Search results for: Independent Component Analysis (ICA)

Authors: Ahmed Mohamed Nasr, Waseim Ragab Azzam, Nada Osama Ramadan

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Contaminated soil can weaken the stability of buildings and infrastructure, posing serious risks to their structural integrity. Therefore, this study aims to understand how oil contamination affects the torsion behavior of model steel piles at different soil densities. This research is crucial for evaluating the structural integrity and stability of piles in oil-contaminated environments. Clean sand samples and heavy motor oil were mixed in amounts ranging from 0 to 6% of the soil's dry weight. The mixture was thoroughly mixed to ensure uniform distribution of the oil throughout the sandy soil for simulating the field conditions. In these investigations, the relative densities (Dr), pile slenderness ratio (Lp/Dp), oil content (O.C%), and contaminated sand layer thickness (LC) were all different. Also, the paper presents an analysis of piles that are loaded both vertically and torsionally. The findings demonstrated that the pre-applied torsion load led to a decrease in the vertical bearing ability of the pile. Also, at Dr = 80%, the ultimate vertical load under combined load at constant torsional load T = (1/3Tu, 2/3Tu, and Tu) in the cases of (Lc/Lp) = 0.5 and (Lp/Dp) =13.3 was found to be reduced by (1.48, 2.78, and 4.15%) less than piles under independent vertical load, respectively so it is crucial to consider the torsion load during pile design.

Keywords: torsion-vertical load, oil-contaminated sand, twist angle, steel pile

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Authors: Aqsa Jamil, Tamura Hiroshi, Katsuchi Hiroshi, Wang Jiaqi

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The yield point represents the upper limit of forces which can be applied to a specimen without causing any permanent deformation. After yielding, the behavior of the specimen suddenly changes, including the possibility of cracking or buckling. So, the accumulation of damage or type of fracture changes depending on this condition. As it is difficult to accurately detect yield points of the several stress concentration points in structural steel specimens, an effort has been made in this research work to develop a convenient technique using thermography (temperature-based detection) during tensile tests for the precise detection of yield point initiation. To verify the applicability of thermography camera, tests were conducted under different loading conditions and measuring the deformation by installing various strain gauges and monitoring the surface temperature with the help of a thermography camera. The yield point of specimens was estimated with the help of temperature dip, which occurs due to the thermoelastic effect during the plastic deformation. The scattering of the data has been checked by performing a repeatability analysis. The effects of temperature imperfection and light source have been checked by carrying out the tests at daytime as well as midnight and by calculating the signal to noise ratio (SNR) of the noised data from the infrared thermography camera, it can be concluded that the camera is independent of testing time and the presence of a visible light source. Furthermore, a fully coupled thermal-stress analysis has been performed by using Abaqus/Standard exact implementation technique to validate the temperature profiles obtained from the thermography camera and to check the feasibility of numerical simulation for the prediction of results extracted with the help of the thermographic technique.

Keywords: signal to noise ratio, thermoelastic effect, thermography, yield point

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Authors: Lynette Sheridan Burns, Benjamin J. Matthews

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The context of post-industrial journalism is one in which the material circumstances of mechanical publication have been displaced by digital technologies, increasing the distance between the orthodoxy of the newsroom and the culture of journalistic writing. Content is, with growing frequency, created for delivery via the internet, publication on web-based ‘platforms’ and consumption on screen media. In this environment, the question is not ‘who is a journalist?’ but ‘what is journalism?’ today. The changes bring into sharp relief new distinctions between journalistic work and journalistic labor, providing a key insight into the current transition between the industrial journalism of the 20^th century, and the post-industrial journalism of the present. In the 20^th century, the work of journalists and journalistic labor went hand-in-hand as most journalists were employees of news organizations, whilst in the 21^st century evidence of a decoupling of ‘acts of journalism’ (work) and journalistic employment (labor) is beginning to appear. This 'decoupling' of the work and labor that underpins journalism practice is far reaching in its implications, not least for institutional structures. Under these conditions we are witnessing the emergence of expanded ‘entrepreneurial’ journalism, based on smaller, more independent and agile - if less stable - enterprise constructs that are a feature of creative industries. Entrepreneurial journalism is realized in a range of organizational forms from social enterprise, through to profit driven start-ups and hybrids of the two. In all instances, however, the primary motif of the organization is an ideological definition of journalism. An example is the Scoop Foundation for Public Interest Journalism in New Zealand, which owns and operates Scoop Publishing Limited, a not for profit company and social enterprise that publishes an independent news site that claims to have over 500,000 monthly users. Our paper demonstrates that this journalistic work meets the ideological definition of journalism; conducted within the creative industries using an innovative organizational structure that offers a new, viable post-industrial future for journalism.

Keywords: creative industries, digital communication, journalism, post industrial

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Authors: Man-Yun Liu, Emily Chia-Yu Su

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Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the public health crisis of the 21st century. AD is a degenerative brain disease and the most common cause of dementia, a costly disease on the healthcare system. Unfortunately, the cause of AD is poorly understood, furthermore; the treatments of AD so far can only alleviate symptoms rather cure or stop the progress of the disease. Currently, there are several ways to diagnose AD; medical imaging can be used to distinguish between AD, other dementias, and early onset AD, and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Compared with other diagnostic tools, blood (plasma) test has advantages as an approach to population-based disease screening because it is simpler, less invasive also cost effective. In our study, we used blood biomarkers dataset of The Alzheimer’s disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) which was funded by National Institutes of Health (NIH) to do data analysis and develop a prediction model. We used independent analysis of datasets to identify plasma protein biomarkers predicting early onset AD. Firstly, to compare the basic demographic statistics between the cohorts, we used SAS Enterprise Guide to do data preprocessing and statistical analysis. Secondly, we used logistic regression, neural network, decision tree to validate biomarkers by SAS Enterprise Miner. This study generated data from ADNI, contained 146 blood biomarkers from 566 participants. Participants include cognitive normal (healthy), mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and patient suffered Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Participants’ samples were separated into two groups, healthy and MCI, healthy and AD, respectively. We used the two groups to compare important biomarkers of AD and MCI. In preprocessing, we used a t-test to filter 41/47 features between the two groups (healthy and AD, healthy and MCI) before using machine learning algorithms. Then we have built model with 4 machine learning methods, the best AUC of two groups separately are 0.991/0.709. We want to stress the importance that the simple, less invasive, common blood (plasma) test may also early diagnose AD. As our opinion, the result will provide evidence that blood-based biomarkers might be an alternative diagnostics tool before further examination with CSF and medical imaging. A comprehensive study on the differences in blood-based biomarkers between AD patients and healthy subjects is warranted. Early detection of AD progression will allow physicians the opportunity for early intervention and treatment.

Keywords: Alzheimer's disease, blood-based biomarkers, diagnostics, early detection, machine learning

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Authors: Panadda Rojpibulstit, Suthathip Kittisenachai, Songchan Puthong, Sirikul Manochantr, Pornpen Gamnarai, Sasichai Kangsadalampai, Sittiruk Roytrakul

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Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most primary hepatic cancer worldwide. Nowadays a targeted therapy via monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) specific to tumor-associated antigen is continually developed in HCC treatment. In this regard, after establishing and consequently exploring Hep88 mAb’s tumoricidal effect on hepatocellular carcinoma cell line (HepG2 cell line), the Hep88 mAb’s specific Ag from both membrane and cytoplasmic fractions of HepG2 cell line was identified by 2-D gel electrophoresis and western blot analysis. After in-gel digestion and subsequent analysis by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS), mortalin (HSPA9) and alpha-enolase were identified. The recombinant proteins specific to Hep88 mAb were cloned and expressed in E.coli BL21 (DE3). Moreover, alteration of HepG2 and Chang liver cell line after being induced by Hep88 mAb for 1-3 days was investigated using a transmission electron microscope. The result demonstrated that Hep88 mAb can bind to the recombinant mortalin (HSPA9) andalpha-enolase. In addition, gradual appearance of mitochondria vacuolization and endoplasmic reticulum dilatation were observed. Taken together, paraptosis-like programmed cell death (PCD) of HepG2 is induced by binding of mortalin (HSPA9) and alpha-enolase to Hep88 mAb. Mortalin depletion by formation of Hep88 mAb-mortalin (HSPA9) complex might initiate transcription-independent of p53-mediated apoptosis. Additionally, Hep88 mAb-alpha-enolase complex might initiate HepG2 cells energy exhaustion by glycolysis pathway obstruction. These results imply that Hep88 mAb might be a promising tool for development of an effective treatment of HCC in the next decade.

Keywords: Hepatocellular carcinoma, Monoclonal antibody, Paraptosis-like program cell death, Transmission electron microscopy, mortalin (HSPA9), alpha-enolase

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Authors: Abdulmalik Altuwayjiri, Milad Pirhadi, Mohammed Kalafy, Badr Alharbi, Constantinos Sioutas

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In this study, we investigated the chemical and toxicological characteristics of PM10 in the metropolitan area of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. PM10 samples were collected on quartz and teflon filters during cold (December 2019–April 2020) and warm (May 2020–August 2020) seasons, including dust and non-dust events. The PM10 constituents were chemically analyzed for their metal, inorganic ions, and elemental and organic carbon (EC/OC) contents. Additionally, the PM10 oxidative potential was measured by means of the dithiothreitol (DTT) assay. Our findings revealed that the oxidative potential of the collected ambient PM10 samples was significantly higher than those measured in many urban areas worldwide. The oxidative potential of the collected ambient PM¹⁰⁻ samples was also higher during dust episodes compared to non-dust events, mainly due to higher concentrations of metals during these events. We performed Pearson correlation analysis, principal component analysis (PCA), and multi-linear regression (MLR) to identify the most significant sources contributing to the toxicity of PM¹⁰⁻ The results of the MLR analyses indicated that the major pollution sources contributing to the oxidative potential of ambient PM10 were soil and resuspended dust emissions (identified by Al, K, Fe, and Li) (31%), followed by secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation (traced by SO₄-² and NH+₄) (20%), and industrial activities (identified by Se and La) (19%), and traffic emissions (characterized by EC, Zn, and Cu) (17%). Results from this study underscore the impact of transported dust emissions on the oxidative potential of ambient PM10 in Riyadh and can be helpful in adopting appropriate public health policies regarding detrimental outcomes of exposure to PM₁₀-

Keywords: ambient PM10, oxidative potential, source apportionment, Riyadh, dust episodes

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Authors: Desalegn Feyissa Desu

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Drug therapy problem is a significant challenge to provide high quality health care service for the patients. It is associated with morbidity, mortality, increased hospital stay, and reduced quality of life. Moreover, pediatric patients are quite susceptible to drug therapy problems. Thus this study aimed to assess drug therapy problem and its contributing factors among pediatric patients diagnosed with infectious disease admitted to pediatric ward of Jimma university medical center, from April 1 to June 30, 2018. Prospective observational study was conducted among pediatric patients with infectious disease admitted from April 01 to June 30, 2018. Drug therapy problems were identified by using Cipolle’s and strand’s drug related problem classification method. Patient’s written informed consent was obtained after explaining the purpose of the study. Patient’s specific data were collected using structured questionnaire. Data were entered into Epi data version 4.0.2 and then exported to statistical software package version 21.0 for analysis. To identify predictors of drug therapy problems occurrence, multiple stepwise backward logistic regression analysis was done. The 95% CI was used to show the accuracy of data analysis and statistical significance was considered at p-value < 0.05. A total of 304 pediatric patients were included in the study. Of these, 226(74.3%) patients had at least one drug therapy problem during their hospital stay. A total of 356 drug therapy problems were identified among two hundred twenty six patients. Non-compliance (28.65%) and dose too low (27.53%) were the most common type of drug related problems while disease comorbidity [AOR=3.39, 95% CI= (1.89-6.08)], Polypharmacy [AOR=3.16, 95% CI= (1.61-6.20)] and more than six days stay in hospital [AOR=3.37, 95% CI= (1.71-6.64) were independent predictors of drug therapy problem occurrence. Drug therapy problems were common in pediatric patients with infectious disease in the study area. Presence of comorbidity, polypharmacy and prolonged hospital stay were the predictors of drug therapy problem in study area. Therefore, to overcome the significant gaps in pediatric pharmaceutical care, clinical pharmacists, Pediatricians, and other health care professionals have to work in collaboration.

Keywords: drug therapy problem, pediatric, infectious disease, Ethiopia

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Authors: B. Adini, M. Oren

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Introduction: Communicable diseases and pandemics pose a growing threat to the well-being of the global population. A vital component of protecting the public health is the creation and sustenance of a continuous preparedness for such hazards. A joint Israeli-German task force was deployed in order to develop an advanced tool for self-evaluation of emergency preparedness for variable types of biological threats. Methods: Based on a comprehensive literature review and interviews with leading content experts, an evaluation tool was developed based on quantitative and qualitative parameters and indicators. A modified Delphi process was used to achieve consensus among over 225 experts from both Germany and Israel concerning items to be included in the evaluation tool. Validity and applicability of the tool for medical institutions was examined in a series of simulation and field exercises. Results: Over 115 German and Israeli experts reviewed and examined the proposed parameters as part of the modified Delphi cycles. A consensus of over 75% of experts was attained for 183 out of 188 items. The relative importance of each parameter was rated as part of the Delphi process, in order to define its impact on the overall emergency preparedness. The parameters were integrated in computerized web-based software that enables to calculate scores of emergency preparedness for biological events. Conclusions: The parameters developed in the joint German-Israeli project serve as benchmarks that delineate actions to be implemented in order to create and maintain an ongoing preparedness for biological events. The computerized evaluation tool enables to continuously monitor the level of readiness and thus strengths and gaps can be identified and corrected appropriately. Adoption of such a tool is recommended as an integral component of quality assurance of public health and safety.

Keywords: biological events, emergency preparedness, bioterrorism, natural biological events

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Authors: Gurcharan Singh Buttar

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It has been discovered that although these two areas, statistics, and information theory, are independent in their nature, they can be combined to create applications in multidisciplinary mathematics. This is due to the fact that where in the field of statistics, statistical parameters (measures) play an essential role in reference to the population (distribution) under investigation. Information measure is crucial in the study of ambiguity, assortment, and unpredictability present in an array of phenomena. The following communication is a link between the two, and it has been demonstrated that the well-known conventional statistical measures can be used as a measure of information.

Keywords: probability distribution, entropy, concavity, symmetry, variance, central tendency

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Authors: Thabiso Sthembiso Msomi

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SMEs are the main engine of growth in most developing economies. One of the main factors that hinder the development of SME is access to finance. In this study, we explored the factors that hinder the growth and survival of SMEs in South Africa. The capital structure theory formed the theoretical underpinning for the study. The quantitative research design was adopted and data was collected from retail, construction, manufacturing and agriculture sectors of SMEs within the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. The modified version of the Cochran formula was used to determine the sample size as 321 SMEs and analysed using the five-point Likert scale. The purposive sampling technique was used to select owners of SME. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) was used for the data analysis through Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) to determine the factor structures of items employed to measure each of the constructs in this study. Then, the Cronbach’s alpha test was conducted to determine the reliability of each construct. Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) was used to determine the adequacy of the sample size. Linear regression was done to determine the effect of the independent variables on the dependent variable. The findings suggest that the main constraints facing South African SMEs were the lack of experienced management. Furthermore, the SMEs would fail to raise customer awareness of their products and services, which in turn affects their market access and monthly turnover. The study recommends that SMEs keep up-to-date records of business transactions to enable the business to keep track of its operations. The study recommends that South African banks adopt an SME accounting and bookkeeping program. The finding of this study benefits policymakers in both the private and public sectors.

Keywords: small businesses, access to finances, COVID-19, SMEs survival

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Authors: N. Zarghami, M. Mohammadinejad, A. Akbarzadeh, Y. Pilehvar-Soltanahmadi, F. Zarghami

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Breast cancer is known to be the most common cancer in women. Cyclin D1 is a proto-oncogene and over expression of cyclin D1 is directly associated with tumorgenesis. Cyclin D1 is overexpressed in more than 50% of breast cancer cases. Curcumin is derived from turmeric (curcuma longa) and chrysin is a component that could be extracted from many plants and honey. These two plants derived compounds are believed to assist in inhibition of the cancer cells growth and reducing cyclin D1 expression. In this work, the hypothesis is to combine curcumin and chrysin in order to analyze the potential synergistic effect in inhibition of cell proliferation and down regulation of cyclin D1. In addition, use of PLGA-PEG to improve bioavailability of pure curcumin and chrysin, while reinforcing the potential effect of this combination. PLGA-PEG nanoparticles were synthesized and characterized with FT-IR and 1HNMR methods. Although morphological features were analyzed by SEM. Afterward curcumin and chrysin were encapsulated with synthesized PLGA-PEG and MTT-assay was performed to measure cytotoxicity effect of these plant constitutes. T-47D cells were treated with proper concentration of these constituents and Real-time PCR was carried out to evaluate cyclin D1 expression levels. Curcumin, chrysin and combination of curcumin –chrysin in intact and nano-capsulated form affected T-47D cells in time and dose dependent manner and the combination of these compounds had synergistic effects. Real-time PCR results, revealed that curcumin, chrysin and combination of curcumin-chrysin in pure and encapsulated form inhibited cyclin D1 expression. Compared to pure components, different concentrations of nano-curcumin, nano chrysin and nano-combination caused further decline in cyclin D12 expression by 5-11%, 8-22% and 6-18% respectively. Our results demonstrated that, combination of chrysin-curcumin had synergistic effect and nano capsulated form of this component had grater inhibition on cyclin D1 expression.

Keywords: breast cancer, cyclin D1, curcumin, chrysin, nanoparticles

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Authors: Priya Nambisan, Lien B. Nguyen

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Women participate extensively in the healthcare field, professionally (as physicians, nurses, dietitians, etc.) as well as informally (as caregivers at home). This provides them with a better understanding of the health needs of people. Women are also in the forefront of using social media and other mobile health related apps. Further, many health mobile apps are specifically designed for women users. All of these indicate the potential for women to be successful entrepreneurs in healthcare, especially, in the area of mobile health app development. However, extant research in entrepreneurship has paid limited attention to women entrepreneurship in healthcare. The objective of this study is to determine the key factors that shape the intentions and actions of women entrepreneurs with regard to their entrepreneurial pursuits in the healthcare field. Specifically, the study advances several hypotheses that relate key variables such as personal skills and capabilities, experience, support from institutions and family, and perceptions regarding entrepreneurship to individual intentions and actions regarding entrepreneurship (specifically, in the area of mobile apps). The study research model will be validated using survey data collected from potential women entrepreneurs in the healthcare field – students in the area of health informatics and engineering. The questionnaire-based survey relates to woman respondents’ intention to become entrepreneurs in healthcare and the key factors (independent variables) that may facilitate or inhibit their entrepreneurial intentions and pursuits. The survey data collection is currently ongoing. We also plan to conduct semi-structured interviews with around 10-15 women entrepreneurs who are currently developing mobile apps to understand the key issues and challenges that they face in this area. This is an exploratory study and as such our goal is to combine the findings from the regression analysis of the survey data and that from the content analysis of the interview data to inform on future research on women entrepreneurship in healthcare. The study findings will hold important policy implications, specifically for the development of new programs and initiatives to promote women entrepreneurship, particularly in healthcare and technology areas.

Keywords: women entrepreneurship, healthcare, mobile apps, health apps

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Authors: Narendra Akhadkar, Philippe Delcambre

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In power protection and control products, assembly process variations due to the individual parts manufactured from single or multi-cavity tooling is a major problem. The dimensional and geometrical variations on the individual parts, in the form of manufacturing tolerances and assembly tolerances, are sources of clearance in the kinematic joints, polarization effect in the joints, and tolerance stack-up. All these variations adversely affect the quality of product, functionality, cost, and time-to-market. Variation simulation analysis may be used in the early product design stage to predict such uncertainties. Usually, variations exist in both manufacturing processes and materials. In the tolerance analysis, the effect of the dimensional and geometrical variations of the individual parts on the functional characteristics (conditions) of the final assembled products are studied. A functional characteristic of the product may be affected by a set of interrelated dimensions (functional parameters) that usually form a geometrical closure in a 3D chain. In power protection and control products, the prerequisite is: when a fault occurs in the electrical network, the product must respond quickly to react and break the circuit to clear the fault. Usually, the response time is in milliseconds. Any failure in clearing the fault may result in severe damage to the equipment or network, and human safety is at stake. In this article, we have investigated two important functional characteristics that are associated with the robust performance of the product. It is demonstrated that the experimental data obtained at the Schneider Electric Laboratory prove the very good prediction capabilities of the variation simulation performed using CETOL (tolerance analysis software) in an industrial context. Especially, this study allows design engineers to better understand the critical parts in the product that needs to be manufactured with good, capable tolerances. On the contrary, some parts are not critical for the functional characteristics (conditions) of the product and may lead to some reduction of the manufacturing cost, ensuring robust performance. The capable tolerancing is one of the most important aspects in product and manufacturing process design. In the case of miniature circuit breaker (MCB), the product's quality and its robustness are mainly impacted by two aspects: (1) allocation of design tolerances between the components of a mechanical assembly and (2) manufacturing tolerances in the intermediate machining steps of component fabrication.

Keywords: geometrical variation, product robustness, tolerance analysis, variation simulation

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Authors: Seyedali Seyedkavoosi, Mohammad Obadat, Seantorrion Boyle

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The purpose of this study is to assess the effectiveness of a nontraditional experiential learning strategy in improving the success and interest of mechanical engineering students, using the Kinematics/Dynamics of Machine course as a case study. This upper-division technical course covers a wide range of topics, including mechanism and machine system analysis and synthesis, yet the complexities of ideas like acceleration, motion, and machine component relationships are hard to explain using standard teaching techniques. To solve this problem, a thorough design project was created that gave students hands-on experience developing, manufacturing, and testing their inventions. The main goals of the project were to improve students' grasp of machine design and kinematics, to develop problem-solving and presenting abilities, and to familiarize them with professional software. A questionnaire survey was done to evaluate the effect of this technique on students' performance and interest in mechanical engineering. The outcomes of the study shed light on the usefulness of nontraditional experiential learning approaches in engineering education.

Keywords: experiential learning, nontraditional teaching, hands-on design project, engineering education

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Authors: Jayakant Singh, Enu Anand

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Background: Child marriage is widely prevalent in India. It is a form of gross human right violation that succumbs a child bride to be subservient to her husband within a marital relation. We investigated the relationship between age at marriage of women and her level of empowerment with physical violence experienced 12 months preceding the survey among young women aged 20-24 in two culturally distinct states- Bihar and Tamil Nadu of India. Methods: We used the information collected from 10514 young married women (20-24 years) at all India level, 373 in Bihar and 523 in Tamil Nadu from the third round of National Family Health Survey. Empowerment index was calculated using different parameters such as mobility, economic independence and decision making power of women using Principal Component Analysis method. Bivariate analysis was performed primarily using chi square for the test of significance. Logistic regression was carried out to assess the effect of age at marriage and empowerment on physical violence. Results: Lower level of women empowerment was significantly associated with physical violence in Tamil Nadu (OR=2.38, p<0.01) whereas child marriage (marriage before age 15) was associated with physical violence in Bihar (OR=3.27, p<0.001). The mean difference in age at marriage between those who experienced physical violence and those who did not experience varied by 7 months in Bihar and 10 months in Tamil Nadu. Conclusion: Culture specific intervention may be a key to reduction of violence against women as the results showed association of different factors contributing to physical violence in Bihar and Tamil Nadu. Marrying at an appropriate age perhaps is protective of abuse because it equips a woman to assert her rights effectively. It calls for an urgent consideration to curb both violence and child marriage with stricter involvement of family, civil society and the government. In the meanwhile physical violence may be recognized as a public health problem and integrate appropriate treatment to the victims within the health care institution.

Keywords: child marriage, empowerment, India, physical violence

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Authors: Jamal Ayour, Mohamed Benichou

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Fruit quality is one of the main concerns of consumers, producers, and distributors. The evolution of apricot fruits undergoes a strong acceleration during maturation, and the rapidity of post-harvest evolution of the ripe fruit is particularly selective in the apricot. The objective of this study is to identify new cultivars with an interesting quality as well as a better yield allowing a more prolonged production over time. The evaluation of the fruit quality of new apricot cultivars from the Marrakech region was carried out by analyzing their physical and biochemical attributes during ripening. The results obtained clearly show a great diversity of the physicochemical attributes of the selected clones. Also, some genotypes of apricots showed contents of sugars, organic acids (vitamin C) and β carotene significantly higher than those of the most famous varieties of Morocco: Canino, Delpatriarca, and Maoui. Principal component analysis (PCA), taking into account the maturity stage and the diversity of cultivars, made it possible to define three groups with similar physicochemical attributes. The results of this study are of great use, particularly for the selection of genotypes with a better quality of fruit, both for consumption or industrial processing and with important contents of physicochemical attributes.

Keywords: apricot, acidity, carotenoids, color, sugar, quality, vitamin C

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Authors: Nikhil Padhye

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Recently a new phenomenon for bonding of polymeric films in solid-state, at ambient temperatures well below the glass transition temperature of the polymer, has been reported. This is achieved by bulk plastic compression of polymeric films held in contact. Here we analyze the process of cold-rolling of polymeric films via finite element simulations and illustrate a flexible and modular experimental rolling-apparatus that can achieve bonding of polymeric films through cold-rolling. Firstly, the classical theory of rolling a rigid-plastic thin-strip is utilized to estimate various deformation fields such as strain-rates, velocities, loads etc. in rolling the polymeric films at the specified feed-rates and desired levels of thickness-reduction(s). Predicted magnitudes of slow strain-rates, particularly at ambient temperatures during rolling, and moderate levels of plastic deformation (at which Bauschinger effect can be neglected for the particular class of polymeric materials studied here), greatly simplifies the task of material modeling and allows us to deploy a computationally efficient, yet accurate, finite deformation rate-independent elastic-plastic material behavior model (with inclusion of isotropic-hardening) for analyzing the rolling of these polymeric films. The interfacial behavior between the roller and polymer surfaces is modeled using Coulombic friction; consistent with the rate-independent behavior. The finite deformation elastic-plastic material behavior based on (i) the additive decomposition of stretching tensor (D = De + Dp, i.e. a hypoelastic formulation) with incrementally objective time integration and, (ii) multiplicative decomposition of deformation gradient (F = FeFp) into elastic and plastic parts, are programmed and carried out for cold-rolling within ABAQUS Explicit. Predictions from both the formulations, i.e., hypoelastic and multiplicative decomposition, exhibit a close match. We find that no specialized hyperlastic/visco-plastic model is required to describe the behavior of the blend of polymeric films, under the conditions described here, thereby speeding up the computation process .

Keywords: Polymer Plasticity, Bonding, Deformation Induced Mobility, Rolling

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Authors: Sukhdev Singh, Baljinder Singh Bal, Amandeep Singh, Kanchan Thappa

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A nation's future almost certainly rests on the future of its children, and a nation's wellbeing can be greatly improved by providing for the right upbringing of its children. Participating in physical education and sports programmes is crucial for reaching one's full potential. As we are all aware, sports have recently become incredibly popular on a global scale. Sports are continually becoming more and more popular, and this positive trend is probably going to last for some time to come. Motor abilities will provide more accurate information on the developmental process of children. Motor fitness is a component of physical fitness that includes strength, speed, flexibility, and agility, and is related to enhanced performance and the development of motor skills. In recent years, there has been increased interest in the differences in child growth between urban and rural environments. Differences in student growth, body dimensions, body composition, and fitness levels due to urban and rural environmental disparities have come into focus in recent years. The main aim of this study is to know the differentials of motor fitness components among the school children of rural and urban areas of the Jammu region. Material and Methods: In total, sixty male subjects (mean ± SD; age, 16.475 ± 1.0124 yrs.; height, 172.8 ± 2.0153 cm; Weight, 59.75 ± 3.628 kg) from the Jammu region took part in the study. A minimum sample size of 40 subjects was obtained and was derived from Rural (N1=20) and Urban (N2=20) school-going children. Statistical Applications: The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 14.0 was used for all analyses. The differences in the mean of each group for the selected variable were tested for the significance of difference by an independent samples t-test. For testing the hypotheses, the level of significance was set at 0.05. Results: Results revealed that there were significant differences of leg explosive strength (p=0.0040*), dynamic balance (p=0.0056*), and Agility (p=0.0176*) among the School Children of the rural and urban areas of the Jammu region. However, Results further revealed that there were not significant differences of cardio respiratory endurance (p=0.8612), speed (p=0.2231), Low Back/Hamstring Flexibility (p=0.6478), and Two Hand Coordination. (p= 0.0953) among the School Children of the rural and urban areas of the Jammu region. Conclusion: The results of study showed that there is significance difference between Rural and Urban School children of the Jammu region with regards to a variable," leg explosive strength, dynamic balance, Agility” and the there is no significance difference between Rural and Urban School children of the Jammu region with regards variable “cardio-respiratory endurance, speed, Low Back/Hamstring Flexibility, Two Hand Coordination”.

Keywords: motor fitness, rural areas, school children, urban areas

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Authors: Yiyuan David Hu, Alex Lindqwister, Samuel B. Klein, Karen Moodie, Norman A. Paradis

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Introduction: Pseudo-Pulseless Electrical Activity (p-PEA) is a lifeless form of profound cardiac shock characterized by measurable cardiac mechanical activity without clinically detectable pulses. Patients in pseudo-PEA carry different prognoses than those in true PEA and may require different therapies. End-tidal carbon dioxide (ET-CO2) is a reliable indicator of the return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) in ventricular fibrillation and true-PEA but has not been studied p-PEA. Hypothesis: ET-CO2 can be used as an independent indicator of ROSC in p-PEA resuscitation. Methods: 30kg female swine (N = 14) under intravenous anesthesia were instrumented with aortic and right atrial micromanometer pressure. ECG and ET-CO2 were measured continuously. p-PEA was induced by ventilation with 6% oxygen in 94% nitrogen and was defined as a systolic Ao less than 40 mmHg. The statistical relationships between ET-CO2 and ROSC are reported. Results: ET-CO2 during resuscitation strongly correlated with ROSC (Figure 1). Mean ET-CO2 during p-PEA was 28.4 ± 8.4, while mean ET-CO2 in ROSC for 100% O2 cohort was 42.2 ± 12.6 (p < 0.0001), mean ET-CO2 in ROSC for 100% O2 + CPR was 33.0 ± 15.4 (p < 0.0001). Analysis of slope was limited to one minute of resuscitation data to capture local linearity; assessment began 10 seconds after resuscitation started to allow the ventilator to mix 100% O2. Pigs who would recover with 100% O2 had a slope of 0.023 ± 0.001, oxygen + CPR had a slope of 0.018 ± 0.002, and oxygen + CPR + epinephrine had a slope of 0.0050 ± 0.0009. Conclusions: During resuscitation from porcine hypoxic p-PEA, a rise in ET-CO2 is indicative of ROSC.

Keywords: ET-CO2, resuscitation, capnography, pseudo-PEA

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Authors: Lena Payati, Maria Kazou, Effie Tsakalidou

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Table olives are one of the most popular fermented vegetables worldwide, which along with olive oil, have a crucial role in the world economy. They are highly appreciated by the consumers for their characteristic taste and pleasant aromas, while several health and nutritional benefits have been reported as well. Until recently, microbial biogeography, i.e., the study of microbial diversity over time and space, has been mainly associated with wine. However, nowadays, the term 'terroir' has been extended to other crops and food products so as to link the geographical origin and environmental conditions to quality aspects of fermented foods. Taking the above into consideration, the present study focuses on the microbial fingerprinting of the most important olive varieties of Greece with the state-of-the-art amplicon-based metagenomics analysis. Towards this, in 2019, 61 samples from 38 different olive varieties were collected at the final stage of ripening from 13 well spread geographical regions in Greece. For the metagenomics analysis, total DNA was extracted from the olive samples, and the 16S rRNA gene and ITS DNA region were sequenced and analyzed using bioinformatics tools for the identification of bacterial and yeasts/fungal diversity, respectively. Furthermore, principal component analysis (PCA) was also performed for data clustering based on the average microbial composition of all samples from each region of origin. According to the composition, results obtained, when samples were analyzed separately, the majority of both bacteria (such as Pantoea, Enterobacter, Roserbergiella, and Pseudomonas) and yeasts/fungi (such as Aureobasidium, Debaromyces, Candida, and Cladosporium) genera identified were found in all 61 samples. Even though interesting differences were observed at the relative abundance level of the identified genera, the bacterial genus Pantoea and the yeast/fungi genus Aureobasidium were the dominant ones in 35 and 40 samples, respectively. Of note, olive samples collected from the same region had similar fingerprint (genera identified and relative abundance level) regardless of the variety, indicating a potential association between the relative abundance of certain taxa and the geographical region. When samples were grouped by region of origin, distinct bacterial profiles per region were observed, which was also evident from the PCA analysis. This was not the case for the yeast/fungi profiles since 10 out of the 13 regions were grouped together mainly due to the dominance of the genus Aureobasidium. A second cluster was formed for the islands Crete and Rhodes, both of which are located in the Southeast Aegean Sea. These two regions clustered together mainly due to the identification of the genus Toxicocladosporium in relatively high abundances. Finally, the Agrinio region was separated from the others as it showed a completely different microbial fingerprinting. However, due to the limited number of olive samples from some regions, a subsequent PCA analysis with more samples from these regions is expected to yield in a more clear clustering. The present study is part of a bigger project, the first of its kind in Greece, with the ultimate goal to analyze a larger set of olive samples of different varieties and from different regions in Greece in order to have a reliable olives’ microbial biogeography.

Keywords: amplicon-based metagenomics analysis, bacteria, microbial biogeography, olive microbiota, yeasts/fungi

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Authors: Caterina Muzzi, Sergio Albertini, Davide Giacomini

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The research is aimed to investigate the role of young entrepreneurs’ personality traits and their contextual background on the success of entrepreneurial initiatives. In the literature, the debate is still open about the main drivers in predicting entrepreneurial success. Classical theories are focused on looking at specific personality traits that could lead to successful start-ups initiatives, while emerging approaches are more interested in young entrepreneurs’ contextual background (such as the family of origin, the previous experience and their professional network). An online survey was submitted to the participants of an entrepreneurial training initiative organised by the Italian Young Entrepreneurs Association (Confindustria) in Brescia headquarter (AIB). At the time the authors started data collection for this research, the third edition of the initiative was just concluded and involved a total amount of 37 young future entrepreneurs. In the literature General self-efficacy (GSE) and, more specifically, entrepreneurial self-efficacy (ESE) have often been associated to positive performances, as they allow future entrepreneurs to effectively cope with entrepreneurial activities, both at an early stage and in new venture management. In a counter-intuitive manner, optimism is not always associated with entrepreneurial positive results. Too optimistic people risk taking hazardous risks and some authors suggest that moderately optimistic entrepreneurs achieve more positive results than over-optimistic ones. Indeed highly optimistic individuals often hold unrealistic expectations, discount negative information, and mentally reconstruct experiences so as to avoid contradictions The importance of context has been increasingly considered in entrepreneurship literature and its role strongly emerges starting from the earliest entrepreneurial stage and it is crucial to transform the “intention of entrepreneurship” into the actual start-up. Furthermore, coherently with the “network approach to entrepreneurship”, context embeddedness allow future entrepreneurs to leverage relationships built through previous experiences and/or thanks to the fact of belonging to families of entrepreneurs. For the purpose of this research, entrepreneurial success was measured by the fact of having or not founded a new venture after the training initiative. In this research, the authors measured GSE, ESE and optimism using already tested items that showed to be reliable also in this case. They collected 36 completed questionnaires. The t-test for independent samples run to measure significant differences in means between those that already funded the new venture and those that did not. No significant differences emerged with respect to all the tested personality traits, but a logistic regression analysis, run with contextual variables as independent ones, showed that personal and professional networking, made both before and during the master, is the most relevant variable in determining new venture success. These findings shed more light on the process of new venture foundation and could encourage national and local policy makers to invest on networking as one of the main drivers that could support the creation of new ventures.

Keywords: entrepreneurship, networking, new ventures, personality traits

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Authors: Marta Kaprzyk

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The cinema of Alejandro González Iñárritu hasn’t been subjected to a lot of detailed analysis yet, what makes it an exceptionally interesting research material. The purpose of this presentation is to discuss the significance of urban space in three films of this Mexican director, that forms Death Trilogy: ‘Amores Perros’ (2000), ‘21 Grams’ (2003) and ‘Babel’ (2006). The fact that in the aforementioned movies the urban space itself becomes an additional protagonist with its own identity, psychology and the ability to transform and affect other characters, in itself warrants for independent research and analysis. Independently, such mode of presenting urban space has another function; it enables the director to complement the rest of characters. The basis for methodology of this description of cinematographic space is to treat its visual layer as a point of departure for a detailed analysis. At the same time, the analysis itself will be supported by recognised academic theories concerning special issues, which are transformed here into essential tools necessary to describe the world (mise-en-scène) created by González Iñárritu. In ‘Amores perros’ the Mexico City serves as a scenery – a place full of contradictions- in the movie depicted as a modern conglomerate and an urban jungle, as well as a labyrinth of poverty and violence. In this work stylistic tropes can be found in an intertextual dialogue of the director with photographies of Nan Goldin and Mary Ellen Mark. The story recounted in ‘21 Grams’, the most tragic piece in the trilogy, is characterised by almost hyperrealistic sadism. It takes place in Memphis, which on the screen turns into an impersonal formation full of heterotopias described by Michel Foucault and non-places, as defined by Marc Augé in his essay. By contrast, the main urban space in ‘Babel’ is Tokio, which seems to perfectly correspond with the image of places discussed by Juhani Pallasmaa in his works concerning the reception of the architecture by ‘pathological senses’ in the modern (or, even more adequately, postmodern) world. It’s portrayed as a city full of buildings that look so surreal, that they seem to be completely unsuitable for the humans to move between them. Ultimately, the aim of this paper is to demonstrate the coherence of the manner in which González Iñárritu designs urban spaces in his Death Trilogy. In particular, the author attempts to examine the imperative role of the cities that form three specific microcosms in which the protagonists of the Mexican director live their overwhelming tragedies.

Keywords: cinematographic space, Death Trilogy, film Studies, González Iñárritu Alejandro, urban space

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Authors: Isabelle Snyder

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Microgrid protection presents challenges to conventional protection techniques due to the low induced fault current. Protection relays present in microgrid applications require a combination of settings groups to adjust based on the architecture of the microgrid in islanded and grid-connected mode. In a radial system where the microgrid is at the other end of the feeder, directional elements can be used to identify the direction of the fault current and switch settings groups accordingly (grid connected or microgrid connected). However, with multiple microgrid connections, this concept becomes more challenging, and the direction of the current alone is not sufficient to identify the source of the fault current contribution. ORNL has previously developed adaptive relaying schemes through other DOE-funded research projects that will be evaluated and used as a baseline for this research. The four protection techniques in this study are the following: (1) Adaptive Current only Protection System (ACPS), Intentional (2) Unbalanced Control for Protection Control (IUCPC), (3) Adaptive Protection System with Communication Controller (APSCC) (4) Adaptive Model-Driven Protective Relay (AMDPR). The first two methods focus on identifying the islanded mode without communication by monitoring the current sequence component generated by the system (ACPS) or induced with inverter control during islanded mode (IUCPC) to identify the islanding condition without communication at the relay to adjust the settings. These two methods are used as a backup to the APSCC, which relies on a communication network to communicate the islanded configuration to the system components. The fourth method relies on a short circuit model inside the relay that is used in conjunction with communication to adjust the system configuration and computes the fault current and adjusts the settings accordingly.

Keywords: adaptive relaying, microgrid protection, sequence components, islanding detection, communication controlled protection, integrated short circuit model

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Authors: Jesús Horacio, Alfredo Ollero, Víctor Bouzas-Blanco, Augusto Pérez-Alberti

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Rivers have traditionally been classified, assessed and managed in terms of hydrological, chemical and / or biological criteria. Geomorphological classifications had in the past a secondary role, although proposals like River Styles Framework, Catchment Baseline Survey or Stroud Rural Sustainable Drainage Project did incorporate geomorphology for management decision-making. In recent years many studies have been attracted to the geomorphological component. The geomorphological processes and their associated forms determine the structure of a river system. Understanding these processes and forms is a critical component of the sustainable rehabilitation of aquatic ecosystems. The fluvial auto-classification approach suggests that a river is a self-built natural system, with processes and forms designed to effectively preserve their ecological function (hydrologic, sedimentological and biological regime). Fluvial systems are formed by a wide range of elements with multiple non-linear interactions on different spatial and temporal scales. Besides, the fluvial auto-classification concept is built using data from the river itself, so that each classification developed is peculiar to the river studied. The variables used in the classification are specific stream power and mean grain size. A discriminant analysis showed that these variables are the best characterized processes and forms. The statistical technique applied allows to get an individual discriminant equation for each geomorphological type. The geomorphological classification was developed using sites with high naturalness. Each site is a control point of high ecological and geomorphological quality. The changes in the conditions of the control points will be quickly recognizable, and easy to apply a right management measures to recover the geomorphological type. The study focused on Galicia (NW Spain) and the mapping was made analyzing 122 control points (sites) distributed over eight river basins. In sum, this study provides a method for fluvial geomorphological classification that works as an open and flexible tool underlying the fluvial auto-classification concept. The hydrographic mapping is the visual expression of the results, such that each river has a particular map according to its geomorphological characteristics. Each geomorphological type is represented by a particular type of hydraulic geometry (channel width, width-depth ratio, hydraulic radius, etc.). An alteration of this geometry is indicative of a geomorphological disturbance (whether natural or anthropogenic). Hydrographic mapping is also dynamic because its meaning changes if there is a modification in the specific stream power and/or the mean grain size, that is, in the value of their equations. The researcher has to check annually some of the control points. This procedure allows to monitor the geomorphology quality of the rivers and to see if there are any alterations. The maps are useful to researchers and managers, especially for conservation work and river restoration.

Keywords: fluvial auto-classification concept, mapping, geomorphology, river

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Authors: Yasmine Essafi Zouari, Aya Nasreddine

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Following a long inflationary period from the post-war era to the mid-1980s (+10.1% annually), France went through a moderate inflation period between 1986 and 2001 (+2.1% annually) and even lower inflation between 2002 and 2016 (+1.4% annually). In 2022, inflation in France increased rapidly and reached 4.5% over one year in March, according to INSEE estimates. Over a long period, even low inflation has an impact on portfolio value and households’ purchasing power. In such a context, inflation hedging should remain an important issue for investors. In particular, long-term investors, who are concerned with the protection of their wealth, seek to hold effective hedging assets. Considering a mixed-asset portfolio composed of housing assets (residential real estate in 150 Grand Paris communes) as well as financial assets, and using both correlation and regression analysis, results confirm the attribute of the direct housing investment as an inflation hedge especially particularly against its unexpected component. Further, cash and bonds were found to provide respectively a partial and an over hedge against unexpected inflation. Stocks act as a perverse hedge against unexpected inflation and provide no significant positive hedge against expected inflation.

Keywords: direct housing, inflation, hedging ability, optimal portfolio, Grand Paris metropolis

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Authors: Krzysztof Plesiewicz, Izabela Plesiewicz, Krzysztof Chiżyński, Marzenna Zielińska

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Background: Obesity is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. There are several anthropometric parameters proposed to estimate the level of obesity, but until now there is no agreement which one is the best predictor of cardiometabolic risk. Scientists defined metabolically obese normal weight, who suffer from metabolic abnormalities, the same as obese individuals, and defined this syndrome as normal weight obesity (NWO). Aim of the study: The aim of our study was to determine the occurrence of overweight and obesity in a cohort of young, adult women, using standard and complementary methods of obesity assessment and to indicate those, who are at risk of obesity. The second aim of our study was to test additional methods of obesity assessment and proof that body mass index using alone is not sufficient parameter of obesity assessment. Materials and methods: 384 young women, aged 18-32, were enrolled into the study. Standard anthropometric parameters (waist to hips ratio (WTH), waist to height ratio (WTHR)) and two other methods of body fat percentage measurement (BFPM) were used in the study: electrical bioimpendance analysis (BIA) and skinfold measurement test by digital fat body mass clipper (SFM). Results: In the study group 5% and 7% of participants had waist to hips ratio and accordingly waist to height ratio values connected with visceral obesity. According to BMI 14% participants were overweight and obese. Using additional methods of body fat assessment, there were 54% and 43% of obese for BIA and SMF method. In the group of participants with normal BMI and underweight (not overweight, n =340) there were individuals with the level of BFPM above the upper limit, for the BIA 49% (n =164) and for the SFM 36 % (n=125). Statistical analysis revealed strong correlation between BIA and SFM methods. Conclusion: BMI using alone is not a sufficient parameter of obesity assessment. High percentage of young women with normal BMI values seem to be normal weight obese.

Keywords: electrical bioimpedance, normal weight obesity, skin-fold measurement test, women

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Authors: S. M. Mahbobur Rahman

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Whole building energy simulation models are widely used for predicting future energy consumption, performance diagnosis and optimum control.  Black box building energy modeling approach has been heavily studied in the past decade. The thermal response of a building can also be modeled using a network of interconnected resistors (R) and capacitors (C) at each node called R-C network. In this study, a model building, Case 600, as described in the “Standard Method of Test for the Evaluation of Building Energy Analysis Computer Program”, ASHRAE standard 140, is studied along with a 3R2C thermal network model and the ASHRAE clear sky solar radiation model. Although building an energy model involves two important parts of building component i.e., the envelope and internal mass, the effect of building internal mass is not considered in this study. All the characteristic parameters of the building envelope are evaluated as on Case 600. Finally, monthly building energy consumption from the thermal network model is compared with a simple-box energy model within reasonable accuracy. From the results, 0.6-9.4% variation of monthly energy consumption is observed because of the south-facing windows.

Keywords: ASHRAE case study, clear sky solar radiation model, energy modeling, thermal network model

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Authors: Krutika K. Sawant, Anil Solanki

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The present study deals with the preparation and optimization of ethyl cellulose-containing disopyramide phosphate loaded microspheres using solvent evaporation technique. A central composite design consisting of a two-level full factorial design superimposed on a star design was employed for optimizing the preparation microspheres. The drug:polymer ratio (X1) and speed of the stirrer (X2) were chosen as the independent variables. The cumulative release of the drug at a different time (2, 6, 10, 14, and 18 hr) was selected as the dependent variable. An optimum polynomial equation was generated for the prediction of the response variable at time 10 hr. Based on the results of multiple linear regression analysis and F statistics, it was concluded that sustained action can be obtained when X1 and X2 are kept at high levels. The X1X2 interaction was found to be statistically significant. The drug release pattern fitted the Higuchi model well. The data of a selected batch were subjected to an optimization study using Box-Behnken design, and an optimal formulation was fabricated. Good agreement was observed between the predicted and the observed dissolution profiles of the optimal formulation.

Keywords: disopyramide phosphate, ethyl cellulose, microspheres, controlled release, Box-Behnken design, factorial design

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Authors: Darshan Lal

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The paper describes the concept of Information literacy. It is a critical component of this information age. Information literacy is the vital process in modern changing world. Information Literacy initiatives in India was also discussed. Paper also discussed Information literacy programmes for LIS professionals. Information literacy makes person capable to recognize when information is needed and how to locate, evaluate and use effectively of the needed information.

Keywords: information literacy, information communication technology (ICT), information literacy programmes

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Authors: Usha Barahmand, Ruhollah Heydari Sheikh Ahmad, Sara Alaie Khoraem

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Introduction: The association of epilepsy with several psychological disorders and reduced quality of life has long been recognized. The present study aimed at comparing the personality profiles, quality of life and symptomatology of anxiety and depression in patients with epilepsy and healthy controls. Materials and Methods: Forty seven patients (29 men and 18 women) with diagnosed epilepsy participated in this study. Forty seven healthy controls who matched the patients in age and gender were also recruited. The participants’ personality and psychological profiles were assessed using the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-21), the Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) and the HEXACO Personality Inventory (HEXACO-PI). Scoring algorithms were applied to the SF-36 produce the physical and mental component scores (PCS and MCS). Results: There were statistically significant differences in the total SF-36 score, anxiety, depression and stress scores of the DASS-21 between patients and controls. Anxiety, stress and depression scores significantly correlated inversely with the PCS and MCS. Data analysis showed that females had higher depression scores than males in both patients and controls, while males in both groups scored higher on stress. Patients’ personality scores were also different from those reported by controls on emotional, agreeableness and extroversion. Patients scored higher on emotionality, and lower on agreeableness and extraversion. Patients also scored lower on indices of quality of life. Regression analysis revealed that emotionality, anxiety, stress and MCS accounted for a significant proportion of the variance in severity of epileptic seizures. Conclusion: Stressful situations and psychological conditions as well as the personality trait of neuroticism were related to the occurrence of recurrent epileptic seizures.

Keywords: anxiety, depression, epilepsy, neuroticism, personality, quality of life, stress

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