Search results for: Ahmad Mohammad Alkhateeb

Authors: Ebrahim Solgi, Zahra Hamedani, Behrouz Mohammad Kari, Ruwan Fernando, Henry Skates

Abstract:

The use of thermal energy storage (TES) as part of a passive design strategy can reduce a building’s energy demand. TES materials do this by increasing the lag between energy consumption and energy supply by absorbing, storing and releasing energy in a controlled manner. The increase of lightweight construction in the building industry has made it harder to utilize thermal mass. Consequently, Phase Change Materials (PCMs) are a promising alternative as they can be manufactured in thin layers and used with lightweight construction to store latent heat. This research investigates utilizing PCMs, with the first step being measuring their performance under experimental conditions. To do this requires three components. The first is a calorimeter for measuring indoor thermal conditions, the second is a pyranometer for recording the solar conditions: global, diffuse and direct radiation and the third is a data-logger for recording temperature and humidity for the studied period. This paper reports on the design and implementation of an experimental setup used to measure the thermal characteristics of PCMs as part of a wall construction. The experimental model has been simulated with the software EnergyPlus to create a reliable simulation model that warrants further investigation.

Keywords: phase change materials, EnergyPlus, experimental evaluation, night ventilation

Procedia PDF Downloads 254

Authors: Zohreh Rostami, Arezoo Khosravi, Mohammad Nikpoor Aghdam, Mahmood Salesi

Abstract:

Background: Cardiovascular mortality in chronic kidney disease (CKD) and end stage renal disease (ESRD) patients have a strong relationship with baseline or progressive left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) meanwhile in hemodialysis patients 10% decrement in left ventricular mass was associated with 28% reduction in cardiovascular mortality risk. In consonance with these arguments, we designed a study to measure morphological and functional echocardiographic variations early after transplantation. Method: The patients with normal renal function underwent two advanced echocardiographic studies to examine the structural and functional changes in left ventricular mass before and 3-month after transplantation. Results: From a total of 23 participants 21(91.3%) presented with left ventricular hypertrophy, 60.9% in eccentric and 30.4% in concentric group. Diastolic dysfunction improved in concentric group after transplantation. Both in pre and post transplantation global longitudinal strain (GLS)- average in eccentric group was more than concentric (-17.45 ± 2.75 vs -14.3 ± 3.38 p=0.03) and (-18.08 ± 2.6 vs -16.1 ± 2.7 p= 0.04) respectively. Conclusion: Improvement and recovery of left ventricular function in concentric group was better and sooner than eccentric after kidney transplantation. Although fractional shortening and diastolic function and GLS-4C in pre-transplantation in concentric group was worse than eccentric, but therapeutic response to kidney transplantation in concentric was more and earlier than eccentric group.

Keywords: chronic kidney disease, end stage renal disease, left ventricular hypertrophy, global longitudinal strain

Procedia PDF Downloads 58

Authors: Rozeena Shaikh, Syed M Shahid, Jamil Ahmad, Qaisar Mansoor, Muhammad Ismail, Abid Azhar

Abstract:

Introduction: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a prevalent non-communicable disease worldwide. In most high-income countries as well as middle-income and low- income countries. DM is among the top causes of deaths. DM may lead to many vascular complications like hypertension, nephropathy, retinopathy, neuropathy, and foot. Diabetic nephropathy (DN) characterized by persistent albuminuria is a leading cause of end stage renal failure (ESRF). Pathogenesis of diabetic nephropathy is implicated by the polymorphisms in genes encoding the components of reninangiotensin- aldosteron system (RAAS) which include angiotensinogen (AGT), angiotensin-II receptor and particularly angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) gene. Method: Study subjects include 110 control, 110 patients with DM without hypertension, 110 patients with DM with hypertension and 110 patients with DN. Blood samples were collected for Biochemical analysis and PCR and sequencing for the specific region of both genes. Results: The frequency of DD genotype and D allele of ACE (I/D) was significantly (p<0.05) high in DM normotensive, DM hypertensive and DN patients when compared to control. The ACE G2350A genotypes and allele frequencies were significantly different (p<0.05) in DM hypertensive patients as compared to control and DN, while no difference was observed between DM normotensive and DN when compared to control. The genotypes and alleles of AGT (M268T) polymorphism were significantly different (p<0.05) in DM normotensive, DM hypertensive and DN when compared to control. Conclusion: The DD genotype and D allele of ACE (I/D), GG genotype and G allele of ACE (G2350A) and the TT genotype and T allele of AGT (M268T) polymorphism have shown a significant difference in genotype and allele frequencies between controls and patients.

Keywords: genetic variations, ACE, AGT, diabetes mellitus, diabetic nephropathy, Pakistan

Procedia PDF Downloads 391

Authors: Hossein Nikandam Kermanshah, Babak Samavatian, Akbar Hemmati Sabet, Mohammad Ahmadpanah

Abstract:

This is a quasi-experimental study that has been conducted in order to compare the effectiveness of social skills training and stress management training on self-esteem and aggression in first grade high school students. Forty-five people were selected from research community and were put randomly in there groups of social skills training, stress management training and control ones. Collecting data tools in this study was devise, self-esteem and AGQ aggression questionnaire. Self-esteem and aggression questionnaires has been conducted as the pre-test and post-test. Social skills training and stress management groups participated in eight 1.5 hour session in a week. But control group did not receive any therapy. For descriptive analysis of data, statistical indicators like mean, standard deviation were used, and in inferential statistics level multi variable covariance analysis have been used. The finding result show that group training social skills and stress management is significantly effective on the self-esteem and aggression, there is a meaningful difference between training social skills and stress management on self-esteem that the preference is with group social skills training, in the difference between group social skills training and stress management on aggression, the preference is with group stress management.

Keywords: social skill training, stress management training, self-esteem aggression, psychological sciences

Procedia PDF Downloads 465

Authors: Salma Baig, Bakrudeen Ali Ahmad, Ainnul Hamidah Syahadah Azizan, Hapipah Mohd Ali, Elham Rouhollahi, Mahmood Ameen Abdulla

Abstract:

Free radical damage induced by reactive oxygen species (ROS) contributes to etiology of many chronic diseases, cancer being one of them. Recent studies have been successful in ROS targeted therapies via antioxidants using mouse models in cancer therapeutics. The present study was designed to scrutinize anticancer activity, antioxidant activity of 5 different extracts of Thymus serpyllum in MDA-MB-231, MCF-7, HepG2, HCT-116, PC3, and A549. Identification of the phytochemicals present in the most active extract of Thymus serpyllum was conducted using gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrophotometry and antioxidant activity was measured by using DPPH radical scavenging and FRAP assay. Anticancer impact of the extract in terms of IC50 was evaluated using MTT cell viability assay. Results revealed that the hexane extract showed the best anticancer activity in HepG2 (Liver Carcinoma Cell Line) with an IC50 value of 23 ± 0.14 µg/ml followed by 25 µg/ml in HCT-116 (Colon Cancer Cell Line), 30 µm/ml in MCF-7 (Breast Cancer Cell Line), 35 µg/ml in MDA-MB-231 (Breast Cancer Cell Line), 57 µg/ml in PC3 (Prostate Cancer Cell Line) and 60 µg/ml in A549 (Lung Carcinoma Cell Line). GC-MS profile of the hexane extract showed the presence of 31 compounds with carvacrol, thymol and thymoquione being the major compounds. Phenolics such as Vitamin E, terpinen-4-ol, borneol and phytol were also identified. Hence, here we present the first report on cytotoxicity of hexane extract of Thymus serpyllum extract in HepG2 cell line with a robust anticancer activity with an IC50 of 23 ± 0.14 µg/ml.

Keywords: Thymus serpyllum L., hexane extract, GC-MS profile, antioxidant activity, anticancer activity, HepG2 cell line

Procedia PDF Downloads 514

Authors: Mohammad Izadkhah, Mojtaba Hoseini, Alireza Khalili Tehrani

Abstract:

In this paper we presented a new method for tracking flying targets in color video sequences based on contour and kernel. The aim of this work is to overcome the problem of losing target in changing light, large displacement, changing speed, and occlusion. The proposed method is made in three steps, estimate the target location by particle filter, segmentation target region using neural network and find the exact contours by greedy snake algorithm. In the proposed method we have used both region and contour information to create target candidate model and this model is dynamically updated during tracking. To avoid the accumulation of errors when updating, target region given to a perceptron neural network to separate the target from background. Then its output used for exact calculation of size and center of the target. Also it is used as the initial contour for the greedy snake algorithm to find the exact target's edge. The proposed algorithm has been tested on a database which contains a lot of challenges such as high speed and agility of aircrafts, background clutter, occlusions, camera movement, and so on. The experimental results show that the use of neural network increases the accuracy of tracking and segmentation.

Keywords: video tracking, particle filter, greedy snake, neural network

Procedia PDF Downloads 337

Authors: Abdullah Mohammad, Abdullah Alshemali, Esmaeil Alsaleh

Abstract:

The chemical composition of desalinated water is modified to make it more acceptable to the end-user. Sometimes, this modification is approached by mixing with brackish water that is known to contain a variety of minerals. Expectedly, besides minerals, brackish water indigenous bacterial communities access the final mixture hence reaching the end consumer. The current project examined the safety of using brackish water as an ingredient in potable water. Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains were detected in potable and brackish water samples collected from storage facilities in residential areas as well as from main water distribution and storage tanks. The application of molecular and biochemical fingerprinting methods, including phylogeny, RFLP (restriction fragment length polymorphism), MLST (multilocus sequence typing) and substrate specificity testing, suggested that the potable water P. aeruginosa strains were most probably originated from brackish water. Additionally, all the sixty-four isolates showed multi-drug resistance (MDR) phenotype and harboured the three genes responsible for biofilm formation. These virulence factors represent serious health hazards compelling the scientific community to revise the WHO (World Health Organization) and USEP (US Environmental Protection Agency) A potable water quality guidelines, particularly those related to the types of bacterial genera that evade the current water quality guidelines.

Keywords: potable water, brackish water, pseudomonas aeroginosa, multidrug resistance

Procedia PDF Downloads 117

Authors: Saeid Jafari, Khursheed Ahmad Sheikh, Randy W. Worobo, Kitipong Assatarakul

Abstract:

In this study, the extraction of cocoa shell powder (CSP) was optimized, and the optimized extracts were spray-dried for encapsulation purposes. Temperature (45-65 ◦C), extraction time (30–60 min), and ethanol concentration (60–100%) were the extraction parameters. The response surface methodology analysis revealed that the model was significant (p ≤ 0.05) in interactions between all variables (total phenolic compound, total flavonoid content, and antioxidant activity as measured by 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP assays), with a lack of fit test for the model being insignificant (p > 0.05). Temperature (55 ◦C), time (45 min), and ethanol concentration (60%) were found to be the optimal extraction conditions. For spray-drying encapsulation, some quality metrics (e.g., water solubility, water activity) were insignificant (p > 0.05). The microcapsules were found to be spherical in shape using a scanning electron microscope. Thermogravimetric and differential thermogravimetric measurements of the microcapsules revealed nearly identical results. The gum arabic + maltodextrin microcapsule (GMM) showed potential antibacterial (zone of inhibition: 11.50 mm; lower minimum inhibitory concentration: 1.50 mg/mL) and antioxidant (DPPH: 1063 mM trolox/100g dry wt.) activities (p ≤ 0.05). In conclusion, the microcapsules in this study, particularly GMM, are promising antioxidant and antibacterial agents to be fortified as functional food ingredients for the production of nutraceutical foods with health-promoting properties.

Keywords: functional foods, coco shell powder, antioxidant activity, encapsulation, extraction

Procedia PDF Downloads 54

Authors: Nur Mohammad Ali, Md. Shafiqul Alam, Jayanta Bhusan Deb, Nowrin Sharmin

Abstract:

The past ten years have seen significant expansion in the aviation sector, which during the previous five years has steadily pushed emerging countries closer to economic independence. It is crucial to accurately forecast the potential demand for air travel to make long-term financial plans. To forecast market demand for low-cost passenger carriers, this study suggests working with low-cost airlines, airports, consultancies, and governmental institutions' strategic planning divisions. The study aims to develop an artificial intelligence-based methods, notably fuzzy inference systems (FIS), to determine the most accurate forecasting technique for domestic low-cost carrier demand in Bangladesh. To give end users real-world applications, the study includes nine variables, two sub-FIS, and one final Mamdani Fuzzy Inference System utilizing a graphical user interface (GUI) made with the app designer tool. The evaluation criteria used in this inquiry included mean square error (MSE), accuracy, precision, sensitivity, and specificity. The effectiveness of the developed air passenger demand prediction FIS is assessed using 240 data sets, and the accuracy, precision, sensitivity, specificity, and MSE values are 90.83%, 91.09%, 90.77%, and 2.09%, respectively.

Keywords: aviation industry, fuzzy inference system, membership function, graphical user interference

Procedia PDF Downloads 69

Authors: Falntina Ahmad Alata, Natheer Abu Obeid

Abstract:

This paper revolves around the concept of affordance. It aims to discover and develop an architectural typology based on the ecological concept of affordance. In order to achieve this aim, an analytical study is conducted and two sources were taken into account: 1- Gibson's definition of the concept of affordance and 2- The researches that are concerned on the affordance categorisation. As a result, this paper concluded 16 typologies of affordances, including the possibilities of mixing them based on both sources. To clarify these typologies and provide further understanding, a wide range of architectural examples are presented and proposed in the paper. To prove this vocabulary’s capability to diagnose and evaluate the affordance of different environments, an experimental study with two processes have been adapted: 1. Diagnostic process: the interpretation of the environments with regards to its affordance by using the new vocabulary (the developed typologies). 2. Evaluating process: the evaluation of the environments that have been interpreted and classified with regards to their affordances. By using the measures of emotional experience (the positive affect ‘PA’ and the negative affect ‘NA’) and the architectural evaluation criteria (beauty, economy and function). The experimental study proves that the typologies are capable of reading the affordance within different environments. Additionally, it explains how these different typologies reflect different interactions based on the previous processes. The data which are concluded from the evaluation of measures explain how different typologies of affordance that have already reflected different environments had different evaluations. In fact, some of them are recommended while the others are not. In other words, the paper draws a roadmap for designers to diagnose, evaluate and analyse the affordance into different architectural environments. After that, it guides them through adapting the best interaction (affordance category), which they intend to adapt into their proposed designs.

Keywords: Affordance theory, Affordance categories, Architectural environments, Architectural Evaluation Criteria (AEC), emotional experience (PA, NA)

Procedia PDF Downloads 165

Authors: Asiful H. Seikh, Jabair A. Mohammed, Ubair A. Samad, Mohammad A. Alam, Saeed M. Al-Zahrani, El-Sayed M. Sherif

Abstract:

Three coating formulations were fabricated by incorporating different percentages of MIO (micaceous iron oxide ) (1, 2, and wt%) with ball-milled nanocrystalline Al (2 wt%) particles, which was optimized earlier. These coatings were characterized by means of different methods, namely, SEM, TGA, pendulum hardness, scratch test, and nano-indentation. The EIS measurements were carried out to report the effect of adding MIO powder in fabricated coatings on their corrosion behavior in 3.5 wt% NaCl solutions. In order to report the effect of immersion time on the corrosion and degradation of the prepared coatings, the EIS data were also acquired after various exposure periods of time, i.e., 1 h, 7 d, 14 d, 21 d, and 30 d in the test chloride solution. It has been found that the obtained EIS data for the fabricated coatings proved that the presence of 2% MIO provided the highest corrosion resistance amongst all coatings and that effect was recorded after all immersion periods of time. But, the MIO-incorporated coatings have less corrosion resistance than Al based epoxy coatings. It was also shown that with prolonged immersion, the resistance to corrosion declined after 7d, then with a longer period of immersion, i.e. 14 d, 21 d, and 30 d increases the resistance to corrosion by forming oxide products on the coatings surface. The results obtained from both mechanical and electrochemical testing confirmed that the fabricated coating with 2 wt% Al exhibited better hardness and higher resistance to corrosion as compared to coatings with 1 wt% Al and 3 wt% Al.

Keywords: epoxy coatings, nanomaterials, corrosion resistance, EIS, nanoindentation

Procedia PDF Downloads 69

Authors: Sagheer Ahmad

Abstract:

Teaching is a sacred profession whereby students are developed in their mental abilities to cope with the challenges of the remote world. Thinkers have developed plenty of interesting ways to make the learning process quick and absorbing for the students. However, third world countries are still lacking these remote facilities in the institutions, and therefore, teaching is totally dependent upon the skills of the teachers. Skillful teachers use self-devised and stimulating ideas to grab the attention of their students. Most of the time their ideas are based on local grounds with which the students are already familiar. This self-explanatory characteristic is the base of several local ideologies to disseminate scientific knowledge to new generations. Biology is such a subject which largely bases upon hypotheses, and teaching it in an interesting way is needful to create a friendly relationship between teacher and student, and to make a fantastic learning environment. Taxonomic classification if presented as it is, may not be attractive for the secondary school students who just start learning about biology at elementary levels. Presenting this hierarchy by exemplifying Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, family, genus and Species as comparatives of our division into continents, countries, cities, towns, villages, homes and finally individuals could be an attention-grabbing approach to make this concept get into bones of students. Similarly, many other interesting approaches have also been adopted to teach students in a fascinating way so that learning science subjects may not be boring for them. Discussing these appealing ways of teaching students can be a valuable stimulus to refine teaching methodologies about science, thereby promoting the concept of friendly learning.

Keywords: biology, innovative approaches, taxonomic classification, teaching

Procedia PDF Downloads 247

Authors: Mohammad Shoaib Khan, Abdul Sattar Bahalkani

Abstract:

This research investigates the violence and their impact on SMEs in Sindh. The main objective of current research is to examine the women empowerment through women participation in small and medium enterprises in upper Sindh. The data were collected from 500 respondents from Kandhkot District, by using simple random technique. A structural questionnaire was designed as an instrument for measuring the impact of SMEs business in women empowerment in rural Sindh. It was revealed that the rural women is less confident and their husbands were always given them hard time once they are exposing themselves to outside the boundaries of the house. It was revealed that rural women have a major contribution in social, economic, and political development. It was further revealed that women are getting low wages and due to non-availability of market facility they are paying low wages. The negative impact of husbands’ income and having children at the age of 0-6 years old are also significant. High income of other household member raises the reservation wage of mothers, thus lowers the probability of participation when the objective of working is to help family’s financial need. The impact of childcare on mothers’ labor force participation is significant but not as the theory predicted. The probability of participation in labor force is significantly higher for women who lived in the urban areas where job opportunities are greater compared to the rural.

Keywords: empowerment, violence against women, SMEs, rural

Procedia PDF Downloads 328

Authors: Babak Dizangian, Mohammad Reza Ghasemi, Akram Ghalandari

Abstract:

Moment frames have considerable ductility against cyclic lateral loads and displacements; however, if this feature causes the relative displacement to exceed the permissible limit, it can impose unfavorable hysteretic behavior on the frame. Therefore, adding a bracing system with the capability of preserving the capacity of high energy absorption and controlling displacements without a considerable increase in the stiffness is quite important. This paper investigates the retrofitting of a single storey steel moment frame through a delayed wire-rope bracing system using a middle steel plate. In this model, the steel plate lies where the wire ropes meet, and the model geometry is such that the cables are continuously under tension so that they can take the most advantage of the inherent potential they have in tolerating tensile stress. Using the steel plate also reduces the system stiffness considerably compared to cross bracing systems and preserves the ductile frame’s energy absorption capacity. In this research, the software models of delayed wire-rope bracing system have been studied, validated, and compared with other researchers’ laboratory test results.

Keywords: cyclic loading, delayed wire rope bracing, ductile moment frame, energy absorption, hysteresis curve

Procedia PDF Downloads 285

Authors: Sanan Raza, Tariq Abbas, Ahmad Yar Qamar, Muhammad Younus, Hamayun Khan, Mujahid Zafar

Abstract:

Water Buffaloes contribute significantly in Asian agriculture. The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of two synchronization protocols in enhancing pregnancy rate in 105 mixed parity buffaloes particularly in summer season. Buffaloes are seasonal breeders showing more fertility from October to January in subtropical environment of Pakistan. In current study 105 lactating buffaloes of mixed parity were used having normal estrous cycle, age ranging 5-9 years, weighing between 400-650 kg, BCS 4 ± 0.5 (1-5) and lactation varied from first to 5th. Experimental animals were divided into three groups based on corpus leteummorphometry. Morphometry of C.L was done using rectal population and ultrasonography. All animals were injected 25mg of PGi.m. (Cloprostenol). In Group-1 (n=35) hCG was administered at follicular size of 10mm having scanned after detection of heat. Similarly Group-2 (n=35) received 25 mg EB i.m (Estradiol Benzoate) after confirmation of follicular size of 10mm with ultrasound. Likewise, buffaloes of Group-3 (n=35) were administered normal saline respectively using as control. All buffaloes of three groups were inseminated after 12h of hCG, EB, and normal saline administration respectively. Pregnancy was assessed by ultrasound at 18th and 45th day post insemination. Pregnancy rates at 18th day were 38.2%, 34.5%, and 27.3% for G1, G2, and G3 respectively indicating that hCG and EB administered groups have no difference in results except control group having lower conception rate than both groups respectively. Similarly on 42nd day, these were 40.4%, 32.7% for G1 and G2 which are significantly higher than G3= 26.6 (control Group). Also, hCG and EB treated buffaloes have more probability of pregnancy than control group. Based on the findings of current study, it seems reasonable that the use of hCG and EB has been associated with improving pregnancy rates in non-breeding season of buffaloes.

Keywords: buffalo, hCG, EB, pregnancy rate, follicle, insemination

Procedia PDF Downloads 795

Authors: Bashir Ahmad Amiri, Nsenda Lukumwena

Abstract:

The global trend indicates that more and more people live and will continue to live in urban areas. Today cities are expanding both in physical size and number due to the rapid population growth along with sprawl development, which caused the cities to expand beyond the growth boundary and exerting intense pressure on environmental resources specially farmlands to accommodate new housing and urban facilities. Also noticeable is the increase in urban decay along with the increase of slum dwellers present another challenge that most cities in developed and developing countries have to deal with. Today urban practitioners, researchers, planners, and decision-makers are seeking for alternative development and growth management policies to house the rising urban population and also cure the urban decay and slum issues turn to Smart Growth to achieve their goals. Many cities across the globe have adopted smart growth as an alternative growth management tool to deal with patterns and forms of development and to cure the rising urban and environmental problems. The method used in this study is a literature analysis method through reviewing various resources to highlight the potential benefits of Smart Growth in both developed and developing countries and analyze, to what extent it can be a strategic alternative for Afghanistan’s cities, especially the capital city. Hence a comparative analysis is carried on three countries, namely the USA, China, and India to identify the potential benefits of smart growth likely to serve as an achievable broad base for recommendations in different urban contexts.

Keywords: growth management, housing, Kabul city, smart growth, urban-expansion

Procedia PDF Downloads 228

Authors: Mohammad Heidari

Abstract:

In this paper a method for high strength steel is proposed of residual stresses in autofrettaged tubes by combination of artificial neural networks is presented. Many different thick walled cylinders that were subjected to different conditions were studied. At first, the residual stress is calculated by analytical solution. Then by changing of the parameters that influenced in residual stresses such as percentage of autofrettage, internal pressure, wall ratio of cylinder, material property of cylinder, bauschinger and hardening effect factor, a neural network is created. These parameters are the input of network. The output of network is residual stress. Numerical data, employed for training the network and capabilities of the model in predicting the residual stress has been verified. The output obtained from neural network model is compared with numerical results, and the amount of relative error has been calculated. Based on this verification error, it is shown that the radial basis function of neural network has the average error of 2.75% in predicting residual stress of thick wall cylinder. Further analysis of residual stress of thick wall cylinder under different input conditions has been investigated and comparison results of modeling with numerical considerations shows a good agreement, which also proves the feasibility and effectiveness of the adopted approach.

Keywords: thick walled cylinder, residual stress, radial basis, artificial neural network

Procedia PDF Downloads 413

Authors: Mohammad Hossein Mohammadi Sanjani, Ashknaz Oraee, Arian Amirnia, Atena Taheri, Mohammadreza Arabi, Mahmud Fotuhi-Firuzabad

Abstract:

Ferroresonance effects cause overvoltage in medium voltage transformers and isolators used in electrical networks. Ferroresonance effects are nonlinear and occur between the network capacitor and the nonlinear inductance of the voltage transformer during saturation. This phenomenon is unwanted for transformers since it causes overheating, introduction of high dynamic forces in primary coils, and rise of voltage in primary coils for the voltage transformer. Furthermore, it results in electrical and thermal failure of the transformer. Expansion of distribution lines, design of the transformer in smaller sizes, and the increase of harmonics in distribution networks result in an increase of ferroresonance. There is limited literature available to improve the effects of ferroresonance; therefore, optimizing its effects for voltage transformers is of great importance. In this study, comprehensive modeling of a medium voltage block-type voltage transformer is performed. In addition, a recent model is proposed to improve the performance of voltage transformers during the occurrence of ferroresonance using damping oscillations. Also, transformer design optimization is presented in this study to show further improvements in the performance of the voltage transformer. The recently proposed model is experimentally tested and verified on a medium voltage transformer in the laboratory, and simulation results show a large reduction of the effects of ferroresonance.

Keywords: optimization, voltage transformer, ferroresonance, modeling, damper

Procedia PDF Downloads 95

Authors: Muhammad Tahir Riaz, Khalid Mehmood, Ahmad Waseem Akhtar, Tariq Abbas, Sadaqat Ali, Muhammad Altaf

Abstract:

Livestock sector contributes around 55.9 and 11.8% to agriculture and GDP respectively, according to economic survey of Pakistan 2013-2014. The goats population has been estimated about 66.6 million (M). Parasitic infestation is a major health problem in goats causing loss in body weight, poor body condition, low birth weights, and difficulty in kidding. Keeping in view the utilization of these animals in the country, a pilot epidemiological survey was conducted to find out the major parasitic problems of goats in and around Derawar fort area, Cholistan. Data regarding 662 fecal samples of goats was collected from 25 tobas of Cholistan during June 2012 to June 2013. All the fecal samples were examined through Direct Smear Method and Salt Flotation Technique for the presence of helminth eggs. External parasites were taken from the various components of the carcass of goat and were conserved in 70% alcohol in hygienic, properly enclosed glass jars that were tagged thoroughly. The collected date was analyzed statistically by Chi-square test to find out the prevalence in goats. Out of 662 goats, 261 (39.42%) were found positive for parasites. 233 (35.20%) goats were found positive for gastrointestinal parasites while 28 (4.23%) were positive for external parasites including ticks 20 (3.02%) and mange 8 (1.21%). The higher prevalence of parasites in the study area may be due to pasture grazing, poor management and lack of extension work. In this regards proper management and control measures should be adopted to minimize the Parasitic Problems.

Keywords: Cholistan, goats, parasite, surveillance

Procedia PDF Downloads 563

Authors: Najie Hassanzade, Mohammad Rabbani Khorasgani

Abstract:

Dairy products have been regarded as the natural source of lactic acid bacteria with potential characteristics of probiotics; therefore, a lot of research and practical works have been carried out about the isolation of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) from dairy products, especially traditional yogurt and related products. Interest in traditional dairy products continues in the area of isolation of new LAB that can complement or replace currently used starters and/or that can be candidates as beneficial microorganisms for prevention or treatment purposes. In this perspective, such products are potentially good candidates for isolating new strains of probiotics. On the other hand, some infectious diseases such as salmonellosis have expressed resistance against many antibiotics; therefore, many attempts have been performed to use an alternative approach to overcome antibiotic resistance. The current research focuses on the isolation of LAB from dairy products, especially traditional dairy products and screening of them for anti-Salmonella activities. Twenty-five samples, including 15 sheep milk samples, one camel milk sample and seven cow milk samples from different areas of Iran and 2 yogurt samples from Herat, Afghanistan are collected. 20 bacteria are isolated by culturing the samples on MRS agar specific medium; among them 4 Lactobacillus strains, including 3L. plantarum strains and one L.gasseri strain, are identified by analyzing the biochemical tests and PCR tests in which 27F and 1492R primers are used. Then, their effects against Salmonella typhimurium using the well-diffusion method are evaluated.

Keywords: lactic acid bacteria, probiotics, dairy products Salmonella

Procedia PDF Downloads 256

Authors: Abdmohammad Mousavi, Mohsen Shams, Mehdi Akbartabar Toori, Ali Mousavizadeh, Mohammad Ali Morowatisharifabad

Abstract:

Introduction: The effectiveness of Transtheoretical Model constructs on dietary behavior change has been subject to questions by some studies. The objective of this study was to determine the relationship between self–efficacy and decisional balance as mediator variables and transfer obese and overweight women among the stages of behavior change of calorie balanced dietary intake. Method: In this cross-sectional study, 448 obese and overweight 20-44 years old women were selected from three health centers in Yasuj, a city in south west of Iran. Anthropometric data were measured using standard techniques. Demographic, stages of change, self-efficacy and decisional balance data were collected by questionnaires and analyzed using One–Way ANOVA and Generalized Linear Models tests. Results: Demographic and anthropometric variables were not different significantly in different stages of change related to calorie intake except the pre-high school level of education (P=.047, OR=502, 95% CI= .255 ~ .990). Mean scores of Self-efficacy ( F(4.425)= 27.09, P= .000), decisional balance (F(4.394), P= .004), and pros (F(4.430)=5.33, P=000) were different significantly in five stages of change. However, the cons did not show a significant change in this regard (F(4.400)=1.83, P=.123). Discussion: Women movement through the stages of changes for calorie intake behavior can be predicted by self efficacy, decisional balance and pros.

Keywords: transtheoretical model, stages of change, self efficacy, decisional balance, calorie intake, women

Procedia PDF Downloads 426

Authors: Ahmad Alsolami, Darren Mundy, Manuel Hernandez-Perez

Abstract:

Social media networks, such as Twitter, offer the perfect opportunity to either positively or negatively affect political attitudes on large audiences. The existence of influential users who have developed a reputation for their knowledge and experience of specific topics is a major factor contributing to this impact. Therefore, knowledge of the mechanisms to identify influential users on social media is vital for understanding their effect on their audience. The concept of the influential user is related to the concept of opinion leaders' to indicate that ideas first flow from mass media to opinion leaders and then to the rest of the population. Hence, the objective of this research was to provide reliable and accurate structural mechanisms to identify influential users, which could be applied to different platforms, places, and subjects. Twitter was selected as the platform of interest, and Saudi Arabia as the context for the investigation. These were selected because Saudi Arabia has a large number of Twitter users, some of whom are considerably active in setting agendas and disseminating ideas. The study considered the scientific methods that have been used to identify public opinion leaders before, utilizing metrics software on Twitter. The key findings propose multiple novel metrics to compare Twitter influencers, including the number of followers, social authority and the use of political hashtags, and four secondary filtering measures. Thus, using ratio and percentage calculations to classify the most influential users, Twitter accounts were filtered, analyzed and included. The structured approach is used as a mechanism to explore the top ten influencers on Twitter from the political domain in Saudi Arabia.

Keywords: Twitter, influencers, structured mechanism, Saudi Arabia

Procedia PDF Downloads 114

Authors: Alaa Al Hawari, Mohammad Khader, Wael El Hasan, Mahmoud Alijla, Ammar Manawi, Abdelbaki Benamour

Abstract:

The production of aluminium alloys and ingots -starting from the processing of alumina to aluminium, and the final cast product- was studied using a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach. The studied aluminium supply chain consisted of a carbon plant, a reduction plant, a casting plant, and a power plant. In the LCA model, the environmental loads of the different plants for the production of 1 ton of aluminium metal were investigated. The impact of the aluminium production was assessed in eight impact categories. The results showed that for all of the impact categories the power plant had the highest impact only in the cases of Human Toxicity Potential (HTP) the reduction plant had the highest impact and in the Marine Aquatic Eco-Toxicity Potential (MAETP) the carbon plant had the highest impact. Furthermore, the impact of the carbon plant and the reduction plant combined was almost the same as the impact of the power plant in the case of the Acidification Potential (AP). The carbon plant had a positive impact on the environment when it comes to the Eutrophication Potential (EP) due to the production of clean water in the process. The natural gas based power plant used in the case study had 8.4 times less negative impact on the environment when compared to the heavy fuel based power plant and 10.7 times less negative impact when compared to the hard coal based power plant.

Keywords: life cycle assessment, aluminium production, supply chain, ecological impacts

Procedia PDF Downloads 528

Authors: Sultan Husein Bayqra, Ali Mardani Aghabaglou, Zia Ahmad Faqiri, Hassane Amidou Ouedraogo

Abstract:

In this study, the effect of shape and size of the concrete specimen on the compressive and splitting tensile strength of the concrete mixtures in the absence and presence of steel fiber was investigated. For this aim, ten different concrete mixtures having w/c ratio of 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 0.6 and 0.7 with and without fiber were prepared. In the mixtures containing steel fibers having aspect ratio (L/D) of 64 were used by 1% of the total mixture volume. In all concrete mixtures, CEM I 42,5R type Portland cement and crushed Lime-stone aggregates having different aggregate size fractions were used. The combined aggregate was obtained by mixing %40 0-5 mm, %30 5-12 mm and %30 12-22 mm aggregate size fraction. The slump values of concrete mixtures were kept constant as 17 ± 2 cm. To provide the desired slump value, a polycarboxylate ether-based high range water reducing admixture was used. In order to investigate the effect of size and shape of concrete specimen on strength properties 10 cm, 15 cm cubic specimens and 10×20 cm, 15×30 cm cylindrical specimens were prepared for each mixture. The specimens were cured under standard conditions until testing days. The 7- and 28-day compressive and splitting tensile strengths of mixtures were determined. The results obtained from the experimental study showed that the strength ratio between the cylinder and the cube specimens increased with the increase of the strength of the concrete. Regardless of the fiber utilization and specimen shape, strength values of concrete mixtures were increased by decreasing specimen size. However, the mentioned behaviour was not observed for the case that the mixtures having high W/C ratio and containing fiber. The compressive strength of cube specimens containing fiber was less affected by the size of the specimen compared to that of cube specimens containing no fibers.

Keywords: compressive strength, splitting tensile strength, fiber reinforced concrete, size effect, shape effect

Procedia PDF Downloads 174

Authors: Azadeh Jafari, Mohammad Taghi Karimi, Azadeh Nadi

Abstract:

Background: Scoliosis is the lateral curvature of the spine which may influence the abilities of the subjects during standing and walking. Most of the scoliotic subjects use orthosis to reduce the curve and to decrease the risk of curve progression. There was lack of information regarding the effects of orthosis on kinematic and joint contact force. Therefore, this research was done to highlight the effects of orthosis on the aforementioned parameters. Method: 5 scoliotic subjects were recruited in this study, with single curve less than 40 (females with age 13.2 ± 1.7). They were asked to walk with and without orthosis. The kinematic of the joints, force applied on the legs, moments transmitted through the joints and joint contact forces were evaluated in this study. Moreover, the lengths of muscles were determined by use of computer muscle control approach in OpenSim. Results: There was a significant difference between the second peak of vertical ground reaction force while walking with and without orthosis (p-value < 0.05). There was no difference between spatiotemporal gait parameters while walking with and without orthosis (P-value > 0.05). The mean values of joint contact forces (vertical component) increased by the use of orthosis, but the difference was not significant (p-value > 0.05). Conclusion: Although the kinematic of most of the body joints was not influenced by the use of orthosis, the joint contact force may be increased by orthosis. The increase in joint contact force may be due to the performance of orthosis which restricts the motions of pelvic and increases compensatory mechanism used by the subjects to decrease the side effects of the orthosis.

Keywords: scoliosis, joint contact force, kinetic, kinematic

Procedia PDF Downloads 207

Authors: Mohammad Saifuddin, Shahjada Selim

Abstract:

Patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) are prone to develop infection, especially urinary tract infection (UTI) in comparison with non-diabetics. Due to the emergence of multidrug resistant (MDR) uropathogenic strains, the choice of antimicrobial agent is sometimes difficult. This study is designed to reveal the distribution of uropathogens in Diabetic patients and corresponding sensitivity patterns and to correlate the microbiological results with various clinical parameters. A nine-month retrospective review of 100 urine culture reports of Diabetic patients from January 2015 to September 2015 from semiurbanmultispeciality hospital of Feni, Bangladesh were analyzed. Only Diabetic patients were included in this study who were clinically diagnosed as UTI patients with a corresponding urine culture showing a bacterial count of ˃105cfu/ml.Out of 100 patients with UTI, 39 (39%) were male, and 61 (61%) were female. Organisms grown in urine culture were Escherichia coli (64) followed by Klebsiella (11), Proteus (7), Staph Aureus (4), Pseudomonas (4), Acinetobacter (3), Sreptococcus(3), Enterococcus (2 ) and one each of Enterobacter and Fungi. Overall sensitivity pattern in decreasing order of various commonly used antibiotics was Meropenem (89%), Nitrofurantoin (86%), Amikacin (81%), Ceftriaxone (68%), Cefuroxime (61%), Cefixime (39%), Quinolones (28%), Amoxicillin (16%). The significance of the study lies in the determination of common pathogens in diabetic patients with UTI and the resistance pattern of antibiotics so that physicians and pharmacists get the proper information rationalizing the rational use of antibiotics.

Keywords: Bangladesh, Diabetes Mellitus, E. coli, urinary tract infection

Procedia PDF Downloads 308

Authors: Richard Briginshaw, Hana Alaojeli, Javaria Ahmad, Hamza Gaffar, Nourtan Murad

Abstract:

Sustainable renovations to cultural buildings and sites require a high level of competency in the sometimes conflicting areas of social/historical demands, environmental concerns, and the programmatic and technical requirements of the project. A detailed analysis of the existing site, building and client program are critical to reveal both challenges and opportunities. This forms the starting point for the design process – empirical explorations that search for a balanced and inspired architectural solution to the project. The Red Bay National Historic Site on the Labrador Coast of eastern Canada is a challenging project to explore and resolve these ideas. Originally the site of a 16ᵗʰ century whaling station occupied by Basque sailors from France and Spain, visitors now experience this history at the interpretive center, along with the unique geography, climate, local culture and vernacular architecture of the area. Working with our client, Parks Canada, the project called for significant alterations and expansion to the existing facility due to an increase in the number of annual visitors. Sustainable aspects of the design are focused on sensitive site development, passive energy strategies such as building orientation and building envelope efficiency, active renewable energy systems, carefully considered material selections, water efficiency, and interiors that respond to human comfort and a unique visitor experience.

Keywords: sustainability, renovations and expansion, cultural project, architectural design, green building

Procedia PDF Downloads 166

Authors: Ahmad Rabby

Abstract:

The demographic trend analyses of Bombay-duck from time series catch data using CMSY and BSM for the first time in Bangladesh. During 2000-2018, CMSY indicates average lowest production in 2000 and highest in 2018. This has been used in the estimation of prior biomass by the default rules. Possible 31030 viable trajectories for 3422 r-k pairs were found by the CMSY analysis and the final estimates for intrinsic rate of population increase (r) was 1.19 year-1 with 95% CL= 0.957-1.48 year-1. The carrying capacity(k) of Bombay-duck was 283×103 tons with 95% CL=173×103 - 464×103 tons and MSY was 84.3×103tons year-1, 95% CL=49.1×103-145×103 tons year-1. Results from Bayesian state-space implementation of the Schaefer production model (BSM) using catch & CPUE data, found catchabilitiy coefficient(q) was 1.63 ×10-6 from lcl=1.27×10-6 to ucl=2.10×10-6 and r= 1.06 year-1 with 95% CL= 0.727 - 1.55 year-1, k was 226×103 tons with 95% CL=170×103-301×103 tons and MSY was 60×103 tons year-1 with 95% CL=49.9 ×103- 72.2 ×103 tons year-1. Results for Bombay-duck fishery management based on BSM assessment from time series catch data illustrated that, Fmsy=0.531 with 95% CL =0.364 - 0.775 (if B > 1/2 Bmsy then Fmsy =0.5r); Fmsy=0.531 with 95% CL =0.364-0.775 (r and Fmsy are linearly reduced if B < 1/2Bmsy). Biomass in 2018 was 110×103 tons with 2.5th to 97.5th percentile=82.3-155×103 tons. Relative biomass (B/Bmsy) in last year was 0.972 from 2.5th percentile to 97.5th percentile=0.728 -1.37. Fishing mortality in last year was 0.738 with 2.5th-97.5th percentile=0.525-1.37. Exploitation F/Fmsy was 1.39, from 2.5th to 97.5th percentile it was 0.988 -1.86. The biological reference points of B/BMSY was smaller than 1.0, while F/FMSY was higher than 1.0 revealed an over-exploitation of the fishery, indicating that more conservative management strategies are required for Bombay-duck fishery.

Keywords: biological reference points, catchability coefficient, carrying capacity, intrinsic rate of population increase

Procedia PDF Downloads 124

Authors: M. Z. Bin Mohd Ghazali, N. C. Wilson, A. F. Bin Ahmad Fuad, M. A. H. B. Musa, M. U. Mohamad Sani, F. Zulkifli, M. S. Zainal Abidin

Abstract:

Physical activity levels are low in Malaysia and this study was undertaken to determine if a four week work-based intervention program would be effective in changing physical activity levels. The study was conducted in a Malaysian Government Department and had three stages: baseline data collection, four-week intervention and two-month post intervention data collection. During the intervention and two-month post intervention phases, physical activity levels (determined by a pedometer) and basic health profiles (BMI, abdominal obesity, blood pressure) were measured. Staff (58 males, 47 females) with an average age of 33 years completed baseline data collection. Pedometer steps averaged 7,102 steps/day at baseline, although male step counts were significantly higher than females (7,861 vs. 6114). Health profiles were poor: over 50% were overweight/obese (males 66%, females 40%); hypertension (males 23%, females 6%); excess waist circumference (males 52%, females 17%). While 86 staff participated in the intervention, only 49 regularly reported their steps. There was a significant increase (17%) in average daily steps from 8,965 (week 1) to 10,436 (week 4). Unfortunately, participation in the intervention program was avoided by the less healthy staff. Two months after the intervention there was no significant difference in average steps/day, despite the fact that 89% of staff reporting they planned to make long-term changes to their lifestyle. An unexpected average increase of 2kg in body weight occurred in participants, although this was less than the 5.6kg in non-participants. A number of recommendations are made for future interventions, including the conclusion that pedometers were a useful tool and popular with participants.

Keywords: pedometers, walking, health, intervention

Procedia PDF Downloads 298

Authors: Hosein Alimadadi, Fatemeh Farahmand, Ali Jafarian, Nasir Fakhar, Mohammad Hassan Sohouli, Neda Raeesi

Abstract:

Backgroundsː Regarding the important role of liver transplantation as the only treatment in many cases of end-stage liver disease in children, the aim of this study is to investigate the complications of liver transplantation and their management in children referred to the Children's Medical Center. Methods: This study is a cross-sectional study on pediatric patients who have undergone liver transplants in the years 2016 to 2021. The indication for liver transplantation in this population was confirmed by a pediatric gastroenterologist, and a liver transplant was performed by a transplant surgeon. Finally, information about the patient before and after the transplantation was collected and recorded. Results: A total of 53 patients participated in this study, including 25 (47.2%) boys and 28 (52.8%) girls. The most common causes of liver transplantation were cholestatic and metabolic diseases. The most common early complication of liver transplantation in children was acute cellular rejection (ACR) and anastomotic biliary stricture. The most common late complication in these patients was an infection which was observed in 56.6% of patients. Among the drug side effects, neurotoxicity (convulsions) was seen more in patients, and 15.1% of the transplanted patients died. Conclusion: In this study, the most common early complication of liver transplantation in children was ACR and biliary stricture, and the most common late complication was infection. Neurotoxicity (convulsions) was the most common side effect of drugs.

Keywords: liver transplantation, complication, infection, survival rate

Procedia PDF Downloads 80