Search results for: modeling technique

Authors: Ghussoun Al-Jeiroudi

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Stochastic programming is one of the powerful technique which is used to solve real-life problems. Hence, the data of real-life problems is subject to significant uncertainty. Uncertainty is well studied and modeled by stochastic programming. Each day, problems become bigger and bigger and the need for a tool, which does deal with large scale problems, increase. Interior point method is a perfect tool to solve such problems. Interior point method is widely employed to solve the programs, which arise from stochastic programming. It is an iterative technique, so it is required a starting point. Well design starting point plays an important role in improving the convergence speed. In this paper, we propose a starting point for interior point method for multistage stochastic programming. Usually, the optimal solution of stage k+1 is used as starting point for the stage k. This point has the advantage of being close to the solution of the current program. However, it has a disadvantage; it is not in the feasible region of the current program. So, we suggest to take this point and modifying it. That is by adding to it a vector in the null space of the matrix of the unchanged constraints because the solution will change only in the null space of this matrix.

Keywords: interior point methods, stochastic programming, null space, starting points

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Authors: K. G. R. M. Jayathilake, S. Rudra

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Wood degradation in hot compressed water is modeled with a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) code using cellulose, xylan, and lignin as model compounds. Model compounds are reacted under catalyst-free conditions in a temperature range from 250 to 370 °C. Using a simplified reaction scheme where water soluble products, methanol soluble products, char like compounds and gas are generated through intermediates with each model compound. A modified multistage shrinking core model is developed to simulate particle degradation. In the modified shrinking core model, each model compound is hydrolyzed in separate stages. Cellulose is decomposed to glucose/oligomers before producing degradation products. Xylan is decomposed through xylose and then to degradation products where lignin is decomposed into soluble products before producing the total guaiacol, organic carbon (TOC) and then char and gas. Hydrolysis of each model compound is used as the main reaction of the process. Diffusion of water monomers to the particle surface to initiate hydrolysis and dissolution of the products in water is given importance during the modeling process. In the developed model the temperature variation depends on the Arrhenius relationship. Kinetic parameters from the literature are used for the mathematical model. Meanwhile, limited initial fast reaction kinetic data limit the development of more accurate CFD models. Liquefaction results of the CFD model are analyzed and validated using the experimental data available in the literature where it shows reasonable agreement.

Keywords: computational fluid dynamics, liquefaction, shrinking-core, wood

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Authors: Javad Someehneshin, Weizhou Quan, Abdelsalam Abugharara, Stephen Butt

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Narrow vein mining (NVM) is exploiting very thin but valuable ore bodies that are uneconomical to extract by conventional mining methods. NVM applies the technique of Sustainable Mining by Drilling (SMD). The SMD method is used to mine stranded, steeply dipping ore veins, which are too small or isolated to mine economically using conventional methods since the dilution is minimized. This novel mining technique uses drilling rigs to extract the ore through directional drilling surgically. This paper is focusing on utilizing the run of the mine tailings and Portland cement as backfill material to support the hanging wall for providing safe mine operation. Cemented paste backfill (CPB) is designed by mixing waste tailings, water, and cement of the precise percentage for optimal outcomes. It is a non-homogenous material that contains 70-85% solids. Usually, a hydraulic binder is added to the mixture to increase the strength of the CPB. The binder fraction mostly accounts for 2–10% of the total weight. In the mining industry, CPB has been improved and expanded gradually because it provides safety and support for the mines. Furthermore, CPB helps manage the waste tailings in an economical method and plays a significant role in environmental protection.

Keywords: backfilling, cement backfill, tailings, Portland cement

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Authors: Norsyamimi Hassim, Masturah Markom

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Supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) has been known as a sustainable and safe extraction technique for plant extraction due to the minimal usage of organic solvent. In this study, a scale-up process for the selected herbal plant (Phyllanthus niruri) was investigated by using supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2) with food-grade (ethanol-water) cosolvent. The quantification of excess ethanol content in the final dry extracts was conducted to determine the safety of enriched extracts. The extraction yields obtained by scale-up SFE unit were not much different compared to the predicted extraction yields with an error of 2.92%. For component contents, the scale-up extracts showed comparable quality with laboratory-scale experiments. The final dry extract showed that the excess ethanol content was 1.56% g/g extract. The fish embryo toxicity test (FETT) on the zebrafish embryos showed no toxicity effects by the extract, where the LD50 value was found to be 505.71 µg/mL. Thus, it has been proven that SFE with food-grade cosolvent is a safe extraction technique for the production of bioactive compounds from P. niruri.

Keywords: scale-up, supercritical fluid extraction, enriched extract, toxicity, ethanol content

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Authors: Prashant Motwani, Arghadeep Laskar

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The transfer of prestress force from prestressing strands to the surrounding concrete is dependent on the bond between the two materials. It is essential to understand the actual bond stress distribution along the transfer length to determine the transfer zone in pre-tensioned concrete. A 3-D nonlinear finite element model has been developed to simulate the transfer of prestress force from steel to concrete in pre-tensioned bridge girders through thermal strain technique using commercially available package ABAQUS. Full-scale bridge girder has been analyzed with thermal strain approach where the damage plasticity constitutive model has been used to model concrete. Parameters such as concrete strain, effective prestress, upward camber and longitudinal stress have been compared with analytical results. The discrepancy between numerical and analytical values was within 20%. The paper also presents a convergence study on mesh density and aspect ratio of the elements to perform the finite element study.

Keywords: aspect ratio, bridge girder, centre of gravity of strand, mesh density, finite element model, pretensioned bridge girder

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Authors: Mohammad Hossain Mohammadi, Saif Al Ameri, Sana Ziaei, Jinane Mounsef

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Automated enumeration of the number of hand fingers is widely used in several motion gaming and distance control applications, and is discussed in several published papers as a starting block for hand recognition systems. The automated finger enumeration technique should not only be accurate, but also must have a fast response for a moving-picture input. The high performance of video in motion games or distance control will inhibit the program’s overall speed, for image processing software such as Matlab need to produce results at high computation speeds. Since an automated finger enumeration with minimum error and processing time is desired, a comparative study between two finger enumeration techniques is presented and analyzed in this paper. In the pre-processing stage, various image processing functions were applied on a real-time video input to obtain the final cleaned auto-cropped image of the hand to be used for the two techniques. The first technique uses the known morphological tool of skeletonization to count the number of skeleton’s endpoints for fingers. The second technique uses a radial distance method to enumerate the number of fingers in order to obtain a one dimensional hand representation. For both discussed methods, the different steps of the algorithms are explained. Then, a comparative study analyzes the accuracy and speed of both techniques. Through experimental testing in different background conditions, it was observed that the radial distance method was more accurate and responsive to a real-time video input compared to the skeletonization method. All test results were generated in Matlab and were based on displaying a human hand for three different orientations on top of a plain color background. Finally, the limitations surrounding the enumeration techniques are presented.

Keywords: comparative study, hand recognition, fingertip detection, skeletonization, radial distance, Matlab

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Authors: B. O. Diyaolu

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The globalization of football especially among youth over the decade is uprising. Nigeria youth displaying football jerseys at every opportunity is an acceptance of football globalization. The Love for English Premier League (EPL) football jersey is very strong among Nigeria fans. Football club jerseys of the EPL are a common sports product among fans in Nigeria. This study investigates the contribution of football club jerseys towards EPL fans’ loyalty in Nigeria. Descriptive survey research design was used for the study. The population consists of EPL fans in Nigeria. Simple random sampling technique (fish bowl without replacement) was used to select two states from the six geo-political zones. Purposive sampling technique was used to pick eight viewing centres while accidental sampling technique was used to pick five vendor stands from each State. An average of 250 respondents was selected from each state. A total of 3,200 respondents participated in the research. Two research instruments were used. A self-developed structured questionnaire on Football Jersey Scale (FJS): The instrument consists of 10 items. Fans Loyalty Scale (FLS): The instrument was modified from the psychological commitment to team (PCT) scale, and consists of 20 items. The Cronbach’s Alpha reliability coefficient of 0.72 and 0.75 was obtained, respectively. The hypothesis was tested at 0.05 significant levels. Data were analysed using frequency, percentages count, pie chart and multiple regressions. The result showed that the b-value of football club jersey is 0.148 also the standard regression coefficient (Beta) is 0.089. The t = 4.759 is statistically significant at p = 0.000. This signified a relative contribution of football club jersey on EPL fans loyalty in Nigeria. Club jersey, which is the most outstanding identifier of every club, was found to significantly predict loyalty. The jersey on the body of the fan has become the site for a declaration of loyalty which becomes available for social interaction and negotiation. The Nigerian local league clubs in an attempt to keep Nigerian fans loyal must borrow a leaf from their European counterparts.

Keywords: club Jerseys, English Premier League, football fans, Nigeria youth

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Authors: Siswoyo Haryono

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Purpose – The fundamental goal of this research is to see if the integrative organizational behavior model can be used effectively in Islamic boarding schools. This paper also seeks to assess the effect of Islamic organizational culture, leadership, and spiritual intelligence on teachers' organizational commitment to Islamic Boarding schools. The goal of the mediation analysis is to see if the Islamic work ethic has a more significant effect on the instructors' organizational commitment than the direct effects of Islamic organizational culture, leadership, and Islamic spiritual intelligence. Design/methodology/approach – A questionnaire survey was used to obtain data from teachers at Islamic Boarding Schools. This study used the AMOS technique for structural equation modeling to evaluate the expected direct effect. To test the hypothesized indirect effect, employed Sobel test. Findings – Islamic organizational culture, Islamic leadership, and Islamic spiritual intelligence significantly affect Islamic work ethic. When it comes to Islamic corporate culture, Islamic leadership, Islamic spiritual intelligence, and Islamic work ethics have a significant impact. The findings of the mediation study reveal that Islamic organizational culture, leadership, and spiritual intelligence influences organizational commitment through Islamic work ethic. The total effect analysis shows that the most effective path to increasing teachers’ organizational commitment is Islamic leadership - Islamic work ethic – organizational commitment. Originality/value – This study evaluates the Integrative Model of Organizational Behavior by Colquitt (2016) applied in Islamic Boarding School. The model consists of contemporary leadership and individual characteristic as the antecedent. The mediating variables of the model consist of individual mechanisms such as trust, justice, and ethic. Individual performance and organizational commitment are the model's outcomes. These variables, on the other hand, do not represent the Islamic viewpoint as a whole. As a result, this study aims to assess the role of Islamic principles in the model. The study employs reliability and validity tests to get reliable and valid measures. The findings revealed that the evaluation model is proven to improve organizational commitment at Islamic Boarding School.

Keywords: Islamic leadership, Islamic spiritual intelligence, Islamic work ethic, organizational commitment, Islamic boarding school

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Authors: Ali A. Abdollahi

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During the last several decades, scientists have consistently applied Multiple Criteria Decision-Making methods in making decisions about multi-faceted, complicated subjects. While making such decisions and in order to achieve more accurate evaluations, they have regularly used a variety of criteria instead of applying just one Optimum Evaluation Criterion. The method presented here utilizes both ‘quantity’ and ‘quality’ to assess the function of the Multiple-Criteria method. Applying Data envelopment analysis (DEA), weighted aggregated sum product assessment (WASPAS), Weighted Sum Approach (WSA), Analytic Network Process (ANP), and Charnes, Cooper, Rhodes (CCR) methods, we have analyzed thirteen parks in Kerman city. It further indicates that the functions of WASPAS and WSA are compatible with each other, but also that their deviation from DEA is extensive. Finally, the results for the CCR technique do not match the results of the DEA technique. Our study indicates that the ANP method, with the average rate of 1/51, ranks closest to the DEA method, which has an average rate of 1/49.

Keywords: multiple criteria decision making, Data envelopment analysis (DEA), Charnes Cooper Rhodes (CCR), Weighted Sum Approach (WSA)

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Authors: X. L. Zhou, S. Tunmee, I. Toda, K. Komatsu, S. Ohshio, H. Saitoh

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Hydrogenated amorphous carbon (a-C:H) films have been synthesized by a radio frequency plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (rf-PECVD) technique with different bias voltage from 0.0 to -0.5 kV. The Raman spectra displayed the polymer-like hydrogenated amorphous carbon (PLCH) film with 0.0 to -0.1 and a-C:H films with -0.2 to -0.5 kV of bias voltages. The surface chemical information of all films were studied by X-ray photo electron spectroscopy (XPS) technique, presented to C-C (sp2 and sp3) and C-O bonds, and relative carbon (C) and oxygen (O) atomics contents. The O contamination had affected on structure and optical properties. The true density of PLCH and a-C:H films were characterized by X-ray refractivity (XRR) method, showed the result as in the range of 1.16-1.73 g/cm3 that depending on an increasing of bias voltage. The hardness was proportional to the true density of films. In addition, the optical properties i.e. refractive index (n) and extinction coefficient (k) of these films were determined by a spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE) method that give formation to in 1.62-2.10 (n) and 0.04-0.15 (k) respectively. These results indicated that the optical properties confirmed the Raman results as presenting the structure changed with applied bias voltage increased.

Keywords: negative bias voltage, a-C:H film, oxygen contamination, optical properties

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Authors: Nina Penkova, Kalin Krumov, Liliana Zashcova, Ivan Kassabov

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The insulating glass units (IGU) are widely used in the advanced and renovated buildings in order to reduce the energy for heating and cooling. Rules for the choice of IGU to ensure energy efficiency and thermal comfort in the indoor space are well known. The existing of internal loads - gage or vacuum pressure in the hermetized gas space, requires additional attention at the design of the facades. The internal loads appear at variations of the altitude, meteorological pressure and gas temperature according to the same at the process of sealing. The gas temperature depends on the presence of coatings, coating position in the transparent multi-layer system, IGU geometry and space orientation, its fixing on the facades and varies with the climate conditions. An algorithm for modeling and numerical simulation of thermal fields and internal pressure in the gas cavity at insulating glass units as function of the meteorological conditions is developed. It includes models of the radiation heat transfer in solar and infrared wave length, indoor and outdoor convection heat transfer and free convection in the hermetized gas space, assuming the gas as compressible. The algorithm allows prediction of temperature and pressure stratification in the gas domain of the IGU at different fixing system. The models are validated by comparison of the numerical results with experimental data obtained by Hot-box testing. Numerical calculations and estimation of 3D temperature, fluid flow fields, thermal performances and internal loads at IGU in window system are implemented.

Keywords: insulating glass units, thermal loads, internal pressure, CFD analysis

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Authors: Levent Dumenci, Laura A. Siminoff

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Health literacy has been shown to predict a variety of health outcomes. Reliable identification of persons with limited cancer health literacy (LCHL) has been proved questionable with existing instruments using an arbitrary cut point along a continuum. The CHLT-6, however, uses a latent mixture modeling approach to identify persons with LCHL. The purpose of this study was to estimate two-week and six-month stability of identifying persons with LCHL using the CHLT-6 with a discrete latent variable approach as the underlying measurement structure. Using a test-retest design, the CHLT-6 was administered to cancer patients with two-week (N=98) and six-month (N=51) intervals. The two-week and six-month latent test-retest agreements were 89% and 88%, respectively. The chance-corrected latent agreements estimated from Dumenci’s latent kappa were 0.62 (95% CI: 0.41 – 0.82) and .47 (95% CI: 0.14 – 0.80) for the two-week and six-month intervals, respectively. High levels of latent test-retest agreement between limited and adequate categories of cancer health literacy construct, coupled with moderate to good levels of change-corrected latent agreements indicated that the CHLT-6 classification of limited versus adequate cancer health literacy is relatively stable over time. In conclusion, the measurement structure underlying the instrument allows for estimating classification errors circumventing limitations due to arbitrary approaches adopted by all other instruments. The CHLT-6 can be used to identify persons with LCHL in oncology clinics and intervention studies to accurately estimate treatment effectiveness.

Keywords: limited cancer health literacy, the CHLT-6, discrete latent variable modeling, latent agreement

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Authors: Dheyaa W. Abbood, Rafa H. AL-Suhaili, May S. Saleh

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A model using the artificial neural networks and genetic algorithm technique is developed for obtaining optimum dimensions of the foundation length and protections of small hydraulic structures. The procedure involves optimizing an objective function comprising a weighted summation of the state variables. The decision variables considered in the optimization are the upstream and downstream cutoffs length sand their angles of inclination, the foundation length, and the length of the downstream soil protection. These were obtained for a given maximum difference in head, depth of impervious layer and degree of anisotropy.The optimization carried out subjected to constraints that ensure a safe structure against the uplift pressure force and sufficient protection length at the downstream side of the structure to overcome an excessive exit gradient. The Geo-studios oft ware, was used to analyze 1200 different cases. For each case the length of protection and volume of structure required to satisfy the safety factors mentioned previously were estimated. An ANN model was developed and verified using these cases input-output sets as its data base. A MatLAB code was written to perform a genetic algorithm optimization modeling coupled with this ANN model using a formulated optimization model. A sensitivity analysis was done for selecting the cross-over probability, the mutation probability and level ,the number of population, the position of the crossover and the weights distribution for all the terms of the objective function. Results indicate that the most factor that affects the optimum solution is the number of population required. The minimum value that gives stable global optimum solution of this parameters is (30000) while other variables have little effect on the optimum solution.

Keywords: inclined cutoff, optimization, genetic algorithm, artificial neural networks, geo-studio, uplift pressure, exit gradient, factor of safety

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Authors: Shin Ku Kim, Yun Ah Oh, Eun Hee Seo, Chang Min Dae, Yun Jung Bae

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Objectives: The commonly used PRESS technique in magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) has a limitation of incomplete water suppression. The recently developed sLASER technique is known for its improved effectiveness in suppressing water signal. However, no prior study has compared both sequences in a normal human brain. In this study, we firstly aimed to compare the performances of both techniques in brain MRS. Materials and methods: From January 2023 to July 2023, thirty healthy participants (mean age 38 years, 17 male, 13 female) without underlying neurological diseases were enrolled in this study. All participants underwent single-voxel MRS using both PRESS and sLASER techniques on 3T MRI. Two regions-of-interest were allocated in the left medial thalamus and left parietal white matter (WM) by a single reader. The SpectroView Analysis (SW5, Philips, Netherlands) provided automatic measurements, including signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and peak_height of water, N-acetylaspartate (NAA)-water/Choline (Cho)-water/Creatine (Cr)-water ratios, and NAA-Cr/Cho-Cr ratios. The measurements from PRESS and sLASER techniques were compared using paired T-tests and Bland-Altman methods, and the variability was assessed using coefficients of variation (CV). Results: SNR and peak_heights of the water were significantly lower with sLASER compared to PRESS (left medial thalamus, sLASER SNR/peak_height 2092±475/328±85 vs. PRESS 2811±549/440±105); left parietal WM, 5422±1016/872±196 vs. 7152±1305/1150±278; all, P<0.001, respectively). Accordingly, NAA-water/Cho-water/Cr-water ratios and NAA-Cr/Cho-Cr ratios were significantly higher with sLASER than with PRESS (all, P< 0.001, respectively). The variabilities of NAA-water/Cho-water/Cr-water ratios and Cho-Cr ratio in the left medial thalamus were lower with sLASER than with PRESS (CV, sLASER vs. PRESS, 19.9 vs. 58.1/19.8 vs. 54.7/20.5 vs. 43.9 and 11.5 vs. 16.2) Conclusion: The sLASER technique demonstrated enhanced background water suppression, resulting in increased signals and reduced variability in brain metabolite measurements of MRS. Therefore, sLASER could offer a more precise and stable method for identifying brain metabolites.

Keywords: Magnetic resonance spectroscopy, Brain, sLASER, PRESS

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Authors: Patricia Crentsil, Alvina Oriekhova

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The aim of the study is to determine social responsibility in the theory of organisation management. The main objectives are to examine the link between accountability,transparency, and ethical onorganisation management. The study seeks to answer questions that have received inadequate attention in social responsibility literature. Specifically, how accountability, transparency of policy, and ethical aspect enhanced organisation management? The target population of the study comprises of Deans and Head of Departments of Public Universities and Technical Universities in Ghana. The study used purposive sampling technique to select the Public Universities and technical universities in Ghana and adopted simple random Technique to select 300 participants from all Technical Universities in Ghana and 500 participants from all Traditional Universities in Ghana. The sample size will be 260 using confidence level = 95%, Margin of Error = 5%. The study used both primary and secondary data. The study adopted exploratory design to address the research questions. Results indicated thataccountability, transparency, and ethical have a positive significant link with organisation management. The study suggested that management can motivate an organization to act in a socially responsible manner.

Keywords: corporate social responsibility, organisation management, organisation management theory, social responsibility

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Authors: Somayeh Komeylian

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The direction of arrival (DoA) estimation is the crucial aspect of the radar technologies for detecting and dividing several signal sources. In this scenario, the antenna array output modeling involves numerous parameters including noise samples, signal waveform, signal directions, signal number, and signal to noise ratio (SNR), and thereby the methods of the DoA estimation rely heavily on the generalization characteristic for establishing a large number of the training data sets. Hence, we have analogously represented the two different optimization models of the DoA estimation; (1) the implementation of the decision directed acyclic graph (DDAG) for the multiclass least-squares support vector machine (LS-SVM), and (2) the optimization method of the deep neural network (DNN) radial basis function (RBF). We have rigorously verified that the LS-SVM DDAG algorithm is capable of accurately classifying DoAs for the three classes. However, the accuracy and robustness of the DoA estimation are still highly sensitive to technological imperfections of the antenna arrays such as non-ideal array design and manufacture, array implementation, mutual coupling effect, and background radiation and thereby the method may fail in representing high precision for the DoA estimation. Therefore, this work has a further contribution on developing the DNN-RBF model for the DoA estimation for overcoming the limitations of the non-parametric and data-driven methods in terms of array imperfection and generalization. The numerical results of implementing the DNN-RBF model have confirmed the better performance of the DoA estimation compared with the LS-SVM algorithm. Consequently, we have analogously evaluated the performance of utilizing the two aforementioned optimization methods for the DoA estimation using the concept of the mean squared error (MSE).

Keywords: DoA estimation, Adaptive antenna array, Deep Neural Network, LS-SVM optimization model, Radial basis function, and MSE

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Authors: H. Khanfari, M. Johari Fard

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Dealing with carbonate reservoirs can be mind-boggling for the reservoir engineers due to various digenetic processes that cause a variety of properties through the reservoir. A good estimation of the reservoir heterogeneity which is defined as the quality of variation in rock properties with location in a reservoir or formation, can better help modeling the reservoir and thus can offer better understanding of the behavior of that reservoir. Most of reservoirs are heterogeneous formations whose mineralogy, organic content, natural fractures, and other properties vary from place to place. Over years, reservoir engineers have tried to establish methods to describe the heterogeneity, because heterogeneity is important in modeling the reservoir flow and in well testing. Geological methods are used to describe the variations in the rock properties because of the similarities of environments in which different beds have deposited in. To illustrate the heterogeneity of a reservoir vertically, two methods are generally used in petroleum work: Dykstra-Parsons permeability variations (V) and Lorenz coefficient (L) that are reviewed briefly in this paper. The concept of Lorenz is based on statistics and has been used in petroleum from that point of view. In this paper, we correlated the statistical-based Lorenz method to a petroleum concept, i.e. Kozeny-Carman equation and derived the straight line plot of Lorenz graph for a homogeneous system. Finally, we applied the two methods on a heterogeneous field in South Iran and discussed each, separately, with numbers and figures. As expected, these methods show great departure from homogeneity. Therefore, for future investment, the reservoir needs to be treated carefully.

Keywords: carbonate reservoirs, heterogeneity, homogeneous system, Dykstra-Parsons permeability variations (V), Lorenz coefficient (L)

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Authors: Said Abdul Ahad Ahadi, Elyas Baray, Nitin Rakesh, Sudeep Varshney

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Wi-Fi is a widely used internet source that is used to provide internet access in many areas such as Stores, Cafes, University campuses, Restaurants and so on. This technology brought more facilities in communication and networking. On the other hand, due to the transmission of data over the air, which makes the network vulnerable, so it becomes prone to various threats such as Evil Twin and etc. The Evil Twin is a kind of adversary which impersonates a legitimate access point (LAP) as it can happen by spoofing the name (SSID) and MAC address (BSSID) of a legitimate access point (LAP). And this attack can cause many threats such as MITM, Service Interruption, Access point service blocking. Various Evil Twin Attack Detection Techniques are proposed, but they require additional hardware, or they require protocol modification. In this paper, we proposed a new technique based on Access Point’s two fingerprints, Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) and Hop Count, that is hard to copy by an adversary. And we implemented the technique in a system called “ETDetector,” which can detect and prevent the attack.

Keywords: evil twin, LAP, SSID, Wi-Fi security, signal variation, ETAD, kali linux, scapy, python

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Authors: Nargis Ali

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Since the modest fashion market is growing in the UK, there is still little understanding and more concerns found among researchers and marketers about Muslim consumers. Therefore, the present study is designed to explore critical factors influencing Muslim women’s intention to purchase clothing and to identify the differences in the purchase intention of ethnic minority groups in the UK. The conceptual framework is designed using the theory of planned behavior and social identity theory. In order to satisfy the research objectives, a structured online questionnaire was published on Facebook from 20 November to 21 March. As a result, 1087 usable questionnaires were received and used to assess the proposed model fit through structural equation modeling. Results revealed that social media does influence the purchase intention of Muslim women. Muslim women search for stylish clothes that provide comfort during summer while they prefer soft and subdued colors. Furthermore, religious knowledge and religious practice, and fashion uniqueness strongly influence their purchase intention, while hybrid identity is negatively related to the purchase intention of Muslim women. This research contributes to the literature linked to Muslim consumers at a time when the UK's large retailers were seeking to attract Muslim consumers through modestly designed outfits. Besides, it will be helpful to formulate or revise product and marketing strategies according to UK’s Muslim women’s tastes and needs.

Keywords: fashion uniqueness, hybrid identity, religiosity, social media, social identity theory, structural equation modeling, theory of planned behavior

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Authors: M. Al-Farttoosi, M. Y. Rafiq, J. Summerscales, C. Williams

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Many buildings and bridges are damaged due to impact loading, explosions, terrorist attacks and wars. Most of the damaged structures members such as beams, columns and slabs are not totally failed and it can be repaired. Nowadays, carbon fibre reinforced polymer CFRP has been wildly used in strengthening and retrofitting the structures members. CFRP can rector the load carrying capacity of the damaged structures members to make them serviceable. An experimental investigation was conducted to investigate the impact behaviour of the damaged beams repaired with CFRP. The tested beams had different degrees of damage and near surface mounted technique NSM was used to install the CFRP. A heavy drop weight impact test machine was used to conduct the experimental work. The study investigated the impact strength, stiffness, cracks and deflection of the CFRP repaired beams. The results show that CFRP significantly increased the impact resistance of the damaged beams. CFRP increased the damaged beams stiffness and reduced the deflection. The results showed that the NSM technique is more effective in repairing beams and preventing the debonding of the CFRP.

Keywords: damaged, concrete, impact, repaired

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Authors: S. Nandal, R. Bhargava

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The paper contains a numerical study of the unsteady magneto-hydrodynamic natural convection flow of nanofluids within a symmetrical wavy walled trapezoidal enclosure. The length and height of enclosure are both considered equal to L. Two-phase nanofluid model is employed. The governing equations of nanofluid flow along with boundary conditions are non-dimensionalized and are solved using one of Meshfree technique (EFGM method). Meshfree numerical technique does not require a predefined mesh for discretization purpose. The bottom wavy wall of the enclosure is defined using a cosine function. Element free Galerkin method (EFGM) does not require the domain. The effects of various parameters namely time t, amplitude of bottom wavy wall a, Brownian motion parameter Nb and thermophoresis parameter Nt is examined on rate of heat and mass transfer to get a visualization of cooling and heating effects. Such problems have important applications in heat exchangers or solar collectors, as wavy walled enclosures enhance heat transfer in comparison to flat walled enclosures.

Keywords: heat transfer, meshfree methods, nanofluid, trapezoidal enclosure

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Authors: John Abish, Bibin John

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Liquid-liquid flow in horizontal pipe is investigated in order to reveal the flow patterns arising from the co-existed flow of oil and water. The main focus of the study is to identify the feasibility of reducing the pumping power requirements of petroleum transportation lines by having an annular flow of water around the thick oil core. This idea makes oil transportation cheaper and easier. The present study uses computational fluid dynamics techniques to model oil-water flows with liquids of similar density and varying viscosity. The simulation of the flow is conducted using commercial package Ansys Fluent. Flow domain modeling and grid generation accomplished through ICEM CFD. The horizontal pipe is modeled with two different inlets and meshed with O-Grid mesh. The standard k-ε turbulence scheme along with the volume of fluid (VOF) multiphase modeling method is used to simulate the oil-water flow. Transient flow simulations carried out for a total period of 30s showed significant reduction in pressure drop while employing core annular flow concept. This study also reveals the effect of viscosity ratio, mass flow rates of individual fluids and ration of superficial velocities on the pressure drop across the pipe length. Contours of velocity and volume fractions are employed along with pressure predictions to assess the effectiveness of this proposed concept quantitatively as well as qualitatively. The outcome of the present study is found to be very relevant for the petrochemical industries.

Keywords: computational fluid dynamics, core-annular flows, frictional flow resistance, oil transportation, pressure drop

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Authors: S. M. C. Kelly, A. Hargreaves, S. Hargreaves

Abstract:

Introduction: The Can’t intubate, Can’t ventilate emergency scenario is one which has been shown to be managed badly in the past. Reasons identified included gaps in knowledge of the procedure and the emergency equipment used. We aimed to show an increase in confidence amongst anesthetists and operating department practitioners in the technique following a short tea trolley style teaching intervention. Methods: We carried out the teaching on a one-to-one basis. Two Anaesthetists visited each operating theatre during normal working days. One carried out the teaching session and one took over the intra‐operative care of the patient, releasing the listed anaesthetist for a short teaching session. The teaching was delivered to mixture of students and healthcare professionals, both anaesthetists and anaesthetic practitioners. The equipment includes a trolley, an airway manikin, size 10 scalpel, bougie and size 6.0 tracheal tube. The educator discussed the equipment, performed a demonstration and observed the participants performing the procedure. We asked each person to fill out a pre and post teaching questionnaire, stating their confidence with the procedure. Results: The teaching was delivered to 63 participants in total, which included 21 consultant anaesthetists, 23 trainee doctors and 19 anaesthetic practitioners. The teaching sessions lasted on average 9 minutes (range 5– 15 minutes). All participants reported an increase in confidence in both the equipment and technique in front of neck access. Anaesthetic practitioners reported the greatest increase in confidence (53%), with trainee anaesthetists reporting 27% increase and consultant anaesthetists 22%. Overall, confidence in the performance of emergency front of neck access increased by 31% after the teaching session. Discussion: Short ‘Trolley style’ teaching improves confidence in the equipment and technique used for the emergency front of neck access. This is true for students and for consultant anaesthetists. This teaching style is quick with minimal running costs and is relevant for all anesthetic departments.

Keywords: airway teaching, can't intubate can't ventilate, cricothyroidotomy, front-of-neck

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Authors: Bahattin Duzgun, Adem Kocyigit, Demet Tatar, Ahmet Battal

Abstract:

Tin oxide thin films are semiconductor materials highly transparent and with high mechanical and chemical stability, except for their interactions with oxygen atoms at high temperature. Many dopants, such as antimony (Sb), arsenic (As), fluorine (F), indium (In), molybdenum and (Mo) etc. have been used to improve the electrical properties of tin oxide films. Among these, Sb and F are found to be the most commonly used dopants for solar cell layers. Also Tin oxide tin films investigated and characterized by researchers different film deposition and analysis method. In this study, tin oxide thin films are deposited on glass substrate by spin coating technique and characterized by FTIR and AFM. FTIR spectroscopy revealed that all films have O-Sn-O and Sn-OH vibration bonds not changing with layer effect. AFM analysis indicates that all films are homogeneity and uniform. It can be seen that all films have needle shape structure in their surfaces. Uniformity and homogeneity of the films generally increased for increasing layers. The results found in present study showed that doubly doped SnO2 thin films is a good candidate for solar cells and other optoelectronic and technological applications.

Keywords: doubly doped, spin coating, FTIR analysis, AFM analysis

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Authors: X. Wang, J. S. Kuang

Abstract:

The Fixed-angle Softened Truss Model with Tension-stiffening (FASTMT) has a superior performance in predicting the shear behaviour of reinforced concrete (RC) membrane elements, especially for the post-cracking behaviour. Nevertheless, massive computational work is inevitable due to the multiple transcendental equations involved in the stress-strain relationship. In this paper, an iterative root-finding technique is introduced to FASTMT for solving quickly the transcendental equations of the tension-stiffening effect of RC membrane elements. This fast FASTMT, which performs in MATLAB, uses the bisection method to calculate the tensile stress of the membranes. By adopting the simplification, the elapsed time of each loop is reduced significantly and the transcendental equations can be solved accurately. Owing to the high efficiency and good accuracy as compared with FASTMT, the fast FASTMT can be further applied in quick prediction of shear behaviour of complex large-scale RC structures.

Keywords: bisection method, FASTMT, iterative root-finding technique, reinforced concrete membrane

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Authors: Santhosh K. S. Annayappa, Nupur Pruthi

Abstract:

The region of dentate nucleus is a common site for various pathologies like hematomas, tumours, etc. We aimed to study in detail the relationship of this region with the vermis, especially the pyramid using microscopic fibre dissection technique. To achieve this aim, 20 cerebellar hemispheres were studied from the 11 cerebellums. Dissection was performed using wooden spatulas and micro dissectors under a microscope following Klingler’s preservation technique. The relationship between the pyramid of vermis and the dentate nucleus was studied in detail. A similar relationship was studied on the MRI of randomly selected trigeminal neuralgia patients and correlated with anatomical findings. Results show the mean distance of the lateral margin of the dentate nucleus from the midline on anatomic specimens was 21.4 ± 1.8 mm (19-25 mm) and 23.4 ± 3.4 mm (15-29 mm) on right and left side, respectively. Similar measurements made on the MRI were 22.97 ± 2.0 mm (20.03-26.15 mm) on the right side and 23.98 ± 2.1 mm (21.47-27.67 mm) on the left side. The amount of white matter dissection required to reach the dentate nucleus at the pyramidal attachment area was 7.3 ± 1.0 mm (6-9 mm) on the right side and 6.8 ± 1.4 mm (5-10 mm) on the left side. It was concluded that the pyramid of vermis has a constant relationship with the dentate nucleus and can be used as an excellent landmark during surgery to localise the dentate nucleus on the suboccipital surface.

Keywords: fiber dissection, micro neurosurgery, the dentate nucleus of cerebellum, the pyramid of vermis

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Authors: Rodrigo T. Sepulveda-Hirose, Ana B. Carrera-Aguilar, Magnolia G. Martinez-Rivera, Pablo de J. Angeles-Salto, Carlos Herrera-Ventosa

Abstract:

In order to diminish health risks, it is of major importance to monitor air quality. However, this process is accompanied by the high costs of physical and human resources. In this context, this research is carried out with the main objective of developing a predictive model for concentrations of inhalable particles (PM10-2.5) using remote sensing. To develop the model, satellite images, mainly from Landsat 8, of the Mexico City’s Metropolitan Area were used. Using historical PM10 and PM2.5 measurements of the RAMA (Automatic Environmental Monitoring Network of Mexico City) and through the processing of the available satellite images, a preliminary model was generated in which it was possible to observe critical opportunity areas that will allow the generation of a robust model. Through the preliminary model applied to the scenes of Mexico City, three areas were identified that cause great interest due to the presumed high concentration of PM; the zones are those that present high plant density, bodies of water and soil without constructions or vegetation. To date, work continues on this line to improve the preliminary model that has been proposed. In addition, a brief analysis was made of six models, presented in articles developed in different parts of the world, this in order to visualize the optimal bands for the generation of a suitable model for Mexico City. It was found that infrared bands have helped to model in other cities, but the effectiveness that these bands could provide for the geographic and climatic conditions of Mexico City is still being evaluated.

Keywords: air quality, modeling pollution, particulate matter, remote sensing

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Authors: Baali Mohamed

Abstract:

Campylobacter are among the most common human bacterial gastroenteritis cases in many countries, and poultry meat is considered as a major source of human campylobacteriosis. This study is conducted, on one hand, to determine the prevalence of infection with thermotolerant Campylobacter both in broiler flocks and men, and to study their sensitivity to antibiotics, and secondly for comparing the two methods of isolation of Campylobacter thermotolerant: technique of passive filtration and selective isolation technique using the Karmali medium. This study examined 310 samples, 260 of avian origin and 50 of human origin, during the period from June 2011 to March 2012. Detecting Campylobacter thermotolerant is conducted using the standard ISO 10272. The results show that 66% (95% CI : 60-72%) of avian samples are contaminated with C. TT (172/260). The study of antibiotic susceptibility revealed that all strains (100%) are resistant to ampicillin and amoxicillin/clavulanic acid, 90% to erythromycin, 66.3% to tetracycline, 53.3% to chloramphenicol and 46.7% to enrofloxacin. However, no resistance is noted to gentamycin. In human samples, three strains of C. thermotolerant are detected, with a contamination rate of 6%. The results of the statistical analysis using the chi-square test (χ2) showed that Campylobacter infection, on the one hand, had seasonal variation with a summer peak (p < 0.05) and, on the other hand, are not influenced by the size of the herd.

Keywords: thermotolerant campylobacter, broiler, man, Karmali

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Authors: Muhammad Farooq Baig, Saleem Qadeer

Abstract:

Background: The frequency of hepatitis C virus infection along with tuberculosis has not been widely investigated and very low statistics on rates of hepatitis C virus co-infection in tuberculosis patients. Hepatotoxicity is the major side effect of anti-tuberculosis therapy hepatitis HCVliver disease elevates the chances of hepatotoxicity up-to five folds. Objectives & Aim: To see the frequency of Hepatitis Cvirus infection amongst people with diagnosed Tuberculosis using gene X-pert technique. To evaluate the factors associated with HCVinfection in patients with MTBtuberculosis and to determine sensitivity and specificity of the tests. Study design: Comparative analytical study. Methodology: Three hundred and thirteen patients of tuberculosis diagnosed by Genexpert included while testing hepatitis C virus using immunochromotography rapid test technique, enzyme linked immunosorbent assay method and polymerase chain reaction test for confirmation. Results:Higher frequency of tuberculosis infection in males 57.8%, 42.5% between 20-39 years and 22% of hepatitis C virus infection in tuberculosis patients.The sensitivity of rapid test and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was 79% and 96% respectively while the specificity of rapid test and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was 91% and 99% respectively.

Keywords: Mycobactrium Tuberculosis, PC'R, Gene x pert, Hepatitis C virus

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Authors: M. V. Chidananda Murthy, M. Z. Kurian, H. S. Guruprasad

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Super-resolution is the technique of intelligently upscaling images, avoiding artifacts or blurring, and deals with the recovery of a high-resolution image from one or more low-resolution images. Single-image super-resolution is a process of obtaining a high-resolution image from a set of low-resolution observations by signal processing. While super-resolution has been demonstrated to improve image quality in scaled down images in the image domain, its effects on the Fourier-based technique remains unknown. Super-resolution substantially improved the spatial resolution of the patient LGE images by sharpening the edges of the heart and the scar. This paper aims at investigating the effects of single image super-resolution on Fourier-based and image based methods of scale-up. In this paper, first, generate a training phase of the low-resolution image and high-resolution image to obtain dictionary. In the test phase, first, generate a patch and then difference of high-resolution image and interpolation image from the low-resolution image. Next simulation of the image is obtained by applying convolution method to the dictionary creation image and patch extracted the image. Finally, super-resolution image is obtained by combining the fused image and difference of high-resolution and interpolated image. Super-resolution reduces image errors and improves the image quality.

Keywords: image dictionary creation, image super-resolution, LGE images, patch extraction

Procedia PDF Downloads 377