Search results for: feature selection methods

Authors: Brahim Aissa

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Transparent conductive oxides (TCOs) used as front electrodes in solar cells must feature simultaneously high electrical conductivity, low contact resistance with the adjacent layers, and an appropriate refractive index for maximal light in-coupling into the device. However, these properties may conflict with each other, motivating thereby the search for TCOs with high performance. Additionally, due to the presence of temperature sensitive layers in many solar cell designs (for example, in thin-film silicon and silicon heterojunction (SHJ)), low-temperature deposition processes are more suitable. Several deposition techniques have been already explored to fabricate high-mobility TCOs at low temperatures, including sputter deposition, chemical vapor deposition, and atomic layer deposition. Among this variety of methods, to the best of our knowledge, magnetron sputtering deposition is the most established technique, despite the fact that it can lead to damage of underlying layers. The Sn doped In₂O₃ (ITO) is the most commonly used transparent electrode-contact in SHJ technology. In this work, we studied the properties of ITO thin films grown by RF sputtering. Using different oxygen fraction in the argon/oxygen plasma, we prepared ITO films deposited on glass substrates, on one hand, and on a-Si (p and n-types):H/intrinsic a-Si/glass substrates, on the other hand. Hall Effect measurements were systematically conducted together with total-transmittance (TT) and total-reflectance (TR) spectrometry. The electrical properties were drastically affected whereas the TT and TR were found to be slightly impacted by the oxygen variation. Furthermore, the time of flight-secondary ion mass spectrometry (TOF-SIMS) technique was used to determine the distribution of various species throughout the thickness of the ITO and at various interfaces. The depth profiling of indium, oxygen, tin, silicon, phosphorous, boron and hydrogen was investigated throughout the various thicknesses and interfaces, and obtained results are discussed accordingly. Finally, the extreme conditions were selected to fabricate rear emitter SHJ devices, and the photovoltaic performance was evaluated; the lower oxygen flow ratio was found to yield the best performance attributed to lower series resistance.

Keywords: solar cell, silicon heterojunction, oxygen content, optoelectronic properties

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Authors: Monty Vacura

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Hamilton’s Rule is a universal law of biology expressed in protists, plants and animals. When applied to human populations, this model explains: 1) Origin of religion in society as a biopsychological need selected to increase population size; 2) Instincts of racism expressed through intergroup competition; 3) Simultaneous selection for human cooperation and conflict, love and hate; 4) Connection between sporting events and instinctive social messaging for stimulating offensive and defensive responses; 5) Pathway to reduce human sacrifice. This chapter discusses the deep psychological influences of Hamilton’s Rule. Suggestions are provided to reduce human deaths via our instinctive sacrificial behavior, by consciously monitoring Hamilton’s Rule variables highlighted throughout our media outlets.

Keywords: psychology, Hamilton’s rule, evolution, human instincts

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Authors: Ilgin Gökaşar, Saman Ghaffarian

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The need for fast processed big data of transportation ridership (eg., smartcard data) and traffic operation (e.g., traffic detectors data) which requires a lot of computational power is incontrovertible in Intelligent Transportation Systems. Nowadays cloud computing is one of the important subjects and popular information technology solution for data processing. It enables users to process enormous measure of data without having their own particular computing power. Thus, it can also be a good selection for transportation big data processing as well. This paper intends to examine how the cloud computing can enhance transportation big data process with contrasting its advantages and disadvantages, and discussing cloud computing features.

Keywords: big data, cloud computing, Intelligent Transportation Systems, ITS, traffic data processing

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Authors: Teresa B. King

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In the millennial age, with more students desiring a fashion major yet fewer having sewing and manufacturing knowledge, this increases demand on academicians to adequately educate. While fashion museums have a prominent place for historical preservation, the need for apparel education via working collections of handmade or mass manufactured apparel is lacking in most universities in the United States, especially in the Southern region. Created in 1988, Middle Tennessee State University’s historic clothing collection provides opportunities to study apparel construction methods throughout history, to compare and apply to today’s construction and manufacturing methods, as well as to learn the cyclical nature/importance of historic styles on current and upcoming fashion. In 2019, a class exercise experiment was implemented for which students researched their family genealogy using Ancestry.com, identified the oldest visual media (photographs, etc.) available, and analyzed the garment represented in said media. The student then located a comparable garment in the historic collection and evaluated the construction methods of the ancestor’s time period. A class 'fashion' genealogy tree was created and mounted for public viewing/education. Results of this exercise indicated that student learning increased due to the 'personal/familial connection' as it triggered more interest in historical garments as related to the student’s own personal culture. Students better identified garments regarding the historical time period, fiber content, fabric, and construction methods utilized, thus increasing learning and retention. Students also developed increased learning and recognition of custom construction methods versus current mass manufacturing techniques, which impact today’s fashion industry. A longitudinal effort will continue with the growth of the historic collection and as students continue to utilize the historic clothing collection.

Keywords: ancestry, clothing history, fashion history, genealogy, historic fashion museum collection

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Authors: Ziad Abdallah, Mohamad Oueidat, Ali El-Zaart

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Image Multi-label Classification (IMC) assigns a label or a set of labels to an image. The big demand for image annotation and archiving in the web attracts the researchers to develop many algorithms for this application domain. The existing techniques for IMC have two drawbacks: The description of the elementary characteristics from the image and the correlation between labels are not taken into account. In this paper, we present an algorithm (MIML-HOGLPP), which simultaneously handles these limitations. The algorithm uses the histogram of gradients as feature descriptor. It applies the Label Priority Power-set as multi-label transformation to solve the problem of label correlation. The experiment shows that the results of MIML-HOGLPP are better in terms of some of the evaluation metrics comparing with the two existing techniques.

Keywords: data mining, information retrieval system, multi-label, problem transformation, histogram of gradients

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Authors: Leveque Benjamin, Rabaud Suzanne, Anest Hugo, Catalan Caroline, Neveux Guillaume

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Human products consumption is one of the main drivers of biodiversity loss. However, few pertinent ecological indicators regarding product life cycle impact on species and ecosystems have been built. Life cycle assessment (LCA) methodologies are well under way to conceive standardized methods to assess this impact, by taking already partially into account three of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment pressures (land use, pollutions, climate change). Coupling LCA and ecological data and methods is an emerging challenge to develop a product biodiversity footprint. This approach was tested on three case studies from food processing, textile, and cosmetic industries. It allowed first to improve the environmental relevance of the Potential Disappeared Fraction of species, end-point indicator typically used in life cycle analysis methods, and second to introduce new indicators on overexploitation and invasive species. This type of footprint is a major step in helping companies to identify their impacts on biodiversity and to propose potential improvements.

Keywords: biodiversity, companies, footprint, life cycle assessment, products

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Authors: Shumaila Ehtisham

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In Statistical Distribution Theory, considering an additional parameter to classical distributions is a usual practice. In this study, a new distribution referred to as α-Power Pareto distribution is introduced by including an extra parameter. Several properties of the proposed distribution including explicit expressions for the moment generating function, mode, quantiles, entropies and order statistics are obtained. Unknown parameters have been estimated by using maximum likelihood estimation technique. Two real datasets have been considered to examine the usefulness of the proposed distribution. It has been observed that α-Power Pareto distribution outperforms while compared to different variants of Pareto distribution on the basis of model selection criteria.

Keywords: α-power transformation, maximum likelihood estimation, moment generating function, Pareto distribution

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Authors: Mohammed El-Arbi Khalfallah, Mohamed Lakhdar Hadji

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Managing and controlling risk is a topic research in the world of finance. Before a risky situation, the stakeholders need to do comparison according to the positions and actions, and financial institutions must take measures of a particular market risk and credit. In this work, we study a model of risk measure in finance: Value at Risk (VaR), which is a new tool for measuring an entity's exposure risk. We explain the concept of value at risk, your average, tail, and describe the three methods for computing: Parametric method, Historical method, and numerical method of Monte Carlo. Finally, we briefly describe advantages and disadvantages of the three methods for computing value at risk.

Keywords: average value at risk, conditional value at risk, tail value at risk, value at risk

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Authors: Maciej Zaręba, Sławomir Lasota

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Knowing the degree of dependencies between the sets of input signals and selected sets of indicators that measure a production system's effectiveness is of great importance in the industry. This paper introduces the SELM method that enables the selection of sets of input signals, which affects the most the selected subset of indicators that measures the effectiveness of a production system. For defined set of output indicators, the method quantifies the impact of input signals that are gathered in the continuous monitoring production system.

Keywords: manufacturing operation management, signal relationship, continuous monitoring, production systems

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Authors: M. Ranjeeth, S. Anuradha

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Spectrum sensing is the main feature of cognitive radio technology. Spectrum sensing gives an idea of detecting the presence of the primary users in a licensed spectrum. In this paper we compare the theoretical results of detection probability of different fading environments like Rayleigh, Rician, Nakagami-m fading channels with the simulation results using energy detection based spectrum sensing. The numerical results are plotted as P_f Vs P_d for different SNR values, fading parameters. It is observed that Nakagami fading channel performance is better than other fading channels by using energy detection in spectrum sensing. A MATLAB simulation test bench has been implemented to know the performance of energy detection in different fading channel environment.

Keywords: spectrum sensing, energy detection, fading channels, probability of detection, probability of false alarm

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Authors: Shen Jian, Hu Jie, Ma Jin, Peng Ying Hong, Fang Yi, Liu Wen Hai

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Biologically inspired design inspires inventions and new technologies in the field of engineering by mimicking functions, principles, and structures in the biological domain. To deal with the obstacles of cross-domain knowledge acquisition in the existing biologically inspired design process, functional semantic clustering based on functional feature semantic correlation and environmental constraint clustering composition based on environmental characteristic constraining adaptability are proposed. A knowledge cell clustering algorithm and the corresponding prototype system is developed. Finally, the effectiveness of the method is verified by the visual prosthetic device design.

Keywords: knowledge clustering, knowledge acquisition, knowledge based engineering, knowledge cell, biologically inspired design

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Authors: Sergejs Kolesovs, Pavels Semjonovs

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Whey and dairy wastewaters if disposed in the environment without proper treatment, cause serious environmental risks contributing to overall and particular environmental pollution and climate change. Biological treatment of wastewater is considered to be most eco-friendly approach, as compared to the chemical treatment methods. Research shows, that dairy wastewater can potentially be remediated by use of microalgae thussignificantly reducing the content of carbohydrates, P, N, K and other pollutants. Moreover, it has been shown, that use of dairy wastewaters results in higher microalgae biomass production. In recent decades microalgal biomass has entailed a big interest for its potential applications in pharmaceuticals, biomedicine, health supplementation, cosmetics, animal feed, plant protection, bioremediation and biofuels. It was shown, that lipids productivity on whey and dairy wastewater is higher as compared with standard cultivation media and occurred without the necessity of inducing specific stress conditions such as N starvation. Moreover, microalgae biomass production as usually associated with high production costs may benefit from perspective of both reasons – enhanced microalgae biomass or target substances productivity on cheap growth substrate and effective management of whey and dairy wastewaters, which issignificant for decrease of total production costs in both processes. Obviously, it became especially important when large volume and low cost industrial microalgal biomass production is anticipated for further use in agriculture of crops as plant growth stimulants, biopesticides soil fertilisers or remediating solutions. Environmental load of dairy wastewaters can be significantly decreased when microalgae are grown in coculture with other microorganisms. This enhances the utilisation of lactose, which is main C source in whey and dairy wastewaters when it is not metabolised easily by most microalgal species chosen. Our study showsthat certain microalgae strains can be used in treatment of residual sugars containing industrial wastewaters and decrease of their concentration thus approving that further extensive research on dairy wastewaters pre-treatment optionsfor effective cultivation of microalgae, carbon uptake and metabolism, strain selection and choice of coculture candidates is needed for further optimisation of the process.

Keywords: microalgae, whey, dairy wastewaters, sustainability, plant biostimulants

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Authors: Dingyang Hu, Dan Liu

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DNN (Deep Neural Network) deep learning models are widely used in classification, prediction, and other task scenarios. To address the difficulties of generic adversarial perturbation generation for deep learning models under black-box conditions, a generic adversarial ingestion generation method based on a saliency map (CJsp) is proposed to obtain salient image regions by counting the factors that influence the input features of an image on the output results. This method can be understood as a saliency map attack algorithm to obtain false classification results by reducing the weights of salient feature points. Experiments also demonstrate that this method can obtain a high success rate of migration attacks and is a batch adversarial sample generation method.

Keywords: adversarial sample, gradient, probability, black box

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Authors: Jimoh Abiodun Alaba

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Context: In many traditional African societies, sex education is often considered a taboo topic. However, the importance of sex education is becoming increasingly evident. This study aims to investigate the challenges faced in teaching sex education in selected secondary schools in the Akoko region of Ondo state, Nigeria. Research Aim: The aim of this study is to identify and examine the problems confronting the teaching of sex education in selected secondary schools in the Akoko region of Ondo state, Nigeria. Methodology: The study utilized a multi-stage sampling method. The first stage involved a purposive selection of ten (10) secondary schools in the Akoko region of Ondo State, while the second stage was a random selection of twenty (20) students, each in the selected secondary schools of the study area. This makes a total of two (200) hundred students that were considered for the survey. Descriptive analysis using percentages was employed to analyze the collected data. Factor analysis was also used to identify the most significant problems. Findings: The study revealed that sex education has been neglected in the sampled secondary schools due to traditional African beliefs that do not support the teaching and learning of this subject. Furthermore, there was evidence to suggest that parents also displayed reluctance towards the teaching of sex education, fearing that it might expose students to inappropriate behavior. Consequently, students were deprived of this essential aspect of education necessary for self-awareness and development. Theoretical Importance: This study contributes to the understanding of the challenges faced in teaching sex education in traditional African societies, specifically in the selected secondary schools in the Akoko region of Ondo state, Nigeria. Data Collection: Data were collected through the administration of 200 questionnaires in ten selected secondary schools. Additionally, information was gathered from federal, state, and local government authorities. Analysis Procedures: The collected data were analyzed using descriptive analysis, employing percentage calculations for better interpretation. Furthermore, factor analysis was conducted to isolate the most significant problems identified. Conclusion: The study concludes that sex education in the sampled secondary schools in the Akoko region of Ondo state, Nigeria, has suffered neglect due to traditional African beliefs and parental concerns. Consequently, students are denied an important aspect of education necessary for their self-awareness and development. Recommendations are made to change the negative perception of sex education, enrich the curriculum, and employ qualified personnel for its teaching. Additionally, it is suggested that sex education should be integrated with moral instruction.

Keywords: African traditional belief, sex, sex education, sexual misdemeanor, morality

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Authors: Di Han, Lingfeng Li

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Selection of low-temperature separation dehydration and dehydrochlorination process applicable to skid design, using Hysys software to simulate the low-temperature separation dehydration and dehydrochlorination process under different refrigeration modes, focusing on comparing the refrigeration effect of different refrigeration modes, the condensation amount of hydrocarbon liquids and alcoholic wastewater, as well as the adaptability of the process, and determining the low-temperature separation process applicable to the natural gas dehydration and dehydrochlorination skid into the design of skid; and finally, to carry out the CNG recycling process calculations of the processed qualified natural gas and to determine the dehydration scheme and the key parameters of the compression process.

Keywords: skidding, dehydration and dehydrochlorination, cryogenic separation process, CNG recovery process calculations

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Authors: T. Konst

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Most jobs include training and communication tasks, but often the people in these jobs lack pedagogical competences to plan, implement and assess learning. This paper aims to discuss how a learning approach called innovation pedagogy developed in higher education can be utilized for learning development in various organizations. The methods presented how to implement innovation pedagogy such as process consultation and train the trainer model can provide added value to develop pedagogical knowhow in organizations and thus support their internal learning and development.

Keywords: innovation pedagogy, learning, organizational development, process consultation

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Authors: Ming Gao, Matthew Tingchi Liu, Hoi Ngan Loi

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Live streaming refers to the video contents generated by broadcasters and shared with viewers in real-time by uploading them to short-video platforms. In recent years, individual KOL broadcasters have successfully made use of live streams to sell a large amount of goods to the consumers. For example, Wei Ya, the Number 1 broadcaster in Taobao Live, sold products worth RMB 2.7 billion (USD 0.38 billion) in 2018. Regarding the success of live streaming commerce (LSC) in China, this study explores the elements of the booming LSC industry and attempts to explain the reasons behind its prosperity. A systematic review of industry reports and academic papers was conducted to summarize the latest findings in this field. And the results of this investigation showed that a live streaming eco-system has been established by the LSC players, namely, the platform, the broadcaster, the product supplier, and the viewer. In this eco-system, all players have complementary advantages and needs, and their close cooperation leads to a win-win situation. For instance, platforms and broadcasters have abundant internet traffic, which needs to be monetized, while product suppliers have mature supply chains and the need of promoting the products. In addition, viewers are attached to the LSC platforms to get product information, bargains, and entertainment. This study highlights the importance of the mass-personal hybrid communication nature of live streaming because its interpersonal communication feature increases consumers’ positive experiences, while its mass media broadcasting feature facilitates product promotion. Another innovative point of this study lies in its inclusion of the special characteristic of Chinese Internet culture - entertainment. The entertaining genres of the live streams created by broadcasters serve as down-to-earth approaches to reach their audiences easily. Further, the nature of video, i.e., the dynamic and salient stimulus, is emphasized in this study. Since video is more engaging, it can attract viewers in a quick and easy way. Meanwhile, the abundant, interesting, high-quality, and free short videos have added “stickiness” to platforms by retaining users and prolonging their staying time on the platforms. In addition, broadcasters’ important characters, such as physical attractiveness, humor, sex appeal, kindness, communication skills, and interactivity, are also identified as important factors that influence consumers’ engagement and purchase intention. In conclusion, all players have their own proper places in this live streaming eco-system, in which they work seamlessly to give full play to their respective advantages, with each player taking what it needs and offering what it has. This has contributed to the success of live streaming commerce in China.

Keywords: broadcasters, communication, entertainment, live streaming commerce, viewers

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Authors: Mohammed Arif, Abdessalam Kifouche

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Optical character recognition (OCR) has a main role in the present time. It's capable to solve many serious problems and simplify human activities. The OCR yields to 70's, since many solutions has been proposed, but unfortunately, it was supportive to nothing but Latin languages. This work proposes a system of recognition of an off-line Arabic handwriting. This system is based on a structural segmentation method and uses support vector machines (SVM) in the classification phase. We have presented a state of art of the characters segmentation methods, after that a view of the OCR area, also we will address the normalization problems we went through. After a comparison between the Arabic handwritten characters & the segmentation methods, we had introduced a contribution through a segmentation algorithm.

Keywords: OCR, segmentation, Arabic characters, PAW, post-processing, SVM

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Authors: Yang Bao, Shi Wei Deng, WangQun Lin

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This paper introduces the concept and principle of data cleaning, analyzes the types and causes of dirty data, and proposes several key steps of typical cleaning process, puts forward a well scalability and versatility data cleaning framework, in view of data with attribute dependency relation, designs several of violation data discovery algorithms by formal formula, which can obtain inconsistent data to all target columns with condition attribute dependent no matter data is structured (SQL) or unstructured (NoSQL), and gives 6 data cleaning methods based on these algorithms.

Keywords: data cleaning, dependency rules, violation data discovery, data repair

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Authors: Xiao Chen, Xiaoying Kong, Min Xu

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This paper presents a road vehicle detection approach for the intelligent transportation system. This approach mainly uses low-cost magnetic sensor and associated data collection system to collect magnetic signals. This system can measure the magnetic field changing, and it also can detect and count vehicles. We extend Mel Frequency Cepstral Coefficients to analyze vehicle magnetic signals. Vehicle type features are extracted using representation of cepstrum, frame energy, and gap cepstrum of magnetic signals. We design a 2-dimensional map algorithm using Vector Quantization to classify vehicle magnetic features to four typical types of vehicles in Australian suburbs: sedan, VAN, truck, and bus. Experiments results show that our approach achieves a high level of accuracy for vehicle detection and classification.

Keywords: vehicle classification, signal processing, road traffic model, magnetic sensing

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Authors: Lan Luo

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In China’s construction industry, it is a normal practice to separately subcontract the decoration engineering part from construction engineering, and Building Information Modeling (BIM) is also done separately. Application of BIM in decoration engineering should be integrated with other disciplines, but Chinese current practice makes this very difficult and complicated. Currently, there are three barriers in the auditing of BIM application in decoration engineering in China: heavy workload; scarcity of qualified professionals; and lack of literature concerning audit contents, standards, and methods. Therefore, it is significant to perform research on what (contents) should be evaluated, in which phase, and by whom (professional qualifications) in BIM application in decoration construction so that the application of BIM can be promoted in a better manner. Based on this consideration, four principles of BIM auditing are proposed: Comprehensiveness of information, accuracy of data, aesthetic attractiveness of appearance, and scheme optimization. In the model audit, three methods should be used: Collision, observation, and contrast. In addition, BIM auditing at six stages is discussed and a checklist for work items and results to be submitted is proposed. This checklist can be used for reference by decoration project participants.

Keywords: audit, evaluation, dimensions, methods, standards, BIM application in decoration engineering projects

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Authors: A. Benatiallah, D. Benatiallah, A. Harrouz, F. Abaidi, S. Mansouri

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Photovoltaic system is established as a reliable and economical source of electricity in rural and Sahara areas, especially in developing countries where the population is dispersed, has low consumption of energy and the grid power is not extended to these areas due to viability and financial problems. The production of energy by the photovoltaic system fluctuates and depend on meteorological conditions. Wind is a very important and often neglected parameter in the behavior of the solar module. The electric performances of a solar module to the silicon are very appreciable to the blows; in the present work, we have studied the behavior of multi-crystal solar module according to the density of dust, and the principals electric feature of the solar module. An evaluation permits to affirm that a solar module under the effect of sand will collect a lower flux to the normal conditions.

Keywords: solar modulen pv, dust effect, experimental, performances

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Authors: Anupam Chanda

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Presently Packaging plays a significant role for drug discoveries. The process of selecting materials and the type of packaging also offers an opportunity for the Packaging scientist to look for biological delivery choices. Most injectable protein products were supplied in some sort of glass vial, prefilled syringe, cartridge. Those product having high Ph content there is a chance of “delamination “from inner surface of glass vial. With protein-based drugs, the biggest issue is the effect of packaging derivatives on the protein’s threedimensional and surface structure. These are any effects that relate to denaturation or aggregation of the protein due to oxidation or interactions from contaminants or impurities in the preparation. The potential for these effects needs to be carefully considered in choosing the container and the container closure system to avoid putting patients in jeopardy. Cause of Delamination : -Formulations with a high pH include phosphate and citrate buffers increase the risk of glass delamination. -High alkali content in glass could accelerate erosion. -High temperature during the vial-forming process increase the risk of glass delamination. -Terminal sterilization (irradiated at 20-40 kGy for 150 min) also is a risk factor for specific products(veterinary parenteral administration),could cause delamination. -High product-storage temperatures and long exposure times can increase the rate and severity of glass delamination. How to prevent Delamination -Treating the surface of the glass vials with materials, such as ammonium sulfate or siliconization can reduce the rate of glass erosion. -Consider alternative sterilization methods only in rare cases. -The correct specification for the glass to ensure its suitability for the pH of the product. -Use Cyclic olefin copolymer(COC)/Cyclic olefin Polymer(COP) Adsorption of protein and Solutions: Option#1 Coat with linear methoxylated polyglycerol and hyperbranchedmethoxylated polyglycerol. Option#2 Thehyperbranched non-methoxylated coating performed best. Option#3 Coat with hyperbranched polyglycerol Option#4 Right selection of Sterilization of glass vial/syringe.

Keywords: delamination of glass, ptrotien adoptions inside the glass surface, extractable & leachable solutions, injectable designs for new drugs

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Authors: D. Szinay, O. Perski, A. Jones, T. Chadborn, J. Brown, F. Naughton

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Background: The uptake of health and wellbeing smartphone apps is largely influenced by popularity indicators (e.g., rankings), rather than evidence-based content. Rapid disengagement is common. This study aims to explore how and why potential users 1) select and 2) engage with such apps, and 3) how increased engagement could be promoted. Methods: Semi-structured interviews and a think-aloud approach were used to allow participants to verbalise their thoughts whilst searching for a health or wellbeing app online, followed by a guided search in the UK National Health Service (NHS) 'Apps Library' and Public Health England’s (PHE) 'One You' website. Recruitment took place between June and August 2019. Adults interested in using an app for behaviour change were recruited through social media. Data were analysed using the framework approach. The analysis is both inductive and deductive, with the coding framework being informed by the Theoretical Domains Framework. The results are further mapped onto the COM-B (Capability, Opportunity, Motivation - Behaviour) model. The study protocol is registered on the Open Science Framework (https://osf.io/jrkd3/). Results: The following targets were identified as playing a key role in increasing the uptake of and engagement with health and wellbeing apps: 1) psychological capability (e.g., reduced cognitive load); 2) physical opportunity (e.g., low financial cost); 3) social opportunity (e.g., embedded social media); 4) automatic motivation (e.g., positive feedback). Participants believed that the promotion of evidence-based apps on NHS-related websites could be enhanced through active promotion on social media, adverts on the internet, and in general practitioner practices. Future Implications: These results can inform the development of interventions aiming to promote the uptake of and engagement with evidence-based health and wellbeing apps, a priority within the UK NHS Long Term Plan ('digital first'). The targets identified across the COM-B domains could help organisations that provide platforms for such apps to increase impact through better selection of apps.

Keywords: behaviour change, COM-B model, digital health, mhealth

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Authors: Ceyda Dadali, Yeşim Elmaci

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Coffee was introduced as an economic crop during the fifteenth century; nowadays it is the most important food commodity ranking second after crude oil. Desirable sensory properties make coffee one of the most often consumed and most popular beverages in the world. The coffee preparation method has a significant effect on flavor and composition of coffee brews. Three different extraction methodologies namely decoction, infusion and pressure methods have been used for coffee brew preparation. Each of these methods is related to specific granulation (coffee grind) of coffee powder, water-coffee ratio temperature and brewing time. Coffee is a mixture of 1500 chemical compounds. Chemical composition of coffee highly depends on brewing methods, coffee bean species and roasting time-temperature. Coffee contains a wide number of very important bioactive compounds, such as diterpenes: cafestol and kahweol, alkaloids: caffeine, theobromine and trigonelline, melanoidins, phenolic compounds. The phenolic compounds of coffee include chlorogenic acids (quinyl esters of hidroxycinnamic acids), caffeic, ferulic, p-coumaric acid. In coffee caffeoylquinic acids, feruloylquinic acids and di-caffeoylquinic acids are three main groups of chlorogenic acids constitues 6% -10% of dry weight of coffee. The bioavailability of chlorogenic acids in coffee depends on the absorption and metabolization to biomarkers in individuals. Also, the interaction of coffee polyphenols with other compounds such as dietary proteins affects the biomarkers. Since bioactive composition of coffee depends on brewing methods effect of coffee brewing method on bioactive compounds of coffee will be discussed in this study.

Keywords: bioactive compounds of coffee, biomarkers, coffee brew, effect of brewing

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Authors: Neelam Kumar

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Science is stratified, with an unequal distribution of research facilities and rewards among scientists. Gender stratification is one of the most prevalent phenomena in the world of science. In most countries gender segregation, horizontal as well as vertical, stands out in the field of science and engineering. India is no exception. This paper aims to examine: (1) gender and science associations, historical as well as contemporary, (2) women’s enrolment and gender differences in selection of academic fields, (2) women as professional researchers, (3) career path and recognition/trajectories. The paper reveals that in recent years the gender–science relationship has changed, but is not totally free from biases. Women’s enrolment into various science disciplines has shown remarkable and steady increase in most parts of the world, including India, yet they remain underrepresented in the S&T workforce, although to a lesser degree than in the past.

Keywords: gender, science, universal, women

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Authors: Randa Alharbi, Vladislav Vyshemirsky

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Systems biology is an important field in science which focuses on studying behaviour of biological systems. Modelling is required to produce detailed description of the elements of a biological system, their function, and their interactions. A well-designed model requires selecting a suitable mechanism which can capture the main features of the system, define the essential components of the system and represent an appropriate law that can define the interactions between its components. Complex biological systems exhibit stochastic behaviour. Thus, using probabilistic models are suitable to describe and analyse biological systems. Continuous-Time Markov Chain (CTMC) is one of the probabilistic models that describe the system as a set of discrete states with continuous time transitions between them. The system is then characterised by a set of probability distributions that describe the transition from one state to another at a given time. The evolution of these probabilities through time can be obtained by chemical master equation which is analytically intractable but it can be simulated. Uncertain parameters of such a model can be inferred using methods of Bayesian inference. Yet, inference in such a complex system is challenging as it requires the evaluation of the likelihood which is intractable in most cases. There are different statistical methods that allow simulating from the model despite intractability of the likelihood. Approximate Bayesian computation is a common approach for tackling inference which relies on simulation of the model to approximate the intractable likelihood. Particle Markov chain Monte Carlo (PMCMC) is another approach which is based on using sequential Monte Carlo to estimate intractable likelihood. However, both methods are computationally expensive. In this paper we discuss the efficiency and possible practical issues for each method, taking into account the computational time for these methods. We demonstrate likelihood-free inference by performing analysing a model of the Repressilator using both methods. Detailed investigation is performed to quantify the difference between these methods in terms of efficiency and computational cost.

Keywords: Approximate Bayesian computation(ABC), Continuous-Time Markov Chains, Sequential Monte Carlo, Particle Markov chain Monte Carlo (PMCMC)

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Authors: Mekdelawit Teferi Alamirew

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As a practical tool, the Geographical information system (GIS) was used for data integration, collection, management, analysis, and output presentation in pavement mangement systems . There are many GIS techniques to improve the maintenance activities like Dynamic segmentation and weighted overlay analysis which considers Multi Criteria Decision Making process. The results indicated that the developed MPI model works sufficiently and yields adequate output for providing accurate decisions. Hence considering multi criteria to prioritize the pavement sections for maintenance, as a result of the fact that GIS maps can express position, extent, and severity of pavement distress features more effectively than manual approaches, lastly the paper also offers digitized distress maps that can help agencies in their decision-making processes.

Keywords: pavement, flexible, maintenance, index

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Authors: Neha Toppo

Abstract:

Method and strategies of teaching instruction highly influence learning of students. In second language teaching, number of ways and methods has been suggested by different scholars and researchers through times. The present article deals with the role of teaching instruction in developing compositional ability of students in writing. It focuses on the secondary level students of rural areas, whose exposure to English language is limited and they face challenges even in simple compositions. The students till high school suffer with their disability in writing formal letter, application, essay, paragraph etc. They face problem in note making, writing answers in examination using their own words and depend fully on rote learning. It becomes difficult for them to give language to their own ideas. Teaching writing composition deserves special attention as writing is an integral part of language learning and students at this level are expected to have sound compositional ability for it is useful in numerous domains. Effective method of instruction could help students to learn expression of self, correct selection of vocabulary and grammar, contextual writing, composition of formal and informal writing. It is not limited to school but continues to be important in various other fields outside the school such as in newspaper and magazine, official work, legislative work, material writing, academic writing, personal writing, etc. The study is based on the experimental method, which hypothesize that guided instruction will be more effective in teaching writing compositions than usual instruction in which students are left to compose by their own without any help. In the test, students of one section are asked to write an essay on the given topic without guidance and another section are asked to write the same but with the assistance of guided instruction in which students have been provided with a few vocabulary and sentence structure. This process is repeated in few more schools to get generalize data. The study shows the difference on students’ performance using both the instructions; guided and unguided. The conclusion of the study is followed by the finding that writing skill of the students is quite poor but with the help of guided instruction they perform better. The students are in need of better teaching instruction to develop their writing skills.

Keywords: composition, essay, guided instruction, writing skill

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Authors: Chinedu F. Anochie

Abstract:

The deterioration of materials as a result of their interaction with the environment has been a huge challenge to engineering. Many steps have been taking to tackle corrosion and its effects on harmful effects on engineering materials and structures. Corrosion inhibition, coating, passivation, materials selection, and cathodic protection are some of the methods utilized to curtail the rate at which materials corrode. The use of sacrificial anodes (magnesium, aluminum, or zinc) to protect the metal of interest is a widespread technique used to prevent corrosion in underground structures, ship hauls, and other structures susceptible to corrosion attack. However, certain factors, like resistivity, affect the performance of sacrificial anodes. To establish the effect of soil resistivity on the effectiveness of a cathodic protection system, a mild steel specimen was cathodically protected around Workshop 2 area, Federal University of Technology, Owerri, Nigeria. Design calculations showed that one zinc anode was sufficient to protect the pipe. The specimen (mild steel pipe) was coated with white and black polykene tapes and was subsequently buried in a high resistivity soil. The pipe-to-soil potential measurements were obtained using a digital fluke multimeter. The protection potential obtained on installation was higher than the minimum protection criteria. However, the potential results obtained over a fourteen-day intervals continually decreased to a value significantly lower than the minimum protection criteria. This showed that the sacrificial anode (zinc) was rendered ineffective by the high resistivity of the area of installation. It has been shown that the resistivity of the soil has a marked effect on the feasibility of cathodic protection systems. This work justified that zinc anode cannot be used for cathodic protection around Workshop 2 area, Federal University of Technology, Owerri, Nigeria, because of the high resistivity of the area. An experimental data which explains the effectiveness of galvanic anode cathodic protection system on corrosion control of a small steel structure, exposed to a soil of high resistivity has been established.

Keywords: cathodic protection, corrosion, pipe, sacrificial anode

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