Pintado

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Recently it has been recognized peptides from different food sources with biological activities. However, no relevant study has proven the potential of brewer yeast peptides in the modulation of gut microbiota. The importance of human intestinal microbiota in maintaining host health is well known. Probiotics, prebiotics and the combination of these two components, can contribute to support an adequate balance of the bacterial population in the human large intestine. The survival of many bacterial species inhabiting the large bowel depends essentially on the substrates made available to them, most of which come directly from the diet. Some of these substrates can be selectively considered as prebiotics, which are food ingredients that can stimulate beneficial bacteria such as Lactobacilli or Bifidobacteria growth in the colon. Moreover, conventional food can be used as vehicle to intake bioactive compounds that provide those health benefits and increase people well-being. In this way, the main objective of this work was to study the potential prebiotic activity of brewer yeast peptide extract (BYP) obtained via hydrolysis of yeast proteins by cardosins present in Cynara cardunculus extract for possible use as a functional ingredient. To evaluate the effect of BYP on the modulation of gut microbiota in diet-induced obesity model, Wistar rats were fed either with a standard or a high-fat diet. Quantified via 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) expression by quantitative PCR (qPCR), genera of beneficial bacteria (Lactobacillus spp. and Bifidobacterium spp.) and three main phyla (Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes and Actinobacteria) were assessed. Results showed relative abundance of Lactobacillus spp., Bifidobacterium spp. and Bacteroidetes was significantly increased (P < 0.05) by BYP. Consequently, the potential health-promoting effects of WPE through modulation of gut microbiota were demonstrated in vivo. Altogether, these findings highlight the possible intervention of BYP as gut microbiota enhancer, promoting healthy life style, and the incorporation in new food products, leads them bringing associated benefits endorsing a new trend in the improvement of new value-added food products.

Keywords: functional ingredients, gut microbiota, prebiotics, brewer yeast peptide extract

Procedia PDF Downloads 503

Authors: Qingjin Liu, Jinpeng Niu, Kangjia Chen, Jiao Li, Huafu Chen, Wei Liao

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Functional connectomics is essential in cognitive science and neuropsychiatry, offering insights into the brain's complex network structures and dynamic interactions. Although neuroimaging has uncovered functional connectivity issues in Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) patients, the dynamic shifts in connectome topology and their link to gene expression are yet to be fully understood. To explore the differences in dynamic connectome topology between MDD patients and healthy individuals, we conducted an extensive analysis of resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data from 434 participants (226 MDD patients and 208 controls). We used multilayer network models to evaluate brain module dynamics and examined the association between whole-brain gene expression and dynamic module variability in MDD using publicly available transcriptomic data. Our findings revealed that compared to healthy individuals, MDD patients showed lower global mean values and higher standard deviations, indicating unstable patterns and increased regional differentiation. Notably, MDD patients exhibited more frequent module switching, primarily within the executive control network (ECN), particularly in the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and right fronto-insular regions, whereas the default mode network (DMN), including the superior frontal gyrus, temporal lobe, and right medial prefrontal cortex, displayed lower variability. These brain dynamics predicted the severity of depressive symptoms. Analyzing human brain gene expression data, we found that the spatial distribution of MDD-related gene expression correlated with dynamic module differences. Cell type-specific gene analyses identified oligodendrocytes (OPCs) as major contributors to the transcriptional relationships underlying module variability in MDD. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first comprehensive description of altered brain module dynamics in MDD patients linked to depressive symptom severity and changes in whole-brain gene expression profiles.

Keywords: major depressive disorder, module dynamics, magnetic resonance imaging, transcriptomic

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Authors: Yutae Lee

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This paper considers a discrete-time bulk-arrival bulkservice queueing system, where service capacity varies depending on the previous service time. By using the generating function technique and the supplementary variable method, we compute the distributions of the queue length at an arbitrary slot boundary and a departure time.

Keywords: discrete-time queue, bulk queue, variable service capacity, queue length distribution

Procedia PDF Downloads 482

Authors: Haniyeh Parhizkar

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When Sarris came up with the "auteur theory" in 1962, he emphasized that the utmost premise of auteur theory is the inner meanings and concepts of a film and that a film is purely an art form. Today's mainstream movies are conceptually closer to what the Frankfurt School scholars regarded as "reproduced" and "mass culture" years ago. Hollywood goes on to be a huge movie-making machine that leads the dominant paradigms of films throughout the world and cinema is far from art. Although there are still movies, directors, and audiences who favor art cinema over Hollywood and mainstream movies, it's an almost undeniable fact that, for the most part, people's perception of movies is widely influenced by their American depiction and Hollywood's legacy of mass culture. With the uprising of Hollywood studios as the forerunners of the movie industry and cinema being largely dependent on economics rather than artistic values, this distinctive role of cinema has diminished and is replaced with a global standard. The Blockbuster 2022 film, 'Everything, Everywhere, All at Once' is now the most-awarded movie of all time, winning seven Oscars at the 95th Academy Awards. Despite its main cast being Asian, the movie is produced by American incorporation and is heavily influenced by Hollywood's dominant themes of superheroes, fantasy, action, and adventure. The New Yorker film critic, Richard Brody, called the movie "a pitch for a Marvel" and critiqued the film for being "universalized" and "empty of history and culture". Other critics of Variety pinpointed the movie's similarities to Marvel, particularly in their storylines of multi-universe which manifest traces of American legacy. As argued by these critics, 'Everything, Everywhere, All at Once' might appear as a unique and authentic film at first glance, but it can be argued that it is yet another version of a Marvel movie. While the movie's universal acclaim was regarded as recognition and an acknowledgment of its Asian cast, the issue that arises here is when the Hollywood influences and American themes are so robust in the film, is the movie industry honoring another culture or is it yet another celebration of Hollywood's dominant paradigm. This essay will employ a critical approach to Hollywood's dominance and mass-produced culture, which has deprived authenticity of non-American movies and is constantly reproducing the same formula of success.

Keywords: hollywoodization, universalization, blockbuster, dominant paradigm, marvel, authenticity, diversity

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Authors: Theingi Shwe, Riken Homma, Kazuhisa Iki, Juko Ito

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The growing cities of the developing country are characterized by rapid growth and poor infrastructure management inviting and accelerating relative environmental problems. Even though the movements of the sustainability had already been developed around the world, it is still increasing in the developing countries to plant sustainable practices. Aligned with the sustainable development actions, many sustainable assessment tools are also developed to rate and evaluate the sustainability performances through the building to community level. Among them, CASBEE is developed by Japanese organizations and is recognized as one of the international well-known assessment tools. The main purpose of the study is to find out the potential of CASBEE tool reflecting sustainability city level performances in developing countries. The research framework was designed with three major phases: Quantitative Approach, Qualitative Approach and Evaluation Reflection. The first two approaches were based on the investigation of tool’s contents and indicators by means of three sustainable dimensions and sustainability categories. To know the reality and reflection on developing country, Pathein City from Myanmar was selected and evaluated by 2012 version of CASBEE for Cities. The evaluation practices went through assigned indicators and the evaluation outcome presents the performances of Pathein city’s environmental efficiency as a very good in current conditions. The results of this study indicate that the indicators of this tool have balance coverage among three dimensions of sustainability but it has not yet counted enough for some indicators like location, infrastructure and institution which are relative to society dimension. In the developing countries’ cities, the most critical issues on development such as affordable housing and heritage preservation which are already planted in Pathein City but the tool does not account for those issues. Moreover, in some of the indicators, the benchmark and the weighting coefficient are strongly linked to the system birth region. By means of this study, it can be stated that CASBEE for Cities would be potential for delivering sustainable city level development in developing country especially in Myanmar along with further inclusion of the indicators.

Keywords: assessment tool, CASBEE, developing country, Myanmar, Pathein city, sustainable development

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Authors: Raed KOUTA, José-Alcebiades-Ernesto HLUNGUANE, Eric Châtele

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The search for and exploitation of new fossil energy resources is taking place in the context of the gradual depletion of existing deposits. Despite the adoption of international targets to combat global warming, the demand for fuels continues to grow, contradicting the movement towards an energy-efficient society. The increase in the share of offshore in global hydrocarbon production tends to compensate for the depletion of terrestrial reserves, thus constituting a major challenge for the players in the sector. Through the economic potential it represents, and the energy independence it provides, offshore exploitation is also a challenge for States such as Mozambique, which have large maritime areas and whose environmental wealth must be considered. The exploitation of new reserves on economically viable terms depends on available technologies. The development of deep and ultra-deep offshore requires significant research and development efforts. Progress has also been made in managing the multiple risks inherent in this activity. Our study proposes a reliability approach to develop products and processes designed to live at sea. Indeed, the context of an offshore platform requires highly reliable solutions to overcome the difficulties of access to the system for regular maintenance and quick repairs and which must resist deterioration and degradation processes. One of the characteristics of failures that we consider is the actual conditions of use that are considered 'extreme.' These conditions depend on time and the interactions between the different causes. These are the two factors that give the degradation process its dynamic character, hence the need to develop dynamic reliability models. Our work highlights mathematical models that can explicitly manage interactions between components and process variables. These models are accompanied by numerical resolution methods that help to structure a dynamic reliability approach in a physical and probabilistic context. The application developed makes it possible to evaluate the reliability, availability, and maintainability of a floating storage and unloading platform for liquefied natural gas production.

Keywords: dynamic reliability, offshore plateform, stochastic process, uncertainties

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Authors: Lebeza Alemu Tenaw, Fei Wan Ngai

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Background: Postpartum depression is the most common mental health disorder that occurs after childbirth, and it is more prevalent among teenage mothers compared to adults. Although there is emerging evidence suggesting psychosocial interventions can decrease postpartum depression, there are no consistent findings regarding the effectiveness of these interventions, especially for teenage mothers. The current review aimed to investigate the effectiveness of psychosocial interventions in preventing postpartum depression among teenage mothers. Methods: The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-analysis (PRISMA) manual was implemented to select articles from online databases. The articles were searched using the Population, Intervention, Control, and Outcome (PICO) model. The quality of the articles was assessed using the Cochrane Collaboration Risk of Bias assessment tool. The statistical analyses were performed using Stata 17, and the effect size was estimated using the standard mean difference score of depression between the intervention and control groups. Heterogeneity between the studies was assessed through the I2 statistic and Q statistic, while the publication bias was evaluated using the asymmetry of the funnel plot and Egger's test. Results: In this systematic review, a total of nine articles were included. While psychosocial interventions demonstrated in reducing the risk of postpartum depression compared to usual maternal care, it is important to note that the mean difference score of depression was significant in only three of the included studies. The overall meta-analysis finding revealed that psychosocial interventions were effective in preventing postpartum depression, with a pooled effect size of -0.5 (95% CI: -0.95, -0.06) during the final time postpartum depression assessment. The heterogeneity level was found to be substantial, with an I2 value of 82.3%. However, no publication bias was observed. Conclusion: The review findings suggest that psychosocial interventions initiated during the late antenatal and early postnatal periods effectively prevent postpartum depression. The interventions were found to be more beneficial during the first three months of the postpartum period. However, this review also highlighted that there is a scarcity of interventional studies conducted in low-income countries, indicating the need for further studies in diverse communities.

Keywords: teenage pregnancy, postpartum depression, review

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Authors: L. L. Tundisi, A. Pessoa Jr., E. B. Tambourgi, E. Silveira, P. G. Mazzola

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L-asparaginase (L-ASNase) is the gold standard treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukemia that mainly affects pediatric patients; treatment increases survival from 20% to 90%. The characterization of other L-Asparaginases, apart from the most used from Escherichia coli and Erwinia chrysanthemi, has been reported, but the choice of the most appropriate is still under debate. This choice should be based on its pharmacokinetics, immune hypersensitivity, doses, prices, pharmacodynamics. The main factors influencing the antileukemic activity of ASNase are enzymatic activity, Km, glutaminase activity, clearance of the enzyme and development of resistance. However, most of the commercialized enzyme present an intrinsic glutaminase activity, which is responsible for some side effects. In this study, glutaminase free asparaginase produced from Aspergillus oryzae was precipitated in different percentages of ethanol (0–80%), until optimum ethanol concentration of 60% (w/w) was found. Following, precipitation of crude L-ASNase was performed in a single step, using 60% (w/w) ethanol, under constant agitation and temperature. It presented activity of 135.45 U/mg and after gel filtration chromatography with Sephadex G-the enzymatic activity was 322.02 U/mg. The apparent molecular mass of the purified L-ASNase fraction was estimated by 10% SDS-PAGE. Proteins were stained with Coomassie Brilliant Blue R-250. The molar mass range was from 10 kDa to 250 kDa. L-ASNase from Aspergillus oryzae was characterized aiming possible therapeutic use. Four different buffers (phosphate-citrate buffer pH 2.6 to 5.8; phosphate buffer pH 5.8 to 7.4; Tris - HCl pH 7.4 to 9.0; and carbonate buffer pH 9.8 to 10.6) were used to measure the optimum pH for L-ASNase activity. The optimum temperature for enzyme activity was measured at optimal pH conditions (Tris-HCl and phosphate buffer, pH 7.4) at different temperatures ranging from 5 to 55°C. All activities were calculated by quantifying the free ammonia, using the Nessler reagent. The kinetic parameters calculation, e.g. Michaelis-Menten constant (Km), maximum velocity (Vmax) and Hills coefficient (n), were performed by incubating the enzyme in different concentrations of the substrate at optimum conditions of pH and fitted on Hill’s equation. This glutaminase free asparaginase showed a low Km (3.39 mM and 3.81 mM) and enzymatic activity of 135.45 U/mg after precipitation with ethanol. After gel filtration chromatography it rose to 322.02 U/mg. Optimum activity was found between pH 5.8 - 9.0, best activity results with phosphate buffer pH 7.4 and Tris-HCl pH 7.4 and showed activity from 5°C to 55°C. These results indicate that L-ASNase from A. oryzae has the potential for human use.

Keywords: biopharmaceuticals, bioprocessing, bioproducts, biotechnology, enzyme activity, ethanol precipitation

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Authors: David Holton, Michelle Dickinson, Giovanni Carta

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The principle of geological disposal is to isolate higher-activity radioactive wastes deep inside a suitable rock formation to ensure that no harmful quantities of radioactivity reach the surface environment. To achieve this, wastes will be placed in an engineered underground containment facility – the geological disposal facility (GDF) – which will be designed so that natural and man-made barriers work together to minimise the escape of radioactivity. Internationally, various multi-barrier concepts have been developed for the disposal of higher-activity radioactive wastes. High-heat-generating wastes (HLW, spent fuel and Pu) provide a number of different technical challenges to those associated with the disposal of low-heat-generating waste. Thermal management of the disposal system must be taken into consideration in GDF design; temperature constraints might apply to the wasteform, container, buffer and host rock. Of these, the temperature limit placed on the buffer component of the engineered barrier system (EBS) can be the most constraining factor. The heat must therefore be managed such that the properties of the buffer are not compromised to the extent that it cannot deliver the required level of safety. The maximum temperature of a buffer surrounding a container at the centre of a fixed array of heat-generating sources, arises due to heat diffusing from neighbouring heat-generating wastes, incrementally contributing to the temperature of the EBS. A range of strategies can be employed for managing heat in a GDF, including the spatial arrangements or patterns of those containers; different geometrical configurations can influence the overall thermal density in a disposal facility (or area within a facility) and therefore the maximum buffer temperature. A semi-analytical thermal dimensioning tool and methodology have been applied at a generic stage to explore a range of strategies to manage the disposal of high-heat-generating waste. A number of examples, including different geometrical layouts and chequer-boarding, have been illustrated to demonstrate how these tools can be used to consider safety margins and inform strategic disposal options when faced with uncertainty, at a generic stage of the development of a GDF.

Keywords: buffer, geological disposal facility, high-heat-generating waste, spent fuel

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Authors: Haoshu Li, Shaolong Wan

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The recent focus has been on directional signal amplification of a signal input at one end of a one-dimensional chain and measured at the other end. The amplification rate is given by the end-to-end Green’s functions of the system. In this work, we derive the exact formulas for the end-to-end Green's functions of non-Hermitian single-band systems. While in the bulk region, it is found that the Green's functions are displaced from the prior established integral formula by O(e⁻ᵇᴸ). The results confirm the correspondence between the signal amplification and the non-Hermitian skin effect.

Keywords: non-Hermitian, Green's function, non-Hermitian skin effect, signal amplification

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Authors: Maha A. Al-Hsayni

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Title of the Study: The Effect of Using Augmented Reality Technique in a Computer Course Unit on the Academic Achievement and Attitudes of High School Female Students. This study aimed at identifying the effect of using the Augmented Reality technique on the academic achievement of computer course at the cognitive domains (Knowledge, comprehension and analysis) with third high school female students in Holy Makkah. The researcher used: The quasi-experimental approach. The sample of the study was comprised of (55) female students in the third high school level in Holy Makkah in the second semester of the academic year 1434/1435 H. These students were assigned to two groups: The experimental group of (28) students who were taught by using the Augmented Reality technology, and the control group of (27) students, who were taught by using the traditional method. The researcher prepared a set of tools and materials, which are represented in achievement test consisted of (30) clauses, direction instrument consisted of (25) clauses and the design of augmented reality for computer study unit. The study used the following statistical methods for data analysis: Cronbach's alpha coefficient, Pearson correlation coefficient, means, standard deviations, t-test and analysis of covariance test ANCOVA. The study reached the following results: 1- There are statistically significance difference at ( 0.05) among the adjusted means of the experimental and control groups in the posttest at the domains of (Knowledge, comprehension and analysis) of third high school graders after adjusting the pretest 2- There are statistically significance difference at ( 0.05) among the means of pre and post-test for female students of the experimental group in the scale of attitude towards using Augmented Reality Technique. In the light of the study results, the researcher recommends the followings: The necessity of using Augmented Reality Technique in teaching computer courses for high school students. Furthermore, emphasizing the need to provide schools with educational halls equipped with instruments and screens that enable teachers to use the Augmented Reality in teaching the other courses. Also, the researcher suggested conducting more studies in order to improve the process of teaching and learning.

Keywords: augmented reality technique, computer course unit, academic achievement, attitudes, high school female students

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Authors: Petar Dobrev

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There is no agreed-upon definition of firm quality. While profitability and stock performance often qualify as popular proxies of quality, in this project, we aim to identify quality without relying on a firm’s financial statements or stock returns as selection criteria. Instead, we use firm-level data on management practices across small to medium-sized U.S. manufacturing firms from the World Management Survey (WMS) to measure firm quality. Each firm in the WMS dataset is assigned a mean management score from 0 to 5, with higher scores identifying better-managed firms. This management score serves as our proxy for firm quality and is the sole criteria we use to separate firms into portfolios comprised of high-quality and low-quality firms. We define high-quality (low-quality) firms as those firms with a management score of one standard deviation above (below) the mean. To study whether this proxy for firm quality can identify better-performing firms, we link this data to Compustat and The Center for Research in Security Prices (CRSP) to obtain firm-level data on financial performance and monthly stock returns, respectively. We find that from 1999 to 2019 (our sample data period), firms in the high-quality portfolio are consistently more profitable — higher operating profitability and return on equity compared to low-quality firms. In addition, high-quality firms also exhibit a lower risk of bankruptcy — a higher Altman Z-score. Next, we test whether the stocks of the firms in the high-quality portfolio earn superior risk-adjusted excess returns. We regress the monthly excess returns on each portfolio on the Fama-French 3-factor, 4-factor, and 5-factor models, the betting-against-beta factor, and the quality-minus-junk factor. We find no statistically significant differences in excess returns between both portfolios, suggesting that stocks of high-quality (well managed) firms do not earn superior risk-adjusted returns compared to low-quality (poorly managed) firms. In short, our proxy for firm quality, the WMS management score, can identify firms with superior financial performance (higher profitability and reduced risk of bankruptcy). However, our management proxy cannot identify stocks that earn superior risk-adjusted returns, suggesting no statistically significant relationship between managerial quality and stock performance.

Keywords: excess stock returns, management, profitability, quality

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Authors: Sandra Regina Cavalcante, Rodolfo A. G. Vilela

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Introduction: Work accidents and occupational diseases are a big problem for public health around the world and the main health problem of workers with high social and economic costs. Brazil has shown progress over the last years, with the development of the regulatory system to improve safety and quality of life in the workplace. However, the situation is far from acceptable, because the occurrences remain high and there is a great gap between legislation and reality, generated by the low level of voluntary compliance with the law. Brazilian laws provide procedural legal instruments for both, to compensate the damage caused to the worker's health and to prevent future injuries. In the Judiciary, the prevention idea is in the collective action, effected through Brazilian Class Actions. Inhibitory guardianships may impose both, improvements to the working environment, as well as determine the interruption of activity or a ban on the machine that put workers at risk. Both the Labor Prosecution and trade unions have to stand to promote this type of action, providing payment of compensation for collective moral damage. Objectives: To verify how class actions (known as ‘public civil actions’), regulated in Brazilian legal system to protect diffuse, collective and homogeneous rights, are being used to protect workers' health and safety. Methods: The author identified and evaluated decisions of Brazilian Superior Court of Labor involving collective actions and work accidents. The timeframe chosen was December 2015. The online jurisprudence database was consulted in page available for public consultation on the court website. The categorization of the data was made considering the result (court application was rejected or accepted), the request type, the amount of compensation and the author of the cause, besides knowing the reasoning used by the judges. Results: The High Court issued 21,948 decisions in December 2015, with 1448 judgments (6.6%) about work accidents and only 20 (0.09%) on collective action. After analyzing these 20 decisions, it was found that the judgments granted compensation for collective moral damage (85%) and/or obligation to make, that is, changes to improve prevention and safety (71%). The processes have been filed mainly by the Labor Prosecutor (83%), and also appeared lawsuits filed by unions (17%). The compensation for collective moral damage had average of 250,000 reais (about US$65,000), but it should be noted that there is a great range of values found, also are several situations repaired by this compensation. This is the last instance resource for this kind of lawsuit and all decisions were well founded and received partially the request made for working environment protection. Conclusions: When triggered, the labor court system provides the requested collective protection in class action. The values of convictions arbitrated in collective actions are significant and indicate that it creates social and economic repercussions, stimulating employers to improve the working environment conditions of their companies. It is necessary to intensify the use of collective actions, however, because they are more efficient for prevention than reparatory individual lawsuits, but it has been underutilized, mainly by Unions.

Keywords: Brazilian Class Action, collective action, work accident penalization, workplace accident prevention, workplace protection law

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Authors: Seyed Habib A. Rahmati, Mohsen Sadegh Amalnick

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Different terms of the statistical process control (SPC) has sketch in the fuzzy environment. However, measurement system analysis (MSA), as a main branch of the SPC, is rarely investigated in fuzzy area. This procedure assesses the suitability of the data to be used in later stages or decisions of the SPC. Therefore, this research focuses on some important measures of MSA and through a new method introduces the measures in fuzzy environment. In this method, which works based on Buckley approach, imprecision and vagueness nature of the real world measurement are considered simultaneously. To do so, fuzzy version of the gauge capability (Cg and Cgk) are introduced. The method is also explained through example clearly.

Keywords: measurement, SPC, MSA, gauge capability (Cg and Cgk)

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Authors: Abdullahi Musa Yusuf

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Culture and traditions are an embodiment of every society. In Africa, people are socialized into believing that the world is full of mysteries. Mysteries that can only be explain through the interpretation of some forces which are ordinarily beyond the comprehension of Man. These forces have the power and capability of influencing the lives of the living either benevolently or malevolently. To decipher these mysteries various religious and cultural practices were evolved. This paper is therefore an attempt to explain the traditional religious belief system and the relationship existing between the forces of the living and dead among the Igala people of the Central Nigeria Region.

Keywords: culture, tradition, mythology, Nigeria

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Authors: Younghoo Choi, Yong Jun, Jinkoo Kim

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In this study seismic performance of typical reinforced concrete staggered wall system structures was evaluated through nonlinear static and incremental dynamic analyses. To this end, and 15-story SWS structures were designed and were analyzed to obtain their nonlinear force-displacement relationships. The analysis results showed that the 5-story SWS structures failed due to yielding of columns and walls located in the lower stories, whereas in the 15-story structures plastic hinges were more widely distributed throughout the stories.

Keywords: staggered wall systems, reinforced concrete, seismic performance

Procedia PDF Downloads 394

Authors: Hsien-Te Lin

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The purpose of this paper is to introduce the BCFES (building carbon footprint evaluation system), which is a LCA (life cycle assessment) tool developed by the Low Carbon Building Alliance (LCBA) in Taiwan. A qualified BCFES for the building industry should fulfill the function of evaluating carbon footprint throughout all stages in the life cycle of building projects, including the production, transportation and manufacturing of materials, construction, daily energy usage, renovation and demolition. However, many existing BCFESs are too complicated and not very designer-friendly, creating obstacles in the implementation of carbon reduction policies. One of the greatest obstacle is the misapplication of the carbon footprint inventory standards of PAS2050 or ISO14067, which are designed for mass-produced goods rather than building projects. When these product-oriented rules are applied to building projects, one must compute a tremendous amount of data for raw materials and the transportation of construction equipment throughout the construction period based on purchasing lists and construction logs. This verification method is very cumbersome by nature and unhelpful to the promotion of low carbon design. With a view to provide an engineer-oriented BCFE with pre-diagnosis functions, a component input/output (I/O) database system and a scenario simulation method for building energy are proposed herein. Most existing BCFESs base their calculations on a product-oriented carbon database for raw materials like cement, steel, glass, and wood. However, data on raw materials is meaningless for the purpose of encouraging carbon reduction design without a feedback mechanism, because an engineering project is not designed based on raw materials but rather on building components, such as flooring, walls, roofs, ceilings, roads or cabinets. The LCBA Database has been composited from existing carbon footprint databases for raw materials and architectural graphic standards. Project designers can now use the LCBA Database to conduct low carbon design in a much more simple and efficient way. Daily energy usage throughout a building's life cycle, including air conditioning, lighting, and electric equipment, is very difficult for the building designer to predict. A good BCFES should provide a simplified and designer-friendly method to overcome this obstacle in predicting energy consumption. In this paper, the author has developed a simplified tool, the dynamic Energy Use Intensity (EUI) method, to accurately predict energy usage with simple multiplications and additions using EUI data and the designed efficiency levels for the building envelope, AC, lighting and electrical equipment. Remarkably simple to use, it can help designers pre-diagnose hotspots in building carbon footprint and further enhance low carbon designs. The BCFES-LCBA offers the advantages of an engineer-friendly component I/O database, simplified energy prediction methods, pre-diagnosis of carbon hotspots and sensitivity to good low carbon designs, making it an increasingly popular carbon management tool in Taiwan. To date, about thirty projects have been awarded BCFES-LCBA certification and the assessment has become mandatory in some cities.

Keywords: building carbon footprint, life cycle assessment, energy use intensity, building energy

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Authors: Dale Dzemydiene, Aurelija Burinskiene, Arunas Miliauskas, Kristina Ciziuniene

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Data flow and the purpose of reporting the data are different and dependent on business needs. Different parameters are reported and transferred regularly during freight delivery. This business practices form the dataset constructed for each time point and contain all required information for freight moving decisions. As a significant amount of these data is used for various purposes, an integrating methodological approach must be developed to respond to the indicated problem. The proposed methodology contains several steps: (1) collecting context data sets and data validation; (2) multi-objective analysis for optimizing freight transfer services. For data validation, the study involves Grubbs outliers analysis, particularly for data cleaning and the identification of statistical significance of data reporting event cases. The Grubbs test is often used as it measures one external value at a time exceeding the boundaries of standard normal distribution. In the study area, the test was not widely applied by authors, except when the Grubbs test for outlier detection was used to identify outsiders in fuel consumption data. In the study, the authors applied the method with a confidence level of 99%. For the multi-objective analysis, the authors would like to select the forms of construction of the genetic algorithms, which have more possibilities to extract the best solution. For freight delivery management, the schemas of genetic algorithms' structure are used as a more effective technique. Due to that, the adaptable genetic algorithm is applied for the description of choosing process of the effective transportation corridor. In this study, the multi-objective genetic algorithm methods are used to optimize the data evaluation and select the appropriate transport corridor. The authors suggest a methodology for the multi-objective analysis, which evaluates collected context data sets and uses this evaluation to determine a delivery corridor for freight transfer service in the multi-modal transportation network. In the multi-objective analysis, authors include safety components, the number of accidents a year, and freight delivery time in the multi-modal transportation network. The proposed methodology has practical value in the management of multi-modal transportation processes.

Keywords: multi-objective, analysis, data flow, freight delivery, methodology

Procedia PDF Downloads 182