Search results for: Protein-RNA interaction analysis

Authors: Liang Zhao, Jili Zhang, Chongquan Zhong

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Energy consumption data, in particular those involving public buildings, are impacted by many factors: the building structure, climate/environmental parameters, construction, system operating condition, and user behavior patterns. Traditional methods for data analysis are insufficient. This paper delves into the data mining technology to determine its application in the analysis of building energy consumption data including energy consumption prediction, fault diagnosis, and optimal operation. Recent literature are reviewed and summarized, the problems faced by data mining technology in the area of energy consumption data analysis are enumerated, and research points for future studies are given.

Keywords: data mining, data analysis, prediction, optimization, building operational performance

Procedia PDF Downloads 847

Authors: Seemal Mazhar Khan, Tahira Mubashar

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The present research aimed to investigate the relationship in perceived organizational justice, organizational trust and employee engagement in bank employees. It was hypothesized: there is likely to be a relationship in perceived organizational justices, organizational trust and employee engagement; perceived organizational justice and organizational trust are likely to predict employee engagement; there is likely to be effect of bank type and designation on perceived organizational justice, organizational trust and employee engagement. The sample consisted of 150 bank employees (50 from government, 50 from private and 50 from privatized banks) selected from different banks in Lahore, Pakistan. Correlational research design was used to conduct this study. Perceived Organizational Justices Questionnaire, Organizational Trust Questionnaire and Employee Engagement Scale were used for assessment. Pearson product moment correlation, hierarchical regression and multivariate analysis of covariance were applied. Results showed a positive significant relationship in perceived organizational justice and organizational engagement and there were also a positive significant relation between organizational trust and job and organizational engagement. Results showed that organizational trust predicts organizational engagement after controlling the effect of age, marital status and socio-economic status and there is a significant interaction effect of bank type and designation level on organizational trust in bank employees. The findings of the research can serve as a platform for the awareness of important antecedents of employee engagement and organizations can inculcate trust for better and improved engagement of its employees, thereby, enhancing the productivity of their employees.

Keywords: bank employees, organizational engagement, perceived organizational justice, trust

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Authors: Teng Li, Kamran Mohseni

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This paper presents an inviscid regularization technique that is capable of regularizing the shocks and sharp interfaces simultaneously in the shock-interface interaction simulations. The direct numerical simulation of flows involving shocks has been investigated for many years and a lot of numerical methods were developed to capture the shocks. However, most of these methods rely on the numerical dissipation to regularize the shocks. Moreover, in high Reynolds number flows, the nonlinear terms in hyperbolic Partial Differential Equations (PDE) dominates, constantly generating small scale features. This makes direct numerical simulation of shocks even harder. The same difficulty happens in two-phase flow with sharp interfaces where the nonlinear terms in the governing equations keep sharpening the interfaces to discontinuities. The main idea of the proposed technique is to average out the small scales that is below the resolution (observable scale) of the computational grid by filtering the convective velocity in the nonlinear terms in the governing PDE. This technique is named “observable method” and it results in a set of hyperbolic equations called observable equations, namely, observable Navier-Stokes or Euler equations. The observable method has been applied to the flow simulations involving shocks, turbulence, and two-phase flows, and the results are promising. In the current paper, the observable method is examined on the performance of regularizing shocks and interfaces at the same time in shock-interface interaction problems. Bubble-shock interactions and Richtmyer-Meshkov instability are particularly chosen to be studied. Observable Euler equations will be numerically solved with pseudo-spectral discretization in space and third order Total Variation Diminishing (TVD) Runge Kutta method in time. Results are presented and compared with existing publications. The interface acceleration and deformation and shock reflection are particularly examined.

Keywords: compressible flow simulation, inviscid regularization, Richtmyer-Meshkov instability, shock-bubble interactions.

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Authors: Adrian W. Chew

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This paper argues that education policy analysis tends to be steered towards empiricist oriented approaches, which place emphasis on objective and measurable data. However, this paper argues that empiricist oriented approaches are generally based on inductive and/or deductive reasoning, which are unable to generate new ideas/knowledge. This paper will outline the logical structure of induction, deduction, and abduction, and argues that only abduction provides possibilities for the creation of new ideas/knowledge. This paper proposes the neologism of ‘informed guessing’ as a reformulation of abduction, and also as an approach to education policy analysis. On one side, the signifier ‘informed’ encapsulates the idea that abductive policy analysis needs to be informed by descriptive conceptualization theory to be able to make relations and connections between, and within, observed phenomenon and unobservable general structures. On the other side, the signifier ‘guessing’ captures the cyclical and unsystematic process of abduction. This paper will end with a brief example of utilising ‘informed guessing’ for a policy analysis of school choice lotteries in the United States.

Keywords: abductive reasoning, empiricism, informed guessing, policy analysis

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Authors: Tuğrul Aksoy, Hüseyin Karabıyık

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Reloading vehicles are the vehicles which are generally equipped with a crane and used to carry a stowage from a point and locate onto the vehicle or vice versa. In this study, structural analysis of a reloading vehicle was performed under the loads which are predicted to be exposed under operating conditions via the finite element method. Among the finite element analysis results, the stress and displacement distributions of the vehicle and the contact pressure distributions of the guide rings within the stabilization legs were examined. Vehicle design was improved by strengthening certain parts according to the analysis results. The analyses performed for the final design were verified by the experiments involving strain gauge measurements.

Keywords: structural analysis, reloading vehicle, crane, strain gauge

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Authors: Ebuwa Osagie, Vasilije Manovic

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Exergy analysis provides the identification of the location, sources of thermodynamic inefficiencies, and magnitude in a thermal system. Thus, both the qualitative and quantitative assessment can be evaluated with exergy, unlike energy which is based on quantitative assessment only. The main purpose of exergy analysis is to identify where exergy is destroyed. Thus, reduction of the exergy destruction and losses associated with the capture plant systems can improve work potential. Furthermore, thermodynamic analysis of different configurations of the process helps to identify opportunities for reducing the steam requirements for each of the configurations. This paper presents steady-state simulation and exergy analysis of the 2-amino-2-methyl-1-propanol (AMP)-based post-combustion capture (PCC) plant. Exergy analysis performed for the AMP-based plant and the different configurations revealed that the rich split with intercooling configuration gave the highest exergy efficiency of 73.6%, while that of the intercooling and the reference AMP-based plant were 57.3% and 55.8% respectively.

Keywords: 2-amino-2-methyl-1-propanol, modelling, and simulation, post-combustion capture plant, exergy analysis, flowsheeting configurations

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Authors: Aissa Belmeguenai, Khaled Mansouri

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In this work, an efficient implementation of Achterbahn-128 for images encryption and decryption was introduced. The implementation for this simulated project is written by MATLAB.7.5. At first two different original images are used for validate the proposed design. Then our developed program was used to transform the original images data into image digits file. Finally, we used our implemented program to encrypt and decrypt images data. Several tests are done for proving the design performance including visual tests and security analysis; we discuss the security analysis of the proposed image encryption scheme including some important ones like key sensitivity analysis, key space analysis, and statistical attacks.

Keywords: Achterbahn-128, stream cipher, image encryption, security analysis

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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: Julia Wong, Hua Beng Lim, Petrina Goh, Johanna Foo, Caleb Ng, Nurul ‘Aqilah Bte Mohd Taufek

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Animal-assisted therapy (AAT) utilizes human-animal interaction to achieve specific therapeutic goals, and its efficacy has been demonstrated across various settings overseas. The use of AAT in Singapore, however, is still limited. Ang Mo Kio-Thye Hua Kwan (AMKH) is one of the first community hospitals in Singapore to use AAT to complement its occupational therapy services with elderly patients. This study explored the perspectives of AMKH’s occupational therapists (OTs) in relation to AAT to understand barriers and enablers in implementing and practising AAT. We also examined how OTs at-large across practice settings perceive AAT. A mixed method design was used. 64 OTs at-large participated in on online survey, and 7 AMKH OTs were interviewed individually via Zoom. Survey results were analysed with descriptive and Mann-Whitney U tests. Interviews were thematically analysed. AMKH OTs perceived various benefits of AAT articulated in overseas studies in domains such as motivation and participation, emotional, social interaction, sensory tactile stimulation, and cognition. Interestingly, this perception was also supported by 67% of OTs who had responded to the survey, even though most of the OTs who had participated in the survey had no experience in AAT. Despite the perceived benefits of AAT, both OTs from AMKH and those at-large articulated concerns on risks pertaining to AAT (e.g., allergies, unexpected animal behaviour, infections, etc). However, AMKH OTs shared several ways to mitigate these risks, demonstrating their ability to develop a safe program. For e.g., volunteers and their dogs must meet specific recruitment criteria, stringent protocols are used to screen and match dogs with patients, and there are strict exclusion criteria for patients participating in AAT. AMKH OTs’ experience suggests that additional skills and knowledge are required to implement AAT, therefore, healthcare institutions should first consider improving their staff training and risk mitigation knowledge before implementing AAT. They can also refer to AMKH’s AAT protocols and those found in overseas studies, but institutions must adapt the protocols to fit their institutional settings and patients’ profiles.

Keywords: animal-assisted therapy, dog-assisted therapy, occupational therapy, complementary therapy

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Authors: Bongjae Lee, Beom Goo Hwang, Hye Mi Park

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CO₂ capture products manufactured through Carbon Capture and Utilization (CCU) Plant that collect CO₂ directly from power plants require accurate measurements of the amount of CO₂ captured. For this purpose, two tests were carried out on the weight loss test. And one was analyzed using a carbon dioxide quantification device. First, the ignition loss analysis was performed by measuring the weight of the sample at 550°C after the first conversation and then confirming the loss when ignited at 950°C. Second, in the thermogravimetric analysis, the sample was divided into two sections of 40 to 500°C and 500 to 800°C to confirm the reduction. The results of thermal weight loss analysis and thermogravimetric analysis were confirmed to be almost similar. However, the temperature of the ignition loss analysis method was 950°C, which was 150°C higher than that of the thermogravimetric method at a temperature of 800°C, so that the difference in the amount of weight loss was 3 to 4% higher by the heat loss analysis method. In addition, the tendency that the CO₂ content increases as the reaction time become longer is similarly confirmed. Third, the results of the wet titration method through the carbon dioxide quantification device were found to be significantly lower than the weight loss method. Therefore, based on the results obtained through the above three analysis methods, we will establish a method to analyze the accurate amount of CO₂. Acknowledgements: This work was supported by the Korea Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and planning (No. 20152010201850).

Keywords: carbon capture and utilization, CCU, CO2, CO2 capture products, analysis method

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Authors: Sujit K. Basak

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This paper presents a comparison of the reference management software between Zotero and Mendeley and the results were drawn by comparing the two software’s. The novelty of this paper is the comparative analysis of the software and it has shown that Mendeley can import more information from the Google Scholar for the researchers. This finding can help to know researchers to use the reference management software.

Keywords: analysis, comparative analysis, zotero, researchers, Mendeley

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Authors: Muhammad Suhaib

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Requirements Analysis are the most important part of software Engineering for both system application development, and project requirements. Conflicts often arise during the requirements gathering and analysis phase. This research aims to identify conflicts during the requirements gathering phase in software development life cycle, Research, Development, and Technology converted the world into a global village. During requirements elicitation/gathering phase it’s very difficult to understand the main objective of stakeholders, after completion of requirements elicitation task final results are used for Software Requirements Specification (SRS), SRS is the highly important outcome of the requirements analysis phase. this is the foundation between the developers and stakeholders or customers, proposed methodology will be helpful to identify those conflicts in a very easy manner during the initial phase of the project.

Keywords: goal oriented requirements analysis, conflicts identification model, requirements analysis, requirements engineering

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Authors: Omnia Elkommos

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Language is communication on several discourse levels. The target of teaching a language and the literature of a foreign language is to communicate a message. Reading, appreciating, analysing, and interpreting poetry as a sophisticated rhetorical expression of human thoughts, emotions, and philosophical messages is more feasible through the use of linguistic pragmatic tools from a communicative discourse perspective. The poet's intention, speech act, illocutionary act, and perlocutionary goal can be better understood when communicative situational context as well as linguistic discourse structure theories are employed. The use of linguistic theories in the teaching of poetry is, therefore, intrinsic to students' comprehension, interpretation, and appreciation of poetry of the different ages. It is the purpose of this study to show how both teachers as well as students can apply these linguistic theories and tools to dramatic poetic texts for an engaging, enlightening, and effective interpretation and appreciation of the language. Theories drawn from areas of pragmatics, discourse analysis, embedded discourse level, communicative situational context, and other linguistic approaches were applied to selected poetry texts from the different centuries. Further, in a simple statistical count of the number of poems with dialogic dramatic discourse with embedded two or three levels of discourse in different anthologies outweighs the number of descriptive poems with a one level of discourse, between the poet and the reader. Poetry is thus discourse on one, two, or three levels. It is, therefore, recommended that teachers and students in the area of ESL/EFL use the linguistics theories for a better understanding of poetry as communicative discourse. The practice of applying these linguistic theories in classrooms and in research will allow them to perceive the language and its linguistic, social, and cultural aspect. Texts will become live illocutionary acts with a perlocutionary acts goal rather than mere literary texts in anthologies.

Keywords: coda, commissives, communicative situation, context of culture, context of reference, context of utterance, dialogue, directives, discourse analysis, dramatic discourse interaction, duologue, embedded discourse levels, language for communication, linguistic structures, literary texts, poetry, pragmatic theories, reader response, speech acts (macro/micro), stylistics, teaching literature, TEFL, terms of address, turn-taking

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Authors: V. K. Arora, Amit Rastogi

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To understand the anchor pile behaviour and to predict the capacity of piles under uplift loading are important concerns in foundation analysis. Experimental model tests have been conducted on single anchor pile embedded in cohesionless soil and subjected to pure uplift loading. A gravel-filled geogrid layer was located around the enlarged pile base. The experimental tests were conducted on straight-shafted vertical steel piles with an outer diameter of 20 mm in a steel soil tank. The tested piles have embedment depth-to-diameter ratios (L/D) of 2, 3, and 4. The sand bed is prepared at three different values of density of 1.67, 1.59, and 1.50gm/cc. Single piles embedded in sandy soil were tested and the results are presented and analysed in this paper. The influences of pile embedment ratio, reinforcement, relative density of soil on the uplift capacity of piles were investigated. The study revealed that the behaviour of single piles under uplift loading depends mainly on both the pile embedment depth-to-diameter ratio and the soil density. It is believed that the experimental results presented in this study would be beneficial to the professional understanding of the soil–pile-uplift interaction problem.

Keywords: flat under-reamer anchor pile, geogrid, pullout reinforcement, soil reinforcement

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Authors: Ayat Ayman Abdelaziz Ibrahim Amayem, Hassan Abdel-Salam, Zeyad El-Sayad

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Nowadays, ICTs have spread extensively in everyday life in an unprecedented way. A great attention is paid to the ICTs while ignoring the social aspect. With the immersive invasion of internet as well as smart phones’ applications and digital social networking, people become more socially connected through virtual spaces instead of meeting in physical public spaces. Thus, this paper aims to find the ways of implementing ICTs in public spaces to regain their status as attractive places for people, incite meetings in real life and create sustainable lively city centers. One selected example of urban space in the city center of Alexandria is selected for the study. Alexandria represents a large metropolitan city subjected to rapid transformation. Improving the quality of its public spaces will have great effects on the whole well-being of the city. The major roles that ICTs can play in the public space are: culture and art, education, planning and design, games and entertainment, and information and communication. Based on this classification various examples and proposals of ICTs interventions in public spaces are presented and analyzed to encourage good old fashioned social interaction by creating the New Social Public Place of this Digital Era. The paper will adopt methods such as questionnaire for evaluating the people’s willingness to accept the idea of using ICTs in public spaces, their needs and their proposals for an attractive place; the technique of observation to understand the people behavior and their movement through the space and finally will present an experimental design proposal for the selected urban space. Accordingly, this study will help to find design principles that can be adopted in the design of future public spaces to meet the needs of the digital era’s users with the new concepts of social life respecting the rules of place-making.

Keywords: Alexandria sustainable city center, digital place-making, ICTs, social interaction, social networking, urban places

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Authors: Monalisa Pradhan, Ajana Dutta, Irshad Kariyattuparamb Abbas, Boby Joseph, T. N. Guru Row, Diptikanta Swain, Gopal K. Pradhan

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Compounds with the Vanthoffite crystal structure having general formula Na6M(SO₄)₄ (M= Mg, Mn, Ni , Co, Fe, Cu and Zn) display a variety of intriguing physical properties intimately related to their structural arrangements. The compound Na6Mn(SO4)4 shows antiferromagnetic ordering at low temperature where the in-plane Mn-O•••O-Mn interactions facilitates antiferromagnetic ordering via a super-exchange interaction between the Mn atoms through the oxygen atoms . The inter-atomic bond distances and angles can easily be tuned by applying external pressure and can be probed using high resolution X-ray diffraction. Moreover, because the magnetic interaction among the Mn atoms are super-exchange type via Mn-O•••O-Mn path, the variation of the Mn-O•••O-Mn dihedral angle and Mn-O bond distances under high pressure inevitably affects the magnetic properties. Therefore, it is evident that high pressure studies on the magnetically ordered materials would shed light on the interplay between their structural properties and magnetic ordering. This will indeed confirm the role of buckling of the Mn-O polyhedral in understanding the origin of anti-ferromagnetism. In this context, we carried out the pressure dependent X-ray diffraction measurement in a diamond anvil cell (DAC) up to a maximum pressure of 17 GPa to study the phase transition and determine equation of state from the volume compression data. Upon increasing the pressure, we didn’t observe any new diffraction peaks or sudden discontinuity in the pressure dependences of the d values up to the maximum achieved pressure of ~17 GPa. However, it is noticed that beyond 12 GPa the a and b lattice parameters become identical while there is a discontinuity in the β value around the same pressure. This indicates a subtle transition to a pseudo-monoclinic phase. Using the third order Birch-Murnaghan equation of state (EOS) to fit the volume compression data for the entire range, we found the bulk modulus (B0) to be 44 GPa. If we consider the subtle transition at 12 GPa, we tried to fit another equation state for the volume beyond 12 GPa using the second order Birch-Murnaghan EOS. This gives a bulk modulus of ~ 34 GPa for this phase.

Keywords: mineral, structural phase transition, high pressure XRD, spectroscopy

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Authors: Zainurrasyid Abdullah, Mohamed Fadzlee Sulaiman, Muhammad Fadzlan Zainal, M. Zabri Adil Talib, Aswami Fadillah M. Ariffin

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The Onion Router (Tor) browser is a well-known tool and widely used by people who seeking for web anonymity when browsing the internet. Criminals are taking this advantage to be anonymous over the internet. Accessing the dark web could be the significant reason for the criminal in order for them to perform illegal activities while maintaining their anonymity. For a digital forensic analyst, it is crucial to extract the trail of evidence in proving that the criminal’s computer has used Tor browser to conduct such illegal activities. By applying the digital forensic methodology, several techniques could be performed including application analysis, memory analysis, and registry analysis. Since Windows 10 is the latest operating system released by Microsoft Corporation, this study will use Windows 10 as the operating system platform that running Tor browser. From the analysis, significant artifacts left by Tor browser were discovered such as the execution date, application installation date and browsing history that can be used as an evidence. Although Tor browser was designed to achieved anonymity, there is still some trail of evidence can be found in Windows 10 platform that can be useful for investigation.

Keywords: artifacts analysis, digital forensics, forensic analysis, memory analysis, registry analysis, tor browser, Windows 10

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Authors: Ebrahim Izadi-Darbandi, Masoud Azad, Masumeh Dehghan

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In order to study the effects of nitrogen and phosphoruse management and wheat sowing method on wheat yield, two experiments was performed as factorial, based on completely randomized design with three replications at Research Farm, Faculty of Agriculture, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran in 2009. In the first experiment nitrogen application rates (100kg ha-1, 200 kg ha-1, 300 kg ha-1), phosphorus application rates (100 kg ha-1, 200 kg ha-1) and two levels of their application methods (Broadcast and Band) were studied. The second experiment treatments included of wheat sowing methods (single-row with 30 cm distance and twine row on 60 cm width ridges), as main plots and nitrogen and phosphorus application methods (Broadcast and Band) as sub plots (150 kg ha-1). Phosphorus and nitrogen sources for fertilization at both experiment were respectively super phosphate, applied before wheat sowing and incorporated with soil and urea, applied in two phases (50% pre plant) and (50%) near wheat shooting. Results from first experiment showed that the effect of fertilizers application methods were significant (p≤0.01) on wheat yield increasing. Band application of phosphorus and nitrogen were increased biomass and seed yield of wheat with nine and 15% respectively compared to their broadcast application. The interaction between the effects of nitrogen and phosphorus application rate with phosphorus and nitrogen application methods, showed that band application of fertilizers and the rate of application of 200kg/ha phosphorus and 300kg/ha nitrogen were the best methods in wheat yield improvement. The second experiment also showed that the effect of wheat sowing method and fertilizers application methods were significant (p≤0.01) on wheat seed and biomass yield improvement. Wheat twine row on 60 cm width ridges sowing method, increased its biomass and seed yield for 22% and 30% respectively compared to single-row with 30 cm. Wheat sowing method and fertilizers application methods interaction indicated that band application of fertilizers and wheat twine row on 60 cm width ridges sowing method was the best treatment on winter wheat yield improvement. In conclusion these results indicated that nitrogen and phosphorus management in wheat and modifying wheat sowing method have important role in increasing fertilizers use efficiency.

Keywords: band application, broadcast application, rate of fertilizer application, wheat seed yield, wheat biomass yield

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Authors: Hadi Chahal, Irini Djeran-Maigre

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This paper focuses on the hydro-mechanical behavior of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) polluted sediments when stored in landfills and the interaction between PCBs and geosynthetic clay liners (GCL) with respect to hydraulic performance of the liner and the overall performance and stability of landfills. A European decree, adopted in the French regulation forbids the reintroducing of contaminated dredged sediments containing more than 0,64mg/kg Σ 7 PCBs to rivers. At these concentrations, sediments are considered hazardous and a remediation process must be adopted to prevent the release of PCBs into the environment. Dredging and landfilling polluted sediments is considered an eco-environmental remediation solution. French regulations authorize the storage of PCBs contaminated components with less than 50mg/kg in municipal solid waste facilities. Contaminant migration via leachate may be possible. The interactions between PCBs contaminated sediments and the GCL barrier present in the bottom of a landfill for security confinement are not known. Moreover, the hydro-mechanical behavior of stored sediments may affect the performance and the stability of the landfill. In this article, hydro-mechanical characterization of the polluted sediment is presented. This characterization led to predict the behavior of the sediment at the storage site. Chemical testing showed that the concentration of PCBs in sediment samples is between 1.7 and 2,0 mg/kg. Physical characterization showed that the sediment is organic silty sand soil (%Silt=65, %Sand=27, %OM=8) characterized by a high plasticity index (Ip=37%). Permeability tests using permeameter and filter press showed that sediment permeability is in the order of 10-9 m/s. Compressibility tests showed that the sediment is a very compressible soil with Cc=0,53 and Cα =0,0086. In addition, effects of PCB on the swelling behavior of bentonite were studied and the hydraulic performance of the GCL in interaction with PCBs was examined. Swelling tests showed that PCBs don’t affect the swelling behavior of bentonite. Permeability tests were conducted on a 1.0 m pilot scale experiment, simulating a storage facility. PCBs contaminated sediments were directly placed over a passive barrier containing GCL to study the influence of the direct contact of polluted sediment leachate with the GCL. An automatic water system has been designed to simulate precipitation. Effluent quantity and quality have been examined. The sediment settlements and the water level in the sediment have been monitored. The results showed that desiccation affected the behavior of the sediment in the pilot test and that laboratory tests alone are not sufficient to predict the behavior of the sediment in landfill facility. Furthermore, the concentration of PCB in the sediment leachate was very low ( < 0,013 µg/l) and that the permeability of the GCL was affected by other components present in the sediment leachate. Desiccation and cracks were the main parameters that affected the hydro-mechanical behavior of the sediment in the pilot test. In order to reduce these infects, the polluted sediment should be stored at a water content inferior to its shrinkage limit (w=39%). We also propose to conduct other pilot tests with the maximum concentration of PCBs allowed in municipal solid waste facility of 50 mg/kg.

Keywords: geosynthetic clay liners, landfill, polychlorinated biphenyl, polluted dredged materials

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Authors: J. R. Wang, H. T. Lin, Y. Chiang, H. C. Chen, C. Shih

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Kuosheng Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) is located on the northern coast of Taiwan. Its nuclear steam supply system is a type of BWR/6 designed and built by General Electric on a twin unit concept. First, the methodology of Kuosheng NPP SPU (Stretch Power Uprate) safety analysis TRACE/SNAP model was developed in this research. Then, in order to estimate the safety of Kuosheng NPP under the more severe condition, the SBO (Station Blackout) + LOCA (Loss-of-Coolant Accident) transient analysis of Kuosheng NPP SPU TRACE/SNAP model was performed. Besides, the animation model of Kuosheng NPP was presented using the animation function of SNAP with TRACE/SNAP analysis results.

Keywords: TRACE, safety analysis, BWR/6, severe accident

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Authors: Athena Nguyen, Rojin Belganeh

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Detecting and identifying differences in like polymer materials are key factors in deformulation, comparative analysis as well as reverse engineering. Pyrolysis-GC/MS is an easy solid sample introduction technique which expands the application areas of gas chromatography and mass spectrometry. The Micro-furnace pyrolyzer is directly interfaced with the GC injector preventing any potential of cold spot, carryover, and cross contamination. This presentation demonstrates the study of two similar polymers by performing different mode of operations in the same system: Evolve gas analysis (EGA), Flash pyrolysis, Thermal desorption analysis, and Heart-cutting analysis. Unknown polymer materials and their chemical compositions are identified.

Keywords: gas chromatography/mass spectrometry, pyrolysis, pyrolyzer, thermal desorption-GC/MS

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Authors: Willie Eselebor

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Environmental governance is not new, but may consist of a series of actions taken to establish sanity and ensure sustainable environment. While there is a growing accord linking disaster risk reduction with the management of environment and natural resources, little is known about failure to act which constitute vulnerability and how improved governance reduces risk globally. The paper reviews emerging trends in the field of application of governance tools and approaches for reducing disaster risk. The Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA) enjoin all stakeholders to stimulate the sustainable use and management of ecosystems, which promote the implementation of integrated environmental and natural resource planning that incorporate disaster risk reduction, including structural and non-structural measures, such as integrated management of fragile ecosystems. The methodology adopted is a case study of disaster-prone sites, prompting guided analysis on which hazards are traceable to environmental degradation, why a degraded environment reduces community resilience; how healthy ecosystems provide natural defense, and which opportunities exist to address gaps in reduction of disasters in Nigeria. The paper further analyses the interaction between disaster risk and environmental change. It is established that environmental governance remains a challenge; which implies that there is the need for a shift in traditional approaches to disaster risk management; exploring new initiatives and allowing environmental managers to be docketed as disaster risk managers in context, potentially opening up a window of dialogue on disaster risk management.

Keywords: disaster, ecosystem, environment, risk

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Authors: Cosmas Pandit Pagwiwoko, Ammar Khaled Abdelaziz Abdelsamia

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Flutter as a phenomenon of flow-induced and self-excited vibration has to be recognized considering its harmful effect on the structure especially in a stage of aircraft design. This phenomenon is also important for a wind energy harvester based on the fluttering surface due to its effective operational velocity range. This multi-physics occurrence can be presented by two governing equations in both fluid and structure simultaneously in respecting certain boundary conditions on the surface of the body. In this work, the equations are resolved separately by two distinct solvers, one-time step of each domain. The modelling and simulation of this flow-structure interaction in ANSYS show the effectiveness of this loosely coupled method in representing flutter phenomenon however the process is time-consuming for design purposes. Therefore, another technique using the same weak coupled aero-structure is proposed by using system dynamics approach. In this technique, the aerodynamic forces were calculated using singularity function for a range of frequencies and certain natural mode shapes are transformed into time domain by employing an approximation model of fraction rational function in Laplace variable. The representation of structure in a multi-degree-of-freedom coupled with a transfer function of aerodynamic forces can then be simulated in time domain on a block-diagram platform such as Simulink MATLAB. The dynamic response of flutter at certain velocity can be evaluated with another established flutter calculation in frequency domain k-method. In this method, a parameter of artificial structural damping is inserted in the equation of motion to assure the energy balance of flow and vibrating structure. The simulation in time domain is particularly interested as it enables to apply the structural non-linear factors accurately. Experimental tests on a fluttering airfoil in the wind tunnel are also conducted to validate the method.

Keywords: flutter, flow-induced vibration, flow-structure interaction, non-linear structure

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Authors: Muhamad N. Borhan, Nur S. Darus, Siti Z. Ishak, Rozmi Ismail, Siti F. M. Razali

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Children are at the greater risk to be involved in road traffic collisions due to the complex interaction of various elements in our transportation system. It encompasses interactions between the elements of children and driver behavior along with physical and social environment factors. The present study examined the effect between the collisions severity and physical environment factors on child pedestrian collisions. The severity of collisions is categorized into four injury outcomes: fatal, serious injury, slight injury, and damage. The sample size comprised of 2487 cases of child pedestrian-vehicle collisions in which children aged 7 to 12 years old was involved in Malaysia for the years 2006-2015. A multinomial logistic regression was applied to establish the effect between severity levels and physical environment factors. The results showed that eight contributing factors influence the probability of an injury road surface material, traffic system, road marking, control type, lighting condition, type of location, land use and road surface condition. Understanding the effect of physical environment factors may contribute to the improvement of physical environment design and decrease the collision involvement.

Keywords: child pedestrian, collisions, primary school, road injuries

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Authors: Hamza Ikhlaq, Stephen Franks

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Background: Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is one of the most common endocrine disorders affecting women of reproductive age. The aetiology behind PCOS is poorly understood but influencing ethnic, environmental, and genetic factors have been recognised. However, literature examining the impact of ethnicity is scarce. We hypothesised Body Mass Index (BMI) and ethnicity influence the clinical, metabolic, and biochemical presentations of PCOS, with an interaction between these factors. Methods: A database of 1081 women with PCOS and a control group of 72 women were analysed. BMIs were grouped using the World Health Organisation classification into normal weight, overweight and obese groups. Ethnicities were classified into European, South Asian, and Afro-Caribbean groups. Biochemical and clinical presentations were compared amongst these groups, and statistical analyses were performed to assess significance. Results: This study revealed ethnicity significantly influences biochemical and clinical presentations of PCOS. A greater proportion of South Asian women are impacted by menstrual cycle disturbances and hirsutism than European and Afro-Caribbean women. South Asian and Afro-Caribbean women show greater measures of insulin resistance and weight gain when compared to their European peers. Women with increased BMI are shown to have an increased prevalence of PCOS phenotypes alongside increased levels of insulin resistance and testosterone. Furthermore, significantly different relationships between the waist-hip ratio and measures of insulin and glucose control for Afro-Caribbean women were identified compared to other ethnic groups. Conclusions: The findings of this study show ethnicity significantly influence the phenotypic and biochemical presentations of PCOS, with an interaction between body habitus and ethnicity found. Furthermore, we provide further data on the influences of BMI on the manifestations of PCOS. Therefore, we highlight the need to consider these factors when reviewing diagnostic criteria and delivering clinical care for these groups.

Keywords: PCOS, ethnicity, BMI, clinical

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Authors: Dhouibi Mohamed, Stirbu Bogdan, Chabotier André, Pirlot Marc

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Effects of erosion and wear on the performance of small caliber guns have been analyzed throughout numerical and experimental studies. Mainly, qualitative observations were performed. Correlations between the volume change of the chamber and the maximum pressure are limited. This paper focuses on the development of a numerical model to predict the maximum pressure evolution when the interior shape of the chamber changes in the different weapon’s life phases. To fulfill this goal, an experimental campaign, followed by a numerical simulation study, is carried out. Two test barrels, « 5.56x45mm NATO » and « 7.62x51mm NATO,» are considered. First, a Coordinate Measuring Machine (CMM) with a contact scanning probe is used to measure the interior profile of the barrels after each 300-shots cycle until their worn out. Simultaneously, the EPVAT (Electronic Pressure Velocity and Action Time) method with a special WEIBEL radar are used to measure: (i) the chamber pressure, (ii) the action time, (iii) and the bullet velocity in each barrel. Second, a numerical simulation study is carried out. Thus, a coupled interior ballistic model is developed using the dynamic finite element program LS-DYNA. In this work, two different models are elaborated: (i) coupled Eularien Lagrangian method using fluid-structure interaction (FSI) techniques and a coupled thermo-mechanical finite element using a lumped parameter model (LPM) as a subroutine. Those numerical models are validated and checked through three experimental results, such as (i) the muzzle velocity, (ii) the chamber pressure, and (iii) the surface morphology of fired projectiles. Results show a good agreement between experiments and numerical simulations. Next, a comparison between the two models is conducted. The projectile motions, the dynamic engraving resistances and the maximum pressures are compared and analyzed. Finally, using this obtained database, a statistical correlation between the muzzle velocity, the maximum pressure and the chamber volume is established.

Keywords: engraving process, finite element analysis, gun barrel erosion, interior ballistics, statistical correlation

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Authors: T. Mushiri, K. Tengende, C. Mbohwa, T. Garikayi

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This paper introduces finite element analysis of Run off Mine (ROM) silo subjected to dynamic loading. The proposed procedure is based on the use of theoretical equations to come up with pressure and forces exerted by Platinum Group Metals (PGMs) ore to the silo wall. Finite Element Analysis of the silo involves the use of CAD software (AutoCAD) for3D creation and CAE software (T-FLEX) for the simulation work with an optimization routine to minimize the mass and also ensure structural stiffness and stability. In this research an efficient way to design and analysis of a silo in 3D T-FLEX (CAD) program was created the silo to stay within the constrains and so as to know the points of failure due dynamic loading.

Keywords: reinforced concrete silo, finite element analysis, T-FLEX software, AutoCAD

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Authors: Eleni Karasavvidou

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Social and anthropological research, parallel to Gender Studies, highlighted the relationship between social structures and symbolic forms as an important field of interaction and recording of 'social trends.' Since the study of representations can contribute to the understanding of the social functions and power relations, they encompass. This ‘mirage,’ however, has not only to do with the representations themselves but also with the ways they are received and the film or critical narratives that are established as dominant or alternative. Cinema and the criticism of its cultural products are no exception. Even in the rapidly changing media landscape of the 21st century, movies remain an integral and widespread part of popular culture, making films an extremely powerful means of 'legitimizing' or 'delegitimizing' visions of domination and commonsensical gender stereotypes throughout society. And yet it is film criticism, the 'language per se,' that legitimizes, reinforces, rewards and reproduces (or at least ignores) the stereotypical depictions of female roles that remain common in the realm of film images. This creates the need for this issue to have emerged (also) in academic research questioning gender criteria in film reviews as part of the effort for an inclusive art and society. Qualitative content analysis is used to examine female roles in selected Oscar-nominated films against their reviews from leading websites and newspapers. This method was chosen because of the complex nature of the depictions in the films and the narratives they evoke. The films were divided into basic scenes depicting social functions, such as love and work relationships, positions of power and their function, which were analyzed by content analysis, with borrowings from structuralism (Gennette) and the local/universal images of intercultural philology (Wierlacher). In addition to the measurement of the general ‘representation-time’ by gender, other qualitative characteristics were also analyzed, such as: speaking time, sayings or key actions, overall quality of the character's action in relation to the development of the scenario and social representations in general, as well as quantitatively (insufficient number of female lead roles, fewer key supporting roles, relatively few female directors and people in the production chain and how they might affect screen representations. The quantitative analysis in this study was used to complement the qualitative content analysis. Then the focus shifted to the criteria of film criticism and to the rhetorical narratives that exclude or highlight in relation to gender identities and functions. In the criteria and language of film criticism, stereotypes are often reproduced or allegedly overturned within the framework of apolitical "identity politics," which mainly addresses the surface of a self-referential cultural-consumer product without connecting it more deeply with the material and cultural life. One of the prime examples of this failure is the Bechtel Test, which tracks whether female characters speak in a film regardless of whether women's stories are represented or not in the films analyzed. If perceived unbiased male filmmakers still fail to tell truly feminist stories, the same is the case with the criteria of criticism and the related interventions.

Keywords: representations, context analysis, reviews, sexist stereotypes

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Authors: Ahmed Al-Mansour, Qiang Zeng

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Recycling waste plastics in the form of concrete components, i.e. fine aggregates, has been an attractive topic among the society of civil engineers. Not only does the recycling of plastics reduce the overall cost of concrete production, but it also takes part in solving environmental issues. Nevertheless, the incorporation of recycled plastics into concrete results in an increasing reduction in the mechanical properties of concrete as the percentage of replacement of natural aggregates increases. In order to overcome this reduction, Ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA) was used as an additive in concrete with recycled plastic aggregates. The aim of this additive is to: 1) increase the interfacial interaction at the interfacial transition zone (ITZ) between plastic pellets and cement matrix, and 2) mitigate the loss in mechanical properties. Three different groups of samples (i.e. cubes and prisms) were tested according to the plastics substituting fine aggregates. 5, 10, and 15% of fine aggregates were substituted for recycled plastic pellets, and 2 – 4% of the cement was substituted for EVA that produces a flexible agent when mixed properly with water. Compressive and tensile strength tests were conducted for the mechanical properties, while SEM and X-CT scan were implemented for further investigation of calcium-silicate-hydrate (C–S–H) formation and ITZ analysis. The optimal amount of plastic particles with EVA is suggested to get the most compact and dense matrix structure according to the results of this study.

Keywords: the durability of concrete, ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA), interfacial transition zone (ITZ), recycled plastics

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Authors: Savas Yildiz

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The article assesses the performance of international aid donors to determine the sub-national distribution of their aid projects dependent on recipient countries’ governance. The present paper extends the scope from a cross-country perspective to a more detailed analysis by looking at the effects of institutional qualities on the sub-national distribution of foreign aid. The analysis examines geo-referenced aid project in 37 countries and 404 regions at the first administrative division level in Sub-Saharan Africa from the World Bank (WB) and the African Development Bank (ADB) that were approved between the years 2000 and 2011. To measure the influence of institutional qualities on the distribution of aid the following measures are used: control of corruption, government effectiveness, regulatory quality and rule of law from the World Governance Indicators (WGI) and the corruption perception index from Transparency International. Furthermore, to assess the importance of ethnic heterogeneity on the sub-national distribution of aid projects, the study also includes interaction terms measuring ethnic fragmentation. The regression results indicate a general skew of aid projects towards regions which hold capital cities, however, being incumbent presidents’ birth region does not increase the allocation of aid projects significantly. Nevertheless, with increasing quality of institutions aid projects are less skewed towards capital regions and the previously estimated coefficients loose significance in most cases. Higher ethnic fragmentation also seems to impede the possibility to allocate aid projects mainly in capital city regions and presidents’ birth places. Additionally, to assess the performance of the WB based on its own proclaimed goal to aim the poor in a country, the study also includes sub-national wealth data from the Demographic and Health Surveys (DSH), and finds that, even with better institutional qualities, regions with a larger share from the richest quintile receive significantly more aid than regions with a larger share of poor people. With increasing ethnic diversity, the allocation of aid projects towards regions where the richest citizens reside diminishes, but still remains high and significant. However, regions with a larger share of poor people still do not receive significantly more aid. This might imply that the sub-national distribution of aid projects increases in general with higher ethnic fragmentation, independent of the diverse regional needs. The results provide evidence that institutional qualities matter to undermine the influence of incumbent presidents on the allocation of aid projects towards their birth regions and capital regions. Moreover, even for countries with better institutional qualities the WB and the ADB do not seem to be able to aim the poor in a country with their aid projects. Even, if one considers need-based variables, such as infant mortality and child mortality rates, aid projects do not seem to be allocated in districts with a larger share of people in need. Therefore, the study provides further evidence using more detailed information on the sub-national distribution of aid projects that aid is not being allocated effectively towards regions with a larger share of poor people to alleviate poverty in recipient countries directly. Institutions do not have any significant influence on the sub-national distribution of aid towards the poor.

Keywords: aid allocation, georeferenced data, institutions, spatial analysis

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