Search results for: sequential linear programming

Authors: Arun Kumar Singh, Rupesh M. Das, Shailendra Saini

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The effect of solar cycle and seasons on the total electron content has been investigated over high latitude region during 24th solar cycle (2010-2014). The total electron content data has been observed with the help of Global Ionospheric Scintillation and TEC monitoring (GISTM) system installed at Indian permanent scientific 'Maitri station' [70˚46’00”S 11˚43’56” E]. The dependence of TEC over a solar cycle has been examined by the performing linear regression analysis between the vertical total electron content (VTEC) and daily total sunspot numbers (SSN). It has been found that the season and level of geomagnetic activity has a considerable effect on the VTEC. It is observed that the VTEC and SSN follow better agreement during summer seasons as compared to winter and equinox seasons and extraordinary agreement during minimum phase (during the year 2010) of the solar cycle. There is a significant correlation between VTEC and SSN during quiet days of the years as compared to overall days of the years (2010-2014). Further, saturation effect has been observed during maximum phase (during the year 2014) of the 24th solar cycle. It is also found that Ap index and SSN has a linear correlation (R=0.37) and the most of the geomagnetic activity occurs during the declining phase of the solar cycle.

Keywords: high latitude ionosphere, sunspot number, correlation, vertical total electron content

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Authors: S. S. Sathiesh

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The aim of this project is to study the radiation mechanism synchrotron and Inverse Compton scattering. Theoretically, we discussed spectral energy distribution for both. Programming is done for plotting the graph of Power-law spectrum for synchrotron Radiation using fortran90. The importance of power law spectrum was discussed and studied to infer its physical parameters from the model fitting. We also discussed how to infer the physical parameters from the theoretically drawn graph, we have seen how one can infer B (magnetic field of the source), γ min, γ max, spectral indices (p1, p2) while fitting the curve to the observed data.

Keywords: blazars/quasars, beaming, synchrotron radiation, Synchrotron Self Compton, inverse Compton scattering, mrk421

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Authors: M. Omer, D. Wilson

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Creating a database scheme is essentially a manual process. From a requirement specification, the information contained within has to be analyzed and reduced into a set of tables, attributes and relationships. This is a time-consuming process that has to go through several stages before an acceptable database schema is achieved. The purpose of this paper is to implement a Natural Language Processing (NLP) based tool to produce a from a requirement specification. The Stanford CoreNLP version 3.3.1 and the Java programming were used to implement the proposed model. The outcome of this study indicates that the first draft of a relational database schema can be extracted from a requirement specification by using NLP tools and techniques with minimum user intervention. Therefore, this method is a step forward in finding a solution that requires little or no user intervention.

Keywords: information extraction, natural language processing, relation extraction

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Authors: Branislav Timotijevic, Yves Petremand, Markus Luetzelschwab, Dara Bayat, Laurent Aebi

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Optical miniaturized sensors with remote readout are required devices for the monitoring in harsh electromagnetic environments. As an example, in turbo and hydro generators, excessively high vibrations of the end-windings can lead to dramatic damages, imposing very high, additional service costs. A significant change of the generator temperature can also be an indicator of the system failure. Continuous monitoring of vibrations, temperature, humidity, and gases is therefore mandatory. The high electromagnetic fields in the generators impose the use of non-conductive devices in order to prevent electromagnetic interferences and to electrically isolate the sensing element to the electronic readout. Metal-free sensors are good candidates for such systems since they are immune to very strong electromagnetic fields and given the fact that they are non-conductive. We have realized miniature optical accelerometer and temperature sensors for a remote sensing of the harsh environments using the common, inexpensive silicon Micro Electro-Mechanical System (MEMS) platform. Both devices show highly linear response. The accelerometer has a deviation within 1% from the linear fit when tested in a range 0 – 40 g. The temperature sensor can provide the measurement accuracy better than 1 °C in a range 20 – 150 °C. The design of other type of sensors for the environments with high electromagnetic interferences has also been discussed.

Keywords: optical MEMS, temperature sensor, accelerometer, remote sensing, harsh environment

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Authors: Ahmad Sarfaraz, Raiyad Herwies

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In this paper, a multi-criteria decision making analysis is used to help any organization selects the best KM tool that fits and serves its needs. The AHP model is used based on a previous study to highlight and identify the main criteria and sub-criteria that are incorporated in the selection process. Different KM tools alternatives with different criteria are compared and weighted accurately to be incorporated in the GP model. The main goal is to combine the GP model with the AHP model to ensure that selecting the KM tool considers the resource constraints. Two important issues are discussed in this paper: how different factors could be taken into consideration in forming the AHP model, and how to incorporate the AHP results into the GP model for better results.

Keywords: knowledge management, analytical hierarchy process, goal programming, multi-criteria decision making

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Authors: J. S. Rudas, J. M. Gutiérrez Cabeza, A. Corz Rodríguez, L. M. Gómez, A. O. Toro

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The prediction of the wear rate of rubbing pairs has attracted the interest of many researchers for years. It has been recently proposed that the sliding wear rate can be inferred from the calculation of the energy rate dissipated by the tribological pair. In this paper some of the dissipative mechanisms present in a pin-on-disc configuration are discussed and both analytical and numerical calculations are carried out. Three dissipative mechanisms were studied: First, the energy release due to temperature gradients within the solid; second, the heat flow from the solid to the environment, and third, the energy loss due to abrasive damage of the surface. The Finite Element Method was used to calculate the dynamics of heat transfer within the solid, with the aid of commercial software. Validation the FEM model was assisted by virtual and laboratory experimentation using different operating points (sliding velocity and geometry contact). The materials for the experiments were Ti6Al4V alloy and Tungsten Carbide (WC-Co). The results showed that the sliding wear rate has a linear relationship with the energy dissipation flow. It was also found that energy loss due to micro-cutting is relevant for the system. This mechanism changes if the sliding velocity and pin geometry are modified though the degradation coefficient continues to present a linear behavior. We found that the less relevant dissipation mechanism for all the cases studied is the energy release by temperature gradients in the solid.

Keywords: degradation, dissipative mechanism, dry sliding, entropy, friction, wear

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Authors: Babak H. Tabrizi, Seyed Farid Ghaderi

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Concurrent planning of project scheduling and material ordering can provide more flexibility to the project scheduling problem, as the project execution costs can be enhanced. Hence, the issue has been taken into account in this paper. To do so, a mixed-integer mathematical model is developed which considers the aforementioned flexibility, in addition to the materials quantity discount and space availability restrictions. Moreover, the activities duration has been treated as decision variables. Finally, the efficiency of the proposed model is tested by different instances. Additionally, the influence of the aforementioned parameters is investigated on the model performance.

Keywords: material ordering, project scheduling, quantity discount, space availability

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Authors: A. Saghatelyan, Sh. Asmaryan, G. Tepanosyan, V. Muradyan

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One of major concern to Armenia has been soil degradation emerged as a result of unsustainable management and use of grasslands, this in turn largely impacting environment, agriculture and finally human health. Hence, assessment of soil degradation is an essential and urgent objective set out to measure its possible consequences and develop a potential management strategy. Since recently, an essential tool for assessing pasture degradation has been remote sensing (RS) technologies. This research was done with an intention to measure preciseness of Linear spectral unmixing (LSU) and NDVI-SMA methods to estimate soil surface components related to degradation (fractional vegetation cover-FVC, bare soils fractions, surface rock cover) and determine appropriateness of these methods for mapping man-induced soil degradation in high mountain pastures. Taking into consideration a spatially complex and heterogeneous biogeophysical structure of the studied site, we used high resolution multispectral QuickBird imagery of a pasture site in one of Armenia’s rural communities - Nerkin Sasoonashen. The accuracy assessment was done by comparing between the land cover abundance data derived through RS methods and the ground truth land cover abundance data. A significant regression was established between ground truth FVC estimate and both NDVI-LSU and LSU - produced vegetation abundance data (R2=0.636, R2=0.625, respectively). For bare soil fractions linear regression produced a general coefficient of determination R2=0.708. Because of poor spectral resolution of the QuickBird imagery LSU failed with assessment of surface rock abundance (R2=0.015). It has been well documented by this particular research, that reduction in vegetation cover runs in parallel with increase in man-induced soil degradation, whereas in the absence of man-induced soil degradation a bare soil fraction does not exceed a certain level. The outcomes show that the proposed method of man-induced soil degradation assessment through FVC, bare soil fractions and field data adequately reflects the current status of soil degradation throughout the studied pasture site and may be employed as an alternate of more complicated models for soil degradation assessment.

Keywords: Armenia, linear spectral unmixing, remote sensing, soil degradation

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Authors: Ava Zarif Sanayei, Mustafa Farjad-Fard, Mohammad-Reza Mohammadian-Behbahani, Leyli Ebrahimi, Sedigheh Sina

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The fabrication and testing of a low-cost air-filled ion chamber for X-ray dosimetry is studied. The chamber is made of a metal cylinder, a central wire, a BC517 Darlington transistor, a 9V DC battery, and a voltmeter in order to have a cost-effective means to measure the dose. The output current of the dosimeter is amplified by the transistor and then fed to the large internal resistance of the voltmeter, producing a readable voltage signal. The dose-response linearity of the ion chamber is evaluated for different exposure scenarios by the X-ray tube. kVp values 70, 90, and 120, and mAs up to 20 are considered. In all experiments, a solid-state dosimeter (Solidose 400, Elimpex Medizintechnik) is used as a reference device for chamber calibration. Each case of exposure is repeated three times, the voltmeter and Solidose readings are recorded, and the mean and standard deviation values are calculated. Then, the calibration curve, derived by plotting voltmeter readings against Solidose readings, provided a linear fit result for all tube kVps of 70, 90, and 120. A 99, 98, and 100% linear relationship, respectively, for kVp values 70, 90, and 120 are demonstrated. The study shows the feasibility of achieving acceptable dose measurements with a simplified setup. Further enhancements to the proposed setup include solutions for limiting the leakage current, optimizing chamber dimensions, utilizing electronic microcontrollers for dedicated data readout, and minimizing the impact of stray electromagnetic fields on the system.

Keywords: dosimetry, ion chamber, radiation detection, X-ray

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Authors: Waheed Ahmad Safi, Shunichi Nakamura

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Concrete filled steel I-girder (CFIG) bridge was proposed and the bending and shear strength was confirmed by experiments. The area surrounded by the upper and lower flanges and the web is filled with concrete in CFIG, which is used to the intermediate support of a continuous girder. Three-dimensional finite element models were established to simulate the bending and shear behaviors of CFIG and to clarify the load transfer mechanism. Steel plates and filled concrete were modeled as a three-dimensional 8-node solid element and steel reinforcement bars as a three-dimensional 2-node truss element. The elements were mostly divided into the 50 x 50 mm mesh size. The non-linear stress-strain relation is assumed for concrete in compression including the softening effect after the peak, and the stress increases linearly for concrete in tension until concrete cracking but then decreases due to tension stiffening effect. The stress-strain relation for steel plates was tri-linear and that for reinforcements was bi-linear. The concrete and the steel plates were rigidly connected. The developed FEM model was applied to simulate and analysis the bending behaviors of the CFIG specimens. The vertical displacements and the strains of steel plates and the filled concrete obtained by FEM agreed very well with the test results until the yield load. The specimens collapsed when the upper flange buckled or the concrete spalled off. These phenomena cannot be properly analyzed by FEM, which produces a small discrepancy at the ultimate states. The FEM model was also applied to simulate and analysis the shear tests of the CFIG specimens. The vertical displacements and strains of steel and concrete calculated by FEM model agreed well with the test results. A truss action was confirmed by the FEM and the experiment, clarifying that shear forces were mainly resisted by the tension strut of the steel plate and the compression strut of the filled concrete acting in the diagonal direction. A trail design with the CFIG was carried out for a four-span continuous highway bridge and the design method was established. Construction cost was estimated about 12% lower than that of a conventional steel I-section girder.

Keywords: concrete filled steel I-girder, bending strength, FEM, limit states design, steel I-girder, shear strength

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Authors: Jose Neri, Fabrice Canto, Alastair Magnaldo, Laurent Guillerme, Vincent Dugas

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A miniaturized and automated approach for the volumetric titration of free nitric acid in U(VI) solutions is presented. Free acidity measurement refers to the acidity quantification in solutions containing hydrolysable heavy metal ions such as U(VI), U(IV) or Pu(IV) without taking into account the acidity contribution from the hydrolysis of such metal ions. It is, in fact, an operation having an essential role for the control of the nuclear fuel recycling process. The main objective behind the technical optimization of the actual ‘beaker’ method was to reduce the amount of radioactive substance to be handled by the laboratory personnel, to ease the instrumentation adjustability within a glove-box environment and to allow a high-throughput analysis for conducting more cost-effective operations. The measurement technique is based on the concept of the Taylor-Aris dispersion in order to create inside of a 200 μm x 5cm circular cylindrical micro-channel a linear concentration gradient in less than a second. The proposed analytical methodology relies on the actinide complexation using pH 5.6 sodium oxalate solution and subsequent alkalimetric titration of nitric acid with sodium hydroxide. The titration process is followed with a CCD camera for fluorescence detection; the neutralization boundary can be visualized in a detection range of 500nm- 600nm thanks to the addition of a pH sensitive fluorophore. The operating principle of the developed device allows the active generation of linear concentration gradients using a single cylindrical micro channel. This feature simplifies the fabrication and ease of use of the micro device, as it does not need a complex micro channel network or passive mixers to generate the chemical gradient. Moreover, since the linear gradient is determined by the liquid reagents input pressure, its generation can be fully achieved in faster intervals than one second, being a more timely-efficient gradient generation process compared to other source-sink passive diffusion devices. The resulting linear gradient generator device was therefore adapted to perform for the first time, a volumetric titration on a chip where the amount of reagents used is fixed to the total volume of the micro channel, avoiding an important waste generation like in other flow-based titration techniques. The associated analytical method is automated and its linearity has been proven for the free acidity determination of U(VI) samples containing up to 0.5M of actinide ion and nitric acid in a concentration range of 0.5M to 3M. In addition to automation, the developed analytical methodology and technique greatly improves the standard off-line oxalate complexation and alkalimetric titration method by reducing a thousand fold the required sample volume, forty times the nuclear waste per analysis as well as the analysis time by eight-fold. The developed device represents, therefore, a great step towards an easy-to-handle nuclear-related application, which in the short term could be used to improve laboratory safety as much as to reduce the environmental impact of the radioanalytical chain.

Keywords: free acidity, lab-on-a-chip, linear concentration gradient, Taylor-Aris dispersion, volumetric titration

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Authors: Umair Ashraf, Kjetil Uhlen, Sverre Eriksen, Nadeem Jelani

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Although advancement in technology has increased the reliability and ease of work in ship power system, but these advancements are also adding complexities. Ever increasing non linear loads, like power electronics (PE) devices effect the stability of the system. Frequent load variations and complex load dynamics are due to the frequency converters and motor drives, these problem are more prominent when system is connected with the weak grid. In the ship power system major consumers are thruster motors for the propulsion. For the control operation of these motors variable frequency drives (VFD) are used, mostly VFDs operate on nominal voltage of the system. Some of the consumers in ship operate on lower voltage than nominal, these consumers got supply through step down transformers. In this paper the vector control scheme is used for the control of both rectifier and inverter, parallel operation of the synchronous generators is also demonstrated. The simulation have been performed with induction motor as load on VFD and parallel RLC load. Fault analysis has been performed first for the system which do not have VFD and then for the system with VFD. Three phase to the ground, single phase to the ground fault were implemented and behavior of the system in both the cases was observed.

Keywords: non-linear load, power electronics, parallel operating generators, pulse width modulation, variable frequency drives, voltage source converters, weak grid

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Authors: Jagoda Bruni, Jan Müller-Lucanus, Gernot Stöger-Knes

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The purpose of this article is to demonstrate modern project management approaches in the SAP S/R Hana surrounding a programming environment composed of multiple focus-diversified projects. We would like to propose innovative and goal-oriented management standards based on the specificity of the SAP transformations and customer-driven expectations. Due to the regular sprint-based controlling and management tools' application, it has been data-proven that extensive analysis of productive hours of the employees as much as a thorough review of the project progress (per GAP, per business process, and per Lot) within the whole program, can have a positive impact on customer satisfaction and improvement for projects' budget. This has been a collaborative study based on real-life experience and measurements in collaboration with our customers.

Keywords: project management, program management, SAP, controlling

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Authors: Kiurski S. Jelena, Kecić S. Vesna, Aksentijević M. Snežana

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Samples of tap and wastewater were collected in three offset printing facilities in Novi Sad, Serbia. Ten physicochemical parameters were analyzed within all collected samples: pH, conductivity, m - alkalinity, p - alkalinity, acidity, carbonate concentration, hydrogen carbonate concentration, active oxygen content, chloride concentration and total alkali content. All measurements were conducted using the standard analytical and instrumental methods. Comparing the obtained results for tap water and wastewater, a clear quality difference was noticeable, since all physicochemical parameters were significantly higher within wastewater samples. The study also involves the application of simple linear regression analysis on the obtained dataset. By using software package ORIGIN 5 the pH value was mutually correlated with other physicochemical parameters. Based on the obtained values of Pearson coefficient of determination a strong positive correlation between chloride concentration and pH (r = -0.943), as well as between acidity and pH (r = -0.855) was determined. In addition, statistically significant difference was obtained only between acidity and chloride concentration with pH values, since the values of parameter F (247.634 and 182.536) were higher than F_critical (5.59). In this way, results of statistical analysis highlighted the most influential parameter of water contamination in offset printing, in the form of acidity and chloride concentration. The results showed that variable dependence could be represented by the general regression model: y = a₀ + a₁x+ k, which further resulted with matching graphic regressions.

Keywords: pollution, printing industry, simple linear regression analysis, wastewater

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Authors: Mahshid Rezaei, Zahra Tajari, Zahra Esmaeily, Atefeh Eyvazkhani, Shahrzad Daei, Marjan Mansouri Dara, Mohaddesh Rezaei, Abolghassem Djazayeri, Ahmadreza Dorosti Motlagh

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Background: Musculoskeletal pain is one of the most prevalent symptoms in elderly age. Nutrition and diet are considered important underlying factors that could affect chronic musculoskeletal pain. The purpose of this study was to identify the relationship between empirical dietary inflammatory patterns (EDII) and musculoskeletal pain. Method: In this cross-sectional study, 213 elderly individuals were selected from several health centers. The usual dietary intake was evaluated by a valid and reliable 147-items food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). To measure the intensity of pain, Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) was used. Multiple Linear Regression was applied to assess the association between EDII and musculoskeletal pain. Results: The results of multiple linear regression analysis indicate that a higher EDII score was associated with higher musculoskeletal pain (β= 0.21: 95% CI: 0.24-1.87: P= 0.003). These results stayed significant even after adjusting for covariates such as sex, marital status, height, family number, sleep, BMI, physical activity duration, waist circumference, protector, and medication use (β= 0.16: 95% CI: 0.11-1.04: P= 0.02). Conclusion: Study findings indicated that higher inflammation of diet might have a direct association with musculoskeletal pains in elderlies. However, further investigations are required to confirm these findings.

Keywords: musculoskeletal pain, empirical dietary inflammatory pattern, elderlies, dietary pattern

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Authors: Nikita Rajendra Sharma, Jai Prakash Kushvah, Gerhard Rinkenauer

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Driving a car is a discrete aiming movement in which drivers aim at successful extraction of relevant information and elimination of potentially distracting one. It is the motor preparation which enables one to react to certain stimuli onsite by allowing perceptual process for optimal adjustment. Drivers prepare their responses according to the available resources of advanced and ongoing information to drive efficiently. It requires constant programming and reprogramming of the motor system. The reaction time (RT) is shorter when a response signal is preceded by a warning signal. The reason behind this reduced time in responding to targets is that the warning signal causes the participant to prepare for the upcoming response by updating the motor program before the execution. While performing the primary task of changing lanes while driving, the simultaneous occurrence of additional information during the presentation of cues (congruent or incongruent with respect to target cue) might impact the motor preparation and execution. The presence of additional information (other than warning or response signal) between warning signal and imperative stimulus influences human motor preparation to a reasonable extent. The present study was aimed to assess the impact of congruent and incongruent additional information (with respect to imperative stimulus) on driving performance (reaction time, steering wheel amplitude, and steering wheel duration) during a lane change task. implementing movement pre-cueing paradigm. 22 young valid car-drivers (Mage = 24.1+/- 3.21 years, M = 10, F = 12, age-range 21-33 years) participated in the study. The study revealed that additional information influenced the overall driving performance as potential distractors and relevant information. Findings suggest that the events of additional information relatively influenced the reaction time and steering wheel angle as potential distractor or irrelevant information. Participants took longer to respond, and higher steering wheel angles were reported for targets coupled with additional information in comparison with warning signs preceded by potential distractors and the participants' response time was more for a higher number of lanes (2 Lanes > 1 Lane). The same additional information appearing interchangeably at warning signals and targets worked as relevant information facilitating the motor programming in the trails where they were congruent with the direction of lane change direction.

Keywords: additional information, lane change task, motor preparation, movement pre-cueing, reaction time, steering wheel amplitude

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Authors: Margaret Boone Rappaport, Christopher J. Corbally

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The ancient ape ancestral population from which living great ape and human species evolved had demographic features affecting their evolution. The population was large, had great genetic variability, and natural selection was effective at honing adaptations. The emerging populations of chimpanzees and humans were affected more by founder effects and genetic drift because they were smaller. Natural selection did not disappear, but it was not as strong. Consequences of the 'population crash' and the human effective population size are introduced briefly. The history of the ancient apes is written in the genomes of living humans and great apes. The expansion of the brain began before the human line emerged. Coalescence times for some genes are very old – up to several million years, long before Homo sapiens. The mismatch between gene trees and species trees highlights the anthropoid speciation processes, and gives the human genome history a fuzzy, probabilistic quality. However, it suggests traits that might form a foundation for capacities emerging later. A theoretical model is presented in which the genomes of early ape populations provide the substructure for the emergence of religious capacity later on the human line. The model does not search for religion, but its foundations. It suggests a course by which an evolutionary line that began with prosimians eventually produced a human species with biologically based religious capacity. The model of the sequential emergence of religious capacity relies on cognitive science, neuroscience, paleoneurology, primate field studies, cognitive archaeology, genomics, and population genetics. And, it emphasizes five trait types: (1) Documented, positive selection of sensory capabilities on the human line may have favored survival, but also eventually enriched human religious experience. (2) The bonobo model suggests a possible down-regulation of aggression and increase in tolerance while feeding, as well as paedomorphism – but, in a human species that remains cognitively sharp (unlike the bonobo). The two species emerged from the same ancient ape population, so it is logical to search for shared traits. (3) An up-regulation of emotional sensitivity and compassion seems to have occurred on the human line. This finds support in modern genetic studies. (4) The authors’ published model of morality's emergence in Homo erectus encompasses a cognitively based, decision-making capacity that was hypothetically overtaken, in part, by religious capacity. Together, they produced a strong, variable, biocultural capability to support human sociability. (5) The full flowering of human religious capacity came with the parietal expansion and smaller face (klinorhynchy) found only in Homo sapiens. Details from paleoneurology suggest the stage was set for human theologies. Larger parietal lobes allowed humans to imagine inner spaces, processes, and beings, and, with the frontal lobe, led to the first theologies composed of structured and integrated theories of the relationships between humans and the supernatural. The model leads to the evolution of a small population of African hominins that was ready to emerge with religious capacity when the species Homo sapiens evolved two hundred thousand years ago. By 50-60,000 years ago, when human ancestors left Africa, they were fully enabled.

Keywords: genetic drift, genomics, parietal expansion, religious capacity

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Authors: Mahmoudi Marwa, Bahim Nadhem, Aydi Abdelwaheb, Issaoui Wissal, S. Najet

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This work represents a coupling between the geographic information system (GIS) and the multicriteria analysis aiming at the selection of an artificial recharge site by the treated wastewater for the Ariana governorate. On regional characteristics, bibliography and available data on artificial recharge, 13 constraints and 5 factors were hierarchically structured for the adequacy of an artificial recharge. The factors are subdivided into two main groups: environmental factors and economic factors. The adopted methodology allows a preliminary assessment of a recharge site, the weighted linear combination (WLC) and the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) in a GIS. The standardization of the criteria is carried out by the application of the different membership functions. The form and control points of the latter are defined by the consultation of the experts. The weighting of the selected criteria is allocated according to relative importance using the AHP methodology. The weighted linear combination (WLC) integrates the different criteria and factors to delineate the most suitable areas for artificial recharge site selection by treated wastewater. The results of this study showed three potential candidate sites that appear when environmental factors are more important than economic factors. These sites are ranked in descending order using the ELECTRE III method. Nevertheless, decision making for the selection of an artificial recharge site will depend on the decision makers in force.

Keywords: artificial recharge site, treated wastewater, analytical hierarchy process, ELECTRE III

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Authors: Jianfang Wang, Xianzhe Chen, Zhuoliang Liu, Cheng-An Tao, Yujiao Li

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Organophosphorus (OPs) pesticide used as insecticides are widely used in agricultural pest control, household and storage deworming. The detection of pesticides needs more simple and efficient methods. One of the best ways is to make electrochemical biosensors. In this paper, an electrochemical enzyme biosensor based on acetylcholine esterase (AChE) was constructed, and its sensing properties and sensing mechanisms were studied. Reduced graphene oxide-polydopamine complexes (RGO-PDA), gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) and silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were prepared firstly and composited with AChE and chitosan (CS), then fixed on the glassy carbon electrode (GCE) surface to construct the biosensor GCE/RGO-PDA-AuNPs-AgNPs-AChE-CS by one-pot method. The results show that graphene oxide (GO) can be reduced by dopamine (DA) and dispersed well in RGO-PDA complexes. And the composites have a synergistic catalysis effect and can improve the surface resistance of GCE. The biosensor selectively can detect acetylcholine (ACh) and OPs pesticide with good linear range and high sensitivity. The performance of the biosensor is affected by the ratio and adding ways of AChE and the adding of AuNPs and AChE. And the biosensor can achieve a detection limit of 2.4 ng/L for methyl parathion and a wide linear detection range of 0.02 ng/L ~ 80 ng/L, and has excellent stability, good anti-interference ability, and excellent preservation performance, indicating that the sensor has practical value.

Keywords: acetylcholine esterase, electrochemical biosensor, nanoparticles, organophosphates, reduced graphene oxide

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Authors: Wen-Bin Liau, Wan-Ting Wang, Chiang-Jen Hsiao, Sheng-Mao Tseng

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In this paper, an interesting and easy method to prepare one-dimensional nanostructured polyaniline/dendritic silver composites is reported. It is well known that the morphology of metal particle is a very important factor to influence the properties of polymer-metal composites. Usually, the dendritic silver is prepared by kinetic control in reduction reaction. It is not a thermodynamically stable structure. It is the goal to reduce silver ion to dendritic silver by polyaniline polymer via kinetic control and form one-dimensional nanostructured polyaniline/dendritic silver composites. The preparation is a two steps sequential reaction. First step, the polyaniline networks composed of nano fibrillar polyaniline are synthesized from aniline monomers aqueous with ammonium persulfate as the initiator at room temperature. In second step, the silver nitrate is added into polyaniline networks dispersed in deionized water. The dendritic silver is formed via reduction by polyaniline networks under the kinetic control. The formation of polyaniline is discussed via transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Nanosheets, nanotubes, nanospheres, nanosticks, and networks are observed via TEM. Then, the mechanism of formation of one-dimensional nanostructured polyaniline/dendritic silver composites is discussed. The formation of dendritic silver is observed by TEM and X-ray diffraction.

Keywords: 1D nanostructured polyaniline, dendritic silver, synthesis

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Authors: Kwan Hee Han, Jun Woo Lee, Sung Moon Bae, Twae Kyung Park

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ECA (Event-Condition-Action) languages are largely adopted for event processing since they are an intuitive and powerful paradigm for programming reactive systems. However, there are some limitations about ECA rules for processing of complex events such as coupling of event producer and consumer. The objective of this paper is to propose an ECA rule pattern to improve the current limitations of ECA rule, and to develop a prototype system. In this paper, conventional ECA rule is separated into 3 parts and each part is extended to meet the requirements of CEP. Finally, event processing logic is established by combining the relevant elements of 3 parts. The usability of proposed extended ECA rule is validated by a test scenario in this study.

Keywords: complex event processing, ECA rule, Event processing system, event-driven architecture, internet of things

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Authors: Liaqat Ali, Khalid Farooq, Shafieullah Khan, Nasir Orakzai, Qudratullah

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Objectives: To determine the risk factors for high resistance of ciprofloxacin in complicated urinary tract infections. Materials and Methods: It is an analytical study that was conducted in the department of Urology (Team ‘C’) at Institute of Kidney Diseases Hayatabad Peshawar from 1st June 2012 till 31st December 2012. Total numbers of 100 patients with complicated UTI was selected in the study. Multivariate analysis and linear regression were performed for the detection of risk factors. All the data was recorded on structured Proforma and was analyzed on SPSS version 17. Results: The mean age of the patient was 55.6 years (Range 3-82 years). 62 patients were male while 38 patients were female. 66 isolates of E-Coli were found sensitive to ciprofloxacin while 34 isolates were found Resistant for ciprofloxacin. Using multivariate analysis and linear regression, an increasing age above 50 (p=0.002) History of urinary catheterization especially for bladder outflow obstruction (p=0.001) and previous multiple use of ciprofloxacin (p=0.001) and poor brand of ciprofloxacin were found to be independent risk factors for high resistance of ciprofloxacin. Conclusion: UTI is common illness across the globe with increasing trend of antimicrobial resistance for ciprofloxacin against E Coli in complicated UTI. The risk factors for emerging resistance are increasing age, urinary catheterization and multiple use and poor brand of ciprofloxacin.

Keywords: urinary tract infection, ciprofloxacin, urethral catheterization, antimicrobial resistance

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Authors: Mebarek Boukelkoul, Abdelhalim Haroun

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By means of the first principle calculation, we have investigated the structural, magnetic and magneto-optical properties of the ultra-thin films of Fen/Cu(001) with (n=1, 2, 3). We adopted a relativistic approach using DFT theorem with local spin density approximation (LSDA). The electronic structure is performed within the framework of the Spin-Polarized Relativistic (SPR) Linear Muffin-Tin Orbitals (LMTO) with the Atomic Sphere Approximation (ASA) method. During the variational principle, the crystal wave function is expressed as a linear combination of the Bloch sums of the so-called relativistic muffin-tin orbitals centered on the atomic sites. The crystalline structure is calculated after an atomic relaxation process using the optimization of the total energy with respect to the atomic interplane distance. A body-centered tetragonal (BCT) pseudomorphic crystalline structure with a tetragonality ratio c/a larger than unity is found. The magnetic behaviour is characterized by an enhanced magnetic moment and a ferromagnetic interplane coupling. The polar magneto-optical Kerr effect spectra are given over a photon energy range extended to 15eV and the microscopic origin of the most interesting features are interpreted by interband transitions. Unlike thin layers, the anisotropy in the ultra-thin films is characterized by a perpendicular magnetization which is perpendicular to the film plane.

Keywords: ultrathin films, magnetism, magneto-optics, pseudomorphic structure

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Authors: Bella Llego

Abstract:

This research aims to study on “ASEAN Citizenship in the Internationalization of Thai Higher Education.” The purposes of this research are (1) to examine the Thai academics and scholars defined in the concept of internationalization of higher education, (2) to know how Thailand tries to fulfill its internationalization on education goal, (3) to find out the advantages and disadvantages of Thailand hub for higher education in Asia. Sequential mixed methods, qualitative and quantitative research methods were utilized to gather the data collected. By using a qualitative method (individual interviews from key Thai administrators and educators in the international higher education sector), a quantitative method (survey) was utilized to draw upon and to elaborate the recurring themes present during the interviews. The study found that many aspects of Thai international higher education programs received heavy influence from both the American and European higher education systems. Thailand’s role and leadership in the creation and launch of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) by 2015 gives its unique context for its internationalization efforts. English is being designated as the language of all Thai international programs; its influence further strengthened being the current language of academia, international business, and the internet, having global influence.

Keywords: ASEAN citizenship, internationalization, Thai higher education, academics

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Authors: Jelena Vucicevic

Abstract:

Reliability analysis represents a very important task in different areas of work. In any industry, this is crucial for maintenance, efficiency, safety and monetary costs. There are ways to calculate reliability, unreliability, failure density and failure rate. This paper will try to introduce another way of calculating reliability by using R statistical software. R is a free software environment for statistical computing and graphics. It compiles and runs on a wide variety of UNIX platforms, Windows and MacOS. The R programming environment is a widely used open source system for statistical analysis and statistical programming. It includes thousands of functions for the implementation of both standard and new statistical methods. R does not limit user only to operation related only to these functions. This program has many benefits over other similar programs: it is free and, as an open source, constantly updated; it has built-in help system; the R language is easy to extend with user-written functions. The significance of the work is calculation of time to failure or reliability in a new way, using statistic. Another advantage of this calculation is that there is no need for technical details and it can be implemented in any part for which we need to know time to fail in order to have appropriate maintenance, but also to maximize usage and minimize costs. In this case, calculations have been made on diesel generator fans but the same principle can be applied to any other part. The data for this paper came from a field engineering study of the time to failure of diesel generator fans. The ultimate goal was to decide whether or not to replace the working fans with a higher quality fan to prevent future failures. Seventy generators were studied. For each one, the number of hours of running time from its first being put into service until fan failure or until the end of the study (whichever came first) was recorded. Dataset consists of two variables: hours and status. Hours show the time of each fan working and status shows the event: 1- failed, 0- censored data. Censored data represent cases when we cannot track the specific case, so it could fail or success. Gaining the result by using R was easy and quick. The program will take into consideration censored data and include this into the results. This is not so easy in hand calculation. For the purpose of the paper results from R program have been compared to hand calculations in two different cases: censored data taken as a failure and censored data taken as a success. In all three cases, results are significantly different. If user decides to use the R for further calculations, it will give more precise results with work on censored data than the hand calculation.

Keywords: censored data, R statistical software, reliability analysis, time to failure

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Authors: I. Khutsishvili, G. Sirbiladze, B. Ghvaberidze

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This work proposes a fuzzy methodology to support the investment decisions. While choosing among competitive investment projects, the methodology makes ranking of projects using the new aggregation OWA operator – AsPOWA, presented in the environment of possibility uncertainty. For numerical evaluation of the weighting vector associated with the AsPOWA operator the mathematical programming problem is constructed. On the basis of the AsPOWA operator the projects’ group ranking maximum criteria is constructed. The methodology also allows making the most profitable investments into several of the project using the method developed by the authors for discrete possibilistic bicriteria problems. The article provides an example of the investment decision-making that explains the work of the proposed methodology.

Keywords: expert evaluations, investment decision making, OWA operator, possibility uncertainty

Procedia PDF Downloads 558

Authors: Ainoa Guinart, Maria Korpidou, Daniel Doellerer, Cornelia Palivan, Ben L. Feringa

Abstract:

Stimuli responsive systems arise from the need to meet unsolved needs of current molecular drugs. Our study presents the design of a delivery system with high spatiotemporal control and tuneable release profiles. We study the incorporation of a hydrophobic synthetic molecular motor into PDMS-b-PMOXA block copolymer vesicles to create a self-assembled system. We prove their successful incorporation and selective activation by low powered visible light (λ 430 nm, 6.9 mW). We trigger the release of a fluorescent dye with high release efficiencies over sequential cycles (up to 75%) with the ability to turn on and off the release behaviour on demand by light irradiation. Low concentrations of photo-responsive units are proven to trigger release down to 1 mol% of molecular motor. Finally, we test our system in relevant physiological conditions using a lung cancer cell line and the encapsulation of an approved drug. Similar levels of cell viability are observed compared to the free-given drugshowing the potential of our platform to deliver functional drugs on demand with the same efficiency and lower toxicity.

Keywords: molecular motor, polymer, drug delivery, light-responsive, cancer, selfassembly

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Authors: Ritu Ahuja

Abstract:

Globally the built environment sector is striving to be highly efficient, quality-centred and socially-responsible. Built environment sector is an integral part of the economy and plays an important role in urbanization, industrialization and improved quality of living. The inherent challenges such as excessive material and process waste, over reliance on resources, energy usage, and carbon footprint need to be addressed in order to meet the needs of the economy. It is envisioned that these challenges can be resolved by integration of Lean-Green-Building Information Modelling (BIM) paradigms. Ipso facto, with BIM as a catalyst, this research identifies the operational and tactical connections of lean and green philosophies by providing a conceptual integration framework and underpinning theories. The research has developed a framework for BIM-based organizational capabilities for enhanced adoption and effective use of BIM within architectural organizations. The study was conducted through a sequential mixed method approach focusing on collecting and analyzing both qualitative and quantitative data. The framework developed as part of this study will enable architectural organizations to successfully embrace BIM on projects and gain lean and green benefits.

Keywords: BIM, lean, green, AEC organizations

Procedia PDF Downloads 189

Authors: M. A. Lawal, A. Uzairu, M. S. Sallau

Abstract:

The presence and bioaccumulation of lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), and chromium (Cr) in blood, urine, nail, and hair samples of electronic repair technicians in Kaduna-Nigeria were assessed using Fast Sequential Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry. 10 electronic repair technicians from within Kaduna Metropolis volunteered for the pilot study. The mean blood concentrations of Pb, Cd, and Cr in the subjects were 29.33 ± 4.80, 7.78 ± 10.57, and 24.78 ± 21.77 µg/dL, respectively. The mean urine concentrations of Pb, Cd, and Cr were 24.18 ± 2.98, 6.81 ± 10.05, and 14.78 ± 14.20 µg/dL, respectively. Mean nail metal values of 37.13 ± 4.08, 1.00 ± 1.21, and 18.49 ± 12.71 µg/g were obtained for Pb, Cd, and Cr, respectively while mean hair metal values of 39.41 ± 5.63, 1.09 ± 1.14, and 19.13 ± 11.61 µg/g for Pb, Cd, and Cr, respectively. Positive Pearson correlation coefficients were observed between Pb/Cd, Pb/Cr, and Cd/Cr in all samples and they indicate the metals are likely from the same pollution source. The mean concentrations of the metals in all samples were higher than the WHO, ILO, and ACGIH standards, implying the repairers are likely occupationally exposed and are subject to serious health concerns. Social habits like smoking were found to significantly affect the concentrations of these metals. The level of education, use of safety devices, period of exposure, the nature of electronics and the age of the repairers were also found to remarkably affect the concentrations of the metals.

Keywords: bioaccumulation, electronic repair technicians, heavy metals, occupational hazard

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Authors: Mehdi Mirzaei Alavijeh, Farzad Jalilian

Abstract:

Background: Marijuana is the most widely used illicit drug worldwide, especially among adolescents and young adults, which can cause numerous complications. The aim of this study was to determine the pattern, motivation use, and factors related to marijuana use among Iranian youths based on the integrative model of behavioral prediction Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 174 youths marijuana user in Kermanshah County and Isfahan County, during summer 2014 which was selected with the convenience sampling for participation in this study. A self-reporting questionnaire was applied for collecting data. Data were analyzed by SPSS version 21 using bivariate correlations and linear regression statistical tests. Results: The mean marijuana use of respondents was 4.60 times at during week [95% CI: 4.06, 5.15]. Linear regression statistical showed, the structures of integrative model of behavioral prediction accounted for 36% of the variation in the outcome measure of the marijuana use at during week (R2 = 36% & P < 0.001); and among them attitude, marijuana refuse, and subjective norms were a stronger predictors. Conclusion: Comprehensive health education and prevention programs need to emphasize on cognitive factors that predict youth’s health-related behaviors. Based on our findings it seems, designing educational and behavioral intervention for reducing positive belief about marijuana, marijuana self-efficacy refuse promotion and reduce subjective norms encourage marijuana use has an effective potential to protect youths marijuana use.

Keywords: marijuana, youth, integrative model of behavioral prediction, Iran

Procedia PDF Downloads 554