Search results for: hit lead

Authors: Tingting Zhou

Abstract:

The partial privatization of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) is a dynamic process. The main features of this process lie in not only gradual and sequential privatizations, but also privatized shares transfer. For partially privatized SOEs, the introduction of private sector ownership is not the end of the story because the previously introduced private owners may choose to leave the SOEs by transferring the privatized shares after privatization, a process that is called “privatized shares transfer”. This paper investigates the determinants of privatized shares transfer from the perspective of large shareholders’ control rights. The results captures the fact that the higher control rights of large shareholders lead to more privatized shares transfer. After exploring the impacts of excessive control rights, the results provide evidence supporting the idea that firms with excessive numbers of directors, senior managers or supervisors who also have positions in the largest controlling shareholder’s entity are more likely to transfer privatized shares owned by private owners. In addition, the largest shareholders’ ownership also plays a role in privatized shares transfer. This evidence suggests that the large shareholders’ control rights should be limited to an appropriate range during the process of privatization, thereby giving private shareholders more opportunity to participate in the operation of firms, strengthen the state and enhance the competitiveness of state capital.

Keywords: control rights of large shareholders, partial privatization, privatized shares transfer, state-owned listed companies

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Authors: T. Gomes, J. Manzi

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The inclusion of stirring systems in the calculation and optimization procedures has been undergone a significant lack of attention, what it can reflect in the results because such systems provide an additional energy to the process, besides promote a better distribution of mass and energy. This is meaningful for the reactive systems, particularly for the Continuous Stirred Tank Reactor (CSTR), for which the key variables and parameters, as well as the operating conditions of stirring systems, can play a pivotal role and it has been showed in the literature that neglect these factors can lead to sub-optimal results. It is also well known that the sole use of the First Law of Thermodynamics as an optimization tool cannot yield satisfactory results, since the joint use of the First and Second Laws condensed into a procedure so-called entropy generation minimization (EGM) has shown itself able to drive the system towards better results. Therefore, the main objective of this paper is to determine the effects of key parameters of the stirring system in the optimization procedures by means of EGM applied to the reactive systems. Such considerations have been possible by dimensional analysis according to Rayleigh and Buckingham's method, which takes into account the physical and geometric parameters and the variables of the reactive system. For the simulation purpose based on the production of propylene glycol, the results have shown a significant increase in the conversion rate from 36% (not-optimized system) to 95% (optimized system) with a consequent reduction of by-products. In addition, it has been possible to establish the influence of the work of the stirrer in the optimization procedure, in which can be described as a function of the fluid viscosity and consequently of the temperature. The conclusions to be drawn also indicate that the use of the entropic analysis as optimization tool has been proved to be simple, easy to apply and requiring low computational effort.

Keywords: stirring systems, entropy, reactive system, optimization

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Authors: Thi Nguyet Hang Nguyen, Kang Hai Tan

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Precast/prestressed concrete hollow core (PCHC) slabs, especially ones with depth more than 300 mm, are susceptible to web-shear failure. The reasons lie on the fact that the production process of PCHC slabs, i.e., the extrusion method (the most common method to cast PCHC slabs nowadays), does not allow them to contain any shear reinforcement. Moreover, due to the presence of the longitudinal voids, cross sections of PCHC slabs are reduced. Therefore, the shear capacity of the slabs depends solely on the tensile strength of concrete which is relatively low. Given that shear is a major concern in using hollow-core slabs, this paper investigates the possibility of adopting steel fibers in PCHC slabs produced by the extrusion method to enhance the shear capacity of the slabs. Three full-scale PCHC slabs with and without hooked-steel fibers were cast and tested until failure. Three different volumetric fiber contents of 0, 0.51 and 0.89% were investigated. The test results showed that there were substantial increases in shear capacity and ductility with the use of hooked-steel fibers. Ultimate shear strength increased with fiber content. In addition, while the specimen without steel fibers and the one with the steel-fiber volume fraction of 0.51% failed in web-shear mode, the specimen with the higher fiber content (0.89%) collapsed in flexural-shear mode. However, as the hooked-steel fibers with the fiber content of 0.89% were used, difficulties in concrete consolidation were observed while concrete was being cast. This could lead to a lower ultimate shear capacity due to a poorer bond between the concrete and the steel fibers.

Keywords: hollow-core slabs, shear strength, steel fibers, web-shear failure

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Authors: T. Noichl, M. Cramer, G. E. Dlugosch, I. Hosenfeld

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Teachers are exposed to a variety of stresses in their work context. These can have a negative impact on physical and psychological well-being. The online training ‘Better Living! Self-care for teachers’ is based on the training ‘Better Living! Self-care for mental health professionals’, which has been proven to be effective over a period of 3 years. The training for teachers is being evaluated for its effectiveness between October 2021 and March 2023 in a study funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research. The aim of the training is to promote self-care and mindfulness among participants and thereby to foster well-being. The concept of self-care was already mentioned in antiquity and was also named as an imperative by philosophers such as Socrates and Epictetus. In the absence of a universal understanding of self-care today, the following definition was developed within the research group: Self-care is 1) facing oneself in a loving and appreciative way, 2) taking one's own needs seriously, and 3) actively contributing to one's own well-being. The study is designed as a randomized wait-control group repeated-measures design with 4 (treatment group) resp. 6 (wait-control group) measurement points. Central dependent variables are self-care, mindfulness, stress, and well-being. To assess the long-term effectiveness of training participation, these constructs are surveyed at the beginning and the end of the training as well as five weeks and one year later. Based on the results of the evaluation with mental health professionals, it is expected that participation will lead to an increase in subjective well-being, self-care, and mindfulness. The first results of the evaluation study are presented and discussed with regard to the effectiveness of the training among teachers.

Keywords: longitudinal intervention study, mindfulness, self-care, teachers’ mental health, well-being

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Authors: Renata Josipovic, Ante Cvitkovic

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Particulate matter belongs to pollutants that can lead to respiratory problems or premature death due to exposure (long-term, short-term) to these substances, all depending on the severity of the effects. The importance of the study is to determine whether the existing climatic conditions in the period from January 1st to August 31st, 2018 increased the number of emergency interventions in Slavonski Brod with regard to pollutants hydrogen sulfide and particles less than 10 µm (PM10) and less than 2.5 µm (PM2.5). Analytical data of the concentration of pollutants are collected from the Croatian Meteorological and Hydrological Service, which monitors the operation of two meteorological stations in Slavonski Brod, as well as climatic conditions. Statistics data of emergency interventions were collected from the Emergency Medicine Department of Slavonski Brod. All data were compared (air pollution, emergency interventions) according to climatic conditions (air humidity and air temperature) and statistically processed. Statistical significance, although weak positive correlation PM2.5 (correlation coefficient 0.147; p = 0.036), determined PM10 (correlation coefficient 0.122; p = 0.048), hydrogen sulfide (correlation coefficient 0.141; p = 0.035) with max. temperature (correlation coefficient 0.202; p = 0.002) with number of interventions. The association between mean air humidity was significant but negative (correlation coefficient - 0.172; p = 0.007). The values of the influence of air pressure are not determined. As the problem of air pollution is very complex, coordinated action at many levels is needed to reduce air pollution in Slavonski Brod and consequences that can affect human health.

Keywords: emergency interventions, human health, hydrogen sulfide, particulate matter

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Authors: S. R. Shamili, C. Natarajan, J. Karthikeyan

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Rapid growth of world population and widespread urbanization has remarkably increased the development of the construction industry which caused a huge demand for sand and gravels. Environmental problems occur when the rate of extraction of sand, gravels, and other materials exceeds the rate of generation of natural resources; therefore, an alternative source is essential to replace the materials used in concrete. Now-a-days, electronic products have become an integral part of daily life which provides more comfort, security, and ease of exchange of information. These electronic waste (E-Waste) materials have serious human health concerns and require extreme care in its disposal to avoid any adverse impacts. Disposal or dumping of these E-Wastes also causes major issues because it is highly complex to handle and often contains highly toxic chemicals such as lead, cadmium, mercury, beryllium, brominates flame retardants (BFRs), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and phosphorus compounds. Hence, E-Waste can be incorporated in concrete to make a sustainable environment. This paper deals with the composition, preparation, properties, classification of E-Waste. All these processes avoid dumping to landfills whilst conserving natural aggregate resources, and providing a better environmental option. This paper also provides a detailed literature review on the behaviour of concrete with incorporation of E-Wastes. Many research shows the strong possibility of using E-Waste as a substitute of aggregates eventually it reduces the use of natural aggregates in concrete.

Keywords: dumping, electronic waste, landfill, toxic chemicals

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Authors: Mousouris Spiridon, Kavakli Evangelia

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This paper focuses on Digital Libraries (DLs) that contain and geovisualise cultural data, highlighting the need to define them as a separate category termed Cultural Mapping Libraries, based on their inherent connection of culture with geographic location and their design requirements in support of visual representation of cultural data on the map. An exploratory analysis of DLs that conform to the above definition brought forward the observation that existing Cultural Mapping Libraries fail to geovisualise the entirety of cultural data per point of interest thus resulting in a Cultural Snapshot phenomenon. The existence of this phenomenon was reinforced by the results of a systematic bibliographic research. In order to address the Cultural Snapshot, this paper proposes the use of the Semantic Web principles to efficiently interconnect spatial cultural data through time, per geographic location. In this way points of interest are transformed into scenery where culture evolves over time. This evolution is expressed as occurrences taking place chronologically, in an event oriented approach, a conceptualization also endorsed by the CIDOC Conceptual Reference Model (CIDOC CRM). In particular, we posit the use of CIDOC CRM as the baseline for defining the logic of Cultural Mapping Libraries as part of the Culture Domain in accordance with the Digital Library Reference Model, in order to define the rules of cultural data management by the system. Our future goal is to transform this conceptual definition in to inferencing rules that resolve the Cultural Snapshot and lead to a more complete geovisualisation of cultural data.

Keywords: digital libraries, semantic web, geovisualization, CIDOC-CRM

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Authors: Zainab Abbas Soharwardi, Chunli Su, Fazeelat Tahira, Syed Zahid Aziz

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The study monitors the quality of drinking water consumed by urban population of Lahore. A total of 50 drinking water samples (16 from source and 34 from distribution system) were examined for physical, chemical and bacteriological parameters. The parameters including pH, turbidity, electrical conductivity, total dissolved solids, total hardness, calcium, magnesium, total alkalinity, carbonate, sulphate, chloride, nitrite, fluoride, sodium and potassium were analyzed. Sixteen out of fifty samples showed high values of alkalinity compared to EPA standards and WHO guidelines. Twenty-eight samples were analyzed for heavy metals, chromium, iron, copper, zinc, cadmium and lead. Trace amounts of heavy metals were detected in some samples, however for most of the samples values were within the permissible limits although high concentration of zinc was detected in one sample collected from Mughal Pura area. Fifteen samples were analyzed for arsenic. The results were unsatisfactory; around 73% samples showed exceeding values of As. WHO has suggested permissible limits of arsenic < 0.01 ppm, whereas 27 % of samples have shown 0.05 ppm arsenic, which is five times greater than WHO highest permissible limits. All the samples were examined for E. coli bacteria. On the basis of bacteriological analysis, 42 % samples did not meet WHO guidelines and were unsafe for drinking.

Keywords: arsenic, heavy metals, ground water, Lahore

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Authors: A. Ezza, B. M. Babar Ramzan, C. Hira

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This study deliberates emerging design activates in 3D printing technology, the paper provides the insight into the broad opportunities in 3D printing applications in fashion world. 3D printing is becoming a reason for reduction of lead time. The process engenders the precise models and one of prototype components for design approbation; trail and testing significance through the production components to be utilized in true working environments. This emerging technology have given elevate to an emergent realm of digitally fabricated art and design. Bitonic Creations, CONTINUUM (3D printed shoes), Jiri Evenhuis, Michael Schmidt have be giving extensive amassments of haute couture dresses and accessories. Cosyflex TM, N12 undergarments are examples of an innovative process for 3D printing. Varied types of liquid polymers such as latex, silicon, polyurethane and Teflon as well as a variety of textile fibers such as cotton, viscose and polyamide enable tailor made fabrics for any need. Patterns, perforations, embossing and embellishments may be created by printing on 3D structure base plate. Computer solidifies material feedstock layer by layer with micro-millimeter detail. In lieu of producing textiles by meter, then cutting and sewing them into final product, 3D printing can become a reason to make sewing equipment obsolete. The findings positively corroborates the expected advantage of 3D printed sample that seem to facilitate the first steps for designer.

Keywords: 3D printing, customization, fashion industry, Haute couture

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Authors: Irena Basaric Ikodinovic, Dragoslav Rakic, Mirjana Vukicevic, Sanja Jockovic, Jovana Jankovic Pantic

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Large long-term settlement occurs at the municipal solid waste landfills over an extended period of time which may lead to breakage of the geomembrane, damage of the cover systems, other protective systems or facilities constructed on top of a landfill. Also, municipal solid waste is an extremely heterogeneous material and its properties vary over location and time within a landfill. These material characteristics require the formulation of a new constitutive model to predict the long-term settlement of municipal solid waste. The paper presents a new constitutive model which is formulated to describe the mechanical behavior of municipal solid waste. Model is based on Modified Cam Clay model and the critical state soil mechanics framework incorporating time-dependent components: mechanical creep and biodegradation of municipal solid waste. The formulated constitutive model is optimized and defined with eight input parameters: five Modified Cam Clay parameters, one parameter for mechanical creep and two parameters for biodegradation of municipal solid waste. Thereafter, the constitutive model is implemented in the software suite for finite element analysis (ABAQUS) and numerical analysis of the experimental landfill settlement is performed. The proposed model predicts the total settlement which is in good agreement with field measured settlement at the experimental landfill.

Keywords: constitutive model, finite element analysis, municipal solid waste, settlement

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Authors: Huiqiang Yang, Domingo Santana

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Reducing parasitic power consumption of concentrating solar power plants is the main challenge to increase the overall efficiency, particularly for molten salt tower technology. One of the most effective approaches to reduce the parasitic power consumption is to implement a natural draft dry cooling system instead of the standard utilized mechanical draft dry cooling system. In this paper, a thermo-economic analysis of a natural draft direct cooling system was performed based on a 100MWe commercial scale molten salt power plant. In this configuration with a natural draft direct cooling system, the exhaust steam from steam turbine flows directly to the heat exchanger bundles inside the natural draft dry cooling tower, which eliminates the power consumption of circulation pumps or fans, although the cooling tower shadows a portion of the heliostat field. The simulation results also show that compared to a mechanical draft cooling system the annual solar field efficiency is decreased by about 0.2% due to the shadow, which is equal to a reduction of approximately 13% of the solar field area. As a contrast, reducing the solar field size by 13% in purpose in a molten salt power plant with a natural draft drying cooling system actually will lead to a reduction of levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) by about 4.06% without interfering the power generated.

Keywords: molten salt power tower, natural draft dry cooling, parasitic power consumption, commercial scale

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Authors: Yasir Ali, Zain Ul Abdin, Muhammad Wisal Khattak

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Nowadays various advanced techniques are used to enhance the performance of materials in the field of construction engineering. Structures exposed to an aggressive, humid and hostile environment are experiencing severe negative impacts which lead to premature failure. Polyester resin is one of the advanced material used for improving performance of structural materials especially for repair/ refurbish purpose of structures and protection from contaminated environmental effect/ hazards. This study investigated the aptness of the polyester resin as coating agent on the mortar and assessed its performance in an ambient environment of Pakistan. Cubical specimens of mortar were fabricated. These specimens were tested for water absorption and compressive strength after one day and sixty days. These tests were performed under different exposure conditions (ambient environment and submerged in water). The specimens were coated with one, two and three layers and results were compared to control (no/ zero resin layer) specimens. Test results indicated that there is a significant decrease in water absorption of mortar coated with resin when compared to controlled specimens. The compressive strength test results revealed that resin coated specimen had higher strength when compared to controlled specimens. The results suggested that resin is a promising material and can be used effectively in structures which are exposed to high temperatures. The study would be helpful in improving performance of the structural material in a hazardous environment.

Keywords: ambient environment, coating, mortar, polyester resin

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Authors: Festus Epetimehin

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Agriculture remains the dominant sector in the rural areas where over 70% of Nigerian reside and it’s still the backbone of our economy. The observed poor performance of farmers in agricultural productivity is due to the nature of risks and uncertainties in agriculture.Agricultural insurance is one of the mechanisms by which farmers can stabilize farm income and investment. The study examined the relationship between agricultural insurance scheme (AIS) and performance of agribusiness in Nigeria. The study adopted exploratory research design which is an ex-ante research approach. One hundred copies of structured questionnaire were administered for the purpose of the study. Correlation analysis and regression analysis were employed for the study. The correlation analysis of the finding revealed that the independent variable; agricultural insurance scheme (AIS) is positively and significantly correlated with the set of dependent variables; where turnover (ABT)=0.582**, profitability (ABP)=0.321**, solvency (ABS)=0.418**and cost of production (ABC)=0.23** respectively. The regression analysis result also revealed the degree of relationship between the independent variable (AIS) and set of dependent variables where one(1%) percent increase in independent variable will lead to 33.9% (ABT), 9.7% (ABP), 17.5%(ABS) and 1.5%(ABC).The study recommended that the Federal Government in collaboration with the participating Agricultural insurers embark on awareness campaign through to the length and breadth of Nigeria on government support and insurance scheme for farmers. Government should also ensure that the loan and insurance scheme should extend beyond the mechanized farmers and include the intensive subsistence farmers in view of the fact that they are the dominants in most of the farm produce markets.

Keywords: agribusiness, agricultural insurance, performance, turnover, solvency, agricultural risks

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Authors: F. Ece Cetin, H. Nezih Ozdemir, Emre Kumral

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Ischemic stroke of the precuneal cortex (PC) alone is extremely rare. This study aims to evaluate the clinical, neurocognitive, and behavioural characteristics of isolated PC infarcts. We assessed neuropsychological and behavioral findings in 12 patients with isolated PC infarct among 3800 patients with ischemic stroke. To determine the most frequently affected brain locus in patients, we first overlapped the ischemic area of patients with specific cognitive disorders and patients without specific cognitive disorders. Secondly, we compared both overlap maps using the 'subtraction plot' function of MRIcroGL. Patients showed various types of cognitive disorders. All patients experienced more than one category of cognitive disorder, except for two patients with only one cognitive disorder. Lesion topographical analysis showed that damage within the anterior precuneal region might lead to consciousness disorders (25%), self-processing impairment (42%), visuospatial disorders (58%), and lesions in the posterior precuneal region caused episodic and semantic memory impairment (33%). The whole precuneus is involved in at least one body awareness disorder. The cause of the stroke was cardioembolism in 5 patients (42%), large artery disease in 3 (25%), and unknown in 4 (33%). This study showed a wide variety of neuropsychological and behavioural disorders in patients with precuneal infarct. Future studies are needed to achieve a proper definition of the function of the precuneus in relation to the extended cortical areas. Precuneal cortex region infarcts have been found to predict a source of embolism from the large arteries or heart.

Keywords: cognition, pericallosal artery, precuneal cortex, ischemic stroke

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Authors: Gangacharyulu Dasaroju, Sumeet Sharma, Sanjay Singh

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Heat pipe is characterised as superconductor of heat because of its excellent heat removal ability. The operation of several engineering system results in generation of heat. This may cause several overheating problems and lead to failure of the systems. To overcome this problem and to achieve desired rate of heat dissipation, there is need to study the performance of heat pipe with annular fins under free convection at different inclinations. This study demonstrates the effect of different mass flow rate of hot fluid into evaporator section on the condenser side heat transfer coefficient with annular fins under natural convection at different inclinations. In this study annular fins are used for the experimental work having dimensions of length of fin, thickness of fin and spacing of fin as 10 mm, 1 mm and 6 mm, respectively. The main aim of present study is to discover at what inclination angles the maximum heat transfer coefficient shall be achieved. The heat transfer coefficient on the external surface of heat pipe condenser section is determined by experimental method and then predicted by empirical correlations. The results obtained from experimental and Churchill and Chu relation for laminar are in fair agreement with not more than 22% deviation. It is elucidated the maximum heat transfer coefficient of 31.2 W/(m²-K) at 25˚ tilt angle and minimal condenser heat transfer coefficient of 26.4 W/(m²-K) is seen at 45˚ tilt angle and 200 ml/min mass flow rate. Inclination angle also affects the thermal performance of heat pipe. Beyond 25^o inclination, heat transport rate starts to decrease.

Keywords: heat pipe, annular fins, natural convection, condenser heat transfer coefficient, tilt angle

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Authors: Majid Al-Busafi, Alexe Cristina Ioana, Alexe Dan Iulian

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The specific competition and pre-competition stress in professional track and field determined an increasing engagement, from a biological and psychological point of view, of the middle distance and long distance runners, to obtain the top performances that would get them to win in a competition. Under these conditions, if the psychological stress is not properly managed, the negative effects can lead to a total drop in self-confidence, and can affect the value, the talent, and the self-trust, which generates an even higher stress. One of the means at our disposal is the psychological training, specially adapted to the athlete's individual characteristics, to the characteristics of the athletic event, or of the competition. This paper aims to highlight certain original aspects regarding the effects of a specific psychological training program on the mood states characterized by psychological activation, vigor, vitality. The subjects were represented by 12 professional middle distance and long distance runners, subjected to an applicative intervention to which they have participated voluntarily, over the course of 6 months (a competition season). The results indicated that The application of a psychological training program, adapted to the track and field competition system, over a period of time characterized by high competition stress, can determine an increase in the states of vigor and psychological activation, at the same time diminishing those moods that have negative effects on the performance, in the middle distance and long distance running events. This conclusion confirms the hypothesis of this research.

Keywords: competition stress, psychological training, track and field, vigor-activity

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Authors: Siddhartha Paul, Debabrata Das

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Closed-loop supply chain (CLSC) management focuses on integrating forward and reverse flow of material as well as information to maximize value creation over the entire life-cycle of a product. Bullwhip effect in supply chain management refers to the phenomenon where a small variation in customers’ demand results in larger variation of orders at the upstream levels of supply chain. Since the quality and quantity of products returned to the collection centers (as a part of reverse logistics process) are uncertain, bullwhip effect is inevitable in CLSC. Therefore, in the present study, first, through an extensive literature survey, we identify all the important factors related to forward as well as reverse supply chain which causes bullwhip effect in CLSC. Second, we develop a system dynamics model to study the interrelationship among the factors and their effect on the performance of overall CLSC. Finally, the results of the simulation study suggest that demand forecasting, lead times, information sharing, inventory and work in progress adjustment rate, supply shortages, batch ordering, price variations, erratic human behavior, parameter correcting, delivery time delays, return rate of used products, manufacturing and remanufacturing capacity constraints are the important factors which have a significant influence on system’s performance, specifically on bullwhip effect in a CLSC.

Keywords: bullwhip effect, closed-loop supply chain, system dynamics, variance ratio

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Authors: Ayan Giri, Lukaranjan Phukan, Shantanu Karmakar

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Structure and tectonics play a vital role in ore genesis and deposition. The existence of a swelling structure below the current level of a mine leads to the discovery of ores below some permeant developments of the mine. The discovery and the extraction of the ore body are very critical to sustain the business requirement of the mine. The challenge was to extract the ore without hampering the global stability of the mine. In order to do so, different mining options were considered and analysed by numerical modelling in FLAC3d software. The constitutive model prepared for this simulation is the improved unified constitutive model, which can better and more accurately predict the stress-strain relationships in a continuum model. The IUCM employs the Hoek-Brown criterion to determine the instantaneous Mohr-Coulomb parameters cohesion (c) and friction (ɸ) at each level of confining stress. The extra swelled part can be dimensioned as north-south strike width 50m, east-west strike width 50m. On the north side, already a stope (P1) is excavated of the dimension of 25m NS width. The different options considered were (a) Open stoping of extraction of southern part (P0) of 50m to the full extent, (b) Extraction of the southern part of 25m, then filling of both the primaries and extraction of secondary (S0) 25m in between. (c) Extraction of the southern part (P0) completely, preceded by backfill and modify the design of the secondary (S0) for the overall stability of the permanent excavation above the stoping.

Keywords: extraction, IUCM, FLAC 3D, stoping, tectonics

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Authors: Ammar Ali Saleh Jaber, Amer Hayat Khan, Syed Azhar Syed Sulaiman

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Tuberculosis (TB) is considered as a major disease that affects daily activities and impairs health-related quality of life (HRQoL). The impact of TB on HRQoL can affect treatment outcome and may lead to treatment defaulting. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the HRQoL of TB treatment lost to follow-up during and after treatment in Yemen. For this aim, this prospective study enrolled a total of 399 TB lost to follow-up patients between January 2011 and December 2015. By applying HRQoL criteria, only 136 fill the survey during treatment. Moreover, 96 were traced and fill out the HRQoL survey. All eight HRQol domains were categorized into the physical component score (PCS) and mental component score (MCS), which were calculated using QM scoring software. Results show that all lost to follow-up TB patients reported a score less than 47 for all eight domains, except general health (67.3) during their treatment period. Low scores of 27.9 and 29.8 were reported for emotional role limitation (RE) and mental health (MH), respectively. Moreover, the mental component score (MCS) was found to be only 28.9. The trace lost follow-up shows a significant improvement in all eight domains and a mental component score of 43.1. The low scores of 27.9 and 29.8 for role emotion and mental health, respectively, in addition to the MCS score of 28.9, show that severe emotional condition and reflect the higher depression during treatment period that can result to lost to follow-up. The low MH, RE, and MCS can be used as a clue for predicting future TB treatment lost to follow-up.

Keywords: Yemen, tuberculosis, health-related quality of life, Khat

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Authors: Zachary Smith, Riette Bloomfield, Taylor Dukate, Joshua Halterman, Noah Phillips

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College students have stressful lives, classes, work, and home life; it all adds up to anxiety and stress. Most students can manage the stress, but some can’t and need help. Mental health issues are on the rise among college-age students, which could lead to other health issues, depression, or even suicidal thoughts. There needs to be an outlet for these students, and one suggestion is participating in sports or exercise/recreation activities. “Strong body, strong mind” is a concept that has been researched for many decades now. While that has been preached, depression and anxiety have still been at an all-time high in college students within the last five years. College students are expected to stay on top of their academic coursework, obtain and keep relationships, adjust to living independently, and economic strain. As p oor mental health becomes inherent, struggles academically, dropping out of school, becoming involved in immoral situations, or as far as committing suicide, can be seen shortly after. This research proposal examines the positive impact of sports on students' mental health in post-secondary education programs. The study aims to investigate how participation in college sports can alleviate stress, anxiety, and depression, improve mood and focus, and contribute to better academic performance. With the increasing prevalence of mental health issues among college students and the growing emphasis on mental health awareness, this research is significant for understanding and managing collegiate sports programs. Overall, sports help with mental and physical health for all ages.

Keywords: mental health, sports, college students, recreation programs

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Authors: Kulwinder Singh Mann, Manmohan Singh Heer, Asha Rani

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The safe storage of radioactive materials has become an important issue. Nuclear engineering necessitates the safe handling of radioactive materials emitting high energy gamma-rays. Hazards involved in handling radioactive materials insist suitable shielded enclosures. With overgrowing use of nuclear energy for meeting the increasing demand of power, there is a need to investigate the shielding behavior of cost effective shielded enclosure (CESE) made from clay-bricks (CB) and fire-bricks (FB). In comparison to the lead-bricks (conventional-shielding), the CESE are the preferred choice in nuclear waste management. The objective behind the present investigation is to evaluate the double layered transmission exposure buildup factors (DLEBF) for gamma-rays for CESE in energy range 0.5-3MeV. For necessary computations of shielding parameters, using existing huge data regarding gamma-rays interaction parameters of all periodic table elements, two computer programs (GRIC-toolkit and BUF-toolkit) have been designed. It has been found that two-layered slabs show effective shielding for gamma-rays in orientation CB followed by FB than the reverse. It has been concluded that the arrangement, FB followed by CB reduces the leakage of scattered gamma-rays from the radioactive source.

Keywords: buildup factor, clay bricks, fire bricks, nuclear wastage management, radiation protective double layered slabs

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Authors: Ashiqul Amin Khan, Mohsin Ul Amin Khan

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The aim of this research is to find the relationship between good governance and shareholder wealth maximisation. The concept of good governance has become more objective in nature over time through various regulations, professionalisation, and practices. This has led to a number of methods for scoring and ranking corporate governance practices. Since shareholder wealth maximisation remains the key corporate goal for managers and governors alike, the effect of good governance in increasing the value of corporations is commented to be an important aspect. In measuring the value relevance of good governance, statistical measures of various yields of listed companies in the UK have been used in this research. Yields reflect required returns on investments from different investment tenets. Historical yields, calculated using historical fundamental data of such companies, reflect expected yields to a great extent. These yields, in turn, reflect the expected risk premium and growth associated with the stocks of the companies. Using fundamental data, the yields have been adjusted to reflect the risk premium required by the investors along various value paradigms. Good governance should naturally lead to lower required risk premium since good corporate governance provided assurance to the investors in terms of sustainability of future performance and desired financial conduct. This, in turn, increases the wealth of stockholders. The findings of this research confirm such nature of the relationship between good governance and value of the company in the long run.

Keywords: corporate governance, good governance practices, short-termism, shareholder value relevance, wealth maximisation, yield

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Authors: Sabitha Rahim

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In the context of teaching vocabulary of English as Foreign Language (EFL), the confluence of memory and retention is one of the most significant factors in students' language acquisition. The progress of students engaged in foreign language acquisition is often stymied by vocabulary attrition, which leads to learners' lack of confidence and motivation. However, among other factors, little research has investigated the importance of neuroplasticity in Foreign Language acquisition and how underused neural pathways lead to the loss of plasticity, thereby affecting the learners’ vocabulary retention and motivation. This research explored the effect of enhancing vocabulary acquisition of EFL students in the Foundation Year at King Abdulaziz University through various methods and neuroplasticity exercises that reinforced their attention, motivation, and engagement. It analyzed the results to determine if stimulating the brain of EFL learners by various physical and mental activities led to the improvement in short and long term memory in vocabulary retention. The main data collection methods were student surveys, assessment records of teachers, student achievement test results, and students' follow-up interviews. A key implication of this research is for the institutions to consider having multiple varieties of student activities promoting brain plasticity within the classrooms as an effective tool for foreign language acquisition. Building awareness among the faculty and adapting the curriculum to include activities that promote brain plasticity ensures an enhanced learning environment and effective language acquisition in EFL classrooms.

Keywords: language acquisition, neural paths, neuroplasticity, vocabulary attrition

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Authors: Dadang Gunawan, I. Dewa Ketut Kertawidana, Lufthi Noorfitriyani

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For the last 5 years, there is the never-ending violent act and increased cases regarding aggressive behavior among high school students in Bogor, Indonesia. Those cases caused harm to many people, even death, and lead to the continuation circle of violence. This research was conducted to evaluate the effect of using peace education and media literacy in enhancing student’s understanding about aggression, as an effort to prevent aggressive behavior. In terms of methodology, this research was done by quasi-experiment with one group pretest and post-test design. A number of 38 students who were at risk of aggressive behavior from 3 vocational high school were involved to receive a 10 learning session about peace and media literacy. The aggression questionnaire was used to identify participants, supported by student’s record in school. To collect data, the questionnaire for measuring understanding about aggression has been developed and was used after the validity and reliability of this questionnaire tested. Post-test was carried out after the session ended. Data were analyzed using t-test. The finding result showed that the mean score of student’s understanding of aggression was increased, therefore learning session of peace education and media literacy is significantly effective to enhance student’s understanding of aggression. It also showed a meaningful difference of understanding between male and female student’s whereas female students have a better understanding of aggression.

Keywords: aggressive behavior prevention, aggression, media literacy, peace education, peacebuilding

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Authors: Sharifirad M., Poursaeed A., Lashgarara F., Mirdamadi S. M.

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Introduction: Paddy farming has been reported as one of the most important causes of non-fatal injuries and occupational accidents among farmers. The ignorance of the health of farmers can cause harm to farmers and lead to disability. As a result, these health consequences can result in less exploitation and economic growth in households. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the general health status of paddy field workers in Mazandaran province, Iran. Materials & Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive study evaluated 384 paddy farmers in Mazandaran province, Iran, who were selected using stratified random sampling. The required data were collected using the standard questionnaire of GHQ-28 with four domains of somaticsymptoms, anxiety and insomnia, social dysfunction, and symptoms of depression. The obtained data were then analyzed using SPSS software (version 25) through Spearman, Kendall, Mann-Whitney, and Kruskal-Wallis tests. Findings: The highest number of participants in this study was in the age group of 50-59 years, with a mean age of 46.9 years. According to the results, the total general health score was obtained at 64.3% for the subjects. Moreover, the scores of four areas of general health were determined at 91.1% (depression symptoms), 73.4% (social dysfunction), 48.7% (anxiety symptoms and insomnia), and 47.1% (somatic symptoms) in descending order. Discussions& Conclusions: The general health of the studied population was not in a good range. In addition, the most observed disorder in the general health of paddy farmers was related to the symptoms of depression, followed by somatic symptoms.

Keywords: general-health, mazandaran, paddyfield

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Authors: Satish Kumar Peddapelli

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This paper presents advances in pulse width modulation techniques which refers to a method of carrying information on train of pulses and the information be encoded in the width of pulses. Pulse Width Modulation is used to control the inverter output voltage. This is done by exercising the control within the inverter itself by adjusting the ON and OFF periods of inverter. By fixing the DC input voltage we get AC output voltage. In variable speed AC motors the AC output voltage from a constant DC voltage is obtained by using inverter. Recent developments in power electronics and semiconductor technology have lead improvements in power electronic systems. Hence, different circuit configurations namely multilevel inverters have become popular and considerable interest by researcher are given on them. A fast Space-Vector Pulse Width Modulation (SVPWM) method for five-level inverter is also discussed. In this method, the space vector diagram of the five-level inverter is decomposed into six space vector diagrams of three-level inverters. In turn, each of these six space vector diagrams of three-level inverter is decomposed into six space vector diagrams of two-level inverters. After decomposition, all the remaining necessary procedures for the three-level SVPWM are done like conventional two-level inverter. The proposed method reduces the algorithm complexity and the execution time. It can be applied to the multilevel inverters above the five-level also. The experimental setup for three-level diode-clamped inverter is developed using TMS320LF2407 DSP controller and the experimental results are analysed.

Keywords: five-level inverter, space vector pulse wide modulation, diode clamped inverter, electrical engineering

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Authors: Veniamin Boiarkin, Bruno Bogaz Zarpelão, Muttukrishnan Rajarajan

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The manufacturing sector is a vital component of most economies, which leads to a large number of cyberattacks on organisations, whereas disruption in operation may lead to significant economic consequences. Adversaries aim to disrupt the production processes of manufacturing companies, gain financial advantages, and steal intellectual property by getting unauthorised access to sensitive data. Access to sensitive data helps organisations to enhance the production and management processes. However, the majority of the existing data-sharing mechanisms are either susceptible to different cyber attacks or heavy in terms of computation overhead. In this paper, a privacy-preserving data-sharing scheme for smart utilities is proposed. First, a customer’s privacy adjustment mechanism is proposed to make sure that end-users have control over their privacy, which is required by the latest government regulations, such as the General Data Protection Regulation. Secondly, a local differential privacy-based mechanism is proposed to ensure the privacy of the end-users by hiding real data based on the end-user preferences. The proposed scheme may be applied to different industrial control systems, whereas in this study, it is validated for energy utility use cases consisting of smart, intelligent devices. The results show that the proposed scheme may guarantee the required level of privacy with an expected relative error in utility.

Keywords: data-sharing, local differential privacy, manufacturing, privacy-preserving mechanism, smart utility

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Authors: Arun Das

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One of the basic objectives of Independent India five decades ago was to meet the increasing demand for food to its growing population. Self-sufficiency was accomplished towards food production and it was attained through launching green revolution program. The green revolution repercussions were not realized at that moment. Many projects were undertaken. Especially, major and minor irrigation projects were executed to harness the river water in the dry land regions of Karnataka. In the elevated topographical lands, extraction of underground water was a solace given by the government to protect the interest of the dry land farmers whose land did not come under the command area. Free borewell digging, pump sets, and electricity were provided. Thus, the self-sufficiency was achieved. Contrary to this, the Continuous long-term extraction of water for agriculture from bore well and in the irrigated tracks has lead to two-way effect such as soil leeching (Alkalinity and Salinity), secondly, depleted underground water to incredible deeps has pushed the natural process to an un-reparable damage which in turn the nature lost to support even a tiny plants like grass to grow, discouraging human and animal habitation, Both the process is silently turning southwestern, central, northeastern and north western regions of Karnataka into desert. The grave situation of Karnataka green revolution is addressed in this paper to alert reckless use of water and also some of the suggestions are recommended based on the ground information.

Keywords: alkalinity, desertification, green revolution, salinity, water

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Authors: Mary Holstein

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Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate nurse leader confidence in emergency management and disaster preparedness in the state of Texas. My project was a replication study of a survey conducted in 2022 by Reedy et al, for members of the Northwest Organization for Nurse Leaders (NONL). Background: In 2022, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) approved new essentials for academic nursing education programs to demonstrate competencies in disaster management, yet no integration of such information into nursing curriculum had been reported in the literature. Research replicated by members of the Texas Organization for Nursing Leadership suggested significant gaps in nurse leader confidence across roles and in structured education that prepares nurse leaders across the spectrum of experience to lead in a crisis. Methods: An exploratory, cross-sectional survey used a sample of 86 RNs who were members of TONL. Results: Results replicated comparable results with significant variance in nurse leader confidence across roles, experience, and previous disaster-related education. Positive associations regarding nurse leaders' confidence in managing disasters were obvious with more advanced positions, further education, and mandatory training. Conclusions: Nursing leaders in Texas lack mandatory and structured education to prepare for emergency and disaster management. The call for mandatory emergency management training and disaster preparedness for nurse leaders remains unmet.

Keywords: confidence, disaster, education, emergency

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Authors: Nahida Sultana

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Globally, an estimated 58 million people have chronic hepatitis C virus infection, with about 1.5 million new infections occurring per year. The hepatitis C virus is a blood-borne virus, and most infections occur through exposure to blood from unsafe injection practices, unsafe health care, unscreened blood transfusion, injection drug use, and sexual practices that lead to exposure to blood. Hepatitis C virus (HCV) causes chronic infections that mainly affect the liver leading to liver diseases. This study aimed to determine whether there is any significant association between HCV transmission risk factors in relation to genotypes in HCV-infected Bangladeshi patients. After quantification of HCV viral load, 36 samples were randomly selected for HCV genotyping and risk factor measurement. A greater proportion of genotype 1 (p > 0.05) patients (40%) underwent blood transfusion compared to patients (22.6%) with genotype 3 infections. More genotype 1 patient underwent surgery and invasive procedures (20%), and rather than those with genotype 3 patients (16.1%). The history of IDUs (25.8%) and sexual exposure (3.2%) are only prevalent in genotype 3 patients and absent in patients with genotype 1 (p >0.05). There was no significant statistical difference found in HCV transmission risk factors (blood transfusion, IDUs, Surgery& interventions, sexual transmission) between patients infected with genotypes 1 and 3. In HCV infection, genotype may have no relation to transmission risk factors among Bangladeshi patients.

Keywords: HCV genotype, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), HCV viral load, IDUs

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