Search results for: Erdogan’s term limit

Authors: Koksal Yılmaz, Burak Birol, Muhlis Nezihi Saridede, Erdogan Yigit

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A bauxite ore can be utilized in Bayer Process, if the mass ratio of Al2O3 to SiO2 is greater than 10. Otherwise, its FexOy and SiO2 content should be removed. On the other hand, removal of TiO2 from the bauxite ore would be beneficial because of both lowering the red mud residue and obtaining a valuable raw material containing TiO2 mineral. In this study, the low grade diasporic bauxite ore of Yalvaç, Isparta, Turkey was roasted under reducing atmosphere and subjected to magnetic separation. According to the experimental results, 800°C for reduction temperature and 20000 Gauss of magnetic intensity were found to be the optimum parameters for removal of iron oxide and rutile from the non-magnetic ore. On the other hand, 600°C and 5000 Gauss were determined to be the optimum parameters for removal of silica from the non-magnetic ore.

Keywords: low grade diasporic bauxite, magnetic separation, reduction roasting, separation index

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Authors: Danilo López, Nelson Vera, Luis Pedraza

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This paper analyzes fundamental ideas and concepts related to neural networks, which provide the reader a theoretical explanation of Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) networks operation classified as Deep Learning Systems, and to explicitly present the mathematical development of Backward Pass equations of the LSTM network model. This mathematical modeling associated with software development will provide the necessary tools to develop an intelligent system capable of predicting the behavior of licensed users in wireless cognitive radio networks.

Keywords: neural networks, multilayer perceptron, long short-term memory, recurrent neuronal network, mathematical analysis

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Authors: Firas M. Tuaimah

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This paper presents an Artificial Neural Network based approach for short-term load forecasting and exactly for two days ahead. Two seasons have been discussed for Iraqi power system, namely summer and winter; the hourly load demand is the most important input variables for ANN based load forecasting. The recorded daily load profile with a lead time of 1-48 hours for July and December of the year 2012 was obtained from the operation and control center that belongs to the Ministry of Iraqi electricity. The results of the comparison show that the neural network gives a good prediction for the load forecasting and for two days ahead.

Keywords: short-term load forecasting, artificial neural networks, back propagation learning, hourly load demand

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Authors: Carolina Senabre, Sergio Valero, Miguel Lopez, Antonio Gabaldon

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This paper presents a comprehensive survey of the short-term load forecasting (STLF). Since the behavior of consumers and producers continue changing as new technologies, it is an ongoing process, and moreover, new policies become available. The results of a research study for the Spanish Transport System Operator (REE) is presented in this paper. It is presented the improvement of the forecasting accuracy in the Balearic Islands considering the introduction of meteorological variables, such as temperature to reduce forecasting error. Variables analyzed for the forecasting in terms of overall accuracy are cloudiness, solar radiation, and wind velocity. It has also been analyzed the type of days to be considered in the research.

Keywords: short-term load forecasting, power demand, neural networks, load forecasting

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Authors: Muhammad Wahb

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Physical activity is increasingly recognized as a significant factor in maintaining optimal health and preventing chronic diseases. This research scrutinizes the long-term health benefits of sustained physical activity, employing a systematic review of epidemiological studies and randomized control trials conducted over the past decade. The study illuminates the protective effects of regular physical activity against cardiovascular disease, obesity, diabetes, and mental health disorders, with a special focus on the mechanisms involved. Furthermore, the paper provides insights into how public health initiatives can effectively promote physical activity among diverse populations, contributing to improved community health outcomes.

Keywords: physical activity, long-term health benefits, chronic disease prevention, public health

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Authors: Nataša Todorović, Jovana Nikolov

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Despite the great interest in β⁻β⁻ decay, β⁺β⁺ decays are rarely investigated due to the low probability of detecting these processes with available low-level equipment. If β⁺β⁺, β⁺EC, or ECEC decay occurs in a thin sample of a material, the positrons will be stopped and annihilated inside the material, leading to the emission of two or four coincidence gamma photons energy of 511 keV. The paper presents the results of measurements of double beta decay of ⁶⁴Zn, ⁵⁰Cr, and ⁵⁴Fe isotopes. In the first experiment, 511-keV gamma rays originating from the annihilation of positrons in natural zinc were measured by a coincidence technique to obtain a non-zero value for the (0ν+2ν) half-life. In the second experiment, the result of measuring double beta decay of ⁵⁰Cr is presented, which suggests a result other than zero at 95% CL and gives the lowest limit for the half-life of this process. In the third experiment, neutrino-less ECEC decay of ⁵⁴Fe was examined. Under the decay theory, gamma rays are emitted whose energy does not coincide with the energies of gamma rays emitted by nuclei from known discrete excited states. Iron shield of an internal volume of 1 m³ and thickness of 25 cm served as a source for measuring the (0ν+2ν) process in ⁵⁴Fe, whose yield in natural iron is 5.4%. We obtain the lower limit for the half-life for ⁵⁴Fe: T(0ν, K, K)>4.4x10²⁰ yr, T(0ν, K, L)>4.1x10²⁰ yr, and T(0ν, L, L)>5.0x10²⁰ yr. For ⁵⁰Cr limit for the half-life is T(0ν+2ν)>1.3(6)x10¹⁸ yr, and for ⁶⁴Zn T(0ν+2ν, ECβ+)=1.1(0.9)x10⁹ years.

Keywords: neutrinoless double beta decay, half-life, ⁶⁴Zn, ⁵⁰Cr, and, ⁵⁴Fe

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Authors: M. Akif Ceviz, Alirıza Kaleli, Erdoğan Güner

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LPG pressure regulator is a device which is used to change the phase of LPG from liquid to gas by decreasing the pressure. During the phase change, it is necessary to supply the latent heat of LPG to prevent excessive low temperature. Engine coolant is circulated in the pressure regulator for this purpose. Therefore, pressure regulator is a type of heat exchanger that should be designed for different engine operating conditions. The design of the regulator should ensure that the flow of LPG is in gaseous phase to the injectors during the engine steady state and transient operating conditions. The pressure regulators in the LPG gaseous injection systems currently used can easily change the phase of LPG, however, there is no any control on the LPG temperature in conventional LPG injection systems. It is possible to increase temperature excessively. In this study, a control unit has been tested to keep the LPG temperature in a band. Result of the study showed that the engine performance characteristics can be increased by using the system.

Keywords: temperature, pressure regulator, LPG, PID

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Authors: Liu Yi Hui, Chun-Liang Lai, Jhang Yu Cih, He You Jing, Chiu Fan-Yun, Lin Yu Fang

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For universities offering long-term care education, the inclusion of adulting learning and practices in professional courses as appropriate based on holistic design and evaluation could improve talent empowerment by leveraging social capital. Moreover, it could make the courses and materials used in long-term care education responsive to real-life needs. A mixed research method was used in the research design. A quantitative study was also conducted using a questionnaire survey, and the data were analyzed by SPSS 22.0 Chinese version. The qualitative data included students’ learning files (learning reflection notes, course reports, and experience records).

Keywords: adult learning, community empowerment, social capital, mixed research

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Authors: Ersin Bozkurt, Şükran Erdoğan

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The purpose of the study is to explore how pre-service teachers perceive buoyancy force effecting an object in a liquid and identify their misconceptions. Pre-service teachers were interviewed to reveal their understandings of an object's floating, suspending and sinking in a liquid. In addition, they were asked about how an object -given its features- moved when it is provided with an external force and when it is released. The so-called circumstances were questioned in a different planet contexts. For this aim, focused group interview method was used. Six focused groups were formed and video recorded during the interval. Each focused group comprised of five pre-service teachers. It was found out pre-service teachers have common misunderstanding and misconceptions. In order to eliminate this conceptual misunderstandings, conceptual change texts were developed and further suggestions were made.

Keywords: computer simulations, conceptual change texts, physics education, students’ misconceptions in physics

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Authors: Boualla Nabila

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The problems created by the water in Civil Engineering are sometimes neglected or often badly posed when they are not completely ignored, and yet they are fundamental as regards both the conditions of execution of the worksites and the stability. Several damages were caused by the infiltration of water in the soils, in particular in clay regions which can swell under the effect of an increase in their water content as in the case of the Oued Tlelat clay which is made up of yellow-colored marly clays and red-colored El Maleh area. This study was carried out on soil from a site, located near the city of Oran and the city of Ain Tmouchent (northern Algeria) where we encounter many problems of cracking of buildings and bottom uplift of excavations. The study consists first of all in determining the mechanical and physical characteristics of the clay, namely the parameters of sheer, simple compression, and that of the odometer. Then the study focused on a comparison of the influence of water type on the mechanical and physical properties of swelling clay soil.

Keywords: clay, water, liquidity limit, plastic limit

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Authors: Khelifa Tarek, Benmebarek Sadok

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The 2D passive earth pressures acting on rigid retaining walls problem has been widely treated in the literature using different approaches (limit equilibrium, limit analysis, slip line and numerical computation), however, the 3D passive earth pressures problem has received less attention. This paper is concerned with the numerical study of 3D passive earth pressures induced by the translation of a rigid rough retaining wall for associated and non-associated soils. Using the explicit finite difference code FLAC3D, the increase of the passive earth pressures due to the decrease of the wall breadth is investigated. The results given by the present numerical analysis are compared with other investigation. The influence of the angle of dilation on the coefficients is also studied.

Keywords: numerical modeling, FLAC3D, retaining wall, passive earth pressures, angle of dilation

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Authors: Caio E. G. Reis, Jose G. Dórea, Teresa H. M. da Costa

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Objective: Epidemiological data shows an inverse association of coffee consumption with risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus. However, the clinical effects of coffee consumption on the glucose metabolism biomarkers remain controversial. Thus, this paper reviews clinical trials that evaluated the effects of coffee consumption on glucose metabolism. Research Design and Methods: We identified studies published until December 2014 by searching electronic databases and reference lists. We included randomized clinical trials which the intervention group received caffeinated and/or decaffeinated coffee and the control group received water or placebo treatments and measured biomarkers of glucose metabolism. The Jadad Score was applied to evaluate the quality of the studies whereas studies that scored ≥ 3 points were considered for the analyses. Results: Seven clinical trials (total of 237 subjects) were analyzed involving adult healthy, overweight and diabetic subjects. The studies were divided in short-term (1 to 3h) and long-term (2 to 16 weeks) duration. The results for short-term studies showed that caffeinated coffee consumption may increase the area under the curve for glucose response, while for long-term studies caffeinated coffee may improve the glycemic metabolism by reducing the glucose curve and increasing insulin response. These results seem to show that the benefits of coffee consumption occur in the long-term as has been shown in the reduction of type 2 diabetes mellitus risk in epidemiological studies. Nevertheless, until the relationship between long-term coffee consumption and type 2 diabetes mellitus is better understood and any mechanism involved identified, it is premature to make claims about coffee preventing type 2 diabetes mellitus. Conclusion: The findings suggest that caffeinated coffee may impairs glucose metabolism in short-term but in the long-term the studies indicate reduction of type 2 diabetes mellitus risk. More clinical trials with comparable methodology are needed to unravel this paradox.

Keywords: coffee, diabetes mellitus type 2, glucose, insulin

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Authors: Ying Li, Rui Hu, Shizhen Chen, Xin Zhou, Yunhuang Yang

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Prostate cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer-related death among men. Prostate-specific antigen (PSA), a specific product of prostatic epithelial cells, is an important indicator of prostate cancer. Though PSA is not a specific serum biomarker for the screening of prostate cancer, it is recognized as an indicator for prostate cancer recurrence and response to therapy for patient’s post-prostatectomy. Since radical prostatectomy eliminates the source of PSA production, serum PSA levels fall below 50 pg/mL, and may be below the detection limit of clinical immunoassays (current clinical immunoassay lower limit of detection is around 10 pg/mL). Many clinical studies have shown that intervention at low PSA levels was able to improve patient outcomes significantly. Therefore, ultra-sensitive and precise assays that can accurately quantify extremely low levels of PSA (below 1-10 pg/mL) will facilitate the assessment of patients for the possibility of early adjuvant or salvage treatment. Currently, the commercially available ultra-sensitive ELISA kit (not used clinically) can only reach a detection limit of 3-10 pg/mL. Other platforms developed by different research groups could achieve a detection limit as low as 0.33 pg/mL, but they relied on sophisticated instruments to get the final readout. Herein we report a microfluidic platform for point-of-care (POC) detection of PSA with a detection limit of 0.5 pg/mL and without the assistance of any equipment. This platform is based on a previously reported volumetric-bar-chart chip (V-Chip), which applies platinum nanoparticles (PtNPs) as the ELISA probe to convert the biomarker concentration to the volume of oxygen gas that further pushes the red ink to form a visualized bar-chart. The length of each bar is used to quantify the biomarker concentration of each sample. We devised a long reading channel V-Chip (LV-Chip) in this work to achieve a wide detection window. In addition, LV-Chip employed a unique enzyme-free ELISA probe that enriched PtNPs significantly and owned 500-fold enhanced catalytic ability over that of previous V-Chip, resulting in a significantly improved detection limit. LV-Chip is able to complete a PSA assay for five samples in 20 min. The device was applied to detect PSA in 50 patient serum samples, and the on-chip results demonstrated good correlation with conventional immunoassay. In addition, the PSA levels in finger-prick whole blood samples from healthy volunteers were successfully measured on the device. This completely stand-alone LV-Chip platform enables convenient POC testing for patient follow-up in the physician’s office and is also useful in resource-constrained settings.

Keywords: point-of-care detection, microfluidics, PSA, ultra-sensitive

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Authors: Jienny Lee, In-Soo Cho, Sang-Ho Cha

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Adult mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been investigated using preclinical approaches for tissue regeneration. Porcine MSCs (pMSCs) are capable of growing and attaching to plastic with a fibroblast-like morphology and then differentiating into bone, adipose, and cartilage tissues in vitro. This study was conducted to investigate the proliferating abilities, differentiation potentials, and multipotency of miniature pig adipose tissue-derived MSCs (mpAD-MSCs) with or without long-term cryopreservation, considering that cryostorage has the potential for use in clinical applications. After confirming the characteristics of the mpAD-MSCs, we examined the effect of long-term cryopreservation (> 2 years) on expression of cell surface markers (CD34, CD90 and CD105), proliferating abilities (cumulative population doubling level, doubling time, colony-forming unit, and MTT assay) and differentiation potentials into mesodermal cell lineages. As a result, the expression of cell surface markers is similar between thawed and fresh mpAD-MSCs. However, long-term cryopreservation significantly lowered the differentiation potentials (adipogenic, chondrogenic, and osteogenic) of mpAD-MSCs. When compared with fresh mpAD-MSCs, thawed mpAD-MSCs exhibited lower expression of mesodermal cell lineage-related genes such as peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-g2, lipoprotein lipase, collagen Type II alpha 1, osteonectin, and osteocalcin. Interestingly, long-term cryostoraged mpAD-MSCs exhibited significantly higher cell viability than the fresh mpAD-MSCs. Long-term cryopreservation induced a 30% increase in the cell viability of mpAD-MSCs when compared with the fresh mpAD-MSCs at 5 days after thawing. However, long-term cryopreservation significantly lowered expression of stemness markers such as Oct3/4, Sox2, and Nanog. Furthermore, long-term cryopreservation negatively affected expression of senescence-associated genes such as telomerase reverse transcriptase and heat shock protein 90 of mpAD-MSCs when compared with the fresh mpAD-MSCs. The results from this study might be important for the successful application of MSCs in clinical trials after long-term cryopreservation.

Keywords: mesenchymal stem cells, cryopreservation, stemness, senescence

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Authors: Christine Pichler

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The German word Bildung in a comprehensive understanding can be defined as the development of the personality and as a process, which lasts from birth, or even before birth, until death. Gaining experience, acquiring abilities and knowledge as a lifelong learning process is what Bildung means. The development of the personality is intransitive because of the personality’s development itself, and transitive because of influences on the formation of a person by individuals and institutions. In public and political discussions, the term Bildung is understood with a constricted usage as education at schools. This leads to the research question, which consequences this limited comprehension of the term Bildung implies and how a comprehensive term of Bildung has to be defined. In discussions, Bildung is limited to its formal part. The limited understanding prevents from accurate analyses and discussions as well as adequate actions. This hypothesis and the research issue will be processed by theoretical analyses of the factors of Bildung, guideline-controlled expert interviews and a qualitative content analysis. The limited understanding on the term Bildung is a methodological problem. This results in inaccuracies in the analysis of the processes of Bildung and their effects on the development of personality structures. On the one hand, an individual is influenced by formal structures in the system of Bildung (e.g. schools) and on the other hand an individual is influenced by gained individual and informal personality and character attributes. In general, too little attention is given to these attributes and individual qualifications. The aim of this work is to demonstrate informative terms so the educational process with all its facets could be considered and applicable analyses can be made. If the informative terms can be defined, it´s also possible to identify and discuss the components of a comprehensive term Bildung to enable correct action.

Keywords: Bildung, development of personality, education, formative process, organized and non-organized Bildung

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Authors: Seyyd Hossein Jafari-Petroudi, Maryam Pirouz

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This note is devoted to (k; h)-Jacobsthal sequence as a general term of particular series. More formulas for nth term and sum of the first n terms of series that their general terms are (k; h)-Jacobsthal sequence and (k; h)-Jacobsthal-Petroudi sequence are derived. Finally other properties of these sequences are represented.

Keywords: (k, h)-Jacobsthal sequence, (k, h)-Jacobsthal Petroudisequence, recursive relation, sum

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Authors: Irina P. Starodubtseva, Aleksandr N. Pavlenko

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Quenching is a term generally accepted for the process of rapid cooling of a solid that is overheated above the thermodynamic limit of the liquid superheat. The main objective of many previous studies on quenching is to find a way to reduce the total time of the transient process. Computational experiments were performed to simulate quenching by a falling liquid nitrogen film of an extremely overheated vertical copper plate with a structured capillary-porous coating. The coating was produced by directed plasma spraying. Due to the complexities in physical pattern of quenching from chaotic processes to phase transition, the mechanism of heat transfer during quenching is still not sufficiently understood. To our best knowledge, no information exists on when and how the first stable liquid-solid contact occurs and how the local contact area begins to expand. Here we have more models and hypotheses than authentically established facts. The peculiarities of the quench front dynamics and heat transfer in the transient process are studied. The created numerical model determines the quench front velocity and the temperature fields in the heater, varying in space and time. The dynamic pattern of the running quench front obtained numerically satisfactorily correlates with the pattern observed in experiments. Capillary-porous coatings with straight and reverse orientation of crests are investigated. The results show that the cooling rate is influenced by thermal properties of the coating as well as the structure and geometry of the protrusions. The presence of capillary-porous coating significantly affects the dynamics of quenching and reduces the total quenching time more than threefold. This effect is due to the fact that the initialization of a quench front on a plate with a capillary-porous coating occurs at a temperature significantly higher than the thermodynamic limit of the liquid superheat, when a stable solid-liquid contact is thermodynamically impossible. Waves present on the liquid-vapor interface and protrusions on the complex micro-structured surface cause destabilization of the vapor film and the appearance of local liquid-solid micro-contacts even though the average integral surface temperature is much higher than the liquid superheat limit. The reliability of the results is confirmed by direct comparison with experimental data on the quench front velocity, the quench front geometry, and the surface temperature change over time. Knowledge of the quench front velocity and total time of transition process is required for solving practically important problems of nuclear reactors safety.

Keywords: capillary-porous coating, heat transfer, Leidenfrost phenomenon, numerical simulation, quenching

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Authors: H. A. Erdogan

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Historical masonry arch bridges built centuries ago have fulfilled their function until recent decades. However, from the beginning of 20th century, these bridges have remained inadequate as a result of increasing speed, size and capacity of the means of transport. Although new bridges have been built in many places, masonry bridges located within the city limits still need to be used. When the size and transportation loads of modern vehicles are taken into account, it is apparent that historical masonry arch bridges would be exposed to greater loads than their initial design loads. Because of that, many precautions taken either remain insufficient or damage these bridges. In this study, the history of Debbaglar Bridge, one of the historic bridges located in the city center of Aksaray/Turkey is presented and its existing condition is evaluated. Structural analysis of the bridge under present conditions and loads is explained. Moreover, the retrofit and restoration application prepared considering the analysis data is described.

Keywords: adaptive re-use, Aksaray debbaglar bridge, masonry bridge, reconstruction

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Authors: Chih-Hsiang Chang, I-Fan Ho

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This study examines the credibility of the signaling as explanation for IPO initial underpricing. Findings reveal the initial underpricing and the long-term underperformance of IPOs in Taiwan. However, we only find weak support for signaling as explanation of IPO underpricing.

Keywords: signaling, IPO initial underpricing, IPO long-term underperformance, Taiwan’s stock market

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Authors: S. Neelima, P. S. Subramanyam

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The major tool for distribution planning is load forecasting, which is the anticipation of the load in advance. Artificial neural networks have found wide applications in load forecasting to obtain an efficient strategy for planning and management. In this paper, the application of neural networks to study the design of short term load forecasting (STLF) Systems was explored. Our work presents a pragmatic methodology for short term load forecasting (STLF) using proposed two-stage model of wavelet transform (WT) and artificial neural network (ANN). It is a two-stage prediction system which involves wavelet decomposition of input data at the first stage and the decomposed data with another input is trained using a separate neural network to forecast the load. The forecasted load is obtained by reconstruction of the decomposed data. The hybrid model has been trained and validated using load data from Telangana State Electricity Board.

Keywords: electrical distribution systems, wavelet transform (WT), short term load forecasting (STLF), artificial neural network (ANN)

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Authors: Muzeyyen Balcikanli, Selma Ozaslan, Osman Sahin, Burak Uzal, Erdogan Ozbay

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In this study, the effect of nano-CaCO3 replacement with cement on the nano-mechanical properties of cement paste was investigated. Hydrophobic and hydrophilic characteristics Two types of nano CaCO3 were replaced with Portland cement at 0, 0.5 and 1%. Water to (cement+nano-CaCO3) ratio was kept constant at 0.5 for all mixtures. 36 indentations were applied on each cement paste, and the values of nano-hardness and elastic modulus of cement pastes were determined from the indentation depth-load graphs. Then, by getting the average of them, nano-hardness and elastic modulus were identified for each mixture. Test results illustrate that replacement of hydrophilic n-CaCO3 with cement lead to a significant increase in nano-mechanical properties, however, replacement of hydrophobic n-CaCO3 with cement worsened the nano-mechanical properties considerably.

Keywords: nanoindenter, CaCO3, nano-hardness, nano-mechanical properties

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Authors: Hamed Tohidi, James W. Mahar

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One of the unknowns in the design of zoned earth dams is the percentage of sand which can be present in a clay core and still retain the necessary plasticity to prevent cracking in response to deformation. Cracks in the clay core of a dam caused by differential settlement can lead to failure of the dam. In this study, a series of Atterberg Limit tests and unconfined compression strength tests have been conducted in the ISU soil mechanics laboratory on prepared mixes of quartz sand and commercial clays (Kaolin and Smectite) to determine the relationship between sand content, plasticity and squeezing behavior. The prepared mixes have variable percentages of sand ranging between 10 and 90% by weight. Plastic limit test results in which specimens can be rolled into 1/8 in. threads without crumbling and plasticity index values which represent the range of water content over which the specimens can be remolded without cracking were used to evaluate the plasticity of the sand-clay mixtures. The test results show that the design mixes exhibit plastic behavior with sand contents up to 80% by weight. However, the plasticity of the mixes decreases with increasing sand content. For unconfined compression strength tests, the same mixtures of sand and clay (Kaolin) were made in plastic limit. The results which were concluded from the UCC tests represent the relationship between sand-clay content and chance of having squeezing behavior, also according to the results from UCC, strength of different samples and stress-strain curves can be obtained.

Keywords: clay's behaviour, plasticity, sand content, Kaolin clay

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Authors: Ana Paula Almeida Castaldelli Maciel, Gabriela Medeiros, Amanda de Souza Machado, Maria Clara Pilatti, Ralpho Rinaldo dos Reis, Silvio Cesar Sampaio

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Sustainable agricultural systems are crucial to ensuring global food security and the long-term production of nutritious food. Comprehensive soil and water management practices, including nutrient management, balanced fertilizer use, and appropriate waste management, are essential for sustainable agriculture. Swine wastewater (SWW) treatment has become a significant focus due to environmental concerns related to heavy metals, antibiotics, resistant pathogens, and nutrients. In South America, small farms use soil to dispose of animal waste, a practice that is expected to increase with global pork production. The potential of SWW as a nutrient source is promising, contributing to global food security, nutrient cycling, and mineral fertilizer reduction. Short- and long-term studies evaluated the effects of SWW on soil and plant parameters, such as nutrients, heavy metals, organic matter (OM), cation exchange capacity (CEC), and pH. Although promising results have been observed in short- and medium-term applications, long-term applications require more attention due to heavy metal concentrations. Organic soil amendment strategies, due to their economic and ecological benefits, are commonly used to reduce the bioavailability of heavy metals. However, the rate of degradation and initial levels of OM must be monitored to avoid changes in soil pH and release of metals. The study aimed to evaluate the long-term effects of SWW application on soil fertility parameters, focusing on calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), and potassium (K), in addition to CEC and OM. Experiments were conducted at the Universidade Estadual do Oeste do Paraná, Brazil, using 24 drainage lysimeters for nine years, with different application rates of SWW and mineral fertilization. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was then conducted to summarize the composite variables, known as principal components (PC), and limit the dimensionality to be evaluated. The retained PCs were then correlated with the original variables to identify the level of association between each variable and each PC. Data were interpreted using Analysis of Variance - ANOVA for general linear models (GLM). As OM was not measured in the 2007 soybean experiment, it was assessed separately from PCA to avoid loss of information. PCA and ANOVA indicated that crop type, SWW, and mineral fertilization significantly influenced soil nutrient levels. Soybeans presented higher concentrations of Ca, Mg, and CEC. The application of SWW influenced K levels, with higher concentrations observed in SWW from biodigesters and higher doses of swine manure. Variability in nutrient concentrations in SWW due to factors such as animal age and feed composition makes standard recommendations challenging. OM levels increased in SWW-treated soils, improving soil fertility and structure. In conclusion, the application of SWW can increase soil fertility and crop productivity, reducing environmental risks. However, careful management and long-term monitoring are essential to optimize benefits and minimize adverse effects.

Keywords: contamination, water research, biodigester, nutrients

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Authors: Wanhyun Cho, Seongchae Seo, Soonja Kang

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In this work, we propose a variational technique for image contrast enhancement which utilizes global and local information around each pixel. The energy functional is defined by a weighted linear combination of three terms which are called on a local, a global contrast term and dispersion term. The first one is a local contrast term that can lead to improve the contrast of an input image by increasing the grey-level differences between each pixel and its neighboring to utilize contextual information around each pixel. The second one is global contrast term, which can lead to enhance a contrast of image by minimizing the difference between its empirical distribution function and a cumulative distribution function to make the probability distribution of pixel values becoming a symmetric distribution about median. The third one is a dispersion term that controls the departure between new pixel value and pixel value of original image while preserving original image characteristics as well as possible. Second, we derive the Euler-Lagrange equation for true image that can achieve the minimum of a proposed functional by using the fundamental lemma for the calculus of variations. And, we considered the procedure that this equation can be solved by using a gradient decent method, which is one of the dynamic approximation techniques. Finally, by conducting various experiments, we can demonstrate that the proposed method can enhance the contrast of colour images better than existing techniques.

Keywords: color image, contrast enhancement technique, variational approach, Euler-Lagrang equation, dynamic approximation method, EME measure

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Authors: Hrachuhi Galstyan, Lucian Sfîcă, Pavel Ichim

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The purpose of this study is to analyze the temporal and spatial variability of thermal conditions in the Republic of Armenia. The paper describes annual fluctuations in air temperature. Research has been focused on case study region of Armenia and surrounding areas, where long–term measurements and observations of weather conditions have been performed within the National Meteorological Service of Armenia and its surrounding areas. The study contains yearly air temperature data recorded between 1961-2012. Mann-Kendal test and the autocorrelation function were applied to detect the change trend of annual mean temperature, as well as other parametric and non-parametric tests searching to find the presence of some breaks in the long term evolution of temperature. The analysis of all records reveals a tendency mostly towards warmer years, with increased temperatures especially in valleys and inner basins. The maximum temperature increase is up to 1,5 °C. Negative results have not been observed in Armenia. The patterns of temperature change have been observed since the 1990’s over much of the Armenian territory. The climate in Armenia was influenced by global change in the last 2 decades, as results from the methods employed within the study.

Keywords: air temperature, long-term variability, trend, climate change

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Authors: Monika Florczak-Wątor

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The main purpose of this paper is to determine the applicability of the constitutional social rights in the so-called horizontal relations, i.e. the relations between private entities. Nowadays the constitutional rights are more and more often violated by private entities and not only by the state. The private entities interfere with the privacy of individuals, limit their freedom of expression or disturb their peaceful gatherings. International corporations subordinate individuals in a way which may limit their constitutional rights. These new realities determine the new role of the constitution in protecting human rights. The paper will aim at answering two important questions. Firstly, are the private entities obliged to respect the constitutional social rights of other private entities and can they be liable for violation of these rights? Secondly, how the constitutional social rights can receive horizontal effect? Answers to these questions will have a significant meaning for the popularization of the practice of applying the Constitution among the citizens as well as for the courts which settle disputes between them.

Keywords: social rights, private relations, horizontality, constitutional rights

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Authors: Prabal Singh Verma

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Electrostatic Waves in plasma have emerged as a new source for the acceleration of charged particles. The accelerated particles have a wide range of applications, for example in cancer therapy to cutting and melting of hard materials. The maximum acceleration can only be achieved when the amplitude of the plasma wave stays below a critical limit known as wave-breaking amplitude. Beyond this limit amplitude of the wave diminishes dramatically as the coherent energy of the wave starts to convert into random kinetic energy. In this work, spatiotemporal evolution of non-relativistic electrostatic waves in a cold plasma has been studied in the wave-breaking regime using a 1D particle-in-cell simulation (PIC). It is found that plasma gets heated after the wave-breaking but a fraction of initial energy always remains with the remnant wave in the form of Bernstein-Greene-Kruskal (BGK) mode in warm plasma. Another interesting finding of this work is that the frequency of the resultant BGK wave is found be below electron plasma frequency which decreases with increasing initial amplitude and the acceleration mechanism after the wave-breaking is also found to be different from the previous work. In order to explain the results observed in the numerical experiments, a simplified theoretical model is constructed which exhibits a good agreement with the simulation. In conclusion, it is shown in this work that electrostatic waves get shower after the wave-breaking and a fraction of initial coherent energy always remains with remnant wave. These investigations have direct relevance in wakefield acceleration experiments.

Keywords: nonlinear plasma waves, longitudinal, wave-breaking, wake-field acceleration

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Authors: Aleema Rahman

Abstract:

Introduction: This study aims to estimate the prevalence of long-term otitis media with effusion (OME) and hearing loss in a prospective longitudinal cohort studyand to study the relationship between the condition and educational and psychosocial outcomes. Methods: Analysis of data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) will be undertaken. ALSPAC is a longitudinal birth cohort study carried out in the UK, which has collected detailed measures of hearing on ~7000 children from the age of seven. A descriptive analysis of the data will be undertaken to estimate the prevalence of OME and hearing loss (defined as having average hearing levels > 20dB and type B tympanogram) at 7, 9, 11, and 15 years as well as that of long-term OME and hearing loss. Logistic and linear regression analyses will be conducted to examine associations between long-term OME and hearing loss and educational outcomes (grades obtained from standardised national attainment tests) and psychosocial outcomes such as anxiety, social fears, and depression at ages 10-11 and 15-16 years. Results: Results will be presented in terms of the prevalence of OME and hearing loss in the population at each age. The prevalence of long-term OME and hearing loss, defined as having OME and hearing loss at two or more time points, will also be reported. Furthermore, any associations between long-term OME and hearing loss and the educational and psychosocial outcomes will be presented. Analyses will take into account demographic factors such as sex and social deprivation and relevant confounders, including socioeconomic status, ethnicity, and IQ. Discussion: Findings from this study will provide new epidemiological information on the prevalence of long-term OME and hearing loss. The research will provide new knowledge on the impact of OME for the small group of children who do not grow out of condition by age 7 but continue to have hearing loss and need clinical care through later childhood. The study could have clinical implications and may influence service delivery for this group of children.

Keywords: educational attainment, hearing loss, otitis media with effusion, psychosocial development

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Authors: Shilpa Varghese, Adarsh Eregowda

Abstract:

Introduction: The normal development and maturation of the central nervous system is significantly influenced by thyroid hormones. Small for gestational age (SGA) babies have a distinct hormonal profile than kids born at an acceptable birth weight for gestational age, according to several studies (AGA). In SGA babies, thyroid size is larger when expressed as a percentage of body weight, indicating that low thyroid hormone levels throughout foetal life may be partially compensated for. Numerous investigations have found that compared to full-term and preterm AGA neonates, SGA babies exhibit considerably decreased thyroid plasma levels. According to our hypothesis, term and preterm SGA newborns have greater thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) concentrations than those that are normal for gestational age (AGA) and a higher incidence of thyroid dysfunction. Need for the study: Clinically diagnosed Assessment of term SGA babies confirming thyroid dysfunction unclear Requirement and importance of ft4 along with tsh and comparative values of ft4 in SGA babies as compared to AGA babies unclear. Inclusion criteria : SGA infants including preterm (<37 weeks of gestation) term (37-40 weeks) – comparing with preterm and term AGA infants. 3.76 7.66 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 AGA Babies SGA Babies Mean Mean TSH Comparison 2.73 1.52 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 AGA Babies SGA Babies Mean Mean FT4 Comparison Discussion : According to this study, neonates with SGA had considerably higher TSH levels than newborns with AGA. Our findings have been supported by results from earlier research. The TSH level range was established to 7.5 mU/L in the study by Bosch-Giménez et al, found greater TSH concentrations in SGA newborns. Thyroid hormone levels from newborns that are tiny for gestational age were found to be higher than AGA in our investigation. According to Franco et al., blood T4 concentrations are lower in both preterm and term SGA infants, while TSH concentrations are only noticeably greater in term SGA infants compared to AGA ones. According to our study analysis, the SGA group had considerably greater FT4 concentrations. Therefore, our findings are consistent with those of the two studies that SGA babies have a higher incidence of transient hypothyroidism and need close follow-up. Conclusions: A greater frequency of thyroid dysfunction and considerably higher TSH values within the normal range were seen in preterm and term SGA babies. The SGA babies who exhibit these characteristics should have ongoing endocrinologic testing and periodic TFTs.

Keywords: thyroid hormone, thyroid function tests, small for gestationl age, appropriate for gestational age

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Authors: Zhihui Liu, Dongmei Hao, Qian Qiu, Yang An, Lin Yang, Song Zhang, Yimin Yang, Xuwen Li, Dingchang Zheng

Abstract:

Premature birth, defined as birth before 37 completed weeks of gestation is a leading cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality and has long-term adverse consequences for health. It has recently been reported that the worldwide preterm birth rate is around 10%. The existing measurement techniques for diagnosing preterm delivery include tocodynamometer, ultrasound and fetal fibronectin. However, they are subjective, or suffer from high measurement variability and inaccurate diagnosis and prediction of preterm labor. Electrohysterography (EHG) method based on recording of uterine electrical activity by electrodes attached to maternal abdomen, is a promising method to assess uterine activity and diagnose preterm labor. The purpose of this study is to analyze the difference of EHG signal features between term labor and preterm labor. Free access database was used with 300 signals acquired in two groups of pregnant women who delivered at term (262 cases) and preterm (38 cases). Among them, EHG signals from 38 term labor and 38 preterm labor were preprocessed with band-pass Butterworth filters of 0.08–4Hz. Then, EHG signal features were extracted, which comprised classical time domain description including root mean square and zero-crossing number, spectral parameters including peak frequency, mean frequency and median frequency, wavelet packet coefficients, autoregression (AR) model coefficients, and nonlinear measures including maximal Lyapunov exponent, sample entropy and correlation dimension. Their statistical significance for recognition of two groups of recordings was provided. The results showed that mean frequency of preterm labor was significantly smaller than term labor (p < 0.05). 5 coefficients of AR model showed significant difference between term labor and preterm labor. The maximal Lyapunov exponent of early preterm (time of recording < the 26th week of gestation) was significantly smaller than early term. The sample entropy of late preterm (time of recording > the 26th week of gestation) was significantly smaller than late term. There was no significant difference for other features between the term labor and preterm labor groups. Any future work regarding classification should therefore focus on using multiple techniques, with the mean frequency, AR coefficients, maximal Lyapunov exponent and the sample entropy being among the prime candidates. Even if these methods are not yet useful for clinical practice, they do bring the most promising indicators for the preterm labor.

Keywords: electrohysterogram, feature, preterm labor, term labor

Procedia PDF Downloads 542