Search results for: AIC (Active Interaction Control Device)

Authors: Peter Shi

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Algorithmic trading is a rapidly expanding domain within quantitative finance, constituting a substantial portion of trading volumes in the US financial market. The demand for rigorous and robust mathematical theories underpinning these trading algorithms is ever-growing. In this study, the author establishes a new stock market model that integrates the Efficient Market Hypothesis and the statistical arbitrage. The model, for the first time, finds probabilistic relations between the rational price and the market price in terms of the conditional expectation. The theory consequently leads to a mathematical justification of the old market adage: buy-low and sell-high. The thresholds for “low” and “high” are precisely derived using a max-min operation on Bayes’s error. This explicit connection harmonizes the Efficient Market Hypothesis and Statistical Arbitrage, demonstrating their compatibility in explaining market dynamics. The amalgamation represents a pioneering contribution to quantitative finance. The study culminates in comprehensive numerical tests using historical market data, affirming that the “buy-low” and “sell-high” algorithm derived from this theory significantly outperforms the general market over the long term in four out of six distinct market environments.

Keywords: efficient market hypothesis, behavioral finance, Bayes' decision, algorithmic trading, risk control, stock market

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Authors: Hua Cao, Laurent Peyrodie, Olivier Agnani, Cecile Donze

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Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a disease, which affects the central nervous system, and causes balance problem. In clinical, this disorder is usually evaluated using static posturography. Some linear or nonlinear measures, extracted from the posturographic data (i.e. center of pressure, COP) recorded during a balance test, has been used to analyze postural control of MS patients. In this study, the trend (TREND) and the sample entropy (SampEn), two nonlinear parameters were chosen to investigate their relationships with the expanded disability status scale (EDSS) score. Forty volunteers with different EDSS scores participated in our experiments with eyes open (EO) and closed (EC). TREND and two types of SampEn (SampEn1 and SampEn2) were calculated for each combined COP’s position signal. The results have shown that TREND had a weak negative correlation to EDSS while SampEn2 had a strong positive correlation to EDSS. Compared to TREND and SampEn1, SampEn2 showed a better significant correlation to EDSS and an ability to discriminate the MS patients in the EC case. In addition, the outcome of the study suggests that the multi-dimensional nonlinear analysis could provide some information about the impact of disability progression in MS on dynamics of the COP data.

Keywords: balance, multiple sclerosis, nonlinear analysis, postural sway

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Authors: Ruxandra Barbulescu, Daniel Ioan, Gabriela Ciuprina

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The saltatory conduction is the way the action potential is transmitted along a myelinated axon. The potential diffuses along the myelinated compartments and it is regenerated in the Ranvier nodes due to the ion channels allowing the flow across the membrane. For an efficient simulation of populations of neurons, it is important to use reduced order models both for myelinated compartments and for Ranvier nodes and to have control over their accuracy and inner parameters. The paper presents a reduced order model of this neural system which allows an efficient simulation method for the saltatory conduction in myelinated axons. This model is obtained by concatenating reduced order linear models of 1D myelinated compartments and nonlinear 0D models of Ranvier nodes. The models for the myelinated compartments are selected from a series of spatially distributed models developed and hierarchized according to their modeling errors. The extracted model described by a nonlinear PDE of hyperbolic type is able to reproduce the saltatory conduction with acceptable accuracy and takes into account the finite propagation speed of potential. Finally, this model is again reduced in order to make it suitable for the inclusion in large-scale neural circuits.

Keywords: action potential, myelinated segments, nonlinear models, Ranvier nodes, reduced order models, saltatory conduction

Procedia PDF Downloads 142

Authors: Howaidi M. Al-Otaibi, Abdulrahman S. Al-Suhaibani, Hamad A. Alsoliman

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Fibers are extensively used in civil engineering applications for many years. In this study, empty fruit bunch of date palm trees were used to produce cellulose fiber that were used as additives in the asphalt binder. Two sizes (coarse and fine) of cellulose fibers were pre-blended in PG64-22 binder with various contents of 1.5%, 3%, 4.5%, 6%, and 7.5% by weight of asphalt binder. The physical and rheological properties of fiber modified asphalt binders were tested by using conventional tests such as penetration, softening point and viscosity; and SHRP test such as dynamic shear rheometer. The results indicated that the fiber modified asphalt binders were higher in softening point, viscosity, and complex shear modulus, and lower in penetration compared to pure asphalt. The fiber modified binders showed an improvement in rheological properties since it was possible to raise the control binder (pure asphalt) PG from 64 to 70 by adding 6% (by weight) of either fine or coarse fibers. Such improvement in stiffness of fiber modified binder is expected to improve pavement resistance to rutting.

Keywords: cellulose date palm fiber, fiber modified asphalt, physical properties, rheological properties

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Authors: Sina Fadaie, Seyed Abolhassan Naeini

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Coastal embankments play an important role in coastal structures by reducing the effect of the wave forces and controlling the movement of sediments. Many coastal areas are underlain by weak and compressible soils. Estimation of during construction settlement of coastal embankments is highly important in design and safety control of embankments and appurtenant structures. Accordingly, selecting and establishing of an appropriate model with a reasonable level of complication is one of the challenges for engineers. Although there are advanced models in the literature regarding design of embankments, there is not enough information on the prediction of their associated settlement, particularly in coastal areas having considerable soft soils. Marine engineering study in Iran is important due to the existence of two important coastal areas located in the northern and southern parts of the country. In the present study, the validity of Terzaghi’s consolidation theory has been investigated. In addition, the settlement of these coastal embankments during construction is predicted by using special methods in PLAXIS software by the help of appropriate boundary conditions and soil layers. The results indicate that, for the existing soil condition at the site, some parameters are important to be considered in analysis. Consequently, a model is introduced to estimate the settlement of the embankments in such geotechnical conditions.

Keywords: consolidation, settlement, coastal embankments, numerical methods, finite elements method

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Authors: Guillaume Morin-Duponchelle, Ahmed Nait Chabane, Benoit Zerr, Pierre Schoesetters

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Industrial inspection can be achieved through robotic systems, allowing visual and chemical servoing. A popular scheme for visual servo-controlled robotic is the image-based servoing sys-tems. In this paper, an approach of visual and chemical servoing of a hexapod robot using a visual and chemical Jacobian matrix are proposed. The basic idea behind the visual Jacobian matrix is modeling the differential relationship between the camera system and the robotic control system to detect and track accurately points of interest in confined environments. This approach allows the robot to easily detect and navigates to the QR code or seeks a gas source localization using surge cast algorithm. To track the QR code target, a visual servoing based on Jacobian matrix is used. For chemical servoing, three gas sensors are embedded on the hexapod. A Jacobian matrix applied to the gas concentration measurements allows estimating the direction of the main gas source. The effectiveness of the proposed scheme is first demonstrated on simulation. Finally, a hexapod prototype is designed and built and the experimental validation of the approach is presented and discussed.

Keywords: chemical servoing, hexapod robot, Jacobian matrix, visual servoing, navigation

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Authors: E. A. Kiridi, A. O. Ogunlela

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The control of ammonia build-up and its by-product is a limiting factor for a successful commercial aquaculture in a developing country like Nigeria. The technology for an advanced treatment of fish tank effluent is uneconomical to local fish farmers which have led to indiscriminate disposal of aquaculture wastewater, thereby increasing the concentrations of these nitrogenous compound and other contaminants in surface and groundwater above the permissible level. Phytoremediation using water lettuce could offer cheaper and sustainable alternative. On the first day of experimentation, approximately 100 g of water lettuce were replicated in four hydroponic units containing aquaculture effluents. The water quality parameters measured were concentration of ammonium–nitrogen (NH₄⁺-N), nitrite-nitrogen (NO₂^--N), nitrate-nitrogen (NO₃^--N), and phosphate–phosphorus (PO₄^3--P). Others were total suspended solids (TSS), pH, electrical conductivity (EC), and biomass value. At phytoremediation intervals of 7, 14, 21 and 28 days, the biomass recorded were 361.2 g, 498.7 g, 561.2 g, and 623.7 g. Water lettuce was able to reduce the pollutant concentration of all the selected parameter. The percentage reduction of pH ranged from 3.9% to 14.4%, EC from 49.8% to 96.2%, TDS from 50.4% to 96.2%, TSS from 38.3% to 81.7%, NH₄⁺-N from 38.9% to 90.7%, NO₂^--N from 0% to 74.9%, NO₃^--N from 63.2% to 95.9% and PO₄^3--P from 0% to 76.3%. At 95% confidence level, the analysis of variance shows that F(critical) is less than F(cal) and p < 0.05; therefore, it can be concluded statistically that the inequality between the pre-treatment and post-treatment values are significant. This suggests the potency of water lettuce for remediation of aquaculture effluent.

Keywords: aquaculture effluent, nitrification, phytoremediation, water lettuce

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Authors: Covadonga Mallada Fernández

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Economic development and globalization of international markets have created a favourable atmosphere for the emergence of new forms of crime such as money laundering or financing of terrorism, which may contribute to destabilized and damage economic systems. In particular, money laundering have acquired great importance since the 11S attacks, what has caused on the one hand, the establishment and development of preventive measures and, on the other hand, a progressive hardening of penal measures. Since then, the regulations imposed to fight against money laundering have been viewed as key components also in the fight against terrorist financing. Terrorism, at the beginning, was a “national” crime connected with internal problems of the State (for instance the RAF in Germany or ETA in Spain) but in the last 20 years has started to be an international problem that is connected with the defence and security of the States. Therefore, the new strategic concept for the defense and security of NATO has a comprehensive list of security threats to the Alliance, such as terrorism, international instability, money laundering or attacks on cyberspace, among others. With this new concept, money laundering and terrorism has become a priority in the national defense. In this work we will analyze the methods to combat these new threats to the national security. We will study the preventive legislations to combat money laundering and financing of terrorism, the UIF that exchange information between States, and the hawala-Banking.

Keywords: control of financial flows, money laundering, terrorism, financing of terrorism

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Authors: Khaled M. Khleifat

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An extracellular methanol and ethanol tolerant lipase producing bacterial strain K5b4 was isolated from soil samples contaminated with hydrocarbon residues. It was identified by using morphological and biochemical characteristics and 16srRNA technique as Acinetobacter species. The immobilized lipase from Acinetobacter sp. K5b4 retained more than 98% of its residual activity after incubation with pure methanol and ethanol for 24 hours. The highest hydrolytic activity of the immobilized enzyme was obtained in the presence of 75% (v/v) methanol in the assay solution. In contrary, the enzyme was able to maintain its original activity up to only 25% (v/v) ethanol whereas at elevated concentrations of 50 and 75% (v/v) the enzyme activity was reduced to 10 and 40%, respectively. Maximum lipase activity of 31.5 mU/mL was achieved after 48 hr cultivation when the optimized medium (pH 7.0) that composed of 1.0% (w/v) olive oil, 0.2% (w/v) glycerol, 0.15% (w/v) yeast extract, and 0.05% (w/v) NaCl was inoculated with 0.4% (v/v) seed culture and incubated at 30°C and 150 rpm agitation speed. However, the presence of CaCl2 in the growth media did not show any inhibitory or stimulatory effect on the enzyme production as it compared to the control experiment. Meanwhile, the other mineral salts MgCl2, MnCl2, KCl and CoCl2 were negatively affected the production of lipase enzyme. The inhibition of lipase production from Acinetobacter sp. K5b4 in presence of glucose suggesting that lipase gene expression is prone to catabolic repression.

Keywords: K5B4, methanol and ethanol, acinetobacter, morphological

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Authors: S. Abeysekera, M. Bazghaleh, M. P. L. Ooi, Y. C. Kuang, V. Kalavally

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Smart LED-based lighting systems have significant advantages over traditional lighting systems due to their capability of producing tunable light spectrums on demand. The main challenge in the design of smart lighting systems is to produce sufficient luminous flux and uniformly accurate output spectrum for sufficiently broad area. This paper outlines the programmable LED lighting system design principles of design to achieve the two aims. In this paper, a seven-channel design using low-cost discrete LEDs is presented. Optimization algorithms are used to calculate the number of required LEDs, LEDs arrangements and optimum LED separation distance. The results show the illumination uniformity for each channel. The results also show that the maximum color error is below 0.0808 on the CIE1976 chromaticity scale. In conclusion, this paper considered the simulation and design of a seven-channel programmable lighting system using low-cost discrete LEDs to produce sufficient luminous flux and uniformly accurate output spectrum for sufficiently broad area.

Keywords: light spectrum control, LEDs, smart lighting, programmable LED lighting system

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Authors: Zainal Abu Zarim, Hafizah Omar Zaki

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The objective of this study is to analyse the success factors of entrepreneurs in the Malaysian SMEs in the urge to discover their entrepreneurial leadership characteristics. Data has been collected from top 50 SME award winning companies. The study has used the qualitative approach to data collection, where interviews are dispersed on these selected companies. From these 50 SMEs, only 25 accepted the interview request where one entrepreneur from each SME answered the questions. To successfully run this study, we administered some questions based on Hornaday 42 characteristics of an entrepreneurs, as well some structured questions to determine a successful of a company. The result shows that, entrepreneurs are confident, determine, diligent, flexible, responsive to challenges, responsible, foresight, courageous, aggressive, and committed. Consistent to this, several elements that makes the company successful includes (1) strong financial control, (2) continuous improvement, (3) product quality and product safety as top priority, (4) hard work and team work, and (5) eagerness in taking challenges. These results has deemed that entrepreneurs in many aspects are also leaders that are risk averse and determine, and are eager to work on continuous improvement in a financially strong company.

Keywords: characteristics of entrepreneurs, success of a company, key success factors, Malaysian SMEs

Procedia PDF Downloads 581

Authors: Roghayeh Karami, Ahmad Gharaei

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Backgrounds and objectives: This study was undertaken at four different sites (north polluted, south polluted, south healthy and north healthy) in Tehran, in order to examine whether there was a relationship between publicly available air quality data and the public’s perception of air quality and to suggest some guidelines for reducing air pollution. Materials and Methods: A total of 200 people were accidentally filled out the research questionnaires at mentioned sites and air quality data were obtained simultaneously from the Air Quality Control Department. Data was analyzed in Excel and SPSS software. Results: Clean air and secure job were of great importance to people comparing to other pleasant aspect of life. Also air pollution and fear of dangerous diseases were the most important of people concerns. The Indies bored /news paper services on air quality were little used by the public as a means of obtaining information on air pollution. Using public transportation and avoid unessential journeys are the most important ways for reducing air pollution. Conclusion: The results reveal that the public’s perception of air quality is not a reliable indicator of the actual levels of air pollution. Current earths to down actions are not effective and enough in reducing air pollution, therefore it seems participatory management and public participation is suitable guideline.

Keywords: air pollution, quality of life, opinion poll, public participation

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Authors: Ikawati Wulandari

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Acquisition of geomagnetic field has been done at Geothermal manifestation Candi Umbul, Grabag, Magelang, Central Java Province on 10-12 May 2013. The purpose of this research to study sub-surface structure condition and the structure which control the hot springs manifestation. The research area have size of 1,5 km x 2 km and measurement spacing of 150 m. Total magnetic field data, the position, and the north pole direction have acquired by Proton Precession Magnetometer (PPM), Global Positioning System (GPS), and of geology compass, respectively. The raw data has been processed and performed using IGRF (International Geomagnetics Reference Field) correction to obtain total field magnetic anomaly. Upward continuation was performed at 100 meters height using software Magpick. Analysis conclude horizontal position of the body causing anomaly which is located at hot springs manifestation, and it stretch along Northeast - Southwest, which later interpreted as normal fault. This hotsprings manifestation was controlled by the downward fault which becomes a weak zone where hot water from underground the geothermal reservoir leakage

Keywords: PPM, Geothermal, Fault, Grabag

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Authors: Nasim Babazadeh

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Growing demand for a quieter dwelling environment has turned the attention of construction companies to reducing the propagated noise of their project. In inner-city constructions, close distance between the construction site and surrounding buildings lessens the efficiency of passive noise control methods. Dwellers of the nearby areas may file complaints and lawsuits against the construction companies due to the emitted construction noise, thereby leading to the interruption of processes, compensation costs, or even suspension of the project. Therefore, construction noise should be predicted along with the project schedule. The advantage of managing the noise in the pre-construction phase is two-fold. Firstly, changes in the time plan and construction methods can be applied more flexibly. Thus, the costs related to rescheduling can be avoided. Secondly, noise-related legal problems are expected to be reduced. To implement noise mapping methods for the mentioned prediction, the required detailed information (such as the location of the noisy process, duration of the noisy work) can be exported from the 4D BIM model. The results obtained from the noise maps would be used to help the planners to define different work scenarios. The proposed approach has been applied for the foundation and earthwork of a site located in a residential area, and the obtained results are discussed.

Keywords: building information modeling, construction noise management, noise mapping, 4D BIM

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Authors: Albina Muratbekova

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One of the main tensions and challenges in the development of Sino-Indian relation is the demarcation of its frontiers. The fact that throughout the history borders had never been demarcated on ground occur a dispute between China and India after receiving sovereignty. Boundaries of India and China are divided into three sectors: Eastern, Middle and Western. The middle sector runs from India’s Uttar Pradesh to the Punjab, 545 km length of the Line of Actual Control, the lines of which was confirmed at the 9th meeting of the Expert Group held in 2001, in New Delhi. Other two sectors are still not determined and cause disputes. A western sector of the frontier is the Aksai Chin plateau, covers areas of Ladakh, Tibet, and Sinkiang. Another disputed area lies in the Eastern sector in the Himalayan region, which after 1986 became the Indian state called Arunachal Pradesh. There are two different approaches in the ways of resolving the border dispute. Chinese side keeps an opinion that the border dispute must be resolved in a timely matter unless it is favorable for China, the resolution can be left to a later generation. While India’s government due to security reasons is eager to demarcate the border. In order to study this conflict was used as a descriptive-comparative-analytical method. Also, it was done a profound analyze of conflict nature.

Keywords: border dispute, China, India, territorial claim

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Authors: Ana M. Antolín, Sandra Contreras, Francesc Medina, Didier Tichit

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Introduction: High levels of nitrates (> 50 ppm NO3-) in drinking water are potentially risky to human health. In the recent years, the trend of nitrate concentration in groundwater is rising in the EU and other countries. Conventional catalytic nitrate reduction processes into N2 and H2O lead to some toxic intermediates and by-products, such as NO2-, NH4+, and NOx gases. Alternatively, photocatalytic nitrate removal using solar irradiation and heterogeneous catalysts is a very promising and ecofriendly technique. It has been scarcely performed and more research on highly efficient catalysts is still needed. In this work, different nanocatalysts supported on Aeroxide Titania P25 (P25) have been prepared varying: 0.5-4 % wt. Ag); Pt (2, 4 % wt.); Pt precursor (H2PtCl6/K2PtCl6); and impregnation order of both metals. Pt was chosen in order to increase the selectivity to N2 and decrease that to NO2-. Catalysts were characterized by nitrogen physisorption, X-Ray diffraction, UV-visible spectroscopy, TEM and X Ray-Photoelectron Spectroscopy. The aim was to determine the influence of the composition and the preparation method of the catalysts on the conversion and selectivity in the nitrate reduction, as well as going through an overall and better understanding of the process. Nanocatalysts synthesis: For the mono and bimetallic catalysts preparation, wise-drop wetness impregnation of the precursors (AgNO3, H2PtCl6, K2PtCl6) followed by a reduction step (NaBH4) was used to obtain the metal colloids. Results and conclusions: Denitration experiments were performed in a 350 mL PTFE batch reactor under inert standard operational conditions, ultraviolet irradiations (λ=254 nm (UV-C); λ=365 nm (UV-A)), and presence/absence of hydrogen gas as a reducing agent, contrary to most studies using oxalic or formic acid. Samples were analyzed by Ionic Chromatography. Blank experiments using respectively P25 (dark conditions), hydrogen only and UV irradiations without hydrogen demonstrated a clear influence of the presence of hydrogen on nitrate reduction. Also, they demonstrated that UV irradiation increased the selectivity to N2. Interestingly, the best activity was obtained under ultraviolet lamps, especially at a closer wavelength to visible light irradiation (λ = 365 nm) and H2. 2% Ag/P25 leaded to the highest NO3- conversion among the monometallic catalysts. However, nitrite quantities have to be diminished. On the other hand, practically no nitrate conversion was observed with the monometallics based on Pt/P25. Therefore, the amount of 2% Ag was chosen for the bimetallic catalysts. Regarding the bimetallic catalysts, it is observed that the metal impregnation order, amount and Pt precursor highly affects the results. Higher selectivity to the desirable N2 gas is obtained when Pt was firstly added, especially with K2PtCl6 as Pt precursor. This suggests that when Pt is secondly added, it covers the Ag particles, which are the most active in this reaction. It could be concluded that Ag allows the nitrate reduction step to nitrite, and Pt the nitrite reduction step toward the desirable N2 gas.

Keywords: heterogeneous catalysis, hydrogenation, nanocatalyst, nitrate removal, photocatalysis

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Authors: J. Y Jang, C. Y. Tseng

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A three-dimensional numerical model of thermoelectric generator (TEG) modules attached to a large chimney plate is proposed and solved numerically using a control volume based finite difference formulation. The TEG module consists of a thermoelectric generator, an elliptical pin-fin heat sink, and a cold plate for water cooling. In the chimney, the temperature of flue gases is 450-650K. Therefore, the effects of convection and radiation heat transfer are considered. Although the TEG hot-side temperature and thus the electric power output can be increased by inserting an elliptical pin-fin heat sink into the chimney tunnel to increase the heat transfer area, the pin fin heat sink would cause extra pumping power at the same time. The main purpose of this study is to analyze the effects of geometrical parameters on the electric power output and chimney pressure drop characteristics. In addition, the effects of different operating conditions, including various inlet velocities (Vin = 1, 3, 5 m/s) and inlet temperatures (Tgas = 450, 550, 650K) are discussed in detail. The predicted numerical data for the power vs. current (P-I) curve are in good agreement (within 11%) with the experimental data.

Keywords: thermoelectric generator, waste heat recovery, pin-fin heat sink, experimental and numerical analysis

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Authors: Sonam Agarwal, Renu Bist

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Current study emphasizes the toxic effects of dichlorvos on serum in terms of oxidative stress. Meanwhile, a protective action of bacoside A and bromelain was investigated against the biochemical alterations in serum. The experimental design included six groups of mice: saline was given as a vehicle to the control mice (group I). Mice belonging to groups II, III and IV, were administered with dichlorvos (40 mg/kg b.w.), bromelain and bacoside A, respectively. The fifth group received a combination of bromelain and bacoside A. In group VI, Bacoside A, and bromelain were administered 20 minutes prior to exposure of dichlorvos. Thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), protein carbonyl content (PCC), catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and reduced glutathione (GSH) level were used as biochemical test of toxic action for dichlorvos intoxication. Significantly increased TBARS and PCC level in second group suggests that dichlorvos enhances the production of free radicals in serum of mice (p< 0.05). Antioxidants treatment significantly decreased the levels of TBARS and PCC (p< 0.05). Dichlorvos administration causes a significant reduction in the level of CAT, SOD, GPx and GSH (p< 0.05) which was restored significantly by co-administration of bromelain and Bacoside A in dichlorvos exposed mice (p< 0.05). Treatment of bromelain and Bacoside A in combination served as better scavengers of toxicity induced by dichlorvos.

Keywords: bacoside A, bromelain, dichlorvos, serum

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Authors: Lillian Gungat, Meor Othman Hamzah, Mohd Rosli Mohd Hasan, Jan Valentin

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Utilization of a high percentage of reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) requires higher production temperatures and consumes more energy. High production temperature expedites the aging of bitumen in RAP, which could affect the mixture performance. Warm mix asphalt (WMA) additive enables reduced production temperatures as a result of viscosity reduction. This paper evaluates the integration of a high percentage of RAP with a WMA additive known as RH-WMA. The optimum dosage of RH-WMA was determined from basic properties tests. A total of 0%, 30% and 50% RAP contents from two roads sources were modified with RH-WMA. The modified RAP bitumen were examined for viscosity, stiffness, rutting resistance and greenhouse gas emissions. The addition of RH-WMA improved the flow of bitumen by reducing the viscosity, and thus, decreased the construction temperature. The stiffness of the RAP modified bitumen reduced with the incorporation of RH-WMA. The positive improvement in rutting resistance was observed on bitumen with the addition of RAP and RH-WMA in comparison with control. It was estimated that the addition of RH-WMA could potentially reduce fuel usage and GHG emissions by 22 %. Hence, the synergy of RAP and WMA technology can be an alternative in green road construction.

Keywords: reclaimed asphalt pavement, WMA additive, viscosity, stiffness, emissions

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Authors: N. V. V. S. D. Prasad

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Field experiments were conducted at Regional Agricultural Research Station, Lam, Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, India for two seasons during 2011-13 to evaluate the efficacy of flupyradifurone SL 200 a new class of insecticide in butenolide group against leaf hoppers, aphids and whitefly in Cotton. The test insecticide flupyradifurone 200 was evaluated at three doses @ 150, 200 and 250 g ai/ha ha along with imidacloprid 200 SL @ 20g ai/ha, acetamiprid 20 SP @ 20g ai/ha, thiamethoxam 25 WG @ 25g ai/ha and monocrotophos 36 SL @ 360 g ai/ha as standards. Flupyradifurone SL 200 even at lower dose of 150g ai/ha exhibited superior efficacy against cotton leafhopper, Amrasca devastans than the neonicotinoids which are widely used for control of sucking pests in cotton. Against cotton aphids, Aphis gossypii. Flupyradifurone SL 200 @ 200 and 250 g ai/ha ha was proved to be effective and the lower dose @ 150g ai/ha performed better than some of the neonicotinoids. The effect of flupyradifurone SL 200 on cotton against whitefly, Bemisia tabaci was evident at higher doses of 200 and 250 g ai/ha and superior to all standard treatments, however, the lower dose is at par with neonicotinoids. The seed cotton yield of flupyradifurone 200 SL at all the doses tested was superior than imidacloprid 200 SL @ 20g ai/ha and acetamiprid 20 SP @ 20g ai/ha. There is no significant difference among the insecticidal treatments with regards to natural enemies. The results clearly suggest that flupyradifurone is a new tool to combat sucking pest problems in cotton and can well fit in IRM strategies in light of wide spread insecticide resistance in cotton sucking pests.

Keywords: cotton, flupyradifurone, neonicotinoids, sucking pests

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Authors: Muhammad Shehu Garba

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The financial statements of the firms between the periods of 2013 and 2022 were collected using the secondary method of data collection, and the study aims to investigate the effect of ownership structure on the financial performance of listed industrial goods companies in Nigeria. 10 firms were used as the study's sample size. The study used panel data variables of the study. The ownership structure is measured with managerial ownership, institutional ownership and foreign ownership, while financial performance is measured with return on asset and return on equity; the study made use of control variables leverage and firm size. The result shows a multivariate relationship that exists between variables of the study, which shows ROA has a positive correlation with ROE (0.4053), MO (0.2001), and FS (0.3048). It has a negative correlation with FO (-0.1933), IO (-0.0919), and LEV (-0.3367). ROE has a positive correlation with ROA (0.4053), MO (0.2001), and FS (0.2640). It has a negative correlation with FO (-0.1864), IO (-0.1847), and LEV (-0.0319). It is recommended that firms should focus on increasing their ROA. Firms should also consider increasing their MO, as this can help to align the interests of managers and shareholders. Firms should also be aware of the potential impact of FO and IO on their ROA.

Keywords: firm size, ownership structure, financial performance, leaverage

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Authors: Michela Quadrini

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Chord diagrams occur in mathematics, from the study of RNA to knot theory. They are widely used in theory of knots and links for studying the finite type invariants, whereas in molecular biology one important motivation to study chord diagrams is to deal with the problem of RNA structure prediction. An RNA molecule is a linear polymer, referred to as the backbone, that consists of four types of nucleotides. Each nucleotide is represented by a point, whereas each chord of the diagram stands for one interaction for Watson-Crick base pairs between two nonconsecutive nucleotides. A chord diagram is an oriented circle with a set of n pairs of distinct points, considered up to orientation preserving diffeomorphisms of the circle. A linear chord diagram (LCD) is a special kind of graph obtained cutting the oriented circle of a chord diagram. It consists of a line segment, called its backbone, to which are attached a number of chords with distinct endpoints. There is a natural fattening on any linear chord diagram; the backbone lies on the real axis, while all the chords are in the upper half-plane. Each linear chord diagram has a natural genus of its associated surface. To each chord diagram and linear chord diagram, it is possible to associate the intersection graph. It consists of a graph whose vertices correspond to the chords of the diagram, whereas the chord intersections are represented by a connection between the vertices. Such intersection graph carries a lot of information about the diagram. Our goal is to define an LCD equivalence class in terms of identity of intersection graphs, from which many chord diagram invariants depend. For studying these invariants, we introduce a new representation of Linear Chord Diagrams based on a set of appropriate topological operators that permits to model LCD in terms of the relations among chords. Such set is composed of: crossing, nesting, and concatenations. The crossing operator is able to generate the whole space of linear chord diagrams, and a multiple context free grammar able to uniquely generate each LDC starting from a linear chord diagram adding a chord for each production of the grammar is defined. In other words, it allows to associate a unique algebraic term to each linear chord diagram, while the remaining operators allow to rewrite the term throughout a set of appropriate rewriting rules. Such rules define an LCD equivalence class in terms of the identity of intersection graphs. Starting from a modelled RNA molecule and the linear chord, some authors proposed a topological classification and folding. Our LCD equivalence class could contribute to the RNA folding problem leading to the definition of an algorithm that calculates the free energy of the molecule more accurately respect to the existing ones. Such LCD equivalence class could be useful to obtain a more accurate estimate of link between the crossing number and the topological genus and to study the relation among other invariants.

Keywords: chord diagrams, linear chord diagram, equivalence class, topological language

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Authors: Ya-Chi Yu, Pei-Syuan Ruan, Shao-Wen Chen, Yu-Hsien Chang, Jin-Der Lee, Jong-Rong Wang, Chunkuan Shih

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This study analyzed the transient signals of central region void fraction of air-water two-phase flow in a 3x3 rod bundle. Experimental tests were carried out utilizing a vertical rod bundle test section along with a set of air-water supply/flow control system, and the transient signals of the central region void fraction were collected through the electrical conductivity sensors as well as visualized via high speed photography. By converting the electric signals, transient void fraction can be obtained through the voltage ratios. With a fixed superficial water velocity (J_f=0.094 m/s), two different superficial air velocities (J_g=0.094 m/s and 0.236 m/s) were tested and presented, which were corresponding to the flow conditions of bubbly flows and cap/slug flows, respectively. The time averaged central region void fraction was obtained as 0.109-0.122 with 0.028 standard deviation for the selected bubbly flow and 0.188-0.221with 0.101 standard deviation for the selected cap/slug flow, respectively. Through Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) analysis, no clear frequency peak was found in bubbly flow, while two dominant frequencies were identified around 1.6 Hz and 2.5 Hz in the present cap/slug flow.

Keywords: central region, rod bundles, transient void fraction, two-phase flow

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Authors: Zubier Arfan, Paul Johnson

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The electronification of financial markets and the rise of algorithmic trading has sparked a lot of interest from the mathematical community, for the market making-problem in particular. The research presented in this short paper solves the classic stochastic control problem in order to derive the strategy for a market-maker. It also shows how to calibrate and simulate the strategy with real limit order book data for back-testing. The ambiguity of limit-order priority in back-testing is dealt with by considering optimistic and pessimistic priority scenarios. The model, although it does outperform a naive strategy, assumes constant volatility, therefore, is not best suited to the LOB data. The Heston model is introduced to describe the price and variance process of the asset. The Trader's constant absolute risk aversion utility function is optimised by numerically solving a 3-dimensional Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman partial differential equation to find the optimal limit order quotes. The results show that the stochastic volatility market-making model is more suitable for a risk-averse trader and is also less sensitive to calibration error than the constant volatility model.

Keywords: market-making, market-microsctrucure, stochastic volatility, quantitative trading

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Authors: Elizabeth M. Seabrook, Nikki S. Rickard

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Examining time-dependent measures of emotion such as variability, instability, and inertia, provide critical and complementary insights into mental health status. Observing changes in the pattern of emotional expression over time could act as a tool to identify meaningful shifts between psychological well- and ill-being. From a practical standpoint, however, examining emotion dynamics day-to-day is likely to be burdensome and invasive. Utilizing social media data as a facet of lived experience can provide real-world, temporally specific access to emotional expression. Emotional language on social media may provide accurate and sensitive insights into individual and community mental health and well-being, particularly with focus placed on the within-person dynamics of online emotion expression. The objective of the current study was to examine the dynamics of emotional expression on the social network platform Facebook for active users and their relationship with psychological well- and ill-being. It was expected that greater positive and negative emotion variability, instability, and inertia would be associated with poorer psychological well-being and greater depression symptoms. Data were collected using a smartphone app, MoodPrism, which delivered demographic questionnaires, psychological inventories assessing depression symptoms and psychological well-being, and collected the Status Updates of consenting participants. MoodPrism also delivered an experience sampling methodology where participants completed items assessing positive affect, negative affect, and arousal, daily for a 30-day period. The number of positive and negative words in posts was extracted and automatically collated by MoodPrism. The relative proportion of positive and negative words from the total words written in posts was then calculated. Preliminary analyses have been conducted with the data of 9 participants. While these analyses are underpowered due to sample size, they have revealed trends that greater variability in the emotion valence expressed in posts is positively associated with greater depression symptoms (r(9) = .56, p = .12), as is greater instability in emotion valence (r(9) = .58, p = .099). Full data analysis utilizing time-series techniques to explore the Facebook data set will be presented at the conference. Identifying the features of emotion dynamics (variability, instability, inertia) that are relevant to mental health in social media emotional expression is a fundamental step in creating automated screening tools for mental health that are temporally sensitive, unobtrusive, and accurate. The current findings show how monitoring basic social network characteristics over time can provide greater depth in predicting risk and changes in depression and positive well-being.

Keywords: emotion, experience sampling methods, mental health, social media

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Authors: Madhavi-Priya Singh, Liam Lowe, Farouk Arnaout, Ludmilla Pillay, Giordan Perez, Luke Mischker, Steve Costa

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Introduction: An Emergency Department consultant identified the failure of medical students to complete the task of clerking a patient in its entirety. As six medical students on our first clinical placement, we recognised our own failure and endeavored to examine why this failure was consistent among all medical students that had been given this task, despite our best motivations as adult learners. Aim: Our aim is to understand and investigate the elements which impeded our ability to learn and perform as medical students in the clinical environment, with reference to the prescribed task. We also aim to generate a discussion around the delivery of medical education with potential solutions to these barriers. Methods: Six medical students gathered together to have a comprehensive reflective discussion to identify possible factors leading to the failure of the task. First, we thoroughly analysed the delivery of the instructions with reference to the literature to identify potential flaws. We then examined personal, social, ethical, and cultural factors which may have impacted our ability to complete the task in its entirety. Results: Through collation of our shared experiences, with support from discussion in the field of medical education and ethics, we identified two major areas that impacted our ability to complete the set task. First, we experienced an ethical conflict where we believed the inconvenience and potential harm inflicted on patients did not justify the positive impact the patient interaction would have on our medical learning. Second, we identified a lack of confidence stemming from multiple factors, including the conflict between preclinical and clinical learning, perceptions of perfectionism in the culture of medicine, and the influence of upward social comparison. Discussion: After discussions, we found that the various factors we identified exacerbated the fears and doubts we already had about our own abilities and that of the medical education system. This doubt led us to avoid completing certain aspects of the tasks that were prescribed and further reinforced our vulnerability and perceived incompetence. Exploration of philosophical theories identified the importance of the role of doubt in education. We propose the need for further discussion around incorporating both pedagogic and andragogic teaching styles in clinical medical education and the acceptance of doubt as a driver of our learning. Conclusion: Doubt will continue to permeate our thoughts and actions no matter what. The moral or psychological distress that arises from this is the key motivating factor for our avoidance of tasks. If we accept this doubt and education embraces this doubt, it will no longer linger in the shadows as a negative and restrictive emotion but fuel a brighter dialogue and positive learning experience, ultimately assisting us in achieving our full potential.

Keywords: ethics, medical student, doubt, medical education, faith

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Authors: A. Yawootti, P. Intra, P. Sardyoung, P. Phoosomma, R. Puttipattanasak, S. Leeragreephol, N. Tippayawong

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The aim of this work is to design, develop and test the low-cost implementation of a particulate air pollution sensor system for continuous monitoring of outdoors and indoors particulate air pollution at a lower cost than existing instruments. In this study, measuring electrostatic charge of particles technique via high efficiency particulate-free air filter was carried out. The developed detector consists of a PM10 impactor, a particle charger, a Faraday cup electrometer, a flow meter and controller, a vacuum pump, a DC high voltage power supply and a data processing and control unit. It was reported that the developed detector was capable of measuring mass concentration of particulate ranging from 0 to 500 µg/m3 corresponding to number concentration of particulate ranging from 106 to 1012 particles/m3 with measurement time less than 1 sec. The measurement data of the sensor connects to the internet through a GSM connection to a public cellular network. In this development, the apparatus was applied the energy by a 12 V, 7 A internal battery for continuous measurement of about 20 hours. Finally, the developed apparatus was found to be close agreement with the import standard instrument, portable and benefit for air pollution and particulate matter measurements.

Keywords: particulate, air pollution, wireless communication, sensor

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Authors: Joseph Uche Azubike, Evelyn Ngozi Agbasi, M. I. Ogbonna

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The audit committee of the board of directors could no longer handle the enterprise's risks. Therefore, a risk management committee was created to control them. Thus, this study examined how enterprise risk management committee characteristics affected Nigerian exchange-listed banks' financial performance from 2013 to 2022. The study's hypotheses and three objectives were to determine how enterprise risk management committee size, composition, and gender diversity affect Nigerian banks' performance. An ex-post facto study design collected secondary data from bank annual reports. We used descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and Ordinary least square regression to analyze panel data. Enterprise risk management committee size and composition had both negative and no significant effect on bank financial performance in Nigeria, whereas enterprise risk committee gender diversity has a 10% favorable effect. The report advises that adding more women with relevant knowledge to the risk committee to boost performance and allowing women to be at the lead of such risk management could improve bank performance in Nigeria since they are noted to be thorough in their tasks.

Keywords: bank, committee, enterprise, management, performance, risk

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Authors: Rataya Yanaphan, Saksiri Kuppatarat, Sarita Pinmanee

Abstract:

Hemp (Cannabis sativa L. ssp. Sativa) cultivation for fiber is limited by extremely high labor cost, especially for the removal of the leaves before harvest. This study evaluated chemical defoliants as a means to remove the leaves of hemp before harvest, in an effort to reduce labor expenditures in the production on hemp fiber. This study was conducted by spraying the leaves of hemp with five different treatments: saline solution, Urea (CH4N2O), Ethephon, copper Sulphate (CuSO4) and water (control) before harvesting. The largest percentage of leaf loss 6 days after spraying was with saline solution (43%), followed by Ethephon (32%). However, saline solution also caused drying of the stems but Ethephon did not. Thus, Ethephon was evaluated in the second experiment by spraying with Ethephon concentrations of 0, 10, 15 and 20 ml per 1 liter of water at 7 days before harvest. Spraying with 0.5% Ethephon resulted in 13.6% leaf fall. Spraying with 1.5% and 2% Ethephon resulted in 82.2% and 82.3 % leaf fall, respectively. In addition, using Ethephon to defoliate hemp had no detrimental effect the yield. Therefore, Ethephon concentration at 15 ml per 1 liter of water will be recommended for use in removing hemp leaves by spraying at 7 days before harvest to lower labor cost.

Keywords: defoliation technology, ethephon, hemp cultivation, saline solution

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Authors: Lana Burmistrova

Abstract:

Introduction: The influence of visual impairments on several cognitive processes used in the music learning process is an increasingly important area in special education and cognitive musicology. Many children have several visual impairments due to the refractive errors and irreversible inhibitors. However, based on the compensatory neuroplasticity and functional reorganization, congenitally blind (CB) and early blind (EB) individuals use several areas of the occipital lobe to perceive and process auditory and tactile information. CB individuals have greater memory capacity, memory reliability, and less false memory mechanisms are used while executing several tasks, they have better working memory (WM) and short-term memory (STM). Blind individuals use several strategies while executing tactile and working memory n-back tasks: verbalization strategy (mental recall), tactile strategy (tactile recall) and combined strategies. Methods and design: The aim of the pilot study was to substantiate similar tendencies while executing attention, memory and combined auditory tasks in blind and sighted individuals constructed for this study, and to investigate attention, memory and combined mechanisms used in the music learning process. For this study eight (n=8) blind and eight (n=8) sighted individuals aged 13-20 were chosen. All respondents had more than five years music performance and music learning experience. In the attention task, all respondents had to identify pitch changes in tonal and randomized melodic pairs. The memory task was based on the mismatch negativity (MMN) proportion theory: 80 percent standard (not changed) and 20 percent deviant (changed) stimuli (sequences). Every sequence was named (na-na, ra-ra, za-za) and several items (pencil, spoon, tealight) were assigned for each sequence. Respondents had to recall the sequences, to associate them with the item and to detect possible changes. While executing the combined task, all respondents had to focus attention on the pitch changes and had to detect and describe these during the recall. Results and conclusion: The results support specific features in CB and EB, and similarities between late blind (LB) and sighted individuals. While executing attention and memory tasks, it was possible to observe the tendency in CB and EB by using more precise execution tactics and usage of more advanced periodic memory, while focusing on auditory and tactile stimuli. While executing memory and combined tasks, CB and EB individuals used passive working memory to recall standard sequences, active working memory to recall deviant sequences and combined strategies. Based on the observation results, assessment of blind respondents and recording specifics, following attention and memory correlations were identified: reflective attention and STM, reflective attention and periodic memory, auditory attention and WM, tactile attention and WM, auditory tactile attention and STM. The results and the summary of findings highlight the attention and memory features used in the music learning process in the context of blindness, and the tendency of the several attention and memory types correlated based on the task, strategy and individual features.

Keywords: attention, blindness, memory, music learning, strategy

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