Search results for: strong independence

Authors: Wided Zerguine, Farid Habelhames

Abstract:

The performance of photovoltaic devices with a light absorber consisting of a single-type conjugated polymer is poor, due to a low photo-generation yield of charge carriers, strong radiative recombination’s and low mobility of charge carriers. Recently, it has been shown that ultra-fast photoinduced charge transfer can also occur between a conjugated polymer and a metal oxide semiconductor such as SnO2, TiO2, ZnO, Nb2O5, etc. This has led to the fabrication of photovoltaic devices based on composites of oxide semiconductor nanoparticles embedded in a conjugated polymer matrix. In this work, Poly [2-methoxy-5-(20-ethylhexyloxy)-p-phenylenevinylene] (MEH-PPV), (6,6)-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) and titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles (n-type) were dissolved, mixed and deposited by physical methods (spin-coating) on indium tin-oxide (ITO) substrate. The incorporation of the titanium dioxide nanoparticles changed the morphology and increased the roughness of polymers film (MEH-PPV/PCBM), and the photocurrent density of the composite (MEH-PPV/PCBM +n-TiO2) was higher than that of single MEHPPV/ PCBM film. The study showed that the presence of n-TiO2 particles in the polymeric film improves the photoelectrochemical properties of MEH-PPV/PCBM composite.

Keywords: photocurrent density, organic nanostructures, hybrid coating, conducting polymer, titanium dioxide

Procedia PDF Downloads 326

Authors: Teresa Mili

Abstract:

The significance of political and economic factors have barely been neglected while assessing bilateral relations, but the significance of culture as a soft power in Japan-Vietnam relations has largely been understated. While the close ties had their birth ever since the 14th century, this paper sets out with an inductive lens to analyze the role of culture as a variable in bilateral relations. Vietnam, which then had a history of war devastation had taken refuge in Japan and later sought inspiration from Japan’s economy with the simultaneous influence of culture since Japan was a developed nation, and Vietnam a third world country. Evidencing facts with illustrations, the paper shows how the twenty-first century has brought a growing bond as well as the onset of stronger ties between the two states based, primarily, on an emerging convergence of interests and culture. The cultural influence of Japan may be seen much in the Vietnamese cities, through evidences like the growing numbers of Japanese items on sale. The variety in cultural influence may be seen through the acceptance of Japanese fashion trends, mange comic, pop music, cuisine, tourism, Japanese studies and language, the translations of Japanese literature which are very much popular at Vietnam. Using secondary sources as well as assessing travel accounts and official websites, this research work will try to find out how much Japanese culture has influenced Vietnam and whether such influences will be strong enough to qualify culture as an intervening variable in the bilateral relations.

Keywords: influence, culture, language, cold war

Procedia PDF Downloads 161

Authors: Rabia Faridi, Rizwana Maqbool, Umara Sahar Rana, Zaheer Ahmad

Abstract:

Climate change impacts agriculture, notably in Germany, where spring faba beans predominate. However, improved winter hardiness aligns with milder winters, enabling autumn-sown varieties. Genetic resistance to Ascochyta blight is vital for crop integration. Traditional breeding faces challenges due to complex inheritance. This study assessed 224 homozygous faba bean lines for Ascochyta resistance traits. To achieve h²>70%, 12 replicates were required (realized h²=87%). Genetic variation and strong trait correlations were observed. Five lines outperformed 29H, while three were highly susceptible. A genome-wide association study (GWAS) with 188 inbred lines and 2058 markers, including 17 guide SNP markers, identified 12 markers associated with resistance traits, potentially indicating new resistance genes. One guide marker (Vf-Mt1g014230-001) on chromosome III validated a known QTL. The guided marker approach complemented GWAS, facilitating marker-assisted selection for Ascochyta resistance. The Göttingen Winter Bean Population offers promise for resistance breeding.

Keywords: genome wide association studies, marker assisted breeding, faba bean, ascochyta blight

Procedia PDF Downloads 57

Authors: Ali Kadir, O. Anwar Beg

Abstract:

Thermal barrier coatings are among the most popular methods for providing corrosion protection in high temperature applications including aircraft engine systems, external spacecraft structures, rocket chambers etc. Many different materials are available for such coatings, of which ceramics generally perform the best. Motivated by these applications, the current investigation presents detailed finite element simulations of coating stress analysis for a 3- dimensional, 3-layered model of a test sample representing a typical gas turbine component scenario. Structural steel is selected for the main inner layer, Titanium (Ti) alloy for the middle layer and Silicon Carbide (SiC) for the outermost layer. The model dimensions are 20 mm (width), 10 mm (height) and three 1mm deep layers. ANSYS software is employed to conduct three types of analysis- static structural, thermal stress analysis and also computational fluid dynamic erosion/corrosion analysis (via ANSYS FLUENT). The specified geometry which corresponds to corrosion test samples exactly is discretized using a body-sizing meshing approach, comprising mainly of tetrahedron cells. Refinements were concentrated at the connection points between the layers to shift the focus towards the static effects dissipated between them. A detailed grid independence study is conducted to confirm the accuracy of the selected mesh densities. To recreate gas turbine scenarios; in the stress analysis simulations, static loading and thermal environment conditions of up to 1000 N and 1000 degrees Kelvin are imposed. The default solver was used to set the controls for the simulation with the fixed support being set as one side of the model while subjecting the opposite side to a tabular force of 500 and 1000 Newtons. Equivalent elastic strain, total deformation, equivalent stress and strain energy were computed for all cases. Each analysis was duplicated twice to remove one of the layers each time, to allow testing of the static and thermal effects with each of the coatings. ANSYS FLUENT simulation was conducted to study the effect of corrosion on the model under similar thermal conditions. The momentum and energy equations were solved and the viscous heating option was applied to represent improved thermal physics of heat transfer between the layers of the structures. A Discrete Phase Model (DPM) in ANSYS FLUENT was employed which allows for the injection of continuous uniform air particles onto the model, thereby enabling an option for calculating the corrosion factor caused by hot air injection (particles prescribed 5 m/s velocity and 1273.15 K). Extensive visualization of results is provided. The simulations reveal interesting features associated with coating response to realistic gas turbine loading conditions including significantly different stress concentrations with different coatings.

Keywords: thermal coating, corrosion, ANSYS FEA, CFD

Procedia PDF Downloads 134

Authors: Mohammed Hussaini

Abstract:

This paper discusses insecurity as a challenge to the nutritional Status of children and mothers in Dansadau, Maru Local Government area of Zamfara state, Northwestern Nigeria. A Descriptive survey design was used in the study. Objectives of the study were formulated to guide the study. 20 Health workers and 100 mothers were used as population of the study; the instrument validation for data collection was interview. The interview structure was validated by 3 experts, the data collected was analyzed and presented using descriptive standard score (Z-score). The study revealed that, Nutritional Status of children and mothers in Northwest Nigeria specifically Zamfara state is low. This mostly affect children and mother as a result of serious insecurity challenge in the region, consisting of banditry and kidnapping, killing of farmers, destruction of farmland, burning of farm products. The study recommended that the focus is on implementing strong communication strategies to enhance short-term relief initiatives, both governmental and non-governmental organizations should actively play a role in initiating lasting change, especially when tackling issues of insecurity and effectively addressing the rise of armed banditry and other security concerns requires a sophisticated and nuanced strategy.

Keywords: insecurity, malnutrition, children, mothers

Procedia PDF Downloads 54

Authors: Zohreh Rostami, Arezoo Khosravi, Mohammad Nikpoor Aghdam, Mahmood Salesi

Abstract:

Background: Cardiovascular mortality in chronic kidney disease (CKD) and end stage renal disease (ESRD) patients have a strong relationship with baseline or progressive left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) meanwhile in hemodialysis patients 10% decrement in left ventricular mass was associated with 28% reduction in cardiovascular mortality risk. In consonance with these arguments, we designed a study to measure morphological and functional echocardiographic variations early after transplantation. Method: The patients with normal renal function underwent two advanced echocardiographic studies to examine the structural and functional changes in left ventricular mass before and 3-month after transplantation. Results: From a total of 23 participants 21(91.3%) presented with left ventricular hypertrophy, 60.9% in eccentric and 30.4% in concentric group. Diastolic dysfunction improved in concentric group after transplantation. Both in pre and post transplantation global longitudinal strain (GLS)- average in eccentric group was more than concentric (-17.45 ± 2.75 vs -14.3 ± 3.38 p=0.03) and (-18.08 ± 2.6 vs -16.1 ± 2.7 p= 0.04) respectively. Conclusion: Improvement and recovery of left ventricular function in concentric group was better and sooner than eccentric after kidney transplantation. Although fractional shortening and diastolic function and GLS-4C in pre-transplantation in concentric group was worse than eccentric, but therapeutic response to kidney transplantation in concentric was more and earlier than eccentric group.

Keywords: chronic kidney disease, end stage renal disease, left ventricular hypertrophy, global longitudinal strain

Procedia PDF Downloads 60

Authors: Rudy Djamaluddin, Yasser Bachtiar, Rita Irmawati, Abd. Madjid Akkas, Rusdi Usman Latief

Abstract:

The aesthetic qualities and the versatility of reinforced concrete have made it a popular choice for many architects and structural engineers. Therefore, the exploration of natural materials such as gravels and sands as well as lime-stone for cement production is increasing to produce a concrete material. The exploration must affect to the environment. Therefore, the using of the concrete materials should be as efficient as possible. According to its natural behavior of the concrete material, it is strong in compression and weak in tension. Therefore the contribution of the tensile stresses of the concrete to the flexural capacity of the beams is neglected. However, removing of concrete on tension zone affects to the decreasing of flexural capacity. Introduce the strut action of truss structures may an alternative to solve the decreasing of flexural capacity. A series of specimens were prepared to clarify the effect of the truss structures in the concrete beams without concrete on the tension zone. Results indicated that the truss system is necessary for the external reinforced concrete beams. The truss system of concrete beam without concrete on tension zone (BR) could develop almost same capacity to the normal beam (BN). It can be observed also that specimens BR has lower number of cracks than specimen BN. This may be caused by the fact that there was no bonding effect on the tensile reinforcement on specimen BR to distribute the cracks.

Keywords: external reinforcement, truss, concrete beams, flexural behavior

Procedia PDF Downloads 444

Authors: A. Jarrou, A. Iranzo, C. Nana

Abstract:

The rapid development of the onshore/offshore wind industry and the continuous, strong, and long-term support from governments have made it possible to create factories specializing in the manufacture of the different parts of wind turbines, but in the literature, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) analyzes consider the wind turbine as a whole and do not allow the allocation of impacts to the different components of the wind turbine. Here we propose to treat each part of the wind turbine as a system in its own right. This is more in line with the current production system. Environmental Life Cycle Assessment of two technological scenarios of wind turbine blades composition for an optimized wind turbine design using the impact 2002+ method and using 15 environmental impact indicators. This article aims to assess the environmental impacts associated with 1 kg of wind turbine blades. In order to carry out a realistic and precise study, the different stages of the life cycle of a wind turbine installation are included in the study (manufacture, installation, use, maintenance, dismantling, and waste treatment). The Impact 2002+ method used makes it possible to assess 15 impact indicators (human toxicity, terrestrial and aquatic ecotoxicity, climate change, land use, etc.). Finally, a sensitivity study is carried out to analyze the different types of uncertainties in the data collected.

Keywords: life cycle assessment, wind turbine, turbine blade, environmental impact

Procedia PDF Downloads 175

Authors: Ali Kassem, Esam Nada, Amro Abdelhamed, Shigeo Horie

Abstract:

Objective: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is associated with macrovascular complications, including coronary artery disease (CAD), and microvascular complications that contribute to the pathogenesis of erectile dysfunction (ED). On the other hand, silent myocardial ischemia (SMI) is more common in diabetic patients and is a strong predictor of cardiac events and mortality in diabetic and non-diabetic patients. Recently, Multidetector computed tomographic coronary angiography (MDCT-CA) has become a reliable non-invasive imaging modality for screening diabetic patients for SMI. We aim to evaluate the presence of SMI using (MDCT-CA) in patients with type 2DM having ED. Methods: This study evaluated 20 patients (mean age 61.45 ± 10.7 years), with DM and ED without any history of angina or angina equivalent. ED was tested with the Sexual Health Inventory for Men score, erection hardness score (EHS), and maximal penile circumferential change by an erect meter. Results: Of twenty studied patients, coronary artery stenosis was detected in 13 (65%) patients in the form of one-vessel disease (n = 6, 30%), two-vessel disease (n = 2, 10%), and three-vessel disease (n = 5, 25%). Maximum coronary artery stenosis was positively correlated with age (P < 0.016,) and negatively correlated with EHS (P <04). Multivariate regression analysis using age and EHS showed that age was the only independent predictor of SMI (P <04). Conclusion: MDCT-CA is a useful tool to identify SMI in patients with diabetes mellitus and ED. One should consider the possibility of SMI especially in elderly patients with DM who have ED.

Keywords: diabetes mellitus, erectile dysfunction, microvascular, silent ischemia

Procedia PDF Downloads 171

Authors: Pei-Jyun Hsieh, Cheng-Hsuan Li, Bor-Chen Kuo

Abstract:

For hyperspectral image classification, feature reduction is an important pre-processing for avoiding the Hughes phenomena due to the difficulty for collecting training samples. Hence, lots of researches developed feature selection methods such as F-score, HSIC (Hilbert-Schmidt Independence Criterion), and etc., to improve hyperspectral image classification. However, most of them only consider the class separability in the original space, i.e., a linear class separability. In this study, we proposed a nonlinear class separability measure based on kernel trick for selecting an appropriate feature subset. The proposed nonlinear class separability was formed by a generalized RBF kernel with different bandwidths with respect to different features. Moreover, it considered the within-class separability and the between-class separability. A genetic algorithm was applied to tune these bandwidths such that the smallest with-class separability and the largest between-class separability simultaneously. This indicates the corresponding feature space is more suitable for classification. In addition, the corresponding nonlinear classification boundary can separate classes very well. These optimal bandwidths also show the importance of bands for hyperspectral image classification. The reciprocals of these bandwidths can be viewed as weights of bands. The smaller bandwidth, the larger weight of the band, and the more importance for classification. Hence, the descending order of the reciprocals of the bands gives an order for selecting the appropriate feature subsets. In the experiments, three hyperspectral image data sets, the Indian Pine Site data set, the PAVIA data set, and the Salinas A data set, were used to demonstrate the selected feature subsets by the proposed nonlinear feature selection method are more appropriate for hyperspectral image classification. Only ten percent of samples were randomly selected to form the training dataset. All non-background samples were used to form the testing dataset. The support vector machine was applied to classify these testing samples based on selected feature subsets. According to the experiments on the Indian Pine Site data set with 220 bands, the highest accuracies by applying the proposed method, F-score, and HSIC are 0.8795, 0.8795, and 0.87404, respectively. However, the proposed method selects 158 features. F-score and HSIC select 168 features and 217 features, respectively. Moreover, the classification accuracies increase dramatically only using first few features. The classification accuracies with respect to feature subsets of 10 features, 20 features, 50 features, and 110 features are 0.69587, 0.7348, 0.79217, and 0.84164, respectively. Furthermore, only using half selected features (110 features) of the proposed method, the corresponding classification accuracy (0.84168) is approximate to the highest classification accuracy, 0.8795. For other two hyperspectral image data sets, the PAVIA data set and Salinas A data set, we can obtain the similar results. These results illustrate our proposed method can efficiently find feature subsets to improve hyperspectral image classification. One can apply the proposed method to determine the suitable feature subset first according to specific purposes. Then researchers can only use the corresponding sensors to obtain the hyperspectral image and classify the samples. This can not only improve the classification performance but also reduce the cost for obtaining hyperspectral images.

Keywords: hyperspectral image classification, nonlinear feature selection, kernel trick, support vector machine

Procedia PDF Downloads 262

Authors: Sangmo Jon, Ganghyok Kim, Kwanghyok Jong, Ilnam Jo, Hyangsun Kim, Kukhyon Pae, GyeChol Sin

Abstract:

The back contact dye solar cells (BCDSCs), in which the transparent conductive oxide (TCO) is omitted, have the potential to use intact low-cost general substrates such as glass, metal foil, and papers. Herein, we introduce a facile manufacturing method of a Ti back contact electrode for the BCDSCs. We found that the polylinkers such as poly(butyl titanate) have a strong binding property to make Ti particles connect with one another. A porous Ti film, which consists of Ti particles of ≤10㎛ size connected by a small amount of polylinkers, has an excellent low sheet resistance of 10 ohm sq⁻¹ for an efficient electron collection for DSCs. This Ti back contact electrode can be prepared by using a facile printing method under normal ambient conditions. Conjugating the new back contact electrode technology with the traditional monolithic structure using the carbon counter electrode, we fabricated all TCO-less DSCs. These four-layer structured DSCs consist of a dye-adsorbed nanocrystalline TiO₂ film on a glass substrate, a porous Ti back contact layer, a ZrO₂ spacer layer, and a carbon counter electrode in a layered structure. Under AM 1.5G and 100mWcm⁻² simulated sunlight illumination, the four-layer structured DSCs with N719 dyes and I⁻/I₃⁻ redox electrolytes achieved PCEs up to 5.21%.

Keywords: dye solar cells, TCO-less, back contact, printing, porous Ti film

Procedia PDF Downloads 65

Authors: Mariam Farah

Abstract:

With the beginning of the 21 century, female Arab directors entered the industry of cinema in Israel. Before their entrance, the Palestinian cinema, directed in Israel and in other places in the world, was defined as political-masculine cinema. The recent research wonders if the entrance of female directors to the Arab-Israeli cinema brings a new, feminist and un- common discourse, just like female directors movies in other cultures. The research also examines which gendered, social and political identities or statements do the Arab female directors reveal in their works, and what do they say about their real life? In order to get answers to the previous questions, the paper conducts a narrative comparative research between movies that was directed by female and male Arab-Israeli directors. The narrative research examines specific categories in each movie such as: main topic, women role, women appearance and women characteristics. The findings show that a new discourse replaces the political-masculine traditional discourse in the Palestinian cinema. Female Arab directors in Israel leave aside the main theme in Palestinian movies: the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and replace it with new themes related to women lives and reality. Women in female directors movies are presented within non-traditional, empowering, and feminist identities: independent, strong, and active women.

Keywords: feminism, gender, women presentation, women roles

Procedia PDF Downloads 499

Authors: Raymond Feng, Shadi Ghiasi

Abstract:

An electroencephalogram (EEG) is a non-invasive technique that records electrical activity in the brain using scalp electrodes. Researchers have studied the use of EEG to detect emotions and moods by collecting signals from participants and analyzing how those signals correlate with their activities. In this study, researchers investigated the relationship between EEG signals and music enjoyment. Participants listened to music while data was collected. During the signal-processing phase, power spectral densities (PSDs) were computed from the signals, and dominant brainwave frequencies were extracted from the PSDs to form a comprehensive feature matrix. A machine learning approach was then taken to find correlations between the processed data and the music enjoyment level indicated by the participants. To improve on previous research, multiple machine learning models were employed, including K-Nearest Neighbors Classifier, Support Vector Classifier, and Decision Tree Classifier. Hyperparameters were used to fine-tune each model to further increase its performance. The experiments showed that a strong correlation exists, with the Decision Tree Classifier with hyperparameters yielding 85% accuracy. This study proves that EEG is a reliable means to detect music enjoyment and has future applications, including personalized music recommendation, mood adjustment, and mental health therapy.

Keywords: EEG, electroencephalogram, machine learning, mood, music enjoyment, physiological signals

Procedia PDF Downloads 60

Authors: Ndje Ndje Mireille

Abstract:

The improvement in the physical aspects of hysterectomy has tended to make us forget the psychological burden of this operation for many women. African women closely associate fertility and femininity, and they fear that their desire will diminish, that they will be less desirable after having undergone a hysterectomy. Medicine may be tempted to trivialize this surgical intervention by relying on the evolution of current surgery that leaves little or no marks. It is possible to think that the uterus is useless for a nun who has decided to freely disregard her motherhood. We used the clinical research method for this study. Through a semi-directive interview guide, we collected the verbatims of an hysterectomized catholic nun. The verbatims were transcribed and analyzed with the thematic content analysis. This analysis shows that the medical reality does not always correspond to the subjective experience of women, for whom hysterectomy can imply strong symbolic damage. The uterus is not essential to life, but it is essential to give life, and this lack can reactivate a desire for motherhood. The experience of hysterectomy is unique for each woman in relation to her history. This operation will eliminate all hope of pregnancy; it will be felt as intimate mutilation and an attack on femininity, it will bring up concerns about sexuality. Even if a woman has past the age of having children, has gone through menopause, or has freely decided not to have children, she still find it difficult to accept this procedure. The lack of uterus make a woman feel useless.

Keywords: hysterectomy, symbolic damage, desire for motherhood, feminity, nun

Procedia PDF Downloads 158

Authors: Eric S. Lee, Connie Bygrave, Jordan Mahar, Naina Garg, Suzanne Cottreau

Abstract:

Marking exams is universally detested by lecturers. Final exams in many higher education courses often last 3.0 hrs. Do exams really need to be so long? Can we justifiably reduce the number of questions on them? Surprisingly few have researched these questions, arguably because of the complexity and difficulty of using traditional methods. To answer these questions empirically, we used a new approach based on three key elements: Use of an unusual variation of a true experimental design, equivalence hypothesis testing, and an expanded set of six psychometric criteria to be met by any shortened exam if it is to replace a current 3.0-hr exam (reliability, validity, justifiability, number of exam questions, correspondence, and equivalence). We compared student performance on each official 3.0-hr exam with that on five shortened exams having proportionately fewer questions (2.5, 2.0, 1.5, 1.0, and 0.5 hours) in a series of four experiments conducted in two classes in each of two finance courses (224 students in total). We found strong evidence that, in these courses, shortening of final exams to 2.0 hrs was warranted on all six psychometric criteria. Shortening these exams by one hour should result in a substantial one-third reduction in lecturer time and effort spent marking, lower student stress, and more time for students to prepare for other exams. Our approach provides a relatively simple, easy-to-use methodology that lecturers can use to examine the effect of shortening their own exams.

Keywords: exam length, psychometric criteria, synthetic experimental designs, test length

Procedia PDF Downloads 271

Authors: Amena Sibghatullah

Abstract:

The purpose of this study was to examine the existence of Inter-generational Influence (IGI) between two successive generations in the selection of automobile brands. IGI was examined between mother-daughter dyads and father-son dyads. A total sample of 320 respondents (80 fathers and their 80 sons, 80 mothers, and their 80 daughters) from the upper-middle class was selected. Three important findings from this study are; (a) the difference in proportion of agreements Brand-In-Use versus Brand-In-Mind appeared to be statistically significant in the Automobile product category. Thus agreements Brand-In-Use situation between parent and child has more agreements than Brand-In-Mind situation; (b) the difference in proportions between women and men (women means mother-daughter dyad agreement, and men means father-son dyad agreement) is statistically significant in automobile brand preferences. This means that mother-daughter dyad brand preferences, both brand-in-mind and brand-in-use are more significant than that of a father-son dyad, and (c) dominance of the top three brands has been exhibited in automobiles both Brand-In-Use and Brand-In-Mind. These three brands hold more than 57% of auto brand preferences. This means that the three brands occupy distinct and strong positions in the minds of consumers. These results reflect that there is significant evidence of IGI presence between parent and adult child. Marketers of auto brands need to understand this sort of influence on their target consumers.

Keywords: autombile brands, branding, intergenerational influence, preferences

Procedia PDF Downloads 142

Authors: Rongrong Liu, Li Wang, Hui Xu, Jianpei Fang, Sixi Liu, Xiaolin Yin, Junbin Liang, Gaohui Yan, Yaoyun Li, Yali Zhou, Xinyu Li, Yue Li, Lei Shi, Yongrong Lai, Junjiu Huang, Xinhua Zhang

Abstract:

Background: Beta-Thalassemia is caused by reduced (β+) or absent (β0) synthesis of the β-globin chains of hemoglobin. Transfusions and oral iron chelation therapy have improved the quality of life for patients with Transfusion-Dependent thalassemia (TDT). Recent advances in genome editing platforms of CRISPR-Cas9 have paved the way for induction of HbF by reactivating expression of γ-chain.Aims: We performed CRISPR-Cas9-mediated genome editing of hematopoietic stem cells to mutate HBG1/HBG2 promoter sequence, thereby representing a naturally occurring HPFH-liked mutation, producing RM-001. Here, we present an initial assessment of safety and efficacy of RM-001 in patients with TDT. Methods: Patients (6–35 y of age) with TDT receiving packed red blood cell (pRBC) transfusions of ≥100 mL/kg/y or ≥10 units/y in the previous 2 y were eligible. CD34+ cells were edited with CRISPR-Cas9 using a guide RNA specific for the binding site of BCL11A on the HBG1/2 promoter. Prior to RM-001 product infusion (day 0), patients received myeloablative conditioning with Busulfan from day-7 to day-4. Patients were monitored for AEs Hb expression.Results: Data cut as of 28 Feb 2024, 16 TDT patients have been treated with RM-001 and followed ≥3 months. 5 of these 16 patients had finished their 24 months follow up. Eleven patients have β0/β0 genotype and five patients have β0/β+ genotype. In addition to β-thalassemia, two patients had α- deletion with the genotype of --/αα. Efficacy:All patients received a single dose intravenous infusion of RM-001 cells. 5 of them had been followed 24 months or longer. All patients achieved transfusion-independent (TI, total Hb continued ≥ 9g/dL) (Figure1). Patients demonstrated sustained and clinically meaningful increases in HbF levels since 4 month post-RM-001 infusion (Figure.2). Total hemoglobin in all patients was stable at 10-12g/dL during the follow-up period. Safety:The adverse events observed after RM-001 infusion were consistent with those that are typical of Busulfan-based myeloablation. The allelic editing analysis at 6-month visit showed that the on-target allelic editing frequency in bone marrow cells was 73.44% (64.65% to 84.6%, n=13).Summary/Conclusion: This interim analysis, in which all the 19 patients age from 7.9 to 25yo met the success criteria for the trial with respect to transfusion independence, showed that autologous HBG1/2 promoter-modified CD34+ HSPCs gene therapy resulted in an adequate amount of HbF as early as 2 months after infusion led to near-normal hemoglobin levels, remained transfusion-free through the reported period without product related SAE. After RM-001 infusion, high levels of HbF proportion and on-target editing in bone marrow cells were maintained. Submitted on behalf of the RM-001 Investigators.

Keywords: thalassemian, genetherapy, CRISPR/Cas9, HbF

Procedia PDF Downloads 18

Authors: Nowshin Nabila Siddique, S. M. Mustafizur Rahman

Abstract:

There is evidence of cyclonic events in Bay of Bengal (BoB) throughout the year. These cyclones cause a variety of fluctuations along its track including the is the influence in Chlorophyll-a (chl-a) concentration. The main purpose of this paper is to justify this variation pattern. Six Tropical Cyclones (TC) are studied using observational method. The result suggests that there is a noticeable change in productivity after a cyclone passes, when the pre cyclonic and post cyclonic condition is observed. In case of Cyclone Amphan, it shows 1.79 mg/m3 of chlorophyll-a concentration increase after a week of cyclonic occurrence. This change is affected by several attributes such as translation speed, intensity and Ocean Pre-condition, specifically Mixed Layer Depth (MLD). Translation Speed and MLD shows a strong negative correlation with the induced chlorophyll concentration. Whereas the effect of the intensity on a cyclone is not that prominent. It is also found that the period of starting an induction is not same for all cyclone such as in case of Cyclone Amphan, the changes started to occur after one day however for Cyclone Sidr and Cyclone Mora it started after three days. Furthermore, a slightly increase in overall productivity is also observed after a cyclone. In the case of Cyclone Amphan, Hudhud, Phailin it shows a rise up to 0.12 mg/m3 in productivity which decreases gradually taking around the period of two months. On a whole this paper signifies the changes in chlorophyll concentration caused by numerous cyclones and its different characteristics that regulates these changes.

Keywords: tropical cyclone, chlorophyll-a concentration, mixed layer depth, translation speed

Procedia PDF Downloads 86

Authors: Boyu Li

Abstract:

Mixed matrix membranes (MMMs), as a separation technology, can improve CO₂ recycling efficiency and reduce the environmental impacts associated with huge emissions. Nevertheless, many challenges must be overcome to design excellent selectivity and permeability performance MMMs. Herein, this work demonstrates the design of nano-scale GNPs (Cu-BDC@PEG) with strong compatibility and high free friction volume (FFV) is an effective way to construct non-interfacial voids MMMs with a desirable combination of selectivity and permeability. Notably, the FFV boosted thanks to the chain length and shape of the GNPs. With this, the permeability and selectivity of Cu-BDC@PEG/PVDF MMMs had also been significantly improved. As such, compatible Cu-BDC@PEG proves very efficient for resolving challenges of MMMs with poor compatibility on the basis of the interfacial defect. Poly (Ethylene Glycol) (PEG) with oxygen groups can be finely coordinated with Cu-MOFs to disperse Cu-BDC@PEG homogenously and form hydrogen bonds with matrix to achieve continuous phase. The resultant MMMs exhibited a simultaneous enhancement of gas permeability (853.1 Barrer) and ideal CO₂/N selectivity (41.7), which has surpassed Robenson's upper bound. Moreover, Cu-BDC@PEG/PVDF has a high-temperature resistance and a long time sustainably. This attractive separation performance of Cu-BDC@PEG/PVDF offered an exciting platform for the development of composite membranes for sustainable CO₂ separations.

Keywords: metal organic framework, CO₂ separation, mixed matrix membrane, polymer

Procedia PDF Downloads 114

Authors: Soumya Awasthi

Abstract:

The spread of radical ideology is possible not merely through public meetings, protests, and mosques but even in schools, seminaries, and madrasas. The rhetoric created around the relationship between religion and conflict has been the primary factor for instigating global conflicts – when religion is used to achieve broader objectives. There have been numerous cases of religion-driven conflict around the world be it the Jewish revolt between 66 AD and 628 AD or the 1119 AD the Crusades revolt or during the Cold War period or the rise of right-wing politics in India. Some of the major developments which reiterate the significance of religion in the contemporary times include: (1) The emergence of theocracy in Iran in 1979 (2) Resurgence of world-wide religious beliefs in post-Soviet space. (3) Emergence of transnational terrorism shaped by twisted depiction of Islam by the self proclaimed protectors of the religion. Therefore this paper is premised in the argument that religion has always found itself on the periphery of the discipline of International Relations (IR), and has received less attention than it deserves. The focus of the topic is on the discourses of ‘Deobandi’ and its impact both on the geopolitics of the region- particularly in India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan- and also at the global level. Discourse is a mechanism in use since time immemorial and has been a key tool to mobilise masses against the ruling authority. With the help of field surveys, qualitative and analytical method of research in religion and international relations, it has been found that they are numerous madrassas that are running illegally and are unregistered. These seminaries are operating in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Federally Administered Tribal Area (FATA). During the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, relation between religion and geopolitics was highlighted when there was a sudden spread of radical ideas, finding support from countries like Saudi Arabia (who funded the campaign) and Pakistan (which organised the Saudi funds and set up training camps, both educational and military). During this period there was a huge influence of Wahabi theology on the madrasas which started with Deoband philosophy and later became a mix of Wahabi (influenced by Ahmad Ibn Hannabal and Ibn Taimmiya) and Deobandi philosophy, tending towards fundamentalism. Later the impact of regional geopolitics had influence on the global geopolitics when the incidents like attack on the US in 2001, bomb blasts in U.K, Indonesia, Turkey, and Israel in 2000s. In the midst of all this, there were several scholars who pointed towards Deobandi Philosophy as one of the drivers in the creation of armed Islamic groups in Pakistan, Afghanistan. Hence this paper will make an attempt to understand the trend as to how Deobandi religious discourses originating from India have changed over the decades, and who the agents of such changes are. It will throw light on Deoband from pre-independence till date to create a narrative around the religious discourses and Deobandi philosophy and its spill over impact on the map of global and regional security.

Keywords: Deobandi School of Thought, radicalization, regional and global geopolitics, religious discourses, Whabi movement

Procedia PDF Downloads 217

Authors: Nathan Moran, Robert Hanser, Attapol Kuanliang

Abstract:

The purpose of this study is to determine the relationship between personal and social resources and burnout for police officers. Current conceptualizations of the condition of burnout are challenged as being too phenomenological and ambiguous, and consequently, not given to direct empirical testing. The conservation of resources model is based on the supposition that people strive to retain, protect, and build resources as a means to protect them from the impacts of burnout. The model proposes that the effects of stress (i.e. burnout) can be manifested in personal and professional attitudes and attributes, which can measure burnout using self-reports to provide strong support for the conservation of resources model, in that, personal and professional demands are related to the exhaustion component of burnout, whereas personal and professional resources can be compiled to counteract the negative impact of the burnout condition. Highly similar patterns of burnout resistance factors were witnessed in police officers in two department precincts (N:81). In addition, results confirmed the positive influence of key demographic variables in burnout resistance using the conservation of resources model. Participants in this study are all sheriff’s deputies with a populous county in a Pacific Northwestern state (N = 274). Four instruments will be used in this quantitative study for data collection (a) a series of demographic questions, (b) the Organizational Citizenship Behavior, (c) the PANAS-X Scale (OCB: Watson& Clark, 1994), and (d) The Maslach Burnout Inventory.

Keywords: behavioral, burnout, law enforcement, quantitative

Procedia PDF Downloads 283

Authors: Simon Bard, Martin Demleitner, Florian Schonl, Volker Altstadt

Abstract:

For an electrically driven aircraft, whose engine is based on semiconductors, alternative materials are needed. The avoid hotspots in the materials thermally conductive polymers are necessary. Nevertheless, the mechanical properties of these materials should remain. Herein, the work of three years in a project with airbus and Siemens is presented. Different strategies have been pursued to achieve conductive fiber-reinforced composites: Metal-coated carbon fibers, pitch-based fibers and particle-loaded matrices have been investigated. In addition, a combination of copper-coated fibers and a conductive matrix has been successfully tested for its conductivity and mechanical properties. First, prepregs have been produced with a laboratory scale prepreg line, which can handle materials with maximum width of 300 mm. These materials have then been processed to fiber-reinforced laminates. For the PAN-fiber reinforced laminates, it could be shown that there is a strong dependency between fiber volume content and thermal conductivity. Laminates with 50 vol% of carbon fiber offer a conductivity of 0.6 W/mK, those with 66 vol% of fiber a thermal conductivity of 1 W/mK. With pitch-based fiber, the conductivity enhances to 1.5 W/mK for 61 vol% of fiber, compared to 0.81 W/mK with the same amount of fibers produced from PAN (+83% in conducitivity). The thermal conductivity of PAN-based composites with 50 vol% of fiber is at 0.6 W/mK, their nickel-coated counterparts with the same fiber volume content offer a conductivity of 1 W/mK, an increase of 66%.

Keywords: carbon, electric aircraft, polymer, thermal conductivity

Procedia PDF Downloads 161

Authors: Kosutic Milenko, Filipovic Jelena

Abstract:

Cereals constitute the staple food of the human race. In accordance with the modern nutritionist opinions, cereal products, flakes and snack products are the most common foods in the daily diet, such as ready to eat breakfast cereal, flakes, and snacks. Extrusion technology makes it possible to apply different sources of ingredients for the enrichment of cereal-based flakes or snacks products. Substances with strong antioxidant properties such as wild oregano have a positive impact on human health, therefore attracting the attention of scientists, consumers and food industry experts. This paper investigates the effects of simultaneous addition of dry residue of wild oregano (0.5% and 1%), on the physical and colour properties of corn flakes to obtain new products with altered nutritional properties. Post-hoc Tukey’s HSD test at 95% confidence limit showed significant differences between various samples. Addition of dry residue wild oregano positively influenced physical characteristics (decreased bulk density 30.2%, increased expansion rate 44.9%), influenced of decrease hardness 38.1% and work of compression 40.3% also significantly change the color of flakes product. Presented data point that investigated corn flakes is a new product with good physical and sensory properties due to higher level of dry residue of wild oregano.

Keywords: flakes product, wild oregano, phisical properties, colour, sensory properties

Procedia PDF Downloads 320

Authors: Ana-Marija Stjepić, Dalia Suša Vugec

Abstract:

Today, digital transformation is one of the leading topics that occupy the attention of scientific circles and business experts. Organizational success is most often reflected through the successful managing of business processes. Given the growing market for digital innovations and its ever-increasing impact on business, organizations need to be prepared for organizational changes that come with the digital era. In order to maintain their competitive advantage in the global market, organizations must adapt their processes to new digitalization conditions. The main goal of this study is to point out the link between the digital transformation and the business process management concept. Therefore, in order to contribute to the scientific field that explores the potential relation between business process management concept and digital transformation, a literature review has been conducted. Papers have been searched within the Business Process Management Journal by keywords related to the term digital transformation. Selected papers have been analyzed according to the topic, type of publication, year of publication, keywords, etc. The results reveal a growing number of papers published on the topic of digital transformation to the Business Process Management Journal, but the lack of case studies. This paper contributes to the extension of academic literature in this important, yet insufficiently researched, scientific field that creates the bond between two strong concepts of digital transformation and business process management.

Keywords: business process management, digital transformation, digitalization, process change

Procedia PDF Downloads 171

Authors: Norah Salem Al Mosa

Abstract:

This paper critically examines the ethical position of academic scholarship concerning "women in leadership" in Saudi Arabia, focusing on the context of the Saudi Vision 2030 initiative. While this vision places a strong emphasis on empowering women and increasing their presence in the workforce, women still face significant cultural, organisational, and personal barriers to leadership roles. The existing literature highlights the challenges Saudi women encounter, including the male guardianship system, and international perspectives add complexity to the issue. The debate among scholars about considering cultural context versus highlighting ongoing challenges is explored. The paper underscores that despite efforts to enhance women's representation in leadership positions, progress has been slow due to cultural norms, the absence of legal quotas, and limited access to education and professional development. It raises questions about the seriousness of research efforts and the government's commitment to gender equality in leadership roles, emphasising the need for increased academic scrutiny in this area. Ultimately, the paper aims to enhance understanding of the challenges and opportunities for women in leadership roles, their contributions to corporate governance in Saudi Arabia, and potential implications beyond its borders.

Keywords: female directors, gender diversity, women on executive positions, Saudi vision 2030

Procedia PDF Downloads 59

Authors: Sahar Shams

Abstract:

Coeliac disease (CD) is a widely reported disease particularly in countries with predominant Caucasian populations. It presents with many signs and symptoms including iron deficiency (ID) and iron deficiency anaemia/anaemia (IDA/A). The exact association between ID, IDA/A and CD and how accurate these signs are in diagnosing CD is not fully known. This systematic review was conducted to investigate the accuracy of both ID & IDA/A as a diagnostic indicator for CD and whether it warrants point of care testing. A systematic review was performed looking at studies published in MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science. QUADAS-2 tool was used to assess risk of bias in each study. ROC curve and forest plots were generated as part of the meta-analysis after data extraction. 16 studies were identified in total, 13 of which were IDA/A studies and 3 ID studies. The prevalence of CD regardless of diagnostic indicator was assumed as 1%. The QUADAS-2 tool indicated most of studies as having high risk of bias. The PPV for CD was higher in those with ID than for those with IDA/A. Meta-analysis showed the overall odds of having CD is 5 times higher in individuals with ID & IDA/A. The ROC curve showed that there is definitely an association between both diagnostic indicators and CD, the association is not a particularly strong one due to great heterogeneity between studies. Whilst an association between IDA/A & ID and coeliac disease was evident, the results were not deemed significant enough to prompt coeliac disease testing in those with IDA/A & ID.

Keywords: anemia, iron deficiency anemia, coeliac disease, point of care testing

Procedia PDF Downloads 127

Authors: Huilei Wang, Yuanfeng Wang

Abstract:

In the early period of China, economy developed rapidly at the cost of environment. Recently, it is generally recognized that the heavily polluted environment not only puts a brake on economic development but also paces negative impact on people’ health as well as probably next decades of generations. Accordingly, the latest Environmental Protection Law revised in 2014 makes a clear-cut division of environmental responsibility and regulates stricter penalties of breaching law. As the new environmental law is enforced gradually, environmental forensic is increasingly required in the process of ascertaining facts in judicial proceedings of environmental cases. Based on the outcomes of documentary analysis for all environmental cases judged on the basis of new environmental law, it is concluded that there still exists problems in present system of environmental forensic. Thus, this paper is aimed to make proposition on improving Chinese environmental forensic system, which involves: (i) promoting capability of environmental forensic system (EFS) to handle professional questions; (ii) develop price mechanism; (iii) multi-departments cooperate to establish unifying and complete EFS system;(iv) enhance the probative value of results of EFS. Such protocol for amending present regulation on environmental forensic is of significant importance because a quality report of environmental forensic will contributes to providing strong probative evidence of culprits’ activity of releasing contaminant into environment, degree of damages for victims and above all, causality between the behavior of public nuisance and damages.

Keywords: China, environmental cases, environmental forensic system, proposition

Procedia PDF Downloads 376

Authors: Ramazan Livaoğlu, Tufan Çakır

Abstract:

The performance of rectangular tanks during earthquakes has been observed to depend significantly on the existence of water in the container and the presence of the backfill acting on tank wall. Therefore, in design of rectangular tanks, the topics of fluid-structure-backfill interactions and determination of modal characteristics of the interaction system have traditionally been one of the great theoretical and practical controversy. Although finite element method has been and will continue to be used to a significant extent in treating the response of the system, experimental verification of numerical models remains prerequisite for their adoption and reliable application in practice. Thus, in this study, the numerical and experimental investigations were performed on the backfill-exterior wall-fluid interaction system. Firstly, three dimensional finite element model (3D-FEM) was developed to acquire modal frequencies and mode shapes of the system by means of ANSYS. Secondly, a series of in-situ tests were fulfilled to define modal characteristics of same system to determine the applicability of the FEM to a real physical situation under field conditions. Finally, comparing the theoretical predictions from the model to results from experimental measurement, a close agreement was found between theory and experiment. Thus, it can be easily stated that experimental verification provides strong support for the use of proposed model in further investigations.

Keywords: fluid-structure interaction, modal analysis, rectangular tank, soil structure interaction

Procedia PDF Downloads 391

Authors: Asim Mehmood, Abdul Karim, Muhammad J. Jaskani, Faisal S. Awan, Muhammad W. Sajid

Abstract:

Guava (Psidium guajava L.) is an important commercial fruit crop of Pakistan. It is an allogamous crop having 25-40% cross pollination which on the one hand leads to clonal degradation and on the other hand can add variations to generated new cultivars. Morpho-genetic characterization of 37 guava accessions was carried out for study of the genetic diversity among guava accessions located in province Punjab, Pakistan. For morphological analysis, 17 morphological traits were studied, and strong positive correlation was found among the 7 morphological traits which included thickness of outer flesh in relation to core diameter, fruit length, fruit width, fruit juiciness, fruit size, fruit sweetness and number of seeds. For genetic characterization, 18 microsatellites were used, and the sizes of reproducible and scorable bands ranged from 150 to 320 bp. These 18 primer pairs amplified a total of 85 alleles in P. guajava, with an average total number of 4.7 alleles per locus and no more than two displayed bands (nuclear SSR loci). The phylogenetic tree based on the morphological and genetic traits showed the diversity of these 37 guava genotypes into two major groups. These results indicated that Pakistani guava is quite diverse and a more detail study is needed to define the level of genetic variability.

Keywords: Psidium guajava L, genetic diversity, SSR markers, polymorphism, dendrogram

Procedia PDF Downloads 206

Authors: Hanish Mohammed, C. H. Muthukumar Muthuchamy

Abstract:

The advancement in the science and technology has made it possible to convert electrical energy into any desired form. It has given electrical energy a place of pride in the modern world. The survival of industrial undertakings and our social structure depends primarily upon low cost and uninterrupted supply of electrical energy. Microbial fuel cell (MFC) is a promising and emerging technique for sustainable bioelectricity generation and wastewater treatment. MFCs are devices which are capable of converting organic matter to electricity/hydrogen with help of microorganisms. Different kinds of wastewater could be used in this technique, distillery effluent is one of the most troublesome and complex and strong organic effluent with high chemical oxygen demand of 1,53,846 mg/L. A single cell MFC unit was designed and fabricated for the distillery effluent treatment and to generate electricity. Due to the high COD value of the distillery effluent helped in the production of energy for 74 days. The highest voltage got from the fuel cell is 206 mV on the 30th day. A maximum power density obtained from the MFC was 9.8 mW, treatment efficiency was evaluated in terms of COD removal and other parameters. COD removal efficiencies were around 68.5 % and other parameters such as Total Hardness (81.5%), turbidity (70 %), chloride (66%), phosphate (79.5%), Nitrate (77%) and sulphate (71%). MFC using distillery effluent is a promising new unexplored substrate for the power generation and sustainable treatment technique through harnessing of bioelectricity.

Keywords: microbial fuel cell (MFC), bioelectricity, distillery effluent, wastewater treatment

Procedia PDF Downloads 210