Search results for: current distribution

Authors: Raees Khan, Mir A. Khan, Sheikh Z. Ul Abidin, Abdul S. Mumtaz

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In the present study, phytogeography and conservation status of gymnosperms of Pakistan were investigated. 44 gymnosperms species of 18 genera and 9 families were collected from 66 districts of the country. Among the 44 species, 20 species were native (wild) and 24 species were exotic (cultivated). Ephedra sarocarpa of Ephedraceae was not collected in this study from its distribution area and most probably it may be Nationally Extinct now from this area. Previously in Gymnosperms Flora of Pakistan 34 species was reported. 12 new gymnosperms species were recorded for the first time. Pinus wallichiana (40 districts), Cedrus deodara (39 districts) Pinus roxburghii (36 districts), Picea smithiana (36 districts) and Abies pindrow (34 districts) have the maximum ecological amplitude. Juniperus communis (17districts) and Juniperus excelsa (14 districts) were the widely distributed among the junipers. Ephedra foliata (23 districts), Ephedra gerardiana (20 districts) and Ephedra intermedia (19 districts) has the widest distribution range. Taxus fuana was also wider distribution range and recorded in 19 districts but its population was not very stable. These species was recorded to support local flora and fuana, especially endemics. PCORD version 5 clustered all gymnosperms species into 4 communities and all localities into 5 groups through cluster analyses. The Two Way Cluster Analyses of 66 districts (localities) resulted 4 various plant communities. The Gymnosperms in Pakistan are distributed in 3 floristic regions i.e. Western plains of the country, Northern and Western mountainous regions and Western Himalayas. The assessment of the National conservation status of these species, 10 species were found to be threatened, 6 species were endangered, 4 species were critically endangered and 1 species have become extinct (Ephedra sarcocarpa). The population of some species i.e. Taxus fuana, Ephedra gerardiana, Ephedra monosperma, Picea smithiana and Abies spectabilis is decreasing at an alarming rate.

Keywords: conservation status, gymnosperms, phytogeography, Pakistan

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Authors: Saroj Panthi

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The red panda (Ailurus fulgens fulgens) is distributed throughout the Himalayas and is found in both protected and unprotected areas of Nepal. Loss and fragmentation of habitat threaten red panda population throughout its range, and as a consequence, it is listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Despite this pressing situation, data on the ecology of the red panda in western Nepal are lacking. Our aim in the current study was to determine the distribution, associated habitats, and summer diet of the red panda in Dhorpatan Hunting Reserve (DHR), Nepal. Evidence of red pandas was found in all 7 blocks of the reserve, spanning an area of 345.8 km2, between elevations of 2800 m and 4000 m and predominantly (> 75%) in forests comprising plant communities dominated by Abies spectabilis, Acer caesium, Tsuga domusa, and Betula utilis, with ground cover of Arundinaria spp. The dominant plant found in scat of the red panda was Arundinaria spp. (81.7%), with Acer spp., B. utilis, and lichen also frequently present. Livestock grazing and human activities were significantly higher in habitats where signs of pandas were recorded than in areas where they were absent. This habitat overlap between the red panda and livestock potentially poses a major threat to the panda’s survival in the DHR, a fact that should be taken into account in devising management strategies for this threatened species.

Keywords: red panda, Dhorpatan hunting reserve, diet, habitat preference

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Authors: Mojtaba Farzaneh, Majid Baghaei Nejad

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This article proposes a new Flexible Capacitive Tactile Sensors based on paper sheets. This method combines the parameters of sensor's material and dielectric, and forms a new model of flexible capacitive sensors. The present article tries to present a practical explanation of this method's application and advantages. With the use of this new method, it is possible to make a more flexibility and accurate sensor in comparison with the current models. To assess the performance of this model, the common capacitive sensor is simulated and the proposed model of this article and one of the existing models are assessed. The results of this article indicate that the proposed model of this article can enhance the speed and accuracy of tactile sensor and has less error in comparison with the current models. Based on the results of this study, it can be claimed that in comparison with the current models, the proposed model of this article is capable of representing more flexibility and more accurate output parameters for touching the sensor, especially in abnormal situations and uneven surfaces, and increases accuracy and practicality.

Keywords: capacitive sensor, paper sheets, flexible, tactile, uneven

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Authors: İlhami Karahanoglu, Oguz Ceylan

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As its well-known definitions; systemic risk refers to whole economic system down-turn movement even collapse together in very severe cases. In fact, it points out the contagion effects of the defaults. Such a risk is can be depicted with the famous Chinese game of falling domino stones. During and after the Bear & Sterns and Lehman Brothers cases, it was well understood that there is a very strong effect of systemic risk in financial services sector. In this study, we concentrate on the existence of systemic risk in Turkish Banking Sector based upon the Halkbank Case during the end month of 2013; there was a political turmoil in Turkey in which the close relatives of the upper politicians were involved in illegal trading activities. In that operation, the CEO of Halkbank was also arrested and in investigation, Halkbank was considered as part of such illegal actions. That operation had an impact on Halkbanks stock value. The Halkbank stock value during that time interval decreased remarkably, the distributional profile of stock return changed and became more volatile as well as more skewed. In this study, the daily returns of 5 leading banks in Turkish banking sector were used to obtain 48 return distributions (for each month, 90-days-back stock value returns are used) of 5 banks for the period 12/2011-12/2013 (pre operation period) and 12/2013-12/2015 (post operation period). When those distributions are compared with timely manner, interestingly; the distribution of the 5 other leading banks in Turkey, public or private, had also distribution profiles which was different from the past 2011-2013 period just like Halkbank. Those 5 big banks, whose stock values are monitored with sub index in Istanbul stock exchange (BIST) as BN10, had more skewed distribution just following the Halkbank stock return movement during the post operation period, with lover mean value and as well higher volatility. In addition, the correlation between the stock value return distributions of the leading banks after Halkbank case, where the returns are more skewed to the left, increased (which is measured in monthly base before and after the operation). The dependence between those banks was stronger under the case where the stock values were falling compared with the normal market condition. Such distributional effect of stock returns between the leading banks in Turkey, which is valid for down sub-market (financial/banking sector) condition, can be evaluated as an evidence for the existence of contagious effect and systemic risk.

Keywords: financial risk, systemic risk, banking sector, return distribution, dependency structure

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Authors: A. Shaygani, R. Saifi, M. S. Saidi, M. Sani

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Particle size distribution, the most important characteristics of aerosols, is obtained through electrical characterization techniques. The dynamics of charged nano-particles under the influence of electric field in electrical mobility spectrometer (EMS) reveals the size distribution of these particles. The accuracy of this measurement is influenced by flow conditions, geometry, electric field and particle charging process, therefore by the transfer function (transfer matrix) of the instrument. In this work, a wire-cylinder corona charger was designed and the combined field-diffusion charging process of injected poly-disperse aerosol particles was numerically simulated as a prerequisite for the study of a multi-channel EMS. The result, a cloud of particles with non-uniform charge distribution, was introduced to the EMS. The flow pattern and electric field in the EMS were simulated using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to obtain particle trajectories in the device and therefore to calculate the reported signal by each electrometer. According to the output signals (resulted from bombardment of particles and transferring their charges as currents), we proposed a modification to the size of detecting rings (which are connected to electrometers) in order to evaluate particle size distributions more accurately. Based on the capability of the system to transfer information contents about size distribution of the injected particles, we proposed a benchmark for the assessment of optimality of the design. This method applies the concept of Von Neumann entropy and borrows the definition of entropy from information theory (Shannon entropy) to measure optimality. Entropy, according to the Shannon entropy, is the ''average amount of information contained in an event, sample or character extracted from a data stream''. Evaluating the responses (signals) which were obtained via various configurations of detecting rings, the best configuration which gave the best predictions about the size distributions of injected particles, was the modified configuration. It was also the one that had the maximum amount of entropy. A reasonable consistency was also observed between the accuracy of the predictions and the entropy content of each configuration. In this method, entropy is extracted from the transfer matrix of the instrument for each configuration. Ultimately, various clouds of particles were introduced to the simulations and predicted size distributions were compared to the exact size distributions.

Keywords: aerosol nano-particle, CFD, electrical mobility spectrometer, von neumann entropy

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Authors: Safia Bashir, Zulfiqar Memon

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During the last decade, renewable energy sources in particular solar photovoltaic (PV) has gained increased attention. Therefore, various PV converters topologies have emerged. Among this topology, the modular multilevel converter (MMC) is considered as one of the most promising topologies for the grid-connected PV system due to its modularity and transformerless features. When it comes to the safe operation of MMC, the balancing of the Submodules Voltages (SMs) plays a critical role. This paper proposes a balancing approach based on space vector PWM (SVPWM). Unlike the existing techniques, this method generates the switching vectors for the MMC by using only one SVPWM for the upper arm. The lower arm switching vectors are obtained by finding the complement of the upper arm switching vectors. The use of one SVPWM not only simplifies the calculation but also helped in reducing the circulating current in the MMC. The proposed method is varied through simulation using Matlab/Simulink and compared with other available modulation methods. The results validate the ability of the suggested method in balancing the SMs capacitors voltages and reducing the circulating current which will help in reducing the power loss of the PV system.

Keywords: capacitor voltage balancing, circulating current, modular multilevel converter, PV system

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Authors: Elizabeth Valenti

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Objective: To date, there remains an absence of literature examining perceptions of mindfulness and mindful practices among college students, particularly among Christian students. The purpose of this mixed-methods, exploratory study was to gain a better understanding of students’ perception of mindfulness and assess current mindful practices. Methods: The mixed-methods, exploratory study examined data from freshmen undergraduate college students (N=107) enrolled in an introductory psychology course at a private, non-profit Christian university. Students completed a researcher-developed questionnaire containing both Likert and opened ended questions to assess knowledge about and perceptions of mindfulness, as well as current mindful practices. Results: Results of the thematic analysis revealed approximately half of the students had a limited understanding of mindfulness, with several reporting disadvantages. Most students listed prayer as a consistent practice, with a much smaller percentage of students consistently engaging in other mindful activities. Discussion: Implications for mindfulness education and the promotion of evidence-based methods, particularly in Christian communities, are discussed.

Keywords: mindfulness, mindful practices, perception, Christian, university students, mental health

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Authors: Tanyaporn Chairoch

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Introduction: Cannabis is a drug to treat patients with many diseases such as Multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, and Epilepsy, where theycontain many active compounds such as delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD). Especially, THC is the primary psychoactive ingredient in cannabis and binds to cannabinoid 1 (CB1) receptors. Moreover, CB1 is located on the neocortex, hippocampus, basal ganglia, cerebellum, and brainstem. In previous study, we found the association between the variant of CB1recptors gene (rs2023239) and decreased effect of nicotine reinforcement in patients. However, there are no data describing whether the distribution of CB1 receptor gene is a genetic marker for Thai patients who are treated with cannabis. Objective: Thus, the aim of this study we want to investigate the frequency of the CB1 receptor gene in Thai patients. Materials and Methods: All of sixty Thai patients received the medical cannabis for treatment who were recruited in this study. DNA will be extracted from EDTA whole blood by Genomic DNA Mini Kit. The genotyping of CNR1 gene (rs 2023239) was genotyped by the TaqMan real time PCR assay (ABI, Foster City, CA, USA).and using the real-time PCR ViiA7 (ABI, Foster City, CA, USA). Results: We found thirty-eight (63.3%) Thai patients were female, and twenty-two (36.70%) were male in this study with median age of 45.8 (range19 – 87 ) years. Especially, thirty-two (53.30%) medical cannabis tolerant controls were female ( 55%) and median age of52.1 (range 27 – 79 ) years. The most adverse effects for medical cannabis treatment was tachycardia. Furthermore, the number of rs 2023239 (TT) carriers was 26 of 27 (96.29%) in medical cannabis-induced adverse effects and 32 of 33 (96.96%) in tolerant controls. Additionally, rs 2023239 (CT) variant was found just only one of twenty-seven (3.7%) in medical cannabis-induced adverse effects and 1 of 33 (3.03%) in tolerant controls. Conclusions: The distribution of genetic variant in CNR1 gene might serve as a pharmacogenetics markers for screening before initiating the therapy with medical cannabis in Thai patients.

Keywords: cannabis, pharmacogenetics, CNR1 gene, thai patient

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Authors: Levent Basayigit, Sinan Demir, Yusuf Ucar, Burhan Kara

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Many research projects require accurate delineation of the different land cover type of the agricultural area. Especially it is critically important for the definition of specific plants like cannabis. However, the complexity of vegetation stands structure, abundant vegetation species, and the smooth transition between different seconder section stages make vegetation classification difficult when using traditional approaches such as the maximum likelihood classifier. Most of the time, classification distinguishes only between trees/annual or grain. It has been difficult to accurately determine the cannabis mixed with other plants. In this paper, a mixed distribution models approach is applied to classify pure and mix cannabis parcels using Worldview-2 imagery in the Lakes region of Turkey. Five different land use types (i.e. sunflower, maize, bare soil, and cannabis) were identified in the image. A constrained Gaussian mixture discriminant analysis (GMDA) was used to unmix the image. In the study, 255 reflectance ratios derived from spectral signatures of seven bands (Blue-Green-Yellow-Red-Rededge-NIR1-NIR2) were randomly arranged as 80% for training and 20% for test data. Gaussian mixed distribution model approach is proved to be an effective and convenient way to combine very high spatial resolution imagery for distinguishing cannabis vegetation. Based on the overall accuracies of the classification, the Gaussian mixed distribution model was found to be very successful to achieve image classification tasks. This approach is sensitive to capture the illegal cannabis planting areas in the large plain. This approach can also be used for monitoring and determination with spectral reflections in illegal cannabis planting areas.

Keywords: Gaussian mixture discriminant analysis, spectral mixture model, Worldview-2, land parcels

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Authors: Milad Kurdi, Hadi Farhadian, Teymour Eslamkish

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This study examined the hydro-geochemistry of Qare-Sou catchment and Gorgan Gulf in order to determine the spatial distribution of major ions. In this regard, six hydrometer stations in the catchment and four stations in Gorgan Gulf were chosen and the samples were collected. Results of spatial and temporal distribution of major ions have shown similar variation trends for calcium, magnesium, and bicarbonate ions. Also, the spatial trend of chloride, sulfate, sodium and potassium ions were same as Electrical Conductivity (EC) and Total Dissolved Solid (TDS). In Nahar Khoran station, the concentrations of ions were more than other stations which may be related to human activities and the role of geology. The Siah Ab station’s ions showed high concentration which is may be related to the station’s close proximity to Gorgan Gulf and the return of water to Qare-Sou River. In order to determine the interaction of water and rock, the Gibbs diagram was used and the results showed that water of the river falls in the rock range and it is affected more by weathering and reaction between water and stone and less by evaporation and crystallization. Assessment of the quality of river water by using graphic methods indicated that the type of water in this area is Ca-HCO₃-Mg. Major ions concentration in Qare-Sou in the universal average was more than but not more than the allowed limit by the World Health Organization and China Standard Organization. A comparison of ions concentration in Gorgan Gulf, seas and oceans showed that the pH in Gorgan Gulf was more than the other seas but in Gorgan Gulf the concentration of anion and cation was less than other seas.

Keywords: hydro-geochemistry, Qare-Sou river, Gorgan gulf, major ions, Gibbs diagram, water quality, graphical methods

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Authors: C. F. Ocoleanu, A. I. Dolan, G. Cividjian, S. Teodorescu

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In this paper we make a temperature investigations in two type of superposed crimped connections using experimental determinations. All the samples use 8 copper wire 7.1 x 3 mm2 crimped by two methods: the first method uses one crimp indents and the second is a proposed method with two crimp indents. The ferrule is a parallel one. We study the influence of number and position of crimp indents. The samples are heated in A.C. current at different current values until steady state heating regime. After obtaining of temperature values, we compare them and present the conclusion.

Keywords: crimped connections, experimental determinations, temperature, heat transfer

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Authors: Ana Belon Hercilla

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The study is developed in “Reactivos Jeans” company, in the city of Arequipa, whose main business is the laundry of garments at an industrial level. In 2012 the company initiated actions to provide a dry cleaning service of alpaca fiber garments, recognizing that this item is in a growth phase in Peru. Additionally this company took the initiative to use a new greenwashing technology which has not yet been developed in the country. To accomplish this, a redesign of both the process and the plant layout was required. For redesigning the plant, the methodology used was the Systemic Layout Planning, allowing this study divided into four stages. First stage is the information gathering and evaluation of the initial situation of the company, for which a description of the areas, facilities and initial equipment, distribution of the plant, the production process and flows of major operations was made. Second stage is the development of engineering techniques that allow the logging and analysis procedures, such as: Flow Diagram, Route Diagram, DOP (process flowchart), DAP (analysis diagram). Then the planning of the general distribution is carried out. At this stage, proximity factors of the areas are established, the Diagram Paths (TRA) is developed, and the Relational Diagram Activities (DRA). In order to obtain the General Grouping Diagram (DGC), further information is complemented by a time study and Guerchet method is used to calculate the space requirements for each area. Finally, the plant layout redesigning is presented and the implementation of the improvement is made, making it possible to obtain a model much more efficient than the initial design. The results indicate that the implementation of the new machinery, the adequacy of the plant facilities and equipment relocation resulted in a reduction of the production cycle time by 75.67%, routes were reduced by 68.88%, the number of activities during the process were reduced by 40%, waits and storage were removed 100%.

Keywords: redesign, time optimization, industrial laundry, greenwashing

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Authors: Changzhi Jiang, Chunyu Ding, Yan Su, Jiawei Li, Ravi Sharma, Yuanzhou Liu, Jiangwan Xu

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Early Mars is believed to have had extensive liquid water activity, which has now predominantly transitioned to a frozen state, with the majority of water stored in polar ice caps. It has long been deemed that the shallow subsurface of Mars' mid-to-low latitudes is devoid of liquid water. However, geological features observed at the Tianwen-1 landing site hint potential subsurface water. Our research indicates that the shallow subsurface at the Tianwen-1 landing site consists primarily of diluvium deposits containing liquid brine and brine ice, which exhibits diurnal thermal convection processes. Here we report the relationship between the loss tangent and temperature of materials within 5 meters depth of the subsurface at the Tianwen-1 landing site, as in-situ detected by high-frequency radar and climate station onboard the Zhurong rover. When the strata temperature exceeds ~ 240 K, the mixed brine ice transitions to liquid brine, significantly increasing the loss tangent from an average of ~ 0.0167 to a maximum of ~ 0.0448. This finding indicates the presence of substantial subsurface water in Mars' mid-to-low latitudes, influencing the shallow subsurface heat distribution and contributing to the current Martian hydrological cycle.

Keywords: water on mars, mars exploration, in-situ radar detection, tianwen-1 mission

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Authors: Parisa Bagheri Tookanlou

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In this paper, we analyze a product line design problem faced by a manufacturing firm where the product line consists of a customized product in addition to a standard product and is offered in a market in which customers are heterogeneous on aesthetic attributes of the product. The customization level of a product is defined by the fraction of aesthetic attributes of the product that the manufacturer chooses to customize. In contrast to the existing literature on product line design that predominantly assumes deterministic demand, we consider the presence of demand uncertainty and frame the product line design problem in a single period (news vendor) setting. We examine the effect of demand uncertainty on product line decisions. Furthermore, we also examine how product line decisions are influenced by channel structure. While we use the centralized channel as a benchmark, we consider the decentralized dual channel where the customized product is sold through an online channel owned by the manufacturer and the standard product is sold through a retailer. We introduce a supply contract between the manufacturer and the retailer for improving channel efficiency and coordinate the distribution channel.

Keywords: product line design, demand uncertainty, customization level, distribution channel

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Authors: András Horkai, Attila Talamon, Viktória Sugár

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There is an urgent need nowadays to reduce energy demand and the current level of greenhouse gas emission and use renewable energy sources increase in energy efficiency. On the other hand, the European Union (EU) countries are largely dependent on energy imports and are vulnerable to disruption in energy supply, which may, in turn, threaten the functioning of their current economic structure. Residential buildings represent a significant part of the energy consumption of the building stock. Only a small part of the building stock is exchanged every year, thus it is essential to increase the energy efficiency of the existing buildings. Present paper focuses on the buildings built with industrialized technology only, and their opportunities in the boundaries of nearly zero-energy regulation. Current paper shows the emergence of panel construction method, and past and present of the ‘panel’ problem in Hungary with a short outlook to Europe. The study shows as well as the possibilities for meeting the nearly zero and cost optimized requirements for residential buildings by analyzing the renovation scenarios of an existing residential typology.

Keywords: Budapest, energy consumption, industrialized technology, nearly zero-energy buildings

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Authors: Marta Ribo, Ian D. Goodwin, Thomas Mortlock, Phil O’Brien

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Coastal behavior is best investigated using a sediment budget approach, based on the identification of sediment sources and sinks. Grain size distribution over the New South Wales (NSW) continental shelf has been widely characterized since the 1970’s. Coarser sediment has generally accumulated on the outer shelf, and/or nearshore zones, with the latter related to the presence of nearshore reef and bedrocks. The central part of the NSW shelf is characterized by the presence of fine sediments distributed parallel to the coastline. This study presents new grain size distribution maps along the NSW continental shelf, built using all available NSW and Commonwealth Government holdings. All available seabed bathymetric data form prior projects, single and multibeam sonar, and aerial LiDAR surveys were integrated into a single bathymetric surface for the NSW continental shelf. Grain size information was extracted from the sediment sample data collected in more than 30 studies. The information extracted from the sediment collections varied between reports. Thus, given the inconsistency of the grain size data, a common grain size classification was her defined using the phi scale. The new sediment distribution maps produced, together with new detailed seabed bathymetric data enabled us to revise the delineation of sediment compartments to more accurately reflect the true nature of sediment movement on the inner shelf and nearshore. Accordingly, nine primary mega coastal compartments were delineated along the NSW coast and shelf. The sediment compartments are bounded by prominent nearshore headlands and reefs, and major river and estuarine inlets that act as sediment sources and/or sinks. The new sediment grain size distribution was used as an input in the morphological modelling to quantify the sediment transport patterns (and indicative rates of transport), used to investigate sand supply rates and processes from the lower shoreface to the NSW coast. The rate of sand supply to the NSW coast from deep water is a major uncertainty in projecting future coastal response to sea-level rise. Offshore transport of sand is generally expected as beaches respond to rising sea levels but an onshore supply from the lower shoreface has the potential to offset some of the impacts of sea-level rise, such as coastline recession. Sediment exchange between the lower shoreface and sub-aerial beach has been modelled across the south, central, mid-north and far-north coast of NSW. Our model approach is that high-energy storm events are the primary agents of sand transport in deep water, while non-storm conditions are responsible for re-distributing sand within the beach and surf zone.

Keywords: New South Wales coast, off-shore transport, sand supply, sediment distribution maps

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Authors: Totok Suhardijanto, Ninie Susanti Tedjowasono

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This paper discusses the relationship between the distribution of Ancient Malay inscriptions and Spice Trade Route, especially in the relation with material cultures that accompany them, to understand how Malay could spread out around the archipelago beyond its original native-speakers’ region. The archipelago was known as the Spice Islands from the very beginning of the first century due to mace, cloves, and nutmeg that were originally exclusively found there. According to the Indian record, since the 2nd century, there has been a contact established between Indian and Indonesian people. A Chinese document from 3rd Century has mentioned Wangka (now widely known as Bangka) an island near Sumatra where some Chinese expeditions had visited. All of these records supported the existence of a maritime trade system and route between the archipelago and other countries during the first millennium. This paper will discuss first the Ancient Malay inscription spread around the archipelago from the perspectives of language variation and writing system style. Analyzing language variations of inscriptions certainly is not as easy as studying current spoken language variations in modern sociolinguistics. A huge amount of data is available for such kind of studies. On the contrary, in language variation research with inscription texts as an object, data is insufficient. Other resources will be needed to support the linguistic analysis. For this reason, this research made use of epigraphical evidence in the surrounding areas of the inscriptions to explain the variation of language and writing style. The research next expands the analysis to figure out the relationship between language variation and inscriptions distribution to the Spice Trade Route that spreads from the Molucca Sea to Mediterranian Sea. Data in this research consists of six different inscriptions: Kedukan Bukit, Koto Kapur, Dapunta Salendra, Sang Hyang Wintang, Ligor, and Laguna from the 7th-9th Century and found in Sumatra, Jawa, and the Philippines. In addition, as a comparative resource, this research also used Hikayat Tanjung Tanah, the first-founded Ancient Malay manuscript. In language analysis, we conduct a sociolinguistic method to explore the language variation and writing style of the inscriptions. For dealing with archaeological data, we conducted a hermeneutic method to analyze the possible meaning and social uses of the data. Language variations and writing system style in this research can be classified into two main groups. The language, epigraphical, and archaeological evidence explain that Ancient Malay had been widely used in the Eastern area of Spice Trade Route because it played an important role in the region as a lingua franca between people from different ethnic groups with different languages.

Keywords: Ancient Malay, Spice trade route, language variation, writing system variation

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Authors: A. S. Bouchikhi, A. Megueni, S. Habibi

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One major problem when using bonded Fiber Reinforced Polymer is the presence of high inter facial stresses near the end of the composite laminate which might govern the failure of the strengthening schedule. It is known that the decrease of FRP plate thickness and the fitness of adhesive reduce the stress concentration at plate ends. Another way is to use a plate with a non uniform section or tapered ends and softer adhesive at the edges. In this paper, a comprehensive finite element (FE) study has been conducted to investigate the effect of mixed adhesive joints (MAJ) and tapering plate on the inter facial stress distribution in the adhesive layer, this paper presents the results of a study of application of two adhesives with different stiffnesses (bi-adhesive) along the joint strength length between the CFRP-strengthened steel beam for tapered and untapered plate on the distribution of inter facial stresses. A stiff adhesive was applied in the middle portion of the joint strength, while a low modulus adhesive was applied towards the edges prone to stress concentrations.

Keywords: FRP, mixed adhesive joints, stresses, tapered plate, retrofitted beams bonded

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Authors: K. Lekshmi

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Land becomes a predominant constituent of transitional justice paradigm subsequent to the apartheid inspired land grabs and conflict induced forceful evictions in South Africa effecting land encroachment, expropriation, and alienation. In this pretext, post-Apartheid regime initiated land reconciliation measures which presume to overcome the politically appropriated historical injustices in conjunction with reconstructing transitional justice. As land grabs became one of the quintessential repercussions followed by ethnic cleansing in South Africa, it is prominent to study how land reconciliation becomes necessary in imparting transitional justice to the victims. The study also looks into the nature of developmental pattern after re- territorialization process in a post-conflict country like South Africa and, tries to look how re-territorialization process construed the functional distribution of income vis-a-vis income inequality in particular. Further the paper attempts to study how far land distribution and equal access as part of the land reconciliation process juxtaposed the principle of restitution. Research methodology applied is empirical followed by analytical research.

Keywords: development, land reconciliation, transitional justice, income inequality and displacement, re-territorialization

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Authors: Souhila Boukli Hacene, Djamila Kherbouche, Abdelhak Chikhaoui

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In this work, we elucidate theoretically the effect of defects and temperature on the performance of the organic bulk heterojunction solar cell (BHJ) P3HT: PCBM. We have studied the influence of their parameters on cell characteristics. For this purpose, we used the effective medium model and the solar cell simulator (SCAPS) to model the characteristics of the solar cell. We also explore the transport of charge carriers in the device. It was assumed that the mixture is lightly p-type doped and that the band gap contains acceptor defects near the HOMO level with a Gaussian distribution of energy states at 100 and 50 meV. We varied defects density between 1012-1017 cm-3, from 1016 cm-3, a total decrease of the photovoltaic characteristics due to the increase of the non-radiative recombination can be noticed. Then we studied the effect of variation of the electron and the hole capture cross-section on the cell’s performance, we noticed that the cell obtains a better efficiency of about 3.6% for an electron capture cross section ≤ 10-15 cm2 and a hole capture cross section ≤ 10-19 cm2. On the other hand, we also varied the temperature between 120K and 400K. We observed that the temperature of the solar cell induces a noticeable effect on its voltage. While the effect of temperature on the solar cell current is negligible.

Keywords: organic solar cell, P3HT:PCBM, defects, temperature, SCAPS

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Authors: Isari Pairoa, Proud Arunrangsiwed

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Celebrity and brand mascot endorsement have been explored for more than three decades. Both endorsers can effectively transfer their reputation to corporate image and can influence the customers to purchase the product. However, there was little known about the mediators between the level of endorsement and its effect on buying behavior. The objective of the current study is to identify the gab of the previous studies and to seek possible mediators. It was found that consumer’s memory and identification are the mediators, of source credibility and endorsement effect. A future study should confirm the model of endorsement, which was established in the current study.

Keywords: product endorsement, memory, identification theory, source credibility, unintentional effect

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Authors: Ahmed Elkholy

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Most power transmission cases use gearing in general, and worm gearing, in particular for energy utilization. Therefore, designing gears for minimum weight and maximum power transmission is the main target of this study. In this regard, a new approach has been developed to estimate the load share and stress distribution of worm gear sets. The approach is based upon considering the instantaneous tooth meshing stiffness where the worm gear drive was modelled as a series of spur gear slices, and each slice was analyzed separately using a well-established criteria. By combining the results obtained for all slices, the entire worm gear set loading and stressing was determined. The geometric modelling method presented, allows tooth elastic deformation and tooth root stresses of worm gear drives under different load conditions to be investigated. On the basis of the method introduced in this study, the instantaneous meshing stiffness and load share were obtained. In comparison with existing methods, this approach has both good analytical accuracy and less computing time.

Keywords: gear, load/stress distribution, worm, wheel, tooth stiffness, contact line

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Authors: Rashed Shah, Jeanne Koepsell, Dixmer Rivera, Eric Swedberg, David Marsh

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Success of primary health care goals of health promotion and disease prevention may well be determined by community based health workers’ overall job satisfaction. It is also important to understand the ways community health workers perceive their jobs and the importance they give to the various factors influencing their job satisfaction, which is critical before making a decision for task-shifting and for expanding their scope of work. Although brigadistas are unpaid volunteers, they are formally recognized and receive support and supervision from the Ministry of Health in Nicaragua. Brigadistas are responsible for classifying and diagnosing illnesses, administering treatment, counseling mothers and care givers within the community, encouraging referral in case of serious illness and making follow-up visits at home. Some brigadistas provide more technically advanced services, including treatment for pneumonia, diarrhea, malaria and tuberculosis and/or distribution of contraceptives. Expanding brigadistas’ duties could threaten their heretofore ‘job satisfaction’. This study primarily aims to report on job satisfaction of brigadistas in Nicaragua before expanding the scope of their work by adding more responsibilities. The study was guided by the following research questions: 1) What aspects of their job made the brigadistas satisfied or dissatisfied? 2) What is the job satisfaction level of brigadistas in Nicaragua? This cross-sectional study was conducted during March – July 2014, to assess brigadistas’ job satisfaction, prior to deciding on inclusion of care for sick newborns and young infants (<2 months of age) to brigadistas’ existing service package of community case management for children of 2-59 months of age. Following stratified random sampling strategy, 15 brigadistas were randomly selected from each of the following four strata: [(1) females under 25 years of age, (2) females over 30 years of age, (3) males under 25 years of age, and (4) males over 30 years of age. Out of 45 completed in-person interview with eligible and available brigadistas, 20 (44.4%) were with female and 25 (55.6%) were with male respondents; the mean age (±sd) was found as 32.0 (±3.2) years. About 53% (24/45) brigadista mentioned “Training” as the most helpful for performing their job. Another 31% (14/45) mentioned that “feeling of doing good, supporting community, women and children” was helpful to perform their job well. When asked about difficulty, about 35.5% (16/45) brigadistas mentioned about “Lack of time” due to their responsibilities in family, farm, other work places, study and such time constraint made their job performance difficult. Measured on a 0-5 scale, estimated average job satisfaction was 4.2. Current trends in task-shifting and integrated program delivery require community health workers (like the brigadistas) to deliver several essential services, including maternal, newborn and child health, and family planning, and thereby increasing their responsibilities. Given the reported level of job satisfaction among brigadistas (4.2 out of 5), and the mentioned difficulty in performing their current job (as ‘Lack of Time’) in this study results, the policy makers and program managers in MOH should be cautious enough before making a decision to expand current scope of work for brigadistas in Nicaragua.

Keywords: Brigadisata, job satisfaction, Nicaragua, task-shifting

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Authors: Abdulraaof H. Alqaili, Hamad A. Alsoliman

Abstract:

Through progress in pavement design developments, a pavement design method was developed, which is titled the Mechanistic Empirical Pavement Design Guide (MEPDG). Nowadays, the evolution in roads network and highways is observed in Saudi Arabia as a result of increasing in traffic volume. Therefore, the MEPDG currently is implemented for flexible pavement design by the Saudi Ministry of Transportation. Implementation of MEPDG for local pavement design requires the calibration of distress models under the local conditions (traffic, climate, and materials). This paper aims to prepare data for calibration of MEPDG in Central Saudi Arabia. Thus, the first goal is data collection for the design of flexible pavement from the local conditions of the Riyadh region. Since, the modifying of collected data to input data is needed; the main goal of this paper is the analysis of collected data. The data analysis in this paper includes processing each: Trucks Classification, Traffic Growth Factor, Annual Average Daily Truck Traffic (AADTT), Monthly Adjustment Factors (MAFi), Vehicle Class Distribution (VCD), Truck Hourly Distribution Factors, Axle Load Distribution Factors (ALDF), Number of axle types (single, tandem, and tridem) per truck class, cloud cover percent, and road sections selected for the local calibration. Detailed descriptions of input parameters are explained in this paper, which leads to providing of an approach for successful implementation of MEPDG. Local calibration of MEPDG to the conditions of Riyadh region can be performed based on the findings in this paper.

Keywords: mechanistic-empirical pavement design guide (MEPDG), traffic characteristics, materials properties, climate, Riyadh

Procedia PDF Downloads 225

Authors: S. N. S. Thein, H. L. Yang, Z. B. Liu

Abstract:

There are many modes of transport. Among them, maritime transport is a major transportation mode of international trade. In the Republic of the Union of Myanmar (Burma), water transportation served as one of the most important modes of transport for country's exports and imports. Getting the accurate information and data-gathering activity are the most important aspects for any study field. Therefore, in this research, a historical review of the development of ports in Myanmar and how they have changed had been carried out. All the relevant literature and documents have also been reviewed, studied, and organized. The sources of collected data are from reports, journals, internet, as well as from the publications of authorized organizations and international associations. To get better understanding about real situation of maritime transport and logistics in Myanmar; current condition of existing ports, expansion and on-going projects, and future port development plans are described successively. Hence, the main purpose of this study is to build up a comprehensive picture of maritime transport and logistics, in addition to border trade within ASEAN and Myanmar. It will help for academic researchers, decision makers, and stakeholders for national planning as well as for the local and foreign investors to recognize current situation of maritime transport and logistics in Myanmar.

Keywords: ASEAN, border trade, logistics, maritime transport, ports of Myanmar

Procedia PDF Downloads 218

Authors: Ashkan Golgoon, Souhayl Sadik, Arash Yavari

Abstract:

Eigenstrains in nonlinear solids are created due to anelastic effects such as non-uniform temperature distributions, growth, remodeling, and defects. Eigenstrains understanding is indispensable, as they can generate residual stresses and strongly affect the overall response of solids. Here, we study the residual stress and deformation fields of an incompressible isotropic infinite wedge with a circumferentially-symmetric distribution of finite eigenstrains. We construct a material manifold, whose Riemannian metric explicitly depends on the eigenstrain distribution, thereby we turn the problem into a classical nonlinear elasticity problem, where we find an embedding of the Riemannian material manifold into the ambient Euclidean space. In particular, we find exact solutions for the residual stress and deformation fields of a neo-Hookean wedge having a symmetric inclusion with finite radial and circumferential eigenstrains. Moreover, we numerically solve a similar problem when a symmetric Mooney-Rivlin inhomogeneity with finite eigenstrains is placed in a neo-Hookean wedge. Generalization of the eigenstrain problem to other geometries are also discussed.

Keywords: finite eigenstrains, geometric mechanics, inclusion, inhomogeneity, nonlinear elasticity

Procedia PDF Downloads 251

Authors: Ana Carolina Lima, Carlos Sérgio Agostinho, Amadeu M. V. M. Soares, Kieran A. Monaghan

Abstract:

Neotropical freshwaters host some of the most biodiverse ecosystems in the world and are among the most threatened by habitat alterations. The high number of species and lack of basic ecological knowledge provides a major obstacle to understanding the effects of environmental change. We assessed the impact of dam closure on the fish communities of a neotropical river by applying simple descriptions of community organizations: Species Abundance Distribution (SAD) and Abundance Biomass Comparison (ABC) curves. Fish data were collected during three distinct time periods (one year before, one year after and five years after closure), at eight sites located downstream of the dam, in the reservoir and reservoir transition zone and upstream of the regulated flow. Dam closure was associated with changes in the structural and functional organization of fish communities at all sites. Species richness tended to increase immediately after dam closure while evenness decreased. Changes in taxonomic structure were accompanied by a change in the distribution of biomass with the proportionate contribution by smaller individuals significantly increased relative to larger individuals. Five years on, richness had fallen to below pre-closure levels at all sites, while the comparative stability of the transformed habitats was reflected by biomass-abundance distribution patterns that approximated pre-disturbance ratios. Despite initial generality, respective sites demonstrated distinct ecological responses that were related to the environmental characteristics of their transformed habitats. This simplistic analysis provides a sensitive and informative assessment of ecological conditions that highlights the impact to ecosystem process and ecological networks and has particular value in regions where detailed ecological knowledge precludes the application of traditional bioassessment methods.

Keywords: ABC curves, SADs, biodiversity, damming, tropical fish

Procedia PDF Downloads 387

Authors: U. Amin, A. Talib, S. A. Qureshi, M. J. Hossain, G. Ahmad

Abstract:

The choice evaluation between oil-immersed and dry-type transformers is often controlled by cost, location, and application. This paper compares the electrical performance of liquid- filled and dry-type transformers, which will assist the customer to choose the right and efficient ones for particular applications. An accurate assessment of the time-average flux density, electric field intensity and voltage distribution in an oil-insulated and a dry-type transformer have been computed and investigated. The detailed transformer modeling and analysis has been carried out to determine electrical parameter distributions. The models of oil-immersed and dry-type transformers are developed and solved by using the finite element method (FEM) to compare the electrical parameters. The effects of non-uniform and non-coherent voltage gradient, flux density and electric field distribution on the power losses and insulation properties of transformers are studied in detail. The results show that, for the same voltage and kilo-volt-ampere (kVA) rating, oil-immersed transformers have better insulation properties and less hysteresis losses than the dry-type.

Keywords: finite element method, flux density, transformer, voltage gradient

Procedia PDF Downloads 287

Authors: Ana Paula P. dos Santos, Claudia R. Andrade, Edson L. Zaparoli

Abstract:

Pressure loss in ductworks is an important factor to be considered in design of engineering systems such as power-plants, refineries, HVAC systems to reduce energy costs. Ductwork can be composed by straight ducts and different types of fittings (elbows, transitions, converging and diverging tees and wyes). Duct fittings are significant sources of pressure loss in fluid distribution systems. Fitting losses can be even more significant than equipment components such as coils, filters, and dampers. At the present work, a conventional 90o round elbow under turbulent incompressible airflow is studied. Mass, momentum, and k-e turbulence model equations are solved employing the finite volume method. The SIMPLE algorithm is used for the pressure-velocity coupling. In order to validate the numerical tool, the elbow pressure loss coefficient is determined using the same conditions to compare with ASHRAE database. Furthermore, the effect of Reynolds number variation on the elbow pressure loss coefficient is investigated. These results can be useful to perform better preliminary design of air distribution ductworks in air conditioning systems.

Keywords: duct fitting, pressure loss, elbow, thermodynamics

Procedia PDF Downloads 387

Authors: Modupe O. Jimoh

Abstract:

During manhole overflows, its contents pollute the immediate environment. Understanding the pollutant transfer characteristics between manhole’s incoming sewer and the overflow is therefore of great importance. A square manhole with sides 388 mm by 388 mm and height 700 mm with an overflow facility was used in the laboratory to carry out overflow concentration measurements. Two scenarios were investigated using three flow rates. The first scenario corresponded to when the exit of the pipe becomes blocked and the only exit for the flow is the manhole. The second scenario is when there is an overflow in combination with a pipe exit. The temporal concentration measurements showed that the peak concentration of pollutants in the flow was attenuated between the inlet and the overflow. A deconvolution software was used to predict the Residence time distribution (RTD) and consequently the Cumulative Residence time distribution (CRTD). The CRTDs suggest that complete mixing is occurring between the pipe inlet and the overflow, like what is obtained in a low surcharged manhole. The results also suggest that an instantaneous stirred tank reactor model can describe the mixing characteristics.

Keywords: CRTDs, instantaneous stirred tank reactor model, overflow, square manholes, surcharge, temporal concentration profiles

Procedia PDF Downloads 143