Search results for: active abdominal compression

Authors: Maryam Sheikhzadeh Noshabadi

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There is no doubt that the Internet has connected the entire world. As a result of this flexible environment, virtual businesses have grown in importance and become one of the most important types of businesses. Although many governments use the internet and have free access to it, some are not happy with the free space and wide accessibility. As a result of recent events and civil protests in Iran, the country's government leaders have decided to once again cut off and filter its free and global Internet. Several issues were impacted by this decision; this includes the lives of businesses that were formed in virtual spaces platform. In this study, we explored the definitive impact of the Internet in Iran in September 1401, using semi-structured interviews with 20 digital marketing activists. This group was discussed in detail in terms of their financial and psychological damages. As a result of these conditions, this group has experienced a crisis of livelihood.

Keywords: internet, Iran, filtering, digital marketing.

Procedia PDF Downloads 73

Authors: Kim Kennedy, Daren Gibson, Stephanie Flukes, Chandra Diwakarla, Lisa Spalding, Leanne Pilkington, Andrew Redfern

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Introduction: Head and neck cancer and treatments are known for their profound effect on nutrition and tube feeding is a common requirement to maintain nutrition. Aim: We aimed to evaluate the frequency of tube feeding in Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal patients, and to examine the relapse and survival outcomes in patients who require enteral tube feeding. Methods: We performed a retrospective cohort analysis of 320 head and neck cancer patients from a single centre in Western Australia, identifying 80 Aboriginal patients and 240 non-Aboriginal patients matched on a 1:3 ratio by site, histology, rurality, and age. Data collected included patient demographics, tumour features, treatment details, and cancer and survival outcomes. Results: Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal patients required feeding tubes at similar rates (42.5% vs 46.2% respectively), however Aboriginal patients were far more likely to fail to return to oral nutrition, with 26.3% requiring long-term tube feeding versus only 15% of non-Aboriginal patients. In the overall study population, 27.5% required short-term tube feeding, 17.8% required long-term enteral tube nutrition, and 45.3% of patients did not have a feeding tube at any point. Relapse was more common in patients who required tube feeding, with relapses in 42.1% of the patients requiring long-term tube feeding, 31.8% in those requiring a short-term tube, versus 18.9% in the ‘no tube’ group. Survival outcomes for patients who required a long-term tube were also significantly poorer when compared to patients who only required a short-term tube, or not at all. Long-term tube-requiring patients were half as likely to survive (29.8%) compared to patients requiring a short-term tube (62.5%) or no tube at all (63.5%). Patients requiring a long-term tube were twice as likely to die with active disease (59.6%) as patients with no tube (28%), or a short term tube (33%). This may suggest an increased relapse risk in patients who require long-term feeding, due to consequences of malnutrition on cancer and treatment outcomes, although may simply reflect that patients with recurrent disease were more likely to have longer-term swallowing dysfunction due to recurrent disease and salvage treatments. Interestingly long-term tube patients were also more likely to die with no active disease (10.5%) (compared with short-term tube requiring patients (4.6%), or patients with no tube (8%)), which is likely reflective of the increased mortality associated with long-term aspiration and malnutrition issues. Conclusions: Requirement for tube feeding was associated with a higher rate of cancer relapse, and in particular, long-term tube feeding was associated with a higher likelihood of dying from head and neck cancer, but also a higher risk of dying from other causes without cancer relapse. This data reflects the complex effect of head and neck cancer and its treatments on swallowing and nutrition, and ultimately, the effects of malnutrition, swallowing dysfunction, and aspiration on overall cancer and survival outcomes. Tube feeding was seen at similar rates in Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal patient, however failure to return to oral intake with a requirement for a long-term feeding tube was seen far more commonly in the Aboriginal population.

Keywords: head and neck cancer, enteral tube feeding, malnutrition, survival, relapse, aboriginal patients

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Authors: Duvert A. Puentes T., Javier A. Maldonado E., Ivan Quintero., Diego F. Villegas

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Mechanical Computation is a great tool to study the performance of complex models. An example of it is the study of the human body structure. This paper took advantage of different types of software to make a 3D model of the glenohumeral joint and apply a finite element analysis. The main objective was to study the change in the biomechanical properties of the joint when it presents an injury. Specifically, a BANKART lesion, which consists in the detachment of the anteroinferior labrum from the glenoid. Stress and strain distribution of the soft tissues were the focus of this study. First, a 3D model was made of a joint without any pathology, as a control sample, using segmentation software for the bones with the support of medical imagery and a cadaveric model to represent the soft tissue. The joint was built to simulate a compression and external rotation test using CAD to prepare the model in the adequate position. When the healthy model was finished, it was submitted to a finite element analysis and the results were validated with experimental model data. With the validated model, it was sensitized to obtain the best mesh measurement. Finally, the geometry of the 3D model was changed to imitate a BANKART lesion. Then, the contact zone of the glenoid with the labrum was slightly separated simulating a tissue detachment. With this new geometry, the finite element analysis was applied again, and the results were compared with the control sample created initially. With the data gathered, this study can be used to improve understanding of the labrum tears. Nevertheless, it is important to remember that the computational analysis are approximations and the initial data was taken from an in vitro assay.

Keywords: biomechanics, computational model, finite elements, glenohumeral joint, bankart lesion, labrum

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Authors: Sheng-Bo Zhang, Huan-Hao Zhang, Zhi-Hua Chen, Chun Zheng

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In this paper, the Richtmyer-Meshkov instability has been studied numerically by using the high-resolution Roe scheme based on the two-dimensional unsteady Euler equation, which was caused by the interaction between shock wave and the helium circular light gas cylinder with different component distributions. The numerical results further discuss the deformation process of the gas cylinder, the wave structure of the flow field and quantitatively analyze the characteristic dimensions (length, height, and central axial width) of the gas cylinder, the volume compression ratio of the cylinder over time. In addition, the flow mechanism of shock-driven interface gas mixing is analyzed from multiple perspectives by combining it with the flow field pressure, velocity, circulation, and gas mixing rate. Then the effects of different initial component distribution conditions on interface instability are investigated. The results show when the diffusion interface transit to the sharp interface, the reflection coefficient gradually increases on both sides of the interface. When the incident shock wave interacts with the cylinder, the transmission of the shock wave will transit from conventional transmission to unconventional transmission. At the same time, the reflected shock wave is gradually strengthened, and the transmitted shock wave is gradually weakened, which leads to an increase in the Richtmyer-Meshkov instability. Moreover, the Atwood number on both sides of the interface also increases as the diffusion interface transit to the sharp interface, which leads to an increase in the Rayleigh-Taylor instability and the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability. Therefore, the increase in instability will lead to an increase the circulation, resulting in an increase in the growth rate of gas mixing rate.

Keywords: shock wave, He light cylinder, Richtmyer-Meshkov instability, Gaussian distribution

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Authors: John Kosmeh

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Introduction – For years, senior health care and skilled nursing facilities have been plagued with the dilemma of not having the necessary tools and equipment to adequately care for senior residents in their communities. This has led to high transport rates to emergency departments and high 30-day readmission rates, costing billions of unnecessary dollars each year, as well as quality assurance issues. Our Senior care telemedicine program is designed to solve this issue. Methods – We conducted a 1-year pilot program using our technology coupled with our 24/7 telemedicine program with skilled nursing facilities in different parts of the United States. We then compared transports rates and 30-day readmission rates to previous years before the use of our program, as well as transport rates of other communities of similar size not using our program. This data was able to give us a clear and concise look at the success rate of reducing unnecessary transport and readmissions as well as cost savings. Results – A 94% reduction nationally of unnecessary out-of-facility transports, and to date, complete elimination of 30-day readmissions. Our virtual platform allowed us to instruct facility staff on the utilization of our tools and system as well as deliver treatment by our ER-trained providers. Delay waiting for PCP callbacks was eliminated. We were able to obtain lung, heart, and abdominal ultrasound imaging, 12 lead EKG, blood labs, auscultate lung and heart sounds, and collect other diagnostic tests at the bedside within minutes, providing immediate care and allowing us to treat residents within the SNF. Are virtual capabilities allowed for loved ones, family members, and others who had medical power of attorney to virtually connect with us at the time of visit, to speak directly with the medical provider, providing increased confidence in the decision to treat the resident in-house. The decline in transports and readmissions will greatly reduce governmental cost burdens, as well as fines imposed on SNF for high 30-day readmissions, reduce the cost of Medicare A readmissions, and significantly impact the number of patients visiting overcrowded ERs. Discussion – By utilizing our program, SNF can effectively reduce the number of unnecessary transports of residents, as well as create significant savings from loss of day rates, transportation costs, and high CMS fines. The cost saving is in the thousands monthly, but more importantly, these facilities can create a higher quality of life and medical care for residents by providing definitive care instantly with ER-trained personnel.

Keywords: senior care, long term care, telemedicine, technology, senior care communities

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Authors: Ahmet Diken, Meral Erdirençelebi

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Similar to economies in many countries; family-owned enterprises have a significant role in the development of Turkish economy. Although they have a large share in economic terms, their lifetime is limited to working life of their founders. Failure in achieving their sustainability deeply affects not only these businesses but also the economy. Therefore, two basic elements of family owned enterprises, family and organizational culture and especially entrepreneurship culture, should be examined closely. The degree of effectiveness of parents in instilling their children with entrepreneurship culture and their effects on children's profession choices are examined through face-to-face surveys with the managers owning family businesses randomly chosen among family-owned enterprises registered in Konya Chamber of Industry, which are active in specific sectors and which had different generations in their management.

Keywords: family businesses, entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial culture, family culture

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Authors: Jeryes Danial, Yosi Ben Asher

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Algorithms for controlling a swarm of robots is an active research field, out of which cattle herding is one of the most complex problems to solve. In this paper, we derive an independent herding algorithm that is specifically designed for a swarm of quadcopters. The algorithm works by devising flight trajectories that cause the cows to run-away in the desired direction and hence herd cows that are distributed in a given field towards a common gathering point. Unlike previously proposed swarm herding algorithms, this algorithm does not use a flocking model but rather stars each cow separately. The effectiveness of this algorithm is verified experimentally using a simulator. We use a special set of experiments attempting to demonstrate that the herding times of this algorithm correspond to field diameter small constant regardless of the number of cows in the field. This is an optimal result indicating that the algorithm groups the cows into intermediate groups and herd them as one forming ever closing bigger groups.

Keywords: swarm, independent, distributed, algorithm

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Authors: Aydin Teymourifar, Gurkan Ozturk

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In this paper, a new hybrid Hopfield neural network is proposed for the dynamic, flexible job shop scheduling problem. A new heuristic based and easy to implement energy function is designed for the Hopfield neural network, which penalizes the constraints violation and decreases makespan. Moreover, for enhancing the performance, several heuristics are integrated to it that achieve active, and non-delay schedules also, prevent early convergence of the neural network. The suggested algorithm that is designed as a generalization of the previous studies for the flexible and dynamic scheduling problems can be used for solving real scheduling problems. Comparison of the presented hybrid method results with the previous studies results proves its efficiency.

Keywords: dynamic flexible job shop scheduling, neural network, heuristics, constrained optimization

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Authors: Mamta Kumari, Shashi Jain

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Tannins are a unique category of plant phytochemicals especially in terms of their vast potential health-benefiting properties. Researchers have described the capacity of tannins to enhance glucose uptake and inhibit adipogenesis, thus being potential drugs for the treatment of non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus. Thus, the present research was conducted to find out tannin content of food products. The percentage of tannin in various analyzed sources ranged from 0.0 to 108.53%; highest in kathaa and lowest in ker and mango bark. The percentage of tannins present in the plants, however, varies. Numerous studies have confirmed that the naturally occurring polyphenols are key factor for the beneficial effects of the herbal medicines. Isolation and identification of active constituents from plants, preparation of standardized dose & dosage regimen can play a significant role in improving the hypoglycaemic action.

Keywords: tannins, diabetes, polyphenols, antioxidant, hypoglycemia

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Authors: Hyeon-Seong Kim, Sang-Mi Park, Seul-Gi Kim, Seon-Ju Han, Leen-Seok Kang

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The use of BIM, including 4D CAD system, in a construction project is gradually increasing. Since the building construction works repeatedly in the vertical space, it is relatively easy to confirm the interference effect when applying the BIM, but the interference effect for the civil engineering project is relatively small because the civil works perform non-repetitive processes in the horizontal space. For this reason, it is desirable to apply BIM to the construction phase when applying BIM to the civil engineering project, and the most active BIM tool applied to the construction phase is the 4D CAD function for the schedule management. This paper proposes the application procedure of BIM by the construction phase of civil engineering project and a linear 4D CAD construction methodology suitable for the civil engineering project in which linear work is performed.

Keywords: BIM, 4D CAD, linear 4D simulation, VR

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Authors: G. Baranski, A. Majczak, M. Wendeker

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Currently, the most commonly used solution to provide fuel to the diesel engines is the Common Rail system. Compared to previous designs, as a due to relatively simple construction and electronic control systems, these systems allow achieving favourable engine operation parameters with particular emphasis on low emission of toxic compounds into the atmosphere. In this system, the amount of injected fuel dose is strictly dependent on the course of parameters of the electrical impulse sent by the power amplifier power supply system injector from the engine controller. The article presents the construction of a laboratory test bench to examine the course of the injection process and the expense in storage injection systems. The test bench enables testing of injection systems with electromagnetically controlled injectors with the use of scientific engineering tools. The developed system is based on LabView software and CompactRIO family controller using FPGA systems and a real time microcontroller. The results of experimental research on electromagnetic injectors of common rail system, controlled by a dedicated National Instruments card, confirm the effectiveness of the presented approach. The results of the research described in the article present the influence of basic parameters of the electric impulse opening the electromagnetic injector on the value of the injected fuel dose. Acknowledgement: This work has been realized in the cooperation with The Construction Office of WSK ‘PZL-KALISZ’ S.A.’ and is part of Grant Agreement No. POIR.01.02.00-00-0002/15 financed by the Polish National Centre for Research and Development.

Keywords: fuel injector, combustion engine, fuel pressure, compression ignition engine, power supply system, controller, LabVIEW

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Authors: Karima Chergui, Hichem Amrani, Hammoudi Mazouz, Fatiha Mezaache

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Cemented femoral resurfacings have experienced a revival for younger and more active patients. Future developments have shown that the uncemented version eliminates failures related to cementing implants. A three-dimensional finite element method (FEM) simulation was carried out in order to exploit a new resurfacing prothesis design named MARMEL, proposed by a recent study with Co–Cr–Mo material, for comparing a hip uncemented resurfacing with a novel carbon fiber/polyamide 12 (CF/PA12) composite to other hip resurfacing implants with various bio materials. From FE analysis, the von Mises stress range for the Composite hip resurfacing was much lower than that in the other hip resurfacing implants used in this comparison. These outcomes showed that the biomimetic hip resurfacing had the potential to reduce stress shielding and prevent from bone fracture compared to conventional hip resurfacing implants.

Keywords: biomechanics, carbon–fibre polyamide 12, finite element analysis, hip resurfacing

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Authors: Bahram Talebjedi, Emily Earl, Mina Hoorfar

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One of the issues that arises with microscale lab-on-a-chip technology is that the laminar flow within the microchannels limits the mixing of fluids. To combat this, micromixers have been introduced as a means to try and incorporate turbulence into the flow to better aid the mixing process. This study presents an electroosmotic micromixer that balances vortex generation and degeneration with the inlet flow velocity to greatly increase the mixing efficiency. A comprehensive parametric study was performed to evaluate the role of the relevant parameters on the mixing efficiency. It was observed that the suggested micromixer is perfectly suited for biological applications due to its low pressure drop (below 10 Pa) and low shear rate. The proposed micromixer with optimized working parameters is able to attain a mixing efficiency of 95% in a span of 0.5 seconds using a frequency of 10 Hz, a voltage of 0.7 V, and an inlet velocity of 0.366 mm/s.

Keywords: microfluidics, active mixer, pulsed AC electroosmosis flow, micromixer

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Authors: Mahmoud Samkan

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Dispersed Generation (DG) is a promising solution to many power system problems such as voltage regulation and power loss. This paper proposes a heuristic two-step method to optimize the location and size of DG for reducing active power losses and, therefore, improve the voltage profile in radial distribution networks. In addition to a DG placed at the system load gravity center, this method consists in assigning a DG to each lateral of the network. After having determined the central DG placement, the location and size of each lateral DG are predetermined in the first step. The results are then refined in the second step. This method is tested for 33-bus system for 100% DG penetration. The results obtained are compared with those of other methods found in the literature.

Keywords: optimal location, optimal size, dispersed generation (DG), radial distribution networks, reducing losses

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Authors: Manal M. Kame, Hanan G. El-Baz, Zeinab A.Demerdash, Engy M. Abd El-Moneem, Mohamed A. Hendawy, Ibrahim R. Bayoumi

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There is a constant need to improve the performance of current diagnostic assays of schistosomiasis as well as develop innovative testing strategies to meet new testing challenges. This study aims at increasing the diagnostic efficiency of monoclonal antibody (MAb)-based antigen detection assays through gold nanoparticles conjugated with specific anti-Schistosoma mansoni monoclonal antibodies. In this study, several hybidoma cell lines secreting MAbs against adult worm tegumental Schistosoma antigen (AWTA) were produced at Immunology Department of Theodor Bilharz Research Institute and preserved in liquid nitrogen. One MAb (6D/6F) was chosen for this study due to its high reactivity to schistosome antigens with highest optical density (OD) values. Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) were functionalized and conjugated with MAb (6D/6F). The study was conducted on serum samples of 116 subjects: 71 patients with S. mansoni eggs in their stool samples group (gp 1), 25 with other parasites (gp2) and 20 negative healthy controls (gp3). Patients in gp1 were further subdivided according to egg count in their stool samples into Light infection {≤ 50 egg per gram(epg) (n= 17)}, moderate {51-100 epg (n= 33)} and severe infection {>100 epg(n= 21)}. Sandwich ELISA was performed using (AuNPs -MAb) for detection of circulating schistosomal antigen (CSA) levels in serum samples of all groups and the results were compared with that after using MAb/ sandwich ELISA system. Results Gold- MAb/ ELISA system reached a lower detection limit of 10 ng/ml compared to 85 ng/ml on using MAb/ ELISA and the optimal concentrations of AuNPs -MAb were found to be 12 folds less than that of MAb/ ELISA system for detection of CSA. The sensitivity and specificity of sandwich ELISA for detection of CSA levels using AuNPs -MAb were 100% & 97.8 % respectively compared to 87.3% &93.38% respectively on using MAb/ ELISA system. It was found that CSA was detected in 9 out of 71 S.mansoni infected patients on using AuNPs - MAb/ ELISA system and was not detected by MAb/ ELISA system. All those patients (9) was found to have an egg count below 50 epg feces (patients with light infections). ROC curve analyses revealed that sandwich ELISA using gold-MAb was an excellent diagnostic investigator that could differentiate Schistosoma patients from healthy controls, on the other hand it revealed that sandwich ELISA using MAb was not accurate enough as it could not recognize nine out of 71 patients with light infections. Conclusion Our data demonstrated that: Loading gold nanoparticles with MAb (6D/6F) increases the sensitivity and specificity of sandwich ELISA for detection of CSA, thus active (early) and light infections could be easily detected. Moreover this binding will decrease the amount of MAb consumed in the assay and lower the coast. The significant positive correlation that was detected between ova count (intensity of infection) and OD reading in sandwich ELISA using gold- MAb enables its use to detect the severity of infections and follow up patients after treatment for monitoring of cure.

Keywords: Schistosomiasis, nanoparticles, gold, monoclonal antibodies, ELISA

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Authors: Elsayed Amer, Tarek Essam, Abdullah Hella, Mohammed Al-Ajmi

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Hydrocarbon production decline in mature gas fields is inevitable, and mitigating these circumstances is essential to ensure a longer production period. Production decline is not only influenced by reservoir pressure and wellbore integrity; however, associated liquids in the reservoir rock have a considerable impact on the production process. The associated liquid may result in liquid loading, near wellbore damage, condensate banking, fine sand migration, and wellhead pressure depletion. Consequently, the producing well will suffocate, and the liquid column will seize the well from flowing. A common solution in such circumstances is reducing the surface pressure by opening the well to the atmospheric pressure and flaring the produced liquids. This practice may not be applicable to many cases since the atmospheric pressure is not low enough to create a sufficient driving force to flow the well. In addition, flaring the produced hydrocarbon is solving the issue on account of the environment, which is against the world's efforts to mitigate the impact of climate change. This paper presents a novel approach and a case study that utilizes a multi-phase mobile wellhead gas compression unit (MMWGC) to reduce surface pressure to the sub-atmospheric level and transfer the produced hydrocarbons to the sales line. As a result, the liquid column will unload in a zero-flaring manner, and the life of the producing well will extend considerably. The MMWGC unit was able to successfully kick off a dead well to produce up to 10 MMSCFD after reducing the surface pressure for 3 hours. Applying such novelty on a broader scale will not only extend the life of the producing wells yet will also provide a zero-flaring, economically and environmentally preferred solution.

Keywords: petroleum engineering, zero-flaring, liquid loading, well revival

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Authors: Mohamed Tamer, Wink Michael

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DNA intercalating agents increase the stability of DNA which can be demonstrated by measuring the melting temperature Tm. Tm can be determined in a spectrophotometer in which the cell temperature is increased gradually. The resulting absorption data comes as a sigmoidal curve from which melting temperature can be determined when half of the DNA has denatured. The current study aims to assess DNA intercalating activities of four pure bioactive isoquinoline alkaloids: sanguinarine, berberine, allocryptopine, and chelerythrine which were isolated from Chelidonium majus (Papaveraceae) by repeated silica gel column chromatography, recrystallization and preparative TLC. The isolated compounds were identified by comparing their physical properties and mass spectra with those of the published data. The results showed that sanguiarine is the most active intercalating agent with Tm value of 83.55 ± 0.49 followed by berberine, chelerythrine, and allocryptopine with Tm values 62.58 ± 0.47, 51.38 ± 0.37 and 50.94 ± 0.65, respectively, relative to 49.78 ± 1.05 of bacteriophage DNA alone and 86.09 ± 0.5 for ethidium bromide as a positive control.

Keywords: alkaloids, Chelidonium majus, DNA intercalation, Tm

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Authors: José Carlos Bronze, Carlinda Leite, Angélica Monteiro

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The creation of the Erasmus Program in 1987 represented a milestone in promoting and funding international mobility in higher education in Europe. Its effects were so significant that they influenced the creation of the European Higher Education Area through the Bologna Process and ensured the program’s continuation and maintenance. Over the last decades, the escalating figures of participants and funds instigated significant scientific studies on the program's effects on higher education. More recently, in 2014, the program was renamed “Erasmus+” when it expanded into other fields of education, namely Vocational Education and Training (VET). Despite being now running in this field of education for a decade (2014-2024), its effects on VET remain less studied and less known, while the higher education field keeps attracting researchers’ attention. Given this gap, it becomes relevant to study the effects of E+ on VET, particularly in the priority domains of the Program: “Inclusion and Diversity,” “Participation in Democratic Life, Common Values and Civic Engagement,” “Environment and Fight Against Climate Change,” and “Digital Transformation.” This latter has been recently emphasized due to the COVID-19 pandemic that forced the so-called emergency remote teaching, leading schools to quickly transform and adapt to a new reality regardless of the preparedness levels of teachers and students. Together with the remaining E+ priorities, they directly relate to an emancipatory perspective of education sustained in soft skills such as critical thinking, intercultural awareness, autonomy, active citizenship, teamwork, and problem-solving, among others. Based on this situation, it is relevant to know the effects of E+ on the VET field, namely questioning how international mobility instigates digitalization processes and supports emancipatory queries therein. As an education field that more directly connects to hard skills and an instrumental approach oriented to the labor market’s needs, a study was conducted to determine the effects of international mobility on developing digital literacy and soft skills in the VET field. In methodological terms, the study used semi-structured interviews with teaching and non-teaching staff from three VET schools who are strongly active in the E+ Program. The interviewees were three headmasters, four mobility project managers, and eight teachers experienced in international mobility. The data was subjected to qualitative content analysis using the NVivo 14 application. The results show that E+ international mobility promotes and facilitates the use of digital technologies as a pedagogical resource at VET schools and enhances and generates students’ soft skills. In conclusion, E+ mobility in the VET field supports adopting the program’s priorities by increasing the teachers’ knowledge and use of digital resources and amplifying and generating participants’ soft skills.

Keywords: Erasmus international mobility, digital literacy, soft skills, vocational education and training

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Authors: Hossein Bayahia, Mohammed Saad Motlaq Al-Gahmdi

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The gas-phase deoxygenation of propionic acid was investigated in the presence of Co-Mo catalysts in N2 or H2 flow at 200-400 °C. In the presence of N2 the main product was 3-pentanone with other deoxygenates and some light gases: ethane and ethene. Using H2 flow, the catalyst was active for decarboxylation and decarbonylation of acid and the yields of ethane and ethene. The decarboxylation and decarbonylation reactions increased with increasing temperature. Cobalt-molybdenum supported on alumina showed better performance than bulk catalyst, especially at 400 °C in the presence of N2 for the ketonisation of propionic acid to form 3-pentanone as the main product. Bulk and supported catalysts were characterized by surface area porosity (BET), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (DRIFTS) of pyridine adsorption.

Keywords: deoxygenation, propionic acid, gas-phase, catalyst

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Authors: Liang-Yi Lin, Hsunling Bai

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In this work, transition metal (metal= Co, Fe, Ni, Cu, and Mn) modified cerium oxide catalysts supported on mesoporous aluminosilicate particles (Ce/Al-MSPs) were prepared using waste silicate as the precursors through aerosol-assisted flow process, and their catalytic performances were investigated for acetone incineration. Tests on the bimetallic Ce/Al-MSPs and Mn/Al-MSPs and trimetallic Mn-Ce, Fe-Ce, Co-Ce, Ni-Ce, and Cu-Ce/Al-MSPs in the temperature range of 100-300 oC demonstrated that Ce was the main active metal while Mn acted as a suitable promoter in acetone incineration reactions. Among tested catalysts, Mn-Ce/Al-MSPs with a Mn/Ce molar ratio of 2/1 exhibited the highest acetone catalytic activity. Moreover, the synergetic effect was observed for trimetallic Mn-Ce/Al-MSPs on the acetone removal as compared to the bimetallic Ce/Al-MSPs or Mn/Al-MSPs catalysts.

Keywords: acetone, catalytic oxidation, cerium oxide, mesoporous silica

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Authors: Ganga Brahma

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Boro employs verbs hooked up with morphemes which lead verbs to adjust with their arguments and hence, affecting the whole of sentence structures. This paper is based on few such syntactic parameters which are usually considered as argument decreasing parameters in linguistic works. Passivizing of few transitive clauses which are usually construed from the verbs occurring with certain morphemes and representation in middle constructions are few of such strategies which lead to conceptualizing of decreasing of syntactic arguments from a sentence. This paper focuses on the mentioned linguistic strategies and attempts to describe the linguistic processes as for how these parameters work in languages especially by concentrating on a particular Tibeto-Burman language i.e. Boro. Boro is a Tibeto-Burman language widely spoken in parts of the north-eastern regions of India. It has an agglutinative nature in forming words as well as clauses. There is a morpheme ‘za’ which means ‘to happen, become’ in Boro whose appearances with verb roots denotes an idea of the subject being passivized. Passivization, usually has notions that it is a reversed representation of its active sentence forms in the terms of argument placements. (However, it is not accountably true as passives and actives have some distinct features of their own and independent of one and the other.) This particular work will concentrate on the semantics of passivization at the same time along with its syntactic reality. The verb khɑo meaning ‘to steal’ offers a sense of passivization with the appearance of the morpheme zɑ which means ‘to happen, become’ (e.g Zunu-ɑ lama-ɑo phɯisɑ khɑo-zɑ-bɑi; Junu-NOM road-LOC money steal-PASS-PRES: Junu got her money stolen on the road). The focus, here, is more on the argument placed at the subject position (i.e. Zunu) and the event taken place. The semantics of such construction asks for the agent because without an agent the event could not have taken place. However, the syntactic elements fill the slots of relegated or temporarily deleted agent which, infact, is the actual subject cum agent in its active representation. Due to the event marker ‘zɑ’ in this presentation it affords to reduce one participant from such a situation which in actual is made up of three participants. Hence, the structure of di-transitive construction here reduces to mono-transitive structure. Unlike passivization, middle construction does not allow relegation of the agents. It permanently deletes agents. However, it also focuses on the fore-grounded subject and highlighting on the changed states on the subjects which happens to be the underlying objects of their respective transitive structures (with agents). This work intends to describe how these two parameters which are different at their semantic realization can meet together at a syntactic level in order to create a linguistic parameter that decreases participants from their actual structures which are with more than one participant.

Keywords: argument-decrease, middle-construction, passivization, transitivity-intransitivity

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Authors: Rochelle Yun Ge

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University has played an active role in the country’s development in China. There has been an increasing research interest on the development of higher education cooperation, talent cultivation and attraction, and innovation in the regional development. The Triple Helix model, which indicates that regional innovation and development can be engendered by collaboration among university, industry and government, is often adopted as research framework. The research using triple helix model emphasizes the active and often leading role of university in knowledge-based economy. Within this framework, universities are conceptualized as key institutions of knowledge production, transmission and transference potentially making critical contributions to regional development. Recent research almost uniformly consistent in indicating the high-level research labours (i.e., doctoral, post-doctoral researchers and academics) as important actors in the innovation ecosystem with their cross-geographical human capital and resources presented. In 2019, the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) was officially launched as an important strategy by the Chinese government to boost the regional development of the Pearl River Delta and to support the realization of “One Belt One Road” strategy. Human Capital formation is at the center of this plan. One of the strategic goals of the GBA development is set to evolve into an international educational hub and innovation center with high-level talents. A number of policies have been issued to attract and cultivate human resources in different GBA cities, in particular for the high-level R&D (research and development) talents such as doctoral and post-doctoral researchers. To better understand the development of high-level talents hub in the GBA, more empirical considerations should be given to explore the approaches of talents cultivation and attraction in the GBA. What remains to explore is the ways to better attract, train, support and retain these talents in the cross-systems context. This paper aims to investigate the role of university in human capital development under China’s national agenda of GBA integration through the lens of universities and actors. Two flagship comprehensive universities are selected to be the cases and 30 interviews with university officials, research leaders, post-doctors and doctoral candidates are used for analysis. In particular, we look at in what ways have universities aligned their strategies and practices to the Chinese government’s GBA development strategy? What strategies and practices have been developed by universities for the cultivation and attraction of high-level research labor? And what impacts the universities have made for the regional development? The main arguments of this research highlights the specific ways in which universities in smaller sub-regions can collaborate in high-level human capital formation and the role policy can play in facilitating such collaborations.

Keywords: university, human capital, regional development, triple-helix model

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Authors: W. S. Li, S. T. Yang, H. C. Cheng

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The power conversion efficiency (PCE) of the perovskite solar cells has been achieved by inserting vertically-aligned ZnO nanowires (NWs) between the cathode and the active layer and shows better solar cells performance. Perovskite solar cells have drawn significant attention due to the superb efficiency and low-cost fabrication process. In this experiment, ZnO nanowires are used as the electron transport layer (ETL) due to its low temperature process. The main idea of this thesis is utilizing the 3D structures of the hydrothermally-grown ZnO nanowires to increase the junction area to improve the photovoltaic performance of the perovskite solar cells. The infiltration and the surface coverage of the perovskite precursor solution changed as tuning the length of the ZnO nanowires. It is revealed that the devices with ZnO nanowires of 150 nm demonstrated the best PCE of 8.46 % under the AM 1.5G illumination (100 mW/cm2).

Keywords: hydrothermally-grown ZnO nanowires, perovskite solar cells, low temperature process, pinholes

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Authors: Priyanka Gupta, Nilanjana Bairagi, Deepti Gupta

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New pathogenic strains of microbes are continually emerging and resistance of bacteria to antibiotics is growing. Hospitals in India have a high burden of infections in their intensive care units and general wards. Rising incidence of hospital infections is a matter of great concern in India. This growth is often attributed to the absence of effective infection control strategies in healthcare facilities. Government, therefore, is looking for cost effective strategies that are effective against HAIs. One possible method is by application of an antimicrobial finish on the uniform. But there are limited studies to show the effect of antimicrobial activity of antimicrobial finish treated nurses’ uniforms in a real hospital set up. This paper proposes a prospective non-destructive sampling technique, based on the use of a detachable fabric patch, to assess the effectiveness of silver based antimicrobial agent across five wards in a tertiary care government hospital in Delhi, India. Fabrics like polyester and polyester cotton blend fabric which are more prevalent for making coats were selected for the study. Polyester and polyester cotton blend fabric was treated with silver based antimicrobial (AM) finish. At the beginning of shift, a composite patch of untreated and treated fabric respectively was stitched on the abdominal region on the left and right side of the washed white coat of participating nurse. At the end of the shift, the patch was removed and taken for bacterial sampling on Brain Heart Infusion (BHI) plates. Microbial contamination on polyester and blend fabrics after 6 hours shift was compared in Brain Heart Infusion broth (BHI). All patches treated with silver based antimicrobial agent showed decreased bacterial counts. Percent reduction in the bacterial colonies after the antimicrobial treatment in both fabrics was 81.0 %. Antimicrobial finish was equally effective in reducing microbial adhesion on both fabric types. White coats of nurses become progressively contaminated during clinical care. Type of fabric used to make the coat can affect the extent of contamination which is higher on polyester cotton blend as compared to 100% polyester. The study highlights the importance of silver based antimicrobial finish in the area of uniform hygiene. Bacterial load can be reduced by using antimicrobial finish on hospital uniforms. Hospital staff uniforms endowed with antimicrobial properties may be of great help in reducing the occurrence and spread of infections.

Keywords: antimicrobial finish, bacteria, infection control, silver, white coat

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Authors: Zuhair Kadhim Jahanger, S. Joseph Antony

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The available studies in the literature which dealt with the scale effects of strip footings on different sand packing systematically still remain scarce. In this research, the variation of ultimate bearing capacity and deformation pattern of soil beneath strip footings of different widths under plane-strain condition on the surface of loose, medium-dense and dense sand have been systematically studied using experimental and noninvasive methods for measuring microscopic deformations. The presented analyses are based on model scale compression test analysed using Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) technique. Upper bound analysis of the current study shows that the maximum vertical displacement of the sand under the ultimate load increases for an increase in the width of footing, but at a decreasing rate with relative density of sand, whereas the relative vertical displacement in the sand decreases for an increase in the width of the footing. A well agreement is observed between experimental results for different footing widths and relative densities. The experimental analyses have shown that there exists pronounced scale effect for strip surface footing. The bearing capacity factors Nγ rapidly decrease up to footing widths B=0.25 m, 0.35 m, and 0.65 m for loose, medium-dense and dense sand respectively, after that there is no significant decrease in Nγ. The deformation modes of the soil as well as the ultimate bearing capacity values have been affected by the footing widths. The obtained results could be used to improve settlement calculation of the foundation interacting with granular soil.

Keywords: DPIV, granular mechanics, scale effect, upper bound analysis

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Authors: Vedat Senol, Gursoy Turan, Anders Helmersson, Vortechz Andersson

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In developing a mathematical model of a real structure, the simulation results of the model may not match the real structural response. This is a general problem that arises during dynamic motion of the structure, which may be modeled by means of parameter variations in the stiffness, damping, and mass matrices. These changes in parameters need to be estimated, and the mathematical model is updated to obtain higher control performances and robustness. In this study, a linear fractional transformation (LFT) is utilized for uncertainty modeling. Further, a general approach to the design of an H∞ control of a magneto-rheological damper (MRD) for vibration reduction in a building with mass, damping, and stiffness uncertainties is presented.

Keywords: uncertainty modeling, structural control, MR Damper, H∞, robust control

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Authors: Pouriya Angosht Baft, Farzan Safari Sabet

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Globalization should be considered as a process that has affected all areas of human activity, including the foreign policy of countries. The phenomenon of globalization has created tremendous changes in the economic, political and cultural fields. Obviously, no country can keep itself away from the new global consequences and globalization process. Dealing with the world requires formulating a realistic and intelligent foreign policy. By examining the phenomenon of globalization and its impact on foreign policy, this article aims to provide solutions for formulating a more active and effective foreign policy. The conclusion of this research is that Iran's foreign policy has gradually moved towards more realism and maintaining and strengthening national interests in the changing world has been the focus of foreign policy makers and decision makers. Strengthening the course of more realism in the future should be at the center of formulating Iran's foreign policy.

Keywords: globalization, foreign policy, international relations, realism, iran

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Authors: D. A. Carnegie

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Whilst there is a movement towards increased digital augmentation in order to facilitate effective tertiary learning, this must come with an awareness of the limitations of such an approach. Learning is best achieved in an environment that includes their learning peers where difficulties can be shared and learning enabled. Policy that advocates for digital technology in place of a physical classroom is dangerous and is often driven by financial concerns rather than pedagogical ones. In this paper, a mostly digital-less form of teaching is presented – one that has proven to be extremely effective. Implicit is anecdotal evidence that student prefer the old overhead transparencies to PowerPoint presentations. Varying and reinforcing assessment, facilitation of effective note-taking, and just actively engaging with students is at the core of a good tertiary education experience. Digital techniques can augment and complement, but not replace these core personal teaching requirements.

Keywords: engineering education, active classroom engagement, effective note taking, reinforcing assessment

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Authors: M. Djekoun, H. Berrebah, M. R. Djebar

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Fusarium wilt attacks the plants of major economic interest including wheat. This disease causes many problems for farmers and economic loss resulting are often very heavy. Chemical control is currently one of the most effective ways to fight against these diseases. In this study, the efficacy of three fungicides (tebuconazole, thiram and fludioxonil - difenoconazole mixture) was tested, in vitro, on the phytopathogenic Fusarium sp. isolated from seeds of wheat. The active ingredients were tested at different concentrations: 0.06, 1.39, 2.79, 5.58, and 11.16 mg/l for tebuconazole, 0.035, 0.052, 0.105, 0.21, and 0.42 mg/l for thiram and finally, for the mixture fludioxonil- difenoconazole 4 concentrations were tested : 0.05, 0.1, 0.5, and 1 mg/l. Toxicity responses were expressed as the effective concentration, which inhibits mycelial growth by 50%, (EC50). Of the three selected fungicides, thirame proved to be the most effective with EC50 value of the order of 0,15 mg/l followed by the mixture of fludioxonil- difenoconazole with 0,27 mg/l and finally tebuconazole with a value of 3.79 mg/l.

Keywords: Fusarium sp, thiram, tebuconazole, fludioxonil, difenoconazole, EC50

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Authors: An-Ya Lo, Yi-Chen Chung, Yun-Chi Hsu, Chuan-Ming Tseng, Chiu-Yue Lin

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In this study, the ternary alloy catalyst Pt20RuxSny (where 20, x, y represent mass fractions of Pt, Ru, and Sn, respectively) was optimized for the preliminary study of bio-ethanol fuel cells (BAFC). The morphology, microstructure, composition, phase-structures, and electrochemical properties of Pt20RuxSny catalyst were examined by SEM, TEM, EDS-mapping, XRD, and potentiostat. The effect of Sn content on electrochemical active surface (EAS) and oxidation activity were discussed. As a result, the additional Sn greatly improves the efficiency of Pt20RuxSny, either x=0 or 10. Through discussing the difference between ethanol and glycol oxidations, the mechanism of tolerance against poisoning has been proved. Overall speaking, the catalytic activity are in the order of Pt20RuxSny > Pt20Rux > Pt20Sny in both ethanol and glycol systems. Finally, Pt20Ru10Sn15 catalyst was successfully applied to demonstrate the feasibility of using bio-alcohol.

Keywords: Pt-Sn alloy catalyst, Pt-Ru-Sn alloy catalyst, fuel cell, ethanol, ethylene glycol

Procedia PDF Downloads 411