Search results for: limitations of UI based test automation

Authors: Cheng-Chen Hsu

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Background: The ratio of the length of the second finger (index finger, 2D) to the fourth finger (ring finger, 4D) (2D:4D) is a putative marker of prenatal hormones. A low 2D:4D ratio is related to high prenatal testosterone (PT) levels. Physiological research has suggested that a low 2D:4D ratio is correlated with high sports ability. Aim: To examine the association between cardiorespiratory fitness and 2D:4D. Methods: Assessment of 2D:4D; Images of hands were collected from participants using a computer scanner. Hands were placed lightly on the surface of the plate. Image analysis was performed using Image-Pro Plus 5.0 software. Feature points were marked at the tip of the finger and at the center of the proximal crease on the second and fourth digits. Actual measurement was carried out automatically, 2D:4D was calculated by dividing 2nd by 4th digit length. YMCA 3-min Step Test; The test involves stepping up and down at a rate of 24 steps/min for 3 min; a tape recording of the correct cadence (96 beats/min) is played to assist the participant in keeping the correct pace. Following the step test, the participant immediately sits down and, within 5 s, the tester starts counting the pulse for 1 min. The score for the test, the total 1-min postexercise heart rate, reflects the heart’s ability to recover quickly. Statistical Analysis ; Pearson’s correlation (r) was used for assessing the relationship between age, physical measurements, one-minute heart rate after YMCA 3-minute step test (HR) and 2D:4D. An independent-sample t-test was used for determining possible differences in HR between subjects with low and high values of 2D:4D. All statistical analyses were carried out with SPSS 18 for Window. All P-values were two-tailed at P = 0.05, if not reported otherwise. Results: A median split by 2D:4D was applied, resulting in a high and a low group. One-minute heart rate after YMCA 3-minute step test was significantly difference between groups of male right-hand 2D:4D (p = 0.024). However, no difference in left-hand 2D:4D values between groups in male, and no digit ratio difference between groups in female. Conclusion: The results showed that cardiopulmonary fitness is related to right 2D:4D, only in men. We argue that prenatal testosterone may have an effect on cardiorespiratory fitness in male but not in female.

Keywords: college students, digit ratio, finger, step test, fitness

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Authors: Zoe Wong

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The purpose of this paper is to develop a framework for internet education. This framework uses the personalized learning approach for everyone who can freely develop their qualifications & careers. The key components of the framework includes students, teachers, assessments and infrastructure. It allows remove the challenges and limitations of the current educational system and allows learners' to cope with progressing learning materials.

Keywords: internet education, personalized approach, information technology, framework

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Authors: Panwad Wongthong, Thanan Apivantanaporn, Sutthiwan Amattayakul

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Nature-based tourism is one of the fastest growing industries that can bring in economic benefits, improve quality of life and promote conservation of biodiversity and habitats. As tourism develops, substantial socio-economic and environmental costs become more explicit. Particularly in island destinations, the dynamic system and geographical limitations makes the intensity of tourism development and severity of the negative environmental impacts greater. The current contribution of the tourism sector to global climate change is established at approximately 5% of global anthropogenic CO2 emissions. In all scenarios, tourism is anticipated to grow substantially and to account for an increasingly large share of global greenhouse gas emissions. This has prompted an urgent call for more sustainable alternatives. This study selected a small island of Koh Mak in Thailand as a case study because of its reputation of being laid back, family oriented and rich in biodiversity. Importantly, it is a test platform for low carbon tourism development project supported by the Designated Areas for Sustainable Tourism Administration (DASTA) in collaboration with the Institute for Small and Medium Enterprises Development (ISMED). The study explores strategies for low carbon tourism management and assesses challenges and opportunities for Koh Mak to become a low carbon tourism destination. The goal is to identify suitable management approaches applicable for Koh Mak which may then be adapted to other small islands in Thailand and the region. Interventions/initiatives to increase energy efficiency in hotels and resorts; cut carbon emissions; reduce impacts on the environment; and promote conservation will be analyzed. Ways toward long-term sustainability of climate-friendly tourism will be recommended. Recognizing the importance of multi-stakeholder involvement in the tourism sector, findings from this study can reward Koh Mak tourism industry with a triple-win: cost savings and compliance with higher standards/markets; less waste, air emissions and effluents; and better capabilities of change, motivation of business owners, staff, tourists as well as residents. The consideration of climate change issues in the planning and implementation of tourism development is of great significance to protect the tourism sector from negative impacts.

Keywords: climate change, CO2 emissions, low carbon tourism, sustainable tourism management

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Authors: Yountaik Leem, Kwang Woo Nam, Sang Ho Lee, Tae Heon Moon

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As to the development of the capitalist economy, local governments put their focuses on economic growth and quality of life including the management of declined urban area. Together with the rapid advances in ICTs (information and communication technologies) Korean government tried to adapt ICTs to urban spaces to catch these two goals. Ubiquitous city, concept introduced by Mark Weiser in 1988, is a kind of ICTs based urban space which can provide IT services anytime and anywhere. This paper introduces the experience of developing ICTs-based urban planning and it’s implementation process and discusses the effect of the R&D based U-City test-bed project. For a community center of a residential zone in a newly developing city, spatial problems and citizen’s needs were identified to plan IT-based urban services. The paper also describes the structure and functions of Community O/S (COS) as an IT platform which controls data and urban devices such as media facades and U-poles. Not only one-way information but also Interactive services were included. Public creating activities using this platform also added –CO2 emission management and citizen making safety map, etc. The effects of the comprehensive U-City planning in S/W, H/W and human-ware were discussed on the case study of similar individual projects.

Keywords: ICTs-based urban planning, implementation, public IT service, U-City

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Authors: Slamet Setioboro, Rahutami Kusumaningsih, Prabowo Setiyawan, Danna Darmayadi

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Designing of cold-formed steel capacity connections often based on the formula used for hot rolled steel. It makes the result of the actual capacity connection doesn’t accurate anymore. When the hot rolled steel receives the axial load pull, it will have different characteristics. As the result, there will be failure result when designing Truss structure made of hot rolled steel. This research aims to determine the capacity of actual cold-formed steel connections section which is loaded by the axial tensile force. It will test the appeal of the connection using bolt grafting tool and screw grafting tool. The variations of the test will be on the type of connection (single and double slap), the number of the connection tools and connection configuration. Bold and screw connections failure mode observed in this research are different each other. Failure mode of bolted connections includes sliding pivot plate, tearing at the plate and cutting of the bolt head. While the failure mode of screw connections includes tilting, hole-bearing, pull over and cutting the screw body out. This research was conducted using a laboratory test of HW2-600S Universal Testing Machine model with ASTM E8. It has done in the materials testing laboratory of Mechanical Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering UNNES. The results obtained through the laboratory diversification towards theoretical calculations using the standards specified in ISO 7971-2013 Cold-Rolled Steel Structures. Based on the research, it can be concluded that the effective connection in receiving force strength is bolted connections neither single nor double plate. The method used is by applying 4 bolts through 2 parallel lines configuration. Furthermore, this connection deals with the consequences of holding the highest Pmaks, lowest failure risk and getting a little kind of mode of failure.

Keywords: axial load, cold-formed steel, capacity connections, bolted connections, screw connections

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Authors: Mohamed Bin Alhaj, Hexu Liu, Mohammed Sulaiman, Osama Abudayyeh

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An effective facility maintenance management (FMM) system plays a crucial role in improving the quality of services and maintaining the facility in good condition. Current FMM heavily relies on the quality of the data collection function of the FMM systems, at times resulting in inefficient FMM decision-making. The new technology-based crowdsourcing provides great potential to improve the current FMM practices, especially in terms of timeliness and quality of data. This research aims to investigate the feasibility of using new technology-driven crowdsourcing for FMM and highlight its opportunities and challenges. A survey was carried out to understand the human, data, system, geospatial, and automation characteristics of crowdsourcing for an educational campus FMM via social networks. The survey results were analyzed to reveal the challenges and recommendations for the implementation of crowdsourcing for FMM. This research contributes to the body of knowledge by synthesizing the challenges and opportunities of using crowdsourcing for facility maintenance and providing a road map for applying crowdsourcing technology in FMM. In future work, a conceptual framework will be proposed to support data-driven FMM using social networks.

Keywords: crowdsourcing, facility maintenance management, social networks

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Authors: Karin M. Granstrom

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Paper mills produce wastewater with a high content of organic substances. Treatment usually consists of sedimentation, biological treatment of activated sludge basins, and chemical precipitation. The resulting sludges are currently a waste problem, deposited in landfills or used as low-grade fuels for incineration. There is a growing awareness of the need for energy efficiency and environmentally sound management of sludge. A resource-efficient method would be to digest the wastewater sludges anaerobically to produce biogas, refine the biogas to biomethane for use in the transportation sector, and utilize the resulting digestate for soil improvement. The biomethane yield of pulp and paper wastewater sludge is comparable to that of straw or manure. As a bonus, the digestate has an improved dewaterability compared to the feedstock biosludge. Limitations of this process are predominantly a weak economic viability - necessitating both sufficiently large-scale paper production for the necessary large amounts of produced wastewater sludge, and the resolving of remaining questions on the certifiability of the digestate and thus its sales price. A way to improve the practical and economical feasibility of using paper mill wastewater for biomethane production and soil improvement is to co-digest it with other feedstocks. In this study, pulp and paper sludge were co-digested with (1) silage and manure, (2) municipal sewage sludge, (3) food waste, or (4) microalgae. Biomethane yield analysis was performed in 500 ml batch reactors, using an Automatic Methane Potential Test System at thermophilic temperature, with a 20 days test duration. The results show that (1) the harvesting season of grass silage and manure collection was an important factor for methane production, with spring feedstocks producing much more than autumn feedstock, and pulp mill sludge benefitting the most from co-digestion; (2) pulp and paper mill sludge is a suitable co-substrate to add when a high nitrogen content cause impaired biogas production due to ammonia inhibition; (3) the combination of food waste and paper sludge gave higher methane yield than either of the substrates digested separately; (4) pure microalgae gave the highest methane yield. In conclusion, although pulp and paper mills are an almost untapped resource for biomethane production, their wastewater is a suitable feedstock for such a process. Furthermore, through co-digestion, the pulp and paper mill wastewater and mill sludges can aid biogas production from more nutrient-rich waste streams from other industries. Such co-digestion also enhances the soil improvement properties of the residue digestate.

Keywords: anaerobic, biogas, biomethane, paper, sludge, soil

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Authors: Omoruyi Gold Idemudia, Alexander P. Sadimenko

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The synthesis of N-heterocycles with novel properties, having broad spectrum biological activities that may become alternative medicinal drugs, have been attracting a lot of research attention due to the emergence of medicinal drug’s limitations such as disease resistance and their toxicity effects among others. Acylpyrazolones have been employed as pharmaceuticals as well as analytical reagent and their application as coordination complexes with transition metal ions have been well established. By way of a condensation reaction with amines acylpyrazolone ketones form a more chelating and superior group of compounds known as azomethines. 4-propyl-3-methyl-1-phenyl-2-pyrazolin-5-one was reacted with phenylhydrazine to get a new phenylhydrazone which was further reacted with aqueous solutions of palladium and platinum salts, in an effort towards the discovery of transition metal based synthetic drugs. The compounds were characterized by means of analytical, spectroscopic, thermogravimetric analysis TGA, as well as x-ray crystallography. 4-propyl-3-methyl-1-phenyl-2-pyrazolin-5-one phenylhydrazone crystallizes in a triclinic crystal system with a P-1 (No. 2) space group based on x-ray crystallography. The bidentate ON ligand formed a square planar geometry on coordinating with metal ions based on FTIR, electronic and NMR spectra as well as magnetic moments. Reported compounds showed antibacterial activities against the nominated bacterial isolates using the disc diffusion technique at 20 mg/ml in triplicates. The metal complexes exhibited a better antibacterial activity with platinum complex having an MIC value of 0.63 mg/ml. Similarly, ligand and complexes also showed antioxidant scavenging properties against 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl DPPH radical at 0.5mg/ml relative to ascorbic acid (standard drug).

Keywords: acylpyrazolone, antibacterial studies, metal complexes, phenylhydrazone, spectroscopy

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Authors: P. Chang, C. Lopez, C. Burbano

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Flood protection zones are riparian buffers that are formed to manage and mitigate the impact of flooding, and in turn, protect local populations. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the Guía Técnica de Criterios para el Acotamiento de las Rondas Hídricas in Colombia against international regulations in Canada and Spain, in order to determine its limitations and contribute to its improvement. The need to establish a specific corridor that allows for the dynamic development of a river is clear; however, limitations present in the Colombian Technical Guide are identified. The study shows that international regulations provide similar concepts as used in Colombia, but additionally integrate aspects such as regionalization that allows for a better characterization of the channel way, and incorporate the frequency of flooding and its probability of occurrence in the concept of risk when determining the protection zone. The case study analyzed in Dosquebradas - Risaralda aimed at comparing the application of the different standards through hydraulic modeling. It highlights that the current Colombian standard does not offer sufficient details in its implementation phase, which leads to a false sense of security related to inaccuracy and lack of data. Furthermore, the study demonstrates how the Colombian norm is ill-adapted to the conditions of Dosquebradas typical of the Andes region, both in the social and hydraulic aspects, and does not reduce the risk, nor does it improve the protection of the population. Our study considers it pertinent to include risk estimation as an integral part of the methodology when establishing protect flood zone, considering the particularity of water systems, as they are characterized by an heterogeneous natural dynamic behavior.

Keywords: environmental corridor, flood zone determination, hydraulic domain, legislation flood protection zone

Procedia PDF Downloads 114

Authors: P. Cinthuja, J. A. O. A Jayakody, M. P. M. Perera, W. V. D. N. Weerarathna, S.E. Nirosha, D. K. D. C. Indeewari, T. Kaethieswaran, S. B. Adikari

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The aims of the study was to measure physical fitness parameters of school badminton players in the Kandy district and determine the factors contributing to improve the physical fitness. Height, weight, handgrip was measured and sit and reach test, shoulder flexibility test, standing long jump test, 20m sprint speed test, agility T-test and 20 m multistage shuttle run test were performed on 183 school badminton players. Linear regression and correlation tests were performed using body mass index, practiced duration, age category, level of performance, additional sports involvement as independent variables and physical fitness parameter as dependent variables. Results: The present study showed that the upper body power, upper body strength and endurance and speed depended on body mass index both in male and female school badminton players. Speed, agility, flexibility of shoulders, explosive power of shoulder and aerobic endurance depended on the duration of practiced. Furthermore, involvement in additional sports other than badminton did not enhance the performance of badminton players. But it decreased player’s performance by decreasing agility and speed. Age had an effect on the upper body power, explosive power of lower limb, agility and speed both in both males and females. Conclusions: The performance of badminton players could be enhanced by maintaining a proper body mass index. Badminton specific parameter could be improved by increasing the duration of practiced. Involvement in other sports does not give an added advantage to badminton players to improve their performance.

Keywords: agility, Body Mass Index, endurance, badminton

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Authors: Andreas Kerstan, Darren Robey, Wesam Alvan, David Troiani

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Over the last 3.5 years, Quantum Cascade Lasers (QCL) technology has become increasingly important in infrared (IR) microscopy. The advantages over fourier transform infrared (FTIR) are that large areas of a few square centimeters can be measured in minutes and that the light intensive QCL makes it possible to obtain spectra with excellent S/N, even with just one scan. A firmly established solution of the laser direct infrared imaging (LDIR) 8700 is the analysis of microplastics. The presence of microplastics in the environment, drinking water, and food chains is gaining significant public interest. To study their presence, rapid and reliable characterization of microplastic particles is essential. Significant technical hurdles in microplastic analysis stem from the sheer number of particles to be analyzed in each sample. Total particle counts of several thousand are common in environmental samples, while well-treated bottled drinking water may contain relatively few. While visual microscopy has been used extensively, it is prone to operator error and bias and is limited to particles larger than 300 µm. As a result, vibrational spectroscopic techniques such as Raman and FTIR microscopy have become more popular, however, they are time-consuming. There is a demand for rapid and highly automated techniques to measure particle count size and provide high-quality polymer identification. Analysis directly on the filter that often forms the last stage in sample preparation is highly desirable as, by removing a sample preparation step it can both improve laboratory efficiency and decrease opportunities for error. Recent advances in infrared micro-spectroscopy combining a QCL with scanning optics have created a new paradigm, LDIR. It offers improved speed of analysis as well as high levels of automation. Its mode of operation, however, requires an IR reflective background, and this has, to date, limited the ability to perform direct “on-filter” analysis. This study explores the potential to combine the filter with an infrared reflective surface filter. By combining an IR reflective material or coating on a filter membrane with advanced image analysis and detection algorithms, it is demonstrated that such filters can indeed be used in this way. Vibrational spectroscopic techniques play a vital role in the investigation and understanding of microplastics in the environment and food chain. While vibrational spectroscopy is widely deployed, improvements and novel innovations in these techniques that can increase the speed of analysis and ease of use can provide pathways to higher testing rates and, hence, improved understanding of the impacts of microplastics in the environment. Due to its capability to measure large areas in minutes, its speed, degree of automation and excellent S/N, the LDIR could also implemented for various other samples like food adulteration, coatings, laminates, fabrics, textiles and tissues. This presentation will highlight a few of them and focus on the benefits of the LDIR vs classical techniques.

Keywords: QCL, automation, microplastics, tissues, infrared, speed

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Authors: B. Tiseo, V. Quaranta, G. Bruno, G. Sisinni

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There is an increasing demand of nano-satellite development among universities, small companies, and emerging countries. Low-cost and fast-delivery are the main advantages of such class of satellites achieved by the extensive use of commercial-off-the-shelf components. On the other side, the loss of reliability and the poor success rate are limiting the use of nano-satellite to educational and technology demonstration and not to the commercial purpose. Standardization of nano-satellite environmental testing by tailoring the existing test standard for medium/large satellites is then a crucial step for their market growth. Thus, it is fundamental to find the right trade-off between the improvement of reliability and the need to keep their low-cost/fast-delivery advantages. This is particularly even more essential for satellites of CubeSat family. Such miniaturized and standardized satellites have 10 cm cubic form and mass no more than 1.33 kilograms per 1 unit (1U). For this class of nano-satellites, the qualification process is mandatory to reduce the risk of failure during a space mission. This paper reports the description and results of the space qualification test campaign performed on Endurosat’s CubeSat nano-satellite and modules. Mechanical and environmental tests have been carried out step by step: from the testing of the single subsystem up to the assembled CubeSat nano-satellite. Functional tests have been performed during all the test campaign to verify the functionalities of the systems. The test duration and levels have been selected by tailoring the European Space Agency standard ECSS-E-ST-10-03C and GEVS: GSFC-STD-7000A.

Keywords: CubeSat, nano-satellite, shock, testing, vibration

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Authors: Fadi Awawdeh

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In this work, we highlight the key concepts in using semigroup theory as a methodology used to construct efficient formulas for solving inverse problems. The proposed method depends on some results concerning integral equations. The experimental results show the potential and limitations of the method and imply directions for future work.

Keywords: identification problems, semigroup theory, methods for inverse problems, scientific computing

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Authors: Jarrod Sio Jyh Lih

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This paper discusses the factors contributing to student achievement in literacy and numeracy in primary schools within Sibu division. The study involved 694 level 1 primary schoolteachers. Using descriptive statistics, the study observed high levels of practice for teacher efficacy, instructional leadership and professional learning communities (PLCs). The differences between gender, teaching experience and academic qualification were analyzed using the t-test and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). The study reported significant differences in respondent perceptions based on teaching experience vis-à-vis teacher efficacy. Here, the post hoc Tukey test revealed that efficaciousness grows with experience. A correlation test observed positive and significant correlations between all independent variables. Binary logistic regression was applied to predict the independent variables’ influence on student achievement. The findings revealed that a dimension of instructional leadership – ‘monitoring student progress’ - emerged as the best predictor of student achievement for literacy and numeracy. The result indicated the students were more than 4 times more likely to achieve the national key performance index for both literacy and numeracy when student progress was monitored. In conclusion, ‘monitoring student progress’ had a positive influence on students’ achievement for literacy and numeracy, hence making it a possible course of action for school heads. However, more comprehensive studies are needed to ascertain its consistency within the context of Malaysia.

Keywords: efficacy, instructional, literacy, numeracy

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Authors: Funmilola O. Omoya, Abdul O. Momoh

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Malaria constitutes one of the major health problems in Nigeria. One of the reasons attributed for the upsurge was the development of resistance of Plasmodium falciparum and the emergence of multi-resistant strains of the parasite to anti-malaria drugs. A continued search for other effective, safe and cheap plant-based anti-malaria agents thus becomes imperative in the face of these difficulties. The objective of this study is therefore to evaluate the in vivo anti-malarial efficacy of ethanolic extracts of Chromolaena odorata and Androgaphis paniculata leaves. The two plants were evaluated for their anti-malaria efficacy in vivo in a 4-day curative test assay against Plasmodium berghei strain in mice. The group treated with 500mg/ml dose of ethanolic extract of A. paniculata plant showed parasite suppression with increase in Packed Cell Volume (PCV) value except day 3 which showed a slight decrease in PCV value. During the 4-day curative test, an increase in the PCV values, weight measurement and zero count of Plasmodium berghei parasite values was recorded after day 3 of drug administration. These results obtained in group treated with A. paniculata extract showed anti-malarial efficacy with higher mortality rate in parasitaemia count when compared with Chromolaena odorata group. These results justify the use of ethanolic extracts of A. paniculata plant as medicinal herb used in folklore medicine in the treatment of malaria.

Keywords: anti-malaria, curative, plant-based anti-malaria agents, biology

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Authors: Nyla Anjum, Humaira Bano

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Disability, regardless of its type and nature limits one or two significant life activities. These limitations constitute risk factors for suicide. Rate and intensity of problem upsurges in critical age of adolescence. Researches in the field of mental health over look problem of suicide among persons with disability. Aim of the study was to investigate prevalence and risk factors for suicide among adolescents with disability. The study constitutes purposive sample of 106 elements of both gender with four major categories of disability: hearing impairment, physical impairment, visual impairment and intellectual disabilities. Face to face interview technique was opted for data collection. Other variable are: socio-economic status, social and family support, provision of services for persons with disability, education and employment opportunities. For data analysis independent sample t-test was applied to find out significant differences in gender and One Way Analysis of variance was run to find out differences among four types of disability. Major predictors of suicide were identified with multiple regression analysis. It is concluded that ideation, plans and attempts of suicide among adolescents with disability is a multifaceted and imperative concern in the area of mental health. Urgent research recommendations contains valid measurement of suicide rate and identification of more risk factors for suicide among persons with disability. Study will also guide towards prevention of this pressing problem and will bring message of happy and healthy life not only for persons with disability but also for their families. It will also help to reduce suicide rate in society.

Keywords: suicide, risk factors, adolescent, disability, mental health

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Authors: Oluremi I. Bamgbade, Oluwayomi Babatunde

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Governments and nonprofits have been in the support of sustainability as the goal of businesses especially in the construction industry because of its considerable impacts on the environment, economy, and society. However, to measure the degree to which an organisation is being sustainable or pursuing sustainable growth can be difficult as a result of the clear sustainability strategy required to assume their commitment to the goal and competitive advantage. This research investigated the influence of organisational culture and organisational structure in achieving sustainable construction among South African construction firms. A total of 132 consultants from the nine provinces in South Africa participated in the survey. The data collected were initially screened using SPSS (version 21) while Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) algorithm and bootstrap techniques were employed to test the hypothesised paths. The empirical evidence also supported the hypothesised direct effects of organisational culture and organisational structure on sustainable construction. Similarly, the result regarding the relationship between organisational culture and organisational structure was supported. Therefore, construction industry can record a considerable level of construction sustainability and establish suitable cultures and structures within the construction organisations. Drawing upon organisational control theory, these findings supported the view that these organisational internal factors have a strong contingent effect on sustainability adoption in construction project execution. The paper makes theoretical, practical and methodological contributions within the domain of sustainable construction especially in the context of South Africa. Some limitations of the study are indicated, suggesting opportunities for future research.

Keywords: organisational culture, organisational structure, South African construction firms, sustainable construction

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Authors: Charles Amoo, Joshua New, Bill Eckman

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Buildings in the United States account for a significant proportion of energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and this trend is expected to continue as well as rise in the near future. Low-income households, in particular, bear a disproportionate burden of high building energy consumption and spending due to high energy costs. Energy efficiency improvements need to reach an average of 4% per year in this decade in order to meet global net zero emissions target by 2050, but less than 1 % of U.S. buildings are improved each year. The government has recognized the importance of technology in addressing this issue, and energy efficiency programs have been developed to tackle the problem. The Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP), the largest residential whole-house energy efficiency program in the U.S., is specifically designed to reduce energy costs for low-income households. Under the WAP, energy auditors must follow specific audit procedures and use Department of Energy (DOE) approved energy audit tools or software. This article proposes an expanded framework of factors that should be considered in energy audit software that is approved for use in energy efficiency programs, particularly for low-income households. The framework includes more than 50 factors organized under 14 assessment criteria and can be used to qualitatively and quantitatively score different energy audit software to determine their suitability for specific energy efficiency programs. While the tool can be useful for developers to build new tools and improve existing software, as well as for energy efficiency program administrators to approve or certify tools for use, there are limitations to the model, such as the lack of flexibility that allows continuous scoring to accommodate variability and subjectivity. These limitations can be addressed by using aggregate scores of each criterion as weights that could be combined with value function and direct rating scores in a multicriteria decision analysis for a more flexible scoring.

Keywords: buildings, energy efficiency, energy audit, software

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Authors: Chantel Snyman, Chrizanne van Eeden, Marita Heyns

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Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is one of the most common disabilities in schools, with up to50% of children displaying behaviors that challenge, bringing about demanding teaching circumstances. The teachers and teaching assistants of such learners often experience a negative impact on their own quality of life. Research globally and in South Africa about the teachers of ASD learners and teaching interventions, especially positive psychology approaches aimed at supporting learners with ASD, is limited. The primary research aim of this study was to investigate the feasibility as well as the effect of a strength-based intervention for teachers on the behavior of their learners with ASD and on the wellbeing and self-efficacy of teachers and assistants over time. This quantitative study used a pre-experimental group design with a pre-test-post-test method for the proposed school-based intervention. Teachers and teaching assistants completed the Difficult Behavior Self-Efficacy Scale, the Mental Health Questionnaire, and the short Behaviors That Challenge Checklist for learners with ASD. The six-week intervention on character strengths was delivered by the researcher as part of Teacher Staff Development. Results were generally significant on a practical level (based on practical effect sizes), which indicate that the intervention had a visible effect on behaviors that challenge. Research scores over time suggested a positive effect of the intervention in the well-being of participants and an overall positive effect on behaviors that challenge of ASD learners. Results showed that the character strengths intervention shows promise as a simple but effective intervention for teachers and teaching assistants, with positive effects for learners and teaching staff in the ASD classroom. It is recommended that this intervention should be repeated over a longer period of time and with a larger sample to determine its validity.

Keywords: autism spectrum disorder (ASD), behavior that challenge, character strengths, disabilities, self-efficacy, teachers, teaching assistants, well-being

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Authors: Tahereh Yavari, Sara Norozi Far

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The aim of this study was to compare psychological well-being, hope, and health concerns in leukemia patients before and after receiving stem cells. The statistical population of the present study was made up of leukemia patients in Tehran, and the research sample was among the patients referred to the Bone Marrow Transplant Center of Shariati Hospital in Tehran, and they were placed in two experimental and control groups (15 people in each group), which were selected by purposive sampling method. In order to collect the data for the research, three psychological well-being questionnaires were used by Riff (2002), Schneider's Hope Scale (SHS), and Schneider's Health Concern Questionnaire (HCQ). In order to analyze the data in this research, according to the "pre-test-post-test design with a control group," covariance analysis was used. Based on the research findings, it was concluded that receiving stem cells increases hope and psychological well-being in leukemia patients and significantly reduces health concerns.

Keywords: psychological well-being, hope, health concerns, blood cancer, stem cells

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Authors: Zakiul Fuady, Ismail AB, Fauzi, Zulfian

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This research was conducted to analyze the absorption coefficients of sound at several types of materials as well as its combinations. The aim of this research was to find the value of sound absorption coefficients on the materials and its combinations. The materials used in this research were gypsum panel, gypsum-fibre palm, fibre palm-gypsum, and foamed concrete-fibre palm. The test was conducted by using a method of reverberation chamber based on the ISO 354-1985 with the types of the sound source: white noise and pink noise at the frequency of 125 Hz - 8000 Hz. Based on the test results of white noise, it was found that the panel of gypsum-fibre palm has α = 0.93 at low frequency; the panel of fibre palm has α = 0.97 at a medium frequency; and the panel of foamed concrete-fibre palm has α = 0.89 at high frequency. Further, for the sound source of pink noise, it was found that the panel of gypsum-fibre palm has α = 0.99 at low level; the panel of fibre palm-gypsum has α = 0.86 at medium level; and the panel of fibre palm-gypsum has α = 0.64 at high level. The fibre palm panel could absorb the sounds well since this material has bigger airspace (pore) than the foamed concrete and gypsum. Consequently, when the sounds wave enters to this material it will be trapped in the space. The panel of fibre palm affected an increasing of sound absorption coefficient value at the combination materials when the panel of fibre palm was placed under another panel. However, the absorption coefficient values of both fibre palm and fibre palm-gypsum panels are about the same.

Keywords: coefficient of sound absorption, pink noise, white noise, palm

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Authors: B. Arzhanov, A. Correia, P. Delgado, J. Meireles

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Due to the higher power loss levels in electronic components, the thermal design of PCBs (Printed Circuit Boards) of an assembled device becomes one of the most important quality factors in electronics. Nonetheless, some of leading causes of the microelectronic component failures are due to higher temperatures, the leakages or thermal-mechanical stress, which is a concern, is the reliability of microelectronic packages. This article presents an experimental approach to measure the junction temperature of exposed pad packages. The implemented solution is in a prototype phase, using a temperature-sensitive parameter (TSP) to measure temperature directly on the die, validating the numeric results provided by the Mechanical APDL (Ansys Parametric Design Language) under same conditions. The physical device-under-test is composed by a Thermal Test Chip (TTC-1002) and assembly in a QFN cavity, soldered to a test-board according to JEDEC Standards. Monitoring the voltage drop across a forward-biased diode, is an indirectly method but accurate to obtain the junction temperature of QFN component with an applied power range between 0,3W to 1.5W. The temperature distributions on the PCB test-board and QFN cavity surface were monitored by an infra-red thermal camera (Goby-384) controlled and images processed by the Xeneth software. The article provides a set-up to monitorize in real-time the junction temperature of ICs, namely devices with the exposed pad package (i.e. QFN). Presenting the PCB layout parameters that the designer should use to improve thermal performance, and evaluate the impact of voids in solder interface in the device junction temperature.

Keywords: quad flat no-Lead packages, exposed pads, junction temperature, thermal management and measurements

Procedia PDF Downloads 287

Authors: Guy Rubin, Ravit Shay, Nimrod Rozen

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The accuracy of a diagnostic test used to classify a patient as having disease or being disease-free is a valuable piece of information to be used by the physician when making treatment decisions. Finger laceration, suspected to have nerve injury is a challenging decision for the treating surgeon. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the sensitivity, specificity and predictive values of six clinical tests in the diagnosis of digital nerve injury. The six clinical tests included light touch, pin prick, static and dynamic 2-point discrimination, Semmes Weinstein monofilament and wrinkle test. Data comparing pre-surgery examination with post-surgery results of 42 patients with 52 digital nerve injury was evaluated. The subjective examinations, light touch, pin prick, static and dynamic 2-point discrimination and Semmes-Weinstein monofilament were not sensitive (57.6, 69.7, 42.4, 40 and 66.8% respectively) and specific (36.8, 36.8, 47.4, 42.1 and 31.6% respectively). Wrinkle test, the only objective examination, was the most sensitive (78.1%) and specific (55.6%). This result gives no pre-operative examination the ability to predict the result of explorative surgery.

Keywords: digital nerve, injury, nerve examination, Semmes-Weinstein monofilamen, sensitivity, specificity, two point discrimination, wrinkle test

Procedia PDF Downloads 345

Authors: Rukshika S Hewawasam, Sisira K. Weliwegamage, Sanath Rajapakse, Subramanium Sotheeswaran

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Bio fuel is one of the emerging industries around the world due to arise of crisis in petroleum fuel. Fermentation is a cost effective and eco-friendly process in production of bio-fuel. So inventions in microbes, substrates, technologies in fermentation cause new modifications in fermentation. One major problem in microbial ethanol fermentation is the low resistance of conventional microorganisms to the high ethanol concentrations, which ultimately lead to decrease in the efficiency of the process. In the present investigation, an ethanol resistant bacterium was isolated from sap of Saccharum officinarum (sugar cane). The optimal cultural conditions such as pH, temperature, incubation period, and microbiological characteristics, morphological characteristics, biochemical characteristics, ethanol tolerance, sugar tolerance, growth curve assay were investigated. Isolated microorganism was tolerated to 18% (V/V) of ethanol concentration in the medium and 40% (V/V) glucose concentration in the medium. Biochemical characteristics have revealed as Gram negative, non-motile, negative for Indole test ,Methyl Red test, Voges- Proskauer`s test, Citrate Utilization test, and Urease test. Positive results for Oxidase test was shown by isolated bacterium. Sucrose, Glucose, Fructose, Maltose, Dextrose, Arabinose, Raffinose, Lactose, and Sachcharose can be utilized by this particular bacterium. It is a significant feature in effective fermentation. The fermentation process was carried out in glucose medium under optimum conditions; pH 4, temperature 30˚C, and incubated for 72 hours. Maximum ethanol production was recorded as 12.0±0.6% (V/V). Methanol was not detected in the final product of the fermentation process. This bacterium is especially useful in bio-fuel production due to high ethanol tolerance of this microorganism; it can be used to enhance the fermentation process over conventional microorganisms. Investigations are currently conducted on establishing the identity of the bacterium

Keywords: bacterium, bio-fuel, ethanol tolerance, fermentation

Procedia PDF Downloads 342

Authors: Jennifer Hunter, Francisco Ramirez, Neil A. Nedley, Thania Solorio, Christian Freed, Erica Kinjo

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People who have autoimmune disease are often at an increased risk for psychological disorders such as anxiety. Untreated psychological conditions can affect the development of disease and can affect one’s general quality of life. In this study, it was hypothesized that an educational community-based intervention would be useful in decreasing the anxiety levels of participants with autoimmune disease. Programs, 2-hours long each, were held weekly over a period of eight weeks. During every meeting, a 45-minute DVD presentation by a skilled physician was shown, a small group discussion was guided by trained facilitators, and weekly practical assignments were given to each participant. The focus of the program was to educate participants about healthy lifestyle behaviors such as exercise, nutrition, sleep hygiene, helpful thought patterns etc., and to provide a group environment in which each participant was supported. Participants were assessed pre-post program for anxiety using the Depression and Anxiety Assessment Test (registration TX 7-398-022), a validated mental health test based on DSM-5 criteria and demographics. Anxiety scores were classified according to the DSM-5 criteria into 4 categories: none (0-6), mild (7-10), moderate (11-19) or severe (20 or more). Out of the participants who participated in programs conducted in the manner explained above (n=431), the average age was 54.9 (SD 16.6) and 81.9% were female. At baseline, the mean group anxiety level was 9.4 (SD 5.4). Within the baseline group, anxiety levels were as follows: none (21.1%), mild (22.0%), moderate (27.1%) and severe (29.7%). After the program, mean group anxiety decreased to 4.7 (SD 4.0). Post-program anxiety levels were as follows: none (54.8%), mild (27.1%), moderate (12.5%), severe (5.6%). The decrease in overall anxiety levels was significant t(431)=19.3 p<.001, 95% CI [0.815, 1.041]. It was concluded that the eight-week intensive was beneficial in decreasing the anxiety levels of participants. A long-term follow-up study would be beneficial in determining how lasting such improvements are especially since autoimmune diseases are often chronic. Additionally, future studies that utilize a control group would aid in establishing whether the improvements seen are due to the use of this specific lifestyle-educational program.

Keywords: anxiety, auto-immune disease, community-based educational program, lifestyle

Procedia PDF Downloads 119

Authors: Sasan Aryaee, Mahdi Ravanshadnia

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Naturally, any activity is associated with risk, and humans have understood this concept from very long times ago and seek to identify its factors and sources. On the one hand, proper risk management can cause problems such as delays and unforeseen costs in the development projects, temporary or permanent loss of services, getting lost or information theft, complexity and limitations in processes, unreliable information caused by rework, holes in the systems and many such problems. In the present study, a model has been presented to rank the environmental risks of oil and gas projects. The statistical population of the study consists of all executives active in the oil and gas fields, that the statistical sample is selected randomly. In the framework of the proposed method, environmental risks of oil and gas projects were first extracted, then a questionnaire based on these indicators was designed based on Likert scale and distributed among the statistical sample. After assessing the validity and reliability of the questionnaire, environmental risks of oil and gas projects were ranked using the VIKOR method of multiple-criteria decision-making. The results showed that the best options for HSE planning of oil and gas projects that caused the reduction of risks and personal injury and casualties and less than other options is costly for the project and it will add less time to the duration of implementing the project is the entering of dye to the environment when painting the generator pond and the presence of the rigger near the crane.

Keywords: ranking, multi-criteria decision making, oil and gas projects, HSEmanagement, environmental risks

Procedia PDF Downloads 159

Authors: Fernanda Mary R. G. Da Silva, Adriana C. F. Mozzambani, Marcelo F. Mello

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Introduction: Sexual assault against children and adolescents is a public health problem with serious consequences on their quality of life, especially for those who develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The broad literature in this research area points to greater losses in verbal learning, explicit memory, speed of information processing, attention and executive functioning in PTSD. Objective: To compare the neuropsychological functions of adolescents from 14 to 17 years of age, victims of sexual violence with PTSD with those of healthy controls. Methodology: Application of a neuropsychological battery composed of the following subtests: WASI vocabulary and matrix reasoning; Digit subtests (WISC-IV); verbal auditory learning test RAVLT; Spatial Span subtest of the WMS - III scale; abbreviated version of the Wisconsin test; concentrated attention test - D2; prospective memory subtest of the NEUPSILIN scale; five-digit test - FDT and the Stroop test (Trenerry version) in adolescents with a history of sexual violence in the previous six months, referred to the Prove (Violence Care and Research Program of the Federal University of São Paulo), for further treatment. Results: The results showed a deficit in the word coding process in the RAVLT test, with impairment in A3 (p = 0.004) and A4 (p = 0.016) measures, which compromises the verbal learning process (p = 0.010) and the verbal recognition memory (p = 0.012), seeming to present a worse performance in the acquisition of verbal information that depends on the support of the attentional system. A worse performance was found in list B (p = 0.047), a lower priming effect p = 0.026, that is, lower evocation index of the initial words presented and less perseveration (p = 0.002), repeated words. Therefore, there seems to be a failure in the creation of strategies that help the mnemonic process of retention of the verbal information necessary for learning. Sustained attention was found to be impaired, with greater loss of setting in the Wisconsin test (p = 0.023), a lower rate of correct responses in stage C of the Stroop test (p = 0.023) and, consequently, a higher index of erroneous responses in C of the Stroop test (p = 0.023), besides more type II errors in the D2 test (p = 0.008). A higher incidence of total errors was observed in the reading stage of the FDT test p = 0.002, which suggests fatigue in the execution of the task. Performance is compromised in executive functions in the cognitive flexibility ability, suggesting a higher index of total errors in the alternating step of the FDT test (p = 0.009), as well as a greater number of persevering errors in the Wisconsin test (p = 0.004). Conclusion: The data from this study suggest that sexual violence and PTSD cause significant impairment in the neuropsychological functions of adolescents, evidencing risk to quality of life in stages that are fundamental for the development of learning and cognition.

Keywords: adolescents, neuropsychological functions, PTSD, sexual violence

Procedia PDF Downloads 137

Authors: Negadi Kheira, Arab Ahmed, Kamal Elbokl Mohamed, Setti Fatima

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In order to evaluate influences of roots on soil shear strength, monotonic drained and undrained triaxial laboratory tests were carried out on reconstituted specimens at various confining pressure (σc’=50, 100, 200, 300, 400 kPa) and a constant relative density (Dr = 50%). Reinforcement of soil by fibrous roots is crucial for preventing soil erosion and degradation. Therefore, we investigated soil reinforcement by roots of acacia planted in the area of Chlef where shallow landslides and slope instability are frequent. These roots were distributed in soil in two forms: vertically and horizontally. The monotonic test results showed that roots have more impacts on the soil shear strength than the friction angle, and the presence of roots in soil substantially increased the soil shear strength. Also, the results showed that the contribution of roots on the shear strength mobilized increases with increase in the confining pressure.

Keywords: soil, monotonic, triaxial test, root fiber, undrained

Procedia PDF Downloads 417

Authors: Swajeeth Panchangam, Arun Rajendran, Swarnim Gupta, Ahmed Zeouita

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Semiconductor processing chambers tend to operate in controlled but aggressive operating conditions (chemistry, plasma, high temperature etc.) Owing to this, the design of this equipment requires developing robust and reliable hardware and software. Any equipment downtime due to reliability issues can have cost implications both for customers in terms of tool downtime (reduced throughput) and for equipment manufacturers in terms of high warranty costs and customer trust deficit. A thorough reliability assessment of critical parts and a plan for preventive maintenance/replacement schedules need to be done before tool shipment. This helps to save significant warranty costs and tool downtimes in the field. However, designing a proper reliability test plan to accurately demonstrate reliability targets with proper sample size and test duration is quite challenging. This is mainly because components can fail in different failure modes that fit into different Weibull beta value distributions. Without apriori Weibull beta of a failure mode under consideration, it always leads to over/under utilization of resources, which eventually end up in false positives or false negatives estimates. This paper proposes a methodology to design a reliability test plan with optimal model size/duration/both (independent of apriori Weibull beta). This methodology can be used in demonstration tests and can be extended to accelerated life tests to further decrease sample size/test duration.

Keywords: reliability, stochastics, preventive maintenance

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Authors: Aliakbar Golshani, Seyyed Mehdi Poorhashemi, Mahsa Gharizadeh

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The under passing tunnels are strongly influenced by the soils around. There are some complexities in the specification of real soil behavior, owing to the fact that lots of uncertainties exist in soil properties, and additionally, inappropriate soil constitutive models. Such mentioned factors may cause incompatible settlements in numerical analysis with the obtained values in actual construction. This paper aims to report a case study on a specific tunnel constructed by NATM. The tunnel has a depth of 11.4 m, height of 12.2 m, and width of 14.4 m with 2.5 lanes. The numerical modeling was based on a 2D finite element program. The soil material behavior was modeled by hardening soil model. According to the field observations, the numerical estimated settlement at the ground surface was approximately four times more than the measured one, after the entire installation of the initial lining, indicating that some unknown factors affect the values. Consequently, the geotechnical parameters are accurately revised by a numerical back-analysis using laboratory and field test data and based on the obtained monitoring data. The obtained result confirms that typically, the soil parameters are conservatively low-estimated. And additionally, the constitutive models cannot be applied properly for all soil conditions.

Keywords: NATM tunnel, initial lining, laboratory test data, numerical back-analysis

Procedia PDF Downloads 362