Search results for: Taylor's series of fractional order

Authors: Siavash Eftekharifar, Tohid Yousefi Rezaii, Mahdi Shamsi

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The purpose of this paper is to exploit compressed sensing (CS) method in order to model and compress the electrocardiogram (ECG) signals at a high compression ratio. In order to obtain a sparse representation of the ECG signals, first a suitable basis matrix with Gaussian kernels, which are shown to nicely fit the ECG signals, is constructed. Then the sparse model is extracted by applying some optimization technique. Finally, the CS theory is utilized to obtain a compressed version of the sparse signal. Reconstruction of the ECG signal from the compressed version is also done to prove the reliability of the algorithm. At this stage, a greedy optimization technique is used to reconstruct the ECG signal and the Mean Square Error (MSE) is calculated to evaluate the precision of the proposed compression method.

Keywords: compressed sensing, ECG compression, Gaussian kernel, sparse representation

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Authors: Chang Ting, Wu Chun Kuan

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Wireless sensing technology is increasingly developed, in order to avoid caregiver neglect children in poor physiological condition, so there are more and more products into the wireless sensor-related technologies, in order to reduce the risk of infants. In view of this, the study will focus on Somatosensory detection wristbands Applied Research of Baby, and to explore through observation and literature, to find design criteria which conform baby products, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of existing products. This study will focus on 0-2 years of infant research and product design, to provide 2-3 new design concepts and products to identify weaknesses through the use of the actual product, further provide future baby wristbands design reference.

Keywords: infants, observation, design criteria, wireless sensing

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Authors: Mazin Alqhazo, Ayat Bani Rashaid

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This study examines the levels of dopamine and serotonin in blood samples of children who stutter compared with normal fluent speakers. Blood specimens from 50 children who stutter (6 females, 44 males) and 50 normal children matched age and gender were collected for the purpose of the current study. The concentrations of dopamine and serotonin were measured using the 1100 series high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with ultraviolet detector instrument (HPLC-UV). It was revealed that dopamine level in the blood samples of stuttering group and fluent group was not significant (P = 0.769), whereas the level of serotonin was significantly higher in the blood samples of stuttering group than the blood samples of fluent normal group (P = 0.015). It is concluded that serotonin blockers could be used in future studies to evaluate its role as a medication for the treatment of stuttering.

Keywords: dopamine, serotonin, stuttering, fluent speakers

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Authors: Mohammad Rostami Mehr, Seyed Arya Mir Rashed, Arndt Lueder, Magdalena Missler-Behr

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This paper represents the conception that complex problems do not necessarily need a similar complex solution in order to cope with the complexity. Furthermore, a simple solution based on established methods can provide a sufficient way to deal with the complexity. To verify this conception, the presented paper focuses on the field of change management as a part of the new product development process in the automotive sector. In this field, dealing with increasing complexity is essential, while only non-flexible rigid processes that are not designed to handle complexity are available. The basic methodology of this paper can be divided into four main sections: 1) analyzing the complexity of the change management, 2) literature review in order to identify potential solutions and methods, 3) capturing and implementing expertise of experts from the change management field of an automobile manufacturing company and 4) systematical comparison of the identified methods from literature and connecting these with defined requirements of the complexity of the change management in order to develop a solution. As a practical outcome, this paper provides a method to capture the complexity of engineering changes (EC) and includes it within the EC evaluation process, following case-related process guidance to cope with the complexity. Furthermore, this approach supports the conception that dealing with complexity is possible while utilizing rather simple and established methods by combining them into a powerful tool.

Keywords: complexity management, new product development, engineering change management, flexibility

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Authors: Marsden Jacques, Dennis Wong

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A weak order is a way to rank n objects where ties are allowed. In this talk, we present a recursive framework to generate Gray codes for weak orders. We then describe a simple algorithm based on the framework that generates 2-Gray codes for weak orders in constant amortized time per string. This framework can easily be modified to generate other Gray codes for weak orders. We provide an example on using the framework to generate the first Shift Gray code for weak orders, also in constant amortized time, where consecutive strings differ by a shift or a symbol change.

Keywords: weak order, Cayley permutation, Gray code, shift Gray code

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Authors: M. Z. Ramli, A. Adnan, Chee Wei Tan

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To gain a better understanding of earthquake forces on reinforced concrete bridge piers with different bearing condition, a series of experiments was conducted on a realistic, 1:4 scale reinforced concrete bridge pier. The normal practices of laminated seismic isolation bearing is compared with the new design spring seismic isolation bearing where invented by Engineering Seismology and Earthquake Engineering Research (e-SEER), Universiti Teknologi Malaysia. The nonlinear behavior of piers is modeled using the fibre beam theory to verify the experimental works. The hysteresis of bridge pier with different bearing condition was illustrated under different Peak Ground Acceleration (PGAs). The average slope of the hysteresis respectively to the global stiffness was also investigated.

Keywords: bridge, laminated seismic isolation, spring seismic isolation, Peak Ground Acceleration, stiffness

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Authors: Ruggero Roni, Ennio Bilancini, Erica Ordali, Pablo Marcos Prieto

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In this study, we examine the behavioral patterns underlying social conflicts, focusing on gender and gender pairing effects on hostile behavior. While gender differences in willingness to compete are well-documented, we aim to study whether these differences persist once individuals are already engaged in competition. On top of this, we investigate if the gender of the opponent(s) may interact with one's own gender. Using a one-shot Hawk-Dove game with varying levels of harshness, i.e., cost of conflict, we will conduct an experiment in which we will manipulate two factors in a between-subject design: order of play (simultaneous, sequential first mover, sequential second mover) and gender pairing (anonymous, same gender, opposite gender). This setting will permit us to model competitive relationships over limited resources, thus interpreting the ‘hawk’ strategy as a proxy for hostile behavior. Data collection is currently under process. Based on our pre-registered hypotheses, we expect males and same-gender couples to behave more hostilely than females and opposite-gender couples, respectively. Moreover, we expect males to show more negative reciprocity while we predict females to exhibit more positive reciprocity toward their opponents. Lastly, we suspect that females' predisposition to conflict, unlike males', might be affected by the strategic context, instrumentalized through the harshness of conflict and the order of play.

Keywords: hawk-dove, order of play, gender, gender pairing, social conflict, hostile behavior, online experiment

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Authors: Vijay Kumar Kukreja, Ravneet Kaur

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In this paper, one dimensional advection diffusion model is analyzed using finite difference method based on Crank-Nicolson scheme. A practical problem of filter cake washing of chemical engineering is analyzed. The model is converted into dimensionless form. For the grid Ω × ω = [0, 1] × [0, T], the Crank-Nicolson spatial derivative scheme is used in space domain and forward difference scheme is used in time domain. The scheme is found to be unconditionally convergent, stable, first order accurate in time and second order accurate in space domain. For a test problem, numerical results are compared with the analytical ones for different values of parameter.

Keywords: Crank-Nicolson scheme, Lax-Richtmyer theorem, stability, consistency, Peclet number, Greschgorin circle

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Authors: Ekele Alih, Enejo Jalija

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Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is made up of three types namely: Clitoridectomy, Excision and Infibulation. In this study, we examine the factors responsible for FGM in order to identify the causality variables in a logistic regression approach. From the result of the survey conducted by the Public Health Division, Nigeria Institute of Medical Research, Yaba, Lagos State, the tau statistic, τ was used to screen 9 factors that causes FGM in order to select few of the predictors before multiple regression equation is obtained. The need for this may be that the sample size may not be able to sustain having a regression with all the predictors or to avoid multi-collinearity. A total of 300 respondents, comprising 150 adult males and 150 adult females were selected for the household survey based on the multi-stage sampling procedure. The tau statistic,

Keywords: female genital mutilation, logistic regression, tau statistic, African society

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Authors: Shokoufeh Sadeghifard

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This study is a review of the nature of soil arching that develops in the upper layer of soil during drilling processes before pulling product pipe inside the hole. This study is based on the results of some parametric studies which are investigating the behavior of drained sandy soil above HDD borehole using Plaxis finite element solution. The influence of drilling mud injection in these series of analyses has been ignored. However, a suitable drilling mud pressure helps to achieve stable arch when the height of soil cover over the drilling borehole is not enough. In this study, the soil response to the formation of a HDD borehole is compared to arching theory developed by Terzaghi (1943). It is found that Terzaghi’s approach is capable of describing all of the behaviour seen when a stable arch forms. According to the numerical results, a suitable safe depth of 4D, D is borehole diameter, is suggested for typical range of HDD borehole in sandy soil.

Keywords: HDD, Plaxis, finite element, arching, settlement, drilling

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Authors: Jose Cristiano Pereira, Gilson Brito Alves Lima

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Ergonomics is a key factor affecting the operational safety and quality in the aircraft engine manufacturing industry and evidence shows that the lack of attention to it can increase the risk of accidents. In order to emphasize the importance of ergonomics, this paper systematically reviews the critical processes used in the aircraft engine production industry with focus on the ergonomic factors. about the subject to identify key ergonomic factors. Experts validated the factors and used AHP to rank the factors in order of significance. From the six key risk factors identified, the ones with the highest weight are psychological demand followed by understanding of operational side. These factors suggest that measures must be taken to improve ergonomic factors, quality and safety in the manufacturing of aircraft engines.

Keywords: ergonomics, safety, aviation, aircraft engine production

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Authors: Touraj Hashemi, Zahara Saeidi, Paxshan H. Gader-l-Shateri

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The present study aimed to determine the relationship between dimensions of psychological capital and psychological well-being. This research was conducted with a correlatiove method. The study population included the students of Sulaymaniyah, Garmian, and Halabja Universities in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. Therefore, using the one-stage cluster method, 300 subjects were selected and completed Riff's psychological well-being scale, and Luthans' psychological capital questionnaire. Data were analyzed using the multiple regression method. Results showed that self-efficacy, optimism, hope, and resilience had a positive relationship with psychological well-being. Hence, it can be concluded the four dimensions of psychological capital are able, in addition to modulating the effects of stress sources, to set the stage for the motivational use of life's stressors in order to develop new challenges and help the individual to continuous effort in order to develop new goals and expand happiness.

Keywords: psychological well-being, self-efficacy, optimism, hope, resilience

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Authors: Mohammad Reza Ebrahimi, Behnaz Mahdaviani

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Increasing renewable sources such photovoltaic are the reason of environmental pollution. Because photovoltaic generates power in low voltage, first, generated power should increase. Usually, distributed generation injects their power to AC-Grid, hence after voltage increasing an inverter is needed to convert DC power to AC power. This results in utilization two series converter that grows cost, complexity, and low efficiency. In this paper a single stage inverter is utilized to boost and invert in one stage. Control of this scheme is easier, and its initial cost decreases comparing to conventional double stage inverters. A simple control scheme is used to control active power as well as minimum total harmonic distortion (THD) in injected current. Simulations in MATLAB demonstrate better outputs comparing with conventional approaches.

Keywords: maximum power point tracking, boost inverter, control strategy, three phase inverter

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Authors: Narjis Zehra

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After automobile revolution 1.0, we have automobile revolution 2.0 standing at the horizon, Autonomous Vehicles (AVs). While the technology is developing into more adaptable form, the conversations around its impact on our cities have already started on multiple scales, from academic institutions and community town halls, to the offices of mayors. In order to explore more the AVs impact on Urban transformation, we first inquire if cities can be redesigned or rebuilt. Secondly, we discuss expectation management for the public and policy in terms of what people think/believe AV technology will deliver, and what the current technological evidence suggests the technology and its adoption will look like. Thirdly, based on these discussions, we take Pittsburgh, PA, as a case study to extrapolate what other cities might need to do in order to prepare themselves for the upcoming technological revolution, that may impact more than just the research institutes. Finally, we conclude by suggesting a political way forward to embed urban design with AV technology for equitable cities of tomorrow.

Keywords: urban design, autonomous vehicles, transformation, policy

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Authors: M. Pappa, C. Efstathiou, G. Livanos, P. Xidas, D. Vakondios, E. Maravelakis, M. Zervakis, A. Antoniadis

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The choice of cutting tools in manufacturing processes is an essential parameter on which the required manufacturing time, the consumed energy and the cost effort all depend. If the number of tool changing times could be minimized or even eliminated by using a single convex tool providing multiple profiles, then a significant benefit of time and energy saving, as well as tool cost, would be achieved. A typical machine contains a variety of tools in order to deal with different curvatures and material removal rates. In order to minimize the required cutting tool changes, Actively Deformable micro-Cutters (ADmC) will be developed. The design of the Actively Deformable micro-Cutters will be based on the same cutting technique and mounting method as that in typical cutters.

Keywords: deformable cutters, cutting tool, milling, turning, manufacturing

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Authors: Yeukai Mupangavanhu

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The paper examines the concept of ubuntu and the extent to which it can play a role in ensuring fairness and justice in contractual relationships. Courts are expected to balance sanctity of contract and fairness. Public policy is currently a mechanism which is used by courts when balancing the above two competing interests. It, however, generally favours the freedom and sanctity of contract. The question which is addressed in this paper is whether the concept of ubuntu is an alternative mechanism that may be used to mitigate the sometimes harsh and unfair consequences of the doctrine of freedom and sanctity of contract. A comparative study and case analysis is the methodology that is used in this article. Unfairness in contracts is generally related to the problem of inequality in bargaining power underscored by deeply entrenched social and economic inequalities that are a consequence of apartheid and patriarchy. The transformative nature of the constitution demands the inclusion of African legal ideas and values in the legal order. There is a need for the harmonisation of western ideals which are based on the classical model of law of contract with relevant African principles. In order to attain a transformative legal order that promotes a societal transformation and enhances the lives of everyone courts cannot continue to frown upon African values. Ubuntu has the potential of steering the law of contract in a more equitable direction. The substantive rules of contract law undoubtedly need to be infused with the notion of ubuntu. The reconciliation of Western and African values is at the heart of legal transformation.

Keywords: fairness, sanctity of contract, contractual justice, transformative constitutionalism

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Authors: Irakli Gamkrelidze, David Shengelia, Tamara Tsutsunava, Giorgi Chichinadze, Giorgi Beridze, Ketevan Tedliashvili, Tamara Tsamalashvili

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The Loki crystalline massif crops out in the Caucasian region and the geological retrospective represent the northern marginal part of the Baiburt-Sevanian terrain (island arc), bordering with the Paleotethys oceanic basin in the north. The pre-Alpine basement of the massif is built up of Lower-Middle Paleozoic metamorphic complex (metasedimentary and metabasite rocks), Upper Devonian quartz-diorites and Late Variscan granites. Earlier metamorphic complex was considered as an indivisible set including suites with different degree of metamorphism. Systematic geologic, petrologic and geochemical investigations of the massif’s rocks suggest the different conception on composition, structure and formation conditions of the massif. In particular, there are two main rock types in the Loki massif: the oldest autochthonous series of gneissic quartz-diorites and cutting them granites. The massif is flanked on its western side by a volcano-sedimentary sequence, metamorphosed to low-T facies. Petrologic, metamorphic and structural differences in this sequence prove the existence of a number of discrete units (overthrust sheets). One of them, the metabasic sheet represents the fragment of ophiolite complex. It comprises transition types of the second and third layers of the Paleooceanic crust: the upper noncumulated part of the third layer gabbro component and the following lowest part of the parallel diabase dykes of the second layer. The ophiolites are represented by metagabbros, metagabbro-diabases, metadiabases and amphibolite schists. According to the content of petrogenic components and additive elements in metabasites is stated that the protolith of metabasites belongs to petrochemical type of tholeiitic series of basalts. The parental magma of metaophiolites is of E-MORB composition, and by petrochemical parameters, it is very close to the composition of intraplate basalts. The dykes of hypabissal leucocratic siliceous and medium magmatic rocks associated with the metaophiolite sheet form the separate complex. They are granitoids with the extremely low content of CaO and quartz-diorite porphyries. According to various petrochemical parameters, these rocks have mixed characteristics. Their formation took place in spreading conditions or in the areas of manifestation of plumes most likely of island arc type. The metamorphism degree of the metaophiolites corresponds to a very low stage of green schist facies. The rocks of the metaophiolite complex are obducted from the Paleotethys Ocean. Geological and paleomagnetic data show that the primary location of the ocean is supposed to be to the north of the Loki crystalline massif.

Keywords: the Caucasus, crystalline massif, ophiolites, tectonic sheet

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Authors: Qing Hui Wang, You Lin Fang, Min Chen

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In 2003 the percentage of students in Shanghai taking part in tertiary education reached 53% of the age cohort, which is at the universal level according to Trow's typology. This achievement led to a conscientious effort by the government to improve internal efficiency of local universities and colleges through a series of programs, the most important of which is the 085 Project. This paper considers the effects of the 085 Project- the 5 initiatives launched in 2008 on increasing the investment to improve institutional overall visibilities, teaching excellence, knowledge innovation, faculty development as well as internationalization. Using the approach of ERC (a theory of equality, reciprocity, and competition) model, it was found that the initiatives helped the lower tier universities and colleges make full play in the aspects of strategic planning and identifying themselves. It was also found that the rate of growth of social resources for universities as a whole increased more quickly after the implementation of the 085 Project.

Keywords: 085 Project, impact, internal efficiency, local universities and colleges

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Authors: Lucia Billeci, Gennaro Tartarisco, Maurizio Varanini

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Fetal cardiac monitoring by fetal electrocardiogram (fECG) can provide significant clinical information about the healthy condition of the fetus. Despite this potentiality till now the use of fECG in clinical practice has been quite limited due to the difficulties in its measuring. The recovery of fECG from the signals acquired non-invasively by using electrodes placed on the maternal abdomen is a challenging task because abdominal signals are a mixture of several components and the fetal one is very weak. This paper presents an approach for fECG extraction from abdominal maternal recordings, which exploits the characteristics of pseudo-periodicity of fetal ECG. It consists of devising a quality index (fQI) for fECG and of finding the linear combinations of preprocessed abdominal signals, which maximize these fQI (quality index optimization - QIO). It aims at improving the performances of the most commonly adopted methods for fECG extraction, usually based on maternal ECG (mECG) estimating and canceling. The procedure for the fECG extraction and fetal QRS (fQRS) detection is completely unsupervised and based on the following steps: signal pre-processing; maternal ECG (mECG) extraction and maternal QRS detection; mECG component approximation and canceling by weighted principal component analysis; fECG extraction by fQI maximization and fetal QRS detection. The proposed method was compared with our previously developed procedure, which obtained the highest at the Physionet/Computing in Cardiology Challenge 2013. That procedure was based on removing the mECG from abdominal signals estimated by a principal component analysis (PCA) and applying the Independent component Analysis (ICA) on the residual signals. Both methods were developed and tuned using 69, 1 min long, abdominal measurements with fetal QRS annotation of the dataset A provided by PhysioNet/Computing in Cardiology Challenge 2013. The QIO-based and the ICA-based methods were compared in analyzing two databases of abdominal maternal ECG available on the Physionet site. The first is the Abdominal and Direct Fetal Electrocardiogram Database (ADdb) which contains the fetal QRS annotations thus allowing a quantitative performance comparison, the second is the Non-Invasive Fetal Electrocardiogram Database (NIdb), which does not contain the fetal QRS annotations so that the comparison between the two methods can be only qualitative. In particular, the comparison on NIdb was performed defining an index of quality for the fetal RR series. On the annotated database ADdb the QIO method, provided the performance indexes Sens=0.9988, PPA=0.9991, F1=0.9989 overcoming the ICA-based one, which provided Sens=0.9966, PPA=0.9972, F1=0.9969. The comparison on NIdb was performed defining an index of quality for the fetal RR series. The index of quality resulted higher for the QIO-based method compared to the ICA-based one in 35 records out 55 cases of the NIdb. The QIO-based method gave very high performances with both the databases. The results of this study foresees the application of the algorithm in a fully unsupervised way for the implementation in wearable devices for self-monitoring of fetal health.

Keywords: fetal electrocardiography, fetal QRS detection, independent component analysis (ICA), optimization, wearable

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Authors: Mahla Zabet, Navid Zanganeh, Hafez Balavi, Farbod Sharif

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Electrodeposition is a method for applying coatings with uniform thickness on complex objects. A conductive surface can be produced using the electrical current in this method. Carbon nanotubes are known to have high electrical conductivity and mechanical properties. In this report, NH2-multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were used in epoxy resin with different weight percent. The weight percent of incorporated MWCNTS into the matrix was changed in the range of 0.6-3.6 wt% to obtain a series of electrocoatings. The electrocoats were then applied on steel substrates by a cathodic electrodeposition technique. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and optical microscopy were used to characterize the electrocoated films. The results illustrated the increase in conductivity by increasing of MWCNT load. However, at the percolation threshold, throwing power was dropped with increase in recoating ability.

Keywords: electrodeposition, carbon nanotube, electrical conductivity, throwing power

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Authors: Habib Gorine, Rabia Saleh

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Mobile Ad-Hoc Networks are the special type of wireless networks which share common security requirements with other networks such as confidentiality, integrity, authentication, and availability, which need to be addressed in order to secure data transfer through the network. Their routing protocols are vulnerable to various malicious attacks which could have a devastating consequence on data security. In this paper, three types of attacks such as selfish, gray hole, and black hole attacks have been applied to the two most important routing protocols in MANET named dynamic source routing and ad-hoc on demand distance vector in order to analyse and compare the impact of these attacks on the Network performance in terms of throughput, average delay, packet loss, and consumption of energy using NS2 simulator.

Keywords: MANET, wireless networks, routing protocols, malicious attacks, wireless networks simulation

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Authors: Danilo Di Donato

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The continuous new releases of free and open source software (FOSS) and the high costs of proprietary software -whose monopoly is characterized by closed codes and the low level of implementation and customization of software by end-users- impose a reflection on possible tools that can be chosen and adopted for the design and the representation of new steel constructions. The paper aims to show experimentation carried out to verify the actual potential and the effective applicability of FOSS supports to the BIM modeling of steel structures, particularly considering the goal of a possible workflow in order to achieve high level of development (LOD); allow effective interchange methods between different software. To this end, the examined software packages are those with open source or freeware licenses, in order to evaluate their use in architectural praxis. The test has primarily involved the experimentation of Freecad -the only Open Source software that allows a complete and integrated BIM workflow- and then the results have been compared with those of two proprietary software, Sketchup and TeklaBim Sight, which are released with a free version, but not usable for commercial purposes. The experiments carried out on Open Source, and freeware software was then compared with the outcomes that are obtained by two proprietary software, Sketchup Pro and Tekla Structure which has special modules particularly addressed to the design of steel structures. This evaluation has concerned different comparative criteria, that have been defined on the basis of categories related to the reliability, the efficiency, the potentiality, achievable LOD and user-friendliness of the analyzed software packages. In order to verify the actual outcomes of FOSS BIM for the steel structure projects, these results have been compared with a simulation related to a real case study and carried out with a proprietary software BIM modeling. Therefore, the same design theme, the project of a shelter of public space, has been developed using different software. Therefore the purpose of the contribution is to assess what are the developments and potentialities inherent in FOSS BIM, in order to estimate their effective applicability to professional practice, their limits and new fields of research they propose.

Keywords: BIM, steel buildings, FOSS, LOD

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Authors: Carlos M. Goncalves, Luisa Duarte, Teresa Cartaxo

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The aim of this work was to understand the reasons behind the underutilization of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in the younger population and raise possible solutions. We conducted a non-systematic review of literature throughout a search on PubMed, using the terms ‘children’, ‘adolescents’ and ‘electroconvulsive’, ‘therapy’. Candidate articles written in languages other than English were excluded. Articles were selected according to title and/or abstract’s content relevance, resulting in a total of 5 articles. ECT is a recognized effective treatment in adults for several psychiatric conditions. As in adults, ECT in children and adolescents is proven most beneficial in the treatment of severe mood disorders, catatonia, and, to a lesser extent, schizophrenia. ECT in adults has also been used to treat autism’s self-injurious behaviours, Tourette’s syndrome and resistant first-episode schizophrenia disorder. Despite growing evidence on its safety and effectiveness in children and adolescents, like those found in adults, ECT remains a controversial and underused treatment in patients this age, even when it is clearly indicated. There are various possible reasons to this; limited awareness among professionals (lack of knowledge and experience among child psychiatrists), stigmatic public opinion (despite positive feedback from patients and families, there is an unfavourable and inaccurate representation in the media, contributing to a negative public opinion), legal restrictions and ethical controversies (restrictive regulations such as a minimum age for administration), lack of randomized trials (the currently available studies are retrospective, with small size samples, and most of the publications are either case reports or case series). This shows the need to raise awareness and knowledge, not only for mental health professionals, but also to the general population, through the media, regarding indications, methods and safety of ECT in order to provide reliable information to the patient and families. Large-scale longitudinal studies are also useful to further demonstrate the efficacy and safety of ECT and can aid in the formulation of algorithms and guidelines as without these changes, the availability of ECT to the younger population will remain restricted by regulations and social stigma. In conclusion, these results highlight that lack of adequate knowledge and accurate information are the most important factors behind the underutilization of ECT in younger population. Mental healthcare professionals occupy a cornerstone position; if data is given by a well-informed healthcare professional instead of the media, general population (including patients and their families) will probably regard the procedure in a more favourable way. So, the starting point should be to improve health care professional’s knowledge and experience on this choice of treatment.

Keywords: adolescents, children, electroconvulsive, therapy

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Authors: Prashant S. Humnabad

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The objective of this work is to carry out a thermal heat transfer analysis to obtain the time dependent temperature field in welding process friction stir welded dissimilar materials with different preheating temperature. A series of joints were made on four mm thick aluminum and steel plates. The temperature used was 100ºC, 150ºC and 200ºC. The welding operation was performed with different rotational speeds and traverse speed (1000, 1400 and 2000 rmp and 16, 20 and 25 mm/min..). In numerical model, the welded plate was modeled as the weld line is the symmetric line. The work-piece has dimensions of 100x100x4 mm. The obtained result was compared with experimental result, which shows good agreement and within the acceptable limit. The peak temperature at the weld zone increases significantly with respect to increase in process time.

Keywords: FEA, thermal analysis, preheating, friction stir welding

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Authors: Qiao Fan, Xiaobo Guo, Junxian Zhu, Xiaohu Ding, Ching-Yu Cheng, Tien-Yin Wong, Mingguang He, Heping Zhang, Xueqin Wang

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A systematic, simultaneous analysis of multiple phenotypes in genome-wide association studies (GWASs) draws a great attention to integrate the signals from single phenotypes with increased power. However, lacking an interpretable and efficient multivariate GWAS analysis impede the application of such approach. In this study, we propose to decompose the multivariate model into a series of simple univariate models. This transformation illuminates what exactly the individual trait contributes to the significant signals from the multivariate analyses. By employing our approach in the analysis of three myopia-related endophenotypes from the Singapore Malay Eye Study (SIMES), we identify novel candidate loci which were successfully validated in an independent Guangzhou Twin Eye Study (GTES).

Keywords: GWAS multivariate, multiple traits, myopia, association

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Authors: Burak Yigit Katanalp, Murat Tastan, Perviz Ahmedzade, çIgdem Canbay Turkyilmaz, Emrah Turkyilmaz

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This study evaluated the mechanical and rheological performance of fly ash-based geopolymer at high temperatures. A series of laboratory tests were conducted on neat bitumen and three modified bitumen samples, which incorporated fly ash-based geopolymer at various percentages. Low-calcium fly ash was used as the alumina-silica source. The dynamic shear rheometer and rotational viscometer were employed to determine high-temperature properties, while conventional tests such as penetration and softening point were used to evaluate the physical properties of bitumen. The short-term aging resistance of the samples was assessed using the rolling thin film oven. The results show that geopolymer has a compromising effect on bitumen properties, with improved stiffness, enhanced mechanical strength, and increased thermal susceptibility of the asphalt binder.

Keywords: bitumen, geopolymer, modification, dynamic mechanical analysis

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Authors: Patrizia Barroero, Saliha Yagoubi

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Mindfulness meditation practices in the context of higher education are becoming more and more common. Some of the reported benefits of mediation interventions and workshops include: improved focus, general well-being, diminished stress, and even increased resilience and grit. A series of workshops free to students, faculty, and staff was offered twice a week over two semesters at Hudson County Community College, New Jersey. The results of an exploratory study based on participants’ subjective reactions to these workshops will be presented. A qualitative approach was used to collect and analyze the data and a hermeneutic phenomenological perspective served as a framework for the research design and data collection and analysis. The data collected includes three recorded videos of semi-structured interviews and several written surveys submitted by volunteer participants.

Keywords: mindfulness meditation practices, stress reduction, resilience, grit, higher education success, qualitative research

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Authors: Tio Novita Efriani

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Public sector organizations work in a complex and risky environment. Since the beginning of 2000s, the public sector has paid attention to the need for an effective risk management. The Indonesian public sector has also concerned about this issue and in 2008 it enacted the Government Regulation that gives mandate for the implementation of risk management in government organizations. This paper investigates risk management implementation in the Indonesian public sector organizations and the role of transformational leadership and internal audit activities. Data was collected via survey. A total of 202 effective responses (30% response rate) from employees in 34 government ministries were statistically analyzed by using Partial least square structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) and the software was SmartPLS 3.0. All the constructs were lower order, except for the risk management implementation construct, which was treated as a second-order construct. A two-stage approach was employed in the analysis of the higher order component. The findings revealed that transformational leadership positively influence risk management implementation. The findings also found that the core and legitimate roles of internal audit in risk management positively affect the implementation of risk management. The final finding showed that internal auditing mediates a relationship between transformational leadership and risk management implementation. These results suggest that the implementation of risk management in the Indonesian public sector was significantly supported by internal auditors and leadership. The findings confirm the importance of transformational leadership and internal audit in the public sector risk management strategies.

Keywords: Indonesian public sector, internal audit, risk management, transformational leadership

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Authors: Xinglu Nie, Feifei Tang, Chuntao Wei, Zhimin Ruan, Qianhong Zhu

Abstract:

Current method of manual-style inspection can not fully meet the requirement of the urban rail transit security in China. In this paper, an intelligent inspection method using unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is utilized. A series of orthophoto of rail transit monitored area was collected by UAV, image correction and registration were operated among multi-phase images, then the change detection was used to detect the changes, judging the engineering activities and human activities that may become potential threats to the security of urban rail. Not only qualitative judgment, but also quantitative judgment of changes in the security control area can be provided by this method, which improves the objectives and efficiency of the patrol results. The No.6 line of Chongqing Municipality was taken as an example to verify the validation of this method.

Keywords: rail transit, control of protected areas, intelligent inspection, UAV, change detection

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Authors: Agnieszka Markowska-Radomska, Ewa Dluska

Abstract:

Maintaining a bioactive substances dense diet is important for the elderly, especially to prevent diseases and to support healthy ageing. Adequate bioactive substances intake can reduce the risk of developing chronic diseases (e.g. cardiovascular, osteoporosis, neurodegenerative syndromes, diseases of the oral cavity, gastrointestinal (GI) disorders, diabetes, and cancer). This can be achieved by introducing a comprehensive supplementation of components necessary for the proper functioning of the ageing body. The paper proposes the multiple emulsions of the W1/O/W2 (water-in-oil-in-water) type as carriers for effective co-encapsulation and co-delivery of bioactive substances in supplementation of the elderly. Multiple emulsions are complex structured systems ("drops in drops"). The functional structure of the W1/O/W2 emulsion enables (i) incorporation of one or more bioactive components (lipophilic and hydrophilic); (ii) enhancement of stability and bioavailability of encapsulated substances; (iii) prevention of interactions between substances, as well as with the external environment, delivery to a specific location; and (iv) release in a controlled manner. The multiple emulsions were prepared by a one-step method in the Couette-Taylor flow (CTF) contactor in a continuous manner. In general, a two-step emulsification process is used to obtain multiple emulsions. The paper contains a proposal of emulsion functionalization by introducing pH-responsive biopolymer—carboxymethylcellulose sodium salt (CMC-Na) to the external phase, which made it possible to achieve a release of components controlled by the pH of the gastrointestinal environment. The membrane phase of emulsions was soybean oil. The W1/O/W2 emulsions were evaluated for their characteristics (drops size/drop size distribution, volume packing fraction), encapsulation efficiency and stability during storage (to 30 days) at 4ºC and 25ºC. Also, the in vitro multi-substance co-release process were investigated in a simulated gastrointestinal environment (different pH and composition of release medium). Three groups of stable multiple emulsions were obtained: emulsions I with co-encapsulated vitamins B12, B6 and resveratrol; emulsions II with vitamin A and β-carotene; and emulsions III with vitamins C, E and D3. The substances were encapsulated in the appropriate emulsion phases depending on the solubility. For all emulsions, high encapsulation efficience (over 95%) and high volume packing fraction of internal droplets (0.54-0.76) were reached. In addition, due to the presence of a polymer (CMC-Na) with adhesive properties, high encapsulation stability during emulsions storage were achieved. The co-release study of encapsulated bioactive substances confirmed the possibility to modify the release profiles. It was found that the releasing process can be controlled through the composition, structure, physicochemical parameters of emulsions and pH of the release medium. The results showed that the obtained multiple emulsions might be used as potential liquid complex carriers for controlled/modified/site-specific co-delivery of bioactive substances in dietary supplementation in the elderly.

Keywords: bioactive substance co-release, co-encapsulation, elderly supplementation, multiple emulsion

Procedia PDF Downloads 202