Search results for: store carry and forward

Authors: Xiaoping Zhang, Fengying Yan

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The implementation of the 'Urban Design Management Measures' requires that the master urban design should aim at creating a livable urban space. However, to our best knowledge, the existing researches and practices of master urban design not only focus less on the livable space but also face a number of problems such as paying more attention to the image of the city, ignoring the people-oriented and lacking dynamic continuity. In order to make the master urban design can better guide the construction of city. Firstly, the paper proposes the livable city hierarchy system to meet the needs of different groups of people and then constructs the framework of livable goal-oriented master urban design based on the theory of livable content and the ideological origin of people-oriented. Secondly, the paper takes the master urban design practice of Zibo as a sample and puts forward the design strategy of strengthening the pattern, improve the quality of space, shape the feature, and establish a series of action plans based on the strategy of urban space development. Finally, the paper explores the method system of livable goal-oriented master urban design from the aspects of safety pattern, morphology pattern, neighborhood scale, open space, street space, public interface, style feature, public participation and action plans.

Keywords: livable, master urban design, public participation, zibo city

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Authors: Hafsa Raheel

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Background: Adolescents who suffer from depression early in life, have an increase in suicidal tendency, anxiety, conduct disorders, substance abuse, and continue to be depressed, later on in life. This study was conducted to identify the prevalence and correlates of depression among adolescent girls in Riyadh city in order to carry out early intervention. Methods: A cross‑sectional, school‑based survey was conducted among 1028 adolescent girls aged 15–19 years in secondary schools of Riyadh city. Riyadh was divided into clusters and within each cluster, both public and private schools were enrolled. From the selected schools students from grade 10–12 were surveyed. Survey was conducted using a structured questionnaire including the beck depression inventory‑II, and questions exploring the correlates of depression. Results: About 30% of participants were found to be depressed. Depression was more prevalent among female adolescents whose household income was inferior to 12,000 Saudi Riyal/month (odds ratio [OR] 2.17, confidence interval [CI] 0.97–6.84), did not have a good relationship with peers and family members (OR 4.63, CI 2.56–8.41), lived with single parent or alone (OR 1.77, CI 0.97–3.23), had been emotionally abused (OR 3.45, CI 2.56–8.41), and those who had been subjected to physical violence at least once (OR 3.34, CI 1.89–5.91). Conclusions: Strategies need to be developed to identify early signs and symptoms of depression among Saudi female adolescents. Training can be given to groups of students to help their peers, and also to the teachers to identify, and help students identify early signs of depression and provide them with better‑coping strategies to combat progression of depression and anxiety among such adolescents.

Keywords: adolescents, depression, Saudi Arabia, mental health

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Authors: Binu Sahayam

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HIV/AIDS epidemic is in its third decade and has become a virulent disease that threatens the world population. Many countless efforts had been made yet this has become a social and developmental concern. According to UNAIDS 2013 Report, In India around 2.4 million people are currently living with HIV and third in the infection rate. As every country is facing this health issue, this has become a social and developmental concern for India. In country like India, open discussion on sex and sexuality is not possible due to its conventional culture. Educational institution like schools and colleges can create awareness on sex education, life skill education, information on HIV and STD which is lacking. It is very clear that preventive knowledge remains low and this leads to increase in the HIV/AIDS infection rate. HIV/AIDS is a disease which is not curable but preventable, keeping this in mind religious leaders of various have come forward in addressing the issue of HIV/AIDS using various social strategies. The study has been focused on three main India religious teachings Hinduism, Christianity and Islam in addressing the issue of HIV/AIDS and its possible intervention in dealing with HIV/AIDS prevention. The study is important because it highlights the health issues, stigma discrimination, psychological disturbances and insecurity faced by the infected and affected persons. Therefore, this study privileges the role of religious leadership in the efforts and processes of preventing HIV/AIDS, caring and providing support to People living with HIV/AIDS and argues that intervention of religious leadership is an effective measure to confront many of the barriers associated with HIV/AIDS.

Keywords: HIV and AIDS, STDs, religion and religious organisation

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Authors: Lianxue Shi

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Riverfront street has the dual characteristics of street space and waterfront space, which is not only a vital place for residents to travel and communicate but also a high-frequency space for people's leisure and entertainment. However, under the development of cities and towns pursuing efficiency, riverfront streets appear to have a variety of problems, such as a lack of multifunctionality, insufficient facilities, and loss of characteristics, which fail to meet the needs of various groups of people, and their inclusiveness is facing a great challenge. It is, therefore, evident that the optimization of riverfront street space from an inclusivity perspective is important to the establishment of a human-centered, high-quality urban space. Therefore, this article starts by exploring the interactive relationship between inclusive design and street space. Based on the analysis of the characteristics of the riverfront street space and people's needs, it proposes the four inclusive design orientations of natural inclusion, group inclusion, spatial inclusion, and social inclusion. It then constructs a design framework for the inclusive optimization of riverfront street space, aiming to create streets that are “safe and accessible, diverse and shared, distinctive and friendly, green and sustainable”. Riverfront streets in Wansheng District, Chongqing, are selected as a practice case, and specific strategies are put forward in four aspects: the creation of an accessible slow-traffic system, the provision of diversified functional services, the reshaping of emotional bonds and the integration of ecological spaces.

Keywords: inclusiveness design, riverfront street, spatial optimization, street spaces

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Authors: Jacintha Menezes, Ramalingam Dharmalingam, Palaiahnakote Shivakumara

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In the recent years, Omani acid lime cultivation and production has been affected by Citrus greening or Huanglongbing (HLB) disease. HLB disease is one of the most destructive diseases for citrus, with no remedies or countermeasures to stop the disease. Currently used Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) HLB detection tests require lengthy and labor-intensive laboratory procedures. Furthermore, the equipment and staff needed to carry out the laboratory procedures are frequently specialized hence making them a less optimal solution for the detection of the disease. The current research uses hyperspectral imaging technology for automatic detection of citrus trees with HLB disease. Omani citrus tree leaf images were captured through portable Specim IQ hyperspectral camera. The research considered healthy, nutrition deficient, and HLB infected leaf samples based on the Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test. The highresolution image samples were sliced to into sub cubes. The sub cubes were further processed to obtain RGB images with spatial features. Similarly, RGB spectral slices were obtained through a moving window on the wavelength. The resized spectral-Spatial RGB images were given to Convolution Neural Networks for deep features extraction. The current research was able to classify a given sample to the appropriate class with 92.86% accuracy indicating the effectiveness of the proposed techniques. The significant bands with a difference in three types of leaves are found to be 560nm, 678nm, 726 nm and 750nm.

Keywords: huanglongbing (HLB), hyperspectral imaging (HSI), · omani citrus, CNN

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Authors: Dicle Aydın, Tuba Bulbul Bahtiyar, Esra Yaldız

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Housing offers a confirmed space for individuals. In the sense of interior decoration design, housing is a kind of typology in which user’s profile and individual preferences are considered as primary determinants. In Turkish society, the transition from traditional residences to apartment buildings brings the change in interior fittings depending upon the location of houses in its wake. The social status of the users in the residence and the differences of their everyday life can be represented more evident in these interior fittings. Hence, space becomes a tool to carry the information of users and the act. From this aspect, space as a concrete tool also enables a multidirectional communication with the cinema which reflects the social, cultural and economic changes of the society. While space takes a virtual or real part of the cinema, architecture discipline has also been influenced by cinematic phenomenas in its own practice. The subject of the movie and its content commune with the space, therefore, the design of the space is formed to support the subject. The purpose of this study is to analyze the space through motion pictures that convey the information of social life with an objective perspective. In addition, this study aims to determine the space, fittings and the use of fittings with respect to the social status of users. Morever, three films in 1980s in which Kemal Sunal, protagonist of the scripts that reflect society in many ways, performed are examined in this study. Movie sets are considered in many ways. For instance, in one of these movies, different houses from an apartment are analyzed vis a vis the perspective of the study.

Keywords: housing, interior, furniture, furnishing, user

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Authors: Zhao Liu, Kang Cao

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Strategic spatial planning, which is taken as an effective and competitive way for the governors of the city to improve the development and management level of a city, has been blooming in recent years all over the world. In the context of globalization and informatization, strategic spatial planning must transfer its focus on three different levels: global, regional and urban. Internal and external changes in environmental conditions lead to new advances in strategic planning both theoretically and practically. However, such advances or changes respond differently to cities on account of different dynamic mechanisms. This article aims at two cities of Tianjin in China and Melbourne in Australia, through a comparative study on strategic planning, to explore the differentiation of mechanisms in urban planning. By comparison and exploration, the purpose of this article is to exhibit two different planning worlds, western and Chinese, in a new way. The article can be divided into four parts. The first part outlines strategic planning transformations in the new era on three levels, generally analysing the internal and external environmental factors of today. The second part indicates the concepts of strategic planning theoretically, demonstrating briefly its development background and process in western and China, respectively. The third part takes Tianjin and Melbourne urban strategic spatial planning as examples to mainly carry on the contrast research from the aspects of strategic planning mode, competitive mechanism, contents, strategy implementation and management. It is expected to summarize the differences and similarities of the two plans, meanwhile, to explore the inherent factors or mechanisms probably spatial, material, political and etc., which affect cities in the course of urban planning. The final part is a summary of general mechanisms of planning from the perspective of strategic spatial planning.

Keywords: differentiation, strategic planning, Melbourne, Australia, Tianjin, China

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Authors: A. Latif Karimi

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Since 2001, construction works, especially the construction of new homes and residential buildings, witnessed a dramatic boom across Afghanistan. More so, the construction industry and house builders are relied upon as important players in the country’s job market, economy and infrastructural development schemes. However, a lack of innovation, quality assurance mechanism, substandard construction and market dominance by traditional methods push all the parties in house building sector to shift for more advanced construction techniques and mass production technologies to meet the rising demands for proper accommodation. Meanwhile, rapid population growth and urbanization are widening the gap between the demand and supply of new and modern houses in urban areas like Kabul, Herat, etc. This paper investigates about current condition of construction practices in house building projects, the associated challenges, and the outcomes of transition to more reasonable and sustainable building methods. It is obvious, the introduction and use of Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) can help construction industry and house builders in Afghanistan to tackle the challenges and meet the desired standards for modern houses. This paper focuses on prefabrication, a popular MMC that is becoming more common, improving in quality and available in a variety of budgets. It is revealed that this method is the way forward to improving house building practices as it has been proven to reduce construction time, minimize waste and improve environmental performance of construction developments.

Keywords: modern houses, traditional construction, modern methods of construction, prefabrication, sustainable building

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Authors: M. D. Dogara, C. G, Afuwai, O. O. Esther, A. M. Dawai

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For two decades, the inhabitants of Kujama Prison Farm faced problems of water for domestic and agricultural purposes, even after the drilling of three deep boreholes. The scarcity of this groundwater resource led to the geophysical investigation of the basement complex of the prison farm. Two geophysical techniques, vertical electrical sounding and seismic refraction methods were deployed to unravel the cause(s) of the non-productivity of the three boreholes. The area of investigation covered was 400,000 m2 of ten profiles with six investigative points. In all, 60 vertical electrical points were sounded, and sixty sets of seismic refraction data were collected using the forward and reverse approach. From the geoelectric sections, it is suggestive that the area is underlain by three to five geoelectric layers of varying thicknesses and resistivities. The result of the interpreted seismic data revealed two geovelocity layers, with velocities ranging between 478m/s to 1666m/s for the first layer and 1166m/s to 7141m/s for the second layer. From the combined results of the two techniques, it was suggestive that all the three unproductive boreholes were drilled at points that were neither weathered nor fractured. It was, therefore, suggested that new boreholes should be drilled at areas identified with depressed bedrock topography having geophysical evidence of intense weathering and fracturing within the fresh basement.

Keywords: groundwater, Kujama prison farm, kaduna, nigeria, seismic refraction, vertical electrical sounding

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Authors: Bita Mohajernia, R. J. Urbanic

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Mold making techniques have focused on meeting the customers’ functional and process requirements; however, today, molds are increasing in size and sophistication, and are difficult to manufacture, transport, and set up due to their size and mass. Presently, mold weight saving techniques focus on pockets to reduce the mass of the mold, but the overall size is still large, which introduces costs related to the stock material purchase, processing time for process planning, machining and validation, and excess waste materials. Reducing the overall size of the mold is desirable for many reasons, but the functional requirements, tool life, and durability cannot be compromised in the process. It is proposed to use Finite Element Analysis simulation tools to model the forces, and pressures to determine where the material can be removed. The potential results of this project will reduce manufacturing costs. In this study, a light weight structure is defined by an optimal distribution of material to carry external loads. The optimization objective of this research is to determine methods to provide the optimum layout for the mold structure. The topology optimization method is utilized to improve structural stiffness while decreasing the weight using the OptiStruct software. The optimized CAD model is compared with the primary geometry of the mold from the NX software. Results of optimization show an 8% weight reduction while the actual performance of the optimized structure, validated by physical testing, is similar to the original structure.

Keywords: finite element analysis, plastic injection molding, topology optimization, weight reduction

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Authors: Gaurav Bisht, Rahul Rathnakumar, Ravikumar Duggirala

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Predictive simulations are one of the key focus areas in safety-critical industries such as aerospace and high-performance automotive engineering. The stone-chipping study is one such effort taken up by the industry to predict and evaluate the damage caused due to gravel impact on vehicles. This paper describes a finite elements based method that can simulate the ejection of gravel chips from a vehicle tire. The FE simulations were used to obtain the initial ejection velocity of the stones for various driving conditions using a computational contact mechanics approach. To verify the accuracy of the tire model, several parametric studies were conducted. The FE simulations resulted in stone loft velocities ranging from 0–8 m/s, regardless of tire speed. The stress on the tire at the instant of initial contact with the stone increased linearly with vehicle speed. Mesh convergence studies indicated that a highly resolved tire mesh tends to result in better momentum transfer between the tire and the stone. A fine tire mesh also showed a linearly increasing relationship between the tire forward speed and stone lofting speed, which was not observed in coarser meshes. However, it also highlighted a potential challenge, in that the ejection velocity vector of the stone seemed to be sensitive to the mesh, owing to the FE-based contact mechanical formulation of the problem.

Keywords: abaqus, contact mechanics, foreign object debris, stone chipping

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Authors: Charlene N. T. Mfangnia, Henri Tonnang, Berge Tsanou, Jeremy Herren

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The Microsporidia MB found in the populations of anopheles is a recently discovered symbiont responsible for the Plasmodium transmission blocking. From early studies, it was established that the symbiont can be transmitted vertically and horizontally. The present study uses compartmental mathematical modelling approach to investigate the dynamics of Microsporidia transmission in the mosquito population with the mindset of establishing a mechanism for use to control malaria. Data and information obtained from laboratory experiments are used to estimate the model parameters with and without temperature dependency of mosquito traits. We carry out the mathematical analysis focusing on the equilibria states and their stability for the autonomous model. Through the modelling experiments, we are able to assess and confirm the contribution of vertical and horizontal transmission in the proliferation of Microsporidia MB in the mosquito population. In addition, the basic and target reproductions are computed, and some long-term behaviours of the model, such as the local (and global) stability of equilibrium points, are rigorously analysed and illustrated numerically. We establish the conditions responsible for the low prevalence of the symbiont-infected mosquitoes observed in nature. Moreover, we identify the male death rate, the mating rate and the attractiveness of MB-positive mosquitoes as mosquito traits that significantly influence the spread of Microsporidia MB. Furthermore, we highlight the influence of temperature in the establishment and persistence of MB-infected mosquitoes in a given area.

Keywords: microsporidia MB, vertical transmission, horizontal transmission, compartmental modelling approach, temperature-dependent mosquito traits, malaria, plasmodium-transmission blocking

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Authors: Hamil Uribe, Cristian Arancibia

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In Chile, the water for irrigation and hydropower generation is delivery essentially through unlined channels on earth, which have high seepage losses. Traditional seepage-abatement technologies are very expensive. The goals of this work were to quantify water loss in unlined channels and select reaches to evaluate the use of linear anionic polyacrylamide (LA-PAM) to reduce seepage losses. The study was carried out in Maule Region, central area of Chile. Water users indicated reaches with potential seepage losses, 45 km of channels in total, whose flow varied between 1.07 and 23.6 m³ s⁻¹. According to seepage measurements, 4 reaches of channels, 4.5 km in total, were selected for LA-PAM application. One to 4 LA-PAM applications were performed at rates of 11 kg ha⁻¹, considering wet perimeter area as basis of calculation. Large channels were used to allow motorboat moving against the current to carry-out LA-PAM application. For applications, a seeder machine was used to evenly distribute granulated polymer on water surface. Water flow was measured (StreamPro ADCP) upstream and downstream in selected reaches, to estimate seepage losses before and after LA-PAM application. Weekly measurements were made to quantify treatment effect and duration. In each case, water turbidity and temperature were measured. Channels showed variable losses up to 13.5%. Channels showing water gains were not treated with PAM. In all cases, LA-PAM effect was positive, achieving average loss reductions of 8% to 3.1%. Water loss was confirmed and it was possible to reduce seepage through LA-PAM applications provided that losses were known and correctly determined when applying the polymer. This could allow increasing irrigation security in critical periods, especially under drought conditions.

Keywords: canal seepage, irrigation, polyacrylamide, water management

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Authors: Aftab Ahmed, Farhan Saeed, Muhammad Afzaal, Shinawar Waseem Ali, Ali Imran, Sadaf Munir

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Malnutrition is a globally increasing public health concern among children; it affects number of school children influencing their growth, development and academic performance. The tenet of the current cross sectional study was to assess the nutritional biomarkers of school going children of age 12-15 years resulting in stunting, underweight, overweight, bone deformities and other health disparities in nutritionally deprived urban and rural populations of Pakistan. A sample size comprising of 180 school going children was stipulated from the targeted urban and rural populations. The fallouts of investigation unveiled that both rural and urban populations were experiencing nutritional challenges however; on account of awareness paucity the rustic population was nutritionally more compromised. Hematological tests elucidated 16.7% and 7.8% cases for high glucose level, 35.6% and 27.8% cases for low hemoglobin levels, 14.4% and 15.6% cases for low calcium indices, 12.2% and 4.4% high white blood cell count (WBC), 20% and 14.4% low red blood cell count, 76.7% and 74.4% low hematocrit (HCT) values, among the rural and urban populations respectively. The above mentioned outcomes can serve as a way forward for policy and law maker institutions to curb the possible barricades in the way of healthy nutritional status in these areas

Keywords: malnutrition, hematological study, child nutrition, bone mineral density, calcium, RBC

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Authors: Ahmed Al Khamisi

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The Disaster Preparedness Standard (DPS) is one of the elements that is evaluated by the Accreditation Canada International (ACI). ACI emphasizes to train and educate all staff, including service providers and senior leaders, on emergency and disaster preparedness upon the orientation and annually thereafter. Lack of awareness and deficit of knowledge among the healthcare providers about DPS have been noticed in a tertiary hospital where ACI standards were implemented. Therefore, this paper aims to introduce a video-based e-learning (VB-EL) module that explains the hospital’s disaster plan in a simple language which will be easily accessible to all healthcare providers through the hospital’s website. The healthcare disaster preparedness coordinator in the targeted hospital will be responsible to ensure that VB-EL is ready by 25 April 2019. This module will be developed based on the Kirkpatrick evaluation method. In fact, VB-EL combines different data forms such as images, motion, sounds, text in a complementary fashion which will suit diverse learning styles and individual learning pace of healthcare providers. Moreover, the module can be adjusted easily than other tools to control the information that healthcare providers receive. It will enable healthcare providers to stop, rewind, fast-forward, and replay content as many times as needed. Some anticipated limitations in the development of this module include challenges of preparing VB-EL content and resistance from healthcare providers.

Keywords: Accreditation Canada International, Disaster Preparedness Standard, Kirkpatrick evaluation method, video-based e-learning

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Authors: Minho Lee, Donghyun Back, Jaemoon Jung, Woojin Park

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The current 3-dimensional (3D) posture prediction models commonly provide only a few optimal postures to achieve a specific objective. The problem with such models is that they are incapable of rapidly providing several optimal posture candidates according to various situations. In order to solve this problem, this paper presents a 3D memory-based posture planning (3D MBPP) model, which is a new digital human model that can analyze the feasible postures in 3D space for reaching tasks that have postural constraints and specific reaching space. The 3D MBPP model can be applied to the types of works that are done with constrained working postures and have specific reaching space. The examples of such works include driving an excavator, driving automobiles, painting buildings, working at an office, pitching/batting, and boxing. For these types of works, a limited amount of space is required to store all of the feasible postures, as the hand reaches boundary can be determined prior to perform the task. This prevents computation time from increasing exponentially, which has been one of the major drawbacks of memory-based posture planning model in 3D space. This paper validates the utility of 3D MBPP model using a practical example of analyzing baseball batting posture. In baseball, batters swing with both feet fixed to the ground. This motion is appropriate for use with the 3D MBPP model since the player must try to hit the ball when the ball is located inside the strike zone (a limited area) in a constrained posture. The results from the analysis showed that the stored and the optimal postures vary depending on the ball’s flying path, the hitting location, the batter’s body size, and the batting objective. These results can be used to establish the optimal postural strategies for achieving the batting objective and performing effective hitting. The 3D MBPP model can also be applied to various domains to determine the optimal postural strategies and improve worker comfort.

Keywords: baseball, memory-based, posture prediction, reaching area, 3D digital human models

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Authors: Renata De Toledo Cintra, Bruno Ramos, Douglas Gouvêa

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There is a huge global concern due to the emission of greenhouse gases, consequent environmental problems, and the increase in the average temperature of the planet, caused mainly by fossil fuels, petroleum derivatives represent a big part. One of the main greenhouse gases, in terms of volume, is CO₂. Recovering a part of this product through chemical reactions that use sunlight as an energy source and even producing renewable fuel (such as ethane, methane, ethanol, among others) is a great opportunity. The process of artificial photosynthesis, through the conversion of CO₂ and H₂O into organic products and oxygen using a metallic oxide catalyst, and incidence of sunlight, is one of the promising solutions. Therefore, this research is of great relevance. To this reaction take place efficiently, an optimized reactor was developed through simulation and prior analysis so that the geometry of the internal channel is an efficient route and allows the reaction to happen, in a controlled and optimized way, in flow continuously and offering the least possible resistance. The design of this reactor prototype can be made in different materials, such as polymers, ceramics and metals, and made through different processes, such as additive manufacturing (3D printer), CNC, among others. To carry out the photocatalysis in the reactors, different types of catalysts will be used, such as ZnO deposited by spray pyrolysis in the lighting window, probably modified ZnO, TiO₂ and modified TiO₂, among others, aiming to increase the production of organic molecules, with the lowest possible energy.

Keywords: artificial photosynthesis, CO₂ reduction, photocatalysis, photoreactor design, 3D printed reactors, solar fuels

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Authors: Himanshu J. Bahirat, Apoorva S. Janawlekar

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Plasma actuators are essential for aerodynamic flow separation control due to their lack of mechanical parts, lightweight, and high response frequency, which have numerous applications in hypersonic or supersonic aircraft. The working of these actuators is based on the formation of a low-temperature plasma between a pair of parallel electrodes by the application of a high-voltage AC signal across the electrodes, after which air molecules from the air surrounding the electrodes are ionized and accelerated through the electric field. The high-frequency operation is required in dielectric discharge barriers to ensure plasma stability. To carry out flow separation control in a hypersonic flow, the optimal design and construction of a power supply to generate dielectric barrier discharges is carried out in this paper. In this paper, it is aspired to construct a simplified circuit topology to emulate the dielectric barrier discharge and study its various frequency responses. The power supply can generate high voltage pulses up to 20kV at the repetitive frequency range of 20-50kHz with an input power of 500W. The power supply has been designed to be short circuit proof and can endure variable plasma load conditions. Its general outline is to charge a capacitor through a half-bridge converter and then later discharge it through a step-up transformer at a high frequency in order to generate high voltage pulses. After simulating the circuit, the PCB design and, eventually, lab tests are carried out to study its effectiveness in controlling flow separation.

Keywords: aircraft propulsion, dielectric barrier discharge, flow separation control, power source

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Authors: Zheng Sun, Weiwei Cui, Xiaodong Ma, Hongxin Jin, Dongpao Hong, Jinsong Yang, Jingyi Sun

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With the improvement of the performance and complexity of modern equipment, automatic test system (ATS) becomes widely used for condition monitoring and fault diagnosis. However, the conventional ATS mainly works in a serial mode, and lacks the ability of testing several equipments at the same time. That leads to low test efficiency and ATS redundancy. Especially for a large majority of equipment under test, the conventional ATS cannot meet the requirement of efficient testing. To reduce the support resource and increase test efficiency, we propose a method of design for the parallel test based on the embedded system in this paper. Firstly, we put forward the general framework of the parallel test system, and the system contains a central management system (CMS) and several distributed test subsystems (DTS). Then we give a detailed design of the system. For the hardware of the system, we use embedded architecture to design DTS. For the software of the system, we use test program set to improve the test adaption. By deploying the parallel test system, the time to test five devices is now equal to the time to test one device in the past. Compared with the conventional test system, the proposed test system reduces the size and improves testing efficiency. This is of great significance for equipment to be put into operation swiftly. Finally, we take an industrial control system as an example to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method. The result shows that the method is reasonable, and the efficiency is improved up to 500%.

Keywords: parallel test, embedded system, automatic test system, automatic test system (ATS), central management system, central management system (CMS), distributed test subsystems, distributed test subsystems (DTS)

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Authors: Anyeres N. Atehortua Jimenez, J. David Lambraño, Juan Carlos Muñoz

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Navier-Stokes equations (NSE), which describe the dynamics of a fluid, have an important application on modeling waves used for data inversion techniques as full waveform inversion (FWI). In this work a linearized version of NSE and its variables, neglecting deviatoric terms of stress tensor, is presented. In order to get a theoretical modeling of pressure p(x,t) and wave velocity profile c(x,t), a wave equation of visco-acoustic medium (VAE) is written. A change of variables p(x,t)=q(x,t)h(ρ), is made on the equation for the VAE leading to a well known Klein-Gordon equation (KGE) describing waves propagating in variable density medium (ρ) with dispersive term α^2(x). KGE is reduced to a Poisson equation and solved by proposing a specific function for α^2(x) accounting for the energy dissipation and dispersion. Finally, an integral form solution is derived for p(x,t), c(x,t) and kinematics variables like particle velocity v(x,t), displacement u(x,t) and bulk modulus function k_b(x,t). Further, it is compared this visco-acoustic formulation with another form broadly used in the geophysics; it is argued that this formalism is more general and, given its integral form, it may offer several advantages from the modern parallel computing point of view. Applications to minimize the errors in modeling for FWI applied to oils resources in geophysics are discussed.

Keywords: Navier-Stokes equations, modeling, visco-acoustic, inversion FWI

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Authors: Hannah Wamaitha Irungu

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Educational reforms have been made from time to time since independence in Kenya. Kenya previously had a curriculum system coined as 8.4.4, where learners go through 8 years of primary, 4 years of secondary, and 4 years of tertiary or college education. The 8.4.4 system was very theoretical, examinational oriented, lacked career guidance, lacked I.C.T. infrastructure and had the pressure for exam grading results to move to the next level. Kenya is now implementing a Competency Based Curriculum (C.B.C) system of education. C.B.C, on the other hand, is learner based. It focuses mainly on the ability of the learners, their strengths/likings, not what they are systematically trained to pass exams only for progression. The academic pressure will be eased, which gives a chance to all learners to pursue their fields of strength and not only those endowed academically/theoretically. With C.B.C., each learner’s progress is nurtured and monitored over a period of 14 years that are divided into four major levels (2-6-3-3): 1. Pre-primary education [pp1 and pp2]-2 years; 2. Lower-primary [grades 1 - 6]-6 years; 3. Junior-secondary [grades 7 - 9]-3 years; 4. Senior secondary [grades 10 - 12]-3 years. In this paper, we look at these aspects with regards to C.B.C.: What necessitates it, its key strengths/benefits and application in a developing country; Implementation, what has worked and what is not working with the approach taken by Kenya education stakeholders during this process; Stakeholders, who should be involved/own the process; Conclusion, lessons learned, current status and recommendations going forward.

Keywords: benefits, challenges, competency, curricula, Kenya, successes

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Authors: Mohammed Althobiti, Patrick Booms, Dorota Fiszer, Philip Hopkins

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Malignant hyperthermia (MH) is a pharmacogenetic disorder of skeletal muscle. MH results from anaesthetics induced breakdown of calcium homeostasis. RYR1 and CACN1AS mutations represent the aetiology in ~70% of the MH population. Previous studies indicate that up to 25% of MH patients carry no variants in these genes. Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate the relationships between MH susceptibility and genes encoding skeletal muscle Ca2+ channels as well as accessory proteins. The JSRP, encoding JP-45, was previously sequenced and novel genetic variants were identified. The variant p.P108L (c.323C > T) was identified in exon 4 and encodes a change from a proline at amino acid 108 to leucine residue. The variant P108L was detected in two patients out of 50 with 4% frequency in the sample population. The alignment of DNA sequences in different species indicates highly conserved proline sequences involved in the substitution of the P108L variant. In this study, the variant P108L co-segregates with the SNP p.V92A (c.275T > C) at the same exon, both variants being inherited in the same two patients only. This indicates that the two variants may represent a haplotype. Therefore, a set of single nucleotide polymorphisms and statistical analysis will be used to investigate the effects of haplotypes on MH susceptibility. Furthermore, investigating the effect of the P108L variant in combination with RYR1 mutations or other genetic variants in other genes as a combination of two or more genetic variants, haplotypes may then provide stronger genetic evidence indicating that JSRP1 is associated with MH susceptibility. In conclusion, these preliminary results lend a potential modifier role of the variant P108L in JSRP1 in MH susceptibility and further investigations are suggested to confirm these results.

Keywords: JSRP1, malignant hyperthermia, RyR1, skeletal muscle

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Authors: Mayesha Tahsin, A.S. Mollah

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Recently, a 1.5x1.5 inch NaI(Tl) detector based gamma-ray spectroscopy system has been installed in the laboratory of the Nuclear Science and Engineering Department of the Military Institute of Science and Technology for radioactivity detection purposes. The newly installed NaI(Tl) detector has a circular lead shield of 22 mm width. An important consideration of any gamma-ray spectroscopy is the minimization of natural background radiation not originating from the radioactive sample that is being measured. Natural background gamma-ray radiation comes from naturally occurring or man-made radionuclides in the environment or from cosmic sources. Moreover, the main problem with this system is that it is not suitable for measurements of radioactivity with a large sample container like Petridish or Marinelli beaker geometry. When any laboratory installs a new detector or/and new shield, it “must” first carry out quality and performance tests for the detector and shield. This paper describes a new portable shielding system with lead that can reduce the background radiation. Intensity of gamma radiation after passing the shielding will be calculated using shielding equation I=Ioe-µx where Io is initial intensity of the gamma source, I is intensity after passing through the shield, µ is linear attenuation coefficient of the shielding material, and x is the thickness of the shielding material. The height and width of the shielding will be selected in order to accommodate the large sample container. The detector will be surrounded by a 4π-geometry low activity lead shield. An additional 1.5 mm thick shield of tin and 1 mm thick shield of copper covering the inner part of the lead shielding will be added in order to remove the presence of characteristic X-rays from the lead shield.

Keywords: shield, NaI (Tl) detector, gamma radiation, intensity, linear attenuation coefficient

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Authors: Rana Eijaz Ahmad

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This paper is going to explain about the Fifth Political Theory that challenges all existing three plus one (Capitalism, Marxism and Fascism + Fourth Political Theory) theories. It says, ‘it is human ambiance evolve any political system to survive instead of borrowing other imported thoughts to live in a specific environment, in which Legitimacy leads to authority and promotes humanism.’ According to this theory, no other state is allowed to dictate or install any political system upon other states. It is the born right of individuals to choose a political system or a set of values that are going to make their structures and functions efficient enough to support the system harmony and counter the negative forces successfully. In the post 9/11 era, it is observed that all existing theories like Capitalism, Marxism, Fascism and Fourth Political Theory remained unsuccessful in resolving the global crisis. The so-called war against terrorism is proved as a war for terrorism and creates a vacuum on the global stage, worsening the crisis. The fifth political theory is an answer to counter terrorism in the twenty-first century. It calls for accountability of the United Nations for its failure in sustaining peace at global level. Therefore, the UN charter is supposed to be implemented in its true letter and spirit. All independent sovereign states have right to evolve their own system to carry out a political system that suits them best for sustaining harmony at home. This is the only way to counter terrorism. This paper is comprised of mixed method. Qualitative, quantitative and comparative methods will be used along with secondary sources. The objective of this paper is to create knowledge for the benefit of human beings with a logical and rational argument. It will help political scientists and scholars in conflict management and countering terrorism on pragmatic grounds.

Keywords: capitalism, fourth political theory, fifth political theory, Marxism, fascism

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Authors: Carmen Aguilera-Carnerero

Abstract:

Islamophobia, the unfounded hostility towards Muslims and Islam, has been deeply studied in the last decades from different perspectives ranging from anthropology, sociology, media studies, and linguistics. In the past few years, we have witnessed how the birth of social media has transformed formerly passive audiences into an active group that not only receives and digests information but also creates and comments publicly on any event of their interest. In this way, average citizens now have been entitled with the power of becoming potential opinion leaders. This rise of social media in the last years gave way to a different way of Islamophobia, the so called ‘cyberIslamophobia’. Considerably less attention, however, has been given to the study of islamophobic images that accompany the texts in social media. This paper attempts to analyse a corpus of 300 images of islamophobic nature taken from social media (from Twitter and Facebook) from the years 2014-2017 to see: a) how hate speech is visually constructed, b) how cyberislamophobia is articulated through images and whether there are differences/similarities between the textual and the visual elements, c) the impact of those images in the audience and their reaction to it and d) whether visual cyberislamophobia has undergone any process of permeating popular culture (for example, through memes) and its real impact. To carry out this task, we have used Critical Discourse Analysis as the most suitable theoretical framework that analyses and criticizes the dominant discourses that affect inequality, injustice, and oppression. The analysis of images was studied according to the theoretical framework provided by the visual framing theory and the visual design grammar to conclude that memes are subtle but very powerful tools to spread Islamophobia and foster hate speech under the guise of humour within popular culture.

Keywords: cyberIslamophobia, visual grammar, social media, popular culture

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Authors: Hossam E. Emam

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The functional textiles development history in the military field could be ascribed as a uniquely interesting research topic. Soldiers are like a high-performance athletes, where monitoring their physical and physiological capabilities is a vital requirement. Functional clothes represent a “second skin” that has a close, “intimate” relationship with the human body. For the application of textiles in military purposes, which is normally required in difficult weather and environmental conditions, several functions are required. The requirements for designing functional military textiles for soldier's protection can be categorized into three categories; i) battle field (protection from chemical warfare agents, flames, and thermal radiation), ii) environmental (water proof, air permeable, UV-protection, antibacterial), iii) physiological (minimize heat stress, low weight, insulative, durability). All of these requirements are important, but the means to fulfill these requirements are not simple and straight forward. Additionally, the combination of more than one function is reported to be very expensive and requires many complicated steps, and the final product is found to be low durability. Not only do all of these requirements are overlapping, but they are also contradicting each other at various levels. Thus, we plan to produce multi-functional textiles (e.g., anti-microbial, UV-protection, fire retardant, photoluminescent) to be applied in military clothes. The current project aims to use quite a simple and applicable technique through the modification of textiles with different coordination polymers and functionalized coordination polymers.

Keywords: functional textiles, military clothes, coordination polymers, antimicrobial, fire retardant, photolumenscent

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Authors: Sasala Taiban

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This paper explores the process and reflections on the restoration of traditional slate houses in the Rukai tribe's old settlement of Kucapungane. Designated as a "Class II Historical Site" by the Ministry of the Interior in 1991 and listed by UNESCO's World Monuments Fund in 2016, Kucapungane holds significant historical and cultural value. However, due to government neglect, tribal migration, and the passing of elders, the traditional knowledge and techniques for constructing slate houses face severe discontinuity. Over the past decades, residents have strived to preserve and transmit these traditional skills through the restoration and reconstruction of their homes. This study employs a qualitative methodology, combining ethnographic fieldwork, historical analysis, and participatory observation. The research includes in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, and hands-on participation in restoration activities to gather comprehensive data. The paper reviews the historical evolution of Kucapungane, the restoration process, and the challenges encountered, such as insufficient resources, technical preservation issues, material acquisition problems, and lack of community recognition. Furthermore, it highlights the importance of house restoration in indigenous consciousness and cultural revival, proposing strategies to address current issues and promote preservation. Through these efforts, the cultural heritage of the Rukai tribe can be sustained and carried forward into the future.

Keywords: rukai, kucapungane, slate house restoration, cultural heritage

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Authors: Yuban Sebastian Cuartas-Agudelo, Sandra Marcela López-Hincapié, Vivianna Alexandra Garrido-Altamar, María de los Ángeles Rodríguez-Gázquez, Camilo Ruiz-Mejía, Lina María Martínez-Sánchez, Gloria Inés Martínez-Domínguez, Luis Eduardo Contreras, Felipe Eduardo Marino-Isaza

Abstract:

Introduction: Doping is a prohibited practice in competitive sports with potential adverse effects; therefore, it is crucial to describe the attitudes of athletes towards this behavior and to determine which o these increase the susceptibility to carry out this practice. Objective: To determine the attitude of high-performance athletes towards doping in a sports institute in the city of Medellin, Colombia. Methods: We performed a cross-sectional study during 2016, with a sample taken to convenience consisting of athletes over 18 years old enrolled in a sports institute of the city of Medellin (Colombia). The athletes filled by themselves the Petroczi and Aidman questionnaire: Performance Enhancement Attitude Scale (PEAS) adapted to the Spanish language by Morente-Sánchez et al. This scale has 17 items with likert answer options, with a score ranging from 1 to 6, with a higher score indicating a stronger tendency towards doping practices. Results: 112 athletes were included with an average age of 21.6 years old, a 60% of them were male and the most frequent sports were karate 17%, judo 12.5% and athletics 9.8%. The average score of the questionnaire was 35.5 points of a 102 possible points. The lowest score was obtained in the following items: Is Doping necessary 1,4 and Doping isn’t cheating, everyone does it 1,5. Conclusion: In our population, there is a low tendency towards doping practices.

Keywords: sports, doping in sports, athletic performance, attitude

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Authors: Yessenia Parrado, Ana Barbosa, Daniela Mahe, Sebastian Toro, Jhon Garcia

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Public innovation has gained strength in recent years in response to the need to find new strategies or mechanisms to interact between government entities and citizens. In this way, the Colombian government has been promoting policies aimed at strengthening innovation as a fundamental aspect in the work of public entities. However, in order to potentiate the capacities of public servants and therefore of the institutions and organizations to which they belong, it is necessary to be able to understand the context under which they operate in their daily work. This article aims to compile the work developed by the laboratory of innovation, creativity, and new technologies LAB101 of the National University of Colombia for the National Department of Planning. A case study was developed in the central region of Colombia made up of five departments, through the construction of instruments based on quantitative techniques in response to the item combined with qualitative analysis through semi-structured interviews to understand the perception of possible barriers to innovation and the obstacles that have prevented the acceleration of transformation within public organizations. From the information collected, different analyzes are carried out that allows a more robust explanation to be given to the results obtained, and a set of categories are established to group different characteristics associated with possible difficulties that officials perceive to innovate and that are later conceived as barriers. Finally, a proposal for an indicator was built to measure the degree of innovation within public entities in order to be able to carry a metric in future opportunities. The main findings of this study show three key components to be strengthened in public entities and organizations: governance, knowledge management, and the promotion of collaborative workspaces.

Keywords: barriers, enablers, management, public innovation

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Authors: Saroj Kumar Rath

Abstract:

When insurgency erupted in Kashmir in 1989, it was quickly backed by Pakistan. Kashmir witnessed terrorism for more than a decade till 2004 when Indian forces decimated militancy. After the US pressure in 1992, terrorist training camps of Pakistan shifted to Afghanistan and al Qaeda and the Taliban had taken over training of Kashmiri militants in Afghanistan after 1997 as part of their global jihad. The Indo-Pak rivalry over Kashmir dispute had taken a new turn in the aftermath of 9/11 developments. Islamabad viewed its Afghan policy through the prism of denying India any advantage in Kabul. Pakistan was successful in refuting Indian presence in Kabul for a decade through the Taliban. After the 9/11 attacks the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) saw Northern Alliance, supported by the Americans and all of Pakistan’s regional rivals – India, Iran, and Russia – as claiming victory in Kabul. For Pakistan’s military regime, this was a strategic disaster and prompted the ISI to give refuge to the escaping Taliban, while denying full support to Hamid Karzai. The new development in Afghanistan prompted India to establish a foothold it had lost nearly a decade earlier. India established diplomatic contacts with Afghanistan; supported the Karzai government and funded aid programs. Pakistan alleged that Indian agents are training Baloch and Sindhi dissidents in Pakistan through Afghanistan. Kabul had suddenly become the new Kashmir – the new battleground for India-Pakistan rivalry.

Keywords: Afghan imbroglio, Kashmir conflict, Indo-Pak rivalry, US policy in South Asia

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