Search results for: Robert Long

Authors: Ceshi Sun, Yueyu Zhao, Yaobing Zhao, Zhiqiang Wang, Jian Peng, Pengxin Guo

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With the rapid development of transportation, there are more than 100 cable-stayed bridges with main span larger than 300 m in China. In order to ascertain the statistical relationships among the design parameters of stay cables and their distribution characteristics, 1500 cables were selected from 25 practical long-span cable-stayed bridges. A new relationship between the first order frequency and the length of cable was found by conducting the curve fitting. Then, based on this relationship other interesting relationships were deduced. Several probability density functions (PDFs) were used to investigate the distributions of the parameters of first order frequency, stress level and the Irvine parameter. It was found that these parameters obey the Lognormal distribution, the Weibull distribution and the generalized Pareto distribution, respectively. Scatter diagrams of the three parameters were plotted and their 95% confidence intervals were also investigated.

Keywords: cable, cable-stayed bridge, long-span, statistical analysis

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Authors: Ying Jia Teoh

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The Canning Basin is located between the Kimberley and Pilbara Precambrian cratonic blocks. It is a large but relatively poorly explored Paleozoic basin in remote Western Australia. During the early Ordovician period, the Australian continent was located near the equator. Middle Ordovician age Nita and Goldwyer Formations in Canning Basin are therefore warm water carbonates. The Nita Formation carbonates are a regressive sequence which conformably overlies the Goldwyer Formation. It contains numerous progradational cycles of limestone, vuggy dolomitized carbonate beds and shale deposited in subtidal to supratidal environments. The Goldwyer Formation contains transgressive shale sequences and regressive carbonates deposited in shallow subtidal conditions. The shales contain oil-prone Gloeocapsormorpha prisca-bearing source rocks. Llanvirnian relative sea-level fluctuations were reconstructed by using Fischer plots methodology for three key wells (wells McLarty 1, Looma 1 and Robert 1) in Broome Platform and compared with INPEFA data. The Goldwyer lower shale (interval Or1000P) shows increasing relative sea-level and this matches with a transgressive systems tract. Goldwyer middle carbonate (interval Or2000) shows relative sea-level drop and this matches with a regressive systems tract. Goldwyer upper shale (interval Or2000P) shows relative sea-level drop and this matches with a transgressive systems tract. Nita Formation Leo Member (interval Or3000) shows a relative sea level drop and this matches with a regressive systems tract. The Nita Formation Cudalgarra Member (intervals Or3000P and Or4000) with transgressive systems tract then this is followed by a regressive systems tract. This pattern matches with the relative sea-level curves in wells McLarty 1 and Robert 1. The correlation is weak for parts of well Looma 1. This is probably influenced by the fact that the thickness of this section is quite small. As a conclusion, Fischer plots for the Llanvirnian Goldwyer and Nita Formations show good agreement with the third order global sea level cycles of Haq and others. Fischer plots are generally correlated well with trend and cyclicity determined by INPEFA curves and as a method of cross-checking INPEFA data and sea-level change.

Keywords: canning basin, Fischer plots, Llanvirnian, middle Ordovician, sea-level fluctuations, stratigraphy

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Authors: Mohammad Moridzadeh, Mohammad Djavid, Barry Doyle

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An assessment of the long-term stability of a cavern in Chagrin shale excavated by the sequential excavation method was performed during and after construction. During the excavation of the cavern, deformations of rock mass were measured at the surface of excavation and within the rock mass by surface and deep measurement instruments. Rock deformations were measured during construction which appeared to result from the as-built excavation sequence that had potentially disturbed the rock and its behavior. Also some additional time dependent rock deformations were observed during and post excavation. Several opinions have been expressed to explain this time dependent deformation including stress changes induced by excavation, strain softening (or creep) in the beddings with and without clay and creep of the shaley rock under compressive stresses. In order to analyze and replicate rock behavior observed during excavation, including current and post excavation elastic, plastic, and time dependent deformation, Finite Element Analysis (FEA) was performed. The analysis was also intended to estimate long term deformation of the rock mass around the excavation. Rock mass behavior including time dependent deformation was measured by means of rock surface convergence points, MPBXs, extended creep testing on the long anchors, and load history data from load cells attached to several long anchors. Direct creep testing of Chagrin Shale was performed on core samples from the wall of the Pump Room. Results of these measurements were used to calibrate the FEA of the excavation. These analyses incorporate time dependent constitutive modeling for the rock to evaluate the potential long term movement in the roof, walls, and invert of the cavern. The modeling was performed due to the concerns regarding the unanticipated behavior of the rock mass as well as the forecast of long term deformation and stability of rock around the excavation.

Keywords: Cavern, Chagrin shale, creep, finite element.

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Authors: İrem Bulut, Mustafa Z. Söyük, Ertuğrul Yalçın, Simge Şişman-Bal

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Eyewitness testimony is one of the most frequently used methods in criminal cases for the determination of crime and perpetrator. In the literature, the number of studies about the reliability of eyewitness testimony is increasing. The study aims to reveal the factors that affect the short-term and long-term visual memory performance of the participants in the event of an accident. In this context, the effect of the emotional content of the accident and the sounds during the accident on visual memory performance was investigated with eye-tracking. According to the results, the presence of visual and auditory stimuli with emotional content during the accident decreases the participants' both short-term and long-term recall performance. Moreover, the data obtained from the eye monitoring device showed that the participants had difficulty in answering even the questions they focused on at the time of the accident.

Keywords: eye tracking, eyewitness testimony, long-term recall, short-term recall, visual memory

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Authors: Christian Klettner, Ian Eames, Tristan Robinson

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Tsunami is characterised by their very long time periods and can have devastating consequences when these inundate through built-up coastal regions as in the 2004 Indian Ocean and 2011 Tohoku Tsunami. This work aims to investigate the effect of these long waves on the flow through and around a group of buildings, which are abstracted to circular cylinders. The research approach used in this study was using experiments and numerical simulations. Large-scale experiments were carried out at HR Wallingford. The novelty of these experiments is (I) the number of bodies present (up to 64), (II) the long wavelength of the input waves (80 seconds) and (III) the width of the tank (4m) which gives the unique opportunity to investigate three length scales, namely the diameter of the building, the diameter of the array and the width of the tank. To complement the experiments, dam break flow past the same arrays is investigated using three-dimensional numerical simulations in OpenFOAM. Dam break flow was chosen as it is often used as a surrogate for the tsunami in previous research and is used here as there are well defined initial conditions and high quality previous experimental data for the case of a single cylinder is available. The focus of this work is to better understand the effect of the solid void fraction on the force and flow through and around the array. New qualitative and quantitative diagnostics are developed and tested to analyse the complex coupled interaction between the cylinders.

Keywords: computational fluid dynamics, tsunami, forces, complex geometry

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Authors: Ayman A. Al Hayek, Asirvatham A. Robert, Mohamed A. Al Dawish, Rim B. Braham, Hanouf S. Goudeh, Fahad S. Al Sabaan

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Introduction: The aim of this study was to explore the impact of insulin pump therapy on diabetes treatment satisfaction and glycemic control among patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) in Saudi Arabia. Methods: A 6-month, prospective study was conducted among 47 patients (aged17–24 years) with T1DM who attended the Insulin Pump Clinic at Prince Sultan Military Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, between April 2014 and November 2014. The respondents were purposively and conveniently selected and were interviewed using the Arabic version of the Diabetes Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire at baseline, 3, and 6 months. Demographics and clinical variables including hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) were also collected. Results: The mean (±standard deviation) age of the study cohort was 19.1 ± 1.93 years. Seventeen patients were male (36.2%) and 30 were female (63.8%). Compared to baseline, significant positive differences were found in treatment satisfaction among female patients and patients with long-standing T1DM at 6 months. Frequency of hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia declined significantly in female patient’s at 6 months and in patients who had a shorter duration of T1DM. Furthermore, significant positive differences were found in HbA1c levels among female patients and among those who had a shorter duration of T1DM compared to baseline. Both female and male patients and those with a shorter duration of T1DM showed significant decline in insulin necessity at6months when compared to baseline. Conclusion: Although multiple daily injections is a feasible preference for insulin supply, insulin pumps should also be considered for patients with T1DM as it appears to increase patients’ treatment satisfaction, decrease the frequency of hypoglycemia, hyperglycemia, and reduce HbA1c levels.

Keywords: type 1 diabetes, insulin pump, Saudi Arabia, T1DM

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Authors: Salako Rotimi, Oshungade Stephen, Ojewoye Opeyemi

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The maintenance of price stability is one of the macroeconomic challenges facing Nigeria as a nation. This paper attempts to build a co-integration multivariate time series model for inflation movement in Nigeria using data extracted from the abstract of statistics of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) from 2008 to 2017. The Johansen cointegration test suggests at least one co-integration vector describing the long run relationship between Consumer Price Index (CPI), Food Price Index (FPI) and Non-Food Price Index (NFPI). All three series show increasing pattern, which indicates a sign of non-stationary in each of the series. Furthermore, model predictability was established with root-mean-square-error, mean absolute error, mean average percentage error, and Theil’s unbiased statistics for n-step forecasting. The result depicts that the long run coefficient of a consumer price index (CPI) has a positive long-run relationship with the food price index (FPI) and non-food price index (NFPI).

Keywords: economic, inflation, model, series

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Authors: Fongang Robert Tichuck

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This paper reports the findings of a study undertaken to assess the socio-economic and environmental impacts of mining in Bertoua Eastern Region of Cameroon. In addition to sampling community perceptions of mining activities, the study prescribes interventions that can assist in mitigating the negative impacts of mining. Marked environmental and interrelated socio-economic improvements can be achieved within regional artisanal gold mines if the government provides technical support to local operators, regulations are improved, and illegal mining activity is reduced.

Keywords: gold mining, socio-economic, mining activities, local people

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Authors: Jamel Boukhatem, Semia Rachid, Marmar Nasr

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Considering the differences between oil- and non-oil-producing countries, this paper aims to evaluate the impact of financial development (FD) and institutional quality (IQ) on CO2 emissions in 15 MENA (Middle East and North Africa) countries over the period 1996-2018 using the Panel ARDL approach. We found evidence to support an unconditional long run effect of FD on environmental conditions (EC), with quite significant differences between the two groups of countries. While FD leads to environmental degradation (ED) in non-oil-producing countries, it helps protect the environment in oil-producing ones. Regarding the effects of IQ on EC, they are not significant in both short- and long run for non-oil-producing countries, but they are significant for oil-producing ones only in the long run. In the short run, IQ indicators haven’t significant effects on EC for the two groups of countries.

Keywords: financial development, institutional quality, environmental conditions, Panel ARDL

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Authors: Maria V. Morozova, Zoya A. Mikhaylovskaya, Elena S. Buyanova, Sofia A. Petrova, Ksenia V. Arishina, Robert G. Zaharov

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The present work is devoted to the investigation of two series of doped bismuth molybdates: Bi₂₆-₂ₓMn₂ₓMo₁₀O₆₉-d and Bi₂₆Mo₁₀-₂yMn₂yO₆₉-d. Complex oxides were synthesized by conventional solid state technology and by co-precipitation method. The products were identified by powder diffraction. The powders and ceramic samples were examined by means of densitometry, laser diffraction, and electron microscopic methods. Porosity of the ceramic materials was estimated using the hydrostatic method. The electrical conductivity measurements were carried out using impedance spectroscopy method.

Keywords: bismuth molybdate, columnar structures, impedance spectroscopy, oxygen ionic conductors

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Authors: Chung-Yu Wu, Chia-Chi Chang, Wei-Ming Chen, Pu-Wei Wu, Shih-Fan Chen, Po-Chun Chen

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Electrostimulation medical devices for neural diseases require electroactive and biocompatible materials to transmit signals from electrodes to targeting tissues. Protection of surrounding tissues has become a great challenge for long-term implants. In this study, we designed back-end processes with compatible, efficient, and reliable advantages over the current state-of-the-art. We explored a hermetic packaging process with high quality of adhesion and uniformity as the biocompatible devices for long-term implantation. This approach is able to provide both excellent biocompatibility and protection to the biomedical electronic devices by performing conformal coating of biocompatible materials. We successfully developed a packaging process that is capable of exposing the stimulating electrode and cover all other faces of chip with high quality of protection to prevent leakage of devices and body fluid.

Keywords: biocompatible package, medical microelectronics, surface coating, long-term implantation

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Authors: Mojdeh Mardani, Robert Stupnisky

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Microaggressions are discriminatory and degrading slights manifested from negative and often unconscious beliefs about marginalised groups, including women and people of colour. This quantitative research analyses survey data collected from 10 USA Universities. This research presents the impacts of microaggressions on productivity and motivation of Underrepresented Minority (URM) faculty, especially women and those with intersecting marginalized identities, such as women who identify with a race other than white. Results of this study revealed that on average, URM women were 50% more susceptible to gender microaggressions, which correlated negatively with autonomy and competence, and positively with a motivation.

Keywords: gender microaggressions, gender discrimination, underrepresented minority, female faculty, URM faculty, motivation, productivity, STEM

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Authors: D. S. Mohale, A.V. Chandewar

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Study was undertaken to investigate the effect of imipramine on various biochemical parameters and oxidative stress markers in short and long term depression on rats. Rats were subjected for short (21 days) and long term (84 days) social isolation for and checked for depression on force swim test and tail suspension method. Various markers of oxidative stress like lipid peroxidation (LPO), reduced glutathione (GSH), Supersoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and biochemical parameters like Serum glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase (SGOT), Serum glutamate pyruate transaminase (SGPT), and blood glucose were determined in depressed, control, imipramine and Vitamin E treated group. The rats displayed an increase in depression on force swim test and tail suspension method relative to control. There was significant increase in the level of LPO and decrease in the levels of GSH, SOD and CAT after short and long term depression. Increased oxidative stress in depression which may leads to alteration of biochemical parameters. Treatment with imipramine an tricyclic antidepressant significantly decreases in level of LPO, SGOT, SGPT and increase in the levels of GSH, SOD and CAT in long term depression.

Keywords: depression, oxidative stress, lipid peroxidation, reduced glutathione

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Authors: Rongzhou Wang

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Research on designing nano-antibacterial agent with potent and long-lasting antibacterial property is demanding and provoking work. In this study, a core-shell AgBr/cationic polymer nanocomposite (AgBr/NPVP-H10) were synthesized and its structure confirmed by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometer (FT-IR), Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (1H NMR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD), and the cationic polymer contents were determined with Thermal Gravimetric Analyzer (TGA). The morphology was directly observed by Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) which showed that the nanoparticle contains single core and organic shell and had an average diameter of 30.1 nm. The antibacterial test against Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus and Gram-negative Escherichia coli illuminated that this nanocomposite had potent bactericidal activity, which can be attributed to the contact-killing of cationic polymers and releasing-killing of Ag+ ions. In addition, cationic polymer encapsulating AgBr cores gave the resin discs sustained release of Ag+ ions, which may result in long-lasting bactericidal activity. The AgBr/NPVP-H10 nanoparticle with the dual bactericidal capability and long term antimicrobial effect is a promising material aimed at preventing bacterial infection.

Keywords: core-shell nanocomposite, cationic polymer, dual antibacterial capability, long-lasting antibacterial activity

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Authors: Mrinalini Ranjan, Sudheesh Chethil

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Epilepsy is a common neurological disorder characterised by the recurrence of seizures. Electroencephalogram (EEG) signals are complex biomedical signals which exhibit nonlinear and nonstationary behavior. We use two methods 1) Detrended Fluctuation Analysis (DFA) and 2) Recurrence Plots (RP) to capture this complex behavior of EEG signals. DFA considers fluctuation from local linear trends. Scale invariance of these signals is well captured in the multifractal characterisation using detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA). Analysis of long-range correlations is vital for understanding the dynamics of EEG signals. Correlation properties in the EEG signal are quantified by the calculation of a scaling exponent. We report the existence of two scaling behaviours in the epileptic EEG signals which quantify short and long-range correlations. To illustrate this, we perform DFA on extant ictal (seizure) and interictal (seizure free) datasets of different patients in different channels. We compute the short term and long scaling exponents and report a decrease in short range scaling exponent during seizure as compared to pre-seizure and a subsequent increase during post-seizure period, while the long-term scaling exponent shows an increase during seizure activity. Our calculation of long-term scaling exponent yields a value between 0.5 and 1, thus pointing to power law behaviour of long-range temporal correlations (LRTC). We perform this analysis for multiple channels and report similar behaviour. We find an increase in the long-term scaling exponent during seizure in all channels, which we attribute to an increase in persistent LRTC during seizure. The magnitude of the scaling exponent and its distribution in different channels can help in better identification of areas in brain most affected during seizure activity. The nature of epileptic seizures varies from patient-to-patient. To illustrate this, we report an increase in long-term scaling exponent for some patients which is also complemented by the recurrence plots (RP). RP is a graph that shows the time index of recurrence of a dynamical state. We perform Recurrence Quantitative analysis (RQA) and calculate RQA parameters like diagonal length, entropy, recurrence, determinism, etc. for ictal and interictal datasets. We find that the RQA parameters increase during seizure activity, indicating a transition. We observe that RQA parameters are higher during seizure period as compared to post seizure values, whereas for some patients post seizure values exceeded those during seizure. We attribute this to varying nature of seizure in different patients indicating a different route or mechanism during the transition. Our results can help in better understanding of the characterisation of epileptic EEG signals from a nonlinear analysis.

Keywords: detrended fluctuation, epilepsy, long range correlations, recurrence plots

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Authors: Roham Rafiee, Behzad Mazhari

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Composite structures, having incredible properties, have gained considerable popularity in the last few decades. Among all types, polymer matrix composites are being used extensively due to their unique characteristics including low weight, convenient fabrication process and low cost. Having polymer as matrix, these type of composites show different creep behavior when compared to metals and even other types of composites since most polymers undergo creep even in room temperature. One of the most challenging topics in creep is to introduce new techniques for predicting long term creep behavior of materials. Depending on the material which is being studied the appropriate method would be different. Methods already proposed for predicting long term creep behavior of polymer matrix composites can be divided into five categories: (1) Analytical Modeling, (2) Empirical Modeling, (3) Superposition Based Modeling (Semi-empirical), (4) Rheological Modeling, (5) Finite Element Modeling. Each of these methods has individual characteristics. Studies have shown that none of the mentioned methods can predict long term creep behavior of all PMC composites in all circumstances (loading, temperature, etc.) but each of them has its own priority in different situations. The reason to this issue can be found in theoretical basis of these methods. In this study after a brief review over the background theory of each method, they are compared in terms of their applicability in predicting long-term behavior of composite structures. Finally, the explained materials are observed through some experimental studies executed by other researchers.

Keywords: creep, comparative study, modeling, composite materials

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Authors: Jana Petrů, Tomáš Zlámal, Robert Čep, Lenka Čepová

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This article is focused on the thermal spray coating machining issue. Those are irreplaceable in many areas of nowadays industrial branches such as aerospace industry, mostly thanks to their excellent qualities in production and also in renovation of machinery parts. The principals of thermal spraying and elementary diversification are described in introduction. Plasma coating method of composite materials -cermets- is described more thoroughly. The second part describes thermal spray coating machining and grinding in detail. This part contains suggestion of appropriate grinding tool and assessment of cutting conditions used for grinding a given part. Conclusion describes a problem which occurred while grinding a cermet thermal spray coating with a specially designed grindstone and a way to solve this problem.

Keywords: coating, aerospace, plasma, grinding

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Authors: Henrique Veras De Paiva Fonseca

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This paper investigates the long-term relationship between early life exposure to malaria and adult socioeconomic outcomes in Brazil. The identification strategy relies on exogenous variation in the risk of malaria outbreaks in different states and seasons of the year to identify early life exposure according to the timing and location of birth. Furthermore, Brazil has undergone a successful campaign of malaria eradication during the late 1950s, which allows for comparing outcomes of birth cohorts born just prior to and just after eradication to identify the extent of in utero exposure. Instrumental variables estimates find consistent negative treatment effects of in utero exposure to malaria on socioeconomic outcomes, such as educational attainment and health status. The effects are stronger for exposure during the first trimester of pregnancy than during other periods of gestation. Additionally, consistent with previous findings, men are more likely to exhibit larger long-term effects.

Keywords: malaria, exposure, eradication, instrumental variables, education, health

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Authors: Natalie M. Wride, Xueyu Geng

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Subgrade soils of railway infrastructure are subjected to a significant number of load applications over their design life. The use of slab track on existing and future proposed rail links requires a reduced maintenance and repair regime for the embankment subgrade, due to restricted access to the subgrade soils for remediation caused by cyclic deformation. It is, therefore, important to study the deformation behaviour of soft cohesive subsoils induced as a result of long term cyclic loading. In this study, a series of oedometer tests and cyclic triaxial tests (10,000 cycles) have been undertaken to investigate the undrained deformation behaviour of soft kaolin. X-ray Computer Tomography (CT) scanning of the samples has been performed to determine the change in porosity and soil structure density from the sample microstructure as a result of the laboratory testing regime undertaken. Combined with the examination of excess pore pressures and strains obtained from the cyclic triaxial tests, the results are compared with an existing analytical solution for long term settlement considering repeated low amplitude loading. Modifications to the analytical solution are presented based on the laboratory analysis that shows good agreement with further test data.

Keywords: creep, cyclic loading, deformation, long term settlement, train loading

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Authors: Godwin Chigozie Okpara

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This paper using standard GARCH, EGARCH, and TARCH models on day of the week return series (of 246 days) from the Nigerian Stock market estimated the model variants’ VaR. An asymmetric return distribution and fat-tail phenomenon in financial time series were considered by estimating the models with normal, student t and generalized error distributions. The analysis based on Akaike Information Criterion suggests that the EGARCH model with student t innovation distribution can furnish more accurate estimate of VaR. In the light of this, we apply the likelihood ratio tests of proportional failure rates to VaR derived from EGARCH model in order to determine the short and long positions VaR performances. The result shows that as alpha ranges from 0.05 to 0.005 for short positions, the failure rate significantly exceeds the prescribed quintiles while it however shows no significant difference between the failure rate and the prescribed quantiles for long positions. This suggests that investors and portfolio managers in the Nigeria stock market have long trading position or can buy assets with concern on when the asset prices will fall. Precisely, the VaR estimates for the long position range from -4.7% for 95 percent confidence level to -10.3% for 99.5 percent confidence level.

Keywords: downside risk, value-at-risk, failure rate, kupiec LR tests, GARCH models

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Authors: O. Behar, A. Khellaf, K. Mohammedi, S. Ait Kaci

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Up to now, most validation studies have been based on the MBE and RMSE, and therefore, focused only on long and short terms performance to test and classify solar radiation models. This traditional analysis does not take into account the quality of modeling and linearity. In our analysis we have tested 22 solar radiation models that are capable to provide instantaneous direct and global radiation at any given location Worldwide. We introduce a new indicator, which we named Global Accuracy Indicator (GAI) to examine the linear relationship between the measured and predicted values and the quality of modeling in addition to long and short terms performance. Note that the quality of model has been represented by the T-Statistical test, the model linearity has been given by the correlation coefficient and the long and short term performance have been respectively known by the MBE and RMSE. An important founding of this research is that the use GAI allows avoiding default validation when using traditional methodology that might results in erroneous prediction of solar power conversion systems performances.

Keywords: solar radiation model, parametric model, performance analysis, Global Accuracy Indicator (GAI)

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Authors: Leonardo Alfredo Mendoza, Cristian Munoz, Marco Aurelio Pacheco, Manoela Kohler, Evelyn Batista, Rodrigo Moura

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Natural Language Processing (NLP) techniques are increasingly more powerful to be able to interpret the feelings and reactions of a person to a product or service. Sentiment analysis has become a fundamental tool for this interpretation but has few applications in languages other than English. This paper presents a classification of sentiment analysis in Portuguese with a base of comments from social networks in Portuguese. A word embedding's representation was used with a 50-Dimension GloVe pre-trained model, generated through a corpus completely in Portuguese. To generate this classification, the bidirectional long short-term memory and bidirectional Gated Recurrent Unit (GRU) models are used, reaching results of 99.1%.

Keywords: natural processing language, sentiment analysis, bidirectional long short-term memory, BI-LSTM, gated recurrent unit, GRU

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Authors: Byrad Yyelland, Robert Bianchi

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No longer the secret mark of outlaw bikers, criminals, and sailors, tattooing has become mainstream in much of the world. The current study showcases data gathered for a video documentary on the triangulated relationship connecting tattoos as a form of body modification, cultural norms, and personal meanings. This research has revealed that some religious belief systems, Buddhism in Thailand, is one example, connect tattooing with spirituality in an intimate manner. Buddhist monks provide tattoos using traditional bamboo implements and processes, and they pray over the tattoo, infusing magic into the tattoo and consequently, into the body of the receiver. In contrast, although there is no direct mention of tattooing in the Qur’an, many Islamic scholars argue that permanent tattooing is considered haram—forbidden for Muslims. Only the temporary henna is acceptable. In fact, tattooing is illegal in Qatar. Some Indigenous belief systems in Canada adopt a similar stance on the basis that we were all created by the Creator and as such, we do not have the right to alter what the Creator has made. Still other belief systems such as Spiritism in Brazil and mainstream Christianity in the West are more inclined to regard tattooing as a matter of personal choice. It is practically impossible for any culture to resist the dual impacts of time and globalization. Long term cultural change has resulted in mainstream acceptance of tattooing in the west and increased acceptance in Japan. Short-term cultural change is seen in Qatar where tattoos are on on public display amongst expats and migrant laborers. This tolerance of tattooed individuals was clearly evident with the choice of David Beckham as ambassador for the FIFA World Cup and during the corresponding tourist celebrations. Themes uncovered in this multicultural research also include individual meanings attributed to tattoo imagery and processes, experiences of personal empowerment, devotion to family, personal philosophy, gender identity, and aesthetics.

Keywords: culture, norms, tattooing, spirituality, personal motivations and personal meanings

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Authors: Desissa Yadeta Muleta

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Purely organic long-persistent luminescence materials (OLPLMs) have been developed as emerging organic materials due to their simple production process, low preparation cost and better biocompatibilities. Notably, OLPLMs with afterglow-time-tunable long-persistent luminescence (LPL) characteristics enable higher-level protection applications and have great prospects in biological applications. The realization of these advanced performances depends on our ability to gradually tune LPL duration under ambient conditions, however, the strategies to achieve this are few due to the lack of unambiguous mechanisms. Here, we propose a two-step strategy to gradually tune LPL duration of OLPLMs over a wide range of seconds in water and air, by using derivatives as the guest and introducing a third-party material into the host-immobilized host–guest doping system. Based on this strategy, we develop an analysis method for deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) content detection without DNA separation in aqueous samples, which circumvents the influence of the chromophore, fluorophore and other interferents in vivo, enabling a certain degree of in situ detection that is difficult to achieve using today’s methods. This work will expedite the development of afterglow-time-tunable OLPLMs and expand new horizons for their applications in data protection, bio-detection, and bio-sensing

Keywords: deoxyribonucliec acid, long persistent luminescent materials, water, air

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Authors: Tulika Bhattacharyya, Suhita C. Chatterjee

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West Bengal, one of the most rapidly ageing states in India, has inadequate structure for elder care. Therefore, there is an urgent need to improve elder care which involves focusing on different care settings where the elderly exists, like - Homes, Hospitals and Long-Term Care facilities (e.g. - Old Age Homes, Hospices). The study explores various elder care settings, with the intention to develop an understanding about them, and thereby generate comprehensive information about the entire spectrum of elder care in Kolkata. Empirical data are collected from the elderly and their caregivers in different settings. The tools for data collection are narratives, in-depth interviews and focus group discussions, along with field observations. Mixed method design is adopted to analyze the complexities of elder care in different set ups. The major challenges of elder care in private Homes are: architecturally inadequate housing conditions, paucity of financial support and scarcity of skilled caregivers. While the key factors preventing the Hospital and Long-Term Care Facilities from providing elder care services are inadequate policies and set governmental standards for elder care for the hospitalized elderly in various departments of the Hospital and the elderly residing in different kinds of Long Term Care Facilities. The limitations in each care setting results in considerable neglect and abuse of the elderly. The major challenges in elder care in West Bengal are lack of continuum between different care settings/ peripheral location of private Homes within public health framework and inadequate state Palliative policy- including narcotic regulations. The study suggests remedial measures to improve the capacity to deliver elder care in different settings.

Keywords: elder care settings, family caregiver, home care, geriatric hospital care, long term care facility

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Authors: Dhiraj Dolai, Rupayan Bhattacharya

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In this study, a comparison of Range Of Motion (ROM) of middle and long-distance runners and swimmers has been made. The mobility of the various joints is essential for the quick movement of any sportsman. Knowledge of a ROM helps in preventing injuries, in repeating the movement, and in generating speed and power. ROM varies among individuals, and it is influenced by factors such as gender, age, and whether the motion is performed actively or passively. ROM for running and swimming, both performed with due consideration on speed, plays an important role. The time of generation of speed and mobility of the particular joints are very important for both kinds of athletes. The difficulties that happen during running and swimming in the direction of motion is changed. In this study, data were collected for a total of 102 subjects divided into three groups: control group (22), middle and long-distance runners (40), and swimmers (40), and their ages are between 12 to 18 years. The swimmers have higher ROM in shoulder joint flexion, extension, abduction, and adduction movement. Middle and long-distance runners have significantly greater ROM from Control Group in the left shoulder joint flexion with a 5.82 mean difference. Swimmers have significantly higher ROM from the Control Group in the left shoulder joint flexion with 24.84 mean difference and swimmers have significantly higher ROM from the Middle and Long distance runners in left shoulder flexion with 19.02 mean difference. The picture will be clear after a more detailed investigation.

Keywords: range of motion, runners, swimmers, significance

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Authors: Sudhakar Kadiyala, Sripad R. Naik

Abstract:

Large cavern in Bhutan Himalayas is being monitored since the construction period. The behavior of the cavern is being monitored for last 16 years. Instrumentation includes measurement of convergence of high walls by geodetic monitoring, load on the support systems with load cells and instrumented bolts. Analysis of the results of instrumentation showed that during the construction period of the cavern, the convergence of the cavern varied from 181 - 233 mm in the unit bay area with maximum convergence rate of 2.80mm/day. Whereas during the operational period the total convergence observed was in the range of 21 to 45 mm during a period of 11.30 years with convergence rate of 0.005 to 0.011 mm/day. During the last five years, there were no instances of high tensile stress recorded by the instrumented bolts. Load on the rock bolts have shown stabilization trend at most of the locations. This paper discusses in detail the results of long-term monitoring using the geotechnical instruments and how the data is being used in 3D numerical model to confirm the stability of the cavern.

Keywords: convergence, displacements, geodetic monitoring, long-term stability

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Authors: Abdulkarim Yusuf

Abstract:

Motivation: A crucial but difficult goal for governments and policymakers in Nigeria in recent years has been the sustainability of economic growth. This goal must be accomplished by regulating or lowering greenhouse gas emissions, which calls for switching to a low- or zero-carbon production system. The lack of in-depth empirical studies on the environmental impact of socioeconomic variables on Nigeria and a number of unresolved issues from earlier research is what led to the current study. Objective: This study fills an important empirical gap by investigating the existence of an Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis and the long and short-run dynamic impact of socioeconomic variables on ecological sustainability in Nigeria. Data and method: Annual time series data covering the period 1980 to 2020 and the Autoregressive Distributed Lag technique in the presence of structural breaks were adopted for this study. Results: The empirical findings support the existence of the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis for Nigeria in the long and short run. Energy consumption and total import exacerbate environmental deterioration in the long and short run, whereas total export improves environmental quality in the long and short run. Financial development, which contributed to a conspicuous decrease in the level of environmental destruction in the long run, escalated it in the short run. In contrast, urbanization caused a significant increase in environmental damage in the long run but motivated a decrease in biodiversity loss in the short run. Implications: The government, policymakers, and all energy stakeholders should take additional measures to ensure the implementation and diversification of energy sources to accommodate more renewable energy sources that emit less carbon in order to promote efficiency in Nigeria's production processes and lower carbon emissions. In order to promote the production and trade of environmentally friendly goods, they should also revise and strengthen environmental policies. With affordable, dependable, and sustainable energy use for higher productivity and inclusive growth, Nigeria will be able to achieve its long-term development goals of good health and wellbeing.

Keywords: economic growth, energy consumption, environmental degradation, environmental Kuznets curve, urbanization, Nigeria

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Authors: Mahmoud Hassan, Walid Oueslati, Damien Rousseliere

Abstract:

This paper explores the channels through which energy taxes may affect economic growth, using a simultaneous equations model for a balanced panel data of 31 OECD countries over the 1994–2013 period. The empirical results reveal a negative impact of energy taxes on physical investment in the short and long term. This impact is negatively sensitive to the existence and level of public debt. Additionally, the results show that energy taxes have an indirect effect on human capital through their impact on polluting emissions. The taxes on energy products are able to reduce both the flux and the stock of polluting emissions that have a negative impact on human capital skills in the short and long term. Finally, we found that energy taxes could encourage eco-innovation in the short and long term.

Keywords: energy taxes, economic growth, public debt, simultaneous equations model, multiple imputation

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Authors: Tomas Menard

Abstract:

The design of control-law for engineering systems has been investigated for many decades. While many results are concerned with continuous systems with continuous output, nowadays, many controlled systems have to transmit their output measurements through network, hence making it discrete-time. But it is well known that the sampling of a system whose control-law is based on the continuous output may render the system unstable, especially when this sampling period is long compared to the system dynamics. The control design then has to be adapted in order to cope with this issue. In this paper, we consider systems which can be modeled as double integrator with uncertainty on the input since many mechanical systems can be put under such form. We present a control scheme based on an observer using only discrete time measurement and which provides continuous time estimation of the state, combined with a continuous control law, which stabilized a system with second-order dynamics even in the presence of uncertainty. It is further shown that arbitrarily long sampling periods can be dealt with properly setting the control scheme parameters.

Keywords: dynamical system, control law design, sampled output, observer design

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