Search results for: synthesis condition

Authors: Afshan Saad, Muhammad Saad, Shah Muhammad Emaduddin

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Nowadays the business condition is so quick paced that enhancing ourselves consistently has turned into a huge factor for the presence of an undertaking. We can check this for structural building and significantly more so in the quick-paced universe of data innovation and programming designing. The lithe philosophies, similar to Scrum, have a devoted advance in the process that objectives the enhancement of the improvement procedure and programming items. Pivotal to process enhancement is to pick up data that grants you to assess the condition of the procedure and its items. From the status data, you can design activities for the upgrade and furthermore assess the accomplishment of those activities. This investigation builds a model that measures the product nature of the improvement procedure. The product quality is dependent on the useful and auxiliary nature of the product items, besides the nature of the advancement procedure is likewise vital to enhance programming quality. Utilitarian quality covers the adherence to client prerequisites, while the auxiliary quality tends to the structure of the product item's source code with reference to its practicality. The procedure quality is identified with the consistency and expectedness of the improvement procedure. The product quality model is connected in a business setting by social occasion the information for the product measurements in the model. To assess the product quality model, we investigate the information and present it to the general population engaged with the light-footed programming improvement process. The outcomes from the application and the client input recommend that the model empowers a reasonable evaluation of the product quality and that it very well may be utilized to help the persistent enhancement of the advancement procedure and programming items.

Keywords: Agile SDLC Tools, Agile Software development, business value, enterprise applications, IBM, IBM Rational Team Concert, RTC, software quality, software metrics

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Authors: Jakub Zembrzuski, Bartosz Sobczyk, Mikołaj MIśkiewicz

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Besides designing new constructions, engineers all over the world must face another problem – maintenance, repairs, and assessment of the technical condition of existing bridges. To solve more complex issues, it is necessary to be familiar with the theory of finite element method and to have access to the software that provides sufficient tools which to enable create of sometimes significantly advanced numerical models. The paper includes a brief assessment of the technical condition, a description of the in situ non-destructive testing carried out and the FEM models created for global and local analysis. In situ testing was performed using strain gauges and displacement sensors. Numerical models were created using various software and numerical modeling techniques. Particularly noteworthy is the method of modeling riveted joints of the crossbeam of the viaduct. It is a simplified method that consists of the use of only basic numerical tools such as beam and shell finite elements, constraints, and simplified boundary conditions (fixed support and symmetry). The results of the numerical analyses were presented and discussed. It is clearly explained why the structure did not fail, despite the fact that the weld of the deck plate completely failed. A further research problem that was solved was to determine the cause of the rapid increase in values on the stress diagram in the cross-section of the transverse section. The problems were solved using the solely mentioned, simplified method of modeling riveted joints, which demonstrates that it is possible to solve such problems without access to sophisticated software that enables to performance of the advanced nonlinear analysis. Moreover, the obtained results are of great importance in the field of assessing the operation of bridge structures with an orthotropic plate.

Keywords: bridge, diagnostics, FEM simulations, failure, NDT, in situ testing

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Authors: S. Ahmet Bagci, Hayati Akman

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This study was conducted at the research laboratory and greenhouse conditions to determine the effect on germination and emergency values of long-term stored seed (7 years) and non-stored seed (control) of nine durum wheat varieties. Three replicates of 20 seeds were germinated between double layered rolled germination papers in the Petri plates. Seeds were allowed to germinate at 20±1°C in the dark for 8 days. The seeds were counted on the 8th day as per ISTA rules and calculated in percent to determine germination capacity. Seedling emergency values were determined by testing 20 seeds placed into the sands with three replications of pots. Plants were counted on the 7th day and 12th day to determined seedling emergency rate and capacity, respectively. According to results, there are significant differences among the varieties in terms of germination capacity, seedling emergency rate and capacity of long-term stored and non-stored seeds. Germination capacity values declined from 100% to 93,3% of non-stored seeds whereas they were from 96,7% to 71,7% of long-term stored seeds. Percentage of seedling emergency capacity varied from 65,0% to 93,3% for non-stored seeds, however, the percentage of it was between 11,7 and 86,7% for long-term stored seeds. Results indicate that germination and emergence values responses to long-term stored condition varied significantly among durum wheat cultivars. Research results showed that the long-term-storage resulted in significant decrease with 13.5 % for germination, 36.4 % for emergence on the seventh day and 32.4 % for emergence on the twelfth day. Germination values ranged from 93.3 to 100.0 % for control and 71.7 to 96.7 % for storage. Emergence values in seventh day varied between 51.7 % and 90.0 % for control and 75.0 % and 10.0 % for storage, however values in twelfth day were between 93.3 % and 65.0 % for control and 86.7 % and 11.7 % for storage. According to research results, germination and emergence responses to long-term storage condition varied significantly among durum wheat cultivars.

Keywords: germination, emergence, long-term-storage, durum wheat

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Authors: Maryam Ghavam Sadri, Kimia Moiniafshari

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Objectives: Autism is a neuro-developmental disorder that has negative effects on verbal, mental and behavioral development. Studies have shown the role of a maternal dietary pattern before and during pregnancy. The relation of exerting of nutritional management programs in prevention of Autism has been approved. This review article has been made to investigate the role of nutritional management strategies before and during pregnancy in the prevention of Autism. Methods: This review study was accomplished by using the keywords related to the topic, 67 articles were found (2000-2015) and finally 20 article with criteria such as including maternal lifestyle, nutritional deficiencies and Autism prevention were selected. Results: Maternal dietary pattern and health before and during pregnancy have important roles in the incidence of Autism. Studies have suggested that high dietary fat intake and obesity can increase the risk of Autism in offspring. Maternal metabolic condition specially gestational diabetes (GDM) (p-value < 0.04) and folate deficiency (p-value = 0.04) is associated with risk of Autism. Studies have shown that folate intake in mothers with autistic children is less than mothers who have typically developing children (TYP) (p-value<0.01). As folate is an essential micronutrient for fetus mental development, consumption of average 600 mcg/day especially in P1 phase of pregnancy results in significant reduction in incidence of Autism (OR:1.53, 95%CI=0.42-0.92, p-value = 0.02). furthermore, essential fatty acid deficiency especially omega-3 fatty acid increases the rate of Autism and consumption of supplements and food sources of omega-3 can decrease the risk of Autism up to 34% (RR=1.53, 95%CI=1-2.32). Conclusion: regards to nutritional deficiency and maternal metabolic condition before and during pregnancy in prevalence of Autism, carrying out the appropriate nutritional strategies such as well-timed folate supplementation before pregnancy and healthy lifestyle adherence for prevention of metabolic syndrome (GDM) seems to help Autism prevention.

Keywords: autism, autism prevention, dietary inadequacy, maternal lifestyle

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Authors: Era Dorihi Kale, Sabina Gero, Uly Agustine

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Asylum seekers are people who come to other countries to get asylum. In line with that, they also carry the culture and health behavior of their country, which is very different from the new country they currently live in. This situation raises problems, also in the health sector. The approach taken must also be a culturally sensitive approach, where the culture and habits of the refugee's home area are also valued so that the health services provided can be right on target. Some risk factors that already exist in this group are lack of activity, consumption of fast food, smoking, and stress levels that are quite high. Overall this condition will increase the risk of an increased incidence of cardiovascular disease. This research is a descriptive and experimental study. The purpose of this study is to identify health status and develop a culturally sensitive health promotion model, especially related to the risk of cardiovascular disease for asylum seekers in detention homes in the city of Kupang. This research was carried out in 3 stages, stage 1 was conducting a survey of health problems and the risk of asylum seeker cardiovascular disease, Stage 2 developed a health promotion model, and stage 3 conducted a testing model of health promotion carried out. There were 81 respondents involved in this study. The variables measured were: health status, risk of cardiovascular disease and, health promotion models. Method of data collection: Instruments (questionnaires) were distributed to respondents answered for anamnese health status; then, cardiovascular risk measurements were taken. After that, the preparation of information needs and the compilation of booklets on the prevention of cardiovascular disease is carried out. The compiled booklet was then translated into Farsi. After that, the booklet was tested. Respondent characteristics: average lived in Indonesia for 4.38 years, the majority were male (90.1%), and most were aged 15-34 years (90.1%). There are several diseases that are often suffered by asylum seekers, namely: gastritis, headaches, diarrhea, acute respiratory infections, skin allergies, sore throat, cough, and depression. The level of risk for asylum seekers experiencing cardiovascular problems is 4 high risk people, 6 moderate risk people, and 71 low risk people. This condition needs special attention because the number of people at risk is quite high when compared to the age group of refugees. This is very related to the level of stress experienced by the refugees. The health promotion model that can be used is the transactional stress and coping model, using Persian (oral) and English for written information. It is recommended for health practitioners who care for refugees to always pay attention to aspects of culture (especially language) as well as the psychological condition of asylum seekers to make it easier to conduct health care and promotion. As well for further research, it is recommended to conduct research, especially relating to the effect of psychological stress on the risk of cardiovascular disease in asylum seekers.

Keywords: asylum seekers, health status, cardiovascular disease, health promotion

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Authors: Javad Taherahmadi, Mohammad Jafarian, Mohammad Naser Asefi

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The global capacity of wind power has dramatically increased in recent years. Therefore, improving the technology of wind turbines to take different advantages of this enormous potential in the power grid, could be interesting subject for scientists. The doubly-fed induction generator (DFIG) wind turbine is a popular system due to its many advantages such as the improved power quality, high energy efficiency and controllability, etc. With an increase in wind power penetration in the network and with regard to the flexible control of wind turbines, the use of wind turbine systems to improve the dynamic stability of power systems has been of significance importance for researchers. Subsynchronous oscillations are one of the important issues in the stability of power systems. Damping subsynchronous oscillations by using wind turbines has been studied in various research efforts, mainly by adding an auxiliary control loop to the control structure of the wind turbine. In most of the studies, this control loop is composed of linear blocks. In this paper, simple adaptive control is used for this purpose. In order to use an adaptive controller, the convergence of the controller should be verified. Since adaptive control parameters tend to optimum values in order to obtain optimum control performance, using this controller will help the wind turbines to have positive contribution in damping the network subsynchronous oscillations at different wind speeds and system operating points. In this paper, the application of simple adaptive control in DFIG wind turbine systems to improve the dynamic stability of power systems is studied and the essential condition for using this controller is considered. It is also shown that this controller has an insignificant effect on the dynamic stability of the wind turbine, itself.

Keywords: almost strictly positive real (ASPR), doubly-fed induction generator (DIFG), simple adaptive control (SAC), subsynchronous oscillations, wind turbine

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Authors: T. Poppendieker, H. Maurer, C. Segieth

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Over the past ten years, foam rolling has become a new trend in the fitness and health market. It is also a frequently used technique for self-massage. However, the scope of effects from foam rolling has only recently started to be researched and understood. The focus of this study is to examine the effects of prolonged foam rolling on muscle performance. Isometric muscle force was used as a parameter to determine an improving impact of the myofascial roller in two different application volumes. Besides the maximal muscle force, data were also collected on muscle activation during all tests. Twenty-four (17 females, 7 males) healthy students with an average age of 23.4 ± 2.8 years were recruited. The study followed a cross-over pre-/post design in which the order of conditions was counterbalanced. The subjects performed a one-minute and three-minute foam rolling application set on two separate days. Isometric maximal muscle force of the dominant calf was tested before and after the self-myofascial release application. The statistic software program SPSS 22 was used to analyze the data of the maximal isometric force of the calf muscle by a 2 x 2 (time of measurement x intervention) analysis of variance with repeated measures. The statistic significance level was set at p ≤ 0.05. Neither for the main effect of time of measurement (F(1,23) = .93, p = .36, f = .20) nor for the interaction of time of measurement x intervention (F(1,23) = 1.99, p = .17, f = 0.29) significant p-values were found. However, the effect size indicates a mean interaction effect with a tendency of greater pre-post improvements under the three-minute foam rolling condition. Changes in maximal force did not correlate with changes in EMG-activity (r = .02, p = .95 in the short and r = -.11, p = .65 in the long rolling condition). Results support findings of previous studies and suggest a positive potential for use of the foam roll as a means for keeping muscle force at least at the same performance level while leading to an increase in flexibility.

Keywords: application volume differences, foam rolling, isometric maximal force, self-myofascial release

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Authors: Yaofei Jiang, Liangqing Wang, Yanjun Xu

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In recent years, geological explorations have been carried out on the Rumei hydropower station, China. After preliminary analysis of results, the mainly problem of slope in reservoir area is about the stability of accumulation body. It is found that there are 23 accumulations in various sizes in the reservoir area, and most of them are unfavorable geological bodies. Three typical (No. 1, 7, 17) accumulation body slopes were selected as subjects to investigate the stability of the slopes. Take No. 1 accumulation body slope as an example and basic geological condition investigation and formation mechanism analysis were carried out to study the stability and geological analysis of engineering influence of the slope. The accumulation body in the research area distributes along the river with natural slope of 32° ~ 37° which is the natural angle of repose of gravel. The formation mechanism is analyzed based on the composition and structure of the accumulation body. The middle and lower part of the body is dense full of gravel soil mixed with a small amount of sand gravel which is stable. In the upper part, gravel soil is interbedded with bad cemented gravel which as a weak surface is not conducive to slope stability. Under the natural condition before storing water, the underground water level is deep buried, mainly distributed in the bedrock, and the surface and groundwater discharge conditions of the accumulation body are good, which is beneficial to the stability of slope. The safety coefficient calculated by the limit equilibrium method is 1.14, which indicates the slope is basically stable. However, the safety coefficient drops to 1.02 when the normal storage level is 2895m, which is in a dangerous state. The accumulation body will be destabilized by a small-area instability to large-scale or overall instability.

Keywords: accumulation body slope, stability evaluation, geological engineering investigation, effect of storing water

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Authors: Tuiana A. Aiusheeva, Sergey S. Tamozhnikov, Alexander E. Saprygin, Arina A. Antonenko, Valentina V. Stepanova, Natalia N. Tolstykh, Alexander N. Savostyanov

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Situation of choice is an important condition for the formation of essential character qualities of a child, such as being initiative, responsible, hard-working. We have studied the behavioral and EEG reactions in Russian schoolchildren during recognition of syntactic errors in emotionally colored sentences that describe the choice situation. Twenty healthy children (mean age 9,0±0,3 years, 12 boys, 8 girls) were examined. Forty sentences were selected for the experiment; the half of them contained a syntactic error. The experiment additionally had the hidden condition: 50% of the sentences described the children's own choice and were emotionally colored (positive or negative). The other 50% of the sentences described the forced-choice situation, also with positive or negative coloring. EEG were recorded during execution of error-recognition task. Reaction time and quality of syntactic error detection were chosen as behavioral measures. Event-related spectral perturbation (ERSP) was applied to characterize the oscillatory brain activity of children. There were two time-frequency intervals in EEG reactions: (1) 500-800 ms in the 3-7 Hz frequency range (theta synchronization) and (2) 500-1000 ms in the 8-12 Hz range (alpha desynchronization). We found out that behavioral and brain reactions in child brain during recognition of positive and negative sentences describing forced-choice situation did not have significant differences. Theta synchronization and alpha desynchronization were stronger during recognition of sentences with children's own choice, especially with negative coloring. Also, the quality and execution time of the task were higher for this types of sentences. The results of our study will be useful for improvement of teaching methods and diagnostics of children affective disorders.

Keywords: choice situation, electroencephalogram (EEG), emotionally colored sentences, schoolchildren

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Authors: Alireza Fallahfard, Ludwig Vinches, Stephane Halle

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In the workplace, the exposure level of airborne contaminants should be evaluated due to health and safety issues. It can be done by numerical models or experimental measurements, but the numerical approach can be useful when it is challenging to perform experiments. One of the simplest models is the well-mixed room (WMR) model, which has shown its usefulness to predict inhalation exposure in many situations. However, since the WMR is limited to gases and vapors, it cannot be used to predict exposure to aerosols. The main objective is to modify the WMR model to expand its application to exposure scenarios involving aerosols. To reach this objective, the standard WMR model has been modified to consider the deposition of particles by gravitational settling and Brownian and turbulent deposition. Three deposition models were implemented in the model. The time-dependent concentrations of airborne particles predicted by the model were compared to experimental results conducted in a 0.512 m3 chamber. Polystyrene particles of 1, 2, and 3 µm in aerodynamic diameter were generated with a nebulizer under two air changes per hour (ACH). The well-mixed condition and chamber ACH were determined by the tracer gas decay method. The mean friction velocity on the chamber surfaces as one of the input variables for the deposition models was determined by computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation. For the experimental procedure, the particles were generated until reaching the steady-state condition (emission period). Then generation stopped, and concentration measurements continued until reaching the background concentration (decay period). The results of the tracer gas decay tests revealed that the ACHs of the chamber were: 1.4 and 3.0, and the well-mixed condition was achieved. The CFD results showed the average mean friction velocity and their standard deviations for the lowest and highest ACH were (8.87 ± 0.36) ×10-2 m/s and (8.88 ± 0.38) ×10-2 m/s, respectively. The numerical results indicated the difference between the predicted deposition rates by the three deposition models was less than 2%. The experimental and numerical aerosol concentrations were compared in the emission period and decay period. In both periods, the prediction accuracy of the modified model improved in comparison with the classic WMR model. However, there is still a difference between the actual value and the predicted value. In the emission period, the modified WMR results closely follow the experimental data. However, the model significantly overestimates the experimental results during the decay period. This finding is mainly due to an underestimation of the deposition rate in the model and uncertainty related to measurement devices and particle size distribution. Comparing the experimental and numerical deposition rates revealed that the actual particle deposition rate is significant, but the deposition mechanisms considered in the model were ten times lower than the experimental value. Thus, particle deposition was significant and will affect the airborne concentration in occupational settings, and it should be considered in the airborne exposure prediction model. The role of other removal mechanisms should be investigated.

Keywords: aerosol, CFD, exposure assessment, occupational settings, well-mixed room model, zonal model

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Authors: Katerina Zaharieva, Vicente Rives, Martin Tsvetkov, Raquel Trujillano, Boris Kunev, Ivan Mitov, Maria Milanova, Zara Cherkezova-Zheleva

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The nanostructured cobalt ferrite-type materials Sample A - Co0.25Fe2.75O4, Sample B - Co0.5Fe2.5O4, and Sample C - CoFe2O4 were prepared by co-precipitation in our previous investigations. The co-precipitated Sample B and Sample C were mechanochemically activated in order to produce Sample D - Co0.5Fe2.5O4 and Sample E- CoFe2O4. The PXRD, Moessbauer and FTIR spectroscopies, specific surface area determination by the BET method, thermal analysis, element chemical analysis and temperature-programmed reduction were used to investigate the prepared nano-sized samples. The changes of the Malachite green dye concentration during reaction of the photocatalytic decolorization using nanostructured cobalt ferrite-type catalysts with different chemical composition are included. The photocatalytic results show that the increase in the degree of incorporation of cobalt ions in the magnetite host structure for co-precipitated cobalt ferrite-type samples results in an increase of the photocatalytic activity: Sample A (4 х10-3 min-1) < Sample B (5 х10-3 min-1) < Sample C (7 х10-3 min-1). Mechanochemically activated photocatalysts showed a higher activity than the co-precipitated ferrite materials: Sample D (16 х10-3 min-1) > Sample E (14 х10-3 min-1) > Sample C (7 х10-3 min-1) > Sample B (5 х10-3 min-1) > Sample A (4 х10-3 min-1). On decreasing the degree of substitution of iron ions by cobalt ones a higher sorption ability of the dye after the dark period for the co-precipitated cobalt ferrite materials was observed: Sample C (72 %) < Sample B (78 %) < Sample A (80 %). Mechanochemically treated ferrite catalysts and co-precipitated Sample B possess similar sorption capacities, Sample D (78 %) ~ Sample E (78 %) ~ Sample B (78 %). The prepared nano-sized cobalt ferrite-type materials demonstrate good photocatalytic and sorption properties. Mechanochemically activated Sample D - Co0.5Fe2.5O4 (16х10-3 min-1) and Sample E-CoFe2O4 (14х10-3 min-1) possess higher photocatalytic activity than that of the most common used UV-light catalyst Degussa P25 (12х10-3 min-1). The dependence of the photo-catalytic activity and sorption properties on the preparation method and different degree of substitution of iron ions by cobalt ions in synthesized cobalt ferrite samples is established. The mechanochemical activation leads to formation of nano-structured cobalt ferrite-type catalysts (Sample D and Sample E) with higher rate constants than those of the ferrite materials (Sample A, Sample B, and Sample C) prepared by the co-precipitation procedure. The increase in the degree of substitution of iron ions by cobalt ones leads to improved photocatalytic properties and lower sorption capacities of the co-precipitated ferrite samples. The good sorption properties between 72 and 80% of the prepared ferrite-type materials show that they could be used as potential cheap absorbents for purification of polluted waters.

Keywords: nanodimensional cobalt ferrites, photocatalyst, synthesis, mechanochemical activation

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Authors: Abbasali Abouei Mehrizi, Hao Wang

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The thin film region is so important in heat transfer process due to its low thermal resistance. On the other hand, the dynamic contact angle is crucial boundary condition in numerical simulations. While different modeling contains different assumption of the microscopic contact angle, none of them has experimental evidence for their assumption, and the contact line movement mechanism still remains vague. The experimental investigation in complete wetting is more popular than partial wetting, especially in nanoscale resolution when there is sharp variation in thin film profile in partial wetting. In the present study, an experimental investigation of water film morphology near the triple phase contact line during the condensation is performed. The state-of-the-art tapping-mode atomic force microscopy (TM-AFM) was used to get the high-resolution film profile goes down to 2 nm from the contact line. The droplet was put in saturated chamber. The pristine silicon wafer was used as a smooth substrate. The substrate was heated by PI film heater. So the chamber would be over saturated by droplet evaporation. By turning off the heater, water vapor gradually started condensing on the droplet and the droplet advanced. The advancing speed was less than 20 nm/s. The dominant results indicate that in contrast to nonvolatile liquid, the film profile goes down straightly to the surface till 2 nm from the substrate. However, small bending has been observed below 20 nm, occasionally. So, it can be claimed that for the low condensation rate the microscopic contact angle equals to the optically detectable macroscopic contact angle. This result can be used to simplify the heat transfer modeling in partial wetting. The experimental result of the equality of microscopic and macroscopic contact angle can be used as a solid evidence for using this boundary condition in numerical simulation.

Keywords: advancing, condensation, microscopic contact angle, partial wetting

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Authors: A. H. Nanher, N. P. Singh

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In India, Agriculture is largely in rice- based cropping system. It has indicated decline in factor productivity along with emergence of multi - nutrient deficiency, buildup of soil pathogen and weed flora because it operates and removes nutrients from the same rooting depth. In designing alternative cropping systems, the common approaches are crop intensification, crop diversification and cultivar options. The intensification leads to the diversification of the cropping system. Intensification is achieved by introducing an additional component crop in a pre-dominant sequential system by desirable adjustments in cultivars of one or all the component crops. Invariably, this results in higher land use efficiency and productivity per unit time Crop Diversification through such crop and inclusion of fodder crops help to improve the economic situation of small and marginal farmers because of higher income. Inclusion of crops in sequential and intercropping systems reduces some obnoxious weeds through formation of canopies due to competitive planting pattern and thus provides an opportunity to utilize cropping systems as a tool of weed management with non-chemical means. Use of organic source not only acts as supplement for fertilizer (nitrogen) but also improve the physico-chemical properties of soils. Production and use of nitrogen rich biomass offer better prospect for supplementing chemical fertilizers on regular basis. Such biological diversity brings yield and economic stability because of its potential for compensation among components of the system. In a particular agro-climatic and resource condition, the identification of most suitable crop sequence is based on its productivity, stability, land use efficiency as well as production efficiency and its performance is chiefly judged in terms of productivity and net return.

Keywords: integrated farming systems, sustainable intensification, system of crop intensification, wheat

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Authors: Chimuanya Osuji, Kido Uyamasi, Morgan Bradley

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Introduction: Obesity is a major risk factor for many chronic diseases, with higher rates occurring among certain populations. Even though disparities in obesity rates exist for those with disabilities, few studies have assessed the association between disability and obesity status. This study aims to examine the association between type of disability and obesity status among US adults during the Covid-19 pandemic (2019-2021). Methods: Data for this cross-sectional study was obtained from the 2019, 2020 and 2021 NHIS. Multinomial logistic regressions were used to assess the relationship between each type of disability and obesity status (reference= normal/underweight). Each model adjusted for demographic, health status and health-related quality of life variables. Statistical analyses were conducted using SAS version 9.4. Results: Of the 82,632 US adults who completed the NHIS in 2019, 2020, and 2021. 8.9% (n= 7,354) reported at least 1 disability-related condition. Respondents reported having a disability across vision (1.5%), hearing (1.5%), mobility (5.3%), communication (0.8%), cognition (2.4%) and self-care (1.1%) domains. After adjusting for covariates, adults with at least 1 disability-related condition were about 30% more likely to have moderate-severe obesity (AOR=1.3; 95% CI=1.11, 1.53). Mobility was the only disability category positively associated with mild obesity (AOR=1.16; 95% CI=1.01, 1.35) and moderate/severe obesity (AOR=1.6; 95% CI=1.35, 1.89). Individuals with vision disability were about 35% less likely to have mild obesity (AOR=0.66; 95% CI=0.51, 0.86) and moderate-severe obesity (AOR=0.66; 95% CI= 0.48, 0.9). Individuals with hearing disability were 28% less likely to have mild obesity (AOR=0.72; 95% CI= 0.56, 0.94). Individuals with communication disability were about 30% less likely to be overweight (AOR=0.66; 95% CI=0.47, 0.93) and 50% less likely to have mild obesity (AOR=0.45; 95% CI= 0.29, 0.71). Individuals with cognitive disability were about 25% less likely to have mild obesity and about 35% less likely to have moderate-severe obesity. Individuals with self-care disability were about 30% less likely to be overweight. Conclusion: Mobility-related disabilities are significantly associated with obesity status among adults residing in the United States. Researchers and policy makers should implement obesity intervention methods that can address the gap in obesity prevalence rates among those with and without disabilities.

Keywords: cognition, disability, mobility, obesity

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Authors: Madeleine Gadd, Rose How, Edward Mathews, John Buchanan, Vicky Cottrell, Andre Coetzee, Karuna Katti

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Introduction: Triphallia, a congenital anomaly describing the presence of three distinct penile shafts, has been reported only once in the literature. This case report describes the serendipitous discovery of the first reported human case of partial orthotopic triphallia during cadaveric dissection. Case Summary: Despite the normal appearance of external genitalia on examination, the dissection of a 78-year-old male revealed a remarkable anatomical variation: two small supernumerary penises situated in a transverse orientation postero inferiorly to the primary penis. The main and the larger supernumerary penile shafts displayed their own corpora cavernosa and glans penis, sharing a single urethra, which coursed through the secondary penis prior to its passage through the primary penis. The smallest of the supernumerary penises was similar in dimension to the secondary penis, at 3.7cm long and 1.2cm wide (compared to the secondary penis at 3.8cm long and 1.3cm wide). However, it lacked a urethra and a typical arrangement of the corpora cavernosa and spongiosum, making this a case of partial triphallia rather than true triphallia. Conclusion: This case report provides a comprehensive anatomical description of partial triphallia in a cadaver, shedding light on the morphology, embryology, and clinical implications of this anomaly. This case report underscores the importance of meticulous anatomical dissections, particularly since, without dissection, this anatomical variation would have remained undiscovered. Although we can only speculate the functional implications of this condition, understanding such anatomical variations contributes to both knowledge of human anatomy and clinical management, should the condition be encountered in living individuals.

Keywords: triphallia, diphallia, congenital abnormalities, genitourinary abnormalities, urology

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Authors: Njabe Christelle

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Fungal products are essential building blocks for change towards a more sustainable future for our planet. In nature, fungi are special in breaking down plant material by means of a rich spectrum of plant cell wall degrading enzymes. Enzymes serve as catalysts in organic synthesis. Imagine the immense benefits that the known 250000 plant genes might provide in the future through scientific investigation. Plants are the primary basis for human sustenance, used directly for food, clothing, and shelter or indirectly in processed form and through animal feeding. Fungi are the only organisms known to extensively degrade lignin, a major component of wood. Although humans cannot digest cellulose and lignin, many fungi, through their assimilation of these substances, produce food in the form of edible mushrooms.

Keywords: plants, fungi, sustainable use, planet earth

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Authors: Ya-Ching Fu, An-Kuo Chou, Boon-Fatt Tan, Chi-Nien Chen, Wen-Chien Yang, Pou-Leng Cheong

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Blind oro-/naso-pharyngeal suction and feeding tube placement are very common practices in neonatal intensive care unit. Though esophageal perforation is a rare complication of these instrumentations, its prevalence is highest in extremely premature neonates. Due to its association with significant morbidity (including respiratory deterioration, pneumothorax, and sepsis) and even mortality, it is an important issue to prevent this iatrogenic complication in the field of premature care. We demonstrate an esophageal perforation in an extreme-low-birth-weight neonate after oro-gastric tube placement. This female baby weighing 680 grams was delivered by caesarean section at 25 weeks of gestational age. She initially received oro-tracheal intubation with mechanical ventilation which was smoothly weaned to non-invasive positive-pressure ventilation at 7-day-old. However, after insertion of a 5-French oro-gastric tube, the baby’s condition suddenly worsened with apnea requiring mechanical ventilation. Her chest radiogram showed the oro-gastric tube in right pleural space, and thus another oro-gastric tube was replaced, and its position was radiographically confirmed. The malpositioned tube was then removed. The baby received 2-week course of intravenous antibiotics for her esophageal perforation. Feeding was then reintroduced and increased to full feeds in a smooth course. She was discharged at 107-day-old. Esophageal perforation in newborn is very rare. Sudden respiratory deterioration in a neonate after naso-/oro-gastric tube placement should alarm us to consider esophageal perforation, and further radiological investigation is required for the diagnosis. Tube materials, patient condition, and age are major risk factors of esophageal perforation. The use of softer tube material, such as silicone, in extreme premature baby might prevent this fetal complication.

Keywords: esophageal perforation, preterm, newborn, feeding tube

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Authors: Mohammed Masum, Mohammad Omer Faruk Khan, Md. Nazwanul Haque, Anwar Sadat Md. Sayem, Md. Azhar Hossain

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The study area is the Hakaluki Haor which is the second largest wet land of Bangladesh. It spans over the districts of Moulvibazar and Sylhet in southeast Bangladesh. The study was focused in the exploration of peat reserve, reconstruction of the paleo-environment as well as the utilization of the peat resources. Peat is found randomly from 0.5 m to 7 m below the surface and 1 m to 11 m thickness at over 40 beels as well as small plain lands of 90 km2 area of Hakaluki Haor. The total reserve of peat is 282 million ton in wet condition and 112 million ton in dry condition. The peat deposits of Hakaluki Haor area is the largest peat reserves of the Bangladesh. Peat bearing Hakaluki Haor is a low-lying wet land which geological term is synclinal depression. It may be a syncline between two anticlines which was filled with sediments as well as various plant materials derived from the hilly region (anticline) on both sides (west and east) of the Haor. The transportation may be triggered by large natural disasters or any tectonic reason. On the other hand vegetation occurred in this depression as aquatic plants which might have been destroyed by large natural disasters or any tectonic reason. As environment dictates the characteristics and the source of sediments, various aspects of the sediment are indicators of the environment. Peat has mainly industrial importance as a fuel for power production, traditionally used for cooking, domestic heating and in brick fields, also used as insulator in many industries, agricultural purposes, retaining moisture in soil, raw material in horticulture and colour industries etc. Power plants of about 100 MW capacities may be established in this region based on peat of Hakaluki Haor which may be continued more than one hundred years.

Keywords: peat, pale environment, Hakaluki Haor, beel, syncline, anticline

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Authors: A. Salemi Golezania, A. Sharifi Fateha

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In this study a nano-composite catalyst was synthesized by incorporation of chromium into the framework of MCM-41 as a base catalyst. Mesoporous silica molecular sieves MCM-41 were synthesized under Hydrothermal Continues pH Adjusting Path Way. Then, MCM-41 was impregnated by chromium nitrate aqueous solution for several times under water aspiration. Raw powder was cured by heat treatment in vacuum furnace at 500°C. Phase formation, morphology and gas absorption properties of resulted materials were characterized by XRD, TEM and BET analysis, respectively. The results showed that high quality hexagonal meso structure as a matrix and Cr as a second phase has been formed with a narrow size pore diameter distribution and high surface area in Cr/MCM-41 nano-composite structure. The specific surface and total volume of porosity of the synthesized nanocomposite are obtained 931m^2/gr and 1.12 cm^3/gr, respectively.

Keywords: nano-catalyst, MCM-41, Cr/MCM-41, Marine Science and Engineering

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Authors: Freyedon Ahmadi

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Corporate citizenship is considered as one of the most discussed topics in the developed countries, in which a citizen considers a Corporate just like a usual citizen with every civil right as respectful for corporate as for actual citizens, and in return citizens expect that corporate would pay a reciprocal respect to them. The current study’s purpose is to identify the impact of the current state of corporate citizenship along effective factors on its condition on industrial producing units, in order to find an accession plane for corporate citizenship development. In this study corporate citizenship is studied in four dimensions like legal corporate, economical corporate, ethical corporate and voluntary corporate. Moreover, effective factors’ impact on corporate citizenship is explored based on threefold dimensional model: behavioral, structural, and content factors, as well. In this study, 50 corporate of Food industry and of petrochemical industry, along with 200 selected individuals from directors’ board on Tehran province’s scale with stratified random sampling method, are chosen as actuarial sample. If based on functional goal and compilation methods, the present study is a description of correlation type; questionnaire is used for accumulation of initial Data. For Instrument Validity expert’s opinion is used and structural equations and its reliability is qualified by using Cronbach Alpha. The results of this study indicate that close to 70 percent of under survey corporate have not a good condition in corporate citizenship. And all of structural factors, behavioral factors, contextual factors, have a great deal of impression and impact on the advent corporate citizenship behavior in the producing Units. Among the behavioral factors, social responsibility; among structural factors, organic structure and human centered orientation, medium size, high organizational capacity; and among the contextual factors, the clientele’s positive viewpoints toward corporate had the utmost importance in impression on under survey Producing units.

Keywords: corporate citizenship, structural factors, behavioral factors, contextual factors, producing units

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Authors: Arabi Nour El Houda, Iratni Aicha, Talaighil Razika, Bruno Capoen, Mohamed Bouazaoui

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TiO2 thin films have been prepared by the sol-gel dip-coating technique in order to elaborate antireflective thin films for monocrystalline silicon (mono-Si). The titanium isopropoxyde was chosen as a precursor with hydrochloric acid as a catalyser for preparing a stable solution. The optical properties have been tailored with varying the solution concentration, the withdrawn speed, and the heat-treatment. We showed that using a TiO2 single layer with 64.5 nm in thickness, heat-treated at 450°C or 300°C reduces the mono-Si reflection at a level lower than 3% over the broadband spectral do mains [669-834] nm and [786-1006] nm respectively. Those latter performances are similar to the ones obtained with double layers of low and high refractive index glasses respectively.

Keywords: thin film, dip-coating, mono-crystalline silicon, titanium oxide

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Authors: Diego de Almeida Pereira

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The roughness index of a road is considered the most important parameter about the quality of the pavement, as it has a close relation with the comfort and safety of the road users. Such condition can be established by means of functional evaluation of pavement surface deviations, measured by the International Roughness Index (IRI), an index that came out of the international evaluation of pavements, coordinated by the World Bank, and currently owns, as an index of limit measure, for purposes of receiving roads in Brazil, the value of 2.7 m/km. This work make use of the e.IRI parameter, obtained by the Roadroid app. for smartphones which use Android operating system. The choice of such application is due to the practicality for the user interaction, as it possesses a data storage on a cloud of its own, and the support given to universities all around the world. Data has been collected for six months, once in each month. The studies begun in March 2018, season of precipitations that worsen the conditions of the roads, besides the opportunity to accompany the damage and the quality of the interventions performed. About 350 kilometers of sections of four federal highways were analyzed, BR-020, BR-040, BR-060 and BR-070 that connect the Federal District (area where Brasilia is located) and surroundings, chosen for their economic and tourist importance, been two of them of federal and two others of private exploitation. As well as much of the road network, the analyzed stretches are coated of Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA). Thus, this present research performs a contrastive discussion between comfort conditions and safety of the roads under private exploitation in which users pay a fee to the concessionaires so they could travel on a road that meet the minimum requirements for usage, and regarding the quality of offered service on the roads under Federal Government jurisdiction. And finally, the contrast of data collected by National Department of Transport Infrastructure – DNIT, by means of a laser perfilometer, with data achieved by Roadroid, checking the applicability, the practicality and cost-effective, considering the app limitations.

Keywords: roadroid, international roughness index, Brazilian roads, pavement

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Authors: Ruchika Bagga, Mauro Falconieri, Venu Gopal Achanta, José M. F. Ferreira, Ashutosh Goel, Gopi Sharma

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Mixed valence Eu-doped nanocrystalline NaAlSiO4/NaY9Si6O26 glass-ceramics have been prepared by controlled crystallization of melt quenched bulk glasses. XRD and SEM techniques were employed to characterize the crystallization process of the precursor glass and their resultant glass-ceramics. Photoluminescence spectroscopy was used to analyze the formation of divalent europium (Eu2+) from Eu3+ ions during high temperature synthesis under ambient atmosphere and is explained on the basis of optical basicity model. The observed luminescence properties of Eu: NaY9Si6O26 are compared with that of well explored Eu: β-PbF2 nanocrystals and their marked differences are discussed.

Keywords: rare earth, oxyfluoride glasses, nano-crystalline glass-ceramics, photoluminescence spectroscopy

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Authors: Thomas Jin-Chee Liu

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In this paper, the thermo-electro-structural coupled-field in a cracked metal plate is studied using the finite element analysis. From the computational results, the compressive stresses reveal near the crack tip. This conclusion agrees with the past reference. Furthermore, the compressive condition can retard and stop the crack growth during the Joule heating process.

Keywords: compressive stress, crack tip, Joule heating, finite element

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Authors: Nisha Dhariwal, Anupama Sharma

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The synthesis of cellulose nanofibrils quaternized with 3‐chloro‐2‐hydroxypropyltrimethylammonium chloride (CHPTAC) in NaOH/urea aqueous solution has been reported. Xylenol Orange (XO) has been used as an indicator for selective detection of Sn (II) ions, by its immobilization on quaternized cellulose membrane. The effects of pH, reagent concentration and reaction time on the immobilization of XO have also been studied. The linear response, limit of detection, and interference of other metal ions have also been studied and no significant interference has been observed. The optical chemical sensor displayed good durability and short response time with negligible leaching of the reagent.

Keywords: cellulose, chemical sensor, heavy metal ions, indicator immobilization

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Authors: D. Önen, N. Kızılcan, B. Yıldız, A. Akar

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In situ modified cyclohexanone-formaldehyde resins were prepared by addition of alendronic acid during resin preparation. Clay nanocomposites in ketonic resins were achieved by adding clay into the flask at the beginning of the resin preparation. The prepared resins were used for the synthesis of fire resistant polyurethanes foam. Both phosphorous containing modifier compound alendronic acid and nanoclay increases fire resistance of the cyclohexanone-formaldehyde resin thus polyurethane produced from these resins. The effect of the concentrations of alendronic acid and clay on the fire resistance and physical properties of polyurethanes was studied.

Keywords: alendronic acid, clay, ketonic resin, polyurethane

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Authors: S. Ajith Kumar, Vaisakh S. Rajan

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In external flows, vortex shedding behind the bluff bodies causes to experience unsteady loads on a large number of engineering structures, resulting in structural failure. Vortex shedding can even turn out to be disastrous like the Tacoma Bridge failure incident. We need to have control over vortex shedding to get rid of this untoward condition by reducing the unsteady forces acting on the bluff body. In circular cylinders, hydrophobic surface in an otherwise no-slip surface is found to be delaying separation and minimizes the effects of vortex shedding drastically. Flow over square cylinder stands different from this behavior as separation can takes place from either of the two corner separation points (front or rear). An attempt is made in this study to numerically elucidate the effect of hydrophobic surface in flow over a square cylinder. A 2D numerical simulation has been done to understand the effects of the slip surface on the flow past square cylinder. The details of the numerical algorithm will be presented at the time of the conference. A non-dimensional parameter, Knudsen number is defined to quantify the slip on the cylinder surface based on Maxwell’s equation. The slip surface condition of the wall affects the vorticity distribution around the cylinder and the flow separation. In the numerical analysis, we observed that the hydrophobic surface enhances the shedding frequency and damps down the amplitude of oscillations of the square cylinder. We also found that the slip has a negative effect on aerodynamic force coefficients such as the coefficient of lift (CL), coefficient of drag (CD) etc. and hence replacing the no slip surface by a hydrophobic surface can be treated as an effective drag reduction strategy and the introduction of hydrophobic surface could be utilized for reducing the vortex induced vibrations (VIV) and is found as an effective method in controlling VIV thereby controlling the structural failures.

Keywords: drag reduction, flow past square cylinder, flow control, hydrophobic surfaces, vortex shedding

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Authors: Aziza Al-Sawafi

Abstract:

Introduction: The evidence of family interventions in schizophrenia is robust primarily in high-income settings. However, they have been adapted to other settings and cultures to improve effectiveness and acceptability. In Oman, there is limited integration of psychosocial interventions in the treatment of schizophrenia. Therefore, the adaptation of family intervention to the Omani culture may facilitate its uptake. Most service users in Oman live with their families outside the healthcare system, and nothing is known about their experience, needs, or resources. Furthermore, understanding caregivers' and mental health professionals' preferences, perceptions, and experience is a fundamental element in the process of intervention development. Therefore, this study aims to develop a culturally sensitive, feasible, and acceptable family intervention for relatives living with schizophrenia in Oman. Method: The Medical Research Council's framework for the evaluation of complex health care interventions provided the conceptual structure for the study. The development phase was carried out, which involved three stages: 1) systematically reviewing the available literature regarding culturally adapted family interventions in the Arab world 2) In-depth interviews with caregivers to explore their experience and perceived needs and preferences regarding intervention 3) A focus group study involving health professionals to explore the acceptability and feasibility of delivering the family intervention in the Omani context. Data synthesis determined the design of the proposed intervention according to the findings obtained from the previous stages. Results: Stage one: The systematic review found limited evidence of culturally-adapted family interventions in the Arab region. However, the cultural adaptation process was comprehensive, and the implementation was reported to be feasible and acceptable. Stage two: The experience of family caregivers illuminated four main themes: burden, stigma, violence, and family needs. Burdens of care included objective and subjective burdens, positive feelings, and coping mechanisms. Caregivers gave their opinion about the content and preference of the intervention from their personal experiences. Stage three: mental health professionals discussed the delivery system of the intervention from a clinical standpoint concerning issues and barriers to implementation. They recommended modifications to the components of the intervention to ensure its acceptability and feasibility in the local setting. Data synthesis was carried out, and the intervention was designed. Conclusion: This study provides evidence of the potential applicability and acceptability of a culturally sensitive family intervention for families of individuals with schizophrenia in Oman. However, more work needs to be done to test the feasibility of the study and overcome the practical challenges.

Keywords: cultural-adaptation, family intervention, Oman, schizophrenia

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Authors: Ersilio Tushaj

Abstract:

The efficient solution that satisfies the optimal condition is an important issue in the structural engineering design problem. The new codes of structural design consist in design methodology that looks after the exploitation of the total resources of the construction material. In recent years some non-deterministic or meta-heuristic structural optimization algorithms have been developed widely in the research community. These methods search the optimum condition starting from the simulation of a natural phenomenon, such as survival of the fittest, the immune system, swarm intelligence or the cooling process of molten metal through annealing. Among these techniques the most known are: the genetic algorithms, simulated annealing, evolution strategies, particle swarm optimization, tabu search, ant colony optimization, harmony search and big bang crunch optimization. In this study, five of these algorithms are applied for the optimum weight design of a steel truss structure with variable geometry but fixed topology. The design process selects optimum distances and size sections from a set of commercial steel profiles. In the formulation of the design problem are considered deflection limitations, buckling and allowable stress constraints. The approach is repeated starting from different initial populations. The design problem topology is taken from an existing steel structure. The optimization process helps the engineer to achieve good final solutions, avoiding the repetitive evaluation of alternative designs in a time consuming process. The algorithms used for the application, the results of the optimal solutions, the number of iterations and the minimal weight designs, will be reported in the paper. Based on these results, it would be estimated, the amount of the steel that could be saved by applying structural analysis combined with non-deterministic optimization methods.

Keywords: structural optimization, non-deterministic methods, truss structures, steel truss

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Authors: Dajana Gašo-Sokač, Valentina Bušić

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Deep eutectic solvents (DES) are liquids composed of two or three safe, inexpensive components, often interconnected by noncovalent hydrogen bonds which produce eutectic mixture whose melting point is lower than that of each component. No data in literature have been found on the quaternization reaction in DES. The use of DES have several advantages: they are environmentally benign and biodegradable, easy for purification and simple for preparation. An environmentally sustainable method for preparing quaternary salts of izonicotinamide and substituted 2-bromoacetophenones was demonstrated here using choline chloride-based DES. The quaternization reaction was carried out by three synthetic approaches: conventional method, microwave and ultrasonic irradiation. We showed that the highest yields were obtained by the microwave method.

Keywords: deep eutectic solvents, izonicotinamide salts, microwave synthesis, ultrasonic irradiation

Procedia PDF Downloads 130