Search results for: specific absorption rate

Authors: A. A. Purohit, A. Basu, K. A. Chavan, M. D. Kudale

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Many estuarine harbours in the world are facing the problem of siltation in docks, channel entrances, etc. The harbours in India are not an exception and require maintenance dredging to achieve navigable depths for keeping them operable. Hence, dredging is inevitable and is a costly affair. The heavy siltation in docks in well mixed tide dominated estuaries is mainly due to settlement of cohesive sediments in suspension. As such there is a need to have a permanent solution for minimising the siltation in such docks to alter the hydrodynamic flow field responsible for siltation by constructing structures outside the dock. One of such docks on the west coast of India, wherein siltation of about 2.5-3 m/annum prevails, was considered to understand the hydrodynamic flow field responsible for siltation. The dock is situated in such a region where macro type of semi-diurnal tide (range of about 5m) prevails. In order to change the flow field responsible for siltation inside the dock, suitability of Current Deflecting Wall (CDW) outside the dock was studied, which will minimise the sediment exchange rate and siltation in the dock. The well calibrated physical tidal model was used to understand the flow field during various phases of tide for the existing dock in Mumbai harbour. At the harbour entrance where the tidal flux exchanges in/out of the dock, measurements on water level and current were made to estimate the sediment transport capacity. The distorted scaled model (1:400 (H) & 1:80 (V)) of Mumbai area was used to study the tidal flow phenomenon, wherein tides are generated by automatic tide generator. Hydraulic model studies carried out under the existing condition (without CDW) reveal that, during initial hours of flood tide, flow hugs the docks breakwater and part of flow which enters the dock forms number of eddies of varying sizes inside the basin, while remaining part of flow bypasses the entrance of dock. During ebb, flow direction reverses, and part of the flow re-enters the dock from outside and creates eddies at its entrance. These eddies do not allow water/sediment-mass to come out and result in settlement of sediments in dock both due to eddies and more retention of sediment. At latter hours, current strength outside the dock entrance reduces and allows the water-mass of dock to come out. In order to improve flow field inside the dockyard, two CDWs of length 300 m and 40 m were proposed outside the dock breakwater and inline to Pier-wall at dock entrance. Model studies reveal that, during flood, major flow gets deflected away from the entrance and no eddies are formed inside the dock, while during ebb flow does not re-enter the dock, and sediment flux immediately starts emptying it during initial hours of ebb. This reduces not only the entry of sediment in dock by about 40% but also the deposition by about 42% due to less retention. Thus, CDW is a promising solution to significantly reduce siltation in dock.

Keywords: current deflecting wall, eddies, hydraulic model, macro tide, siltation

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Authors: Jadwiga Fila, Mateusz Jezowski, Pawel Poszytek

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The outbreak of the global COVID-19 pandemic started the times of crisis full of uncertainty, especially in the field of transnational cooperation projects based on the international mobility of their participants. This is notably the case of Erasmus+ Program for higher education, which is the flagship European initiative boosting cooperation between educational institutions, businesses, and other actors, enabling students and staff mobility, as well as strategic partnerships between different parties. The aim of this abstract is to study whether competences 4.0 are able to empower Erasmus+ project leaders in sustaining their international cooperation in times of global crisis, widespread online learning, and common project disruption or cancellation. The concept of competences 4.0 emerged from the notion of the industry 4.0, and it relates to skills that are fundamental for the current labor market. For the aim of the study presented in this abstract, four main 4.0 competences were distinguished: digital, managerial, social, and cognitive competence. The hypothesis for the study stipulated that the above-mentioned highly-developed competences may act as a protective shield against the pandemic challenges in terms of projects’ sustainability and continuation. The objective of the research was to assess to what extent individual competences are useful in managing projects in times of crisis. For this purpose, the study was conducted, involving, among others, 141 Polish higher education project leaders who were running their cooperation projects during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic (Mar-Nov 2020). The research explored the self-perception of the above-mentioned competences among Erasmus+ project leaders and the contextual data regarding the sustainability of the projects. The quantitative character of data permitted validation of scales (Cronbach’s Alfa measure), and the use of factor analysis made it possible to create a distinctive variable for each competence and its dimensions. Finally, logistic regression was used to examine the association of competences and other factors on project status. The study shows that the project leaders’ competence profile attributed the highest score to digital competence (4.36 on the 1-5 scale). Slightly lower values were obtained for cognitive competence (3.96) and managerial competence (3.82). The lowest score was accorded to one specific dimension of social competence: adaptability and ability to manage stress (1.74), which proves that the pandemic was a real challenge which had to be faced by project coordinators. For higher education projects, 10% were suspended or prolonged because of the COVID-19 pandemic, whereas 90% were undisrupted (continued or already successfully finished). The quantitative analysis showed a positive relationship between the leaders’ levels of competences and the projects status. In the case of all competences, the scores were higher for project leaders who finished projects successfully than for leaders who suspended or prolonged their projects. The research demonstrated that, in the demanding times of the COVID-19 pandemic, competences 4.0, to a certain extent, do play a significant role in the successful management of Erasmus+ projects. The implementation and sustainability of international educational projects, despite mobility and sanitary obstacles, depended, among other factors, on the level of leaders’ competences.

Keywords: Competences 4.0, COVID-19 pandemic, Erasmus+ Program, international education, project sustainability

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Authors: Mai Sirhan, Arieh Sidess

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Asphaltic mixture is a heterogeneous material composed of three main components: aggregates; bitumen and air voids. The professional experience and scientific literature categorize asphaltic mixture as a viscoelastic material, whose behavior is determined by temperature and loading rate. Properties characterization of the asphaltic mixture used under the service conditions is done by compacting and testing cylindric asphalt samples in the laboratory. These samples must resemble in a high degree internal structure of the mixture achieved in service, and the mechanical characteristics of the compacted asphalt layer in the pavement. The laboratory samples are usually compacted in temperatures between 140 and 160 degrees Celsius. In this temperature range, the asphalt has a low degree of strength. The laboratory samples are compacted using the dynamic or vibrational compaction methods. In the compaction process, the aggregates tend to align themselves in certain directions that lead to anisotropic behavior of the asphaltic mixture. This issue has been studied in the Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP) research, that recommended using the gyratory compactor based on the assumption that this method is the best in mimicking the compaction in the service. In Israel, the Netivei Israel company is considering adopting the Gyratory Method as a replacement for the Marshall method used today. Therefore, the compatibility of the Gyratory Method for the use with Israeli asphaltic mixtures should be investigated. In this research, we aimed to examine the impact of the compaction method used on the mechanical characteristics of the asphaltic mixtures and to evaluate the degree of anisotropy in relation to the compaction method. In order to carry out this research, samples have been compacted in the vibratory and gyratory compactors. These samples were cylindrically cored both vertically (compaction wise) and horizontally (perpendicular to compaction direction). These models were tested under dynamic modulus and permanent deformation tests. The comparable results of the tests proved that: (1) specimens compacted by the vibratory compactor had higher dynamic modulus values than the specimens compacted by the gyratory compactor (2) both vibratory and gyratory compacted specimens had anisotropic behavior, especially in high temperatures. Also, the degree of anisotropy is higher in specimens compacted by the gyratory method. (3) Specimens compacted by the vibratory method that were cored vertically had the highest resistance to rutting. On the other hand, specimens compacted by the vibratory method that were cored horizontally had the lowest resistance to rutting. Additionally (4) these differences between the different types of specimens rise mainly due to the different internal arrangement of aggregates resulting from the compaction method. (5) Based on the initial prediction of the performance of the flexible pavement containing an asphalt layer having characteristics based on the results achieved in this research. It can be concluded that there is a significant impact of the compaction method and the degree of anisotropy on the strains that develop in the pavement, and the resistance of the pavement to fatigue and rutting defects.

Keywords: anisotropy, asphalt compaction, dynamic modulus, gyratory compactor, mechanical properties, permanent deformation, vibratory compactor

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Authors: Kenji Tanaka, Kazumi Sugita, Yuto Mizushima

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This paper introduces a noteworthy form of English communication training for the officers and operators of the Osaka-Bay Marine Traffic Information Service (Osaka MARTIS) of the Japan Coast Guard working in the congested area at the Akashi Strait in Hyogo Prefecture, Japan. The authors of this paper, Marine Technical College’s (MTC) English language instructors, have been holding about forty lectures and exercises in basic and normal Maritime English (ME) for several groups of MARTIS personnel at Osaka MARTIS annually since they started the training in 2005. Trainees are expected to be qualified Maritime Third-Class Radio Operators who are responsible for providing safety information to a daily average of seven to eight hundred vessels that pass through the Akashi Strait, one of Japan’s narrowest channels. As of 2022, the instructors are conducting 55 remote lessons at MARTIS. One lesson is 90 minutes long. All 26 trainees are given oral and written assessments. The trainees need to pass the examination to become qualified operators every year, requiring them to train and maintain their linguistic levels even during the pandemic of Corona Virus Disease-19 (COVID-19). The vessel traffic information provided by Osaka MARTIS in Maritime English language is essential to the work involving the use of very high frequency (VHF) communication between MARTIS and vessels in the area. ME is the common language mainly used on board merchant, fishing, and recreational vessels, normally at sea. ME was edited and recommended by the International Maritime Organization in the 1970s, was revised in 2002, and has undergone continual revision. The vessel’s circumstances are much more serious at the strait than those at the open sea, so these vessels need ME to receive guidance from the center when passing through the narrow strait. The imminent and challenging situations at the strait necessitate that textbooks’ contents include the basics of the phrase book for seafarers as well as specific and additional navigational information, pronunciation exercises, notes on keywords and phrases, explanations about collocations, sample sentences, and explanations about the differences between synonyms especially those focusing on terminologies necessary for passing through the strait. Additionally, short Japanese-English translation quizzes about these topics, as well as prescribed readings about the maritime sector, are include in the textbook. All of these exercises have been trained in the remote education system since the outbreak of COVID-19. According to the guidelines of ME edited in 2009, the lowest level necessary for seafarers is B1 (lower individual users) of The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment (CEFR). Therefore, this vocational ME language training at Osaka MARTIS aims for its trainees to communicate at levels higher than B1. A noteworthy proof of improvement from this training is that most of the trainees have become qualified marine radio communication officers.

Keywords: akashi strait, B1 of CEFR, maritime english communication training, osaka martis

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Authors: Malkhaz Jokhadze, Vakhtang Mshvildadze, Levan Makaradze, Ekaterine Mosidze, Salome Barbaqadze, Mariam Murtazashvili, Dali Berashvili, Koba sivsivadze, Lasha Bakuridze, Aliosha Bakuridze

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Essential oils are one of the most important groups of biologically active substances present in plants. Due to the chemical diversity of components, essential oils and their preparations have a wide spectrum of pharmacological action. They have bactericidal, antiviral, fungicidal, antiprotozoal, anti-inflammatory, spasmolytic, sedative and other activities. They are expectorant, spasmolytic, sedative, hypotensive, secretion enhancing, antioxidant remedies. Based on preliminary pharmacological studies, we have developed a formulation called “Phytobiotic” containing essential oils, a feed additive for poultry as an alternative to antibiotics. Phytobiotic is a water-soluble powder containing a composition of essential oils of thyme, clary, monarda and auxiliary substances: dry extract of liquorice and inhalation lactose. On this stage of research, the goal was to study the chemical composition of provided phytobiotic, identify the main substances and determine their quantity, investigate the biological activity of phytobiotic through in vitro and in vivo studies. Using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, 38 components were identified in phytobiotic, representing acyclic-, monocyclic-, bicyclic-, and sesquiterpenes. Together with identification of main active substances, their quantitative content was determined, including acyclic terpene alcohol β-linalool, acyclic terpene ketone linalyl acetate, monocyclic terpenes: D-limonene and γ-terpinene, monocyclic aromatic terpene thymol. Provided phytobiotic has pronounced and at the same time broad spectrum of antibacterial activity. In the cell model, phytobiotic showed weak antioxidant activity, and it was stronger in the ORAC (chemical model) tests. Meanwhile anti-inflammatory activity was also observed. When fowls were supplied feed enriched with phytobiotic, it was observed that gained weight of the chickens in the experimental group exceeded the same data for the control group during the entire period of the experiment. The survival rate of broilers in the experimental group during the growth period was 98% compared to -94% in the control group. As a result of conducted researches probable four different mechanisms which are important for the action of phytobiotics were identified: sensory, metabolic, antioxidant and antibacterial action. General toxic, possible local irritant and allergenic effects of phytobiotic were also investigated. Performed assays proved that formulation is safe.

Keywords: clary, essential oils, monarda, poultry, phytobiotics, thyme

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Authors: Beazidou Eleftheria

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Roma children face discrimination in schools where they are the minority. On the other hand, teachers do not identify the specific needs of Roma students for educational and social inclusion and generally use a very restricted repertoire of insufficient strategies for helping them. Modern classrooms can and should look different. Therefore, engaging in transformational learning with young children is a deliberate choice. Transformation implies a different way of thinking and acting. This requires new knowledge that incorporates multiple perspectives and actions in order to generate experiences for further learning. In this way, we build knowledge based on empirical examples, and we share what works efficiently. The present research aims at assisting the participating teachers to improve their teaching inclusive practice, thus ultimately benefiting their students. To increase the impact of transformative efforts with a ‘new’ teaching approach, we implemented a classroom-based action research program for over six months in five kindergarten classrooms with Roma and non-Roma students. More specifically, we explore a) information about participants’ experience of the program and b) if the program is successful in helping participants to change their teaching practice. Action research is, by definition, a form of inquiry that is intended to have both action and research outcomes. The action research process that we followed included five phases: 1. Defining the problem: As teachers said, the Roma students are often the most excluded group in schools (Low social interaction and participation in classroom activities) 2. Developing a plan to address the problem: We decided to address the problem by improving/transforming the inclusive practices that teachers implemented in their classrooms. 3. Acting: implementing the plan: We incorporated new activities for all students with the goals: a) All students being passionate about their learning, b) Teachers must investigate issues in the educational context that are personal and meaningful to children's growth, c) Establishment of a new module for values and skills for all students, d) Raising awareness in culture of Roma, e) Teaching students to reflect. 4. Observing: We explore the potential for transformation in the action research program that involves observations of students’ participation in classroom activities and peer interaction. – thus, generated evidence from data. 5. Reflecting and acting: After analyzing and evaluating the outcomes from data and considering the obstacles during the program’s implementation, we established new goals for the next steps of the program. These are centered in: a) the literacy skills of Roma students and b) the transformation of teacher’s perceptions and believes, which have a powerful impact on their willingness to adopt new teaching strategies. The final evaluation of the program showed a significant achievement of the transformative goals, which were related to the active participation of the Roma students in classroom activities and peer interaction, while the activities which were related to literacy skills did not have the expected results. In conclusion, children were equipped with relevant knowledge and skills to raise their potential and contribute to wider societal development as well as teachers improved their teaching inclusive practice.

Keywords: action research, inclusive practices, kindergarten, transformation

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Authors: Emilia Pietiläinen, Heikki Kyröläinen, Tommi Vasankari, Matti Santtila, Tiina Luukkaala, Kai Parkkola

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Working in the military sets special demands on physical fitness, however, reduced physical activity levels among employees in the Finnish Defence Forces (FDF), a trend also being seen among the working-age population in Finland, is leading to reduced physical fitness levels and increased risk of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, something which also increases human resource costs. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to develop an eHealth intervention using accelerometer- smartphone app feedback technique, telephone counseling and physical activity recordings to increase physical activity of the personnel and thereby improve their health. Specific aims were to reduce stress, improve quality of sleep and mental and physical performance, ability to work and reduce sick leave absences. Employees from six military brigades around Finland were invited to participate in the study, and finally, 260 voluntary participants were included (66 women, 194 men). The participants were randomized into intervention (156) and control groups (104). The eHealth intervention group used accelerometers measuring daily physical activity and duration and quality of sleep for six months. The accelerometers transmitted the data to smartphone apps while giving feedback about daily physical activity and sleep. The intervention group participants were also encouraged to exercise for two hours a week during working hours, a benefit that was already offered to employees following existing FDF guidelines. To separate the exercise done during working hours from the accelerometer data, the intervention group marked this exercise into an exercise diary. The intervention group also participated in telephone counseling about their physical activity. On the other hand, the control group participants continued with their normal exercise routine without the accelerometer and feedback. They could utilize the benefit of being able to exercise during working hours, but they were not separately encouraged for it, nor was the exercise diary used. The participants were measured at baseline, after the entire intervention period, and six months after the end of the entire intervention. The measurements included accelerometer recordings, biochemical laboratory tests, body composition measurements, physical fitness tests, and a wide questionnaire focusing on sociodemographic factors, physical activity and health. In terms of results, the primary indicators of effectiveness are increased physical activity and fitness, improved health status, and reduced sick leave absences. The evaluation of the present scientific reach is based on the data collected during the baseline measurements. Maintenance of the studied outcomes is assessed by comparing the results of the control group measured at the baseline and a year follow-up. Results of the study are not yet available but will be presented at the conference. The present findings will help to develop an easy and cost-effective model to support the health and working capability of employees in the military and other workplaces.

Keywords: accelerometer, health, mobile applications, physical activity, physical performance

Procedia PDF Downloads 179

Authors: Ilaria Coppola, Davide Lacqua, Nadia Ranìa

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Over the past two decades, migration has gained central importance in the global landscape. Europe hosts the largest number of migrants, totaling 92.9 million people, approximately 37.4 million of whom are regular residents within the European Union's borders. Reception services and different modes of management have received increasing attention precisely because of the complexity of the phenomenon, which necessarily impacts the wider community. Indeed, opening a reception center in an area entails major challenges for that context, for the community that inhabits it, and for the people who use that service. Questioning the strategies needed to offer a functional reception service means listening to the different actors involved who daily face the difficulties involved in working in the field. Recognizing the importance of the professional figures who work closely with migrant people, each with their own specific experiences has led researchers to study and analyze the different types of reception centers and their management. This has led to the development of intervention models and best practices in various countries. However, research from this perspective is still limited, especially in Italy. From this theoretical framework, this study aims to bring out an innovative qualitative tool, such as the world café, the work experiences of 29 social workers working in shelters in the Italian context. Most of the participants were female and lived in the Northwest regions of Italy. Through this tool, the aim was to bring out and share reflections on the critical issues encountered in working in reception centers, with a view to identifying possible solutions for better management of services. The World café represents a tool used in participatory action research that promotes dialogue among participants through the sharing of reflections and ideas. In fact, from critical reflections, participants are invited to identify and share possible solutions to provide a more functional service with benefits to the entire community. Therefore, this research, through the innovative technique of the World café, aims to promote critical thinking processes that can help participants find solutions that can be introduced into their work contexts or proposed to decision-makers. Specifically, the findings shed light on several issues, including complex bureaucratic procedures, insufficient project planning, and inefficiencies in the services provided to migrants. These concerns collectively contribute to what participants perceive as a disorganized and uncoordinated system. In addition, the study explores potential solutions that promote more efficient networking practices, coordinated project management, and a more positive approach to cultural diversity. The main results obtained will be discussed with a focus on critical reflections and possible solutions identified.

Keywords: participatory action research, world café method, reception services, migration contexts, social workers, Italy

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Authors: Andrew Gray, Zhibing Zhang

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The ability for consumer products to deliver a sustained perfume response can be a key driver for a variety of applications. Many compounds in perfume oils are highly volatile, meaning they readily evaporate once the product is applied, and the longevity of the scent is poor. Perfume capsules have been introduced as a means of abating this evaporation once the product has been delivered. The impermeable capsules are aimed to be stable within the formulation, and remain intact during delivery to the desired substrate, only rupturing to release the core perfume oil through application of mechanical force applied by the consumer. This opens up the possibility of obtaining an olfactive response hours, weeks or even months after delivery, depending on the nature of the desired application. Tailoring the properties of the polymeric capsules to better address the needs of the application is not a trivial challenge and currently design of capsules is largely done by trial and error. The aim of this work is to have more predictive methods for capsule design depending on the consumer application. This means refining formulations such that they rupture at the right time for the specific consumer application, not too early, not too late. Finding the right balance between these extremes is essential if a benefit is sought with respect to neat addition of perfume to formulations. It is important to understand the forces that influence capsule rupture, first, by quantifying the magnitude of these different forces, and then by assessing bulk rupture in real-world applications to understand how capsules actually respond. Samples were provided by an industrial partner and the mechanical properties of individual capsules within the samples were characterized via a micromanipulation technique, developed by Professor Zhang at the University of Birmingham. The capsules were synthesized such as to change one particular physicochemical property at a time, such as core: wall material ratio, and the average size of capsules. Analysis of shell thickness via Transmission Electron Microscopy, size distribution via the use of a Mastersizer, as well as a variety of other techniques confirmed that only one particular physicochemical property was altered for each sample. The mechanical analysis was subsequently undertaken, showing the effect that changing certain capsule properties had on the response under compression. It was, however, important to link this fundamental mechanical response to capsule performance in real-world applications. As such, the capsule samples were introduced to a formulation and exposed to full scale stresses. GC-MS headspace analysis of the perfume oil released from broken capsules enabled quantification of what the relative strengths of capsules truly means for product performance. Correlations have been found between the mechanical strength of capsule samples and performance in terms of perfume release in consumer applications. Having a better understanding of the key parameters that drive performance benefits the design of future formulations by offering better guidelines on the parameters that can be adjusted without worrying about the performance effects, and singles out those parameters that are essential in finding the sweet spot for capsule performance.

Keywords: consumer products, mechanical and physicochemical properties, perfume capsules, rupture behaviour

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Authors: Brady Manescau, Ilyas Sellami, Khaled Chetehouna, Charles De Izarra, Rachid Nait-Said, Fati Zidani

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During a fire in an oil and gas refinery, several thermal accidents can occur and cause serious damage to people and environment. Among these accidents, the BLEVE (Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapor Explosion) is most observed and remains a major concern for risk decision-makers. It corresponds to a violent vaporization of explosive nature following the rupture of a vessel containing a liquid at a temperature significantly higher than its normal boiling point at atmospheric pressure. Their effects on the environment generally appear in three ways: blast overpressure, radiation from the fireball if the liquid involved is flammable and fragment hazards. In order to estimate the potential damage that would be caused by such an explosion, risk decision-makers often use quantitative risk analysis (QRA). This analysis is a rigorous and advanced approach that requires a reliable data in order to obtain a good estimate and control of risks. However, in most cases, the data used in QRA are obtained from the empirical correlations. These empirical correlations generally overestimate BLEVE effects because they are based on simplifications and do not take into account real parameters like the geometry effect. Considering that these risk analyses are based on an assessment of BLEVE effects on human life and plant equipment, more precise and reliable data should be provided. From this point of view, the CFD modeling of BLEVE effects appears as a solution to the empirical law limitations. In this context, the main objective is to develop a numerical tool in order to predict BLEVE thermal effects using the CFD code FDS version 6. Simulations are carried out with a mesh size of 1 m. The fireball source is modeled as a vertical release of hot fuel in a short time. The modeling of fireball dynamics is based on a single step combustion using an EDC model coupled with the default LES turbulence model. Fireball characteristics (diameter, height, heat flux and lifetime) issued from the large scale BAM experiment are used to demonstrate the ability of FDS to simulate the various steps of the BLEVE phenomenon from ignition up to total burnout. The influence of release parameters such as the injection rate and the radiative fraction on the fireball heat flux is also presented. Predictions are very encouraging and show good agreement in comparison with BAM experiment data. In addition, a numerical study is carried out on an operational propane accumulator in an Algerian gas processing plant of SONATRACH company located in the Hassi R’Mel Gas Field (the largest gas field in Algeria).

Keywords: BLEVE effects, CFD, FDS, fireball, LES, QRA

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Authors: Mustafa M. Donma, Orkide Donma

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Iron is physiologically essential. However, it also participates in the catalysis of free radical formation reactions. Its deficiency is associated with amplified health risks. This trace element establishes some links with another physiological process related to cell death, apoptosis. Both iron deficiency and iron overload are closely associated with apoptosis. Soluble tumor necrosis factor-like weak inducer of apoptosis (sTWEAK) has the ability to trigger apoptosis and plays a dual role in the physiological versus pathological inflammatory responses of tissues. The aim of this study was to investigate the status of these parameters as well as the associations among them in children with obesity, a low-grade inflammatory state. The study was performed on groups of children with normal body mass index (N-BMI) and obesity. Forty-three children were included in each group. Based upon age- and sex-adjusted BMI percentile tables prepared by World Health Organization, children whose values varied between 85 and 15 were included in N-BMI group. Children whose BMI percentile values were between 99 and 95 comprised obese (OB) group. Institutional ethical committee approval and informed consent forms were taken prior to the study. Anthropometric measurements (weight, height, waist circumference, hip circumference, head circumference, neck circumference) and blood pressure values (systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure) were recorded. Routine biochemical analysis including serum iron, total iron binding capacity (TIBC), transferrin saturation percent (Tf Sat %), and ferritin were performed. Soluble tumor necrosis factor-like weak inducer of apoptosis levels were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Study data was evaluated using appropriate statistical tests performed by the statistical program SPSS. Serum iron levels were 91±34 mcrg/dl and 75±31 mcrg/dl in N-BMI and OB children, respectively. The corresponding values for TIBC, Tf Sat %, ferritin were 265 mcrg/dl vs 299 mcrg/dl, 37.2±19.1 % vs 26.7±14.6 %, and 41±25 ng/ml vs 44±26 ng/ml. in N-BMI and OB groups, sTWEAK concentrations were measured as 351 ng/L and 325 ng/L, respectively (p>0.05). Correlation analysis revealed significant associations between sTWEAK levels and iron related parameters (p<0.05) except ferritin. In conclusion, iron contributes to apoptosis. Children with iron deficiency have decreased apoptosis rate in comparison with that of healthy children. sTWEAK is inducer of apoptosis. Obese children had lower levels of both iron and sTWEAK. Low levels of sTWEAK are associated with several types of cancers and poor survival. Although iron deficiency state was not observed in this study, the correlations detected between decreased sTWEAK and decreased iron as well as Tf Sat % values were valuable findings, which point out decreased apoptosis. This may induce a proinflammatory state, potentially leading to malignancies in the future lives of obese children.

Keywords: apoptosis, children, iron-related parameters, obesity, soluble tumor necrosis factor-like weak inducer of apoptosis

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Authors: Yasmine Salehy, Yann Leroy, Francois Cluzel, Hong-Minh Hoang, Laurence Fournaison, Anthony Delahaye, Bernard Yannou

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Taking into consideration all the life cycle of a product is now an important step in the eco-design of a product or a technology. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a standard tool to evaluate the environmental impacts of a system or a process. Despite the improvement in refrigerant regulation through protocols, the environmental damage of refrigeration systems remains important and needs to be improved. In this paper, the environmental impacts of refrigeration systems in a typical supermarket are compared using the LCA methodology under different conditions. The system is used to provide cold at two levels of temperature: medium and low temperature during a life period of 15 years. The most commonly used architectures of supermarket cold production systems are investigated: centralized direct expansion systems and indirect systems using a secondary loop to transport the cold. The variation of power needed during seasonal changes and during the daily opening/closure periods of the supermarket are considered. R134a as the primary refrigerant fluid and two types of secondary fluids are considered. The composition of each system and the leakage rate of the refrigerant through its life cycle are taken from the literature and industrial data. Twelve scenarios are examined. They are based on the variation of three parameters, 1. location: France (Paris), Spain (Toledo) and Sweden (Stockholm), 2. different sources of electric consumption: photovoltaic panels and low voltage electric network and 3. architecture: direct and indirect refrigeration systems. OpenLCA, SimaPro softwares, and different impact assessment methods were compared; CML method is used to evaluate the midpoint environmental indicators. This study highlights the significant contribution of electric consumption in environmental damages compared to the impacts of refrigerant leakage. The secondary loop allows lowering the refrigerant amount in the primary loop which results in a decrease in the climate change indicators compared to the centralized direct systems. However, an exhaustive cost evaluation (CAPEX and OPEX) of both systems shows more important costs related to the indirect systems. A significant difference between the countries has been noticed, mostly due to the difference in electric production. In Spain, using photovoltaic panels helps to reduce efficiently the environmental impacts and the related costs. This scenario is the best alternative compared to the other scenarios. Sweden is a country with less environmental impacts. For both France and Sweden, the use of photovoltaic panels does not bring a significant difference, due to a less sunlight exposition than in Spain. Alternative solutions exist to reduce the impact of refrigerating systems, and a brief introduction is presented.

Keywords: eco-design, industrial engineering, LCA, refrigeration system

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Authors: Athanasios Raftopoulos

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In this paper, an attempt is made to explain the evolution or development of human’s representational arsenal from its humble beginnings to its modern abstract symbols. Representations are physical entities that represent something else. To represent a thing (in a general sense of “thing”) means to use in the mind or in an external medium a sign that stands for it. The sign can be used as a proxy of the represented thing when the thing is absent. Representations come in many varieties, from signs that perceptually resemble their representative to abstract symbols that are related to their representata through conventions. Relying the distinction among indices, icons, and symbols, it is explained how symbolic representations gradually emerged from indices and icons. To understand the development or evolution of our representational arsenal, the development of the cognitive capacities that enabled the gradual emergence of representations of increasing complexity and expressive capability should be examined. The examination of these factors should rely on a careful assessment of the available empirical neuroscientific and paleo-anthropological evidence. These pieces of evidence should be synthesized to produce arguments whose conclusions provide clues concerning the developmental process of our representational capabilities. The analysis of the empirical findings in this paper shows that Homo Erectus was able to use both icons and symbols. Icons were used as external representations, while symbols were used in language. The first step in the emergence of representations is that a sensory-motor purely causal schema involved in indices is decoupled from its normal causal sensory-motor functions and serves as a representation of the object that initially called it into play. Sensory-motor schemes are tied to specific contexts of the organism-environment interactions and are activated only within these contexts. For a representation of an object to be possible, this scheme must be de-contextualized so that the same object can be represented in different contexts; a decoupled schema loses its direct ties to reality and becomes mental content. The analysis suggests that symbols emerged due to selection pressures of the social environment. The need to establish and maintain social relationships in ever-enlarging groups that would benefit the group was a sufficient environmental pressure to lead to the appearance of the symbolic capacity. Symbols could serve this need because they can express abstract relationships, such as marriage or monogamy. Icons, by being firmly attached to what can be observed, could not go beyond surface properties to express abstract relations. The cognitive capacities that are required for having iconic and then symbolic representations were present in Homo Erectus, which had a language that started without syntactic rules but was structured so as to mirror the structure of the world. This language became increasingly complex, and grammatical rules started to appear to allow for the construction of more complex expressions required to keep up with the increasing complexity of social niches. This created evolutionary pressures that eventually led to increasing cranial size and restructuring of the brain that allowed more complex representational systems to emerge.

Keywords: mental representations, iconic representations, symbols, human evolution

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Authors: Maryam Ziaee

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This research proposes a new approach and provides an opportunity for manufacturing companies to produce large amounts of products that meet their prospective customers’ tastes, needs, and expectations and simultaneously enable manufacturers to increase their profit. Mass customization is the production of products or services to meet each individual customer’s desires to the greatest possible extent in high quantities and at reasonable prices. This process takes place at different levels such as the customization of goods’ design, assembly, sale, and delivery status, and classifies in several categories. The main focus of this study is on one class of mass customization, called optional customization, in which companies try to provide their customers with as many options as possible to customize their products. These options could range from the design phase to the manufacturing phase, or even methods of delivery. Mass customization values customers’ tastes, but it is only one side of clients’ satisfaction; on the other side is companies’ fast responsiveness delivery. It brings the concept of agility, which is the ability of a company to respond rapidly to changes in volatile markets in terms of volume and variety. Indeed, mass customization is not effectively feasible without integrating the concept of agility. To gain the customers’ satisfaction, the companies need to be quick in responding to their customers’ demands, thus highlighting the significance of agility. This research offers a different method that successfully integrates mass customization and fast production in manufacturing industries. This research is built upon the hypothesis that the success key to being agile in mass customization is to forecast demand, cooperate with suppliers, and control inventory. Therefore, the significance of the supply chain (SC) is more pertinent when it comes to this stage. Since SC behavior is dynamic and its behavior changes constantly, companies have to apply one of the predicting techniques to identify the changes associated with SC behavior to be able to respond properly to any unwelcome events. System dynamics utilized in this research is a simulation approach to provide a mathematical model among different variables to understand, control, and forecast SC behavior. The final stage is delayed differentiation, the production strategy considered in this research. In this approach, the main platform of products is produced and stocked and when the company receives an order from a customer, a specific customized feature is assigned to this platform and the customized products will be created. The main research question is to what extent applying system dynamics for the prediction of SC behavior improves the agility of mass customization. This research is built upon a qualitative approach to bring about richer, deeper, and more revealing results. The data is collected through interviews and is analyzed through NVivo software. This proposed model offers numerous benefits such as reduction in the number of product inventories and their storage costs, improvement in the resilience of companies’ responses to their clients’ needs and tastes, the increase of profits, and the optimization of productivity with the minimum level of lost sales.

Keywords: agility, manufacturing, resilience, supply chain

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Authors: Jessica Raven Gates, Gemma Wilson-Menzfeld, Professor Alison Steven

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In 2019, the Primary Care system in the UK National Health Service (NHS) was subject to reform and restructuring. Primary Care Networks (PCNs) were established, which aligned with a trend towards integrated care both within the NHS and internationally. The introduction of PCNs brought groups of GP practices in a locality together, to operate as a network, build on existing services and collaborate at a larger scale. PCNs were expected to bring a range of benefits to patients and address some of the workforce pressures in the NHS, through an expanded and collaborative workforce. The early establishment of PCNs was disrupted by the emerging COVID-19 pandemic. This study, set in the context of the pandemic, aimed to explore experiences of the PCN workforce, and their perceptions of the establishment of PCNs. Specific objectives focussed on examining factors perceived as enabling or hindering the success of a PCN, the impact on day-to-day work, the approach to implementing change, and the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic upon PCN development. This study is part of a three-phase PhD project that utilized qualitative approaches and was underpinned by social constructionist philosophy. Phase 1: a systematic narrative review explored the provision of preventative healthcare services in UK primary settings and examined facilitators and barriers to delivery as experienced by the workforce. Phase 2: informed by the findings of phase 1, semi-structured interviews were conducted with fifteen participants (PCN workforce). Phase 3: follow-up interviews were conducted with original participants to examine any changes to their experiences and perceptions of PCNs. Three main themes span across phases 2 and 3 and were generated through a Framework Analysis approach: 1) working together at scale, 2) network infrastructure, and 3) PCN leadership. Findings suggest that through efforts to work together at scale and collaborate as a network, participants have broadly accepted the concept of PCNs. However, the workforce has been hampered by system design and system complexity. Operating against such barriers has led to a negative psychological impact on some PCN leaders and others in the PCN workforce. While the pandemic undeniably increased pressure on healthcare systems around the world, it also acted as a disruptor, offering a glimpse into how collaboration in primary care can work well. Through the integration of findings from all phases, a new theoretical model has been developed, which conceptualises the findings from this Ph.D. study and demonstrates how the workforce has experienced change associated with the establishment of PCNs. The model includes a contextual component of the COVID-19 pandemic and has been informed by concepts from Complex Adaptive Systems theory. This model is the original contribution to knowledge of the PhD project, alongside recommendations for practice, policy and future research. This study is significant in the realm of health services research, and while the setting for this study is the UK NHS, the findings will be of interest to an international audience as the research provides insight into how the healthcare workforce may experience imposed policy and service changes.

Keywords: health services research, qualitative research, NHS workforce, primary care

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Authors: Ayomi Indika Irugalbandara

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Reproductive Health (RE) education among Sri Lankan Adolescents (comprising one fifth inner population) remains unsatisfactory despite 91.8% of them completing primary education & 56.2 % receiving post secondary level education. The main reason for this large population not receiving satisfactory RH education is traditional values and longstanding taboos surrounding sexuality. The current study was undertaken with there objectives. The relevance of achieving them being to formulate RH educational policies and programs that address a sizable and sensitive chunk of the population thereby achieving the goal of mental and social well being and not merely the absence of reproductive disease or infirmity. This research was a descriptive study, using random sampling technique, sample of the study consisting of 160 adolescent in the age group of 16-19, studying in government schools in Sri Lanka. Questionnaire was the main instrument of data collection, qualitative and quantitative techniques were used in data analysis. According to the data it was revealed that a majority has some idea about RH education. While this awareness had been provided by the school, the source of information had been Health and Physical Education. The entire sample mentioned that more RH information, than was provided, should be given and everybody wanted further knowledge regarding sexuality, and in depth information on it was essential. About 96 adolescents were of the opinion that their behavior was respectful to elders and 64 felt embarrassed while communicating with elders regarding RH issues. About their preferred sources of information, both genders named health providers as their first choice, followed by family members and friends. The internet was cited by a few boys; less than 5 percent cited religious figures. More than 50% of respondents had no knowledge about abortion and they were unaware of dangerous abortion. The practice of abortion was reported among zero percent. Although every member of the sample did not possess knowledge of the scientific process involved in abortion, all of them totally rejected the idea of destroying a foetus. Adolescence is a critical period in the life of girls and boys and sexuality education empowers young people to protect their health and well-being. Schools have the proper staff, and environment for learning. It might be stated that the greater segment of individuals entering adolescents and going through their adolescence are still in the school. This becomes the reason why it is mandatory that the school should be geared to handle this critical stage of the students. Adolescents or those approaching adolescence are best educated by the relevant parents, but this being quite a sensitive issue in the socio cultural context, it is somewhat doubtful whether all parents are prepared to handle this candidly, due either to lack of knowledge or absence of the appropriate state of mind. As such it is best that seminars/workshops be conducted to enlighten parents on handling HR issues related to their adolescent children. Apart from the awareness on HR provided through the school curriculum a greater impact can be brought about through street dramas, exhibitions etc. specific to HR. Finally the researcher would like to suggest that Sunday schools be harnessed for the provision of HR education linked with cultural values, ethics, and social well-being.

Keywords: reproductive health, awareness, perception, school curriculum

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Authors: Andréanne Gagné, Jo Anni Joncas, Éric Tendon

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Teaching in vocational training requires an excellent mastery of the trade being taught, but also solid professional skills in pedagogy. Teachers are typically recruited on the basis of their trade expertise, and they do not necessarily have training or experience in pedagogy. In order to counter this lack, the Ministry of Education (Québec, Canada) requires them to complete a 120-credit university program to obtain their teaching certificate. They must complete this training in addition to their teaching duties. This training was rarely planned in the teacher’s life course, and each teacher approaches it differently: some are enthusiastic, but many feel reluctant discouragement and even frustration at the idea of committing to a training program lasting an average of 10 years to completion. However, Quebec is experiencing an unprecedented shortage of teachers, and the perseverance of vocational teachers in their careers requires special attention because of the conditions of their specific integration conditions. Our research examines the perceptions that vocational teachers in training have of their academic experience in pre-service teaching. It differs from previous research in that it focuses on the influence of the academic experience on the teaching employment experience. The goal is that by better understanding the university experience of teachers in vocational education, we can identify support strategies to support their school experience and their teaching. To do this, the research is based on the theoretical framework of the sociology of experience, which allows us to study the way in which these “teachers-students” give meaning to their university program in articulation with their jobs according to three logics of action. The logic of integration is based on the process of socialization, where the action is preceded by the internalization of values, norms, and cultural models associated with the training context. The logic of strategy refers to the usefulness of this experience where the individual constructs a form of rationality according to his objectives, resources, social position, and situational constraints. The logic of subjectivation refers to reflexivity activities aimed at solving problems and making choices. These logics served as a framework for the development of an online questionnaire. Three hundred respondents, newly enrolled in an undergraduate teaching program (bachelor's degree in vocational education), expressed themselves about their academic experience. This paper relates qualitative data (open-ended questions) subjected to an interpretive repertory analysis approach to descriptive data (closed-ended questions) that emerged. The results shed light on how the respondents perceive themselves as teachers and students, their perceptions of university training and the support offered, and the place that training occupies in their professional path. Indeed, their professional and academic paths are inextricably linked, and it seems essential to take them into account simultaneously to better meet their needs and foster the development of their expertise in pedagogy. The discussion focuses on the strengths and limitations of university training from the perspective of the logic of action. The results also suggest support strategies that can be implemented to better support the integration and retention of student teachers in professional education.

Keywords: teacher, vocational training, pre-service training, academic experience

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Authors: A. Sgobba, C. Meskell

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The feasibility of on-site electricity production from solar and wind and the resulting load management for a specific manufacturing plant in Ireland are assessed. The industry sector accounts directly and indirectly for a high percentage of electricity consumption and global greenhouse gas emissions; therefore, it will play a key role in emission reduction and control. Manufacturing plants, in particular, are often located in non-residential areas since they require open spaces for production machinery, parking facilities for the employees, appropriate routes for supply and delivery, special connections to the national grid and other environmental impacts. Since they have larger spaces compared to commercial sites in urban areas, they represent an appropriate case study for evaluating the technical and economic viability of energy system integration with low power density technologies, such as solar and wind, for on-site electricity generation. The available open space surrounding the analysed manufacturing plant can be efficiently used to produce a discrete quantity of energy, instantaneously and locally consumed. Therefore, transmission and distribution losses can be reduced. The usage of storage is not required due to the high and almost constant electricity consumption profile. The energy load of the plant is identified through the analysis of gas and electricity consumption, both internally monitored and reported on the bills. These data are not often recorded and available to third parties since manufacturing companies usually keep track only of the overall energy expenditures. The solar potential is modelled for a period of 21 years based on global horizontal irradiation data; the hourly direct and diffuse radiation and the energy produced by the system at the optimum pitch angle are calculated. The model is validated using PVWatts and SAM tools. Wind speed data are available for the same period within one-hour step at a height of 10m. Since the hub of a typical wind turbine reaches a higher altitude, complementary data for a different location at 50m have been compared, and a model for the estimate of wind speed at the required height in the right location is defined. Weibull Statistical Distribution is used to evaluate the wind energy potential of the site. The results show that solar and wind energy are, as expected, generally decoupled. Based on the real case study, the percentage of load covered every hour by on-site generation (Level of Autonomy LA) and the resulting electricity bought from the grid (Expected Energy Not Supplied EENS) are calculated. The economic viability of the project is assessed through Net Present Value, and the influence the main technical and economic parameters have on NPV is presented. Since the results show that the analysed renewable sources can not provide enough electricity, the integration with a cogeneration technology is studied. Finally, the benefit to energy system integration of wind, solar and a cogeneration technology is evaluated and discussed.

Keywords: demand, energy system integration, load, manufacturing, national grid, renewable energy sources

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Authors: Joy Tweed, Jon Pike

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In Thailand, a 4.0 policy has been initiated that is designed to prepare and train an appropriate workforce to support the move to a value-based economy. One aspect of support for this policy is a project to encourage the creation of double degree programmes, specifically between Thai and UK universities. This research into the project, conducted with its key players, explores the factors that can either enable or hinder the development of such programmes. It is an area that has received little research attention to date. Key findings focus on differences in quality assurance requirements, attitudes to benefits, risks, and committed levels of institutional support, thus providing valuable input into future policy making. The Transnational Education (TNE) Development Project was initiated in 2015 by the British Council, in conjunction with the Office for Higher Education Commission (OHEC), Thailand. The purpose of the project was to facilitate opportunities for Thai Universities to partner with UK Universities so as to develop double degree programme models. In this arrangement, the student gains both a UK and a Thai qualification, spending time studying in both countries. Twenty-two partnerships were initiated via the project. Utilizing a qualitative approach, data sources included participation in TNE project workshops, peer reviews, and over 20 semi-structured interviews conducted with key informants within the participating UK and Thai universities. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analysed for key themes. The research has revealed that the strength of the relationship between the two partner institutions is critical. Successful partnerships are often built on previous personal contact, have senior-level involvement and are strengthened by partnership on different levels, such as research, student exchange, and other forms of mobility. The support of the British Council was regarded as a key enabler in developing these types of projects for those universities that had not been involved in TNE previously. The involvement of industry is apparent in programmes that have high scientific content but not well developed in other subject areas. Factors that hinder the development of partnership programmes include the approval processes and quality requirements of each institution. Significant differences in fee levels between Thai and UK universities provide a challenge and attempts to bridge them require goodwill on the part of the latter that may be difficult to realise. This research indicates the key factors to which attention needs to be given when developing a TNE programme. Early attention to these factors can reduce the likelihood that the partnership will fail to develop. Representatives in both partner universities need to understand their respective processes of development and approval. The research has important practical implications for policy-makers and planners involved with TNE, not only in relation to the specific TNE project but also more widely in relation to the development of TNE programmes in other countries and other subject areas. Future research will focus on assessing the success of the double degree programmes generated by the TNE Development Project from the perspective of universities, policy makers, and industry partners.

Keywords: double-degree, internationalization, partnerships, Thai-UK

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Authors: Ch. Sridevi, A. Chalapathi Rao, P. Srinivasulu

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The location accuracy of data products is a critical parameter in assessing the geometric performance of satellite sensors. This study focuses on reliability analysis of onboard sensors to evaluate their performance in terms of location accuracy performance over time. The analysis utilizes field failure data and employs the weibull distribution to determine the reliability and in turn to understand the improvements or degradations over a period of time. The analysis begins by scrutinizing the location accuracy error which is the root mean square (RMS) error of differences between ground control point coordinates observed on the product and the map and identifying the failure data with reference to time. A significant challenge in this study is to thoroughly analyze the possibility of an infant mortality phase in the data. To address this, the Weibull distribution is utilized to determine if the data exhibits an infant stage or if it has transitioned into the operational phase. The shape parameter beta plays a crucial role in identifying this stage. Additionally, determining the exact start of the operational phase and the end of the infant stage poses another challenge as it is crucial to eliminate residual infant mortality or wear-out from the model, as it can significantly increase the total failure rate. To address this, an approach utilizing the well-established statistical Laplace test is applied to infer the behavior of sensors and to accurately ascertain the duration of different phases in the lifetime and the time required for stabilization. This approach also helps in understanding if the bathtub curve model, which accounts for the different phases in the lifetime of a product, is appropriate for the data and whether the thresholds for the infant period and wear-out phase are accurately estimated by validating the data in individual phases with Weibull distribution curve fitting analysis. Once the operational phase is determined, reliability is assessed using Weibull analysis. This analysis not only provides insights into the reliability of individual sensors with regards to location accuracy over the required period of time, but also establishes a model that can be applied to automate similar analyses for various sensors and parameters using field failure data. Furthermore, the identification of the best-performing sensor through this analysis serves as a benchmark for future missions and designs, ensuring continuous improvement in sensor performance and reliability. Overall, this study provides a methodology to accurately determine the duration of different phases in the life data of individual sensors. It enables an assessment of the time required for stabilization and provides insights into the reliability during the operational phase and the commencement of the wear-out phase. By employing this methodology, designers can make informed decisions regarding sensor performance with regards to location accuracy, contributing to enhanced accuracy in satellite-based applications.

Keywords: bathtub curve, geometric performance, Laplace test, location accuracy, reliability analysis, Weibull analysis

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Authors: Ali Kazemi

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The digital evolution of financial services, while offering unprecedented convenience and accessibility, has also escalated the vulnerabilities to fraudulent activities. In this study, we introduce a distinct approach to real-time anomaly detection in financial transactions, aiming to fortify the defenses of banking and financial institutions against such threats. Utilizing unsupervised machine learning algorithms, specifically autoencoders and isolation forests, our research focuses on identifying irregular patterns indicative of fraud within transactional data, thus enabling immediate action to prevent financial loss. The data we used in this study included the monetary value of each transaction. This is a crucial feature as fraudulent transactions may have distributions of different amounts than legitimate ones, such as timestamps indicating when transactions occurred. Analyzing transactions' temporal patterns can reveal anomalies (e.g., unusual activity in the middle of the night). Also, the sector or category of the merchant where the transaction occurred, such as retail, groceries, online services, etc. Specific categories may be more prone to fraud. Moreover, the type of payment used (e.g., credit, debit, online payment systems). Different payment methods have varying risk levels associated with fraud. This dataset, anonymized to ensure privacy, reflects a wide array of transactions typical of a global banking institution, ranging from small-scale retail purchases to large wire transfers, embodying the diverse nature of potentially fraudulent activities. By engineering features that capture the essence of transactions, including normalized amounts and encoded categorical variables, we tailor our data to enhance model sensitivity to anomalies. The autoencoder model leverages its reconstruction error mechanism to flag transactions that deviate significantly from the learned normal pattern, while the isolation forest identifies anomalies based on their susceptibility to isolation from the dataset's majority. Our experimental results, validated through techniques such as k-fold cross-validation, are evaluated using precision, recall, and the F1 score alongside the area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Our models achieved an F1 score of 0.85 and a ROC AUC of 0.93, indicating high accuracy in detecting fraudulent transactions without excessive false positives. This study contributes to the academic discourse on financial fraud detection and provides a practical framework for banking institutions seeking to implement real-time anomaly detection systems. By demonstrating the effectiveness of unsupervised learning techniques in a real-world context, our research offers a pathway to significantly reduce the incidence of financial fraud, thereby enhancing the security and trustworthiness of digital financial services.

Keywords: anomaly detection, financial fraud, machine learning, autoencoders, isolation forest, transactional data analysis

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Authors: Abderrhamane Jarou, Dominique Sauter, Christophe Aubrun

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Over the past decade, the growing demand for energy efficiency in buildings has attracted the attention of the control community. Failures in HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) systems in buildings can have a significant impact on the desired and expected energy performance of buildings and on the user's comfort as well. FTC is a recent technology area that studies the adaptation of control algorithms to faulty operating conditions of a system. The application of Fault-Tolerant Control (FTC) in HVAC systems has gained attention in the last two decades. The objective is to maintain the variations in system performance due to faults within an acceptable range with respect to the desired nominal behavior. This paper considers the so-called active approach, which is based on fault and identification scheme combined with a control reconfiguration algorithm that consists in determining a new set of control parameters so that the reconfigured performance is "as close as possible, "in some sense, to the nominal performance. Thermal models of buildings and their HVAC systems are described by non-linear (usually bi-linear) equations. Most of the works carried out so far in FDI (fault diagnosis and isolation) or FTC consider a linearized model of the studied system. However, this model is only valid in a reduced range of variation. This study presents a new fault diagnosis (FD) algorithm based on a bilinear observer for the detection and accurate estimation of the magnitude of the HVAC system failure. The main contribution of the proposed FD algorithm is that instead of using specific linearized models, the algorithm inherits the structure of the actual bilinear model of the building thermal dynamics. As an immediate consequence, the algorithm is applicable to a wide range of unpredictable operating conditions, i.e., weather dynamics, outdoor air temperature, zone occupancy profile. A bilinear fault detection observer is proposed for a bilinear system with unknown inputs. The residual vector in the observer design is decoupled from the unknown inputs and, under certain conditions, is made sensitive to all faults. Sufficient conditions are given for the existence of the observer and results are given for the explicit computation of observer design matrices. Dedicated observer schemes (DOS) are considered for sensor FDI while unknown input bilinear observers are considered for actuator or system components FDI. The proposed strategy for FTC works as follows: At a first level, FDI algorithms are implemented, making it also possible to estimate the magnitude of the fault. Once the fault is detected, the fault estimation is then used to feed the second level and reconfigure the control low so that that expected performances are recovered. This paper is organized as follows. A general structure for fault-tolerant control of buildings is first presented and the building model under consideration is introduced. Then, the observer-based design for Fault Diagnosis of bilinear systems is studied. The FTC approach is developed in Section IV. Finally, a simulation example is given in Section V to illustrate the proposed method.

Keywords: bilinear systems, fault diagnosis, fault-tolerant control, multi-zones building

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Authors: Jiaying Zhang, Xin Mu, Chang Ni, Jeff L. Zhang

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Magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) non-invasively assesses tissue elastic properties, such as shear modulus, by measuring tissue’s displacement in response to mechanical waves. The estimated metrics on tissue elasticity or stiffness have been shown to be valuable for monitoring physiologic or pathophysiologic status of tissue, such as a tumor or fatty liver. To quantify tissue shear modulus from MRE-acquired displacements (essentially an inverse problem), multiple approaches have been proposed, including Local Frequency Estimation (LFE) and Direct Inversion (DI). However, one common problem with these methods is that the estimates are severely noise-sensitive due to either the inverse-problem nature or noise propagation in the pixel-by-pixel process. With the advent of deep learning (DL) and its promise in solving inverse problems, a few groups in the field of MRE have explored the feasibility of using DL methods for quantifying shear modulus from MRE data. Most of the groups chose to use real MRE data for DL model training and to cut training images into smaller patches, which enriches feature characteristics of training data but inevitably increases computation time and results in outcomes with patched patterns. In this study, simulated wave images generated by Finite Differential Time Domain (FDTD) simulation are used for network training, and U-Net is used to extract features from each training image without cutting it into patches. The use of simulated data for model training has the flexibility of customizing training datasets to match specific applications. The proposed method aimed to estimate tissue shear modulus from MRE data with high robustness to noise and high model-training efficiency. Specifically, a set of 3000 maps of shear modulus (with a range of 1 kPa to 15 kPa) containing randomly positioned objects were simulated, and their corresponding wave images were generated. The two types of data were fed into the training of a U-Net model as its output and input, respectively. For an independently simulated set of 1000 images, the performance of the proposed method against DI and LFE was compared by the relative errors (root mean square error or RMSE divided by averaged shear modulus) between the true shear modulus map and the estimated ones. The results showed that the estimated shear modulus by the proposed method achieved a relative error of 4.91%±0.66%, substantially lower than 78.20%±1.11% by LFE. Using simulated data, the proposed method significantly outperformed LFE and DI in resilience to increasing noise levels and in resolving fine changes of shear modulus. The feasibility of the proposed method was also tested on MRE data acquired from phantoms and from human calf muscles, resulting in maps of shear modulus with low noise. In future work, the method’s performance on phantom and its repeatability on human data will be tested in a more quantitative manner. In conclusion, the proposed method showed much promise in quantifying tissue shear modulus from MRE with high robustness and efficiency.

Keywords: deep learning, magnetic resonance elastography, magnetic resonance imaging, shear modulus estimation

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Authors: Gema M. Rodado, Jose M. Olavarrieta

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Hydrogen fuel cell technologies have experienced a great boost in the last decades, significantly increasing the production of these devices for both stationary and portable (mainly automotive) applications; these are influenced by two main factors: environmental pollution and energy shortage. A fuel cell is an electrochemical device that converts chemical energy directly into electricity by using hydrogen and oxygen gases as reactive components and obtaining water and heat as byproducts of the chemical reaction. Fuel cells, specifically those of Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) technology, are considered an alternative to internal combustion engines, mainly because of the low emissions they produce (almost zero), high efficiency and low operating temperatures (< 373 K). The introduction and use of fuel cells in the automotive market requires the development of standardized and validated procedures to test and evaluate their performance in different environmental conditions including vibrations and freeze-thaw cycles. These situations of vibration and extremely low/high temperatures can affect the physical integrity or even the excellent operation or performance of the fuel cell stack placed in a vehicle in circulation or in different climatic conditions. The main objective of this work is the development and validation of vibration and freeze-thaw cycling test procedures for fuel cell stacks that can be used in a vehicle in order to consolidate their safety, performance, and durability. In this context, different experimental tests were carried out at the facilities of the National Hydrogen Centre (CNH2). The experimental equipment used was: A vibration platform (shaker) for vibration test analysis on fuel cells in three axes directions with different vibration profiles. A walk-in climatic chamber to test the starting, operating, and stopping behavior of fuel cells under defined extreme conditions. A test station designed and developed by the CNH2 to test and characterize PEM fuel cell stacks up to 10 kWe. A 5 kWe PEM fuel cell stack in off-operation mode was used to carry out two independent experimental procedures. On the one hand, the fuel cell was subjected to a sinusoidal vibration test on the shaker in the three axes directions. It was defined by acceleration and amplitudes in the frequency range of 7 to 200 Hz for a total of three hours in each direction. On the other hand, the climatic chamber was used to simulate freeze-thaw cycles by defining a temperature range between +313 K and -243 K with an average relative humidity of 50% and a recommended ramp up and rump down of 1 K/min. The polarization curve and gas leakage rate were determined before and after the vibration and freeze-thaw tests at the fuel cell stack test station to evaluate the robustness of the stack. The results were very similar, which indicates that the tests did not affect the fuel cell stack structure and performance. The proposed procedures were verified and can be used as an initial point to perform other tests with different fuel cells.

Keywords: climatic chamber, freeze-thaw cycles, PEM fuel cell, shaker, vibration tests

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Authors: Marcin Zielinski, Marcin Debowski, Paulina Rusanowska, Magda Dudek

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As a result of sonification, the destruction of complex biomass structures results in an increase in the biogas yield from the conditioned material. First, the amount of organic matter released into the solution due to disintegration was determined. This parameter was determined by changes in the carbon content in liquid phase of the conditioned substrate. The amount of carbon in the liquid phase increased with the prolongation of the sonication time to 16 min. Further increase in the duration of sonication did not cause a statistically significant increase in the amount of organic carbon in the liquid phase. The disintegrated material was then used for respirometric measurements for determination of the impact of the conditioning process used on methane fermentation effectiveness. The relationship between the amount of energy introduced into the lignocellulosic substrate and the amount of biogas produced has been demonstrated. Statistically significant increase in the amount of biogas was observed until sonication of 16 min. Further increase in energy in the conditioning process did not significantly increase the production of biogas from the treated substrate. The biogas production from the conditioned substrate was 17% higher than from the reference biomass at that time. The ultrasonic disintegration method did not significantly affect the observed biogas composition. In all series, the methane content in the produced biogas from the conditioned substrate was similar to that obtained with the raw substrate sample (51.1%). Another method of substrate conditioning was hydrothermal depolymerization. This method consists in application of increased temperature and pressure to substrate. These phenomena destroy the structure of the processed material, the release of organic compounds to the solution, which should lead to increase the amount of produced biogas from such treated biomass. The hydrothermal depolymerization was conducted using an innovative microwave heating method. Control measurements were performed using conventional heating. The obtained results indicate the relationship between depolymerization temperature and the amount of biogas. Statistically significant value of the biogas production coefficients increased as the depolymerization temperature increased to 150°C. Further raising the depolymerization temperature to 180°C did not significantly increase the amount of produced biogas in the respirometric tests. As a result of the hydrothermal depolymerization obtained using microwave at 150°C for 20 min, the rate of biogas production from the Sida silage was 780 L/kg VS, which accounted for nearly 50% increase compared to 370 L/kg VS obtained from the same silage but not depolymerised. The study showed that by microwave heating it is possible to effectively depolymerized substrate. Significant differences occurred especially in the temperature range of 130-150ºC. The pre-treatment of Sida hermaphrodita silage (biogas substrate) did not significantly affect the quality of the biogas produced. The methane concentration was about 51.5% on average. The study was carried out in the framework of the project under program BIOSTRATEG funded by the National Centre for Research and Development No. 1/270745/2/NCBR/2015 'Dietary, power, and economic potential of Sida hermaphrodita cultivation on fallow land'.

Keywords: disintegration, biogas, methane fermentation, Virginia fanpetals, biomass

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Authors: Hyomin Lee, Jinhyun Lee, Jinyeon Hwang, Younghoon Choi, Byeongseo Son

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Global warming is a world-wide issue. Various carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies for reducing CO2 concentration in the atmosphere have been increasingly studied. Mineral carbonation is one of promising method for CO2 sequestration. Waste cement generating from aggregate recycling processes of waste concrete is potentially a good raw material containing reactive components for mineral carbonation. The major goal of our long-term project is to developed effective methods for CO2 sequestration using waste cement. In the present study, the carbonation characteristics of hydrated cement were examined by conducting two different direct aqueous carbonation experiments. We also evaluate the influence of NaCl and MgCl2 as additives to increase mineral carbonation efficiency of hydrated cement. Cement paste was made with W:C= 6:4 and stored for 28 days in water bath. The prepared cement paste was pulverized to the size less than 0.15 mm. 15 g of pulverized cement paste and 200 ml of solutions containing additives were reacted in ambient temperature and pressure conditions. 1M NaCl and 0.25 M MgCl2 was selected for additives after leaching test. Two different sources of CO2 was applied for direct aqueous carbonation experiment: 0.64 M NaHCO3 was used for CO2 donor in method 1 and pure CO2 gas (99.9%) was bubbling into reacting solution at the flow rate of 20 ml/min in method 2. The pH and Ca ion concentration were continuously measured with pH/ISE Multiparameter to observe carbonation behaviors. Material characterization of reacted solids was performed by TGA, XRD, SEM/EDS analyses. The carbonation characteristics of hydrated cement were significantly different with additives. Calcite was a dominant calcium carbonate mineral after the two carbonation experiments with no additive and NaCl additive. The significant amount of aragonite and vaterite as well as very fine calcite of poorer crystallinity was formed with MgCl2 additive. CSH (calcium silicate hydrate) in hydrated cement were changed to MSH (magnesium silicate hydrate). This transformation contributed to the high carbonation efficiency. Carbonation experiment with method 1 revealed that that the carbonation of hydrated cement took relatively long time in MgCl2 solution compared to that in NaCl solution and the contents of aragonite and vaterite were increased as increasing reaction time. In order to maximize carbonation efficiency in direct aqueous carbonation with CO2 gas injection (method 2), the control of solution pH was important. The solution pH was decreased with injection of CO2 gas. Therefore, the carbonation efficiency in direct aqueous carbonation was closely related to the stability of calcium carbonate minerals with pH changes. With no additive and NaCl additive, the maximum carbonation was achieved when the solution pH was greater than 11. Calcium carbonate form by mineral carbonation seemed to be re-dissolved as pH decreased below 11 with continuous CO2 gas injection. The type of calcium carbonate mineral formed during carbonation in MgCl2 solution was closely related to the variation of solution pH caused by CO2 gas injection. The amount of aragonite significantly increased with decreasing solution pH, whereas the amount of calcite decreased.

Keywords: CO2 sequestration, Mineral carbonation, Cement and concrete, MgCl2 and NaCl

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Authors: Elaine Y. L. Ng

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Elizabeth Gilbert’s (2006) biography Eat, Pray, Love describes her travels to Italy, India, and Indonesia after a painful divorce. The author’s experiences with love, loss, search for happiness, and meaning have resonated with a huge readership. As regards the translation of Gilbert’s (2006) Eat, Pray, Love into Chinese, it was first translated by a Taiwanese translator He Pei-Hua and published in Taiwan in 2007 by Make Boluo Wenhua Chubanshe with the fairly catching title “Enjoy! Traveling Alone.” The same translation was translocated to China, republished in simplified Chinese characters by Shanxi Shifan Daxue Chubanshe in 2008 and renamed in China, entitled “To Be a Girl for the Whole Life.” Later on, the same translation in simplified Chinese characters was reprinted by Hunan Wenyi Chubanshe in 2013. This study employs Munday’s (2002) systemic model for descriptive translation studies to investigate the translation of Gilbert’s (2006) Eat, Pray, Love into Chinese by the Taiwanese translator Hu Pei-Hua. It employs an interdisciplinary approach, combining systemic functional linguistics and corpus stylistics with sociohistorical research within a descriptive framework to study the translator’s discursive presence in the text. The research consists of three phases. The first phase is to locate the target text within its socio-cultural context. The target-text context concerning the para-texts, readers’ responses, and the publishers’ orientation will be explored. The second phase is to compare the source text and the target text for the categorization of translation shifts by using the methodological tools of systemic functional linguistics and corpus stylistics. The investigation concerns the rendering of mental clauses and speech and thought presentation. The final phase is an explanation of the causes of translation shifts. The linguistic findings are related to the extra-textual information collected in an effort to ascertain the motivations behind the translator’s choices. There exist sets of possible factors that may have contributed to shaping the textual features of the given translation within a specific socio-cultural context. The study finds that the translator generally reproduces the mental clauses and speech and thought presentation closely according to the original. Nevertheless, the language of the translation has been widely criticized to be unidiomatic and stiff, losing the elegance of the original. In addition, the several Chinese translations of the given text produced by one Taiwanese and two Chinese publishers are basically the same. They are repackaged slightly differently, mainly with the change of the book cover and its captions for each version. By relating the textual findings to the extra-textual data of the study, it is argued that the popularity of the Chinese translation of Gilbert’s (2006) Eat, Pray, Love may not be attributed to the quality of the translation. Instead, it may have to do with the way the work is promoted strategically by the social media manipulated by the four e-bookstores promoting and selling the book online in China.

Keywords: chinese translation of eat pray love, corpus stylistics, motivations for translation shifts, systemic approach to translation studies

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Authors: Lola Vivour-Adeniyi, Oluwatoyosi Abikoye

Abstract:

Gender-Based Violence has persistently been an enduring epidemic rooted in various homes and cultures worldwide throughout history. Despite numerous multifaceted approaches aiming to eliminate gender disparity by empowering girls with independent, survival, or entrepreneurial skills, positive transformation efforts for boys are often neglected. This gap, particularly in West Africa, hinders the reshaping of generational perceptions of men's roles in eradicating all forms of violence against women, creating an imbalance in providing holistic, sustainable solutions in our society. In response to this, the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency established the Kings Club initiative in 2018 in Lagos, Nigeria, aligning with UN SDG 5 on 'gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls.' This initiative aims to debunk sociocultural misconceptions, educate on sexual and Gender Violence issues, and promote positive masculinity among schoolboys. The objective is to foster a balance in the behavioral and attitudinal mindsets of young boys, contributing to the success of an equitable society for all in the eradication of gender disparity. The ongoing project demonstrates an annual 89% success rate in behavioral and attitudinal mindset shifts among schoolboys by employing qualitative assessments of participants aged 10–17. The paper uses data from 161 secondary school students drawn from 15 schools in Lagos State Education District 6, exposed to modules on Sexual and Reproductive Rights and Health, Masculinity, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence, Anger Management, and transitioning from boy to man in a 6-week program, with observations and feedback analyses. The paper evaluates changes in attitudes, behaviors, and gender role perceptions among the boys who are now pioneers of the Kings' Club in their respective schools, serving as positive influencers among their peers in schools and at home. The paper's findings provide a nuanced understanding of cultural dynamics shaping male masculinity in West Africa and offer valuable insights into the effectiveness of innovative interventions to end all forms of violence against women. In conclusion, by intentionally reshaping young boys alongside girls, who represent the future, we stand a chance to create culturally sensitive societal norms that bridge the gap of gender inequity and end all forms of violence against women. The paper posits that its outcomes hold research significance, providing targeted interventions in male masculinity in patriarchal societies.

Keywords: cultural dynamics, gender equality, gender-based violence, positive masculinity

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Authors: Angelo Corallo, Maria Elena Latino, Marta Menegoli

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The link between man and food plays, in the social and economic system, a central role where cultural and multidisciplinary aspects intertwine: food is not only nutrition, but also communication, culture, politics, environment, science, ethics, fashion. This multi-dimensionality has many implications in the food economy. In recent years, the consumer became more conscious about his food choices, involving a consistent change in consumption models. This change concerns several aspects: awareness of food system issues, employment of socially and environmentally conscious decision-making, food choices based on different characteristics than nutritional ones i.e. origin of food, how it’s produced, and who’s producing it. In this frame the ‘consumption choices’ and the ‘interests of the citizen’ become one part of the others. The figure of the ‘Citizen Consumer’ is born, a responsible and ethically motivated individual to change his lifestyle, achieving the goal of sustainable consumption. Simultaneously the branding, that before was guarantee of the product quality, today is questioned. In order to meet these needs, Agri-Food companies are developing specific product lines that follow two main philosophies: ‘Back to basics’ and ‘Less is more’. However, the issue of ethical behavior does not seem to find an adequate on market offer. Most likely due to a lack of attention on the communication strategy used, very often based on market logic and rarely on ethical one. The label in its classic concept of ‘clean labeling’ can no longer be the only instrument through which to convey product information and its evolution towards a concept of ‘clear label’ is necessary to embrace ethical and transparent concepts in progress the process of democratization of the Food System. The implementation of a voluntary traceability path, relying on the technological models of the Internet of Things or Industry 4.0, would enable the Agri-Food Supply Chain to collect data that, if properly treated, could satisfy the information need of consumers. A change of approach is therefore proposed towards Agri-Food traceability that is no longer intended as a tool to be used to respond to the legislator, but rather as a promotional tool useful to tell the company in a transparent manner and then reach the slice of the market of food citizens. The use of mobile technology can also facilitate this information transfer. However, in order to guarantee maximum efficiency, an appropriate communication model based on the ethical communication principles should be used, which aims to overcome the pipeline communication model, to offer the listener a new way of telling the food product, based on real data collected through processes traceability. The Citizen Consumer is therefore placed at the center of the new model of communication in which he has the opportunity to choose what to know and how. The new label creates a virtual access point capable of telling the product according to different point of views, following the personal interests and offering the possibility to give several content modalities to support different situations and usability.

Keywords: agri food traceability, agri-food transparency, clear label, food system, internet of things

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Authors: Abidi Sourour, Ben Salem Hichem, Zoghlemi Aziza, Mezni Mejid, Nasri Saida

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In Tunisia, there is an urgent need to maintain food security by reversing soil degradation and improving crop and livestock productivity. Conservation Agriculture (CA) can be helpful in enhancing crop productivity and soil health. However, the demand for crop residues as animal feed are among the major constraints for the adoption of CA. Thus, the objective of this trial is to test the nutritional value of new forage mixture hays as alternative to cereal residues. Two tri-specific cereal-legume mixture were studied and compared to the classic Vetch-Oat one. They were implemented at farm level in four regions characterized by sub-humi climatic: V70-A15-T15 (Vetch70% - Oat15% -Triticale15%) installed in two sites (Zhir and safasaf), V60-A7-T33 (Vetch60% - Oat7% -Triticale33%) and V70-A30 (Vetch70%-Oat30%). Results revealed a significant variation between mixtures V70-A15-T15 installed at Safsafa, recorded the highest forage yield with 12t DM ha-1 than V60A7T33 and V70A30 installed, respectively in ksar cheikh and Fernana with 11.6 and 11.2.tMSha-1. The same mixture installed in Safsafa gave 22% less yields than the one installed in Safsafa. In fact, the month of March was dry in Z'hir. Moreover, these yields in DM can be comparable to those observed by Yucel and Avci (2009). The CP contents of the samples studied vary significantly between the mixtures (P<0.0003). V70-A15-T15 installed in Safsaf and V70A30 present higher contents of CP (respectively 14.4 and 13.7% DM) compared to the other mixtures. These contents are explained by the high proportion of vetch in the fourth mixture and by the low proportion of weeds in the second. In all cases, the hay produced from these mixtures is significantly richer in protein than that of oats in pure culture (Abdelraheem et al., 2019). The positive correlation between the CP content and the proportion of vetch explains this superior quality. The NDF and ADF contents were similar for all mixtures. These values were similar to those reported in the literature (Abidi and Benyoussef, 2019; Haj-Ayed and al., 2000). In general, the Land Equivalent Ratio (LER) was significantly greater than 1 for the vetch-oat-triticale mixture at Zhiir and Safsafa and also for the vetch-oat a at Fernana, proving that they are more productive in intercropping than in pure culture. For the Ksar Cheikh site, the LER value of the vetch-oat-triticale mixture is maintained at around 1. Proving the absence of the advantage of mixture culture compared to pure culture. This proves the massive presence of weeds interferes with the two partners of the mixture increases. The LER for the vetch-oat mixture reached its maximum in March 13 and decreases in April but remained above 1. This proves that the tutoring power of oats showed itself in a constant way until an advanced stage since the variety used is characterized by very thick stems, protecting it from the risk of lodging. These forages mixture present a promising option, a high nutritional quality that could reduce the use of concentrate and, therefore, the cost of feed. With such feed value, these mixtures allow good animal performance.

Keywords: soybean, lupine, vetch, lamb-ADG, meat

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