Search results for: applied art

Authors: W. S. Mohamed, A. A. Hammam

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Sandy soils under arid and semi-arid conditions are characterized by poor physical and biochemical properties such as low water retention, rapid organic matter decomposition, low nutrients use efficiency, and limited crop productivity. Addition of organic amendments is crucial to develop soil properties and consequently enhance nutrients use efficiency and lessen organic carbon decomposition. Two years field experiments were developed to investigate the feasibility of using poultry manure and its derived biochar integrated with different levels of N fertilizer as a soil amendment for newly reclaimed sandy soils in Western Desert of El-Minia Governorate, Egypt. Results of this research revealed that poultry manure and its derived biochar addition induced pronounced effects on soil moisture content at saturation point, field capacity (FC) and consequently available water. Data showed that application of poultry manure (PM) or PM-derived biochar (PMB) in combination with inorganic N levels had caused significant changes on a range of the investigated sandy soil biochemical properties including pH, EC, mineral N, dissolved organic carbon (DOC), dissolved organic N (DON) and quotient DOC/DON. Overall, the impact of PMB on soil physical properties was detected to be superior than the impact of PM, regardless the inorganic N levels. In addition, the obtained results showed that PM and PM application had the capacity to stimulate vigorous growth, nutritional status, production levels of wheat and sorghum, and to increase soil organic matter content and N uptake and recovery compared to control. By contrast, comparing between PM and PMB at different levels of inorganic N, the obtained results showed higher relative increases in both grain and straw yields of wheat in plots treated with PM than in those treated with PMB. The interesting feature of this research is that the biochar derived from PM increased treated sandy soil organic carbon (SOC) 1.75 times more than soil treated with PM itself at the end of cropping seasons albeit double-applied amount of PM. This was attributed to the higher carbon stability of biochar treated sandy soils increasing soil persistence for carbon decomposition in comparison with PM labile carbon. It could be concluded that organic manures applied to sandy soils under arid and semi-arid conditions are subjected to high decomposition and mineralization rates through crop seasons. Biochar derived from organic wastes considers as a source of stable carbon and could be very hopeful choice for substituting easily decomposable organic manures under arid conditions. Therefore, sustainable agriculture and productivity in newly reclaimed sandy soils desire one high rate addition of biochar derived from organic manures instead of frequent addition of such organic amendments.

Keywords: biochar, dissolved organic carbon, N-uptake, poultry, sandy soil

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Authors: Majid Forghani, Michael Khachay

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In genetics, the impact of neighboring amino acids on a target site is referred as the nearest-neighbor effect or simply neighbor effect. In this paper, a new method called wavelet particle decomposition representing the one-dimensional neighbor effect using wavelet packet decomposition is proposed. The main idea lies in known dependence of wavelet packet sub-bands on location and order of neighboring samples. The method decomposes the value of a signal sample into small values called particles that represent a part of the neighbor effect information. The results have shown that the information obtained from the particle decomposition can be used to create better model variables or features. As an example, the approach has been applied to improve the correlation of test and reference sequence distance with titer in the hemagglutination inhibition assay.

Keywords: antigenic variants, neighbor effect, wavelet packet, wavelet particle decomposition

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Authors: K. Khelil, H. Ammar, K. Saouchi

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Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) structure is an periodically modulated optical fiber. It acts as a selective filter of wavelength whose reflected peak is called Bragg wavelength and it depends on the period of the fiber and the refractive index. The simulation of FBG is based on solving the Coupled Mode Theory equation by using the Transfer Matrix Method which is carried out using MATLAB. It is found that spectral reflectivity is shifted when the change of temperature and strain is uniform. Under non-uniform temperature or strain perturbation, the spectrum is both shifted and destroyed. In case of transverse loading, reflectivity spectrum is split into two peaks, the first is specific to X axis, and the second belongs to Y axis. FBGs are used in civil engineering to detect perturbations applied to buildings.

Keywords: Bragg wavelength, coupled mode theory, optical fiber, temperature measurement

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Authors: Jinali Chaklasiya

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The importance of face masks, gloves, sanitizer, face shield Were only Applied for Doctor Amenities, and because of the outbreak of coronavirus, everybody has to wear Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for health measures. . The main focus of this research paper is in the area of how doctor amenities changed the importance of gloves, face masks, sanitizer, face shield in day to day life of people. For this research, we have collected data from a quantitative survey. A questionnaire survey was conducted to note down the user point of view in doctor amenities and why is it important. The result of the questionnaire survey has helped to design parameters which were used to ideate new protective products. Thus, it is concluded to keep in mind that these protective devices can be used in day-to-day life by people across the globe. In the coming future, the protective device can make a difference and protect us from other common viruses.

Keywords: equpiment, coronavirus, products, protective, environment

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Authors: Megan E. Davies

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The effects of climate change impact the environment and our physical health but also demonstrate a growing risk factor for Canadians’ individual and collective mental health. Past research and expert predictions are discussed while exploring the connection between mental health concerns and climate change consequences, resulting in a call to action for psychological sciences to be integrated into solution planning. With the direct and indirect effects of climate change steadily increasing, political and legal aspects of sustainability, as well as the repercussions for mental health being seen in Canada regarding climate change, are investigated. An interdisciplinary perspective for reviewing the challenges of climate change is applied in order to propose a realistic plan for how policymakers and mental health professionals can work together moving forward in applying interventions that mediate against the effects of climate change on Canadians’ mental health.

Keywords: climate change, mental health, policy change, solution planning, sustainability

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Authors: Ayten Ekin Meşe, Selahattin Şentürk, Melike Duvanoğlu

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Petroleum refineries are a highly complex process industry with continuous production and high operating costs. Physical separation of crude oil starts with the crude oil distillation unit, continues with various conversion and purification units, and passes through many stages until obtaining the final product. To meet the desired product specification, process parameters are strictly followed. To be able to ensure the quality of distillates, routine analyses are performed in quality control laboratories based on appropriate international standards such as American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standard methods and European Standard (EN) methods. The cut point of distillates in the crude distillation unit is very crucial for the efficiency of the upcoming processes. In order to maximize the process efficiency, the determination of the quality of distillates should be as fast as possible, reliable, and cost-effective. In this sense, an alternative study was carried out on the crude oil distillation unit that serves the entire refinery process. In this work, studies were conducted with three different crude oil distillates which are Light Straight Run Naphtha (LSRN), Heavy Straight Run Naphtha (HSRN), and Kerosene. These products are named after separation by the number of carbons it contains. LSRN consists of five to six carbon-containing hydrocarbons, HSRN consist of six to ten, and kerosene consists of sixteen to twenty-two carbon-containing hydrocarbons. Physical properties of three different crude distillation unit products (LSRN, HSRN, and Kerosene) were determined using Near-Infrared Spectroscopy with multivariate calibration. The absorbance spectra of the petroleum samples were obtained in the range from 10000 cm⁻¹ to 4000 cm⁻¹, employing a quartz transmittance flow through cell with a 2 mm light path and a resolution of 2 cm⁻¹. A total of 400 samples were collected for each petroleum sample for almost four years. Several different crude oil grades were processed during sample collection times. Extended Multiplicative Signal Correction (EMSC) and Savitzky-Golay (SG) preprocessing techniques were applied to FT-NIR spectra of samples to eliminate baseline shifts and suppress unwanted variation. Two different multivariate calibration approaches (Partial Least Squares Regression, PLS and Genetic Inverse Least Squares, GILS) and an ensemble model were applied to preprocessed FT-NIR spectra. Predictive performance of each multivariate calibration technique and preprocessing techniques were compared, and the best models were chosen according to the reproducibility of ASTM reference methods. This work demonstrates the developed models can be used for routine analysis instead of conventional analytical methods with over 90% accuracy.

Keywords: crude distillation unit, multivariate calibration, near infrared spectroscopy, data preprocessing, refinery

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Authors: Daoudi Abdelaziz, Mahmoudi Saïd, Chikh Mohamed Amine

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This paper presents a fully automatic segmentation method of the left ventricle at End Systolic (ES) and End Diastolic (ED) in the ultrasound images by means of an implicit deformable model (level set) based on Geodesic Active Contour model. A pre-processing Gaussian smoothing stage is applied to the image, which is essential for a good segmentation. Before the segmentation phase, we locate automatically the area of the left ventricle by using a detection approach based on the Hough Transform method. Consequently, the result obtained is used to automate the initialization of the level set model. This initial curve (zero level set) deforms to search the Endocardial border in the image. On the other hand, quantitative evaluation was performed on a data set composed of 15 subjects with a comparison to ground truth (manual segmentation).

Keywords: level set method, transform Hough, Gaussian smoothing, left ventricle, ultrasound images.

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Authors: Thanawit Buafai, Siyathorn Khunon

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This paper aims to explore the satisfaction levels of tourism product components on the island of Samui by studying the cultural dimension relationships of Hofsted’s classic theory. Both the six Hofsted cultural dimensions and tourism production satisfaction measures have been of interest worldwide. Therefore, the challenge of this study is to re-confirm previous research results in the ever-changing current contexts of the modern globalized business era. Self-rated questionnaires were employed to collect data from six nationalities of tourists in Samui, totaling 386 samples. The reliability of this research methodology was 0.967. Correlation was applied to analyze the relationships. The results indicate that Masculinity is significantly related to tourism destination satisfaction for every factor, while the other five cultural dimensions are related to some factors of tourism satisfaction. Surprisingly, tourist satisfaction toward the bar/restaurant factor is significantly correlated with all six cultural dimensions.

Keywords: cultural dimensions, tourism products, Samui, Thailand

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Authors: Tuisem Shimrah

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One general agreement on climate change is that its causes may be local but the effects are global. Indigenous people are subscribed to “low-carbon” traditional ways of life and as such they have contributed little to causes of climate change. On the contrary they are the most adversely affected by climate change due to their dependence on surrounding rich biological wealth as a source of their livelihood, health care, entertainment and cultural activities This paper deals with the results of the investigation of various adaptation strategies adopted to combat climate change by traditional community. The result shows effective ways of application of traditional knowledge and wisdom applied by Tangkhul traditional community at local and community level in remote areas in Northeast India. Four adaptation measures are being presented in this paper.

Keywords: adaptation, climate change, Northeast India, Tangkhul, traditional community

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Authors: Ambrish Singh

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The corrosion inhibition performance of pyran (AP) and benzimidazole (BI) derivatives on J55 steel in 3.5% NaCl solution saturated with CO₂ was investigated by electrochemical, weight loss, surface characterization, and theoretical studies. The electrochemical studies included electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), potentiodynamic polarization (PDP), electrochemical frequency modulation (EFM), and electrochemical frequency modulation trend (EFMT). Surface characterization was done using contact angle, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and atomic force microscopy (AFM) techniques. DFT and molecular dynamics (MD) studies were done using Gaussian and Materials Studio softwares. All the studies suggested the good inhibition by the synthesized inhibitors on J55 steel in 3.5% NaCl solution saturated with CO₂ due to the formation of a protective film on the surface. Molecular dynamic simulation was applied to search for the most stable configuration and adsorption energies for the interaction of the inhibitors with Fe (110) surface.

Keywords: corrosion, inhibitor, EFM, AFM, DFT, MD

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Authors: Nguyen The Hoang Anh, Tran Huy Hoang, Vu Tat Thang, T. T. Quyen Bui

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Mental state classification is an important step for realizing a control system based on electroencephalography (EEG) signals which could benefit a lot of paralyzed people including the locked-in or Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. Considering that EEG signals are nonstationary and often contaminated by various types of artifacts, classifying thoughts into correct mental states is not a trivial problem. In this work, our contribution is that we present and realize a novel model which integrates different techniques: Independent component analysis (ICA), relative wavelet energy, and support vector machine (SVM) for the same task. We applied our model to classify thoughts in two types of experiment whether with two or three mental states. The experimental results show that the presented model outperforms other models using Artificial Neural Network, K-Nearest Neighbors, etc.

Keywords: EEG, ICA, SVM, wavelet

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Authors: Rizwan Alam, Ikhtiar Khan, Aqib Iqbal

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Plants are naturally exposed to a wide variety of environmental stresses. The stresses may be biotic or/and abiotic. These environmental stresses have adverse effects on photosynthesis, water relation and nutrients uptake of plants. Fertilization of plants with exogenous minerals can enhance the drought tolerance in plants. In this experiment, canola (Brassica napus) was treated with solutions of calcium nitrate in different concentrations before the imposition of drought stress for 10 days. It was observed that drought stress decreased the tissue-K, Ca and K/Ca ratio of canola seedlings. The tissue-carbon and nitrogen contents were also depressed by the drought stress. Application of calcium nitrate, however, could alleviate the adverse effects of drought stress by showing a positive effect on all the aforementioned parameters.

Keywords: Brassica napus, calcium, carbon, potassium

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Authors: Chizzoniti Domenico, Beggiora Klizia, Cattani Letizia, Moscatelli Monica

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This paper concerns the study of sustainable construction materials applied on the "Health Post", a prototype for the primary health care situated in alienated areas of the world. It's suitable for social and climatic Sub-Saharan context; however, it could be moved in other countries of the world with similar urgent needs. The idea is to create a Health Post with local construction materials that have a low environmental impact and promote the local workforce allowing reuse of traditional building techniques lowering production costs and transport. The aim of Primary Health Care Centre is to be a flexible and expandable structure identifying a modular form that can be repeated several times to expand its existing functions. In this way it could be not only a health care centre but also a socio-cultural facility.

Keywords: low costs building, sustainable construction materials, green construction system, prototype, health care, emergency

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Authors: Amr A. Fouad, Waleed H. Albuali, Iyad Jresat

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The protective effect of hesperidin was investigated in rats exposed to liver injury induced by a single intraperitoneal injection of cyclophosphamide (CYP) at a dose of 150 mg kg-1. Hesperidin treatment (100 mg kg-1/day, orally) was applied for seven days, starting five days before CYP administration. Hesperidin significantly decreased the CYP-induced elevations of serum alanine aminotransferase, and hepatic malondialdehyde and myeloperoxidase activity, significantly prevented the depletion of hepatic glutathione peroxidase activity resulted from CYP administration. Also, hesperidin ameliorated the CYP-induced liver tissue injury observed by histopathological examination. In addition, hesperidin decreased the CYP-induced expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase, tumor necrosis factor-α, cyclooxygenase-2, Fas ligand, and caspase-9 in liver tissue. It was concluded that hesperidin may represent a potential candidate to protect against CYP-induced hepatotoxicity.

Keywords: hesperidin, cyclophosphamide, liver, rats

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Authors: Eiman Nour

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The rising interest in harvesting power is because of the capabilities application of expanding self-powered systems based on nanostructures. Using renewable and self-powered sources is necessary for the growth of green electronics and could be of the capability to wireless sensor networks. The ambient mechanical power is among the ample sources for various power harvesting device configurations that are published. In this work, we design and fabricate a paper-based nanogenerator (NG) utilizing piezoelectric zinc oxide (ZnO) nanowires (NWs) grown hydrothermally on a paper substrate. The fabricated NG can harvest ambient mechanical energy from various kinds of human motions, such as handwriting. The fabricated NG from a single ZnO NWs/PVDF-TrFE NG has been used firstly as handwriting-driven NG. The mechanical pressure applied on the paper platform while handwriting is harvested by the NG to deliver electrical energy; depending on the mode of handwriting, a maximum harvested voltage of 4.8 V was obtained.

Keywords: nanostructure, zinc oxide, nanogenerator, energy harvesting

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Authors: M. Movahedi Rad

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In this study, a general approach to the reliability based limit analysis of laterally loaded piles is presented. In engineering practice, the uncertainties play a very important role. The aim of this study is to evaluate the lateral load capacity of free head and fixed-head long pile when the plastic limit analysis is considered. In addition to the plastic limit analysis to control the plastic behaviour of the structure, uncertain bound on the complementary strain energy of the residual forces is also applied. This bound has a significant effect for the load parameter. The solution to reliability-based problems is obtained by a computer program which is governed by the reliability index calculation.

Keywords: reliability, laterally loaded pile, residual strain energy, probability, limit analysis

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Authors: Jamison Duckworth, Shankarachary Ragi

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Detection and segmentation of wildfire smoke plumes from remote sensing imagery are being pursued as a solution for early fire detection and response. Smoke plume detection can be automated and made robust by the application of artificial intelligence methods. Specifically, in this study, the deep learning approach Mask Region-based Convolutional Neural Network (RCNN) is being proposed to learn smoke patterns across different spectral bands. This method is proposed to separate the smoke regions from the background and return masks placed over the smoke plumes. Multispectral data was acquired using NASA’s Earthdata and WorldView and services and satellite imagery. Due to the use of multispectral bands along with the three visual bands, we show that Mask R-CNN can be applied to distinguish smoke plumes from clouds and other landscape features that resemble smoke.

Keywords: deep learning, mask-RCNN, smoke plumes, spectral bands

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Authors: A. Ghenaim, A. Terfous

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In this work, degradation phenomena in fluvial beds having uniform sediments are explored experimentally under extreme flow conditions. Laboratory experiments were conducted in a rectangular cross-section channel for different flow conditions, channel characteristics, and sediment properties at the National Institute of Applied Sciences (Strasbourg, France). Tests were carried out in two conditions: (1) equilibrium condition, where, once the steady and uniform flow conditions were achieved for a given slope and discharge, the channel was fed with variable sediment discharges until the bed-load sediment transport achieved an equilibrium condition; and (2) nonequilibrium condition, where the sediment feeding was instantaneously stopped, and the bed levels were measured over time. Experimental results enabled assessing the erosion rates and determining the empirical mathematical model to predict the bed level changes.

Keywords: fluvial beds, sediment, uniform flow conditions, nonequilibrium condition, sediment disposition, erosion

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Authors: Yasmin Othman Mydin

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When one experiences problems, this may lead to negative thoughts. These thoughts may occur repetitively. The present study investigates the effectiveness of cognitive and behavioural techniques to reduce negative thoughts. 20 undergraduate university students participated as the sample in these experimental therapy sessions. Ten students received the intervention while the other ten students were in control group. 15 items Perseverative Thinking Questionnaire was administered before and after the intervention to test the effectiveness of the techniques. The behavioural techniques applied were such as, write down the negative thoughts, crumple it and throw it away. While the cognitive technique was to imagine that the thoughts are being taken out of the mind while throwing it away. Paired samples t-test analysis revealed that there were significant reductions (t=4.245,df=9, p .003) in the negative thoughts in the group that received the intervention compared to the control group. This indicates that these techniques are effective to reduce the repetitive negative thoughts.

Keywords: behaviour and cognitive intervention, negative thoughts, writing, psychology

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Authors: S. Alina Wang

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A Gibsonian approach is used to understand the existential dimensions of the human ecological niche. Then, this existential-Gibsonian framework is applied to rethinking Hacking’s historical analysis of multiple personality disorder. This research culminates in a generalized account of psychiatric illness from an enactivist lens. In conclusion, reflections on the implications of this account on approaches to psychiatric treatment are mentioned. J.J. Gibson’s theory of affordances centered on affordances of sensorimotor varieties, which guide basic behaviors relative to organisms’ vital needs and physiological capacities (1979). Later theorists, notably Neisser (1988) and Rietveld (2014), expanded on the theory of affordances to account for uniquely human activities relative to the emotional, intersubjective, cultural, and narrative aspects of the human ecological niche. This research shows that these affordances are structured by what Haugeland (1998) calls existential commitments, which draws on Heidegger’s notion of dasein (1927) and Merleau-Ponty’s account of existential freedom (1945). These commitments organize the existential affordances that fill an individual’s environment and guide their thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. This system of a priori existential commitments and a posteriori affordances is called existential enactivism. For humans, affordances do not only elicit motor responses and appear as objects with instrumental significance. Affordances also, and possibly primarily, determine so-called affective and cognitive activities and structure the wide range of kinds (e.g., instrumental, aesthetic, ethical) of significances of objects found in the world. Then existential enactivism is applied to understanding the psychiatric phenomenon of multiple personality disorder (precursor of the current diagnosis of dissociative identity disorder). A reinterpretation of Hacking’s (1998) insights into the history of this particular disorder and his generalizations on the constructed nature of most psychiatric illness is taken on. Enactivist approaches sensitive to existential phenomenology can provide a deeper understanding of these matters. Conceptualizing psychiatric illness as strictly a disorder in the head (whether parsed as a disorder of brain chemicals or meaning-making capacities encoded in psychological modules) is incomplete. Rather, psychiatric illness must also be understood as a disorder in the world, or in the interconnected networks of existential affordances that regulate one’s emotional, intersubjective, and narrative capacities. All of this suggests that an adequate account of psychiatric illness must involve (1) the affordances that are the sources of existential hindrance, (2) the existential commitments structuring these affordances, and (3) the conditions of these existential commitments. Approaches to treatment of psychiatric illness would be more effective by centering on the interruption of normalized behaviors corresponding to affordances targeted as sources of hindrance, the development of new existential commitments, and the practice of new behaviors that erect affordances relative to these reformed commitments.

Keywords: affordance, enaction, phenomenology, psychiatry, psychopathology

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Authors: Rakkrit Duangsoithong, Jermphiphut Jaruenpunyasak, Alba Garcia

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The use of foot recognition can be applied in many medical fields such as the gait pattern analysis and the knee exercises of patients in rehabilitation. Generally, a camera-based foot recognition system is intended to capture a patient image in a controlled room and background to recognize the foot in the limited views. However, this system can be inconvenient to monitor the knee exercises at home. In order to overcome these problems, this paper proposes to use the deep learning method using Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) for foot recognition. The results are compared with the traditional classification method using LBP and HOG features with kNN and SVM classifiers. According to the results, deep learning method provides better accuracy but with higher complexity to recognize the foot images from online databases than the traditional classification method.

Keywords: foot recognition, deep learning, knee rehabilitation, convolutional neural network

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Authors: Roberto M. G. Velásquez, Jonas R. Gazoli, Nelson Ponce Jr, Valério L. Borges, Alessandro Sete, Fernanda M. C. Tomé, Julian D. Hunt, Heitor C. Lira, Cristiano L. de Souza, Fabio T. Bindemann, Wilmar Wounnsoscky

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Nowadays, society is working toward reducing energy losses and greenhouse gas emissions, as well as seeking clean energy sources, as a result of the constant increase in energy demand and emissions. Energy loss occurs in the gas pressure reduction stations at the delivery points in natural gas distribution systems (city gates). Installing pressure reduction turbines (PRT) parallel to the static reduction valves at the city gates enhances the energy efficiency of the system by recovering the enthalpy of the pressurized natural gas, obtaining in the pressure-lowering process shaft work and generating electrical power. Currently, the Brazilian natural gas transportation network has 9,409 km in extension, while the system has 16 national and 3 international natural gas processing plants, including more than 143 delivery points to final consumers. Thus, the potential of installing PRT in Brazil is 66 MW of power, which could yearly avoid the emission of 235,800 tons of CO2 and generate 333 GWh/year of electricity. On the other hand, an economic viability analysis of these energy efficiency projects is commonly carried out based on estimates of the project's cash flow obtained from several variables forecast. Usually, the cash flow analysis is performed using representative values of these variables, obtaining a deterministic set of financial indicators associated with the project. However, in most cases, these variables cannot be predicted with sufficient accuracy, resulting in the need to consider, to a greater or lesser degree, the risk associated with the calculated financial return. This paper presents an approach applied to the technical-economic viability analysis of PRTs projects that explicitly considers the uncertainties associated with the input parameters for the financial model, such as gas pressure at the delivery point, amount of energy generated by TRP, the future price of energy, among others, using sensitivity analysis techniques, scenario analysis, and Monte Carlo methods. In the latter case, estimates of several financial risk indicators, as well as their empirical probability distributions, can be obtained. This is a methodology for the financial risk analysis of PRT projects. The results of this paper allow a more accurate assessment of the potential PRT project's financial feasibility in Brazil. This methodology will be tested at the Cuiabá thermoelectric plant, located in the state of Mato Grosso, Brazil, and can be applied to study the potential in other countries.

Keywords: pressure reduction turbine, natural gas pressure drop station, energy efficiency, electricity generation, monte carlo methods

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Authors: Han-Taw Chen, Chung-Hou Lai, Tzu-Hsiang Lin, Ge-Jang He

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This study applies the inverse method and three-dimensional CFD commercial software in conjunction with the experimental temperature data to investigate the heat transfer and fluid flow characteristics of the plate-fin heat sink in a closed rectangular enclosure for various values of fin height. The inverse method with the finite difference method and the experimental temperature data is applied to determine the heat transfer coefficient. The k-ε turbulence model is used to obtain the heat transfer and fluid flow characteristics within the fins. To validate the accuracy of the results obtained, the comparison of the average heat transfer coefficient is made. The calculated temperature at selected measurement locations on the plate-fin is also compared with experimental data.

Keywords: inverse method, FLUENT, k-ε model, heat transfer characteristics, plate-fin heat sink

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Authors: Youn-Sung Kim, Jin-Ho Jo, Mi-Sung Kim, Jae-Kun Lee

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Accelerated life cycle test is applied to various products or components in order to reduce the time of life cycle test in industry. It must be considered for many test conditions according to the product characteristics for the test and the selection of acceleration parameter is especially very important. We have carried out the general life cycle test and the accelerated life cycle test by applying the acceleration factor (AF) considering the characteristics of brushless DC (BLDC) motor for washing machine. The final purpose of this study is to verify the validity by analyzing the results of the general life cycle test and the accelerated life cycle test. It will make it possible to reduce the life test time through the reasonable accelerated life cycle test.

Keywords: accelerated life cycle test, reliability test, motor for washing machine, brushless dc motor test

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Authors: Yi F. Wu, Ai Q. Li, Hao Wang

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Taking a novel type of bridge bearings with the diameter being 100mm as an example, the theoretical analysis, the experimental research as well as the numerical simulation of the bearing were conducted. Since the normal compression-shear machines cannot be applied to the small-size bearing, an improved device to test the properties of the bearing was proposed and fabricated. Besides, the simulation of the bearing was conducted on the basis of the explicit finite element software ANSYS/LS-DYNA, and some parameters of the bearing are modified in the finite element model to effectively reduce the computation cost. Results show that all the research methods are capable of revealing the fundamental properties of the small-size bearings, and a combined use of these methods can better catch both the integral properties and the inner detailed mechanical behaviors of the bearing.

Keywords: ANSYS/LS-DYNA, compression shear, contact analysis, explicit algorithm, small-size

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Authors: Bacha Zakaria

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This study aimed to investigate the reality of humane treatment and work environment problems for nurses in public hospitals and their repercussions on the patients arriving there. In this curve, our field study was based on a sample of nurses in Algiers hospitals estimated at 100 nurses. The questionnaire prepared by the two researchers was applied face to face with the nurses, and after obtaining and analyzing the data, we concluded the most important results: The presence of many problems in the work environment, such as work pressures, lack of appreciation, verbal and physical violence, risk of infection, poor salary and incentives, working during fatigue, administrative problems etc. And accordingly, The embodiment of humane dealing with patients requires providing a humane work environment for nurses and dealing with them humanely so that they embody positive behaviors while dealing with patients.

Keywords: nursing, future, family-focused care, health equity

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Authors: Justine Kiiza, Xu Jiafang

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The world’s demand for energy is increasing rapidly due to population growth and a reduction in shallow conventional oil and gas reservoirs, resorting to deeper and mostly unconventional reserves like shale oil and gas. Most shale formations contain a large amount of expansive sodium montmorillonite (Na-Mnt), due to high water adsorption, hydration, and when the drilling fluid filtrate enters the formation with high Mnt content, the wellbore wall can be unstable due to hydration and swelling, resulting to shrinkage, sticking, balling, time wasting etc., and well collapse in extreme cases causing complex downhole accidents and high well costs. Recently, polyamines like 1, 6 – hexane diamine (HEDA) have been used as typical drilling fluid shale inhibitors to minimize and/or cab clay mineral swelling and maintain the wellbore stability. However, their application is limited to shallow drilling due to their sensitivity to elevated temperature and pressure. Inorganic potassium salts i.e., KCl, have long been applied for restriction of shale formation hydration expansion in deep wells, but their use is limited due to toxicity. Understanding the adsorption behaviour of HEDA on Na-Mnt surfaces in present of organo-salts, organic K-salts e.g., HCO₂K - main component of organo-salt drilling fluid, is of great significance in explaining the inhibitory performance of polyamine inhibitors. Molecular dynamic simulations (MD) were applied to investigate the influence of HCO₂K and KCl on the adsorption mechanism of HEDA on the Na-Mnt surface. Simulation results showed that adsorption configurations of HEDA are mainly by terminal amine groups with a flat-lying alkyl hydrophobic chain. Its interaction with the clay surface decreased the H-bond number between H₂O-clay and neutralized the negative charge of the Mnt surface, thus weakening the surface hydration ability of Na-Mnt. The introduction of HCO₂K greatly improved inhibition ability, coordination of interlayer ions with H₂O as they were replaced by K+, and H₂O-HCOO- coordination reduced H₂O-Mnt interactions, mobility and transport capability of H₂O molecules were more decreased. While KCl showed little ability and also caused more hydration with time, HCO₂K can be used as an alternative for offshore drilling instead of toxic KCl, with a maximum concentration noted in this study as 1.65 wt%. This study provides a theoretical elucidation for the inhibition mechanism and adsorption characteristics of HEDA inhibitor on Na-Mnt surfaces in the presence of K+-salts and may provide more insight into the evaluation, selection, and molecular design of new clay-swelling high-performance WBDF systems used in oil and gas complex offshore drilling well sections.

Keywords: shale, hydration, inhibition, polyamines, organo-salts, simulation

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Authors: Liu Yinga, Bai Xingjiab

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The conventional way to exploit coalbed methane is to drop reservoirs pressure through drainage, which means that reducing pressure through water drainage for coalbed methane desorption. However, it has many limitations. In this paper, the recovery by conventional way is low, in order to exploit water-sensitive reservoir, combustion of coal seam is proposed to increase recovery ratio, and then theoretical feasibility is elaborated through four aspects: temperature, pressure, superficial area, competitive adsorption, then given an example of water sensitive reservoir, results can be obtained that recovery is effectively improved through combustion of coal seam. At the same time, the suitability and efficiency of combustion of coal seam determine that it can be widely applied.

Keywords: coalbed methane, drainage decompression, water-sensitive, combustion of coal seams, competitive adsorption

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Authors: Mustapha Mahmoud Dif, Fouzia Benali-Toumi, Mohamed Benyahia, Sofiane Bouazza, Abbes Dellal, Slimane Baha

Abstract:

L. multifida is applied to treat rheumatism and cold and has hypoglycemic and anti-inflammatory properties. The present study is to optimize the extraction of phenolic compounds in Algerian Lavandula multifida. The influences of parameters including temperature (decoction and maceration) and extraction time (15min to 45 min) on the flavonoids concentration are studied. The optimal conditions are determined and the quadratic response surfaces draw from the mathematical models. Total phenols were evaluated using Folin sicaltieu methods, total flavonoids were estimated using the Tri chloral aluminum method. The maximum concentration extracted, for total flavonoids, equal to 0.043 mg/g was achieved with decoction and extraction time of 41.55 min. However, for total phenol compounds highest concentration of 0.218 mg/g, is obtained with 45 min at 49.99°C.

Keywords: L multifidi, phenolic content, optimization, time, temperature

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Authors: Elzbieta Babula, Juhyun Park

Abstract:

Tversky and Kahneman’s cumulative prospect theory assumes symmetric probability cumulation with regard to the reference point within decision weights. Theoretically, this model should be invariant under the change of the direction of probability cumulation. In the present study, this phenomenon is being investigated by creating a reference model that allows verifying the parameter interactions in the cumulative prospect theory specifications. The simultaneous parametric fitting of utility and weighting functions is applied to binary choice data from the experiment. The results show that the flexibility of the probability weighting function is a crucial characteristic allowing to prevent parameter interactions while estimating cumulative prospect theory.

Keywords: binary choice experiment, cumulative prospect theory, decision weights, parameter interactions

Procedia PDF Downloads 200