Search results for: GOS (grain orientation spread)

Authors: Temitope Adefunsho Olatoye, Julius Olabode Elega

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Raising agricultural productivity is an important policy goal for governments and development agencies, and this is central to growth, income distribution, improved food security, and poverty alleviation among practitioners. This study analyzed the productivity and poverty status among users of improved sorghum varieties in Kano State, Nigeria. A multistage sampling technique was adopted in the selection of 131 sorghum farmers who were users of improved sorghum varieties. Data collected were analyzed using both descriptive (frequency distribution and percentage) and inferential (productivity index and FGT model) statistics. The result of the socioeconomic characteristics of the sorghum farmers showed a mean age of 40 years, with about 93.13% of the sorghum farmers being male. Also, as indicated by the result, the majority (82.44%) of the farmers were married, with most of them having qur’anic education with a mean farm size of 3.6 ha, as reported in the study area. Furthermore, the result showed that the mean farming experience of the sorghum farmers in the study area was 19 years, with an average monthly income of about ₦48,794, as reported in the study area. The result of the productivity index showed a ratio of 192,977kg/ha, while the result of poverty status shows that 62.88% were in the non-poor category, 21.21% were poor, and 15.91% were very poor, respectively. The result also showed that the incidence of poverty for sorghum farmers was 16%, indicating that the incidence of poverty was prevalent in the study area. Based on the findings of this study, it was therefore recommended that seed companies should facilitate the spread of improved sorghum varieties as it has an impact on the productivity and poverty status of sorghum farmers in the study area.

Keywords: Foster Greer Thorbecke model, improved sorghum varieties, productivity, poverty status

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Authors: Oloniyo Rebecca Olajumoke

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The unstable free radicals molecules oxidize cells throughout the body to cause oxidative stress, which has been implicated in the pathogenesis of many chronic diseases. Thus, the consumption of antioxidant-rich snacks could help to reduce the production of these free radicals in the body. This study aimed at producing antioxidant–rich biscuits from an underutilized pearl millet and agricultural waste from orange peel flour (PMF and OPF, respectively) blends. Biscuits were produced from PMF, and OPF blends using various proportions (95:05; 90:10; 85:15; 80:20 with 100% PMF as control. The functional properties of the flours, as well as the antioxidant properties, physical evaluation, and consumer acceptability of the biscuits, were evaluated. The functional properties of the composite flour showed an increase in oil absorption capacity (7.73-8.80 g/ml), water absorption capacity (6.82-7.21 g/ml), foaming (3.91-5.88 g/ml), and emulsification (52.85-58.82 g/ml) properties. The increased addition of OPF significantly (p<0.05) increased the antioxidant properties of the biscuits produced from the composite flour. For instance, the ferric reducing properties (0.10-0.4 mgAAE/g), total flavonoid (1.20-8.12 mg QE/g), and ABTS radical scavenging (1.17-2.19 mmol/TEAC/g) of the composite flours were increasingly comparable to those of 100% PMF. The physical parameters of the biscuit were significantly different (p<0.05) from one another. The addition of OPF into PMF reduced the weight, diameter, and spread ratio of biscuits produced while contrarily increasing the height of the biscuit. The incorporation of OPF at 5% (95:05) substitution yielded a consumedly acceptable biscuit product. The significant increase in antioxidant properties with an increase in OPF during the production of biscuits would therefore increase the nutritional value and potential health benefits.

Keywords: orange peel, biscuit, antioxidant, pearl millet

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Authors: Okpu Enoh Ndip Nkongho

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The type of political leadership in place impacts a state's economic development or underdevelopment directly and indirectly. One of the main challenges to Cameroon's economic development may be ineffective or misguided political leadership. The economy of the Cameroon state has declined significantly due to a number of factors, including a lack of effective and feasible economic policies, a reliance on crude oil that is excessive, tribal politics, the threat of insurgency, bribery, and corruption, violations of human rights, neglect of other sectors like science, technology, education, and transportation, and a careless attitude on the part of the administrators toward the general public. As a result, the standard of living has decreased, foreign exchange has decreased, and the value of the Cameroonian currency has depreciated. Therefore, from 2000 to 2023, this paper focused on the relationship between political leadership and economic development in Cameroon and offered suggestions for improving political leadership that will, in turn, lead to the country's economy getting back on track. The study employed a qualitative technique, with the framework for the investigation derived from the trait theory of leadership. According to the information provided above, the paper was able to conclude that there is a lack of cooperation between the three branches of government in Cameroon. This is shown in situations when one branch operates independently of the others and refuses to function as a backup when needed. The study recommended that the Executive collaborate closely with the National Assembly to speed action on some key legislation required to stimulate economic development. On the other hand, there is a need for more clarity and consistency in the government's policy orientation. There is no doubt that our current economic troubles are at least partially the result of a lack of economic policy leadership and confidence.

Keywords: politics, leadership, economic, development, Cameroon

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Authors: Birhanu Betela Warssamo

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Background: There is limited evidence on the prevalence and risk factors for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection among waste handlers in the Sidama region, Ethiopia; however, this knowledge is necessary for the effective prevention of HCV infection in the region. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among randomly selected waste collectors from October 2021 to 30 July 2022 in different public hospitals in the Sidama region of Ethiopia. Serum samples were collected from participants and screened for anti-HCV using a rapid immunochromatography assay. Socio-demographic and risk factor information of waste handlers was gathered by pretested and well-structured questionnaires. The generalized linear model (GLM) was conducted using R software, and P-value < 0.05 was declared statistically significant. Results: From a total of 282 participating waste handlers, 16 (5.7%) (95% CI, 4.2 – 8.7) were infected with the hepatitis C virus. The educational status of waste handlers was the significant demographic variable that was associated with the hepatitis C virus (AOR = 0.055; 95% CI = 0.012 – 0.248; P = 0.000). More married waste handlers, 12 (75%), were HCV positive than unmarried, 4 (25%) and married waste handlers were 2.051 times (OR = 2.051, 95%CI = 0.644 –6.527, P = 0.295) more prone to HCV infection, compared to unmarried, which was statistically insignificant. The GLM showed that exposure to blood (OR = 8.26; 95% CI = 1.878–10.925; P = 0.037), multiple sexual partners (AOR = 3.63; 95% CI = 2.751–5.808; P = 0.001), sharp injury (AOR = 2.77; 95% CI = 2.327–3.173; P = 0.036), not using PPE (AOR = 0.77; 95% CI = 0.032–0.937; P = 0.001), contact with jaundiced patient (AOR = 3.65; 95% CI = 1.093–4.368; P = 0 .0048) and unprotected sex (AOR = 11.91; 95% CI = 5.847–16.854; P = 0.001) remained statistically significantly associated with HCV positivity. Conclusions: The study revealed that there was a high prevalence of hepatitis C virus infection among waste handlers in the Sidama region, Ethiopia. This demonstrated that there is an urgent need to increase preventative efforts and strategic policy orientations to control the spread of the hepatitis C virus.

Keywords: Hepatitis C virus, risk factors, waste handlers, prevalence, Sidama Ethiopia

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Authors: Rahul Thakur, Onkar Chandel

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Red Hat is the world leader in providing open source software and solutions. A global enterprise, like Red Hat, has unique issues of connecting employees with content because of distributed offices, multiple teams spread across geographies, multiple languages, and different cultures. Employees, of a global company, create content that is distributed across departments, teams, regions, and countries. This makes finding the best content difficult since owners keep iterating on the existing content. When employees are unable to find the content, they end up creating it once again and in the process duplicating existing material and effort. Also, employees may not find the relevant content and spend time reviewing obsolete duplicate, or irrelevant content. On an average, a person spends 15 minutes/day in failed searches that might result in missed business opportunities, employee frustration, and substandard deliverables. Red Hat Knowledge Management Office (KMO) applied 'open source strategy' to solve the above problems. Under the Open Source Strategy, decisions are taken collectively. The strategy aims at accomplishing common goals with the help of communities. The objectives of this initiative were to save employees' time, get them authentic content, improve their content search experience, avoid duplicate content creation, provide context based search, improve analytics, improve content management workflows, automate content classification, and automate content upload. This session will describe open source strategy, its applicability in content management, challenges, recommended solutions, and outcome.

Keywords: content classification, content management, knowledge management, open source

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Authors: Munir Ashraf, Shagufta Riaz

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Personal protective equipment (PPE) and bioactive textiles are highly important for the health care of front line hospital workers, patients, and the general population to be safe from highly infectious diseases. This was even more critical in the wake of COVID-19 outbreak. Most of the medical textiles are inactive against various viruses and bacteria, hence there is a need to wash them frequently to avoid the spread of microorganisms. According to survey conducted by the world health organization, more than 500 million people get infected from hospitals, and more than 13 million died due to these hospitals’ acquired deadly diseases. The market available PPE are though effective against the penetration of pathogens and to kill bacteria but, they are not breathable and active against different viruses. Therefore, there was a great need to develop textiles that are not only effective against bacteria, fungi, and viruses but also are comfortable to the medical personnel and patients. In the present study, waterproof breathable, and biologically active textiles were developed using antiviral and antibacterial nanomaterials. These nanomaterials like TiO₂, ZnO, Cu, and Ag were immobilized at the surface of cotton fabric by using different silane coupling agents and electroless deposition that they retained their functionality even after 30 industrial laundering cycles. Afterwards, the treated fabrics were coated with a waterproof breathable film to prevent the permeation of liquid droplets, any particle or microorganisms greater than 80 nm. The developed cotton fabric was highly active against bacteria and viruses. The good durability of nanomaterials at the cotton surface after several industrial washing cycles makes this fabric an ideal candidate for bioactive textiles used in the medical field.

Keywords: antibacterial, antiviral, cotton, durable

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Authors: Cetin Arslan, Senol Tayan

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Social media is one of the most important and effective means of social interaction among people in which they create, share and exchange their ideas via photos, videos or voice messages. Although there are lots of communication tools, social media sites are the most prominent ones that allows the users articulate themselves in a matter of seconds all around the world with almost any expenses and thus, they became very popular and widespread after its emergence. As the usage of social media increases, it becomes an effective instrument in social matters. While it is possible to use social media to emphasize basic human rights and protest some failures of any government as in “Arab Spring”, it is also possible to spread propaganda and misinformation just to cause long lasting insurgency, upheaval, turmoil or disorder as an instrument of intervention to internal affairs and state sovereignty by some hostile groups or countries. It is certain that “social media” has positive effects on democracies letting people have chance to express themselves and to organize, but it is also obvious that the misuse of it, is very common that even a five-minute-long video can cause to wage a campaign against a country. Although it looks anti-democratic, when you consider the catastrophic effects of misuse of social media, it is a kind of area that serious precautions are to be taken without limiting democratic rights while allowing constant and perpetual share but preventing the criminal events. This article begins with the current developments in social media and gives some examples on misuse of it. Second part tries to put emphasize on the legal basis that can prevent criminal activities and the upheavals and insurgencies against state security. Last part makes comparison between democratic countries and international organizations’’ actions against such activities and proposes some further actions that are compatible with democratic norms.

Keywords: democracy, disorder, security, Social Media

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Authors: Manal Kamel, Sara Maher, Hanan El Baz, Faten Salah, Omar Sayyouh, Zeinab Demerdash

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In the recent COVID 19 pandemic, experts of public health have emphasized testing, tracking infected people, and tracing their contacts as an effective strategy to reduce the spread of the virus. Development of rapid and sensitive diagnostic assays to replace reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) is mandatory..Our innovative test strip relying on the application of nanoparticles conjugated to recombinant nanobodies for SARS-COV-2 spike protein (S1) & angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (that is responsible for the virus entry into host cells) for rapid detection of SARS-COV-2 spike protein (S1) in saliva or sputum specimens. Comparative tests with RT-PCR will be held to estimate the significant effect of using COVID 19 nanobodies for the first time in the development of lateral flow test strip. The SARS-CoV-2 S1 (3 ng of recombinant proteins) was detected by our developed LFIA in saliva specimen of COVID-19 Patients No cross-reaction was detected with Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) or SARS- CoV antigens..Our developed system revealed 96 % sensitivity and 100% specificity for saliva samples compared to 89 % and 100% sensitivity and specificity for nasopharyngeal swabs. providing a reliable alternative for the painful and uncomfortable nasopharyngeal swab process and the complexes, time consuming PCR test. An increase in testing compliances to be expected.

Keywords: COVID 19, diagnosis, LFIA, nanobodies, ACE2

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Authors: Diobein C. Flores

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The populace in Municipality of Talaingod is composed of Ata-Manobo. The said lumads enrich their culture, orientation and self because the place is a hive of their tribe. In lieu, the study would analyze the participation of the Ata-Manobo in the making of school improvement plan (SIP). Thus, it recommends alternative policy options that would help strengthen their involvement. The school stakeholders-Ata Manobo representatives from students, parent-teacher association, alumni, basic sector, municipal/barangay government unit, civic/social organizations and other government various agencies are the key participants in this study. The research used descriptive design. The responses of the representatives were analyzed through the criteria involved in employing Rational Model. The technical dimension, administrative, political acceptability and economic are the criteria in revealing decision. The policy alternative option 3- recommends to formulate policy for the purpose of capacitating stakeholders or governing council members in the making of SIP was pointed out as the most preferred option. This could strengthen the participation among Ata-Manobo as stakeholders in planning. Hence, the formulation alternative policy- capacitating stakeholders in the crafting of school improvement plan is recommended. The suggested initiative would assist the Department of Education in forging consensus across neighborhoods during the making of SIP. The appropriation of the definite budget to be used during the conduct of capability building activities is also suggested. Training-workshops are identified as possible intervention to ensure that the stakeholders are equipped with necessary knowledge and skills needed in the making of SIP. Indeed, the equal opportunities for all stakeholders regardless of their life circumstances must be noted. With the belief, people must be empowered to take advantage and spearhead progress in the making of SIP.

Keywords: Ata-Manobo Tribe, stakeholders, school improvement plan, Municipality of Talaingod, Philippines

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Authors: Manar Makhoul, Buthainah Alsalamah, Salam Lawand, Hassan Azzam

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The major storage proteins in endosperm of 33 cultivated and wild barley genotypes (H.vulgare, H. spontaneum, H. bulbosum, H. murinum, H. marinum) were analyzed to demonstrate the variation in the hordein polypeptides encoded by multigene families in grains. The SDS-PAGE revealed 13 and 17 alleles at the Hor1 and the Hor2 loci respectively, with frequencies from 0.83 to 14 and 0.56 to 13.41% respectively, while seven alleles at the Hor3 locus with frequencies from 3.63 to 30.91% were recognized. The phylogenetic analysis indicated to relevance of the polymorphism in hordein patterns as successful tool in identifying the individual genotypes and discriminating the species according to genome type. We also reported in this research complete nucleotide sequence B-hordein genes of seven wild and cultivated barley genotypes. A 152bp upstream sequence of B-hordein promoter contained a TATA box, CATC box, AAAG motif, N-motif and E-motif. In silico analysis of B-Hordein sequences demonstrated that the coding regions were not interrupted by any intron, and included the complete ORF which varied between 882 and 906 bp, and encoded mature proteins with 293-301 residues characterized by high contents of glutamine (29%), and proline (18%). Comparison of the predicted polypeptide sequences with the published ones suggested that all S-rich prolamins genes are descended from common ancestor. The sequence started at N-terminal with a signal peptide, and then followed directly by two domains; a repetitive one based on the repetition of the repeat unit PQQPFPQQ and C-terminal domain. Also, it was found that positions of the eight cysteine residues were highly conserved in all the B-hordein sequences, but Hordeum bulbosum had additional unpaired one. The phylogenetic tree of B-hordein polypeptide separated the genotypes in distinct seven subgroups. In general, the high homology between B-hordeins and LMW glutenin subunits suggests similar bread-making influences for these B-hordeins.

Keywords: hordeum, phylogenetic tree, sequencing, storage protein

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Authors: Alexander J. Severinsky, Allen L. Sessoms

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Atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂) has dominated the discussion about the causes of climate change. This is a reflection of the time horizon that has become the norm adopted by the IPCC as the planning horizon. Recently, it has become clear that a 100-year time horizon is much too long, and yet almost all mitigation efforts, including those in the near-term horizon of 30 years, are geared toward it. In this paper, we show that, for a 30-year time horizon, methane (CH₄) is the greenhouse gas whose radiative forcing exceeds that of CO₂. In our analysis, we used radiative forcing of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere since they directly affect the temperature rise on Earth. In 2019, the radiative forcing of methane was ~2.5 W/m² and that of carbon dioxide ~2.1 W/m². Under a business-as-usual (BAU) scenario until 2050, such forcing would be ~2.8 W/m² and ~3.1 W/m², respectively. There is a substantial spread in the data for anthropogenic and natural methane emissions as well as CH₄ leakages from production to consumption. We estimated the minimum and maximum effects of the reduction of these leakages. Such action may reduce the annual radiative forcing of all CH₄ emissions by between ~15% and ~30%. This translates into a reduction of the RF by 2050 from ~2.8 W/m² to ~2.5 W/m² in the case of the minimum effect and to ~2.15 W/m² in the case of the maximum. Under the BAU, we found that the RF of CO₂ would increase from ~2.1 W/m² nowadays to ~3.1 W/m² by 2050. We assumed a reduction of 50% of anthropogenic emission linearly over the next 30 years. That would reduce radiative forcing from ~3.1 W/m² to ~2.9 W/m². In the case of ‘net zero,’ the other 50% of reduction of only anthropogenic emissions would be limited to either from sources of emissions or directly from the atmosphere. The total reduction would be from ~3.1 to ~2.7, or ~0.4 W/m². To achieve the same radiative forcing as in the scenario of maximum reduction of methane leakages of ~2.15 W/m², then an additional reduction of radiative forcing of CO₂ would be approximately 2.7 -2.15=0.55 W/m². This is a much larger value than in expectations from ‘net zero’. In total, one needs to remove from the atmosphere ~660 GT to match the maximum reduction of current methane leakages and ~270 GT to achieve ‘net zero.’ This amounts to over 900 GT in total.

Keywords: methane leakages, methane radiative forcing, methane mitigation, methane net zero

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Authors: Hamidreza Hoshyarmanesh, Benjamin Durante, Alex Irwin, Sanju Lama, Kourosh Zareinia, Garnette R. Sutherland

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This study reports on a proposed method to evaluate the accuracy and precision of Excalibur I, a neurosurgery-specific haptic hand controller, designed and developed at Project neuroArm. Having an efficient and successful robot-assisted telesurgery is considerably contingent on how accurate and precise a haptic hand controller (master/local robot) would be able to interpret the kinematic indices of motion, i.e., position and orientation, from the surgeon’s upper limp to the slave/remote robot. A proposed test rig is designed and manufactured according to standard ASTM F2554-10 to determine the accuracy and precision range of Excalibur I at four different locations within its workspace: central workspace, extreme forward, far left and far right. The test rig is metrologically characterized by a coordinate measuring machine (accuracy and repeatability < ± 5 µm). Only the serial linkage of the haptic device is examined due to the use of the Structural Length Index (SLI). The results indicate that accuracy decreases by moving from the workspace central area towards the borders of the workspace. In a comparative study, Excalibur I performs on par with the PHANToM PremiumTM 3.0 and more accurate/precise than the PHANToM PremiumTM 1.5. The error in Cartesian coordinate system shows a dominant component in one direction (δx, δy or δz) for the movements on horizontal, vertical and inclined surfaces. The average error magnitude of three attempts is recorded, considering all three error components. This research is the first promising step to quantify the kinematic performance of Excalibur I.

Keywords: accuracy, advanced metrology, hand controller, precision, robot-assisted surgery, tele-operation, workspace

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Authors: Alaa Sarhan, Rania Abd El Gelil, Hana Awad

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Through the last decades, the impact of thermal comfort on the working performance of users and occupants of an indoor space has been a concern. Research papers concluded that natural ventilation quality directly impacts the levels of thermal comfort. Natural ventilation must be put into account during the design process in order to improve the inhabitant's efficiency and productivity. One example of daily long-term occupancy spaces is educational facilities. Many individuals spend long times receiving a considerable amount of knowledge, and it takes additional time to apply this knowledge. Thus, this research is concerned with user's level of thermal comfort in design studios of educational facilities. The natural ventilation quality in spaces is affected by a number of parameters including orientation, opening design, and many other factors. This research aims to investigate the conscious manipulation of the physical parameters of the spaces and its impact on natural ventilation performance which subsequently affects thermal comfort of users. The current research uses inductive and deductive methods to define natural ventilation design considerations, which are used in a field study in a studio in the university building in Alexandria (AAST) to evaluate natural ventilation performance through analyzing and comparing the current case to the developed framework and conducting computational fluid dynamics simulation. Results have proved that natural ventilation performance is successful by only 50% of the natural ventilation design framework; these results are supported by CFD simulation.

Keywords: educational buildings, natural ventilation, , mediterranean climate, thermal comfort

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Authors: M. Zadshakoyan, H. Marassem Bonab, P. M. Keshtiban

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The SPD process widely used to optimize microstructure, strength and mechanical properties of the metals. Processes such as ARB and APB could have a considerable impact on improving the properties of metals. The aluminum material after steel, known as the most used metal, Because of its low strength, there are restrictions on the use of this metal, it is required to spread further studies to increase strength and improve the mechanical properties of this light weight metal. In this study, Annealed aluminum material, with yield strength of 85 MPa and tensile strength of 124 MPa, sliced into 2 sheets with dimensions of 30 and 25 mm and the thickness of 1.5 mm. then the sheets press bonded under 6 cycles, which increased the ultimate strength to 281 MPa. In addition, by adding 0.1%Wt of SiC particles to interface of the sheets, the sheets press bonded by 6 cycles to achieve a homogeneous composite. The same operation using Al2O3 particles and a mixture of SiC+Al2O3 particles was repeated and the amount of strength and elongation of produced composites compared with each other and with pure 6 cycle press bonded Aluminum. The results indicated that the ultimate strength of Al/SiC composite was 2.6 times greater than Annealed aluminum. And Al/Al2O3 and Al/Al2O3+SiC samples were low strength than Al/SiC sample. The pure 6 time press bonded Aluminum had lowest strength by 2.2 times greater than annealed aluminum. Strength of aluminum was increased by making the metal matrix composite. Also, it was found that the hardness of pure Aluminum increased 1.7 times after 6 cycles of APB process, hardness of the composite samples improved further, so that, the hardness of Al/SiC increased up to 2.51 times greater than annealed aluminum.

Keywords: APB, nano composite, nano particles, severe plastic deformation

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Authors: Cristina Greco

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The spread of the digital and we-based technologies has led to a transformation process, which has coincided with an increase in the number of cases who are beyond the mainstream storytelling and its codes on the interaction with the user. On the base of a previous research on i-docs and virtual museums, this study analyses interactive and immersive online Graphic Novel – one-page, animated, illustrated, and hybrid – to reflect on the transformational implications of this expressive form on the user perception, remembrance, and awareness. The way in which the user experiences a certain level of interaction with the story and immersion in the semantic and figurative universe would bring user’s attention, activating introspection and self-reflection processes, perception, imagination, and creativity. This would have to do with the involvement of different senses – visual, proprioceptive, tactile, auditory, and vestibular – and the activation of a phenomenon of synaesthesia (involuntary cross-modal sensory association) – where, for example, the aural reconnect the user to another sense, providing a multisensory experience. The case studies show specific forms of interactive and immersive graphic novel and reflect on application that has sought to engage innovative ways to communicate different messages and stimulate cultural memory and collective awareness. The visual semiotic and narrative analysis of the distinctive traits of such a complex textuality, along with a study of the user’s experience through observation in naturalistic settings and interviews, allows us to question the functioning of these configurations, with regard to the relationships between the figurative dimension, the perceptive activity, and their impact on the user’s engagement.

Keywords: collective awareness, cultural memory, graphic novel, interactive and immersive storytelling

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Authors: Richard Briginshaw, Hana Alaojeli, Javaria Ahmad, Hamza Gaffar, Nourtan Murad

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Sustainable renovations to cultural buildings and sites require a high level of competency in the sometimes conflicting areas of social/historical demands, environmental concerns, and the programmatic and technical requirements of the project. A detailed analysis of the existing site, building and client program are critical to reveal both challenges and opportunities. This forms the starting point for the design process – empirical explorations that search for a balanced and inspired architectural solution to the project. The Red Bay National Historic Site on the Labrador Coast of eastern Canada is a challenging project to explore and resolve these ideas. Originally the site of a 16ᵗʰ century whaling station occupied by Basque sailors from France and Spain, visitors now experience this history at the interpretive center, along with the unique geography, climate, local culture and vernacular architecture of the area. Working with our client, Parks Canada, the project called for significant alterations and expansion to the existing facility due to an increase in the number of annual visitors. Sustainable aspects of the design are focused on sensitive site development, passive energy strategies such as building orientation and building envelope efficiency, active renewable energy systems, carefully considered material selections, water efficiency, and interiors that respond to human comfort and a unique visitor experience.

Keywords: sustainability, renovations and expansion, cultural project, architectural design, green building

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Authors: Naghmeh Zamani, Ashkan Pourkand, David Grow

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This paper presents the design and mechanical model of a hybrid impedance/admittance haptic device optimized for applications, like bone drilling, spinal awl probe use, and other surgical techniques were high force is required in the tool-axial direction, and low impedance is needed in all other directions. The performance levels required cannot be satisfied by existing, off-the-shelf haptic devices. This design may allow critical improvements in simulator fidelity for surgery training. The device consists primarily of two low-mass (carbon fiber) plates with a rod passing through them. Collectively, the device provides 6 DOF. The rod slides through a bushing in the top plate and it is connected to the bottom plate with a universal joint, constrained to move in only 2 DOF, allowing axial torque display the user’s hand. The two parallel plates are actuated and located by means of four cables pulled by motors. The forward kinematic equations are derived to ensure that the plates orientation remains constant. The corresponding equations are solved using the Newton-Raphson method. The static force/torque equations are also presented. Finally, we present the predicted distribution of location error, cables velocity, cable tension, force and torque for the device. These results and preliminary hardware fabrication indicate that this design may provide a revolutionary approach for haptic display of many surgical procedures by means of an architecture that allows arbitrary workspace scaling. Scaling of the height and width can be scaled arbitrarily.

Keywords: cable direct driven robot, haptics, parallel plates, bone drilling

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Authors: Júlia Cristina Bonaldo, Christophe L. Martin, Martiniano Piccico, Keith Beale, Roop Kishore, Severine Romero-Baivier

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Refractory composite materials employed in steel casting applications are prone to cracking and material damage because of the very high operating temperature (thermal shock) and mismatched properties of the constituent phases. The fracture behavior of a model MgO-C composite refractory is investigated to quantify and characterize its thermal shock resistance, employing a cold crushing test and Brazilian test with fractographic analysis. The discrete element method (DEM) is used to generate numerical refractory composites. The composite in DEM is represented by an assembly of bonded particle clusters forming perfectly spherical aggregates and single spherical particles. For the stresses to converge with a low standard deviation and a minimum number of particles to allow reasonable CPU calculation time, representative volume element (RVE) numerical packings are created with various numbers of particles. Key microscopic properties are calibrated sequentially by comparing stress-strain curves from crushing experimental data. Comparing simulations with experiments also allows for the evaluation of crack propagation, fracture energy, and strength. The crack propagation during Brazilian experimental tests is monitored with digital image correlation (DIC). Simulations and experiments reveal three distinct types of fracture. The crack may spread throughout the aggregate, at the aggregate-matrix interface, or throughout the matrix.

Keywords: refractory composite, fracture mechanics, crack propagation, DEM

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Authors: Fatemeh Benakashani, Hossein Tavakoli, Elias Soltani

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To ensure the sustainability of crop cultivation and rural economies, it is imperative that we focus on cultivating resilient crops capable of withstanding salt stress. However, the effective management of weeds in salt-affected soils remains a significant challenge. This study investigates the impact of living mulches, specifically Berseem clover (Trifolium alexandrinum) and Barley (Hordeum vulgare), on weed control, as well as the quality and yield of Black cumin (Nigella sativa) in salt-affected soil. In our research, we employed a two-fold mowing strategy for the living mulches: once following crop establishment and once before the flowering stage. Notably, the weed-free plots demonstrated Black cumin's seed yield, and oil content (31.1% to 34.3%), consistent with previous studies, highlighting its potential for the reclamation and utilization of salt-affected lands. However, Black cumin exhibited limited competitiveness against prevalent weeds in the field, such as Amaranthus retroflexus, Chenopodium album, and Portulaca oleracea, which significantly diminished both the 1000 grain mass in plots where weeds were present. Interestingly, the introduction of living mulches led to improvements in seed yield and seed oil content when compared to both weed-free and weed-infested plots. Notably, Berseem clover exhibited greater biomass than Barley, indicating its heightened competitiveness against weeds. Nevertheless, it's worth noting that in the long term, Berseem clover also competed with the main crop, thereby limiting overall productivity. Consequently, we recommend relocating the Berseem clover living mulch following the establishment of Black cumin as a strategy for weed management in Black cumin fields situated in salt-affected soils.

Keywords: weed management, competition, clover, barley, medicinal plant

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Authors: Asanka Bulathwatta

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This Study tries to figure out the role of emotional Intelligence for developing coping strategies among adolescents who face traumatic events. Late adolescence students who have enrolled into the University education (Bachelor students/first-year students) would be selected as the sample. University education is an important stage of students’ academic life. Therefore, all students need to develop their competencies to attain the goal of passing examinations and also to developing their wisdom related to the scientific knowledge they gathered through their academic life. Study to be conducted in a cross-cultural manner and it will be taking place in Germany and Sri Lanka. The sample will be consisting of 200 students from each country. Late adolescence is a critical period of the human being as it is foot step in their life which acquiring the emotional and social qualities in their social life. There are many adolescents who have affected by aggression related traumatic events during their lifespan but have not been identified or treated. More specifically, there are numerous burning issues within the first year of the university students namely, ragging done by seniors to juniors, bulling, invalidation and issues raise based on attitudes changes and orientation issues. Those factors can be traumatic for both their academic and day to day lifestyle. Identifying the students who are with emotional damages and their resiliency afterward the aggression related traumas and effective rehabilitation from the traumatic events is immensely needed in order to facilitate university students for their academic achievements and social life within the University education. Research findings in Germany show that students shows more interpersonal traumas, life-threatening illnesses and death of someone related are common in German sample.

Keywords: emotional intelligence, agression, trauma, coping

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Authors: Anderson Chidi Amadioha, Promise Chidi Kenkwo, A. A. Markson

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Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) is an important food and cash crop that provide cheap source of carbohydrate for food, feed and raw material for industries hence a commodity for feature economic development of developing countries. Despite the importance, its production potentials is undermined by disease agents that greatly reduce yield and render it unfit for human consumption and industrial use. Pathogenicity tests on fungal isolates from infected cassava revealed Aspergillus flavus, Rhizopus stolonifer, Aspergillus niger, and Trichodderma viride as rot-causing organisms. Water and ethanol extracts of Piper guineense, Ocimum graticimum, Cassia alata, and Tagetes erecta at 50% concentration significantly inhibited the radial growth of the pathogens in vitro and their development and spread in vivo. Low cassava rot incidence and severity was recorded when the extracts were applied before than after spray inoculating with spore suspension (1x105 spores/ml of distilled water) of the pathogenic organisms. The plant materials are readily available, and their extracts are biodegradable and cost effective. The fungitoxic potentials of extracts of these plant materials could be exploited as potent biopesticides in the management of postharvest fungal deterioration of cassava especially in developing countries where synthetic fungicides are not only scarce but also expensive for resource poor farmers who produce over 95% of the food consumed.

Keywords: cassava, biopesticides, in vitro, in vivo, pathogens, plant extracts

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Authors: Yongsheng Guo, Xiaoxian Zhu, Mandella Osei-Assibey Bonsu

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This study explores the effects of national culture on consumer behaviour by identifying the characteristics of Chinese consumers’ decision making in Europe. It offers a better understanding of how cultural factors affect consumers’ behaviour, and how consumers make decisions in other nations with different culture. It adopted a grounded theory approach and conducted twenty-four in-depth interviews. Grounded theory models are developed to link the causal conditions, process and consequences. Results reveal that some cultural factors including conservatism, emotionality, acquaintance community, long-term orientation and principles affect Chinese consumers when making purchase decisions in Europe. Most Chinese consumers plan and prepare their expenditure and stay in Europe as cultural learners, and purchase durable products or assets as investment, and share their experiences within a community. This study identified potential problems such as political and social environment, complex procedures, and restrictions. This study found that external factors influence on internal factors and then internal characters determine consumer behaviour. This study proposes that cultural traits developed in convergence evolution through social selection and Chinese consumers persist most characters but adapt some perceptions and actions overtime in other countries. This study suggests that cultural marketing could be adopted by companies to reflect consumers’ preferences. Agencies, shops, and the authorities could take actions to reduce the complexity and restrictions.

Keywords: national culture, consumer behaviour, decision making, cultural marketing

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Authors: Karla D. Vazquez-Valdez, Bradley P. Wynne

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In the last decades manufacturing needs have been changing, leading to the study of manufacturing methods that were underdeveloped, such as incremental forming processes like shear forming. These processes use rotating tools in constant local contact with the workpiece, which is often also rotating, to generate shape. This means much lower loads to forge large parts and no need for expensive special tooling. Potential has already been established by demonstrating manufacture of high-value products, e.g., turbine and satellite parts, with high dimensional accuracy from difficult to manufacture materials. Thus, huge opportunities exist for these processes to replace the current method of manufacture for a range of high value components, e.g., eliminating lengthy machining, reducing material waste and process times; or the manufacture of a complicated shape without the development of expensive tooling. However, little is known about the exact deformation conditions during processing and why certain materials are better than others for shear forming, leading to a lot of trial and error before production. Three alloys were used for this study: Ti-54M, Jethete M154, and IN718. General Microscopy and Electron Backscatter Diffraction (EBSD) were used to measure strains and orientation maps during shear forming. A Design of Experiments (DOE) analysis was also made in order to understand the impact of process parameters in the properties of the final workpieces. Such information was the key to develop a reliable Finite Element Method (FEM) model that closely resembles the deformation paths of this process. Finally, the potential of these three materials to be shear spun was studied using the FEM model and their Forming Limit Diagram (FLD) which led to the development of a rough methodology for testing the shear spinnability of various metals.

Keywords: shear forming, damage, principal strains, forming limit diagram

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Authors: Pinna Beatrice., Laini Alex, Negro Giovanni, Burgazzi Gemma, Viaroli Pierluigi, Vezza Paolo

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Habitat models rarely consider macroinvertebrates as ecological targets in rivers. Available approaches mainly focus on single macroinvertebrate species, not addressing the ecological needs and functionality of the entire community. This research aimed to provide an approach to model the habitat of the macroinvertebrate community. The approach is based on the recently developed Flow-T index, together with a Random Forest (RF) regression, which is employed to apply the Flow-T index at the meso-habitat scale. Using different datasets gathered from both field data collection and 2D hydrodynamic simulations, the model has been calibrated in the Trebbia river (2019 campaign), and then validated in the Trebbia, Taro, and Enza rivers (2020 campaign). The three rivers are characterized by a braiding morphology, gravel riverbeds, and summer low flows. The RF model selected 12 mesohabitat descriptors as important for the macroinvertebrate community. These descriptors belong to different frequency classes of water depth, flow velocity, substrate grain size, and connectivity to the main river channel. The cross-validation R² coefficient (R²𝒸ᵥ) of the training dataset is 0.71 for the Trebbia River (2019), whereas the R² coefficient for the validation datasets (Trebbia, Taro, and Enza Rivers 2020) is 0.63. The agreement between the simulated results and the experimental data shows sufficient accuracy and reliability. The outcomes of the study reveal that the model can identify the ecological response of the macroinvertebrate community to possible flow regime alterations and to possible river morphological modifications. Lastly, the proposed approach allows extending the MesoHABSIM methodology, widely used for the fish habitat assessment, to a different ecological target community. Further applications of the approach can be related to flow design in both perennial and non-perennial rivers, including river reaches in which fish fauna is absent.

Keywords: ecological flows, macroinvertebrate community, mesohabitat, river habitat modeling

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Authors: Gintarė Sauliutė, Gintaras Svecevičius

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Landfill leachates contain a number of persistent pollutants, including heavy metals. They have the ability to spread in ecosystems and accumulate in fish which most of them are classified as top-consumers of trophic chains. Fish are freely swimming organisms; but perhaps, due to their species-specific ecological and behavioral properties, they often prefer the most suitable biotopes and therefore, did not avoid harmful substances or environments. That is why it is necessary to evaluate the persistent pollutant dispersion in hydroecosystem using fish tissue metal concentration. In hydroecosystems of hybrid type (e.g. river-pond-river) the distance from the pollution source could be a perfect indicator of such a kind of metal distribution. The studies were carried out in the Kairiai landfill neighboring hybrid-type ecosystem which is located 5 km east of the Šiauliai City. Fish tissue (gills, liver, and muscle) metal concentration measurements were performed on two types of ecologically-different fishes according to their feeding characteristics: benthophagous (Gibel carp, roach) and predatory (Northern pike, perch). A number of mathematical models (linear, non-linear, using log and other transformations) have been applied in order to identify the most satisfactorily description of the interdependence between fish tissue metal concentration and the distance from the pollution source. However, the only one log-multiple regression model revealed the pattern that the distance from the pollution source is closely and positively correlated with metal concentration in all predatory fish tissues studied (gills, liver, and muscle).

Keywords: bioaccumulation in fish, heavy metals, hydroecosystem, landfill leachate, mathematical model

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Authors: Neha Verma, Manik Rakhra

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Statement of the Problem: Nowadays, a tremendous increase in population and advanced industrialization augment the problems related to air and water pollutions. Growing industries promoting environmental danger, which is an alarming threat to the ecosystem. For safeguard, the environment, detection of perilous gases and release of colored wastewater is required for eutrophication pollution. Researchers around the globe are trying their best efforts to save the environment. For this remediation advanced oxidation process is used for potential applications. ZnO is an important semiconductor photocatalyst with high photocatalytic and gas sensing activities. For efficient photocatalytic and gas sensing properties, it is necessary to prepare a doped/co-doped ZnO compound to decrease the electron-hole recombination rates. However, lanthanide doped and co-doped metal oxide is seldom studied for photocatalytic and gas sensing applications. The purpose of this study is to describe the best photocatalyst for the photodegradation of dyes and gas sensing properties. Methodology & Theoretical Orientation: Economical framework has to be used for the synthesis of ZnO. In the depth literature survey, a simple combustion method is utilized for gas sensing and photocatalytic activities. Findings: Rare earth doped and co-doped ZnO nanoparticles were the best photocatalysts for photodegradation of organic dyes and different gas sensing applications by varying various factors such as pH, aging time, and different concentrations of doping and codoping metals in ZnO. Complete degradation of dye was observed only in min. Gas sensing nanodevice showed a better response and quick recovery time for doped/co-doped ZnO. Conclusion & Significance: In order to prevent air and water pollution, well crystalline ZnO nanoparticles were synthesized by rapid and economic method, which is used as photocatalyst for photodegradation of organic dyes and gas sensing applications to sense the release of hazardous gases from the environment.

Keywords: ZnO, photocatalyst, photodegradation of dye, gas sensor

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Authors: Omar Concepcion, Osvaldo De Melo, Arturo Escobosa

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Topological insulator (TI) materials are insulating in the bulk and conducting in the surface. The unique electronic properties associated with these surface states make them strong candidates for exploring innovative quantum phenomena and as practical applications for quantum computing, spintronic and nanodevices. Many materials, including Bi₂Te₃, have been proposed as TIs and, in some cases, it has been demonstrated experimentally by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES), scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STM) and/or magnetotransport measurements. A clean surface is necessary in order to make any of this measurements. Several techniques have been used to produce films and different kinds of nanostructures. Growth and characterization in situ is usually the best option although cleaving the films can be an alternative to have a suitable surface. In the present work, we report a comparison of Bi₂Te₃ grown by physical vapor transport (PVT) and molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and ARPES. The Bi₂Te₃ samples grown by PVT, were cleaved in the ultra-high vacuum in order to obtain a surface free of contaminants. In both cases, the XRD shows a c-axis orientation and the pole diagrams proved the epitaxial relationship between film and substrate. The ARPES image shows the linear dispersion characteristic of the surface states of the TI materials. The samples grown by PVT, a relatively simple and cost-effective technique shows the same high quality and TI properties than the grown by MBE.

Keywords: Bismuth telluride, molecular beam epitaxy, physical vapor transport, topological insulator

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Authors: Varun A Baheti, Sanjay Kashyap, Kamanio Chattopadhyay, Praveen Kumar, Aloke Paul

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Ni–Sn system finds applications in the microelectronics industry, especially with respect to flip–chip or direct chip, attach technology. Here the region of interest is under bump metallization (UBM), and solder bump (Sn) interface due to the formation of brittle intermetallic phases there. Understanding the growth of these phases at UBM/Sn interface is important, as in many cases it controls the electro–mechanical properties of the product. Cu and Ni are the commonly used UBM materials. Cu is used for good bonding because of fast reaction with solder and Ni often acts as a diffusion barrier layer due to its inherently slower reaction kinetics with Sn–based solders. Investigation on the growth kinetics of phases in Ni–Sn system is reported in this study. Just for simplicity, Sn being major solder constituent is chosen. Ni–Sn electroplated diffusion couples are prepared by electroplating pure Sn on Ni substrate. Bulk diffusion couples prepared by the conventional method are also studied along with Ni–Sn electroplated diffusion couples. Diffusion couples are annealed for 25–1000 h at 50–215°C to study the phase evolutions and growth kinetics of various phases. The interdiffusion zone was analysed using field emission gun equipped scanning electron microscope (FE–SEM) for imaging. Indexing of selected area diffraction (SAD) patterns obtained from transmission electron microscope (TEM) and composition measurements done in electron probe micro−analyser (FE–EPMA) confirms the presence of various product phases grown across the interdiffusion zone. Time-dependent experiments indicate diffusion controlled growth of the product phase. The estimated activation energy in the temperature range 125–215°C for parabolic growth constants (and hence integrated interdiffusion coefficients) of the Ni₃Sn₄ phase shed light on the growth mechanism of the phase; whether its grain boundary controlled or lattice controlled diffusion. The location of the Kirkendall marker plane indicates that the Ni₃Sn₄ phase grows mainly by diffusion of Sn in the binary Ni–Sn system.

Keywords: diffusion, equilibrium phase, metastable phase, the Ni-Sn system

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Authors: Charlene N. T. Mfangnia, Henri Tonnang, Berge Tsanou, Jeremy Herren

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The Microsporidia MB found in the populations of anopheles is a recently discovered symbiont responsible for the Plasmodium transmission blocking. From early studies, it was established that the symbiont can be transmitted vertically and horizontally. The present study uses compartmental mathematical modelling approach to investigate the dynamics of Microsporidia transmission in the mosquito population with the mindset of establishing a mechanism for use to control malaria. Data and information obtained from laboratory experiments are used to estimate the model parameters with and without temperature dependency of mosquito traits. We carry out the mathematical analysis focusing on the equilibria states and their stability for the autonomous model. Through the modelling experiments, we are able to assess and confirm the contribution of vertical and horizontal transmission in the proliferation of Microsporidia MB in the mosquito population. In addition, the basic and target reproductions are computed, and some long-term behaviours of the model, such as the local (and global) stability of equilibrium points, are rigorously analysed and illustrated numerically. We establish the conditions responsible for the low prevalence of the symbiont-infected mosquitoes observed in nature. Moreover, we identify the male death rate, the mating rate and the attractiveness of MB-positive mosquitoes as mosquito traits that significantly influence the spread of Microsporidia MB. Furthermore, we highlight the influence of temperature in the establishment and persistence of MB-infected mosquitoes in a given area.

Keywords: microsporidia MB, vertical transmission, horizontal transmission, compartmental modelling approach, temperature-dependent mosquito traits, malaria, plasmodium-transmission blocking

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Authors: Changju Lee, Seungmo Ku, Sondo Kim, Woojin Chang

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How to detecting financial bubble? Addressing this simple question has been the focus of a vast amount of empirical research spanning almost half a century. However, financial bubble is hard to observe and varying over the time; there needs to be more research on this area. In this paper, we used abnormal difference between common stocks price and those preferred stocks price to explain financial bubble. First, we proposed the ‘W-index’ which indicates spread between common stocks and those preferred stocks in stock market. Second, to prove that this ‘W-index’ is valid for measuring financial bubble, we showed that there is an inverse relationship between this ‘W-index’ and S&P500 rate of return. Specifically, our hypothesis is that when ‘W-index’ is comparably higher than other periods, financial bubbles are added up in stock market and vice versa; according to our hypothesis, if investors made long term investments when ‘W-index’ is high, they would have negative rate of return; however, if investors made long term investments when ‘W-index’ is low, they would have positive rate of return. By comparing correlation values and adjusted R-squared values of between W-index and S&P500 return, VIX index and S&P500 return, and TED index and S&P500 return, we showed only W-index has significant relationship between S&P500 rate of return. In addition, we figured out how long investors should hold their investment position regard the effect of financial bubble. Using this W-index, investors could measure financial bubble in the market and invest with low risk.

Keywords: financial bubble detection, future return, forecasting, pairs trading, preferred stocks

Procedia PDF Downloads 368