Search results for: a simple index

Authors: Jayme R. T. Silva, Paulo G. P. Toro, Angelo Passaro, Giannino P. Camillo, Antonio C. Oliveira

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An in-house C++ code has been developed, at the Prof. Henry T. Nagamatsu Laboratory of Aerothermodynamics and Hypersonics from the Institute of Advanced Studies (Brazil), to estimate the aerothermodynamic properties around the Hypersonic Vehicle Integrated to the Scramjet. In the future, this code will be applied to the design of the Brazilian Scramjet Technological Demonstrator 14-X B. The first step towards accomplishing this objective, is to apply the in-house C++ code at the leading edge of a flat plate, simulating the leading edge of the 14-X Hypersonic Vehicle, making possible the wave phenomena of oblique shock and boundary layer to be analyzed. The development of modern hypersonic space vehicles requires knowledge regarding the characteristics of hypersonic flows in the vicinity of a leading edge of lifting surfaces. The strong interaction between a shock wave and a boundary layer, in a high supersonic Mach number 4 viscous flow, close to the leading edge of the plate, considering no slip condition, is numerically investigated. The small slip region is neglecting. The study consists of solving the fluid flow equations for unstructured meshes applying the SIMPLE algorithm for Finite Volume Method. Unstructured meshes are generated by the in-house software ‘Modeler’ that was developed at Virtual’s Engineering Laboratory from the Institute of Advanced Studies, initially developed for Finite Element problems and, in this work, adapted to the resolution of the Navier-Stokes equations based on the SIMPLE pressure-correction scheme for all-speed flows, Finite Volume Method based. The in-house C++ code is based on the two-dimensional Navier-Stokes equations considering non-steady flow, with nobody forces, no volumetric heating, and no mass diffusion. Air is considered as calorically perfect gas, with constant Prandtl number and Sutherland's law for the viscosity. Solutions of the flat plate problem for Mach number 4 include pressure, temperature, density and velocity profiles as well as 2-D contours. Also, the boundary layer thickness, boundary conditions, and mesh configurations are presented. The same problem has been solved by the academic license of the software Ansys Fluent and for another C++ in-house code, which solves the fluid flow equations in structured meshes, applying the MacCormack method for Finite Difference Method, and the results will be compared.

Keywords: boundary-layer, scramjet, simple algorithm, shock wave

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Authors: Noha M. Rashad, W. Swelam, M. H. Abd ElAzeem

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A simple design of array antenna is presented in this paper, supporting millimeter wave applications which can be used in short range wireless communications such as 5G applications. This design enhances the use of V-band, according to IEEE standards, as the antenna works in the 70 GHz band with bandwidth more than 11 GHz and peak gain more than 13 dBi. The design is simulated using different numerical techniques achieving a very good agreement.

Keywords: 5G technology, array antenna, microstrip, millimeter wave

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Authors: Saeed Yazdani, Sima Mohamadi Amidabadi, Amir Mohamadi Nejad, Farahnaz Nekoofar

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As a result of uncertainty and doubts about the quantity of agricultural products, greater significance has been attached to risk management in the agricultural sector. Normally, farmers seek to minimize risks, and crop diversity has always been a means to reduce risk. The study at hand seeks to explore the long-term impact of crop diversity on income risk reduction. The timeframe of the study is 1998 to 2018. Initially, the Herfindahl index was used to estimate crop diversity in different periods, and next, the Hodrick-Prescott filter was applied to estimate income risk both in nominal and real terms. Finally, using the Vector Error Correction Model (VECM), the long-term impact of crop diversity on two modes of risk for the farmer's income has been estimated. Given the long-term pattern’s results, it is evident that in the long-run, crop diversity can reduce income fluctuations in two nominal and real terms. Moreover, results showed that in case the fluctuation shock affects the agricultural income in the short run, to balance out the shock in nominal and real terms, 4 and 3 cycles are needed respectively. In other words, in each cycle, 25% and 33% of the shock impact can be removed, respectively. Thus, as the results of the error correction coefficient showed, policies need to be put in place to prevent income shocks. In case of a shock, they need to be balanced out in a four-year period, taking inflation into account, and in a three-year period irrespective of the inflation and reparative policies such as insurance services should be developed.

Keywords: risk, long-term model, Herfindahl index, time series model, vector error correction model

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Authors: Takuya Suzuki, Atsushi Shirai, Takashi Seki

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Acupuncture therapy is one of the treatments in traditional Chinese medicine. Recently, some reports have shown the effectiveness of acupuncture. However, its full acceptance has been hindered by the lack of understanding on mechanism of the therapy. Acupuncture applied to Zusanli (ST-36) enhances blood flow volume in superior mesenteric artery (SMA), yielding peripheral vascular resistance – regulated blood flow of SMA dominated by the parasympathetic system and inhibition of sympathetic system. In this study, a lumped-parameter approximation model of blood flow in the systemic arteries was developed. This model was extremely simple, consisting of the aorta, carotid arteries, arteries of the four limbs and SMA, and their peripheral vascular resistances. Here, the individual artery was simplified to a tapered tube and the resistances were modelled by a linear resistance. We numerically investigated contribution of the peripheral vascular resistance of SMA to the systemic blood distribution using this model. In addition to the upstream end of the model, which correlates with the left ventricle, two types of boundary condition were applied; mean left ventricular pressure which correlates with blood pressure (BP) and mean cardiac output which corresponds to cardiac index (CI). We examined it to reproduce the experimentally obtained hemodynamic change, in terms of the ratio of the aforementioned hemodynamic parameters from their initial values before the acupuncture, by regulating the peripheral vascular resistances and the upstream boundary condition. First, only the peripheral vascular resistance of SMA was changed to show contribution of the resistance to the change in blood flow volume in SMA, expecting reproduction of the experimentally obtained change. It was found, however, this was not enough to reproduce the experimental result. Then, we also changed the resistances of the other arteries together with the value given at upstream boundary. Here, the resistances of the other arteries were changed simultaneously in the same amount. Consequently, we successfully reproduced the hemodynamic change to find that regulation of the upstream boundary condition to the value experimentally obtained after the stimulation is necessary for the reproduction, though statistically significant changes in BP and CI were not observed in the experiment. It is generally known that sympathetic and parasympathetic tones take part in regulation of whole the systemic circulation including the cardiac function. The present result indicates that stimulation to ST-36 could induce vasodilation of peripheral circulation of SMA and vasoconstriction of that of other arteries. In addition, it implies that experimentally obtained small changes in BP and CI induced by the acupuncture may be involved in the therapeutic response.

Keywords: acupuncture, hemodynamics, lumped-parameter approximation, modeling, systemic vascular resistance

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Authors: Salem Alghamdi

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Genotypes collected from farmers at a different region of Saudi Arabia as well as from Egyptian cultivar and a new line from Yamen. Seeds of these genotypes were grown in Dirab Agriculture Research Station, (Middle Region) and Al-Ahsa Palms and Dates Research Center (East region), during summer of 2015. Field experiments were laid out in randomized complete block design on the first week of June with three replications. Each experiment plot contained 6 rows 3m in length. Inter- and intra-row spacing was 60 and 25cm, respectively. Seed yield and its components were estimated in addition to qualitative characters on cowpea plants grown only in Dirab using cowpea descriptor from IPGRI, 1982. Seeds for chemical composite and antioxidant contents were analyzed. Highly significant differences were detected between genotypes in both locations and the combined of two locations for seed yield and its components. Mean data clearly show exceeded determine genotypes in seed yield while indeterminate genotypes had higher biological yield that divided cowpea genotypes to two main groups 1- forage genotypes (KSU-CO98, KSU-CO99, KSU-CO100, and KSU-CO104) that were taller and produce higher branches, biological yield and these are suitable to feed on haulm 2- food genotypes (KSU-CO101, KSU-CO102, and KSU-CO103) that produce higher seed yield with lower haulm and also these genotypes characters by high seed index and light seed color. Highly significant differences were recorded for locations in all studied characters except the number of branches, seed index, and biological yield, however, the interaction of genotype x location was significant only for plant height, the number of pods and seed yield per plant.

Keywords: Cowpea, genotypes, antioxidant contents, yield

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Authors: Olokor O. Julius, Ngwu E. Onyebuchi, Ajani K. Emmanuel, Omitoyin O. Bamidele, Olokor O. Linda, Akomas Stella

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The study assessed the quality changes of Clarias gariepenus obtained from integrated culture systems (rice, poultry and fish) which were displayed at 31-33oC average daily temperature on the traditional market table used by local fish farmers to sell fish harvested from their ponds and those on an improved table designed for this study. Unlike the conventional table, the improved table was screened against flies and indiscriminate touch by customers. The fishes were displayed on both tables for 9 hours and quality attributes were monitored hourly by trained panelists. For C. gariepinus, the gills, and intestine recorded faster deterioration starting from the fourth and fifth hours while those on the improved table were prolonged by one hour. Scores for skin brightness and texture did not indicate quality deterioration throughout the display period. However, at the end of the storage time, samples on the improved table recorded 1.5 x 104 cfu/g while samples in unscreened table recorded 3.7 x 10 7 cfu/g. The study shows how simple modifications of a traditional practice can help extend keeping qualities of farmed fish, reduce health hazards in local communities where there is no electricity to preserve fish in whatever form despite a boom in aquaculture. Monai community has a fish farm estate of over 200 small holder farmers with annual output capacity of over $10 million dollars. The simple improvement made to farmers practice in this study is to ensure Community hygiene and boost income of peasant fish farmers by improving the market quality of their products.

Keywords: fish spoilage, improved handling, income generation, retail table

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Authors: M. Chavez, H. Juarez, M. Pacio, O. Portillo

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PbS chemical bath heterojunction sollar cells have shown significant improvements in performance. Here we demonstrate a solar cell based on the heterojunction formed between PbS layer and PbS:Bi3+ thin films that are deposited via solution process at 40°C. The device achieve an current density of 4 mA/cm2. The simple and low-cost deposition method of PbS:Bi3+ films is promising for the fabrication.

Keywords: PbS doped, Bismuth, solar cell, thin films

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Authors: N. Valderrama, W. Albarracín, N. Algecira

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It was studied the effect of the inclusion of thyme and rosemary essential oils into chitosan films, as well as the microbiological and physical properties when storing chitosan film with and without the mentioned inclusion. The film forming solution was prepared by dissolving chitosan (2%, w/v), polysorbate 80 (4% w/w CH) and glycerol (16% w/w CH) in aqueous lactic acid solutions (control). The thyme (TEO) and rosemary (REO) essential oils (EOs) were included 1:1 w/w (EOs:CH) on their combination 50/50 (TEO:REO). The films were stored at temperatures of 5, 20, 33°C and a relative humidity of 75% during four weeks. The films with essential oil inclusion did not show an antimicrobial activity against strains. This behavior could be explained because the chitosan only inhibits the growth of microorganisms in direct contact with the active sites. However, the inhibition capacity of TEO was higher than the REO and a synergic effect between TEO:REO was found for S. enteritidis strains in the chitosan solution. Some physical properties were modified by the inclusion of essential oils. The addition of essential oils does not affect the mechanical properties (tensile strength, elongation at break, puncture deformation), the water solubility, the swelling index nor the DSC behavior. However, the essential oil inclusion can significantly decrease the thickness, the moisture content, and the L* value of films whereas the b* value increased due to molecular interactions between the polymeric matrix, the loosing of the structure, and the chemical modifications. On the other hand, the temperature and time of storage changed some physical properties on the chitosan films. This could have occurred because of chemical changes, such as swelling in the presence of high humidity air and the reacetylation of amino groups. In the majority of cases, properties such as moisture content, tensile strength, elongation at break, puncture deformation, a*, b*, chrome, ΔE increased whereas water resistance, swelling index, L*, and hue angle decreased.

Keywords: chitosan, food additives, modified films, polymers

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Authors: Adriana M. Duquette, Derek P. Bornath

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Reaction Time (RT) and Movement Time (MT) are important components of everyday life that have an effect on the way in which we move about our environment. These measures become even more crucial when an event can be caused (or avoided) in a fraction of a second, such as the RT and MT required while driving. The purpose of this study was to develop a more simple method of testing RT and MT during simulated driving with or without text messaging, in a university-aged population (n = 170). In the control condition, a randomly-delayed red light stimulus flashed on a computer interface after the participant began pressing the ‘gas’ pedal on a foot switch mat. Simple RT was defined as the time between the presentation of the light stimulus and the initiation of lifting the foot from the switch mat ‘gas’ pedal; while MT was defined as the time after the initiation of lifting the foot, to the initiation of depressing the switch mat ‘brake’ pedal. In the texting condition, upon pressing the ‘gas’ pedal, a ‘text message’ appeared on the computer interface in a dialog box that the participant typed on their cell phone while waiting for the light stimulus to turn red. In both conditions, the sequence was repeated 10 times, and an average RT (seconds) and average MT (seconds) were recorded. Condition significantly (p = .000) impacted overall RTs, as the texting condition (0.47 s) took longer than the no-texting (control) condition (0.34 s). Longer MTs were also recorded during the texting condition (0.28 s) than in the control condition (0.23 s), p = .001. Overall increases in Response Time (RT + MT) of 189 ms during the texting condition would equate to an additional 4.2 meters (to react to the stimulus and begin braking) if the participant had been driving an automobile at 80 km per hour. In conclusion, increasing task complexity due to the dual-task demand of text messaging during simulated driving caused significant increases in RT (41%), MT (23%) and Response Time (34%), thus further strengthening the mounting evidence against text messaging while driving.

Keywords: simulated driving, text messaging, reaction time, movement time

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Authors: Omid Ghaffarzadeh Mollabashi, Sara Khorshidi, Hossein Kermanian Seyed, Majid Zabihzadeh

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The main problem that hinders the intensive use of non-wood raw materials in papermaking industry is the environmental pollution caused by black liquor. As a matter of fact, black liquor of nonwood pulping is discharged to the environment due to the lack of recovery. Traditionally, NaOH pulping produces Na-based black liquor that may increase soil erosion and reduce soil permeability. With substitution of KOH/NH4OH with NaOH as the cooking liquor, K and N can act as a soil fertilizer while offering an environmentally acceptable disposal alternative. For this purpose, rice straw samples were pulped under the following conditions; Constant factors were: straw weight: 100 gram (based on oven dry), liquor to straw ratio 7:1 and maximum temperature, 170 and 180 ºC. Variable factors for KOH cooks were: KOH dosage of 14, 17 and %20 on oven dry of straw and times at maximum temperature of 60 and 90 minutes. For KOH-NH4OH cooks, KOH dosage of 5 and %10 and NH4OH dosage of 25 and %35, both based as oven dry of straw were applied. Besides, time at maximum temperature was 90 minutes. Yield ranges of KOH and KOH-NH4OH pulp samples were obtained from 37.28 to 48.62 and 45.63 to 48.08 percent, respectively. In addition, Kappa number ranged from 21.91 to 29.85 and 55.15 to 56.25, respectively. In comparison with soda, soda-AQ, cold soda, kraft, EDA (dissolving), De-Ethylene Glycol (dissolving), burst and tensile index for KOH pulp was more in similar cooking condition. With an exception of soda pulps, tear index of the mentioned pulp is more than all compared treatments. Therefore, it can be resulted that KOH pulping method is an appropriate choice for making paper of the rice straw. Also, compared to KOH-NH4OH, KOH pulping method is more appropriate choice because of better pulping results.

Keywords: environmentally friendly process, rice straw, NH4OH-KOH pulping, pulp properties

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Authors: Matei Tudor Berceanu, Hema Viswambharan, Kirti Kain, Chew Weng Cheng

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Background - Obesity parameters, particularly visceral obesity as measured by the waist-to-height ratio (WHtR), correlate with insulin resistance. The metabolic microvascular changes associated with insulin resistance causes increased peripheral arteriolar resistance primarily to the lower limb vessels. We hypothesize that ankle systolic blood pressures (SBPs) are more significantly associated with visceral obesity than brachial SBPs. Methods - 1098 adults enriched in south Asians or Europeans with diabetes (T2DM) were recruited from a primary care practice in West Yorkshire. Their medical histories, including T2DM and cardiovascular disease (CVD) status, were gathered from an electronic database. The brachial, dorsalis pedis, and posterior tibial SBPs were measured using a Doppler machine. Their body mass index (BMI) and WHtR were calculated after measuring their weight, height, and waist circumference. Linear regressions were performed between the 6 SBPs and both obesity parameters, after adjusting for covariates. Results - Generally, the left posterior tibial SBP (P=4.559*10⁻¹⁵) and right posterior tibial SBP (P=1.114* 10⁻¹³ ) are the pressures most significantly associated with the BMI, as well as in south Asians (P < 0.001) and Europeans (P < 0.001) specifically. In South Asians, although the left (P=0.032) and right brachial SBP (P=0.045) were associated to the WHtR, the left posterior tibial SBP (P=0.023) showed the strongest association. Conclusion - Regardless of ethnicity, ankle SBPs are more significantly associated with generalized obesity than brachial SBPs, suggesting their screening potential for screening for early detection of T2DM and CVD. A combination of ankle SBPs with WHtR is proposed in south Asians.

Keywords: ankle blood pressures, body mass index, insulin resistance, waist-to-height-ratio

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Authors: Sadaf Ambreen, Ayesha Bibi, Sara Rafiq

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Hypertension is a medical condition in which blood pressure in the arteries is elevated than the normal, having systolic blood pressure more than 120mmHg and diastolic blood pressure more than 80 mmHg. It leads to health complications and increase the risk of diseases such as stroke, heart failure, heart attack, and even death. The aim of the current study was to evaluate nutritional status and activity level among hypertensive early adults in District Mardan Data was collected from the subjects of Public Hospital, Mardan Medical Complex, through questionnaire. A complete information about individual sociodemographic, anthropometry and health status were collected, and physical activity was assessed by using IPAQ questionnaire. A total of 150 individuals were included in the study, in which 90% were females, and 10% were males. Data was analyzed through SPSS Version 22. Majority of the study subjects, 88%, were married, 70% having nuclear living system, 43% were having elementary education, and 43% were working as laborer. Body mass index and waist circumference in female counterpart were found to be positively associated with hypertension and was found statistically significant P=<0.01. Results showed that majority of females were fall in hypertension crisis category with mild activity, and males were having hypertension stage 1 with moderate activity. Our study concluded that non-optimal nutritional status and physical inactivity resulted in elevated blood pressure in females, therefore, lifestyle change such as optimal nutritional status and physical activity may play key role in reducing risk of hypertension.

Keywords: obesity/overwight, body mass index, waist circumference, early adulthood

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Authors: Roya Kelishadi, Mostafa Amini-Rarani, Mostafa Qorbani

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Introduction: As a health-related behavior, physical activity (PA) has an unequal distribution relating to individual's socioeconomic status. This study aimed to assess socioeconomic inequality in PA among Iranian students and their parents at national level and according to socioeconomic status (SES) of the living regions. Method: This study was conducted as part of a national surveillance program conducted among 14400 Iranian students and their parents. Non-linear principal component analysis was used to construct the households' socioeconomic status, and the concentration index approach was applied to measure inequality in father, mother, and student’s PA. Results: The data of 13313 students and their parents were complete for the current study. At national level and SES regions, students had more PA than their parents (except in the lowest SES region), and fathers have more PA than mothers. The lowest means of mother and student's PA were find in the highest SES region. At national level, the concentration indices of father and mother’s PA were -0.050 (95 % CI: -0.067 ~ -0.030) and -0.028 (95% CI: -0.044 ~ -0.012), respectively; indicating pro-poor inequality and, the CI value of student PA was nearly equal to zero (P > 0.05). At SES regions, father and mother's PA were more concentrated in the poor, except for lower middle region. Regional concentration indices for students reveal that inequality not statistically significant at all regions. Conclusion: This study suggests that reliable evidence that comparing different aspects of inequality of PA, based on socioeconomic status and residence areas of students and their parents, could be used for better planning for health promotion programs. Moreover, given the average of mother's and student’s PA in the richer regions were low, it can be suggested that richer focused-PA planning may further increase the level of PA across higher SES and, consequently, reduce inequality in PA. These findings can be applied in the health system services.

Keywords: concentration index, health system services, physical activity, socioeconomic inequality

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Authors: Sun fang, Zhang Wenxin

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This paper establishes an evaluation index system for spatio-temporal patterns of urbanization, with the county as research unit. We use the Entropy Weight method, coefficient variance, the Theil index and ESDA-GIS to analyze spatial patterns and evolutionary characteristics of New-Type Urbanization in the Central Plains Economic Region (CPER) between 2000 and 2011. Results show that economic benefit, non-agricultural employment level and level of market development are the most important factors influencing the level of New-Type Urbanization in the CPER; overall regional differences in New-Type Urbanization have declined while spatial correlations have increased from 2000 to 2011. The overall spatial pattern has changed little, however; differences between the western and eastern areas of the CPER are clear, and the pattern of a strong west and weak east did not change significantly over the study period. Areas with high levels of New-Type Urbanization were mostly distributed along the Beijing-Guangzhou and LongHai Railways on both sides, a new influx of urbanization was tightly clustered around ZhengZhou in the Central Henan Urban Agglomeration, but this trend was found to be weakening slightly. The level of New-Type Urbanization in municipal districts was found to be much higher than it was in the county generally. Provincial borders experienced a lower rate of growth and a lower level of New-Type Urbanization than did any other areas, consistently forming clusters of cold spots and sub-cold spots. The analysis confirms that historical development, location, and diffusion effects of urban agglomeration are the main drivers of changes in New-Type Urbanization patterns in CPER.

Keywords: new-type urbanization, spatial pattern, central plains economic region, spatial evolution

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Authors: Sayuri Inoue, Naohiro Nakamura, Tsubasa Hamada

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The seismic design method of buildings is classified into two types: static design and dynamic design. The static design is a design method that exerts static force as seismic force and is a relatively simple design method created based on the experience of seismic motion in the past 100 years. At present, static design is used for most of the Japanese buildings. Dynamic design mainly refers to the time history response analysis. It is a comparatively difficult design method that input the earthquake motion assumed in the building model and examine the response. Currently, it is only used for skyscrapers and specific buildings. In the present design standard in Japan, it is good to use either the design method of the static design and the dynamic design in the medium and high-rise buildings. However, when actually designing middle and high-rise buildings by two kinds of design methods, the relatively simple static design method satisfies the criteria, but in the case of a little difficult dynamic design method, the criterion isn't often satisfied. This is because the dynamic design method was built with the intention of designing super high-rise buildings. In short, higher safety is required as compared with general buildings, and criteria become stricter. The authors consider applying the dynamic design method to general buildings designed by the static design method so far. The reason is that application of the dynamic design method is reasonable for buildings that are out of the conventional standard structural form such as emphasizing design. For the purpose, it is important to compare the design results when the criteria of both design methods are arranged side by side. In this study, we performed time history response analysis to medium-rise buildings that were actually designed with allowable stress method. Quantitative comparison between static design and dynamic design was conducted, and characteristics of both design methods were examined.

Keywords: buildings, seismic design, allowable stress design, time history response analysis, Japanese seismic code

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Authors: Serges Mendomo Meye, Li Guowei, Shen Zhenzhong

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Earthquake is one of the main loads threatening dam safety. Once the dam is damaged, it will bring huge losses of life and property to the country and people. Therefore, it is very important to research the seismic safety of the dam. Due to the complex foundation conditions, high fortification intensity, and high scientific and technological content, it is necessary to adopt reasonable methods to evaluate the seismic safety performance of concrete arch dams built and under construction in strong earthquake areas. Structural seismic vulnerability analysis can predict the probability of structural failure at all levels under different intensity earthquakes, which can provide a scientific basis for reasonable seismic safety evaluation and decision-making. In this paper, the response surface method (RSM) is applied to the seismic vulnerability analysis of arch dams, which improves the efficiency of vulnerability analysis. Based on the central composite test design method, the material-seismic intensity samples are established. The response surface model (RSM) with arch crown displacement as performance index is obtained by finite element (FE) calculation of the samples, and then the accuracy of the response surface model (RSM) is verified. To obtain the seismic vulnerability curves, the seismic intensity measure ??(?1) is chosen to be 0.1~1.2g, with an interval of 0.1g and a total of 12 intensity levels. For each seismic intensity level, the arch crown displacement corresponding to 100 sets of different material samples can be calculated by algebraic operation of the response surface model (RSM), which avoids 1200 times of nonlinear dynamic calculation of arch dam; thus, the efficiency of vulnerability analysis is improved greatly.

Keywords: high concrete arch dam, performance index, response surface method, seismic vulnerability analysis, vector-valued intensity measure

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Authors: Abiodun O. Ibude

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Several organizations have devised the strategy of engaging the services of staff not directly employed by them in their production and service delivery. Some organizations also engage on contracting another organization to carry out a part of service or production process on their behalf. Outsourcing is becoming an important alternative employment option for most organizations. This paper attempts an exposition on the rights of workers within the more specific context of outsourcing as a human resource management phenomenon. Outsourced employees and their rights are treated conceptually and analytically in a generic sense as a mere subset of the larger whole, that is, labor. Outsourced employees derive their rights, like all workers, from their job context as well as the legal environment (municipal and global) in which they operate. The dynamics of globalization and the implications of this development for labor practices receive considerable attention in this exposition. In this regard, a guarded proposition is made, to examine the practice and effect of engaging outsourcing as an economic decision designed primarily to cut down on operational costs rather than a Human Resources Management decision to improve worker welfare. The population of the study was selected from purposive and simple random sampling techniques. Data obtained were analyzed through a simple percentage, Pearson product-moment correlation, and cross-tabulation. From the research conducted, it was discovered that, although outsourcing possesses opportunities for organizations, there are drawbacks arising from its implementation of job securities. It was also discovered that some employees are being exploited through this strategy. This gives rise to lower motivation and thereby decline in performance. In conclusion, there is need for examination of Human Resource Managers’ strategies that can serve as management policy tools for the protection of the rights of outsourced employees.

Keywords: legal environment, operational cost, outsourcing, protection

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Authors: Nursigit Bintoro, Abadi Barus, Catur Setyo Dedi Pamungkas

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Indonesia is an agrarian country have almost population work as farmers. One of the popular agriculture commodity in Indonesia is paddy and corn. Production of paddy and corn are increased, but not balanced to the development of appropriate technology to farmers. Methods of drying applied with farmers still using sunshine. Drying by this method has some drawbacks, such as differences moisture content of corn grains, time used to dry around 3 days, and less quality of the products obtained. Beside it, the method of drying by using sunshine can’t do when the rainy season arrives. On this season the product obtained has less quality. One solution to the above problems is to create a dryer with simple technology. That technology is made silo dryer from webbing bamboo and wood. This technology is applicable to be applied to farmers' groups as well as the creation technology is quite cheap. The experiment material used in this research will be obtained from the corn grains. The equipment used are woven bamboo with a height of 3 meters and have capacity of up to 900 kgs as a silo, gas, burner, blower, bucket elevators, thermocouple, Arduino microcontroller 2560. This tools automatically records all the data of temperature and relative humidity. During on drying, each 30 minutes take 9 sample for measuring moisture content with moisture meter. By using this technology, farmers can save time, energy, and cost to the drying their agriculture product. In addition, by using this technology have good quality moisture content of grains and have a longer shelf life because the temperature when the heating process is controlled. Therefore, this technology is applicable to be applied to the public because the materials used to make the dryer easier to find, cheaper, and manufacture of the dryer made simple with good quality.

Keywords: grains, dryer, moisture content, appropriate technology

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Authors: Mohammadreza Khanmohammadi, Noureddin Nakhostin Ansari, Soofia Naghdi

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Purpose: Our study aimed to validate single item presenteeism question (SIPQ) into the Persian language for patients with low back pain. Background information: low back pain is a common health problem, and it is one of the most prevalent disorder in working people. There are the different subjective way to evaluate the effect of back pain on work productivity that one of them is by implementing single item presenteeism question. This question has not been validated into the Persian language. Method: Patients were asked to answer SIPQ and pain from 0 to 10 according to numerical rating scale (NRS). The functional rating index was administrated to evaluate construct validity. For test-retest reliability, almost 50 patients re-completed the Persian SIPQ. The construct validity of SIPQ was assessed by analyzing Spearman rank correlation between this question and the Persian version of Functional rating index questionnaire. To analyze test-retest reliability, we assessed intraclass correlation coefficient (agreement) (ICC agreement) (two-way random effects model, single measure). Results: The SIPQ score of two groups of patients (84 males, 16 females, mean age ±SD: 33.85±11.16 years, range: 19-67 years) and healthy subjects (48 male, 2 female ones, mean age ±SD: 24.24 ±8.07 years) was statistically significant. (Mann-Whitney U =198.00, P<.001). The Spearman correlation of data showed that there is a significant correlation between Persian SIPQ score and Persian FRI band (r= .559, P<.001). The ICC was .62. So, the analysis indicated good, test-retest reliability. Conclusion: This study showed that Persian version of SIPQ is reliable and valid when applied to back pain patients.

Keywords: cross cultural adaptation, economic burden, low back pain, Persian language, translation

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Authors: Jianliang Xu, Zhenghua Dai, Zhongjie Shen, Haifeng Liu, Fuchen Wang

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In an entrained flow gasifier, the combustible components are converted into the gas phase, and the mineral content is converted into ash. Most of the ash particles or droplets are deposited on the refractory or membrane wall and form a slag layer that flows down to the quenching system. The captured particle reaction process and slag flow and phase transformation play an important role in gasifier performance and safe and stable operation. The reaction characteristic of captured char particles on the molten slag had been studied by applied a high-temperature stage microscope. The gasification process of captured chars with CO2 on the slag surface was observed and recorded, compared to the original char gasification. The particle size evolution, heat transfer process are discussed, and the gasification reaction index of the capture char particle are modeled. Molten slag layer promoted the char reactivity from the analysis of reaction index, Coupled with heat transfer analysis, shrinking particle model (SPM) was applied and modified to predict the gasification time at carbon conversion of 0.9, and results showed an agreement with the experimental data. A comprehensive model with gas-particle-slag flow and reaction models was used to model the different industry gasifier. The carbon conversion information in the spatial space and slag layer surface are investigated. The slag flow characteristic, such as slag velocity, molten slag thickness, slag temperature distribution on the membrane wall and refractory brick are discussed.

Keywords: char, slag, numerical simulation, gasification, wall reaction, membrane wall

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Authors: Gulnara Galeeva

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The Analytic Hierarchy Process is widely used in the economic and financial studies, including the formation of investment portfolios. In this study, a generalized method of obtaining a vector of priorities for the case with separate pairwise comparisons of the expert opinion being presented as a set of several equal evaluations on a ratio scale is examined. The author claims that this method allows solving an important and up-to-date problem of excluding vagueness and ambiguity of the expert opinion in the decision making theory. The study describes the authentic wide pairwise comparison matrix. Its application in the formation of the efficient investment portfolio of intangible assets of a small business enterprise with limited funding is considered. The proposed method has been successfully approbated on the practical example of a functioning dental clinic. The result of the study confirms that the wide pairwise comparison matrix can be used as a simple and reliable method for forming the enterprise investment policy. Moreover, a comparison between the method based on the wide pairwise comparison matrix and the classical analytic hierarchy process was conducted. The results of the comparative analysis confirm the correctness of the method based on the wide matrix. The application of a wide pairwise comparison matrix also allows to widely use the statistical methods of experimental data processing for obtaining the vector of priorities. A new method is available for simple users. Its application gives about the same accuracy result as that of the classical hierarchy process. Financial directors of small and medium business enterprises get an opportunity to solve the problem of companies’ investments without resorting to services of analytical agencies specializing in such studies.

Keywords: analytic hierarchy process, decision processes, investment portfolio, intangible assets

Procedia PDF Downloads 265

Authors: Rosemary Hiscock, Clive Sabel, David Manley, Sam Wren-Lewis

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As part of the Happy City Index Project, Happy City have developed a survey instrument to measure experienced wellbeing: how people are feeling and functioning in their everyday lives. The survey instrument, called the Happiness Pulse, was developed in partnership with the New Economics Foundation (NEF) with the dual aim of collecting citywide wellbeing data and engaging individuals and communities in the measurement and promotion of their own wellbeing. The survey domains and items were selected through a review of the academic literature and a stakeholder engagement process, including local policymakers, community organisations and individuals. The Happiness Pulse was included in the Bristol pilot of the Happy City Index (n=722). The experienced wellbeing items were subjected to factor analysis. A reduced number of items to be included in a revised scale for future data collection were again entered into a factor analysis. These revised factors were tested for reliability and validity. Among items to be included in a revised scale for future data collection three factors emerged: Be, Do and Connect. The Be factor had good reliability, convergent and criterion validity. The Do factor had good discriminant validity. The Connect factor had adequate reliability and good discriminant and criterion validity. Some age, gender and socioeconomic differentiation was found. The properties of a new scale to measure experienced wellbeing, intended for use by municipal authorities, are described. Happiness Pulse data can be combined with local data on wellbeing conditions to determine what matters for peoples wellbeing across a city and why.

Keywords: city wellbeing , community wellbeing, engaging individuals and communities, measuring wellbeing and happiness

Procedia PDF Downloads 261

Authors: Hajji Lobna, Chattaoui Mayssa, Regaieg Hajer, M'Hamdi-Boughalleb Naima, Rhouma Ali, Horrigue-Raouani Najet

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In this study, three local isolates of Trichoderma (Tr1: T. viride, Tr2: T. harzianum and Tr3: T. asperellum) were isolated and evaluated for their biocontrol effectiveness under in vitro conditions and in greenhouse. In vitro bioassay revealed a biopotential control against Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. radicis lycopersici and Meloidogyne javanica (RKN) separately. All species of Trichoderma exhibited biocontrol performance and (Tr1) Trichoderma viride was the most efficient. In fact, growth rate inhibition of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. radicis lycopersici (FORL) was reached 75.5% with Tr1. Parasitism rate of root-knot nematode was 60% for juveniles and 75% for eggs with the same one. Pots experiment results showed that Tr1 and Tr2, compared to chemical treatment, enhanced the plant growth and exhibited better antagonism against root-knot nematode and root-rot fungi separated or combined. All Trichoderma isolates revealed a bioprotection potential against Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. radicis lycopersici. When pathogen fungi inoculated alone, Fusarium wilt index and browning vascular rate were reduced significantly with Tr1 (0.91, 2.38%) and Tr2 (1.5, 5.5%), respectively. In the case of combined infection with Fusarium and nematode, the same isolate of Trichoderma Tr1 and Tr2 decreased Fusarium wilt index at 1.1 and 0.83 and reduced the browning vascular rate at 6.5% and 6%, respectively. Similarly, the isolate Tr1 and Tr2 caused maximum inhibition of nematode multiplication. Multiplication rate was declined at 4% with both isolates either tomato infected by nematode separately or concomitantly with Fusarium. The chemical treatment was moderate in activity against Meloidogyne javanica and Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. radicis lycopersici alone and combined.

Keywords: trichoderma spp., meloidogyne javanica, Fusarium oxysporum f.sp.radicis lycopersici, biocontrol

Procedia PDF Downloads 278

Authors: Salihah Alghamdi, Surajit Ray

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Space-time data can be observed over irregularly shaped manifolds, which might have complex boundaries or interior gaps. Most of the existing methods do not consider the shape of the data, and as a result, it is difficult to model irregularly shaped data accommodating the complex domain. We used a method that can deal with space-time data that are distributed over non-planner shaped regions. The method is based on partial differential equations and finite element analysis. The model can be estimated using a penalized least squares approach with a regularization term that controls the over-fitting. The model is regularized using two roughness penalties, which consider the spatial and temporal regularities separately. The integrated square of the second derivative of the basis function is used as temporal penalty. While the spatial penalty consists of the integrated square of Laplace operator, which is integrated exclusively over the domain of interest that is determined using finite element technique. In this paper, we applied a spatio-temporal regression model with partial differential equations regularization (ST-PDE) approach to analyze a remote sensing data measuring the greenness of vegetation, measure by an index called enhanced vegetation index (EVI). The EVI data consist of measurements that take values between -1 and 1 reflecting the level of greenness of some region over a period of time. We applied (ST-PDE) approach to irregular shaped region of the EVI data. The approach efficiently accommodates the irregular shaped regions taking into account the complex boundaries rather than smoothing across the boundaries. Furthermore, the approach succeeds in capturing the temporal variation in the data.

Keywords: irregularly shaped domain, partial differential equations, finite element analysis, complex boundray

Procedia PDF Downloads 140

Authors: Mohamed Farhat O. Hameed, Yasamin K. A. Alrayk, A. A Shaalan, S. S. A. Obayya

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The surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensors are widely used due to its high sensitivity with molecular labels free. The commercial SPR sensors depend on the conventional prism-coupled configuration. However, this type of configuration suffers from miniaturization and integration. Therefore, the search for compact, portable and highly sensitive SPR sensors becomes mandatory.In this paper, sensitivity enhancement of a novel photonic crystal fiber biosensoris introduced and studied. The suggested design has microstructure of air holes in the core region surrounded by two large semicircular metallized channels filled with the analyte. The inner surfaces of the two channels are coated by a silver layer followed by a gold layer.The simulation results are obtained using full vectorial finite element methodwith perfect matched layer (PML) boundary conditions. The proposed design depends on bimetallic configuration to enhance the biosensor sensitivity. Additionally, the suggested biosensor can be used for multi-channel/multi-analyte sensing. In this study, the sensor geometrical parameters are studied to maximize the sensitivity for the two polarized modes. The numerical results show that high refractive index sensitivity of 4750 nm/RIU (refractive index unit) and 4300 nm/RIU can be achieved for the quasi (transverse magnetic) TM and quasi (transverse electric) TE modes of the proposed biosensor, respectively. The reportedbiosensor has advantages of integration of microfluidics setup, waveguide and metallic layers into a single structure. As a result, compact biosensor with better integration compared to conventional optical fiber SPR biosensors can be obtained.

Keywords: photonic crystal fibers, gold, silver, surface plasmon, biosensor

Procedia PDF Downloads 380

Authors: Joshua Loebner

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Tectonic shifts within the advertising industry regularly and repeatedly present a deluge of data to be intuited across a spectrum of key performance indicators with innumerable interpretations where live campaigns are vivisected to pivot towards coalescence amongst a digital diaspora. But within this amalgam of analytics, validation, and creative campaign manipulation, where do diversity and disability inclusion fit in? In 2018 several major brands were able to answer this question definitely and directly by incorporating people with disabilities into advertisements. Disability inclusion, representation, and portrayals are documented annually across a number of different media, from film to primetime television, but ongoing studies centering on advertising have not been conducted. Symbols and semiotics in advertising often focus on a brand’s features and benefits, but this analysis on advertising and disability shows, how in 2018, creative campaigns and the disability community came together with the goal to continue the momentum and spark conversations. More brands are welcoming inclusion and sharing positive portrayals of intersectional diversity and disability. Within the analysis and surrounding scholarship, a multipoint analysis of each advertisement and meta-interpretation of the research has been conducted to provide data, clarity, and contextualization of insights. This research presents an advertising disability index that can be monitored for trends and shifts in future studies and to provide further comparisons and contrasts of advertisements. An overview of the increasing buying power within the disability community and population changes among this group anchors the significance and size of the minority in the US. When possible, viewpoints from creative teams and advertisers that developed the ads are brought into the research to further establish understanding, meaning, and individuals’ purposeful approaches towards disability inclusion. Finally, the conclusion and discussion present key takeaways to learn from the research, build advocacy and action both within advertising scholarship and the profession. This study, developed into an advertising disability index, will answer questions of how people with disabilities are represented in each ad. In advertising that includes disability, there is a creative pendulum. At one extreme, among many other negative interpretations, people with disables are portrayed in a way that conveys pity, fosters ableism and discrimination, and shows that people with disabilities are less than normal from a societal and cultural perspective. At the other extreme, people with disabilities are portrayed with a type of undue inspiration, considered inspiration porn, or superhuman, otherwise known as supercrip, and in ways that most people with disabilities could never achieve, or don’t want to be seen for. While some ads reflect both extremes, others stood out for non-polarizing inclusion of people with disabilities. This content analysis explores television commercial advertisements to determine the presence of people with disabilities and any other associated disability themes and/or concepts. Content analysis will allow for measuring the presence and interpretation of disability portrayals in each ad.

Keywords: advertising, brand, disability, marketing

Procedia PDF Downloads 115

Authors: Jemely M. Punzalan, Christine B. Bernal, Beatrice B. Canonigo, Maria Rosario F. Cabansag, Dennis S. Flores, Paul Joseph T. Galutira, Remedios D. Chan

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Background: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is one of the most common autoimmune disorders predominates in women of childbearing age. Simple Measure of Impact of Lupus Erythematosus in Youngsters (SMILEY) is the only health specific quality of life tool for pediatric SLE, which has been translated to different languages except in Filipino. Objective: The primary objective of this study was to develop a Filipino translation of the SMILEY and to examine the validity and reliability of this translation. Methodology: The SMILEY was translated into Filipino by a bilingual individual and back-translated by another bilingual individual blinded from the original English version. The translation was evaluated for content validity by a panel of experts and subjected to pilot testing. The pilot-tested translation was used in the validity and reliability testing proper. The SMILEY, together with the previously validated PEDSQL 4.0 Generic Core Scale was administered to lupus pediatric patients and their parent at two separate occasions: a baseline and a re-test seven to fourteen days apart. Tests for convergent validity, internal consistency, and test-retest reliability were performed. Results: A total of fifty children and their parent were recruited. The mean age was 15.38±2.62 years (range 8-18 years), mean education at high school level. The mean duration of SLE was 28 months (range 1-81 months). Subjects found the questionnaires to be relevant, easy to understand and answer. The validity of the SMILEY was demonstrated in terms of content validity, convergent validity, internal consistency, and test-retest reliability. Age, socioeconomic status and educational attainment did not show a significant effect on the scores. The difference between scores of child and parent report was showed to be significant with SMILEY total (p=0.0214), effect on social life (p=0.0000), and PEDSQL physical function (p=0.0460). Child reports showed higher scores for the following domains compared to their parent. Conclusion: SMILEY is a brief, easy to understand, valid and reliable tool for assessing pediatric SLE specific HRQOL. It will be useful in providing better care, understanding and may offer critical information regarding the effect of SLE in the quality of life of our pediatric lupus patients. It will help physician understands the needs of their patient not only on treatment of the specific disease but as well as the impact of the treatment on their daily lives.

Keywords: systemic lupus erythematosus, pediatrics, quality of life, Simple Measure of Impact of Lupus Erythematosus in Youngsters (SMILEY)

Procedia PDF Downloads 443

Authors: Manel Langar, Riad Bourguiba, Jaouhar Mouine

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In this paper, we propose the design and implementation of an enhanced wormhole virtual channel on chip router. It is a heart of a mesh NoC using the XY deterministic routing algorithm. It is characterized by its simple virtual channel allocation strategy which allows reducing area and complexity of connections without affecting the performance. We implemented our router on a Tezzaron process to validate its performances. This router is a basic element that will be used later to design a 3D mesh NoC.

Keywords: NoC, mesh, router, 3D NoC

Procedia PDF Downloads 568

Authors: Jianhua Zhang, Weiping Chen, Guanjie Chen, Jason Flannick, Emma Fikse, Glenda Smerin, Yanqin Yang, Yulong Li, John A. Hanover, William F. Simonds

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Ethnic disparities in many diseases are well recognized and reflect the consequences of genetic, behavior, and environmental factors. However, direct scientific evidence connecting the ethnic genetic variations and the disease disparities has been elusive, which may have led to the ethnic inequalities in large scale genetic studies. Through the genome-wide analysis of data representing 185,934 subjects, including 14,955 from our own studies of the African America Diabetes Mellitus, we discovered sets of genetic variants either unique to or conserved in all ethnicities. We further developed a quantitative gene function-based high-risk variant index (hrVI) of 20,428 genes to establish profiles that strongly correlate with the subjects' self-identified ethnicities. With respect to the ability to detect human essential and pathogenic genes, the hrVI analysis method is both comparable with and complementary to the well-known genetic analysis methods, pLI and VIRlof. Application of the ethnicity-specific hrVI analysis to the type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) national repository, containing 20,791 cases and 24,440 controls, identified 114 candidate T2DM-associated genes, 8.8-fold greater than that of ethnicity-blind analysis. All the genes identified are defined as either pathogenic or likely-pathogenic in ClinVar database, with 33.3% diabetes-associated and 54.4% obesity-associated genes. These results demonstrate the utility of hrVI analysis and provide the first genetic evidence by clustering patterns of how genetic variations among ethnicities may impede the discovery of diabetes and foreseeably other disease-associated genes.

Keywords: diabetes-associated genes, ethnic health disparities, high-risk variant index, hrVI, T2DM

Procedia PDF Downloads 137

Authors: Sofia G. Meirinho, Luis G. Dias, António M. Peres, Lígia R. Rodrigues

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The emerging development of electrochemical aptasen sors has enabled the easy and fast detection of protein biomarkers in standard and real samples. Biomarkers are produced by body organs or tumours and provide a measure of antigens on cell surfaces. When detected in high amounts in blood, they can be suggestive of tumour activity. These biomarkers are more often used to evaluate treatment effects or to assess the potential for metastatic disease in patients with established disease. Osteopontin (OPN) is a protein found in all body fluids and constitutes a possible biomarker because its overexpression has been related with breast cancer evolution and metastasis. Currently, biomarkers are commonly used for the development of diagnostic methods, allowing the detection of the disease in its initial stages. A previously described RNA aptamer was used in the current work to develop a simple and sensitive electrochemical aptasensor with high affinity for human OPN. The RNA aptamer was biotinylated and immobilized on a gold electrode by avidin-biotin interaction. The electrochemical signal generated from the aptamer–target molecule interaction was monitored electrochemically using cyclic voltammetry in the presence of [Fe (CN) 6]−3/− as a redox probe. The signal observed showed a current decrease due to the binding of OPN. The preliminary results showed that this aptasensor enables the detection of OPN in standard solutions, showing good selectivity towards the target in the presence of others interfering proteins such as bovine OPN and bovine serum albumin. The results gathered in the current work suggest that the proposed electrochemical aptasensor is a simple and sensitive detection tool for human OPN and so, may have future applications in cancer disease monitoring.

Keywords: osteopontin, aptamer, aptasensor, screen-printed electrode, cyclic voltammetry

Procedia PDF Downloads 431