Search results for: non-local means

Authors: Ramazan Livaoğlu, Tufan Çakır

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The performance of rectangular tanks during earthquakes has been observed to depend significantly on the existence of water in the container and the presence of the backfill acting on tank wall. Therefore, in design of rectangular tanks, the topics of fluid-structure-backfill interactions and determination of modal characteristics of the interaction system have traditionally been one of the great theoretical and practical controversy. Although finite element method has been and will continue to be used to a significant extent in treating the response of the system, experimental verification of numerical models remains prerequisite for their adoption and reliable application in practice. Thus, in this study, the numerical and experimental investigations were performed on the backfill-exterior wall-fluid interaction system. Firstly, three dimensional finite element model (3D-FEM) was developed to acquire modal frequencies and mode shapes of the system by means of ANSYS. Secondly, a series of in-situ tests were fulfilled to define modal characteristics of same system to determine the applicability of the FEM to a real physical situation under field conditions. Finally, comparing the theoretical predictions from the model to results from experimental measurement, a close agreement was found between theory and experiment. Thus, it can be easily stated that experimental verification provides strong support for the use of proposed model in further investigations.

Keywords: fluid-structure interaction, modal analysis, rectangular tank, soil structure interaction

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Authors: Ahmed F. Abdel Qader

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Viral marketing has resulted in a lot of excitement recently as a novel technology in the field of marketing. The need of porting institutions to attract new customers for sporting products and services has increased, especially as many international and Arab clubs rely on them for most of their funding. These organizations, especially clubs, have outlets for selling their products and services; therefore, they are in need for new approaches that are related to modern communication and innovative distribution methods that can depend on the present audience in conveying e-ads to other users in light of the increase in social media users in the Arab world. This study aims at developing a marketing plan for sporting products and services through viral marketing of social media users. The researcher used the descriptive method. The sample consisted of 1991 social media users in 13 Arab countries. The questionnaire consisted of five themes and 42 items. Allan Dib 'one-page marketing plan' was used to develop the sporting products and services marketing plan. The study found that participants reported watching e-ads of sporting products and services that appeared during browsing social media pages; Facebook was the most used means for receiving ads about sporting products and services; sharing the product’s ad depends on the availability of incentives; purchasing sporting products and services takes place after a recommendation by a relative or a friend; and their evaluation of sporting products and services depends on the experiences of other people. The study recommends that the proposed plan should be used in marketing sporting products and services.

Keywords: viral marketing, sporting products, social media, Arab world

Procedia PDF Downloads 171

Authors: Cuma Şimşek

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Nowadays our globalized world is in a very rapid and sophisticated change. In the information age, notion of ‘information’ has begun to spread faster than ever also in this age, changes and transformation has gained tremendous momentum with technology boom. This continuous change and transformation, increased the competition between existing organizations and corporations. Besides, the organizations which show resistance to change has been put out of action in this competitive environment. It is not possible to sustain the existence of organizations without adapting to change and transformation by isolating itself from developments. As a consequence of improved communication and dialog possibilities by means of increasing knowledge level, there has been made a change of scene in administrative mentality, style and activation, especially in 21th century. Leaders emerge as the most important factor in this process of perception and success. At the same time it is not enough to adapt the alteration with conventional leadership abilities and behaviors. In parallel with alteration, new types of leadership are coming up. The optimal leadership type for our era and a trending topic "Transformational Leadership" is in great demand now. In this research, current situation of the Air Forces which use high-technology weapons efficiently, operates in an environment full of threats and is analyzed. It is evaluated that in order to be ready for war continuously and adjusting itself to changing terms of warfare atmosphere , Air Forces need ‘transformational leaders’ who are innovative, foreseeing and having a vision so that they can develop new methods and strategies for complex problems. Because it is the Air Force which is responsible for being the deterrent force of its country.

Keywords: transformational, change, air force, leadership

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Authors: Athena Pedro, Laura Bradfield, Mike Dare, Zandile Bantwana, Ashley Nayman

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The purpose of the research was to explore mother’s unique experience and knowledge of mothering in the first 1000 day of their child’s life, from birth to age 2. The study used a qualitative research methodology with an exploratory research design. A sample of 12 mothers was used, comprising different racial backgrounds from low income areas in the Western Cape. The data was collected by means of semi-structured, in-depth interviews, which were transcribed verbatim, analysed using Braun’s and Clark’s (2006) six phases of thematic analysis. Some of the findings revealed that the mothers who participated in the study were consistently unable to feed their children and themselves due to profound and extreme situations of poverty, stress, and lack of infrastructural support. These mothers residing in low-income communities are not adequately supported both financially and socially and are often unable to meet the needs of their infants within the first 1000 days. Given the consequential nature of this period, it is imperative that mothers are able to access such support. Single mothers especially are in need of social and financial support. Appropriate interventions are required to assist mothers generally but more specifically, mothers who have children within the first 1000 days of life. By implementing appropriate interventions to address these needs, it will assist mothers to ensure optimal developmental growth of their children. This will positively impact the developmental trajectory of children in South Africa.

Keywords: caring, economic hardship, first one thousand days, mothers

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Authors: E. Elgohary, R. Abdelazyz

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The research aims to clarify the effect of the marketing culture on improving the e-service quality for foreign and domestic information technology companies in the Arab Republic of Egypt. So the researcher sought to include the dimensions of the marketing culture, which are (customer service, management style, sales mission, internal communications, technology, wages and rewards, innovation) as measures of marketing culture for its effect on improving the e-service quality in this research. The research population consists of employees and customers of the companies under study. The research problem was the following question: What is the effect of the actual application of marketing culture on improving the e-service quality? To answer that, three main hypotheses were adopted, and they were tested by statistical means for the data collected through a questionnaire prepared and distributed for this purpose. Accordingly, the research presented a set of results, the most important of which are: the need to pay attention to the dimensions of the marketing culture to improve the e-service quality, foreign companies were the most popular companies in applying the marketing culture compared to local companies. The research also recommends designing a system to continuously measure the performance of electronic service providers and work on spreading the culture of innovation among employees, linking reward programs to the extent of commitment to applying the elements of marketing culture while doing business.

Keywords: marketing culture, e-service quality, measurement models, quality measurements

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Authors: Mohammadreza Akbari, Pooya Soleimani Besheli, Reza khalili, Sara Akbari, Davood Domiri Ganji

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In this symposium, our aims are accuracy, capabilities and power at solving of the complicate non-linear differential at the reaction chemical in the catalyst reactor (heterogeneous reaction). Our purpose is to enhance the ability of solving the mentioned nonlinear differential equations at chemical engineering and similar issues with a simple and innovative approach which entitled ‘’Akbari-Ganji's Method’’ or ‘’AGM’’. In this paper we solve many examples of nonlinear differential equations of chemical reactions and its investigate. The chemical reactor with the energy changing (non-isotherm) in two reactors of mixed and plug are separately studied and the nonlinear differential equations obtained from the reaction behavior in these systems are solved by a new method. Practically, the reactions with the energy changing (heat or cold) have an important effect on designing and function of the reactors. This means that possibility of reaching the optimal conditions of operation for the maximum conversion depending on nonlinear nature of the reaction velocity toward temperature, results in the complexity of the operation in the reactor. In this case, the differential equation set which governs the reactors can be obtained simultaneous solution of mass equilibrium and energy and temperature changing at concentration.

Keywords: new method (AGM), nonlinear differential equation, tubular and mixed reactors, catalyst bed

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Authors: Benjamas Penboon, Zachary Zimmer, Aree Jampaklay

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Cambodia is a country where labor migration has been consistently high. Coupled with advancing labor opportunities in urban areas, a function partly of globalization, this is resulting in massive migration out of rural areas. This is particularly true in Cambodia where there are high migration and a very large proportion of adult children living some distant from their parents. This paper explores characteristics associated with migrant providing support to parents in rural Cambodia. With reference to perspectives of family altruism and solidarity, this analysis particularly focusses on how a series of variables representing family integration and residential location associates with intergenerational monetary and instrumental support from migrants. The study hypothesizes that migrants are more likely to provide support when parents are in need, and there are no alternative means of support. Data come from The Rural Household Survey (N=3,713), part of the 2011 Cambodian Rural Urban Migration Project (CRUMP). Multilevel multinomial models indicate international migrants are likely to give money, while internal migrants are likely to provide both money and instrumental support, especially when migrants have no sibling and their parent in poor health status. In addition, employed migrants are two times providing monetary compared to those unemployed. Findings elucidate the decision to which and why support occurs more often when no other source of support exists and also depends on the ability to provide of migrants themselves.

Keywords: migration, left-behind parent, intergenerational relations, support, rural, Cambodia

Procedia PDF Downloads 167

Authors: Franz Zirena Vilca, Nestor Cahui Galarza, Walter Alejandro Zamalloa Cuba, Edith Tello Palma, Teofilo Donaires Flores, Valdemar Luiz Tornisielo

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The production of rainbow trout in the Lake Titicaca represents an important economic activity for Peru. The city of Puno is responsible for 83% of this production, so the use of antibiotics within the aquaculture system is not alien to this reality. Meanwhile, the waters of Lake Titicaca represent an important source for the supply of drinking water for 80% of the population of the Puno city. In this paper, twelve antibiotics for veterinary use were monitored in water samples during two seasons: dry (July 2015) and rainy (February 2016), water samples from trout production systems, near the water catching point in the lake and drinking water in the city house of Puno were considered. The samples were analyzed using liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry and solid online phase extraction (On-line SPE-LC-MS/MS), all samples analyzed showed concentrations of Ciprofloxacin up to 65.2 ng L⁻¹ at the rainy season. On the other hand, 63% of water samples from the dry season and 36 % from the rainy season showed Chlortetracycline up to 8.7 and 6.1 ng L⁻¹, respectively. The presence of residues of veterinary antibiotics in drinking water means a serious health risk for 80% of the population of Puno since all these people are supplied from this source.

Keywords: chromatography, DNA damage, environmental risk, water pollution

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Authors: Sayaka Ono, Ryutaro Imai, Tomoko Ehara, Tetsuya Matsumoto, Hajime Matsumura

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Background: Wound pH affects a number of important factors in wound healing. We previously measured the pH value of the exudates collected from second-degree burns and found that the increase in pH was observed in the burn wounds in which colonized by Staphylococcus spp., and the increase in pH was evident prior to the clinical findings of local infection. To investigate the relationship between the changes of pH value and bacterial growth, we performed in vitro study using Pseudomonas aeruginosa and liquid medium as a locally infected wound equivalent model. Methods: Pseudomonas aeruginosa standard strain (ATCCR 10145TM) was cultured at 37 °C environment in Luria Broth Miller medium. The absorbance rate which means the amount of bacteria was measured by a microplate reader 2300EnSpireTM). The pH was measured using pH-indicator strips (MColorpHastTM). The statistical analysis was performed using the product-moment correlation coefficient of Pearson's. Results: The absorbance rate and pH value were increased along with culture period. There was a positive correlation between pH value and absorbance rate (n = 27, Pearson's r = 0.985). Moreover, there was a positive correlation between pH value and the culture period (n = 18, Pearson's r = 0.901). The bacteria was well growth in the media from pH 6.6 to pH 8.0 and the pH of culture media converged at 8 -9 along with the bacterial growth. Conclusion: From these results, we conclude that pH value of the wound is correlated with the number of viable bacteria and bacterial growth periods.

Keywords: colonization, potential of hydrogen, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, wound

Procedia PDF Downloads 282

Authors: Sara Kamalisiahroudi, Zhang Jianbo, Bin Wu, Jun Huang, Laisuo Su

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The temperature rising within a battery cell depends on the level of heat generation, the thermal properties and the heat transfer around the cell. The rising of temperature is a serious problem of Lithium-Ion batteries and the internal resistance of battery is the main reason for this heating up, so the heat generation rate of the batteries is an important investigating factor in battery pack design. The delivered power of a battery is directly related to its capacity, decreases in the battery capacity means the growth of the Solid Electrolyte Interface (SEI) layer which is because of the deposits of lithium from the electrolyte to form SEI layer that increases the internal resistance of the battery. In this study two identical cylindrical Lithium-Ion (NCR18650)batteries from the same company with noticeable different in capacity (a fresh and a used battery) were compared for more focusing on their heat generation parameters (entropy coefficient and internal resistance) according to Brandi model, by utilizing potentiometric method for entropy coefficient and EIS method for internal resistance measurement. The results clarify the effect of capacity difference on cell electrical (R) and thermal (dU/dT) parameters. It can be very noticeable in battery pack design for its Safety.

Keywords: heat generation, Solid Electrolyte Interface (SEI), potentiometric method, entropy coefficient

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Authors: Thirayu Jumsai Na Ayudhya

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The study of what architecture means to people in their everyday lives inadequately addresses the contextualized and holistic theoretical framework. This article succinctly presents theoretical framework obtained from the comparative study of how people experience the everyday architecture in three different contexts including 1) Bangkok CBD, 2) Phuket island old-town, and 3) Nan province old-town. The way people make sense of the everyday architecture can be addressed in four super-ordinate themes; (1) building in urban (text), (2) building in (text), (3) building in human (text), (4) and building in time (text). In this article, these super-ordinate themes were verified whether they recur in three studied-contexts. In each studied-context, the participants were divided into two groups, 1) local people, 2) visitors. Participants were asked to take photographs of the everyday architecture during the everyday routine and to participate the elicit-interview with photographs produced by themselves. Interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) was adopted to interpret elicit-interview data. Sub-themes emerging in each studied-context were brought into the cross-comparison among three studied- contexts. It is found that four super-ordinate themes recur with additional distinctive sub-themes. Further studies in other different contexts, such as socio-political, economic, cultural differences, are recommended to complete the theoretical framework.

Keywords: sense of place, the everyday architecture, architectural experience, the everyday

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Authors: Dike H. Ogbuagu, Etsede J. Oritsematosan

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This work investigated possible inductions of CaC₂, often misused by fruit vendors to stimulate artificial ripening, on mammalian sperm morphology and viability. Thirty isogenic strains of male albino mice, Mus musculus (age≈ 8weeks; weight= 32.5±2.0g) were acclimatized (ambient temperature 28.0±1.0°C) for 2 weeks and fed standard growers mash and water ad libutum. They were later exposed to graded toxicant concentrations (w/w) of 2.5000, 1.2500, 0.6250, and 0.3125% in 4 cages. A control cage was also established. After 5 weeks, 3 animals from each cage were sacrificed by cervical dislocation and the cauda epididymis excised. Sperm morphology and viability were determined by microscopic procedures. The ANOVA, means plots, Student’s t-test and variation plots were used to analyze data. The common abnormalities observed included Double Head, Pin Head, Knobbed Head, No Tail and With Hook. The higher toxicant concentrations induced significantly lower body weights [F(829.899) ˃ Fcrit(4.19)] and more abnormalities [F(26.52) ˃ Fcrit(4.00)] at P˂0.05. Sperm cells in the control setup were significantly more viable than those in the 0.625% (t=0.005) and 2.500% toxicant doses (t=0.018) at the 95% confidence limit. CaC₂ appeared to induced morphological abnormalities and reduced viability in sperm cells of M. musculus.

Keywords: artificial ripening, calcium carbide, fruit vendors, sperm morphology, sperm viability

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Authors: Ebenezer Joseph, Veena Easvaradoss, S. Sundar Manoharan, David Chandran, Sumathi Chandrasekaran, T. R. Uma

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Perceptual reasoning is the ability that incorporates fluid reasoning, spatial processing, and visual motor integration. Several theories of cognitive functioning emphasize the importance of fluid reasoning. The ability to manipulate abstractions and rules and to generalize is required for reasoning tasks. This study, funded by the Cognitive Science Research Initiative, Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, analyzed the effect of 1-year chess training on the perceptual reasoning of children. A pretest–posttest with control group design was used, with 43 (28 boys, 15 girls) children in the experimental group and 42 (26 boys, 16 girls) children in the control group. The sample was selected from children studying in two private schools from South India (grades 3 to 9), which included both the genders. The experimental group underwent weekly 1-hour chess training for 1 year. Perceptual reasoning was measured by three subtests of WISC-IV INDIA. Pre-equivalence of means was established. Further statistical analyses revealed that the experimental group had shown statistically significant improvement in perceptual reasoning compared to the control group. The present study clearly establishes a correlation between chess learning and perceptual reasoning. If perceptual reasoning can be enhanced in children, it could possibly result in the improvement of executive functions as well as the scholastic performance of the child.

Keywords: chess, cognition, intelligence, perceptual reasoning

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Authors: Kannan Subramani, Twinkle Sara Joseph

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Virtual Reality (VR) has emerged as a promising tool to create immersive experiences for social impact. This study examines the capacity of virtual reality (VR) as a means of creating social change. It does so by analyzing a 360-degree VR documentary called ‘The Hidden,’ which specifically addresses the problem of bonded labour in India. Bonded labour is a contemporary manifestation of slavery in which individuals are coerced into working to repay debts that can endure for many generations. The documentary seeks to enhance awareness and elicit empathy towards this matter. The study utilizes a combination of qualitative and quantitative methodologies to investigate the influence of ‘The Hidden’ on the audience's views and their inclination to combat bonded labour. A total of ninety-six individuals used Oculus Quest 2 VR headsets to watch the documentary and subsequently engaged in interviews to discuss their encounters. The data underwent analysis using linear regression to discover any noteworthy trends in the replies. The results indicate that virtual reality (VR) has the potential to greatly amplify viewers' emotional involvement and facilitate societal transformation by offering immersive, direct encounters with crucial social matters.

Keywords: virtual reality, societal influence, indentured servitude, 360-degree virtual reality documentary, immersive media, societal transformation

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Authors: Khalid Alhudaib

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Potato is considered as one of the most important and potential vegetable crops in Saudi Arabia. Alfalfa mosaic virus (AMV), genus Alfamovirus, family Bromoviridae is among the broad spread of viruses in potato. During spring and fall growing seasons of potato in 2015 and 2016, several field visits were conducted in the four major growing areas of potato cultivation (Riyadh-Qaseem-Hail-Hard). The presence of AMV was detected in samples using ELISA, dot blot hybridization and/or RT-PCR. The highest occurrence of AMV was observed as 18.6% in Qaseem followed by Riyadh with 15.2% while; the lowest infection rates were recorded in Hard and Hail, 8.3 and 10.4%, respectively. The sequences of seven isolates of AMV obtained in this study were determined and the sequences were aligned with the other sequences available in the GenBank database. Analyses confirmed the low variability among AMV isolated in this study, which means that all AMV isolates may originate from the same source. Due to high incidence of AMV, other economic susceptible crops may become affected by high incidence of this virus in potato crops. This requires accurate examination of potato seed tubers to prevent the spread of the virus in Saudi Arabia. The obtained results indicated that the hybridization and ELISA are suitable techniques in the routine detection of AMV in a large number of samples while RT-PCR is more sensitive and essential for molecular characterization of AMV.

Keywords: Alfamovirus, AMV, Alfalfa mosaic virus, PCR, potato

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Authors: Yuh-Jen Wu, Chun-Min Lin

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Homophonic words are common in Mandarin Chinese which belongs to the tonal language family. Using homophonic cues to study foreign languages is one of the learning techniques of mnemonics that can aid the retention and retrieval of information in the human memory. When learning difficult foreign words, some learners transpose them with words in a language they are familiar with to build an association and strengthen working memory. These phonological clues are beneficial means for novice language learners. In the classroom, if mnemonic skills are used at the appropriate time in the instructional sequence, it may achieve their maximum effectiveness. For Chinese-speaking students, proper use of Chinese-English homophonic word pairs may help them learn difficult vocabulary. In this study, a database program is developed by employing Visual Basic. The database contains two corpora, one with Chinese lexical items and the other with English ones. The Chinese corpus contains 59,053 Chinese words that were collected by a web crawler. The pronunciations of this group of words are compared with words in an English corpus based on WordNet, a lexical database for the English language. Words in both databases with similar pronunciation chunks and batches are detected. A total of approximately 1,000 Chinese lexical items are located in the preliminary comparison. These homophonic word pairs can serve as a valuable tool to assist Chinese-speaking students in learning and memorizing new English vocabulary.

Keywords: Chinese, corpus, English, homophonic words, vocabulary

Procedia PDF Downloads 188

Authors: María de los Ángeles Crespo López, Carmen García García

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The highly competitive nature of today's globalised marketplace requires that brands and stores develop effective commercial strategies to ensure their economic survival. Maintaining the loyalty of existing customers constitutes one key strategy that yields the best results. Although the relationship between consumers' self-congruity and their manifestations of loyalty towards a store has been investigated, the role of store personality in this relationship remains unclear. In this study, multiple parallel mediation analysis was used to examine the effect of Store Personality on the relationship between Self-Congruity of consumers and their Manifestations of Loyalty. For this purpose, 457 Spanish consumers of the Fnac store completed three self-report questionnaires assessing Store Personality, Self-Congruity, and Store Loyalty. The data were analyzed using the SPSS macro PROCESS. The results revealed that three dimensions of Store Personality, namely Exciting, Close and Competent Store, positively and significantly mediated the relationship between Self-Congruity and Manifestations of Loyalty. The indirect effect of Competent Store was the greatest. This means that a consumer with higher levels of Self-Congruity with the store will exhibit more Manifestations of Loyalty when the store is perceived as Exciting, Close or Competent. These findings suggest that more attention should be paid to the perceived personality of stores for the development of effective marketing strategies to maintain or increase consumers' manifestations of loyalty towards stores.

Keywords: multiple parallel mediation, PROCESS, self-congruence, store loyalty, store personality

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Authors: Gabriele Iannotta

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This paper investigates credit cycles by means of an experiment based on a Kiyotaki & Moore (1997) model with heterogeneous expectations. The aim is to examine how a credit squeeze caused by high lender-level risk perceptions affects the real prices of a collateralised asset, with a special focus on the macroeconomic implications of rising price volatility in terms of total welfare and the number of bankruptcies that occur. To do that, a learning-to-forecast experiment (LtFE) has been run where participants are asked to predict the future price of land and then rewarded based on the accuracy of their forecasts. The setting includes one lender and five borrowers in each of the twelve sessions split between six control groups (G1) and six treatment groups (G2). The only difference is that while in G1 the lender always satisfies borrowers’ loan demand (bankruptcies permitting), in G2 he/she closes the entire credit market in case three or more bankruptcies occur in the previous round. Experimental results show that negative risk-driven supply shocks amplify the volatility of collateral prices. This uncertainty worsens the agents’ ability to predict the future value of land and, as a consequence, the number of defaults increases and the total welfare deteriorates.

Keywords: Behavioural Macroeconomics, Credit Cycle, Experimental Economics, Heterogeneous Expectations, Learning-to-Forecast Experiment

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Authors: P. S. Jagadeesh Kumar, Yang Yung, Wenli Hu

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Speech emotion classification is a dominant research field in finding a sturdy and profligate classifier appropriate for different real-life applications. This effort accentuates on classifying different emotions from speech signal quarried from the features related to pitch, formants, energy contours, jitter, shimmer, spectral, perceptual and temporal features. Tensor deep stacking neural networks were supported to examine the factors that influence the classification success rate. Facial electromyography signals were composed of several forms of focuses in a controlled atmosphere by means of audio-visual stimuli. Proficient facial electromyography signals were pre-processed using moving average filter, and a set of arithmetical features were excavated. Extracted features were mapped into consistent emotions using bilinear mapping. With facial electromyography signals, a database comprising diverse emotions will be exposed with a suitable fine-tuning of features and training data. A success rate of 92% can be attained deprived of increasing the system connivance and the computation time for sorting diverse emotional states.

Keywords: speech emotion classification, tensor deep stacking neural networks, facial electromyography, bilinear mapping, audio-visual stimuli

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Authors: Abdelgawad, Salah El-Tahawy

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This paper aimed to establish econometrical equation models for the Nile delta region in Egypt, which will represent a basement for future predictions of Lumpy skin disease outbreaks and its pathway in relation to climate change. Data of lumpy skin disease (LSD) outbreaks were collected from the cattle farms located in the provinces representing the Nile delta region during 1 January, 2015 to December, 2015. The obtained results indicated that there was a significant association between the degree of the LSD outbreaks and the investigated climate factors (temperature, wind speed, and humidity) and the outbreaks peaked during the months of June, July, and August and gradually decreased to the lowest rate in January, February, and December. The model obtained depicted that the increment of these climate factors were associated with evidently increment on LSD outbreaks on the Nile Delta of Egypt. The model validation process was done by the root mean square error (RMSE) and means bias (MB) which compared the number of LSD outbreaks expected with the number of observed outbreaks and estimated the confidence level of the model. The value of RMSE was 1.38% and MB was 99.50% confirming that this established model described the current association between the LSD outbreaks and the change on climate factors and also can be used as a base for predicting the of LSD outbreaks depending on the climatic change on the future.

Keywords: LSD, climate factors, Nile delta, modeling

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Authors: Adnan Lanjawi

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This paper is carried out to investigate the management of hazardous waste in the chemistry section which belongs to Dubai Police forensic laboratory. The chemicals are the main contributor toward the accumulation of hazardous waste in the section. This is due to the requirement to use it in analysis, such as of explosives, drugs, inorganic and fire debris cases. This leads to negative effects on the environment and to the employees’ health and safety. The research investigates the quantity of chemicals there, the labels, the storage room and equipment used. The target is to reduce the need for disposal by looking at alternative options, such as elimination, substitution and recycling. The data was collected by interviewing the top managers there who have been working in the lab more than 20 years. Also, data was collected by observing employees and how they carry out experiments. Therefore, a survey was made to assess their knowledge about the hazardous waste. The management of hazardous chemicals in the chemistry section needs to be improved. The main findings illustrate that about 110 bottles of reference substances were going to be disposed of in 2014. These bottles were bought for about 100,000 UAE Dirhams (£17,600). This means that the management of substances purchase is not organised. There is no categorisation programme in place, which makes the waste control very difficult. In addition, the findings show that chemical are segregated according to alphabetical order, whereas the efficient way is to separate them according to their nature and property. In addition, the research suggested technology and experiments to follow to reduce the need for using solvents and chemicals in the sample preparation.

Keywords: control, hazard, laboratories, waste,

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Authors: N. Gigauri, V. Kukhalashvili, A. Surmava, L. Intskirveli, L. Gverdtsiteli

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Tbilisi, a large city of the South Caucasus, is a junction point connecting Asia and Europe, Russia and republics of the Asia Minor. Over the last years, its atmosphere has been experienced an increasing anthropogenic load. Numerical modeling method is used for study of Tbilisi atmospheric air pollution. By means of 3D non-linear non-steady numerical model a peculiarity of city atmosphere pollution is investigated during background western light air. Dust concentration spatial and time changes are determined. There are identified the zones of high, average and less pollution, dust accumulation areas, transfer directions etc. By numerical modeling, there is shown that the process of air pollution by the dust proceeds in four stages, and they depend on the intensity of motor traffic, the micro-relief of the city, and the location of city mains. In the interval of time 06:00-09:00 the intensive growth, 09:00-15:00 a constancy or weak decrease, 18:00-21:00 an increase, and from 21:00 to 06:00 a reduction of the dust concentrations take place. The highly polluted areas are located in the vicinity of the city center and at some peripherical territories of the city, where the maximum dust concentration at 9PM is equal to 2 maximum allowable concentrations. The similar investigations conducted in case of various meteorological situations will enable us to compile the map of background urban pollution and to elaborate practical measures for ambient air protection.

Keywords: air pollution, dust, numerical modeling, urban

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Authors: Abed Al-Bial, S. Alazazie, A. Shami

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The data were collected from 1992 to 2009 of White Boni sheep maintained at the Regional Research Station in the Central Highlands of Yemen. Data were analyzed to study the growth related traits and their genetic control. The least square means for body weights were 2.26±0.67, 11.14±0.46 and 19.21±1.25 kg for birth weight (BW), weaning weight (WW), six-month weight (WM6), respectively. The pre- and post-weaning average daily weight gains (ADG1 and ADG2) were 106.04±4.98g and 46.21±8.36 g/ day. Significant differences associated with the year of lambing were observed in body weight and weight gain at different stages of growth. Males were heavier and had a higher weight gain than females at almost all stages of growth and differences tended to increase with age. Single-born lambs had a distinct advantage over those born in twin births at all stages of growth. The lambs in the dam’s second to fourth parities were generally of heavier weight and higher daily weight gain than those in other parities. The heritabilities of all body weights, weight gains at different stages of growth were moderate (0.11-0.43). The phenotypic and genetic correlation among the different body weights were positive and high. The genetic correlations of the pre- and post-weaning average daily gains with body weights were hight to moderate, except BW with ADG2.

Keywords: breed, genetics, growth traits, heritability, sheep

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Authors: Hasan Dalgic, Fikret Akinerdem

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This trial was made to determine effect of different plant density and weed control on yield and quality of winter sowing safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) in Selcuk University, Agricultural Faculty trial fields and the effective substance of Trifluran was used as herbicide. Field trial was made during the vegetation period of 2009-2010 with three replications according to 'Split Plots in Randomized Blocks' design. The weed control techniques were made on main plots and row distances was set up on sub-plots. The trial subjects were consisting from three weed control techniques as fallowing: herbicide application (Trifluran), hoeing and control beside the row distances of 15 cm and 30 cm. The results were ranged between 59.0-76.73 cm in plant height, 40.00-47.07 cm in first branch height, 5.00-7.20 in number of branch per plant, 6.00-14.73 number of head per plant, 19.57-21.87 mm in head diameter, 2125.0-3968.3 kg ha-1 in seed yield, 27.10-28.08 % in crude oil rate and 531.7-1070.3 kg ha-1. According to the results, Remzibey safflower cultivar showed the highest seed yield on 30 cm of row distance and herbicide application by means of the direct effects of plant height, first branch height, number of branch per plant, number of head per plant, table diameter, crude oil rate and crude oil yield.

Keywords: safflower, herbicide, row spacing, seed yield, oil ratio, oil yield

Procedia PDF Downloads 336

Authors: Soofia Malik

Abstract:

The purpose of this study is to develop an instrument to measure undergraduate students’ attitudes toward mathematics (MAT) and to assess the data collected from the instrument for validity and reliability. The instrument is developed using five subscales: anxiety, enjoyment, self-confidence, value, and technology. The technology dimension is added as the fifth subscale of attitude toward mathematics because of the recent trend of incorporating online homework in mathematics courses as well as due to heavy reliance of higher education on using online learning management systems, such as Blackboard and Moodle. The sample consists of 163 (M = 82, F = 81) undergraduates enrolled in College Algebra course in the summer 2017 semester at a university in the USA. The data is analyzed to answer the research question: if and how do undergraduate students’ attitudes toward mathematics load using Principal Components Analysis (PCA)? As a result of PCA, three subscales emerged namely: anxiety/self-confidence scale, enjoyment, and value scale. After deleting the last five items or the last two subscales from the initial MAT scale, the Cronbach’s alpha was recalculated using the scores from 20 items and was found to be α = .95. It is important to note that the reliability of the initial MAT form was α = .93. This means that employing the final MAT survey form would yield consistent results in repeated uses. The final MAT form is, therefore, more reliable as compared to the initial MAT form.

Keywords: college algebra, Cronbach's alpha reliability coefficient, Principal Components Analysis, PCA, technology in mathematics

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Authors: Ugbajah Maryjane

Abstract:

The study examined the production of grass cutter and the constraints in Anambra state, Nigeria. Specifically, it described socio-economic characteristics of the respondents, determinants of net farm income and constraints to grass cutter production. Multistage and random sampling methods were used to select 50 respondents for this study. Primary data were collected by means of structured questionnaire. Non-parametric and parametric statistical tools including frequency percentage mean ranking counts, cost and returns and returns and multiple regression were deployed for data analysis. Majority 84% produce on small scale, 64 % had formal education 68% had 3-4 years of farming experience hence small scaled production were common. The income (returns) on investment was used as index of profitability, gross margin (#5,972,280), net farm income (#5,327,055.2) net return on investment (2.5) and return on investment 3.1. Net farm income was significantly influence by stock size and years of farming experience. Grass cutter farmers production problem would be ameliorated by the expression of extension education awareness campaigns to discourage unhealthy practices such as indiscriminant bush burning, use of toxic chemicals as baits, and provision of credits to the farmers.

Keywords: socio-economic factors, profitability, awareness, toxic chemicals, credits

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Authors: Mahmoud Abu-Ghoush, Murad Al Holy

Abstract:

Our main goal in this project is to study the causes and finding solutions for both the hydrolytic and the oxidative rancidity that can be produced during condensed yoghurt production. The re pasteurization of the pasteurized milk and the addition of different types of antioxidants (ascorbic acid and propyl gallate) were used to achieve this goal. Chemical, physical, microbial and sensory tests were done to evaluate the product. It was found that there were significant differences between the different treatments and the control regarding the peroxide value. This means that the addition of both types of antioxidants have a positive effect in decreasing the rancidity value. However, it was found that there were some samples have hydrolytic rancidity flavour without any type of oxidative rancidity (low peroxide value). To overcome this problem the re pasteurization step was used to destroy all the vegetative form of microbes. It was found that this treatment was very useful in controlling the rancidity flavour according to the sensory evaluation of the condensed yoghurt products for several batches. The best condensed yoghurt which contains 0.25% ascorbic acid exhibited the highest sensory properties values. Also, it has the ability in lowering the oxidative rancidity in the combination with the re pasteurization step of the pasteurized milk. This suggests that a higher quality and stable condensed yoghurt can be obtained upon using this combination. These results may help producers in selecting the best treatment methods to overcome the rancidity flavor in this type of condensed yoghurt.

Keywords: antioxidants, condensed yoghurt, repasturization, condensed milk

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Authors: Zakiya Shireen, Sujin B. Babu

Abstract:

Irreversible diffusion-limited cluster aggregation (DLCA) of binary sticky spheres was simulated by modifying the Brownian Cluster Dynamics (BCD). We randomly distribute N spheres in a 3D box of size L, the volume fraction is given by Φtot = (π/6)N/L³. We identify NA and NB number of spheres as species A and B in our system both having identical size. In these systems, both A and B particles undergo Brownian motion. Irreversible bond formation happens only between intra-species particles and inter-species interact only through hard-core repulsions. As we perform simulation using BCD we start to observe binary gels. In our study, we have observed that species B always percolate (cluster size equal to L) as expected for the monomeric case and species A does not percolate below a critical ratio which is different for different volume fractions. We will also show that the accessible volume of the system increases when compared to the monomeric case, which means that species A is aggregating inside the cage created by B. We have also observed that for moderate Φtot the system undergoes a transition from flocculation region to percolation region indicated by the change in fractal dimension from 1.8 to 2.5. For smaller ratio of A, it stays in the flocculation regime even though B have already crossed over to the percolation regime. Thus, we observe two fractal dimension in the same system.

Keywords: BCD, fractals, percolation, sticky spheres

Procedia PDF Downloads 283

Authors: Ashish Kumar, Munesh Raghuraj Varma, Nisarg Joshi, Gujjula Vishwa Teja, Srikanth Sambi, Arpit Awasthi

Abstract:

Autonomous driving vehicles are revolutionizing the transportation system of the 21st century. This has been possible due to intensive research put into making a robust, reliable, and intelligent program that can perceive and understand its environment and make decisions based on the understanding. It is a very data-intensive task with data coming from multiple sensors and the amount of data directly reflects on the performance of the system. Researchers have to design the preprocessing pipeline for different datasets with different sensor orientations and alignments before the dataset can be fed to the model. This paper proposes a solution that provides a method to unify all the data from different sources into a uniform format using the intrinsic and extrinsic parameters of the sensor used to capture the data allowing the same pipeline to use data from multiple sources at a time. This also means easy adoption of new datasets or In-house generated datasets. The solution also automates the complete deep learning pipeline from preprocessing to post-processing for various tasks allowing researchers to design multiple custom end-to-end pipelines. Thus, the solution takes care of the input and output data handling, saving the time and effort spent on it and allowing more time for model improvement.

Keywords: augmentation, autonomous driving, camera, custom end-to-end pipeline, data unification, lidar, post-processing, preprocessing

Procedia PDF Downloads 128

Authors: Ika Anisyah, Nety Trisnawaty

Abstract:

Mechanical brushing can help control plaque and is the first step to control dental caries. The type of toothpaste used is one of the contributing factors in it since the benefits of toothpaste are to reduce plaque formation and strengthen the teeth against dental caries, clean and polish tooth surfaces, eliminate or reduce bad breath, give a fresh taste to the mouth and maintain gingival health. Betel leaf toothpaste has the ability to inhibit the Streptococcus mutans bacteria that can cause the increase of pH saliva. Betel leaf extracts can increase the pH saliva because betel leaf has an anti bacterial characteristic against Streptococcus mutans so that pH saliva increases. This study aims to see the difference between pH saliva before and after brushing teeth with toothpaste containing betel leaf extracts. This type of research is pre-experimental using One Group Pretest-Posttest Design. This study was conducted on 32 subjects taken randomly from the representatives of students aged 11-12 years old in SD Pesanggrahan 03. The result of statistic test using non parametric test showed a value of 0.000. The resulted value being smaller than 0.05 (p < 0.05) means there is a significant salivary pH difference before and after teeth brushing using toothpaste containing betel leaf. The conclusion of this study showed an increase in salivary pH after teeth brushing with toothpaste containing betel leaves extracts in children aged 11-12 years old.

Keywords: pH saliva, brushing teeth, tooth paste, betel leaves extracts

Procedia PDF Downloads 128