Search results for: benefit analysis

Authors: Rasha F. Sharaf

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Treatment of dental caries in young children is considered a great challenge for all dentists, especially with uncooperative children. Recently non-invasive techniques have been highlighted as they alleviate the need for local anesthesia and other painful procedures during management of carious teeth and, at the same time, increase the success rate of the treatment done. Silver Diamine Fluoride (SDF) is one of the most effective cariostatic materials that arrest the progression of carious lesions and aid in remineralizing the demineralized tooth structure. Both fluoride and silver ions proved to have an antibacterial action and aid in the precipitation of an insoluble layer that prevents further decay. At the same time, Moringa proved to have an effective antibacterial action against different types of bacteria, therefore, it can be used as a non-invasive technique for the management of caries in children. One of the important theories for the control of caries is by depriving the cariogenic bacteria from nutrients causing their starvation and death, which can be achieved by applying stainless steel crown on primary molars with carious lesions which are not involving the pulp, and this technique is known as Hall technique. The success rate of the Hall technique can be increased by arresting the carious lesion using either SDF or Moringa and gaining the benefit of their antibacterial action. Multiple clinical cases with 1 year follow up will be presented, comparing different treatment options, and using various materials and techniques for non-invasive and non-painful management of carious primary teeth.

Keywords: SDF, hall technique, carious primary teeth, moringa extract

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Authors: Nitin Dwivedi, Jigna Shah

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Aim and objective of study: This article indicates a comparison among various generations of dendrimers, a dendrimer is a bioactive material has repetitively branched molecule and used for delivery of various therapeutic active agents. This debut report compares the effect various generations of PPI dendrimers for brain targeting and management of neurodegenerative disorders potential on single platform. This report involves the study of the various mechanism of synthesis ligand anchored various generations PPI dendrimers deliver the drug directly to the CNS, prove their effectiveness in the management of the various neurodegenerative disease. Material and Methods: The Memantine an anti-Alzheimer drug loaded in different generations (3.0G, 4.0G, and 5.0G) of PPI dendrimers which were synthesized were synthesized. The various studies investigate the effect of PPI dendrimers generation on different characteristic parameters i.e. synthesis procedure, drug loading, release behavior, hemolysis profile at different concentration, MRI study for determine the route drug from olfactory transfer, animal model study in vitro, as well as in vivo performance. The outcomes of the investigation indicate drug delivery benefit as well as superior biocompatibility of 4.0G PPI dendrimer over 3.0G and 5.0G dendrimer, respectively. Results and Conclusion: The above study indicate the superiority of in drug delivery system with maximum drug utilization and minimize the drug dose for neurodegenerative disorder over 5.0G PPI dendrimers. So, 4.0G PPI dendrimers are the safe formulations for the symptomatic treatment of the neurodegenerative disorder. The fifth-generation poly(propyleneimine) (PPI) dendrimers, inherent toxicity due to the presence of many peripheral cationic groups is the major issue that limits their applicability.

Keywords: Alzheimer disease, generation, memantine, PPI

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Authors: J. R. Wang, Y. Chiang, W. S. Hsu, S. H. Chen, J. H. Yang, S. W. Chen, C. Shih, Y. F. Chang, Y. H. Huang, B. R. Shen

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In this research, the RASCAL code was used to simulate and analyze the postulated UF₆ fire accident which may occur in the Institute of Nuclear Energy Research (INER). There are four main steps in this research. In the first step, the UF₆ data of INER were collected. In the second step, the RASCAL analysis methodology and model was established by using these data. Third, this RASCAL model was used to perform the simulation and analysis of the postulated UF₆ fire accident. Three cases were simulated and analyzed in this step. Finally, the analysis results of RASCAL were compared with the hazardous levels of the chemicals. According to the compared results of three cases, Case 3 has the maximum danger in human health.

Keywords: RASCAL, UF₆, safety, hydrogen fluoride

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Authors: Louiza C. Duncker, Duarte Gonçalves

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Wildlife crime is a complex problem with many interconnected facets, which are generally responded to in parts or fragments in efforts to “break down” the complexity into manageable components. However, fragmentation increases complexity as coherence and cooperation become diluted. A whole-of-society approach has been developed towards finding a common goal and integrated approach to preventing wildlife crime. As part of this development, research was conducted in rural communities adjacent to conservation areas in South Africa to define and comprehend the challenges faced by them, and to understand their perceptions of wildlife crime. The results of the research showed that the perceptions of community members varied - most were in favor of conservation and of protecting rhinos, only if they derive adequate benefit from it. Regardless of gender, income level, education level, or access to services, conservation was perceived to be good and bad by the same people. Even though people in the communities are poor, a willingness to stop rhino poaching does exist amongst them, but their perception of parks not caring about people triggered an attitude of not being willing to stop, prevent or report poaching. Understanding the nuances, the history, the interests and values of community members, and the drivers behind poaching mind-sets (intrinsic or driven by transnational organized crime) is imperative to create sustainable and resilient communities on multiple levels that make a substantial positive impact on people’s lives, but also conserve wildlife for posterity.

Keywords: community perceptions, conservation, rhino poaching, whole-of-society approach, wildlife crime

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Authors: N. Marzban, J. K. Heydarzadeh M. Pourmohammadbagher, M. H. Hatami, A. Samia

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A nano-alumina-zirconia composite catalyst was synthesized by a simple aqueous sol-gel method using AlCl₃.6H₂O and ZrCl₄ as precursors. Thermal decomposition of the precursor and subsequent formation of γ-Al₂O₃ and t-Zr were investigated by thermal analysis. XRD analysis showed that γ-Al₂O₃ and t-ZrO₂ phases were formed at 700 °C. FT-IR analysis also indicated that the phase transition to γ-Al₂O₃ occurred in corroboration with X-ray studies. TEM analysis of the calcined powder revealed that spherical particles were in the range of 8-12 nm. The nano-alumina-zirconia composite particles were mesoporous and uniformly distributed in their crystalline phase. In order to measure the catalytic activity, esterification reaction was carried out. Biodiesel, as a renewable fuel, was formed in a continuous packed column reactor. Free fatty acid (FFA) was esterified with ethanol in a heterogeneous catalytic reactor. It was found that the synthesized γ-Al₂O₃/ZrO₂ composite had the potential to be used as a heterogeneous base catalyst for biodiesel production processes.

Keywords: nano alumina-zirconia, composite catalyst, thin film, biodiesel

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Authors: Nellija Titova

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Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia, as Baltic Countries, have gone throughout transformational changes since 90s leading to the high level of economic development. As countries departing Soviet Union with industrialization policy moved to service economies, the issues of intangibles, human capital, structural capital, and innovation capital have gained impetus. Following the growing demand of practitioners and later academia, intellectual capital as a discipline, which appeared in 90s, became fundamental nowadays. Aim of the paper is to analyze the Baltic companies entering stock markets at Nasdaq Baltic from the perspective of Intellectual Capital. Methodology of the research is based on a longitudinal analysis of the companies using composite ratios of Intellectual Capital and Business performance in the period 2012-2019. Data for 2020 as COVID year) were excluded from the analysis. Findings allow concluding there is a pattern of influence and companies clearly experience the systemic impact of IC on business performance, identifying also time effect investing in intangibles.

Keywords: intellectual capital, impact analysis, longitudinal effect, composite ratios

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Authors: Qing Cao

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Generally speaking, China has a relatively high level of intellectual property (IP) infringement. Risk assessment is indispensable in the strategic planning process. To complement the current literature in international business, the paper sheds the light on how to assess IP risk for foreign companies in planning market entry to China. Evaluating internal and external IP environment, proposed in the paper, consists of external analysis, internal analysis and further internal analysis. Through position the company’s IP environment, the risk assessment approach enables the foreign companies to either build the corresponding IP strategies or abort the entry plan beforehand to minimize the IP risks.

Keywords: intellectual property, IP environment, risk assessment

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Authors: Jeron Maheswaran, Sudath C. Siriwardane

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In fatigue analysis, the structural detail of tubular joint has taken great attention among engineers. The DNV-RP-C203 is covering this topic quite well for simple and clear joint cases. For complex joint and geometry, where joint classification isn’t available and limitation on validity range of non-dimensional geometric parameters, the challenges become a fact among engineers. The classification of joint is important to carry out through the fatigue analysis. These joint configurations are identified by the connectivity and the load distribution of tubular joints. To overcome these problems to some extent, this paper compare the fatigue life of tubular joints in offshore jacket according to the stress concentration factors (SCF) in DNV-RP-C203 and finite element method employed Abaqus/CAE. The paper presents the geometric details, material properties and considered load history of the jacket structure. Describe the global structural analysis and identification of critical tubular joints for fatigue life estimation. Hence fatigue life is determined based on the guidelines provided by design codes. Fatigue analysis of tubular joints is conducted using finite element employed Abaqus/CAE [4] as next major step. Finally, obtained SCFs and fatigue lives are compared and their significances are discussed.

Keywords: fatigue life, stress-concentration factor, finite element analysis, offshore jacket structure

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Authors: Recep Keşli, Onur Türkyılmaz, Hayriye Tokay, Kasım Demir

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Objective: Coeliac disease (CD) is a primary small intestine disorder caused by high sensitivity to gluten which is present in the crops, characterized by inflammation in the small intestine mucosa. The goal of this study was to determine and to compare the sensitivity and specificity values of anti-endomysial IgA (EMA IgA) (IFA) and anti-tissue transglutaminase IgA (anti-tTG IgA) (ELISA) antibodies in the diagnosis of patients suspected with the CD. Methods: One thousand two hundred seventy three patients, who have applied to gastroenterology and pediatric disease polyclinics of Afyon Kocatepe University ANS Research and Practice Hospital were included into the study between 23.09.2010 and 30.05.2016. Sera samples were investigated by immunofluorescence method for EMA positiveness (Euroimmun, Luebeck, Germany). In order to determine quantitative value of Anti-tTG IgA (EIA) (Orgentec Mainz, Germany) fully automated ELISA device (Alisei, Seac, Firenze, Italy) were used. Results: Out of 1273 patients, 160 were diagnosed with coeliac disease according to ESPGHAN 2012 diagnosis criteria. Out of 160 CD patients, 120 were female, 40 were male. The EMA specificity and sensitivity were calculated as 98% and 80% respectively. Specificity and sensitivity of Anti-tTG IgA were determined as 99% and 96% respectively. Conclusion: The specificity of EMA for CD was excellent because all EMA-positive patients (n = 144) were diagnosed with CD. The presence of human anti-tTG IgA was found as a reliable marker for diagnosis and follow-up the CD. Diagnosis of CD should be established on both the clinical and serologic profiles together.

Keywords: anti-endomysial antibody, anti-tTG IgA, coeliac disease, immunofluorescence assay (IFA)

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Authors: B. Roopa Sri, Y Lakshmi Naidu

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Chemical Graph Theory (CGT) is the branch of mathematical chemistry in which molecules are modeled to study their physicochemical properties using molecular descriptors. Amongst these descriptors, topological indices play a vital role in predicting the properties by defining the graph topology of the molecule. Recently, the bond-additive topological index known as the Mostar index has been proposed. In this paper, we compute the Mostar-type indices of octane isomers and use the data obtained to perform QSPR analysis. Furthermore, we show the correlation between the Mostar type indices and the properties.

Keywords: chemical graph theory, mostar type indices, octane isomers, qspr analysis, topological index

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Authors: Shirley S. Ho

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The advancement and development of social media have inadvertently brought about a new form of bullying – cyberbullying – that transcends across physical boundaries of space. Although extensive research has been conducted in the field of cyberbullying, most of these studies have taken an overwhelmingly empirical angle. Theories guiding cyberbullying research are few. Furthermore, very few studies have explored the association between parental mediation and cyberbullying, with majority of existing studies focusing on cyberbullying victimization rather than perpetration. Therefore, this present study investigates cyberbullying perpetration from a theoretical angle, with a focus on the Theory of Reasoned Action and the Parental Mediation Theory. More specifically, this study examines the direct effects of attitude, subjective norms, descriptive norms, injunctive norms and active mediation and restrictive mediation on cyberbullying perpetration on social media among children and adolescents in Singapore. Furthermore, the moderating role of age on the relationship between parental mediation and cyberbullying perpetration on social media are examined. A self-administered paper-and-pencil nationally-representative survey was conducted. Multi-stage cluster random sampling was used to ensure that schools from all the four (North, South, East, and West) regions of Singapore were equally represented in the sample used for the survey. In all 607 upper primary school children (i.e., Primary 4 to 6 students) and 782 secondary school adolescents participated in our survey. The total average response rates were 69.6% for student participation. An ordinary least squares hierarchical regression analysis was conducted to test the hypotheses and research questions. The results revealed that attitude and subjective norms were positively associated with cyberbullying perpetration on social media. Descriptive norms and injunctive norms were not found to be significantly associated with cyberbullying perpetration. The results also showed that both parental mediation strategies were negatively associated with cyberbullying perpetration on social media. Age was a significant moderator of both parental mediation strategies and cyberbullying perpetration. The negative relationship between active mediation and cyberbullying perpetration was found to be greater in the case of children than adolescents. Children who received high restrictive parental mediation were less likely to perform cyberbullying behaviors, while adolescents who received high restrictive parental mediation were more likely to be engaged in cyberbullying perpetration. The study reveals that parents should apply active mediation and restrictive mediation in different ways for children and adolescents when trying to prevent cyberbullying perpetration. The effectiveness of active parental mediation for reducing cyberbullying perpetration was more in the case of children than for adolescents. Younger children were found to be more likely to respond more positively toward restrictive parental mediation strategies, but in the case of adolescents, overly restrictive control was found to increase cyberbullying perpetration. Adolescents exhibited less cyberbullying behaviors when under low restrictive strategies. Findings highlight that the Theory of Reasoned Action and Parental Mediation Theory are promising frameworks to apply in the examination of cyberbullying perpetration. The findings that different parental mediation strategies had differing effectiveness, based on the children’s age, bring about several practical implications that may benefit educators and parents when addressing their children’s online risk.

Keywords: cyberbullying perpetration, theory of reasoned action, parental mediation, social media, Singapore

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Authors: Abhishek Singh, Rajlakshmi Barman, Tanmay Shah

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Coagulation is considered to be one of the predominant water treatment processes which improve the cost effectiveness of wastewater. The sole purpose of this experiment on thermal coagulation is to increase the efficiency and the rate of reaction. The process uses renewable sources of energy which comprises of improved and minimized time method in order to eradicate the water scarcity of the regions which are on the brink of depletion. This paper includes the various effects of temperature on the standard coagulation treatment of wastewater and their effect on water quality. In addition, the coagulation is done with the mix of bottom/fly-ash that will act as an adsorbent and removes most of the minor and macro particles by means of adsorption which not only helps to reduce the environmental burden of fly ash but also enhance economic benefit. Also, the method of sand filtration is amalgamated in the process. The sand filter is an environmentally-friendly wastewater treatment method, which is relatively simple and inexpensive. The existing parameters were satisfied with the experimental results obtained in this study and were found satisfactory. The initial turbidity of the wastewater is 162 NTU. The initial temperature of the wastewater is 27 C. The temperature variation of the entire process is 50 C-80 C. The concentration of alum in wastewater is 60mg/L-320mg/L. The turbidity range is 8.31-28.1 NTU after treatment. pH variation is 7.73-8.29. The effective time taken is 10 minutes for thermal mixing and sedimentation. The results indicate that the presence of thermal energy affects the coagulation treatment process. The influence of thermal energy on turbidity is assessed along with renewable energy sources and increase of the rate of reaction of the treatment process.

Keywords: adsorbent, sand filter, temperature, thermal coagulation

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Authors: Seung Hwan Park, Cheng-Sool Park, Jun Seok Kim, Youngji Yoo, Daewoong An, Jun-Geol Baek

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Depending on the big data analysis becomes important, yield prediction using data from the semiconductor process is essential. In general, yield prediction and analysis of the causes of the failure are closely related. The purpose of this study is to analyze pattern affects the final test results using a die map based clustering. Many researches have been conducted using die data from the semiconductor test process. However, analysis has limitation as the test data is less directly related to the final test results. Therefore, this study proposes a framework for analysis through clustering using more detailed data than existing die data. This study consists of three phases. In the first phase, die map is created through fail bit data in each sub-area of die. In the second phase, clustering using map data is performed. And the third stage is to find patterns that affect final test result. Finally, the proposed three steps are applied to actual industrial data and experimental results showed the potential field application.

Keywords: die-map clustering, feature extraction, pattern recognition, semiconductor manufacturing process

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Authors: Saber Noie, F. Jafarpour

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Translation of the movies was one of important issues of the translators. In this study, the notions of ‘foreignization’, ‘domestication’, and ‘critical discourse analysis’ (CDA) in translation studies were discussed. This study is a comparative study and attempts towards clarifying the lexical differences and similarities between dubbing and subtitling in audiovisual translation through CDA. The strategies proposed by Venuti (1995) and Newmark (1988) used first by researcher and then, the researcher went back to the Van Dijk’s CDA (1995), in the part dominance. This study shows that according to CDA, the dominant strategy in subtitling is foreignization and dominant strategy in dubbing is domestication.

Keywords: critical discourse analysis, CDA, dub, subtitle, foreignization, domestication

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Authors: M. Mert, M. T. Ozkan

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Pile load tests should be applied to check the bearing capacity calculations and to determine the settlement of the pile corresponding to test load. Strain gauges can be installed into pile in order to determine the shaft resistance of the piles for every soil layer respectively. Detailed results can be obtained by means of strain gauges placed at certain levels into test piles. In the scope of this study, pile load test data obtained from two different projects are examined.  Instrumented static pile load tests were applied on totally 7 test bored piles of different diameters (80 cm, 150 cm, and 200 cm) and different lengths (between 30-76 m) in two different project site. Settlement analysis of test piles is done by using some of load transfer methods and finite element method. Plaxis 3D which is a three-dimensional finite element program is also used for settlement analysis of the test piles. In this study, firstly bearing capacity of test piles are determined and compared with strain gauge data which is required for settlement analysis. Then, settlement values of the test piles are estimated by using load transfer methods developed in recent years and finite element method. The aim of this study is to show similarities and differences between the results obtained from settlement analysis methods and instrumented pile load tests.

Keywords: failure, finite element method, monitoring and instrumentation, pile, settlement

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Authors: Qudama Albu-Jasim, Majdi Kanaan

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A case study about the load rating and strengthening evaluation of the six-span of steel girders bridge in Colton city of State of California is investigated. To simulate the load rating strengthening assessment for the Colton Overhead bridge, a three-dimensional finite element model built in the CSiBridge program is simulated. Three-dimensional finite-element models of the bridge are established considering the nonlinear behavior of critical bridge components to determine the feasibility and strengthening capacity under load rating analysis. The bridge was evaluated according to Caltrans Bridge Load Rating Manual 1st edition for rating the superstructure using the Load and Resistance Factor Rating (LRFR) method. The analysis for the bridge was based on load rating to determine the largest loads that can be safely placed on existing I-girder steel members and permitted to pass over the bridge. Through extensive numerical simulations, the bridge is identified to be deficient in flexural and shear capacities, and therefore strengthening for reducing the risk is needed. An in-depth parametric study is considered to evaluate the sensitivity of the bridge’s load rating response to variations in its structural parameters. The parametric analysis has exhibited that uncertainties associated with the steel’s yield strength, the superstructure’s weight, and the diaphragm configurations should be considered during the fragility analysis of the bridge system.

Keywords: load rating, CSIBridge, strengthening, uncertainties, case study

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Authors: G. A. Babalola, Yusuf Muhammad

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An analysis was carried out on 19,759 citations appended to the References Section of 881 research articles published in Bayero Journal of Pure and Applied Sciences. It was found that journals publications were the most cited source of information among pure and applied sciences scientists with 12,090 (61.2%). The study also revealed that researchers in the field of pure and applied sciences used very current and up to date information sources in writing theirs articles with 10,091 (51.1%) citations and an average mean 11.1 per article in the journal.

Keywords: citation analysis, BAJOPAS, journal article, Bayero University Kano, Nigeria

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Authors: Ramona Zharfpeykan, Paul Rouse

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Organizational sustainability is important to both organizations themselves and their stakeholders. Despite its increasing popularity and increasing numbers of organizations reporting sustainability, research on evaluating and comparing the sustainability performance of companies is limited. The aim of this study was to develop models to measure sustainability performance for both cross-sectional and longitudinal comparisons across companies in the same or different industries. A secondary aim was to see if sustainability reports can be used to evaluate sustainability performance. The study used both a content analysis of Australian sustainability reports in mining and metals and financial services for 2011-2014 and a survey of Australian and New Zealand organizations. Two methods ranging from a composite index using uniform weights to data envelopment analysis (DEA) were employed to analyze the data and develop the models. The results show strong statistically significant relationships between the developed models, which suggests that each model provides a consistent, systematic and reasonably robust analysis. The results of the models show that for both industries, companies that had sustainability scores above or below the industry average stayed almost the same during the study period. These indices and models can be used by companies to evaluate their sustainability performance and compare it with previous years, or with other companies in the same or different industries. These methods can also be used by various stakeholders and sustainability ranking companies such as the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI).

Keywords: data envelopment analysis, sustainability, sustainability performance measurement system, sustainability performance index, global reporting initiative

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Authors: Sana Abusin

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Food security in Qatar is a research priority of Qatar University (2021-2025) and all national strategies, including the Qatar National Vision 2030 and food security strategy (2018-2023). Achieving food security requires three actions: 1) transforming surplus food to those who are insecure; 2) reducing food loss and waste by recycling food into valuable resources such as compost (“green fertilizer”) that can be used in growing food; and, finally, 3) establishing strong enforcement agencies to protect consumers from outdated food and promote healthy food. Currently, these objectives are approached separately and not in a sustainable fashion. Food security in Qatar is a research priority of Qatar University (2021-2025) and all national strategies, including the Qatar National Vision 2030 and food security strategy (2018-2023). The study aims to develop an innovative mobile application that supports a sustainable solution to food insecurity and food waste in Qatar. The application will provide a common solution for many different users. For producers, it will facilitate easy disposal of excess food. For charities, it will notify them about surplus food ready for redistribution. The application will also benefit the second layer of end-users in the form of food recycling companies, who will receive information about available food waste that is unable to be consumed. We will use self-exoplanetary diagrams and digital pictures to show all the steps to the final stage. The aim is to motivate the young generation toward innovation and creation, and to encourage public-private collaboration in this sector.

Keywords: food security, innovative technology, sustainability, food waste, Qatar

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Authors: Somayeh Nezami

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The management of financial and human resources of police in metropolitans requires many information and exact plans to reduce a rate of crime and increase the safety of the society. Geographical Information Systems have an important role in providing crime maps and their analysis. By using them and identification of crime hot spots along with spatial presentation of the results, it is possible to allocate optimum resources while presenting effective methods for decision making and preventive solutions. In this paper, we try to explain and compare between some of the methods of hot spots analysis such as Mode, Fuzzy Mode and Nearest Neighbour Hierarchical spatial clustering (NNH). Then the spots with the highest crime rates of drug smuggling for one province in Iran with borderline with Afghanistan are obtained. We will show that among these three methods NNH leads to the best result.

Keywords: GIS, Hot spots, nearest neighbor hierarchical spatial clustering, NNH, spatial analysis of crime

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Authors: Seyed Sadegh Naseralavi, Sadegh Balaghi, Ehsan Khojastehfar

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Time history dynamic analysis of structures is considered as an exact method while being computationally intensive. Filtration of earthquake strong ground motions applying wavelet transform is an approach towards reduction of computational efforts, particularly in optimization of structures against seismic effects. Wavelet transforms are categorized into continuum and discrete transforms. Since earthquake strong ground motion is a discrete function, the discrete wavelet transform is applied in the present paper. Wavelet transform reduces analysis time by filtration of non-effective frequencies of strong ground motion. Filtration process may be repeated several times while the approximation induces more errors. In this paper, strong ground motion of earthquake has been filtered once applying each wavelet. Strong ground motion of Northridge earthquake is filtered applying various wavelets and dynamic analysis of sampled shear and moment frames is implemented. The error, regarding application of each wavelet, is computed based on comparison of dynamic response of sampled structures with exact responses. Exact responses are computed by dynamic analysis of structures applying non-filtered strong ground motion.

Keywords: wavelet transform, computational error, computational duration, strong ground motion data

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Authors: Félix David Suárez Bonilla

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A sentiment analysis service to detect polarity (positive, neural, and negative), based on transfer learning, was built using a Spanish version of BERT and applied to tweets written in Spanish. The dataset that was used consisted of 11975 reviews, which were extracted from Google Play using the google-play-scrapper package. The BETO trained model used: the AdamW optimizer, a batch size of 16, a learning rate of 2x10⁻⁵ and 10 epochs. The system was tested using tweets of three presidential pre-candidates from Costa Rica. The system was finally validated using human labeled examples, achieving an accuracy of 83.3%.

Keywords: NLP, transfer learning, BERT, sentiment analysis, social media, opinion mining

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Authors: Timothy Whitehill

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This paper presents an innovative chat-based focus group method for collecting qualitative data to construct a cause-and-effect analysis in business research. This method was developed in response to the research and data collection challenges faced by the Covid-19 outbreak in the United Kingdom during 2020-21. This paper discusses the methodological approaches and builds a contemporary argument for its effectiveness in exploring cause-and-effect relationships in the context of focus group research, systems thinking and problem structuring methods. The pilot for this method was conducted between October 2020 and March 2021 and collected more than 7,000 words of chat-based data which was used to construct a consensus drawn cause-and-effect analysis. This method was developed in support of an ongoing Doctorate in Business Administration (DBA) thesis, which is using Design Science Research methodology to operationalize organisational resilience in UK construction sector firms.

Keywords: cause-and-effect analysis, focus group research, problem structuring methods, qualitative research, systems thinking

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Authors: Nida Rizvi, Deeksha Katyal, Varun Joshi

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River Hindon is an important river catering the demand of highly populated rural and industrial cluster of western Uttar Pradesh, India. Water quality of river Hindon is deteriorating at an alarming rate due to various industrial, municipal and agricultural activities. The present study aimed at identifying the pollution sources and quantifying the degree to which these sources are responsible for the deteriorating water quality of the river. Various water quality parameters, like pH, temperature, electrical conductivity, total dissolved solids, total hardness, calcium, chloride, nitrate, sulphate, biological oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand and total alkalinity were assessed. Water quality data obtained from eight study sites for one year has been subjected to the two multivariate techniques, namely, principal component analysis and cluster analysis. Principal component analysis was applied with the aim to find out spatial variability and to identify the sources responsible for the water quality of the river. Three Varifactors were obtained after varimax rotation of initial principal components using principal component analysis. Cluster analysis was carried out to classify sampling stations of certain similarity, which grouped eight different sites into two clusters. The study reveals that the anthropogenic influence (municipal, industrial, waste water and agricultural runoff) was the major source of river water pollution. Thus, this study illustrates the utility of multivariate statistical techniques for analysis and elucidation of multifaceted data sets, recognition of pollution sources/factors and understanding temporal/spatial variations in water quality for effective river water quality management.

Keywords: cluster analysis, multivariate statistical techniques, river Hindon, water quality

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Authors: Silvija Šiljeg, Ante Šiljeg, Branko Cavrić

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Housing is considered as a basic human need and important component of the quality of life (QoL) in urban areas worldwide. In contemporary housing studies, the concept of the quality of housing (QoH) is considered as a multi-dimensional and multi-disciplinary field. It emphasizes connection between various aspects of the QoL which could be measured by quantitative and qualitative indicators at different spatial levels (e.g. local, city, metropolitan, regional). The main goal of this paper is to examine the QoH and compare results of quantitative analysis with the clutter land use categories derived for selected local communities in Croatian Coastal City of Zadar. The qualitative housing analysis based on the four housing indicators (out of total 24 QoL indicators) has provided identification of the three Zadar’s local communities with the highest estimated QoH ranking. Furthermore, by using GIS overlay techniques, the QoH was merged with the urban environment analysis and introduction of spatial metrics based on the three categories: the element, class and environment as a whole. In terms of semantic-content analysis, the research has also generated a set of indexes suitable for evaluation of “housing state of affairs” and future decision making aiming at improvement of the QoH in selected local communities.

Keywords: housing, quality, indicators, indexes, urban environment, GIS, element, class

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Authors: Jessyca A. Bessa, Darlan A. Barroso, Jonas P. Reges, Auzuir R. Alexandria

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This work aims to study the rocker. This is a device of the suspension of Formula SAE vehicle that receives efforts from the motion scrolling of the vehicle and transmits them to the chassis frame minimized by a momentum ratio and smoothed by the set spring - damper. A review of parameters used in vehicle dynamics and a geometric analysis of the forces and stresses caused by such was carried out. The main function of the rocker is to reduce the force transmitted to the frame due to movement of rolling and subsequent application of the suspension. This functions is taken as satisfactory, since the force applied to the wheel and which would be transmitted to the chassis is reduced from 3833.9N to 3496.48N. From these values can be further more detailed simulations using the finite element method aimed at mass reduction or even rocker manufacturing feasibility aluminum. Then, the analysis by the finite element method was applied. This analysis uses the theory of discretization of systems and examines the strength of the component based on the distortion energy, determining the maximum straining experienced by the component and the region of higher demand.

Keywords: rocker, suspension, the finite element method, mechatronics engineering

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Authors: Jin Fan, M. Ala Saadeghvaziri

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Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), also referred to as drones, equipped with various kinds of advanced detecting or surveying systems, are effective and low-cost in data acquisition, data delivery and sharing, which can benefit the building of infrastructures. This paper will give an overview of applications of drones in planning, designing, construction and maintenance of infrastructures. The drone platform, detecting and surveying systems, and post-data processing systems will be introduced, followed by cases with details of the applications. Challenges from different aspects will be addressed. Opportunities of drones in infrastructure include but not limited to the following. Firstly, UAVs equipped with high definition cameras or other detecting equipment are capable of inspecting the hard to reach infrastructure assets. Secondly, UAVs can be used as effective tools to survey and map the landscape to collect necessary information before infrastructure construction. Furthermore, an UAV or multi-UVAs are useful in construction management. UVAs can also be used in collecting roads and building information by taking high-resolution photos for future infrastructure planning. UAVs can be used to provide reliable and dynamic traffic information, which is potentially helpful in building smart cities. The main challenges are: limited flight time, the robustness of signal, post data analyze, multi-drone collaboration, weather condition, distractions to the traffic caused by drones. This paper aims to help owners, designers, engineers and architects to improve the building process of infrastructures for higher efficiency and better performance.

Keywords: bridge, construction, drones, infrastructure, information

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Authors: Mohamad Shariff Nurasikin, Paul Crawford, Nicola Wright

Abstract:

People with any mental disorder can get benefit from the spiritual aspects of life for recovery, particularly in searching for the meaning of life and engaging in meaningful activities. However, little is known about such effects in the population of bipolar disorder. The concepts of spirituality are highly contestable, as they are too broad and removed from the original religious understanding. The concepts are more notable as encompassing multi-dimensional aspects of people’s lives such as social, emotional, and psychological. Viewing that Western or secular worldview dominates most of the literature in spirituality, it is time to explore the concept of spirituality from the Eastern and religious worldview, such as the Malaysian view. Thus, the aim of this study is to provide a conceptual understanding of people with bipolar disorder with a religious affiliation in Malaysia. This study employs a Grounded Theory and explores the narratives from the interviews of 25 participants. The narratives strongly suggest the salient resources or can be referred to as various forms of capital, as in the capital theory, namely, religious, social, psychological, and medicinal. More important is how these capitals are the enablers for recovery in mental health and well-being, where the participants in the sample engage in a more meaningful life and positive adaptations. This study also extends the Bourdieusian spiritual capital, in which the salient resources are termed as the capital bundle. More significant is how the capital bundles are working contiguously in building and accumulating the spiritual capital. This process is conducive to recovery within the social life of people with bipolar disorder or perhaps other mental disorders.

Keywords: bipolar, Bourdeau, recovery, spiritual

Procedia PDF Downloads 380

Authors: Luis N. Pereira, Marco P. Carrasco

Abstract:

Dynamic pricing is a revenue management strategy in which hotel suppliers define, over time, flexible and different prices for their services for different potential customers, considering the profile of e-consumers and the demand and market supply. This means that the fundamentals of dynamic pricing are based on economic theory (price elasticity of demand) and market segmentation. This study aims to define a dynamic pricing strategy and a contextualized offer to the e-consumers profile in order to improve the number of reservations of an online distribution channel. Segmentation methods (hierarchical and non-hierarchical) were used to identify and validate an optimal number of market segments. A profile of the market segments was studied, considering the characteristics of the e-consumers and the probability of reservation a room. In addition, the price elasticity of demand was estimated for each segment using econometric models. Finally, predictive models were used to define rules for classifying new e-consumers into pre-defined segments. The empirical study illustrates how it is possible to improve the intelligence of an online distribution channel system through an optimal dynamic pricing strategy and a contextualized offer to the profile of each new e-consumer. A database of 11 million e-consumers of an online distribution channel was used in this study. The results suggest that an appropriate policy of market segmentation in using of online reservation systems is benefit for the service suppliers because it brings high probability of reservation and generates more profit than fixed pricing.

Keywords: dynamic pricing, e-consumers segmentation, online reservation systems, predictive analytics

Procedia PDF Downloads 229

Authors: S. Pooja Pragati, B. Sudarsan, S. Raj Kumar

Abstract:

This paper provides a practical design of a new concept of massive Induced Drag reductions of stream vise staggered multiple winglets. It is designed to provide an optimum performance of a winglet from conventional designs. In preparing for a mechanical design, aspects such as shape, dimensions are analyzed to yield a huge amount of reduction in fuel consumption and increased performance. Owing to its simplicity of application and effectiveness we believe that it will enable us to consider its enhanced version for the grid effect of the staggered multiple winglets on the deflected mass flow of the wing system. The objective of the analysis were to compare the aerodynamic characteristics of two winglet configuration and to investigate the performance of two winglets shape simulated at selected cant angle of 0,45,60 degree.

Keywords: multiple winglets, induced drag, aerodynamics analysis, low speed aircrafts

Procedia PDF Downloads 477