Search results for: third stage labour

Authors: Alina Trifan, António J. R. Neves

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Although most digital cameras acquire images in a raw format, based on a Color Filter Array that arranges RGB color filters on a square grid of photosensors, most image compression techniques do not use the raw data; instead, they use the rgb result of an interpolation algorithm of the raw data. This approach is inefficient and by performing a lossless compression of the raw data, followed by pixel interpolation, digital cameras could be more power efficient and provide images with increased resolution given that the interpolation step could be shifted to an external processing unit. In this paper, we conduct a survey on the use of lossless compression algorithms with raw Bayer images. Moreover, in order to reduce the effect of the transition between colors that increase the entropy of the raw Bayer image, we split the image into three new images corresponding to each channel (red, green and blue) and we study the same compression algorithms applied to each one individually. This simple pre-processing stage allows an improvement of more than 15% in predictive based methods.

Keywords: bayer image, CFA, lossless compression, image coding standards

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Authors: Ketevan Goletiani

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MMultimodal transport is Europe-Asia’s rational decision of the XXI century. Success prerequisite of this form of cargo carriage is not technologic decision, but the comprehensive attitude towards it. Integration of the transport industry must refer to both technical and organizational-economic fields. Support of the multimodal’s must be the priority of the transport policy in different organizations of Europe and Asia. The method of approach to the transport as a unified system has been changed to a certain extent in the market conditions. Nowadays the competition between the different kinds of transport is not to be considered as a competition of one kind of transport towards another one, but is to be considered as a stimulator of the transport development. Basically, transport logistic, as the recent methodology and organization of the rationally flow of cargos at the specialized logistic centres during their procession provides effective rise of such flow of cargos, decreases non-operating expenses and gives the opportunity to the transport companies to come along with the time, to meet market clients’ requirements. It is apparent that the advanced transport-forwarding and logistic firms are being analized.

Keywords: transport systems, multimodal transport, competition, transport logistics

Procedia PDF Downloads 437

Authors: Obiageli Eze

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Millions of Nigerian children are subjected daily to all forms of abuse, ranging from trafficking to slavery, and forced labor. These under age children are taken from different parts of the Country to be used as sex slaves and laborers in the big cities, killed for rituals, organ transplantation, or used for money laundering, begging on the streets or are put to work in the fields. These children are made to do inhuman jobs under degrading conditions and face all kinds of abuse at the hands of their owners with no hope of escape. While lots of people blame poverty or culture as a basis for human trafficking in Nigeria, the National Agency for the Prohibition and Trafficking in Persons and other Related Matters (NAPTIP) says other causes of the outrageous rate of human trafficking in the country are ignorance, desperation, and the promotion and commercialization of sex by the European Union (EU) as dozens of young Nigerian children and women are forced to work as prostitutes in European countries including the Netherlands, France, Italy, and Spain. In the cause of searching for greener pastures, they are coerced into work they have not chosen and subjected to perpetual life in bondage. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948 prohibits slave trade and slavery. Despite the fact that Nigeria is a Sovereign member of the United Nations and signatory to this International instrument, Child trafficking and slavery is still on the increase. This may be caused by the fact that the punishment for this crime in Nigeria is a maximum term of 10 years imprisonment with some of the worst offenders getting off with as little as 2 years imprisonment or an option of fine. It goes without saying that this punishment is not sufficient to act as a deterrent to these modern slave traders. Another major factor oiling the wheel of trafficking in the country is voodoo. The victims are taken to shrines of voodoo priests for oath taking. There, underage girls and boys are made to swear that they would never reveal the identities of their traffickers to anyone if arrested whether in the course of the journey or in the destination countries and that they would pay off debt. Nigeria needs tougher Laws in order to be able to combat human trafficking and slave trade. Also there has to be aggressive sensitization and awareness programs designed to educate and enlighten the public as to the dangers faced by these victims and the need to report any suspicious activity to the authorities. This paper attempts to give an insight into the plight of under-age Nigerian children trafficked and sold as slaves and offer a more effective stand in the fight against it.

Keywords: child labor, slavery, slave trade, trafficking

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Authors: Hadi S. Hosseini, Larry A. Taber

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In the embryo, heart is initially a simple tubular structure that undergoes complex morphological changes as it transforms into a four-chambered pump. This work focuses on mechanisms that create heart tube (HT). The early embryo is composed of three relatively flat primary germ layers called endoderm, mesoderm, and ectoderm. Precardiac cells located within bilateral regions of the mesoderm called heart fields (HFs) fold and fuse along the embryonic midline to create the HT. The right and left halves of this plate fold symmetrically to bring their upper edges into contact along the midline, where they fuse. In a region near the fusion line, these layers then separate to generate the primitive HT and foregut, which then extend vertically. The anterior intestinal portal (AIP) is the opening at the caudal end of the foregut, which descends as the HT lengthens. The biomechanical mechanisms that drive this folding are poorly understood. Our central hypothesis is that folding is caused by differences in growth between the endoderm and mesoderm while subsequent extension is driven by contraction along the AIP. The feasibility of this hypothesis is examined using experiments with chick embryos and finite-element modeling (FEM). Fertilized white Leghorn chicken eggs were incubated for approximately 22-33 hours until appropriate Hamburger and Hamilton stage (HH5 to HH9) was reached. To inhibit contraction, embryos were cultured in media containing blebbistatin (myosin II inhibitor) for 18h. Three-dimensional models were created using ABAQUS (D. S. Simulia). The initial geometry consists of a flat plate including two layers representing the mesoderm and endoderm. Tissue was considered as a nonlinear elastic material with growth and contraction (negative growth) simulated using a theory, in which the total deformation gradient is given by F=F^*.G, where G is growth tensor and F* is the elastic deformation gradient tensor. In embryos exposed to blebbistatin, initial folding and AIP descension occurred normally. However, after HFs partially fused to create the upper part of the HT, fusion, and AIP descension stopped, and the HT failed to grow longer. These results suggest that cytoskeletal contraction is required only for the later stages of HT formation. In the model, a larger biaxial growth rate in the mesoderm compared to the endoderm causes the bilayered plate to bend ventrally, as the upper edge moves toward the midline, where it 'fuses' with the other half . This folding creates the upper section of the HT, as well as the foregut pocket bordered by the AIP. After this phase completes by stage HH7, contraction along the arch-shaped AIP pulls the lower edge of the plate downward, stretching the two layers. Results given by model are in reasonable agreement with experimental data for the shape of HT, as well as patterns of stress and strain. In conclusion, results of our study support our hypothesis for the creation of the heart tube.

Keywords: heart tube formation, FEM, chick embryo, biomechanics

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Authors: Rekha S., S. J. Nalini, S. Bhuvana, S. Kanmani, Vidhya Venugopal

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Introduction: Pregnant women's occupational heat exposure has been linked to foetal abnormalities and pregnancy complications. The presence of heat in the workplace is expected to lead to Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes (APO), especially in tropical countries where temperatures are rising and workplace cooling interventions are minimal. For effective interventions, in-depth understanding and evidence about occupational heat stress and APO are required. Methodology: Approximately 800 pregnant women in and around Chennai who were employed in jobs requiring moderate to hard labour participated in the cohort research. During the study period (2014-2019), environmental heat exposures were measured using a Questemp WBGT monitor, and heat strain markers, such as Core Body Temperature (CBT) and Urine Specific Gravity (USG), were evaluated using an Infrared Thermometer and a refractometer, respectively. Using a valid HOTHAPS questionnaire, self-reported health symptoms were collected. In addition, a postpartum follow-up with the mothers was done to collect APO-related data. Major findings of the study: Approximately 47.3% of pregnant workers have workplace WBGTs over the safe manual work threshold value for moderate/heavy employment (Average WBGT of 26.6°C±1.0°C). About 12.5% of the workers had CBT levels above the usual range, and 24.8% had USG levels above 1.020, both of which suggested mild dehydration. Miscarriages (3%), stillbirths/preterm births (3.5%), and low birth weights (8.8%) were the most common unfavorable outcomes among pregnant employees. In addition, WBGT exposures above TLVs during all trimesters were associated with a 2.3-fold increased risk of adverse fetal/maternal outcomes (95% CI: 1.4-3.8), after adjusting for potential confounding variables including age, education, socioeconomic status, abortion history, stillbirth, preterm, LBW, and BMI. The study determined that WBGTs in the workplace had direct short- and long-term effects on the health of both the mother and the foetus. Despite the study's limited scope, the findings provided valuable insights and highlighted the need for future comprehensive cohort studies and extensive data in order to establish effective policies to protect vulnerable pregnant women from the dangers of heat stress and to promote reproductive health.

Keywords: adverse outcome, heat stress, interventions, physiological strain, pregnant women

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Authors: Gulshan Sachdeva, Vaibhav Jain, S. S. Kachhwaha

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Cascade refrigeration systems employ series of single stage vapor compression units which are thermally coupled with evaporator/condenser cascades. Different refrigerants are used in each of the circuit depending on the optimum characteristics shown by the refrigerant for a particular application. In the present research study, a steady state thermodynamic model is developed which simulates the working of an actual cascade system. The model provides COP and all other system parameters like total compressor work, temperature, pressure, enthalpy and entropy at different state points. The working fluid in Low Temperature Circuit (LTC) is CO2 (R744) while ammonia (R717), propane (R290), propylene (R1270), R404A and R12 are the refrigerants in High Temperature Circuit (HTC). The performance curves of ammonia, propane, propylene, and R404A are compared with R12 to find its nearest substitute. Results show that ammonia is the best substitute of R12.

Keywords: cascade system, refrigerants, thermodynamic model, production engineering

Procedia PDF Downloads 361

Authors: Eugene Y. J. Aw, J. W. Koh, S. H. Chew, K. E. Chua, Lionel L. J. Ang, Algernon C. S. Hong, Danette S. E. Tan, Grace H. B. Foo, K. Q. Hong, L. M. Cheng, M. L. Leong

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This paper presents a novel rapid soil classification technique that combines computer vision with four-probe soil electrical resistivity method and cone penetration test (CPT), to improve the accuracy and productivity of on-site classification of excavated soil. In Singapore, excavated soils from local construction projects are transported to Staging Grounds (SGs) to be reused as fill material for land reclamation. Excavated soils are mainly categorized into two groups (“Good Earth” and “Soft Clay”) based on particle size distribution (PSD) and water content (w) from soil investigation reports and on-site visual survey, such that proper treatment and usage can be exercised. However, this process is time-consuming and labour-intensive. Thus, a rapid classification method is needed at the SGs. Computer vision, four-probe soil electrical resistivity and CPT were combined into an innovative non-destructive and instantaneous classification method for this purpose. The computer vision technique comprises soil image acquisition using industrial grade camera; image processing and analysis via calculation of Grey Level Co-occurrence Matrix (GLCM) textural parameters; and decision-making using an Artificial Neural Network (ANN). Complementing the computer vision technique, the apparent electrical resistivity of soil (ρ) is measured using a set of four probes arranged in Wenner’s array. It was found from the previous study that the ANN model coupled with ρ can classify soils into “Good Earth” and “Soft Clay” in less than a minute, with an accuracy of 85% based on selected representative soil images. To further improve the technique, the soil strength is measured using a modified mini cone penetrometer, and w is measured using a set of time-domain reflectometry (TDR) probes. Laboratory proof-of-concept was conducted through a series of seven tests with three types of soils – “Good Earth”, “Soft Clay” and an even mix of the two. Validation was performed against the PSD and w of each soil type obtained from conventional laboratory tests. The results show that ρ, w and CPT measurements can be collectively analyzed to classify soils into “Good Earth” or “Soft Clay”. It is also found that these parameters can be integrated with the computer vision technique on-site to complete the rapid soil classification in less than three minutes.

Keywords: Computer vision technique, cone penetration test, electrical resistivity, rapid and non-destructive, soil classification

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Authors: S. Atabay, T. A. Ali, Md. M. Mortula

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This paper presents the results and findings from a parametric study on the water surface elevation at upstream of bridge constriction for subcritical flow. In this study, the influence of Manning's Roughness Coefficient of main channel (nmc) and of floodplain (nfp), and bridge opening (b) flow rate (Q), contraction (kcon), and expansion coefficients (kexp) were investigated on backwater level. The DECK bridge models with different span widths and without any pier were investigated within the two stage channel having various roughness conditions. One of the most commonly used commercial one-dimensional HEC-RAS model was used in this parametric study. This study showed that the effects of main channel roughness (nmc) and flow rate (Q) on the backwater level are much higher than those of the floodplain roughness (nfp). Bridge opening (b) with contraction (kcon) and expansion coefficients (kexp) have very little effect on the backwater level within this range of parameters.

Keywords: bridge backwater, parametric study, waterways, HEC-RAS model

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Authors: Fulya Gokalp Yavuz, Mark Daniel Ward

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This study focuses on a contemporary and inevitable topic of Data Science and its exemplary application for early career building: Big Data and Leaving Learning Community (LLC). ‘Academia’ and ‘Industry’ have a common sense on the importance of Big Data. However, both of them are in a threat of missing the training on this interdisciplinary area. Some traditional teaching doctrines are far away being effective on Data Science. Practitioners needs some intuition and real-life examples how to apply new methods to data in size of terabytes. We simply explain the scope of Data Science training and exemplified its early stage application with LLC, which is a National Science Foundation (NSF) founded project under the supervision of Prof. Ward since 2014. Essentially, we aim to give some intuition for professors, researchers and practitioners to combine data science tools for comprehensive real-life examples with the guides of mentees’ feedback. As a result of discussing mentoring methods and computational challenges of Big Data, we intend to underline its potential with some more realization.

Keywords: Big Data, computation, mentoring, training

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Authors: R. A. Temah, L. A. Nkengla-Asi

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Planning for future disasters sets the stage for a variety of activities that may trigger multiple recurring operations and expose the community to opportunities to minimize risks. Local communities are increasingly embracing the necessity for planning based on local risks, but are also significantly challenged to effectively plan and response to disasters. This research examines basic risk-based disaster planning model and compares it with advanced risk-based planning that introduces the identification and alignment of varieties of local capabilities within and out of the local community that can be pivotal to facilitate the management of local risks and cascading effects prior to a disaster. A critical review shows that the identification and alignment of capabilities can potentially enhance risk-based disaster planning. A tailored holistic approach to risk based disaster planning is pivotal to enhance collective action and a reduction in disaster collective cost.

Keywords: capabilities, disaster planning, hazards, local community, risk-based

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Authors: Ivan Stanev, Maria Koleva

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Described are challenges to the Bulgarian e-Customs (BeC) related to low level of interoperability and standardization, inefficient use of available infrastructure, lack of centralized identification and authorization, extremely low level of software process automation, and insufficient quality of data stored in official registers. The technical requirements for BeC are prepared with a focus on domain independent common platform, specialized customs and excise components, high scalability, flexibility, and reusability. The Knowledge Based Automated Software Engineering (KBASE) Common Platform for Automated Programming (CPAP) is selected as an instrument covering BeC requirements for standardization, programming automation, knowledge interpretation and cloud computing. BeC stage 3 results are presented and analyzed. BeC.S3 development trends are identified.

Keywords: service oriented architecture, cloud computing, knowledge based automated software engineering, common platform for automated programming, e-customs

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Authors: Danilo López, Edwin Rivas, Leyla López

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This paper presents the development of an algorithm that predicts the arrival of a secondary user (SU) to a base station (BS) in a cognitive network based on infrastructure, requesting a Best Effort (BE) or Real Time (RT) type of service with a determined bandwidth (BW) implementing neural networks. The algorithm dynamically uses a neural network construction technique using the geometric pyramid topology and trains a Multilayer Perceptron Neural Networks (MLPNN) based on the historical arrival of an SU to estimate future applications. This will allow efficiently managing the information in the BS, since it precedes the arrival of the SUs in the stage of selection of the best channel in CRN. As a result, the software application determines the probability of arrival at a future time point and calculates the performance metrics to measure the effectiveness of the predictions made.

Keywords: cognitive radio, base station, best effort, MLPNN, prediction, real time

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Authors: Hang Lo Lee, Ki Il Song, Hee Hwan Ryu

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An accurate prediction of TBM(Tunnel Boring Machine) performance is very difficult for reliable estimation of the construction period and cost in preconstruction stage. For this purpose, the aim of this study is to analyze the evaluation process of various prediction models published since 2000 for TBM performance, and to select the optimal input parameters for the prediction model. A classification system of TBM performance prediction model and applied methodology are proposed in this research. Input and output parameters applied for prediction models are also represented. Based on these results, a statistical analysis is performed using the collected data from shield TBM tunnel in South Korea. By performing a simple regression and residual analysis utilizinFg statistical program, R, the optimal input parameters are selected. These results are expected to be used for development of prediction model of TBM performance.

Keywords: TBM performance prediction model, classification system, simple regression analysis, residual analysis, optimal input parameters

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Authors: Tian Lan, Yixiang Wang, Wenxin Tai, Yilan Lyu, Zufeng Wu

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The monaural speech enhancement task in the time-frequencydomain has a myriad of approaches, with the stacked con-volutional neural network (CNN) demonstrating superiorability in feature extraction and selection. However, usingstacked single convolutions method limits feature represen-tation capability and generalization ability. In order to solvethe aforementioned problem, we propose an attention-basedadaptive convolutional network that integrates the multi-scale convolutional operations into a operation-specific blockvia input dependent attention to adapt to complex auditoryscenes. In addition, we introduce a two-stage progressivelearning method to enlarge the receptive field without a dra-matic increase in computation burden. We conduct a series ofexperiments based on the TIMIT corpus, and the experimen-tal results prove that our proposed model is better than thestate-of-art models on all metrics.

Keywords: speech enhancement, adaptive convolu-tion, progressive learning, time-frequency domain

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Authors: Chander Shekhar, Jeetendra Yadav, Shaziya Allarakha

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Hypertension has been described as an 'iceberg disease' as those who suffered are ignored and hence usually seek healthcare services at a very late stage. It is estimated that more than 2 million Indians are suffering from hypertensive heart disease that contributed to above 0.13 million deaths in 2016. The paper study aims to know the prevalence of Hypertension in India and its variation by socioeconomic backgrounds and to find out risk factors discriminating hypertension with special emphasis on consumption of tobacco and alcohol among men aged 15-54 years in India. The paper uses NFHS (2015-16) data. The paper used binary logistic regression and discriminant analysis to find significant predictors and discriminants of interest. The prevalence of hypertension was 16.5% in the study population. The results suggest that consumption of alcohol and tobacco are significant discriminant characteristics in carrying hypertension irrespective of what socioeconomic background characteristic he possesses.

Keywords: hypertention, alcohol, tobacco, discriminant

Procedia PDF Downloads 147

Authors: A. M. Omoare, O. O. Sofowora, W. O. Oyediran

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The study was carried out to assess the factors affecting the sustainability of rice processing and marketing in Ogun State, Nigeria. Multi-stage sampling technique was used to select one hundred and twenty (120) respondents for the study. Descriptive statistics was used to describe the objectives while hypotheses were analyzed with Pearson Product Moment Correlation. The result showed that most (85%) of the respondents was less than 50 years old and had been in rice business for more than 6 years. The majority (66.67%) of the respondents got their capitals from cooperative societies. All (100%) the respondents used rice as household food security and source of income. However, efficient rice processing and marketing were affected by inadequate manpower capacity development and inputs. There was a positive and significant relationship between socio-economic characteristics and processing techniques (p < 0.05). It is hereby recommended that extension service providers should introduce improved rice processing systems to the rice millers traders in the study area.

Keywords: sustainability, rice processing, marketing, constraints, millers traders

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Authors: Noura Al Akkari, Aurélie Foucquier, Sylvain Lespinats

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Load monitoring is a management process for energy consumption towards energy savings and energy efficiency. Non Intrusive Load Monitoring (NILM) is one method of load monitoring used for disaggregation purposes. NILM is a technique for identifying individual appliances based on the analysis of the whole residence data retrieved from the main power meter of the house. Our NILM framework starts with data acquisition, followed by data preprocessing, then event detection, feature extraction, then general appliance modeling and identification at the final stage. The event detection stage is a core component of NILM process since event detection techniques lead to the extraction of appliance features. Appliance features are required for the accurate identification of the household devices. In this research work, we aim at developing a new event detection methodology with accurate load disaggregation to extract appliance features. Time-domain features extracted are used for tuning general appliance models for appliance identification and classification steps. We use unsupervised algorithms such as Dynamic Time Warping (DTW). The proposed method relies on detecting areas of operation of each residential appliance based on the power demand. Then, detecting the time at which each selected appliance changes its states. In order to fit with practical existing smart meters capabilities, we work on low sampling data with a frequency of (1/60) Hz. The data is simulated on Load Profile Generator software (LPG), which was not previously taken into consideration for NILM purposes in the literature. LPG is a numerical software that uses behaviour simulation of people inside the house to generate residential energy consumption data. The proposed event detection method targets low consumption loads that are difficult to detect. Also, it facilitates the extraction of specific features used for general appliance modeling. In addition to this, the identification process includes unsupervised techniques such as DTW. To our best knowledge, there exist few unsupervised techniques employed with low sampling data in comparison to the many supervised techniques used for such cases. We extract a power interval at which falls the operation of the selected appliance along with a time vector for the values delimiting the state transitions of the appliance. After this, appliance signatures are formed from extracted power, geometrical and statistical features. Afterwards, those formed signatures are used to tune general model types for appliances identification using unsupervised algorithms. This method is evaluated using both simulated data on LPG and real-time Reference Energy Disaggregation Dataset (REDD). For that, we compute performance metrics using confusion matrix based metrics, considering accuracy, precision, recall and error-rate. The performance analysis of our methodology is then compared with other detection techniques previously used in the literature review, such as detection techniques based on statistical variations and abrupt changes (Variance Sliding Window and Cumulative Sum).

Keywords: electrical disaggregation, DTW, general appliance modeling, event detection

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Authors: Diwei Lin, Amanda Jh. Tan

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We present a very rare case of de novo large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma of the prostate (LCNEC) in an 84-year-old male on a background of high-grade, muscle-invasive transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder. While NE tumours account for 1% to 5% of all cases of prostate cancer and scattered NE cells can be found in 10% to 100% of prostate adenocarcinomas, pure LCNEC of the prostate is extremely rare. Most LCNEC of the prostate is thought to originate by clonal progression under the selection pressure of therapy and refractory to long-term hormonal treatment for adenocarcinoma of the prostate. De novo LCNEC is only described in case reports and is thought to develop via direct malignant transformation. Limited data in the English literature makes it difficult to accurately predict the prognosis of LCNEC of the prostate. However, current evidence suggesting that increasing NE differentiation in prostate adenocarcinoma is associated with a higher stage, high-grade disease, and a worse prognosis.

Keywords: large cell neuroendocrine cancer, prostate cancer, refractory cancer, medical and health sciences

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Authors: Tara Gurung, Suprina Prajapati

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Health and well being of people is a crucial for accomplishing sustainable development goals of any country. The present study focuses on quality of life of patients undergoing hemodialysis. Hemodialysis is a life sustaining treatment for patients with end stage renal disease (ESRD). Hemodialysis can bring about significant impairment in health related quality of life (HRQOL). The purpose of this study was to assess the quality of life of hemodialysis patients undergoing hemodialysis. A descriptive cross-sectional research design was utilized in total 100 samples using random sampling technique. The findings revealed that the total quality of life of the patients was 30.41±3.99 out of 100. The total physical component score was statistically significant with education status of the patients where p value for t test was 0.03 (p=0.03) and occupation of the patients where p value for the ANOVA test was 0.007 (p=0.007). The study recommended that it would be better if awareness programs regarding chronic kidney disease and life style modification in hemodialysis patients is given to the patients so that it would help patients to maintain the HRQOL.

Keywords: health and well bing, hemodialysis, patients quality of life

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Authors: Donald C. Lantu, Henndy Ginting, M. Yorga Permana, Dany M. A. Ramdlany

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We constructed a training program for top-talents of a Bank with Scharmer Theory-U as the model. In this training program, we implemented the action learning perspective, as it is claimed to be the most effective one currently available. In the process, participants were encouraged to be more involved, especially compared to traditional lecturing. The goal of this study is to assess the effectiveness of this particular training. The program consists of six days non-residential workshop within two months. Between each workshop, the participants were involved in the works of action learning group. They were challenged by dealing with the real problem related to their tasks at work. The participants of the program were 30 best talents who were chosen according to their yearly performance. Using paired difference statistical test in the behavioral assessment, we found that the training was not effective to increase participants’ leadership competencies. For the future development program, we suggested to modify the goals of the program toward the next stage of development.

Keywords: action learning, behavior, leadership development, Theory-U

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Authors: Carlos Guillermo Lloga Sanz, Maria del Carmen Tamayo Asef

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As an object of study in Cuban universities, cinema is still in its infancy. This is relevant considering the significance of cinema within the local political culture and its impact on countries of the region. Discussions about the medium have been carried out mainly in the field of film criticism. The objective of this article is to reflect on the divergences between film studies and film criticism taking into account formal and theoretical features and to explore the transcendence of this debate for the intellectual ambiance of the Island. Methodologically, the study relies on theoretical elaborations based on literature review and non-structure interviews with Cuban film critics and scholars. The study finds that the gradation proposed by the Anglo-Saxon tradition, where film studies are considered a “higher stage," compared to criticism and cinephilia, does not apply to the Cuban space. Instead, to assess the state of reflection on cinema in Cuba, it is essential to consider it a starry node traversed by epistemic, institutional, and geopolitical matrices.

Keywords: film studies, film criticism, Cuban cinema, Cuban film studies

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Authors: Qi Kan, Xiaoyu Ying

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With a rapid urbanization in China, the high-density new urban-center districts have already changed the microclimate in the city. Because of the using characters of building the commercial pedestrian streets which have emerged massively making a large number of pedestrians appear in there, pedestrian comfort in the commercial streets of the new urban-center districts requires more attention. The different street spatial layout will change the wind environment in the street and then influence the pedestrian comfort. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models are used to study the correlation between the street aspect ratio and wind environment, under the simulation with relevant weather conditions. The results show that the wind speed in the city streets is inversely proportional to the street aspect ratio. The conclusion will provide an evaluation basis for urban planners and architects at the beginning stage of the design to effectively avoid the potential poor physical environment.

Keywords: street spatial layout, wind environment, street aspect ratio, pedestrian comfort

Procedia PDF Downloads 195

Authors: S. Ahmed, P. Dlask, B. Hasan

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There are several ways to estimate the cost of the construction project: simple and detailed. The process of estimating cost is usually done during the design stage, which should take long-time and the designer must give attention to all details. This paper explain the causes of the deviations occurring in the cost of the construction project, and determines the reasons of these differences between contractual cost and final cost of the construction project, through the study of literature review related to this field, and benefiting from the experience of workers in the field of building (owners, contractors) through designing a questionnaire, and finding the most ten important reasons and explain the relation between the contractual cost and the final cost according to these reasons. The difference between those values will be showed through diagrams drawn using the statistical program. In addition to studying the effects of overrun costs on the advancing of the project, and identify the most five important effects. According to the results, we can propose the right direction for the final cost evaluation and propose some measures that would help to control and adjust the deviation in the costs.

Keywords: construction projects, building, cost, estimating costs, delay, overrun

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Authors: Devender Mandala, Paul Watts

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Cis-Nucleosides mainly lamivudine (3TC) and emtricitabine (FTC) are an important tool in the treatment of Human immune deficiency virus (HIV), Hepatitis B virus (HBV) and Human T-Lymotropoic virus (HTLV). Lamivudine and emtricitabine are potent nucleoside analog reverse transcriptase inhibitors (nRTI). These two drugs are synthesized by a four-stage process from the starting materials: menthyl glyoxylate hydrate and 1,4-dithane-2,5-diol to produce the 5-hydroxy oxathiolane which upon acetylation with acetic anhydride to yield 5-acetoxy oxathiolane. Then glycosylation of this acetyl product with silyl protected nucleoside to produce the intermediate. The reduction of this intermediates can provide the final targets. Although there are several different methods reported for the synthesis of lamivudine and emtricitabine as a single enantiomer, we required an efficient route, which was suitable for large-scale synthesis to support the development of these compounds. In this process, we successfully prepared the intermediates of lamivudine and emtricitabine without using any solvents and catalyst, thus promoting the green synthesis. All the synthesized compound were confirmed by TLC, GC, Mass, NMR and 13C NMR spectroscopy.

Keywords: emtricitabine, green synthesis, lamivudine, nucleoside

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Authors: Mostafa Feiz, Mohammad Safari, Hossein Hadizadeh

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The Chalpo copper area is located in northeastern Iran, which is part of the structural zone of central Iran and the back-arc basin of Sabzevar. This sedimentary basin accumulated in destructive-oligomiocene sediments is named the Nasr-Chalpo-Sangerd (NCS) basin. The sedimentary layers in this basin originated mainly from Upper Cretaceous ophiolitic rocks and intermediate to mafic-post ophiolitic volcanic rocks, deposited as a nonconformity. The mineralized sandstone layers in the Chalpo area include leached zones (with a thickness of 5 to 8 meters) and mineralized lenses with a thickness of 0.5 to 0.7 meters. Ore minerals include primary sulfide minerals, such as chalcocite, chalcopyrite, and pyrite, as well as secondary minerals, such as covellite, digenite, malachite, and azurite, formed in three stages that comprise primary, simultaneously, and supergene stage. The best agents that control the mineralization in this area include the permeability of host rocks, the presence of fault zones as the conduits for copper oxide solutions, and significant amounts of plant fossils, which create a reducing environment for the deposition of mineralized layers. The calculations of mass changes on copper-bearing layers and primary sandstone layers indicate that Pb, As, Cd, Te, and Mo are enriched in the mineralized zones, whereas SiO₂, TiO₂, Fe₂O₃, V, Sr, and Ba are depleted. The combination of geological, stratigraphic, and geochemical studies suggests that the origin of copper may have been the underlying red strata that contained hornblende, plagioclase, biotite, alkaline feldspar, and labile minerals. Dehydration and hydrolysis of these minerals during the diagenetic process caused the leaching of copper and associated elements by circling fluids, which formed an oxidant-hydrothermal solution. Copper and silver in this oxidant solution might have moved upwards through the basin-fault zones and deposited in the reducing environments in the sandstone layers that have had abundant organic matter. Copper in these solutions was probably carried by chloride complexes. The collision of oxidant and reduced solutions caused the deposition of Cu and Ag, whereas some s elements in oxidant environments (e.g., Fe₂O₃, TiO₂, SiO₂, REEs) become uns in the reduced condition. Therefore, the copper-bearing sandstones in the study area are depleted from these elements resulting from the leaching process. The results indicate that during the mineralization stage, LREEs and MREEs were depleted, but Cu, Ag, and S were enriched. Based on field evidence, it seems that the circulation of connate fluids in the reb-bed strata, produced by diagenetic processes, encountered to reduced facies, which formed earlier by abundant fossil-plant debris in the sandstones, is the best model for precipitating sulfide-copper minerals.

Keywords: Chalpo, Oligo-Miocene red beds, sandstone-hosted copper mineralization, mass change, LREEs and MREEs

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Authors: Maryam Ziaee

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

Keywords: agility, manufacturing, resilience, supply chain

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Authors: Thomas James Bell III

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Pedagogy is thought of as one's philosophy, theory, or teaching method. This study examines the science of learning, considering the forced reconsideration of effective pedagogy brought on by the aftermath of the 2020 coronavirus pandemic. With the aid of various technologies, online education holds challenges and promises to enhance the learning environment if implemented to facilitate student learning. Behaviorism centers around the belief that the instructor is the sage on the classroom stage using repetition techniques as the primary learning instrument. This approach to pedagogy ascribes complete control of the learning environment and works best for students to learn by allowing students to answer questions with immediate feedback. Such structured learning reinforcement tends to guide students' learning without considering learners' independence and individual reasoning. And such activities may inadvertently stifle the student's ability to develop critical thinking and self-expression skills. Fundamentally liberationism pedagogy dismisses the concept that education is merely about students learning things and more about the way students learn. Alternatively, the liberationist approach democratizes the classroom by redefining the role of the teacher and student. The teacher is no longer viewed as the sage on the stage but as a guide on the side. Instead, this approach views students as creators of knowledge and not empty vessels to be filled with knowledge. Moreover, students are well suited to decide how best to learn and which areas improvements are needed. This study will explore the classroom instructor as a servant leader in the twenty-first century, which allows students to integrate technology that encapsulates more individual learning styles. The researcher will examine the Professional Scrum Master (PSM I) exam pass rate results of 124 students in six sections of an Agile scrum course. The students will be separated into two groups; the first group will follow a structured instructor-led course outlined by a course syllabus. The second group will consist of several small teams (ten or fewer) of self-led and self-empowered students. The teams will conduct several event meetings that include sprint planning meetings, daily scrums, sprint reviews, and retrospective meetings throughout the semester will the instructor facilitating the teams' activities as needed. The methodology for this study will use the compare means t-test to compare the mean of an exam pass rate in one group to the mean of the second group. A one-tailed test (i.e., less than or greater than) will be used with the null hypothesis, for the difference between the groups in the population will be set to zero. The major findings will expand the pedagogical approach that suggests pedagogy primarily exist in support of teacher-led learning, which has formed the pillars of traditional classroom teaching. But in light of the fourth industrial revolution, there is a fusion of learning platforms across the digital, physical, and biological worlds with disruptive technological advancements in areas such as the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), 3D printing, robotics, and others.

Keywords: pedagogy, behaviorism, liberationism, flipping the classroom, servant leader instructor, agile scrum in education

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Authors: Nazirah Zainul Abidin, Nurul Zahirah Mokhtar Azizi

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Cost has always been the leading concern in green building development. The perception that construction cost for green building is higher than conventional buildings has only made the discussion of green building cost more difficult. Understanding the factors that will influence the cost of green construction is expected to shed light into what makes green construction more or at par with conventional projects, or perhaps, where cost can be optimised. This paper identifies the elements of cost before shifting the attention to the influencing factors. Findings from past studies uncovered various factors related to cost which are grouped into five focal themes i.e. awareness, knowledge, financial, technical, and government support. A conceptual framework is produced in a form of a flower diagram indicating the cost influencing factors of green building development. These factors were found to be both physical and non-physical aspects of a project. The framework provides ground for the next stage of research that is to further explore how these factors influence the project cost and decision making.

Keywords: green project, factors influencing cost, hard cost, soft cost

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Authors: Hadi Molaei, Yasavoli Davoud, Keshavarz, Mozhde Poordana

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The present study aimed was to prediction the academic performance based on academic motivation, self-efficacy and Resiliency in the students. The present study was descriptive and correlational. Population of the study consisted of all students in Arak schools in year 1393-94. For this purpose, the number of 304 schools students in Arak was selected using multi-stage cluster sampling. They all questionnaires, self-efficacy, Resiliency and academic motivation Questionnaire completed. Data were analyzed using Pearson correlation and multiple regressions. Pearson correlation showed academic motivation, self-efficacy, and Resiliency with academic performance had a positive and significant relationship. In addition, multiple regression analysis showed that the academic motivation, self-efficacy and Resiliency were predicted academic performance. Based on the findings could be conclude that in order to increase the academic performance and further progress of students must provide the ground to strengthen academic motivation, self-efficacy and Resiliency act on them.

Keywords: academic motivation, self-efficacy, resiliency, academic performance

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Authors: W. Sun, W. Wen, J. Lu, A. A. Becker

Abstract:

In this work, methods for determining creep properties which can be used to represent the full life until failure from miniature specimen creep tests based on analytical solutions are presented. Examples used to demonstrate the application of the methods include a miniature rectangular thin beam specimen creep test under three-point bending and a miniature two-material tensile specimen creep test subjected to a steady load. Mathematical expressions for deflection and creep strain rate of the two specimens were presented for the Kachanov-Rabotnov creep damage model. On this basis, an inverse procedure was developed which has potential applications for deriving the full life creep damage constitutive properties from a very small volume of material, in particular, for various microstructure constitutive  regions, e.g. within heat-affected zones of power plant pipe weldments. Further work on validation and improvement of the method is addressed.

Keywords: creep damage property, miniature specimen, inverse approach, finite element modeling

Procedia PDF Downloads 231