Search results for: feasibility studies

Authors: Aly Mohamed El Husseiny, Azza Ezz Abdelkader

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There is a critical thin line between freedom of choice and randomness. The distance between imagination and perception and between perception and execution varies depending on numerous factors. While in developed areas residents have the opportunity and abilities to build flexible homes, residents in developing areas create their own dwellings in informal settlements, even though none of them is comfortable at home in the long run. This paper explores three factors: What residents really need, what they do with limited flexibility, and what they do when there are no limits, as in the case of informal settlements. This paper studies alteration to residential buildings and how they connect to the changes in people’s lifecycle in all past cases. This study also examines all approaches to flexibility, focusing on a social approach. The results of this study are based on three practical studies: Interviews with residents in an informal settlement (Eshash Mahfouz in Minya in Egypt), a civil study of buildings in a middle-class district, and a survey of residents from many countries, including Egypt, and interviews with a number of them to determine residents’ needs and the extent of renovations they made or would like to make to their homes.

Keywords: flexibility, housing, freedom of choice, social, changes, residents

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Authors: Parthasarathy J., Ramshankar C. S.

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Engineering drawings these days play an important role in every part of an industry. By and large, Engineering drawings are influential over every phase of the product development process. Traditionally, drawings are used for communication in industry because they are the clearest way to represent the product manufacturing information. Until recently, manufacturing activities were driven by engineering data captured in 2D paper documents or digital representations of those documents. The need of engineering drawing is inevitable. Still Engineering drawings are disadvantageous in re-entry of data throughout manufacturing life cycle. This document based approach is prone to errors and requires costly re-entry of data at every stage in the manufacturing life cycle. So there is a requirement to eliminate Engineering drawings throughout product development process and to implement 3D Model Based Engineering (3D MBE or 3D MBD). Adopting MBD appears to be the next logical step to continue reducing time-to-market and improve product quality. Ideally, by fully applying the MBD concept, the product definition will no longer rely on engineering drawings throughout the product lifecycle. This project addresses the need of Engineering drawing and its influence in various parts of an industry and the need to implement the 3D Model Based Engineering with its advantages and the technical barriers that must be overcome in order to implement 3D Model Based Engineering. This project also addresses the requirements of neutral formats and its realisation in order to implement the digital product definition principles in a light format. In order to prove the concepts of 3D Model Based Engineering, the screw jack body part is also demonstrated. At ZF Windpower Coimbatore Limited, 3D Model Based Definition is implemented to Torque Arm (Machining and Casting), Steel tube, Pinion shaft, Cover, Energy tube.

Keywords: engineering drawing, model based engineering MBE, MBD, CAD

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Authors: Nazia Mustafa, Aneela Maqsood

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Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory is the most widely used instrument for assessing children and adolescent health-related quality of life and has shown excellent markers of reliability and validity. The current study was carried out with the objectives of translation and cross-language validation along with the determination of factor Structure and psychometric properties of the Urdu version. It was administered on 154 Primary School Children with age range 10 to12 years (M= 10.86, S.D = 0.62); including boys (n=92) and girls (n = 62). The sample was recruited from two randomly selected schools from the Rawalpindi district of Pakistan. Results of the pilot phase revealed that the instrument had good reliability (Urdu Version α = 0.798; English Version α = 0.795) as well as test-retest correlation coefficients over a period of 15 days (r = 0.85). Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) resulted in three factorial structures; Social/School Functioning (k = 8), Psychological Functioning (k = 7) and Physical Functioning (k = 6) considered suitable for our sample instead of four factors. Bartlett's test of sphericity showed inter-correlation between variables. However, factor loadings for items 22 and 23 of the School Functioning subscale were problematic. The model was fit to the data after their removal with Cronbach’s Alpha Reliability coefficient of the scale (k = 21) as 0.87 and for subscales as 0.75, 0.77 and 0.73 for Social/School Scale, Psychological subscale and Physical subscale, respectively. These results supported the feasibility and reliability of the Urdu version of the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory as a reliable and effective tool for the measurement of quality of life among Pediatrics Pakistani population.

Keywords: primary school children, paediatric quality of life, exploratory factor analysis, Pakistan

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Authors: Balamurugan Baladhandapani, Ganesh Renganathan, V. R. Sanal Kumar

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In this paper a comprehensive review on various factory layouts has been carried out for designing a lucrative process layout for medium scale industries. Industry data base reveals that the end product rejection rate is on the order of 10% amounting large profit loss. In order to avoid these rejection rates and to increase the quality product production an intermediate non-destructive testing facility (INDTF) has been recommended for increasing the overall profit. We observed through detailed case studies that while introducing INDTF to medium scale industries the expensive production process can be avoided to the defective products well before its final shape. Additionally, the defective products identified during the intermediate stage can be effectively utilized for other applications or recycling; thereby the overall wastage of the raw materials can be reduced and profit can be increased. We concluded that the prudent design of a factory layout through critical path method facilitating with INDTF will warrant profitable outcome.

Keywords: intermediate non-destructive testing, medium scale industries, process layout design

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Authors: Oluwafunmibi Omotayo Fasanya, Augustine Kena Adjei

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Background and Aims: This meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the effect of vitamin D supplementation on key metabolic and cardiovascular parameters, such as glycated hemoglobin (HbA1C), fasting blood sugar (FBS), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), systolic blood pressure (SBP), and total vitamin D levels in patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Methods: A systematic search was performed across databases, including PubMed, Scopus, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and ClinicalTrials.gov, from January 1990 to January 2024. A total of 4,177 relevant studies were initially identified. Using an unsupervised K-means clustering algorithm, publications were grouped based on common text features. Maximum entropy classification was then applied to filter studies that matched a pre-identified training set of 139 potentially relevant articles. These selected studies were manually screened for relevance. A parallel manual selection of all initially searched studies was conducted for validation. The final inclusion of studies was based on full-text evaluation, quality assessment, and meta-regression models using random effects. Sensitivity analysis and publication bias assessments were also performed to ensure robustness. Results: The unsupervised K-means clustering algorithm grouped the patients based on their responses to vitamin D supplementation, using key biomarkers such as HbA1C, FBS, LDL, HDL, SBP, and total vitamin D levels. Two primary clusters emerged: one representing patients who experienced significant improvements in these markers and another showing minimal or no change. Patients in the cluster associated with significant improvement exhibited lower HbA1C, FBS, and LDL levels after vitamin D supplementation, while HDL and total vitamin D levels increased. The analysis showed that vitamin D supplementation was particularly effective in reducing HbA1C, FBS, and LDL within this cluster. Furthermore, BMI, weight gain, and disease duration were identified as factors that influenced cluster assignment, with patients having lower BMI and shorter disease duration being more likely to belong to the improvement cluster. Conclusion: The findings of this machine learning-assisted meta-analysis confirm that vitamin D supplementation can significantly improve glycemic control and reduce the risk of cardiovascular complications in T2DM patients. The use of automated screening techniques streamlined the process, ensuring the comprehensive evaluation of a large body of evidence while maintaining the validity of traditional manual review processes.

Keywords: HbA1C, T2DM, SBP, FBS

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Authors: Shuja Alharbi

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Oil and Gas industry has many applications considered as toxic or hazardous, where process fluid leakage is not permitted and leads to health, safety, and environmental impacts. Caustic/Acidic applications, High Benzene Concentrations, Hydrogen sulfide rich oil/gas as well as liquids operating above their auto-ignition temperatures are examples of such liquids that pose as a risk to the industry operation, and for those, special arrangements are in place to allow for the safe operation environment. Pumps in the industry requires special attention, specifically in the interface between the fluid and the environment, where the potential of leakages are foreseen. Mechanical Seals are used to contain the fluid within the equipment, but the prices are ever increasing for such seals, along with maintenance, design, and operating requirements. Several alternatives to seals are being employed nowadays, such as Sealless systems, which is hermitically sealed from the atmosphere and does not require sealing. This technology is considered relatively new and requires more studies to understand the limitations and factors associated from an owner and design perspective. Things like financial factors, maintenance factors, and design limitation should be studies further in order to have a mature and reliable technical solution available to end users.

Keywords: pump, sealless, selection, failure

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Authors: Shimaa Nagro, Russell Campion

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Mobile devices are becoming ever more widely available, with growing functionality, and are increasingly used as an enabling technology to give students access to educational material anytime and anywhere. However, the design of educational material user interfaces for mobile devices is beset by many unresolved research issues such as those arising from emphasising the information concepts then mapping this information to appropriate media (modelling information then mapping media effectively). This report describes a multimedia user interface design method for mobile learning. The method covers specification of user requirements and information architecture, media selection to represent the information content, design for directing attention to important information, and interaction design to enhance user engagement based on Human-Computer Interaction design strategies (HCI). The method will be evaluated by three different case studies to prove the method is suitable for application to different areas / applications, these are; an application to teach about major computer networking concepts, an application to deliver a history-based topic; (after these case studies have been completed, the method will be revised to remove deficiencies and then used to develop a third case study), an application to teach mathematical principles. At this point, the method will again be revised into its final format. A usability evaluation will be carried out to measure the usefulness and effectiveness of the method. The investigation will combine qualitative and quantitative methods, including interviews and questionnaires for data collection and three case studies for validating the MDMLM method. The researcher has successfully produced the method at this point which is now under validation and testing procedures. From this point forward in the report, the researcher will refer to the method using the MDMLM abbreviation which means Multimedia Design Mobile Learning Method.

Keywords: human-computer interaction, interface design, mobile learning, education

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Authors: Manish Manohar Hingorani

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The purpose of the research is to find out the level of understanding, adoption, and implementation of CRM in Indian Businesses, either product/ service and the processes which should be followed to ensure minimal to no customer churn and further enhance loyalty. The study used comprehensive qualitative interviews of 36 respondents across mid and senior-level management in product and services organizations of Indian origin. The findings of the study exhibit a gap between the understanding, adoption and implementation of CRM in the Indian context. Different Industries have attributed different levels of understanding, adoption, and limited implementation studies on CRM to the Indian context exists in different industries, but studies related to the consequences of not understanding the true meaning of CRM at the grass root level and further than on non-adoption and non-implementation will have an adverse effect on the customer loyalty, and customer satisfaction leading to customer churn. As this was a qualitative approach, the analysis was content-based and discourse based. The responses were taken from mid to very-senior management decision-makers in organizations of Indian origin.

Keywords: customer relationship management, Indian consumer, customer loyalty, customer experience, customer satisfaction

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Authors: Mohamed Youssef

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The proliferation of energy consumption in the built environment has made energy efficiency and savings strategies a priority objective for energy policies in most countries. Qatar is a clear example, where it has initiated several programs and institutions to mitigate the overuse of electricity consumption and control the energy load of the building by following global standards and spreading awareness campaigns. A Case study on the Office of Research and Graduate Studies at Qatar University has been investigated in this paper. The paper studied the rating load of existing buildings before and after retrofitting by using Carrier’s Hourly Analysis Program (HAP). The performance of the building has increased especially after using the LED light system instead of fluorescent light with a low payback period. GINAN paint and green roof have shown a considerable contribution to the reduction of electrical load in the building. In comparison, the double HR window had the least effect on the reduction of electricity consumption.

Keywords: energy conservation in Qatar, HAP, LED light, GINAN paint, green roof, double HR window

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Authors: Mohamed Haffar, Ramdane Djebarni, Russell Evans

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Despite a growth in literature on distributed leadership, the majority of studies are centred on large public organisations particularly within the health and education sectors. The purpose of this study is to fill the gap in the literature by exploring employee experiences of distributed leadership within two commercial consultancy SME businesses in the UK and USA. The aim of the study informed an exploratory method of research to gather qualitative data drawn from semi-structured interviews involving a sample of employees in each organisation. A series of broad, open questions were used to explore the employees’ experiences; evidence of distributed leadership; and extant barriers and practices in each organisation. Whilst some of our findings aligned with patterns and practices in the existing literature, it importantly discovered some emergent themes that have not previously been recognised in the previous studies. Our investigation identified that whilst distributed leadership was in evidence in both organisations, the interviewees’ experience reported that it was sporadic and inconsistent. Moreover, non-client focused projects were reported to be less important and distributed leadership was found to be inconsistent or non-existent.

Keywords: consultancy, distributed leadership, owner-manager, SME, entrepreneur

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Authors: Alireza Nikbakht Shahbazi

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There are various factors that affect climate changes; drought is one of those factors. Investigation of efficient methods for estimating climate change impacts on drought should be assumed. The aim of this paper is to investigate climate change impacts on drought in Karoon3 watershed located south-western Iran in the future periods. The atmospheric general circulation models (GCM) data under Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) scenarios should be used for this purpose. In this study, watershed drought under climate change impacts will be simulated in future periods (2011 to 2099). Standard precipitation index (SPI) as a drought index was selected and calculated using mean monthly precipitation data in Karoon3 watershed. SPI was calculated in 6, 12 and 24 months periods. Statistical analysis on daily precipitation and minimum and maximum daily temperature was performed. LRAS-WG5 was used to determine the feasibility of future period's meteorological data production. Model calibration and verification was performed for the base year (1980-2007). Meteorological data simulation for future periods under General Circulation Models and climate change IPCC scenarios was performed and then the drought status using SPI under climate change effects analyzed. Results showed that differences between monthly maximum and minimum temperature will decrease under climate change and spring precipitation shall increase while summer and autumn rainfall shall decrease. The precipitation occurs mainly between January and May in future periods and summer or autumn precipitation decline and lead up to short term drought in the study region. Normal and wet SPI category is more frequent in B1 and A2 emissions scenarios than A1B.

Keywords: climate change impact, drought severity, drought frequency, Karoon3 watershed

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Authors: Leigh G. Hayden, Susan E. Shepley, Cristina Passarelli, William Tingo

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Introduction: Sensory interventions are popular therapeutic and recreational approaches for people living with all stages of dementia. However, it is unknown which sensory interventions are used to achieve which outcomes across all subtypes of dementia. Methods: To address this gap, we conducted a scoping review of sensory interventions for people living with dementia. We conducted a search of the literature for any article published in English from 1 January 1990 to 1 June 2019, on any sensory or multisensory intervention targeted to people living with any kind of dementia, which reported on patient health outcomes. We did not include complex interventions where only a small aspect was related to sensory stimulation. We searched the databases Medline, CINHAL, and Psych Articles using our institutional discovery layer. We conducted all screening in duplicate to reduce Type 1 and Type 2 errors. The data from all included papers were extracted by one team member, and audited by another, to ensure consistency of extraction and completeness of data. Results: Our initial search captured 7654 articles, and the removal of duplicates (n=5329), those that didn’t pass title and abstract screening (n=1840) and those that didn’t pass full-text screening (n=281) resulted in 174 articles included. The countries with the highest publication in this area were the United States (n=59), the United Kingdom (n=26) and Australia (n=15). The most common type of interventions were music therapy (n=36), multisensory rooms (n=27) and multisensory therapies (n=25). Seven articles were published in the 1990’s, 55 in the 2000’s, and the remainder since 2010 (n=112). Discussion: Multisensory rooms have been present in the literature since the early 1990’s. However, more recently, nature/garden therapy, art therapy, and light therapy have emerged since 2008 in the literature, an indication of the increasingly diverse scholarship in the area. The least popular type of intervention is a traditional food intervention. Taste as a sensory intervention is generally avoided for safety reasons, however it shows potential for increasing quality of life. Agitation, behavior, and mood are common outcomes for all sensory interventions. However, light therapy commonly targets sleep. The majority (n=110) of studies have very small sample sizes (n=20 or less), an indicator of the lack of robust data in the field. Additional small-scale studies of the known sensory interventions will likely do little to advance the field. However, there is a need for multi-armed studies which directly compare sensory interventions, and more studies which investigate the use of layering sensory interventions (for example, adding an aromatherapy component to a lighting intervention). In addition, large scale studies which enroll people at early stages of dementia will help us better understand the potential of sensory and multisensory interventions to slow the progression of the disease.

Keywords: sensory interventions, dementia, scoping review

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Authors: Tovondahiniriko Fanjirindratovo, Olga Ramiarinjanahary, Paulisimone Rasoavonjy

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The sunshine duration, which is the sum of all the moments when the solar beam radiation is up to a minimal value, is an important parameter for climatology, tourism, agriculture and solar energy. Its measure is usually given by a pyrheliometer installed on a two-axis solar tracker. Due to the high cost of this device and the availability of global radiation on a horizontal surface, on the other hand, several studies have been done to make a correlation between global radiation and sunshine duration. Most of these studies are fitted for the northern hemisphere using a pyrheliometric database. The aim of the present work is to list and assess all the existing methods and apply them to Reunion Island, a tropical region in the southern hemisphere. Using a database of ten years, global, diffuse and beam radiation for a horizontal surface are employed in order to evaluate the uncertainty of existing algorithms for a tropical region. The methodology is based on indirect comparison because the solar beam radiation is not measured but calculated by the beam radiation on a horizontal surface and the sun elevation angle.

Keywords: Carpentras method, data fitting, global radiation, sunshine duration, Slob and Monna algorithm, step algorithm

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Authors: Maurizio E. Picarella, Ludovica Fumelli, Francesca Siligato, Andrea Mazzucato

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Studies on reproductive dynamics in crops subjected to heat stress are crucial to breed more tolerant cultivars. In tomato, cultivars, breeding lines, and wild species have been thoroughly evaluated for the response to heat stress in several studies. Here, we address the reaction to temperature stress in a panel of selected landraces representing genotypes cultivated before the advent of professional varieties that usually show high adaptation to local environments. We adopted an experimental design with two open field trials, where transplanting was spaced by one month. In the second field, plants were thus subjected to mild stress with natural temperature fluctuations. The genotypes showed wide variation for both vegetative (plant height) and reproductive (stigma exsertion, pollen viability, number of flowers per inflorescence, and fruit set) traits. On average, all traits were affected by heat conditions; except for the number of flowers per inflorescence, the “G*E” interaction was always significant. In agreement with studies based on different materials, estimated broad sense heritability was high for plant height, stigma exsertion, and pollen viability and low for the number of flowers per inflorescence and fruit set. Despite the interaction, traits recorded in control and in heat conditions were positively correlated. The first two principal components estimated by multivariate analysis explained more than 50% of the total variability. The study indicated that landraces present a wide variability for the response of reproductive traits to temperature stress and that such variability could be very informative to dissect the traits with higher heritability and identify new QTL useful for breeding more resilient varieties.

Keywords: fruit set, heat stress, solanum lycopersicum L., style exsertion, tomato

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Authors: Kariman Abdelaziz Ahmed Ali Hamzawy

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Amidst the growing global challenges facing communities, from climate change to educational gaps, sustainable community education has emerged as a vital tool for ensuring comprehensive and enduring development. This research aims to explore effective strategies for sustainable community education that can lead to long-term impacts on local communities. The study begins by defining the concept of sustainable education within a community context and reviews the current literature on the topic. It then presents case studies from various communities around the world where sustainable educational strategies have been successfully implemented. These case studies illustrate how sustainable education can enhance community engagement, build local capacities, and improve quality of life in sustainable ways. The findings from these studies are analyzed to identify the key factors contributing to the success of sustainable educational programs. These factors include partnerships between different sectors (governmental, private, and community), the innovative use of technology, and the adaptation of educational curricula to meet the unique needs of the community. The research also offers practical recommendations on designing and implementing sustainable educational programs, emphasizing the integration of formal and informal education, promoting lifelong learning, and developing local resources. It addresses potential challenges and ways to overcome them to ensure the long-term sustainability of these programs. In conclusion, the research provides a future vision of the role of sustainable education in building resilient and prosperous communities and highlights the importance of investing in education as a key driver of sustainable development. This study contributes to the ongoing discussion on achieving lasting impact through sustainable community education and offers a practical framework for stakeholders to adopt and implement these strategies.

Keywords: sustainable education, community education, Community engagement, local capacity building, educational technology

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Authors: Jennifer Holbein, Maritza Wiedel

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Background: Aging is associated with an increased risk of falls in older adults, and as a result, falls have become public health crises. However, the incidence of falls can be reduced through healthy aging and the implementation of a regular exercise and strengthening program. Public health and healthcare professionals authorize the use of evidence‐based, exercise‐focused fall interventions, but there are major obstacles to translating and disseminating research findings into healthcare practices. The purpose of this study was to assess the feasibility of an intervention, A Matter of Balance, in terms of demand, acceptability, and implementation into current exercise programs. Subjects: Seventy-five participants from rural communities, above the age of sixty, were randomized to an intervention or attention-control of the standardized senior fitness test. Methods: Subject completes the intervention, which combines two components: (1) motivation and (2) fall-reducing physical activities with protocols derived from baseline strength and balanced assessments. Participants (n=75) took part in the program after completing baseline functional assessments as well as evaluations of their personal knowledge, health outcomes, demand, and implementation interventions. After 8-weeks of the program, participants were invited to complete follow-up assessments with results that were compared to their baseline functional analyses. Out of all the participants in the study who complete the initial assessment, approximately 80% are expected to maintain enrollment in the implemented prescription. Furthermore, those who commit to the program should show mitigation of fall risk upon completion of their final assessment.

Keywords: aging population, exercise, falls, functional assessment, healthy aging

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Authors: Naad-E-Ali Sulehria

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Pakistan and china have stepped in a new phase of strengthening fraternity as the dream of economic corridor once discerned by both countries is going to take a pragmatic shape. Pak-China economic corridor an under construction program is termed to be an emerging dynamic of 21st century that anticipates a nexus between Asian continent and Indian Ocean by extending its functions to adjoining East, South, Central and Western Asian regions. The $45.6 billion worth heavily invested megaprojects by China are meant to revive energy sector and building economic infrastructure in Pakistan. Evidently, these projects are a part of ‘southern extension’ of Silk Road economic belt which is going to draw out prominent incentives for both countries particularly bolstering China to acquire influential dominance over the regional trade and beyond. In pursuit to adhere, by these progressive plans both countries have began working on their respective assignments. This article discusses the economical development programs under China’s peripheral diplomacy regarding its region-specific-approach to accumulate trade of Persian Gulf and access the landlocked Central Asian states through Pakistan in a sublimate context to break US encirclement of Asia. Pakistan’s utmost preference to utilize its strategic channel as a trade hub to become an emerging economy and surpass its arch-rival India for strategic concerns is contemplated accordingly. The needs and feasibility of the economic gateway and the dividends it can provide in the contemporary scenario are examined carefully and analysis is drawn upon the future prospects of the Pakistan-China Economic corridor once completed.

Keywords: pak-china economic corridor (PCEC), central asian republic states (CARs), new silk road economic belt, gawadar

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Authors: Rami Hashish, Manon Limousis-Gayda, Caitlin McCleery

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Introduction: Mild traumatic brain injuries, also referred to as concussions, represent an increasing burden to society. Due to limited objective diagnostic measures, concussions are diagnosed by assessing subjective symptoms, often leading to disputes to their presence. Common biomechanical measures associated with concussion are high linear and/or angular acceleration to the head. With regards to linear acceleration, approximately 80g’s has previously been shown to equate with a 50% probability of concussion. Motor vehicle collisions (MVCs) are a leading cause of concussion, due to high head accelerations experienced. The change in velocity (delta-V) of a vehicle in an MVC is an established metric for impact severity. As acceleration is the rate of delta-V with respect to time, the purpose of this paper is to determine the relation between delta-V (and occupant parameters) with linear head acceleration. Methods: A meta-analysis was conducted for manuscripts collected using the following keywords: head acceleration, concussion, brain injury, head kinematics, delta-V, change in velocity, motor vehicle collision, and rear-end. Ultimately, 280 studies were surveyed, 14 of which fulfilled the inclusion criteria as studies investigating the human response to impacts, reporting head acceleration, and delta-V of the occupant’s vehicle. Statistical analysis was conducted with SPSS and R. The best fit line analysis allowed for an initial understanding of the relation between head acceleration and delta-V. To further investigate the effect of occupant parameters on head acceleration, a quadratic model and a full linear mixed model was developed. Results: From the 14 selected studies, 139 crashes were analyzed with head accelerations and delta-V values ranging from 0.6 to 17.2g and 1.3 to 11.1 km/h, respectively. Initial analysis indicated that the best line of fit (Model 1) was defined as Head Acceleration = 0.465

Keywords: acceleration, brain injury, change in velocity, Delta-V, TBI

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Authors: Yu Hua Yan

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Background: This research attempts to extend and apply the concept of service dominant logic on My Health Bank platform, analyzed to find out are there any significant difference in wills to participate (potential factors for value) on the results of value co-creation? Methods: The questionnaires were delivered from August 2017 to October 2017 in hospitals. 167 valid ones were received, with an effective response rate of 98.2%. Results: This research employed the questionnaire method in collecting research data, with patients that have used My Health Bank as objects, to whom questionnaires were sent. Regarding the factors influencing therapeutic effects, in the statistics of capability and interaction, it reached a significant level (p <0.1). Regarding the factors influencing satisfaction on medical service, in the statistics of capability and interaction, it reached a significant level (p <0.001). Conclusion: Regarding the contributions of this research, it is possible to clarify its contents with the studies on value co-creation to enrich the literature of the studies of service dominant logic and value co-creation in Taiwan. Regarding its contribution in practice, the results of this research allows the value advocator – the government, to have a broader view in the consideration of making the policies on value co-creation.

Keywords: My Health Bank, interactive, participation, value creation

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Authors: Sadiq Sani, Muhammad B. Ibrahim

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Watermelon rinds powder (WRP) and neem-tree leaves powder (NLP) were used as adsorbents for equilibrium adsorption isotherms studies for detoxification of methyl orange dye (MO) from simulated wastewater. The applicability of the process to various isotherm models was tested. All isotherms from the experimental data showed excellent linear reliability (R2: 0.9487-0.9992) but adsorptions onto WRP were more reliable (R2: 0.9724-0.9992) than onto NLP (R2: 0.9487-0.9989) except for Temkin’s Isotherm where reliability was better onto NLP (R2: 0.9937) than onto WRP (R2: 0.9935). Dubinin-Radushkevich’s monolayer adsorption capacities for both WRP and NLP (qD: 20.72 mg/g, 23.09 mg/g) were better than Langmuir’s (qm: 18.62 mg/g, 21.23 mg/g) with both capacities higher for adsorption onto NLP (qD: 23.09 mg/g; qm: 21.23 mg/g) than onto WRP (qD: 20.72 mg/g; qm: 18.62 mg/g). While values for Langmuir’s separation factor (RL) for both adsorbents suggested unfavourable adsorption processes (RL: -0.0461, -0.0250), Freundlich constant (nF) indicated favourable process onto both WRP (nF: 3.78) and NLP (nF: 5.47). Adsorption onto NLP had higher Dubinin-Radushkevich’s mean free energy of adsorption (E: 0.13 kJ/mol) than WRP (E: 0.08 kJ/mol) and Temkin’s heat of adsorption (bT) was better onto NLP (bT: -0.54 kJ/mol) than onto WRP (bT: -0.95 kJ/mol) all of which suggested physical adsorption.

Keywords: adsorption isotherms, methyl orange, neem leaves, watermelon rinds

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Authors: Sila K. Sari, Betty J.L. Laglbauer, Muhammad G. Salim, Irianies C. Gozali, Iqbal Herwata, Fahmi Fahmi, Selvia Oktaviyani, Isabel Ender, Sarah Lewis, Abraham Sianipar, Mark Erdmann

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Taking strides towards the sustainable use of marine stocks requires science-based management of target fish populations and reduction of bycatch in non-selective fisheries. Among elasmobranchs, mobulid rays are faced with high extinction risk due to intrinsic vulnerability to fishing and their conservation has been recognized as a strong priority both in Indonesia and worldwide. Despite their common vulnerabilities to fishing pressure due to slow growth, late maturation and low fecundity, only manta rays, but not devil rays, are protected in Indonesian waters. However, both manta and devil rays are captured in non-selective fisheries, in particular drift gillnets, since their habitat overlaps with fishing grounds for primary target species (e.g. marlin, swordfish and bullet tuna off the coast of Muncar). For this reason, mobulid populations are being heavily impacted, and while national-level protections are crucial to help conservation, they may not suffice alone to insure populations sustainability. In order to assess the potential of applying live-release management measures to conserve mobulids captured as bycatch in drift gillnets, we deployed pop-up survival archival transmitters to assess post-release mortality in Indonesian mobulid rays. We also assessed which fishing practices, in particular, soak duration, affected post-release mortality in order to draw relevant conclusions for management.

Keywords: Mobulid, Devil ray, Manta ray, Bycatch

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Authors: Kumlachew Zelalem Walle, Chun-Chen Yang

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Solid-state Lithium metal batteries (SSLMBs) that contain polymer and ceramic solid electrolytes have received considerable attention as an alternative to substitute liquid electrolytes in lithium metal batteries (LMBs) for highly safe, excellent energy storage performance and stability under elevated temperature situations. Here, a novel fast Li-ion conducting material, LiTa₂PO₈ (LTPO), was synthesized and electrochemical performance of as-prepared powder and LTPO-incorporated composite solid polymer electrolyte (LTPO-CPE) membrane were investigated. The as-prepared LTPO powder was homogeneously dispersed in polymer matrices, and a hybrid solid electrolyte membrane was synthesized via a simple solution-casting method. The room temperature total ionic conductivity (σt) of the LTPO pellet and LTPO-CPE membrane were 0.14 and 0.57 mS cm-1, respectively. A coin battery with NCM811 cathode is cycled under 1C between 2.8 to 4.5 V at room temperature, achieving a Coulombic efficiency of 99.3% with capacity retention of 74.1% after 300 cycles. Similarly, the LFP cathode also delivered an excellent performance at 0.5C with an average Coulombic efficiency of 100% without virtually capacity loss (the maximum specific capacity is at 27th: 138 mAh g−1 and 500th: 131.3 mAh g−1). These results demonstrates the feasibility of a high Li-ion conductor LTPO as a filler, and the developed polymer/ceramic hybrid electrolyte has potential to be a high-performance electrolyte for high-voltage cathodes, which may provide a fresh platform for developing more advanced solid-state electrolytes.

Keywords: li-ion conductor, lithium-metal batteries, composite solid electrolytes, liTa2PO8, high-voltage cathode

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Authors: Wiktor Stypczyński

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During the Cold War, both sides of the conflict developed advanced operational plans in case of a Third World War outbreak. In the Warsaw Pact, Soviet generals in Moscow chose targets for each army, but each country's General Staff had to create specific plans for their nation. This led to the creation of a Strategic Culture within the Warsaw Pact that was reflected in the plans of each army. This paper aims to showcase the Strategic Culture of the Warsaw Pact by using the plans of the People's Polish Army as an example. Examining one army at a time will allow for a more detailed and unique perspective on the matter. Understanding the past Strategic Culture is crucial in comprehending the current post-Soviet strategic situation in Eastern Europe, especially with the current situation in Ukraine. This paper is based on Benon Miśkiewicz's classic methodology of military history. While this methodology is the foundation, the research findings will also draw on the Strategic Studies methodology and the accomplishments of war and military science. Additionally, the Security and Political Studies methodology will be a crucial element in constructing the narrative.

Keywords: cold war, operetional plans, strategic culture, polish people's army

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Authors: Abdulkarim Nasir, Alhassan T. Yahaya, Hauwa T. Abdulkarim, Abdussalam El-Suleiman, Yakubu K. Abubakar

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The need for sustainable and reliable electricity supply in rural communities of Nigeria remains a pressing issue, given the country's vast energy deficit and the significant number of inhabitants lacking access to electricity. This research focuses on the development of a portable hybrid renewable energy system designed to provide a sustainable and efficient electricity supply to these underserved regions. The proposed system integrates multiple renewable energy sources, specifically solar and wind, to harness the abundant natural resources available in Nigeria. The design and development process involves the selection and optimization of components such as photovoltaic panels, wind turbines, energy storage units (batteries), and power management systems. These components are chosen based on their suitability for rural environments, cost-effectiveness, and ease of maintenance. The hybrid system is designed to be portable, allowing for easy transportation and deployment in remote locations with limited infrastructure. Key to the system's effectiveness is its hybrid nature, which ensures continuous power supply by compensating for the intermittent nature of individual renewable sources. Solar energy is harnessed during the day, while wind energy is captured whenever wind conditions are favourable, thus ensuring a more stable and reliable energy output. Energy storage units are critical in this setup, storing excess energy generated during peak production times and supplying power during periods of low renewable generation. These studies include assessing the solar irradiance, wind speed patterns, and energy consumption needs of rural communities. The simulation results inform the optimization of the system's design to maximize energy efficiency and reliability. This paper presents the development and evaluation of a 4 kW standalone hybrid system combining wind and solar power. The portable device measures approximately 8 feet 5 inches in width, 8 inches 4 inches in depth, and around 38 feet in height. It includes four solar panels with a capacity of 120 watts each, a 1.5 kW wind turbine, a solar charge controller, remote power storage, batteries, and battery control mechanisms. Designed to operate independently of the grid, this hybrid device offers versatility for use in highways and various other applications. It also presents a summary and characterization of the device, along with photovoltaic data collected in Nigeria during the month of April. The construction plan for the hybrid energy tower is outlined, which involves combining a vertical-axis wind turbine with solar panels to harness both wind and solar energy. Positioned between the roadway divider and automobiles, the tower takes advantage of the air velocity generated by passing vehicles. The solar panels are strategically mounted to deflect air toward the turbine while generating energy. Generators and gear systems attached to the turbine shaft enable power generation, offering a portable solution to energy challenges in Nigerian communities. The study also addresses the economic feasibility of the system, considering the initial investment costs, maintenance, and potential savings from reduced fossil fuel use. A comparative analysis with traditional energy supply methods highlights the long-term benefits and sustainability of the hybrid system.

Keywords: renewable energy, solar panel, wind turbine, hybrid system, generator

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Authors: Tanya Beran, Michelle Drefs, Ghazwan Altabbaa, Nouf Al Harbi, Noof Al Baz, Elizabeth Oddone Paolucci

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Although research shows that interprofessional practice has desirable effects on patient care, its implementation can present challenges to its team members. In particular, they may feel pressured to agree with or conform to other members who share information that is contrary to their own understanding. Obtaining evidence of this phenomenon is challenging, as team members may underreport their conformity behaviors due to reasons such as social desirability. In this paper, a series of studies are reviewed in which several approaches to assessing conformity in the health care professions are tested. Simulations, questionnaires, and behavior checklists were developed to measure conformity behaviors. Insights from these studies show that a significant proportion of people conform either in the presence or absence of others, express a variety of verbal and nonverbal behaviors when considering whether to conform to others, may shift between conforming and moments later not conforming (and vice versa), and may not accurately report whether they conformed. A new method of measuring conformity using the implicit bias test is also discussed. People at all levels in the healthcare system are encouraged to develop both formal and informal.

Keywords: conformity, decision-making, inter-professional teams, simulation

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Authors: Lynn Mcquarrie, Charlotte Enns

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The goal of this project was to develop a visually-based, signed language phonological awareness training program and to pilot the intervention with signing deaf children (ages 6 -10 years/ grades 1 - 4) who were beginning readers to assess the effects of systematic explicit American Sign Language (ASL) phonological instruction on both ASL vocabulary and English print vocabulary learning. Growing evidence that signing learners utilize visually-based signed language phonological knowledge (homologous to the sound-based phonological level of spoken language processing) when reading underscore the critical need for further research on the innovation of reading instructional practices for visual language learners. Multiple single-case studies using a multiple probe design across content (i.e., sign and print targets incorporating specific ASL phonological parameters – handshapes) was implemented to examine if a functional relationship existed between instruction and acquisition of these skills. The results indicated that for all cases, representing a variety of language abilities, the visually-based phonological teaching approach was exceptionally powerful in helping children to build their sign and print vocabularies. Although intervention/teaching studies have been essential in testing hypotheses about spoken language phonological processes supporting non-deaf children’s reading development, there are no parallel intervention/teaching studies exploring hypotheses about signed language phonological processes in supporting deaf children’s reading development. This study begins to provide the needed evidence to pursue innovative teaching strategies that incorporate the strengths of visual learners.

Keywords: American sign language phonological awareness, dual language strategies, vocabulary learning, word reading

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Authors: Bok Yae Chung, Eun Hee Oh

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Breast cancer patients require more nutritional interventions than others. However, a few studies have attempted to assess the overall nutritional status, to reduce body weight and BMI by improving diet, and to improve the prognosis of cancer for breast cancer patients. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of diet intervention in the breast cancer patients through meta-analysis. For the study purpose, 16 studies were selected by using PubMed, ScienceDirect, ProQuest and CINAHL. Meta-analysis was performed using a random-effects model, and the effect size on outcome variables in breast cancer was calculated. The effect size for outcome variables of diet intervention was a large effect size. For heterogeneity, moderator analysis was performed using intervention type and intervention duration. All moderators did not significant difference. Diet intervention has significant positive effects on outcome variables in breast cancer. As a result, it is suggested that the timing of the intervention should be no more than six months, but a strategy for sustaining long-term intervention effects should be added if nutritional intervention is to be administered for breast cancer patients in the future.

Keywords: breast cancer, diet, mete-analysis, intervention

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Authors: Ayodeji Sowale, Athanasios Kolios, Beatriz Fidalgo, Tosin Somorin, Aikaterini Anastasopoulou, Alison Parker, Leon Williams, Ewan McAdam, Sean Tyrrel

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Recently, energy recovery systems are thriving and raising attention in the power generation sector, due to the request for cleaner forms of energy that are friendly and safe for the environment. This has created an avenue for cogeneration, where Combined Heat and Power (CHP) technologies have been recognised for their feasibility, and use in homes and small-scale businesses. The efficiency of combustors and the advantages of the free piston Stirling engines over other conventional engines in terms of output power and efficiency, have been observed and considered. This study presents the numerical analysis of a micro-combustor with a free piston Stirling engine in an integrated model of a Nano Membrane Toilet (NMT) unit. The NMT unit will use the micro-combustor to produce waste heat of high energy content from the combustion of human waste and the heat generated will power the free piston Stirling engine which will be connected to a linear alternator for electricity production. The thermodynamic influence of the combustor on the free piston Stirling engine was observed, based on the heat transfer from the flue gas to working gas of the free piston Stirling engine. The results showed that with an input of 25 MJ/kg of faecal matter, and flue gas temperature of 773 K from the micro-combustor, the free piston Stirling engine generates a daily output power of 428 W, at thermal efficiency of 10.7% with engine speed of 1800 rpm. An experimental investigation into the integration of the micro-combustor and free piston Stirling engine with the NMT unit is currently underway.

Keywords: free piston stirling engine, micro-combustor, nano membrane toilet, thermodynamics

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Authors: Angely Sim Jia Wun, Sasa Arsovski

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Numerous studies have been conducted on the segmentation of medical images. Segmenting the lungs is one of the common research topics in those studies. Our research stemmed from the lack of solutions for automatic bone, airway, and vessel segmentation, despite the existence of multiple lung segmentation techniques. Consequently, currently, available software tools used for medical image segmentation do not provide automatic lung, bone, airway, and vessel segmentation. This paper presents segmentation techniques along with an interactive software tool architecture for segmenting bone, lung, airway, and vessel tissues. Additionally, we propose a method for creating binary masks from automatically generated segments. The key contribution of our approach is the technique for automatic image thresholding using adjustable Hounsfield values and binary mask extraction. Generated binary masks can be successfully used as a training dataset for deep-learning solutions in medical image segmentation. In this paper, we also examine the current software tools used for medical image segmentation, discuss our approach, and identify its advantages.

Keywords: lung segmentation, binary masks, U-Net, medical software tools

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Authors: Sabra Saeidi

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This research focuses on the historical techniques associated with the lajevardina and Haft-Rangi production methods in creating tiles, with emphasis on the identification of the techniques of inserting gold sheets on the surface of such historical glazed tiles. In this regard, firstly, the history of the production of enamel, gold plated, and Lajevardina glazed pottery work made during the Khwarizmanshahid and Mongol era (eleventh to the thirteenth century) have been assessed to reach a better understanding of the background and the history associated with historical glazing methods. After the historical overview of the production technique of glazed pottery work and introductions of the civilizations using those techniques, we focused on the niches production methods of enamel and Lajevardina glazing, which are two categories of decorations usually found in tiles. Next, a general classification method for various types of gilt tiles has been introduced, which is applicable to the tile works up to Safavid period (Sixteenth to the seventeenth century). Gilded lajevardina glazed tiles, gilt Haft-Rangi tiles, monolithic glazed gilt tiles, and gilt mosaic tiles are included in the categories.

Keywords: gilt tiles, Islamic art, Iranian art, historical studies, gilding

Procedia PDF Downloads 123