Search results for: postponement strategies

Authors: Nasrin Akter, Prem Chhetri, Shams Rahman

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The present study tested Ajzen’s Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) model to explain the formation of business customers’ intention to use 3PL services in Bangladesh. The findings show that the TPB model has a good fit to the data. Based on theoretical support and suggested modification indices, a refined TPB model was developed afterwards which provides a better predictive power for intention. Consistent with the theory, the results of a structural equation analysis revealed that the intention to use 3PL services is predicted by attitude and subjective norms but not by perceived behavioral control. Further investigation indicated that the paths between (attitude and intention) and (subjective norms and intention) did not statistically differ between 3PL user and non-user. Findings of this research provide an evidence base to formulate business strategies to increase the use of 3PL services in Bangladesh to enhance productivity and to gain economic efficiency.

Keywords: Bangladesh, intention, third-party logistics, Theory of Planned Behavior

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Authors: Ahmed Atef, Mohamed Alhasheem, Eman Beshr

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In this paper, an enhanced DC microgrid design is proposed using the DAB converter as a conversion unit in order to harvest the maximum power from the PV array. Each connected DAB converter is controlled with an enhanced control strategy. The controller is based on the artificial intelligence (AI) technique to regulate the terminal PV voltage through the phase shift angle of each DAB converter. In this manner, no need for a Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) unit to set the reference of the PV terminal voltage. This strategy overcomes the stability issues of the DC microgrid as the response of converters is superior compared to the conventional strategies. The proposed PV interface system is modelled and simulated using MATLAB/SIMULINK. The simulation results reveal an accurate and fast response of the proposed design in case of irradiance changes.

Keywords: DC microgrid, DAB converter, parallel operation, artificial intelligence, fast response

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Authors: Adriana Piatti-Crocker

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Drawing on archival documentation, digital platforms, academic journals, and reports, this research will explore the diffusion of a protest movement in Latin America. Starting in Argentina in 2015, this paper will explain how the hashtag #NiUnaMenos (“Not One Woman Less”), created to combat violence against women and girls, led to the spread of a regionwide movement. A year after its introduction, hundreds of thousands of activists mobilized on the streets of major cities in Latin America. Movements arose to protest against specific circumstances and contexts under the hashtag #NiUnaMenos, but the main goal of all of these protests was to fight against misogynist violence. Moreover, unlike previous social movements, the use of social media, such as Facebook, Instagram, Whatsapp, and Twitter, changed the depth and scope of these protests and led to an unprecedented speed in helping transmit their messages, strategies, identities, and goals.

Keywords: social protests, #NiUnaMenos ( Not one woman less), diffusion of social protests, protests and mysoginist violence

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Authors: Michael Mederle, Heinz Bernhardt

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The Management of machine fleets or autonomous vehicle control will considerably increase efficiency in future agricultural production. Especially entire process chains, e.g. harvesting complexes with several interacting combine harvesters, grain carts, and removal trucks, provide lots of optimization potential. Organization and pre-planning ensure to get these efficiency reserves accessible. One way to achieve this is to optimize infield path planning. Particularly autonomous machinery requires precise specifications about infield logistics to be navigated effectively and process optimized in the fields individually or in machine complexes. In the past, a lot of theoretical optimization has been done regarding infield logistics, mainly based on field geometry. However, there are reasons why farmers often do not apply the infield strategy suggested by mathematical route planning tools. To make the computational optimization more useful for farmers this study focuses on these influencing factors by expert interviews. As a result practice-oriented navigation not only to the field but also within the field will be possible. The survey study is intended to cover the entire range of German agriculture. Rural mixed farms with simple technology equipment are considered as well as large agricultural cooperatives which farm thousands of hectares using track guidance and various other electronic assistance systems. First results show that farm managers using guidance systems increasingly attune their infield-logistics on direction giving obstacles such as power lines. In consequence, they can avoid inefficient boom flippings while doing plant protection with the sprayer. Livestock farmers rather focus on the application of organic manure with its specific requirements concerning road conditions, landscape terrain or field access points. Cultivation of sugar beets makes great demands on infield patterns because of its particularities such as the row crop system or high logistics demands. Furthermore, several machines working in the same field simultaneously influence each other, regardless whether or not they are of the equal type. Specific infield strategies always are based on interactions of several different influences and decision criteria. Single working steps like tillage, seeding, plant protection or harvest mostly cannot be considered each individually. The entire production process has to be taken into consideration to detect the right infield logistics. One long-term objective of this examination is to integrate the obtained influences on infield strategies as decision criteria into an infield navigation tool. In this way, path planning will become more practical for farmers which is a basic requirement for automatic vehicle control and increasing process efficiency.

Keywords: autonomous vehicle control, infield logistics, path planning, process optimizing

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Authors: Henry Kiptum Yatich, Ronald Chepkilot, Aquilars Mutuku Kalio

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Studies on energy management have focused on environmental conservation, reduction in production and operation expenses. However, transferring gains of energy management practices to competitive advantage is importance to manufacturers in Kenya. Success in managing competitive advantage arises out of a firm’s ability in identifying and implementing actions that can give the company an edge over its rivals. Manufacturing firms in Kenya are the highest consumers of both electricity and petroleum products. In this regard, the study posits that transfer of the gains of energy management practices to competitive advantage is imperative. The study was carried in Nairobi and its environs, which hosts the largest number of manufacturers. The study objectives were; to determine the level of implementing energy management regulations on sustaining competitive advantage, to determine the level of implementing company energy management policy on competitive advantage, to examine the level of implementing energy efficient technology on sustaining competitive advantage, and to assess the percentage energy expenditure on sustaining competitive advantage among manufacturing firms. The study adopted a survey research design, with a study population of 145,987. A sample of 384 respondents was selected randomly from 21 proportionately selected firms. Structured questionnaires were used to collect data. Data analysis was done using descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviations) and inferential statistics (correlation, regression, and T-test). Data is presented using tables and diagrams. The study found that Energy Management Regulations, Company Energy Management Policies, and Energy Expenses are significant predictors of Competitive Advantage (CA). However, Energy Efficient Technology as a component of Energy Management Practices did not have a significant relationship with Competitive Advantage. The study revealed that the level of awareness in the sector stood at 49.3%. Energy Expenses in the sector stood at an average of 10.53% of the firm’s total revenue. The study showed that gains from energy efficiency practices can be transferred to competitive strategies so as to improve firm competitiveness. The study recommends that manufacturing firms should consider energy management practices as part of its strategic agenda in assessing and reviewing their energy management practices as possible strategies for sustaining competitiveness. The government agencies such as Energy Regulatory Commission, the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum, and Kenya Association of Manufacturers should enforce the energy management regulations 2012, and with enhanced stakeholder involvement and sensitization so as promote sustenance of firm competitiveness. Government support in providing incentives and rebates for acquisition of energy efficient technologies should be pursued. From the study limitation, future experimental and longitudinal studies need to be carried out. It should be noted that energy management practices yield enormous benefits to all stakeholders and that the practice should not be considered a competitive tool but rather as a universal practice.

Keywords: energy, efficiency, management, guidelines, policy, technology, competitive advantage

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Authors: Prince Amartey

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Water is critical to public health, quality of life, environmental preservation, economic activity, and long-term growth. In this environment, it is critical to ensure the ongoing improvement of all processes and practices that contribute to the quality and safety of water. Water safety plans (WSPs) developed by water companies are an essential public policy instrument for achieving these objectives. This manuscript examines international evidence of water safety planning adoption and implementation and reports on the current situation in Portugal as part of the necessary adaptation of the national legal framework to the publication of the Directive on water quality for human consumption. The goal is to take lessons from various successful WSP projects throughout the world while writing new legislation in Ghana and elsewhere. According to the findings, four crucial aspects and key factors of success in establishing and implementing WSPs exist commitment from leadership, technical proficiency, administration, and cooperation among agencies.

Keywords: safe drinking, risk, policy, implementation

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Authors: Badiy Elmabrouk, Abdelhamid Boujarif, Zhiguo Zeng, Stephane Borrel, Robert Heidsieck

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In an era where sustainability is paramount, this paper introduces a machine learning-driven testing protocol to accurately predict diode failures, merging reliability engineering with failure physics to enhance repair operations efficiency. Our approach refines the burn-in process, significantly curtailing its duration, which not only conserves energy but also elevates productivity and mitigates component wear. A case study from GE HealthCare’s repair center vividly demonstrates the method’s effectiveness, recording a high prediction of diode failures and a substantial decrease in energy consumption that translates to an annual reduction of 6.5 Tons of CO2 emissions. This advancement sets a benchmark for environmentally conscious practices in the electronics repair sector.

Keywords: maintenance, burn-in, failure physics, reliability testing

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Authors: Afsheen Aman, Zainab Bibi, Shah Ali Ul Qader

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Introduction: Xylan is a heteropolysaccharide composed of xylose monomers linked together through 1,4 linkages within a complex xylan network. Owing to wide applications of xylan hydrolytic products (xylose, xylobiose and xylooligosaccharide) the researchers are focusing towards the development of various strategies for efficient xylan degradation. One of the most important strategies focused is the use of heat tolerant biocatalysts which acts as strong and specific cleaving agents. Therefore, the exploration of microbial pool from extremely diversified ecosystem is considerably vital. Microbial populations from extreme habitats are keenly explored for the isolation of thermophilic entities. These thermozymes usually demonstrate fast hydrolytic rate, can produce high yields of product and are less prone to microbial contamination. Another possibility of degrading xylan continuously is the use of immobilization technique. The current work is an effort to merge both the positive aspects of thermozyme and immobilization technique. Methodology: Geobacillus stearothermophilus was isolated from soil sample collected near the blast furnace site. This thermophile is capable of producing thermostable endo-β-1,4-xylanase which cleaves xylan effectively. In the current study, this thermozyme was immobilized within a synthetic and a non-synthetic matrice for continuous production of metabolites using entrapment technique. The kinetic parameters of the free and immobilized enzyme were studied. For this purpose calcium alginate and polyacrylamide beads were prepared. Results: For the synthesis of immobilized beads, sodium alginate (40.0 gL-1) and calcium chloride (0.4 M) was used amalgamated. The temperature (50°C) and pH (7.0) optima of immobilized enzyme remained same for xylan hydrolysis however, the enzyme-substrate catalytic reaction time raised from 5.0 to 30.0 minutes as compared to free counterpart. Diffusion limit of high molecular weight xylan (corncob) caused a decline in Vmax of immobilized enzyme from 4773 to 203.7 U min-1 whereas, Km value increased from 0.5074 to 0.5722 mg ml-1 with reference to free enzyme. Immobilized endo-β-1,4-xylanase showed its stability at high temperatures as compared to free enzyme. It retained 18% and 9% residual activity at 70°C and 80°C, respectively whereas; free enzyme completely lost its activity at both temperatures. The Immobilized thermozyme displayed sufficient recycling efficiency and can be reused up to five reaction cycles, indicating that this enzyme can be a plausible candidate in paper processing industry. Conclusion: This thermozyme showed better immobilization yield and operational stability with the purpose of hydrolyzing the high molecular weight xylan. However, the enzyme immobilization properties can be improved further by immobilizing it on different supports for industrial purpose.

Keywords: immobilization, reusability, thermozymes, xylanase

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Authors: Jyothirmayee Pola

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Ideally, a test-driven development (TDD) or agile or any other process should be able to define and implement performance, scalability, and reliability (PSR) of the product with a higher quality of service (QOS) and should have the ability to fix any PSR issues with lesser cost before it hits the production. Most PSR test strategies for new product introduction (NPI) include assumptions about production load requirements but never accurate. NPE (New product Enhancement) include assumptions for new features that are being developed whilst workload distribution for older features can be derived by analyzing production transactions. This paper talks about how to shift left PSR towards design phase of release management process to get better QOS w.r.t PSR for any product under development. It also explains the ROI for future customer onboarding both for Service Oriented Architectures (SOA) and Microservices architectures and how to define PSR requirements.

Keywords: component PSR, performance engineering, performance tuning, reliability, return on investment, scalability, system PSR

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Authors: Anthony J. Rojas

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In flipped classroom environments, students are tasked with engaging in pre-class learning to maximize the effectiveness of in-class time. This study investigates the use of ‘Quests’, brief formative assessments administered at the start of class, to evaluate student understanding of assigned pre-class materials in an undergraduate chemistry course. Students completed Quests via Microsoft Forms, based on content from instructional videos and worksheets, and these assessments were mandatory, with no opportunity for make-up. This paper examines the correlation between Quest performance and overall course success, finding that students who performed well on the Quests consistently achieved higher final grades in the course. The findings suggest that Quests are effective in both reinforcing student engagement with pre-class content and predicting their broader academic performance. The implications of these results for flipped classroom strategies and student learning outcomes will be discussed.

Keywords: chemistry, flipped classroom, attendance, assessments

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Authors: Mohammed Sharaf, Alireza Shokri, Adrian Small, Toby Bridges

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This paper investigates digital transformation challenges in SMEs within the automotive supply chain. A case study approach and participant observation revealed significant data management and process optimization barriers, corroborated by a conceptual model. Stakeholder feedback, visualized through a pie chart, emphasized data management and process efficiency as primary concerns. Recommended strategies include implementing advanced data systems, process simplification, and enhancing digital skills. Despite the single-case study limitation, the findings offer actionable insights for SMEs to leverage Industry 4.0 technologies effectively. This research contributes to the strategic roadmap necessary for SMEs to achieve competitive digital transformation.

Keywords: automotive supply chain, digital transformation, industry 4.0

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Authors: Ossama Matrane

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Information System has become a strategic lever for enterprises. It contributes effectively to align business processes on strategies of enterprises. It is regarded as an increase in productivity and effectiveness. So, many organizations are currently involved in implementing sustainable Information System. And, a large number of studies have been conducted the last decade in order to define the success factors of information system. Thus, many studies on maturity model have been carried out. Some of this study is referred to the maturity model of Information System. In this article, we report on development of maturity models specifically designed for information system. This model is built based on three components derived from Maturity Model for Information Security Management, OPM3 for Project Management Maturity Model and processes of COBIT for IT governance. Thus, our proposed model defines three maturity stages for corporate a strong Information System to support objectives of organizations. It provides a very practical structure with which to assess and improve Information System Implementation.

Keywords: information system, maturity models, information security management, OPM3, IT governance

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Authors: Ouzayr Rabhi, Ibtissam Arrassen

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To provide a complete analysis of the organization and to help decision-making, leaders need to have relevant data; Data Warehouses (DW) are designed to meet such needs. However, designing DW is not trivial and there is no formal method to derive a multidimensional schema from heterogeneous databases. In this article, we present a Model-Driven based approach concerning the design of data warehouses. We describe a multidimensional meta-model and also specify a set of transformations starting from a Unified Modeling Language (UML) metamodel. In this approach, the UML metamodel and the multidimensional one are both considered as a platform-independent model (PIM). The first meta-model is mapped into the second one through transformation rules carried out by the Query View Transformation (QVT) language. This proposal is validated through the application of our approach to generating a multidimensional schema of a Balanced Scorecard (BSC) DW. We are interested in the BSC perspectives, which are highly linked to the vision and the strategies of an organization.

Keywords: data warehouse, meta-model, model-driven architecture, transformation, UML

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Authors: Temitope Faloye

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In today’s changing job market economy, most employers of labor want employees who are employable and possess relevant skills. Graduates need to possess generic skills due to the continually changing nature of the job market, which requires adaptive coping strategies. Most employers of labor complain that graduates are not employable, which is one of the major factors causing a high rate of graduate unemployment in Nigeria. However, the number of unemployed females is higher than that of unemployed males; hence gender difference is linked to the employability of graduates. The human capital theory is considered an appropriate theory for this study. A qualitative approach will be used to provide answers to the research questions. Therefore, the research study aims to investigate the employers’ perspective on female graduate employability in Nigeria.

Keywords: graduate employability, generic skills, graduate unemployment, gender

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Authors: Mursidin Yusuf, Fitri Wulandari

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Indonesia has changed its curriculum ten times, starting from 1947 to 2022, and it might change in upcoming years. This comprehensive study delves into the global perspectives of educational leadership, with a specific focus on examining curriculum changes within the context of Indonesia. Against the backdrop of an increasingly interconnected educational landscape, the necessity to comprehend diverse leadership approaches becomes paramount. By employing a qualitative case study methodology, this research meticulously scrutinizes ten notable curriculum modifications within the Indonesian educational framework and evaluates their impacts on the sector. Utilizing document analysis, pertinent literature, and interviews with school principals, the study thoroughly explores the leadership dynamics that have influenced these alterations. The findings offer multifaceted insights into the strategies, challenges, and outcomes associated with curriculum reform initiatives in Indonesia, providing a nuanced understanding of the effects of these changes on the education sector.

Keywords: curriculum changes, educational leadership, global perspectives, Indonesia

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Authors: Zhaoming Yang, Qi Xiang, Qian He, Michael Havbro Faber, Enrico Zio, Huai Su, Jinjun Zhang

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Resilience is one of the key factors for system safety assessment and optimization, and resilience studies of natural gas pipeline systems (NGPS), especially in terms of process descriptions, are still being explored. Based on the three main stages, which are function loss process, recovery process, and waiting process, the paper has built functions and models which are according to the practical characteristics of NGPS and mainly analyzes the characteristics of deterministic interruptions. The resilience of NGPS also considers the threshold of the system function or users' satisfaction. The outcomes, which quantify the resilience of NGPS in different evaluation views, can be combined with the max flow and shortest path methods, help with the optimization of extra gas supplies and gas routes as well as pipeline maintenance strategies, the quick analysis of disturbance effects and the improvement of NGPS resilience evaluation accuracy.

Keywords: natural gas pipeline system, resilience, process modeling, deterministic disturbance

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Authors: J. Waita, S. Wamuhu, J. Makoyo, M. Rachel, T. Ngangari, W. Christine, M. Zipporah

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Contraceptive use is one of the key global strategies to alleviate maternal mortality. Global efforts through advocating for contraceptive uptake and service provision has led improved contraceptive prevalence. In Kenya maternal mortality rate has remained a challenged despites efforts by government and non-governmental organizations. Objective: To describe the uptake of contraceptives among women in Tunza Clinics, Kenya. Design and Methods: Ps Kenya through health care marketing fund is implementing a family planning program among its 350 Tunza fractional franchise facilities. Through private partnership, private owned facilities in low socio-economic areas are recruited and trained on contraceptive technology update. The providers are supported through facilitative supervision through a mobile based application Health Network Quality Improvement System (HNQIS) and interpersonal communication through 150 community based volunteers. The data analyzed in this paper was collected between January to July 2017 to show the uptake of modern Contraceptives among women in the Tunza franchise, method mix, age and distribution among the age bracket. Further analysis compares two different service delivery strategies; outreach and walk ins. Supportive supervision HNQIS scores was analyzed. Results: During the time period, a total of 132121 family planning clients were attended in 350 facilities. The average age of clients was 29.6 years. The average number of clients attended in the facilities per month was 18874. 73.7 %( n=132121) of the clients attended in the Tunza facilities were aged above 25 years while 22.1% 20-24 years and 4.2% 15-19 years. On contraceptive method mix, intra uterine device insertions clients contributed to 7.5%, implant insertions 15.3%, pills 11.2%, injections 62.7% while condoms and emergency pills had 2.7% and 0.6% respectively. Analysis of service delivery strategy indicated more than 79% of the clients were walk ins while 21% were attended to during outreaches. Uptake of long term contraceptive methods during outreaches was 73% of the clients while short term modern methods were 27%. Health Network Quality Improvement system assessment scores indicated 51% of the facilities scored over 90%, 25% scoring 80-89% while 21% scored below 80%. Conclusion: Preference for short term methods by women is possibly associated to cost as they are cheaper and easy to administer. When the cost of intra uterine device Implants is meant affordable during outreaches, the uptake is observed to increase. Making intra uterine device and implants affordable to women is a key strategy in increasing contraceptive prevalence hence averting maternal mortality.

Keywords: contraceptives, contraceptive uptake, low socio economic, supportive supervision

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Authors: Tso Sheng-Yang, Wang Tien-Ni

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Introduction and Purpose: Previous researchers have documented children with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorders) prefer to escaping internal privates and external privates when they face tough conditions they can’t control or they don’t like.Especially, when children with ASD need to learn challenging tasks, such us Chinese language, their inappropriate behaviors will occur apparently. Recently, researchers apply positive behavior support strategies for children with ASD to enhance their self-efficacy and therefore to reduce their adverse behaviors. Thus, the purpose of this research was to design a series of lecture based on art therapy and to evaluate its effectiveness on the child’s self-efficacy. Method: This research was the single-case design study that recruited a high school boy with ASD. Whole research can be separated into three conditions. First, baseline condition, before the class started and ended, the researcher collected participant’s competencies of self-efficacy every session. In intervention condition, the research used dramatic conventions to teach the child in Chinese language twice a week.When the data was stable across three documents, the period entered to the maintenance condition. In maintenance condition, the researcher only collected the score of self-efficacynot to do other interventions five times a month to represent the effectiveness of maintenance.The time and frequency of data collection among three conditions are identical. Concerning art therapy, the common approach, e.g., music, drama, or painting is to use art medium as independent variable. Due to visual cues of art medium, the ASD can be easily to gain joint attention with teachers. Besides, the ASD have difficulties in understanding abstract objectives Thus, using the drama convention is helpful for the ASD to construct the environment and understand the context of Classical Chinese. By real operation, it can improve the ASD to understand the context and construct prior knowledge. Result: Bassd on the 10-points Likert scale and research, we product following results. (a) In baseline condition, the average score of self-efficacyis 1.12 points, rangedfrom 1 to 2 points, and the level change is 0 point. (b)In intervention condition, the average score of self-efficacy is 7.66 points rangedfrom 7 to 9 points, and the level change is 1 point. (c)In maintenance condition, the average score of self-efficacy is 6.66 points rangedfrom 6 to 7 points, and the level change is 1 point. Concerning immediacy of change, between baseline and intervention conditions, the difference is 5 points. No overlaps were found between these two conditions. Conclusion: According to the result, we find that it is effective that using dramatic conventions a s teaching strategies to teach children with ASD. The result presents the score of self-efficacyimmediately enhances when the dramatic conventions commences. Thus, we suggest the teacher can use this approach and adjust, based on the student’s trait, to teach the ASD on difficult task.

Keywords: dramatic conventions, autism spectrum disorder, slef-efficacy, teaching strategy

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Authors: Abanob Nady Wasef Moawed

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In more complicated systems, inclusive of automotive gearboxes, a rigorous remedy of the data is essential because there are several transferring elements (gears, bearings, shafts, and many others.), and in this way, there are numerous viable sources of mistakes and also noise. The fundamental goal of these elements are the detection of damage in car gearbox. The detection strategies used are the wavelet technique, the bispectrum, advanced filtering techniques (selective filtering) of vibrational alerts and mathematical morphology. Gearbox vibration assessments were achieved (gearboxes in proper circumstance and with defects) of a manufacturing line of a huge car assembler. The vibration indicators have acquired the use of five accelerometers in distinct positions of the sample. The effects acquired using the kurtosis, bispectrum, wavelet and mathematical morphology confirmed that it's far possible to identify the lifestyles of defects in automobile gearboxes.

Keywords: 3D-shaped electronics, electronic components, thermoforming, component positioningautomotive gearbox, mathematical morphology, wavelet, bispectrum

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Authors: Abdullah Mohamed, Raipat Vaidehi

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With increasing immigration to urban areas, every city is experiencing shortage of housing. Vertical habitats are the only solution to this problem, it is hence important to make sure that these habitats are environmentally, socially and economically sustainable. A lot of work on vertical habitats has already been carried out in terms of environmental and economic sustainability, hence this research aims to study the aspects of social sustainability of the vertical habitats. It being the least studied topic, opens many reals of novelty and uniqueness. In this Research, user perception survey and various mapping methods have been used to study the social sustainability of the existing vertical habitats in the selected cities. The various aspects that can be used to define social sustainability of any place include; safety, equity, accessibility, legibility, imagibility, readability, memorability and ease of movement. This research would help to evolve new strategies in form of design and/or guidelines to make the existing vertical habitats socially sustainable.

Keywords: user lifestyle, user perception, social sustainability, vertical habitats

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Authors: Danny Barash

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Riboswitches are RNA genetic control elements that were originally discovered in bacteria and provide a unique mechanism of gene regulation. They work without the participation of proteins and are believed to represent ancient regulatory systems in the evolutionary timescale. One of the biggest challenges in riboswitch research is that many are found in prokaryotes but only a small percentage of known riboswitches have been found in certain eukaryotic organisms. The few examples of eukaryotic riboswitches were identified using sequence-based bioinformatics search methods that include some slight structural considerations. These pattern-matching methods were the first ones to be applied for the purpose of riboswitch detection and they can also be programmed very efficiently using a data structure called affix arrays, making them suitable for genome-wide searches of riboswitch patterns. However, they are limited by their ability to detect harder to find riboswitches that deviate from the known patterns. Several methods have been developed since then to tackle this problem. The most commonly used by practitioners is Infernal that relies on Hidden Markov Models (HMMs) and Covariance Models (CMs). Profile Hidden Markov Models were also carried out in the pHMM Riboswitch Scanner web application, independently from Infernal. Other computational approaches that have been developed include RMDetect by the use of 3D structural modules and RNAbor that utilizes Boltzmann probability of structural neighbors. We have tried to incorporate more sophisticated secondary structure considerations based on RNA folding prediction using several strategies. The first idea was to utilize window-based methods in conjunction with folding predictions by energy minimization. The moving window approach is heavily geared towards secondary structure consideration relative to sequence that is treated as a constraint. However, the method cannot be used genome-wide due to its high cost because each folding prediction by energy minimization in the moving window is computationally expensive, enabling to scan only at the vicinity of genes of interest. The second idea was to remedy the inefficiency of the previous approach by constructing a pipeline that consists of inverse RNA folding considering RNA secondary structure, followed by a BLAST search that is sequence-based and highly efficient. This approach, which relies on inverse RNA folding in general and our own in-house fragment-based inverse RNA folding program called RNAfbinv in particular, shows capability to find attractive candidates that are missed by Infernal and other standard methods being used for riboswitch detection. We demonstrate attractive candidates found by both the moving-window approach and the inverse RNA folding approach performed together with BLAST. We conclude that structure-based methods like the two strategies outlined above hold considerable promise in detecting riboswitches and other conserved RNAs of functional importance in a variety of organisms.

Keywords: riboswitches, RNA folding prediction, RNA structure, structure-based methods

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Authors: Armana Sabiha Huq, Tahmina Rahman Chowdhury

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In this paper, based on the stated preference experiment, the service quality of Bangladesh Railway has been assessed, and particular importance has been given to investigate if there exists a relationship between service quality and safety. For investigation purposes, environmental and organizational factors were assumed to determine the safety performance of the railway. Data collected from the survey has been analyzed by importance-performance analysis (IPA). In this paper, a modification of the well-known importance-performance analysis (IPA) has been done by adopting the importance of the weights determined through a structural equation modeling (SEM) approach and by plotting the gap between importance and performance on a visual graph. It has been found that there exists a relationship between safety and serviceability to some extent. Limited resources are an important factor to improve the safety and serviceability condition of the BD railway. Moreover, it is observed that the limited resources available to monitor and improve the safety performance of railway.

Keywords: importance-performance analysis, GAP-IPA, SEM, serviceability, safety, factor analysis

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Authors: Fabienne Fel, Eric Griette

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Reshoring, whether concerning back-reshoring or near-reshoring, is a quite recent phenomenon. Despite the economic and political interest of this topic, academic research questioning determinants of reshoring remains rare. Our paper aims at contributing to fill this gap. In order to better understand the reasons for reshoring, we conducted a study among 280 French firms during spring 2016, three-quarters of which sourced, or source, in China. 105 firms in the sample have reshored all or part of their Chinese production or supply in recent years, and we aimed to establish a typology of the motives that drove them to this decision. We asked our respondents about the history of their Chinese supplies, their current reshoring strategies, and their motivations. Statistical analysis was performed with SPSS 22 and SPAD 8. Our results show that change in commercial and financial terms with China is the first motive explaining the current reshoring movement from this country (it applies to 54% of our respondents). A change in corporate strategy is the second motive (30% of our respondents); the reshoring decision follows a change in companies’ strategies (upgrading, implementation of a CSR policy, or a 'lean management' strategy). The third motive (14% of our sample) is a mere correction of the initial offshoring decision, considered as a mistake (under-estimation of hidden costs, non-quality and non-responsiveness problems). Some authors emphasize that developing a short supply chain, involving geographic proximity between design and production, gives a competitive advantage to companies wishing to offer innovative products. Admittedly 40% of our respondents indicate that this motive could have played a part in their decision to reshore, but this reason was not enough for any of them and is not an intrinsic motive leading to leaving Chinese suppliers. Having questioned our respondents about the importance given to various problems leading them to reshore, we then performed a Principal Components Analysis (PCA), associated with an Ascending Hierarchical Classification (AHC), based on Ward criterion, so as to point out more specific motivations. Three main classes of companies should be distinguished: -The 'Cost Killers' (23% of the sample), which reshore their supplies from China only because of higher procurement costs and so as to find lower costs elsewhere. -The 'Realists' (50% of the sample), giving equal weight or importance to increasing procurement costs in China and to the quality of their supplies (to a large extend). Companies being part of this class tend to take advantage of this changing environment to change their procurement strategy, seeking suppliers offering better quality and responsiveness. - The 'Voluntarists' (26% of the sample), which choose to reshore their Chinese supplies regardless of higher Chinese costs, to obtain better quality and greater responsiveness. We emphasize that if the main driver for reshoring from China is indeed higher local costs, it is should not be regarded as an exclusive motivation; 77% of the companies in the sample, are also seeking, sometimes exclusively, more reactive suppliers, liable to quality, respect for the environment and intellectual property.

Keywords: China, procurement, reshoring, strategy, supplies

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Authors: Ahmed E. Al-Sabri, Mohamed A. Moslem, Sarfaraz Hadi

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To avoid the harmful effects of the chemical fungicides on the human and minimize the environmental pollution, an alternative eco-friendly control strategies should be developed. The extract of Commiphora myhrra L. was tested against twenty fungal genera isolated from the indoor air collected from different rooms in King Saud University, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Disc diffusion test was modified for use in this study and the collected data was statistically analyzed. Variable antifungal efficacy of different myrrh extract was recorded against the investigated fungal genera. The efficacy of the extract was increased as the concentration increased. The highest growth inhibition (74.6%) was against Acremonium strictum followed by Trichoderma psuedokoningii (70.6%). On contrast, the lowest efficacy (12.7%) was against Ulocladium consortiale. It could be concluded that myrrh extract is promised as a source of substances from which of safer and eco-friendly could be used as antimicrobial agents against a number of pathogenic fungi.

Keywords: antifungal, myrrh, antimicrobial, medicinal plant

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Authors: Zeynep Turhan

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This review emphasized the effectiveness of men’s participation, and whether non-violent (NV) boys’ and men’s perceptions of IPV prevention programs affect their involvement. Additionally, the review aimed to identify the barriers of non-engagement as well as the most effective approaches to end and prevent violence-against-women (VAW). The main goals of this assessment were to investigate 1) how NV men engage in anti-violence prevention programs that empower women, 2) what are the possible perceptions of NV men involved in prevention programs 3) how to identify effective approaches and strategies that encourage NV men to become involved in prevention programs. This critical review also included the overview of prevention programs such as The Mentors in Violence Prevention Programs (MVP), The White Ribbon Campaign (WRC), and Domestic Violence Prevention Enhancement and Leadership through Alliances (DELTA). The review recommended expanding these programs to reach more macro settings such as workplace, faith-based and other community-based organizations. Additionally, secondary and territory prevention programs need to expand through addressing the long-term effects of violence.

Keywords: engagement, non-violent men, prevention programs

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Authors: Hamda M. Al-Ali

Abstract:

From addressing fundamental questions about the history of the solar system to exploring other planets for any signs of life have always been the core of human space exploration. This triggered humans to explore whether other planets such as Mars could support human life on them. Therefore, many planned space missions to other planets have been designed and conducted to examine the feasibility of human survival on them. However, space missions are expensive and consume a large number of various resources to be successful. To overcome these problems, material efficiency shall be maximized through the use of reusable launch vehicles (RLV) rather than disposable and expendable ones. Material efficiency is defined as a way to achieve service requirements using fewer materials to reduce CO2 emissions from industrial processes. Materials such as aluminum-lithium alloys, steel, Kevlar, and reinforced carbon-carbon composites used in the manufacturing of spacecrafts could be reused in closed-loop cycles directly or by adding a protective coat. Material efficiency is a fundamental principle of a circular economy. The circular economy aims to cutback waste and reduce pollution through maximizing material efficiency so that businesses can succeed and endure. Five strategies have been proposed to improve material efficiency in the space industry, which includes waste minimization, introduce Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to measure material efficiency, and introduce policies and legislations to improve material efficiency in the space sector. Another strategy to boost material efficiency is through maximizing resource and energy efficiency through material reusability. Furthermore, the environmental effects associated with the rapid growth in the number of space missions include black carbon emissions that lead to climate change. The levels of emissions must be tracked and tackled to ensure the safe utilization of space in the future. The aim of this research paper is to examine and suggest effective methods used to improve material efficiency in space missions so that space and Earth become more environmentally and economically sustainable. The objectives used to fulfill this aim are to identify the materials used in space missions that are suitable to be reused in closed-loop cycles considering material efficiency indicators and circular economy concepts. An explanation of how spacecraft materials could be re-used as well as propose strategies to maximize material efficiency in order to make RLVs possible so that access to space becomes affordable and reliable is provided. Also, the economic viability of the RLVs is examined to show the extent to which the use of RLVs has on the reduction of space mission costs. The environmental and economic implications of the increase in the number of space missions as a result of the use of RLVs are also discussed. These research questions are studied through detailed critical analysis of the literature, such as published reports, books, scientific articles, and journals. A combination of keywords such as material efficiency, circular economy, RLVs, and spacecraft materials were used to search for appropriate literature.

Keywords: access to space, circular economy, material efficiency, reusable launch vehicles, spacecraft materials

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Authors: N. Paparisteidi, D. Rodamitou

Abstract:

This article focuses on the skills development and path planning of students studying computer science in EPITECH: french private institute of Higher Education. The researchers examine students’ points of view and experience in a blended learning model based on a skills development curriculum. The study is based on the collection of four main categories of data: semi-participant observation, distribution of questionnaires, interviews, and analysis of internal school databases. The findings seem to indicate that a skills-based program on active learning enables students to develop their learning strategies as well as their personal skills and to actively engage in the creation of their career path and contribute to providing additional information to curricula planners and decision-makers about learning design in higher education.

Keywords: active learning, blended learning, higher education, skills development

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Authors: Barbara A. Perry

Abstract:

In 1996, the New Zealand government and the Ministry of Education announced that they were setting up a "world class system of inclusive education". As a parent of a son with high and complex needs, a teacher, school Principal and Disability studies Lecturer, this author will track the changes in the journey towards inclusive education over the last 20 years. Strategies for partnering with families to ensure educational success along with insights from one of those on the crest of the wave will be presented. Using a narrative methodology the author will illuminate how far New Zealand has come towards this world class system of inclusion promised and share from personal experience some of the highlights and risks in the system. This author has challenged the old structures and been part of the setting up of new structures particularly for providing parent voice and insight; this paper provides a unique view from an insider’s voice as well as a professional in the system.

Keywords: disability studies, inclusive education, special education, working with families with children with disability

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Authors: Hakimullah Hakim, Chiharu Toyofuku, Mari Ota, Mayuko Suzuki, Miyuki Komura, Masashi Yamada, Md. Shahin Alam, Natthanan Sangsriratanakul, Dany Shoham, Kazuaki Takehara

Abstract:

Disinfectants and their application are essential part of infection control strategies and enhancement of biosecurity at farms, worldwide. Alkaline agents are well known for their strong and long term antimicrobial capacities and most frequently are applied at farms for control and prevention of biological hazards. However, inadequate information regarding such materials’ capacities to inactivate pathogens and their improper applications fail farmers to achieve the mentioned goal. Thus, this requires attention to further evaluate their efficacies, under different conditions and in different ways. Here in this study we evaluated bactericidal efficacies of food additive grade of calcium hydroxide (FdCa(OH)2) powder derived from natural calcium carbonates obtained from limestone (Fine Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan), and bioceramic powder (BCX) derived from chicken feces at pH 13 (NMG environmental development Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan), for their efficacies to inactivate bacteria in feces. [Materials & Methods] Chicken feces were inoculated by 100 µl Escherichia coli and Salmonella Infantis in falcon tubes, individually, then FdCa(OH)2 or BCX powders were individually added to make final concentration of 0, 5, 10, 20 and 30% (w/w) in total weight of 0.5g, followed by properly mixing and incubating at room temperature for certain periods of time, in a dark place. Afterwards, 10 ml 1M Tris-HCl (pH 7.2) was added onto them to reduce their pH, in order to stop powders’ activities and to harvest the remained viable bacteria, whereas using normal medium or dW2 to recover bacteria increases the mixture pH, and as a result bacteria would be inactivated soon; therefore, the latter practice brings about incorrect and misleading results. Samples were then inoculated on DHL agar plates in order to calculate colony forming units (CFU)/ml of viable bacteria. [Results and Discussion] FdCa(OH)2 powder at 10% and 5% required 3 hr and 6 hr exposure times, respectively, while BCX powder at 20% concentrations required 6 hr exposure time to kill the mentioned bacteria in feces down to lower than detectable level (≤ 3.6 log10 CFU/ml). This study confirmed capacities of FdCa(OH)2 and BCX powders to inactivate bacteria in feces, and both materials are environment friendly materials, with no risk to human or animal’s health. This finding helps farmers to properly apply alkaline agents in appropriate concentrations and exposure times in their farms, in order to prevent and control infectious diseases outbreaks and to enhance biosecurity. Finally, this finding may help farmers to implement better strategies for infections control in their livestock farms.

Keywords: bacterial inactivation, bioceramic, biosecurity at livestock farms, chicken feces

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Authors: Shohel Ahmed, Md. Abdul Alim, Sumaiya Rahman

Abstract:

Optimal control can be helpful to test and compare different vaccination strategies of a certain disease. The mathematical model of HIV we consider here is a set of ordinary differential equations (ODEs) describing the interactions of CD4+T cells of the immune system with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). As an early treatment setting, we investigate an optimal chemotherapy strategy where control represents the percentage of effect the chemotherapy has on the system. The aim is to obtain a new optimal chemotherapeutic strategy where an isoperimetric constraint on the chemotherapy supply plays a crucial role. We outline the steps in formulating an optimal control problem, derive optimality conditions and demonstrate numerical results of an optimal control for the model. Numerical results illustrate how such a constraint alters the optimal vaccination schedule and its effect on cell-virus interactions.

Keywords: chemotherapy of HIV, optimal control involving ODEs, optimality conditions, Pontryagin’s maximum principle

Procedia PDF Downloads 330