Search results for: feeding pattern

Authors: Danny Alexander R. Moreno, Gustavo L. Sartorello, Yuli Andrea P. Bermudez, Richard R. Lobo, Ives Claudio S. Bueno, Augusto H. Gameiro

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Meat production is a significant sector for Brazil's economy; however, the agricultural segment has suffered censure regarding the negative impacts on the environment, which consequently results in climate change. Therefore, it is essential the implementation of nutritional strategies that can improve the environmental performance of livestock. This research aimed to estimate the environmental impact and profitability of the use of yerba mate extract (Ilex paraguariensis) as an additive in the feeding of feedlot lamb. Thirty-six castrated male lambs (average weight of 23.90 ± 3.67 kg and average age of 75 days) were randomly assigned to four experimental diets with different levels of inclusion of yerba mate extract (0, 1, 2, and 4 %) based on dry matter. The animals were confined for fifty-three days and fed with 60:40 corn silage to concentrate ratio. As an indicator of environmental impact, the carbon footprint (CF) was measured as kg of CO₂ equivalent (CO₂-eq) per kg of body weight produced (BWP). The greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions such as methane (CH₄) generated from enteric fermentation, were calculated using the sulfur hexafluoride gas tracer (SF₆) technique; while the CH₄, nitrous oxide (N₂O - emissions generated by feces and urine), and carbon dioxide (CO₂ - emissions generated by concentrate and silage processing) were estimated using the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) methodology. To estimate profitability, the gross margin was used, which is the total revenue minus the total cost; the latter is composed of the purchase of animals and food. The boundaries of this study considered only the lamb fattening system. The enteric CH₄ emission from the lamb was the largest source of on-farm GHG emissions (47%-50%), followed by CH₄ and N₂O emissions from manure (10%-20%) and CO₂ emission from the concentrate, silage, and fossil energy (17%-5%). The treatment that generated the least environmental impact was the group with 4% of yerba mate extract (YME), which showed a 3% reduction in total GHG emissions in relation to the control (1462.5 and 1505.5 kg CO₂-eq, respectively). However, the scenario with 1% YME showed an increase in emissions of 7% compared to the control group. In relation to CF, the treatment with 4% YME had the lowest value (4.1 kg CO₂-eq/kg LW) compared with the other groups. Nevertheless, although the 4% YME inclusion scenario showed the lowest CF, the gross margin decreased by 36% compared to the control group (0% YME), due to the cost of YME as a food additive. The results showed that the extract has the potential for use in reducing GHG. However, the cost of implementing this input as a mitigation strategy increased the production cost. Therefore, it is important to develop political strategies that help reduce the acquisition costs of input that contribute to the search for the environmental and economic benefit of the livestock sector.

Keywords: meat production, natural additives, profitability, sheep

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Authors: Dongju Kim, Youngjoo Suh, Hyojin Kim, Gyeongyeong Kim

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Acoustic Emission Testing (AET) is widely used to test the structural integrity of an operational hydrogen storage container, and clustering algorithms are frequently used in pattern recognition methods to interpret AET results. However, the interpretation of AET results can vary from user to user as the tuning of the relevant parameters relies on the user's experience and knowledge of AET. Therefore, it is necessary to use a deep learning model to identify patterns in acoustic emission (AE) signal data that can be used to classify defects instead. In this paper, a deep learning-based model for classifying the types of defects in hydrogen storage tanks, using AE sensor waveforms, is proposed. As hydrogen storage tanks are commonly constructed using carbon fiber reinforced polymer composite (CFRP), a defect classification dataset is collected through a tensile test on a specimen of CFRP with an AE sensor attached. The performance of the classification model, using one-dimensional convolutional neural network (1-D CNN) and synthetic minority oversampling technique (SMOTE) data augmentation, achieved 91.09% accuracy for each defect. It is expected that the deep learning classification model in this paper, used with AET, will help in evaluating the operational safety of hydrogen storage containers.

Keywords: acoustic emission testing, carbon fiber reinforced polymer composite, one-dimensional convolutional neural network, smote data augmentation

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Authors: Anton A. Bykov, Irina O. Glot, Igor N. Shardakov, Alexey P. Shestakov

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This paper presents the results of experimental and theoretical investigations of the mechanisms of crack formation in reinforced concrete beams subjected to quasi-static bending. The boundary-value problem has been formulated in the framework of brittle fracture mechanics and has been solved by using the finite-element method. Numerical simulation of the vibrations of an uncracked beam and a beam with cracks of different size serves to determine the pattern of changes in the spectrum of eigenfrequencies observed during crack evolution. Experiments were performed on the sequential quasistatic four-point bending of the beam leading to the formation of cracks in concrete. At each loading stage, the beam was subjected to an impulse load to induce vibrations. Two stages of cracking were detected. At the first stage the conservative process of deformation is realized. The second stage is an active cracking, which is marked by a sharp change in eingenfrequencies. The boundary of a transition from one stage to another is well registered. The vibration behavior was examined for the beams strengthened by carbon-fiber sheet before loading and at the intermediate stage of loading after the grouting of initial cracks. The obtained results show that the vibrodiagnostic approach is an effective tool for monitoring of cracking and for assessing the quality of measures aimed at strengthening concrete structures.

Keywords: crack formation, experiment, mathematical modeling, reinforced concrete, vibrodiagnostics

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Authors: Sebastian Töpfer, Jorge Fuenzalida, Marta Gilaberte Basset, Juan P. Torres, Markus Gräfe

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This work presents an experimental and theoretical study about the noise resilience of quantum holography with undetected photons. Quantum imaging has become an important research topic in the recent years after its first publication in 2014. Following this research, advances towards different spectral ranges in detection and different optical geometries have been made. Especially an interest in the field of near infrared to mid infrared measurements has developed, because of the unique characteristic, that allows to sample a probe with photons in a different wavelength than the photons arriving at the detector. This promising effect can be used for medical applications, to measure in the so-called molecule fingerprint region, while using broadly available detectors for the visible spectral range. Further advance the development of quantum imaging methods have been made by new measurement and detection schemes. One of which is quantum holography with undetected light. It combines digital phase shifting holography with quantum imaging to extent the obtainable sample information, by measuring not only the object transmission, but also its influence on the phase shift experienced by the transmitted light. This work will present extended research for the quantum holography with undetected light scheme regarding the influence of external noise. It is shown experimentally and theoretically that the samples information can still be at noise levels of 250 times higher than the signal level, because of its information being transmitted by the interferometric pattern. A detailed theoretic explanation is also provided.

Keywords: distillation, quantum holography, quantum imaging, quantum metrology

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Authors: Sunday Sedodo Nupo, Clara Berstien Oguntona, Babatunde Oguntona, Oluseyi Akinloye, P. A. Olunusi Adeboye

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Cardiovascular diseases are now becoming dominant sources of morbidity and mortality worldwide. This study investigated the lipid profile of civil servants. A cross-sectional study was carried out among randomly selected 202 male and 298 female civil servants in Abeokuta Ogun state. A pretested structured questionnaire was used to elicit information on history of non-communicable diseases and physical activity pattern of the respondents. The blood pressures of the subjects were measured and classified using World Health Organization criteria. The total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), high-density lipoprotein (HDL). Ethical approval was obtained from Ogun State Ministry of Health. Data collected were analysed using Statistical package for social science version 17.1. Results showed that majority (76%) of the subjects were within the age range of 20 - 40 years, 75% earned between N58,500 - N98,000 monthly and 68% were sedentary. The mean energy intake of men and women were 3942±38 kcal and 2791±3 kcal respectively, while the protein intake for men was 65±49 g/day and 54.28±40 g/day for women. Desirable TC level (<200 mg/dl) was found in 80% of the selected subjects while the normal TG (<150 mg/dl) and LDL (<129 mg/dl) was found in 95% and 90% subjects respectively. The mean TC was 78.91±11 mg/dl and 62.69±9 mg/dl in men and women respectively. The study showed that most of the subjects had normal lipid in terms of serum triglycerides, total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol and LDL cholesterol.

Keywords: high density lipoprotein, morbidity, mortality, triglycerides

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Authors: Eva Tolmeijer, Emmanuelle Peters, Veena Kumari, Liam Mason

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Cognitive behavioral therapy for psychosis (CBTp) is effective in many but not all patients, making it important to better understand the factors that determine treatment outcomes. To date, no studies have examined whether neuroimaging can make clinically useful predictions about who will respond to CBTp. To this end, we used machine learning methods that make predictions about symptom improvement at the individual patient level. Prior to receiving CBTp, 22 patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia completed a social-affective processing task during functional MRI. Multivariate pattern analysis assessed whether treatment response could be predicted by brain activation responses to facial affect that was either socially threatening or prosocial. The resulting models did significantly predict symptom improvement, with distinct multivariate signatures predicting psychotic (r=0.54, p=0.01) and affective (r=0.32, p=0.05) symptoms. Psychotic symptom improvement was accurately predicted from relatively focal threat-related activation across hippocampal, occipital, and temporal regions; affective symptom improvement was predicted by a more dispersed profile of responses to prosocial affect. These findings enrich our understanding of the neurobiological underpinning of treatment response. This study provides a foundation that will hopefully lead to greater precision and tailoring of the interventions offered to patients.

Keywords: cognitive behavioral therapy, machine learning, psychosis, schizophrenia

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Authors: Mehdi Mirzaei Alavijeh, Farzad Jalilian

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Background: Marijuana is the most widely used illicit drug worldwide, especially among adolescents and young adults, which can cause numerous complications. The aim of this study was to determine the pattern, motivation use, and factors related to marijuana use among Iranian youths based on the integrative model of behavioral prediction Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 174 youths marijuana user in Kermanshah County and Isfahan County, during summer 2014 which was selected with the convenience sampling for participation in this study. A self-reporting questionnaire was applied for collecting data. Data were analyzed by SPSS version 21 using bivariate correlations and linear regression statistical tests. Results: The mean marijuana use of respondents was 4.60 times at during week [95% CI: 4.06, 5.15]. Linear regression statistical showed, the structures of integrative model of behavioral prediction accounted for 36% of the variation in the outcome measure of the marijuana use at during week (R2 = 36% & P < 0.001); and among them attitude, marijuana refuse, and subjective norms were a stronger predictors. Conclusion: Comprehensive health education and prevention programs need to emphasize on cognitive factors that predict youth’s health-related behaviors. Based on our findings it seems, designing educational and behavioral intervention for reducing positive belief about marijuana, marijuana self-efficacy refuse promotion and reduce subjective norms encourage marijuana use has an effective potential to protect youths marijuana use.

Keywords: marijuana, youth, integrative model of behavioral prediction, Iran

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Authors: K. O’Mara, T. Cresswell

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Nearly half of the world’s population live near the coast, and as a result, estuaries and coastal bays in populated or industrialized areas often receive metal pollution. Heavy metals have a chemical affinity for sediment particles and can be stored in estuarine sediments and become biologically available under changing conditions. Organisms inhabiting estuaries can be exposed to metals from a variety of sources including metals dissolved in water, bound to sediment or within contaminated prey. Metal uptake and assimilation responses can vary even between species that are biologically similar, making pollution effects difficult to predict. A multi-trophic level experiment representing a common Eastern Australian estuarine food chain was used to study the sources for Cd, Mn and Zn uptake and assimilation in organisms occupying several trophic levels. Sand cockles (Katelysia scalarina), school prawns (Metapenaeus macleayi) and sand whiting (Sillago ciliata) were exposed to radiolabelled seawater, suspended sediment and food. Three pulse-chase trials on filter-feeding sand cockles were performed using radiolabelled phytoplankton (Tetraselmis sp.), benthic microalgae (Entomoneis sp.) and suspended sediment. Benthic microalgae had lower metal uptake than phytoplankton during labelling but higher cockle assimilation efficiencies (Cd = 51%, Mn = 42%, Zn = 63 %) than both phytoplankton (Cd = 21%, Mn = 32%, Zn = 33%) and suspended sediment (except Mn; (Cd = 38%, Mn = 42%, Zn = 53%)). Sand cockles were also sensitive to uptake of Cd, Mn and Zn dissolved in seawater. Uptake of these metals from the dissolved phase was negligible in prawns and fish, with prawns only accumulating metals during moulting, which were then lost with subsequent moulting in the depuration phase. Diet appears to be the main source of metal assimilation in school prawns, with 65%, 54% and 58% assimilation efficiencies from Cd, Mn and Zn respectively. Whiting fed contaminated prawns were able to exclude the majority of the metal activity through egestion, with only 10%, 23% and 11% assimilation efficiencies from Cd, Mn and Zn respectively. The findings of this study support previous studies that find diet to be the dominant accumulation source for higher level trophic organisms. These results show that assimilation efficiencies can vary depending on the source of exposure; sand cockles assimilated more Cd, Mn, and Zn from the benthic diatom than phytoplankton and assimilation was higher in sand whiting fed prawns compared to artificial pellets. The sensitivity of sand cockles to metal uptake and assimilation from a variety of sources poses concerns for metal availability to predators ingesting the clam tissue, including humans. The high tolerance of sand whiting to these metals is reflected in their widespread presence in Eastern Australian estuaries, including contaminated estuaries such as Botany Bay and Port Jackson.

Keywords: cadmium, food chain, metal, manganese, trophic, zinc

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Authors: Mahsa Khani Oushani, Mohammad Kazem Hasanvand

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Text and image have always been two important components in Iranian layout. The interactive connection between text and image has shaped the art of book design with multiple patterns. In this research, first the structure and visual elements in the research data were analyzed and then the position of the text element and the image element in relation to each other based on Roland Barthes theory on the three theories of text and image, were studied and analyzed and the results were compared, and interpreted. The purpose of this study is to investigate the pattern of text and image in the works of Kamaluddin Behzad based on three Roland Barthes communication theories, 1. Descriptive communication, 2. Reference communication, 3. Matched communication. The questions of this research are what is the relationship between text and image in Behzad's works? And how is it defined according to Roland Barthes theory? The method of this research has been done with a structuralist approach with a descriptive-analytical method in a library collection method. The information has been collected in the form of documents (library) and is a tool for collecting online databases. Findings show that the dominant element in Behzad's drawings is with the image and has created a reference relationship in the layout of the drawings, but in some cases it achieves a different relationship that despite the preference of the image on the page, the text is dispersed proportionally on the page and plays a more active role, played within the image. The text and the image support each other equally on the page; Roland Barthes equates this connection.

Keywords: text, image, Kamaluddin Behzad, Roland Barthes, communication theory

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Authors: Ojin Kwon, Yong-Jin Yoon, Liu Xin, Zhang Hongbao

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Wireless Body Area Network (WBAN) is a short-range wireless communication around human body for various applications such as wearable devices, entertainment, military, and especially medical devices. WBAN attracts the attention of continuous health monitoring system including diagnostic procedure, early detection of abnormal conditions, and prevention of emergency situations. Compared to cellular network, WBAN system is more difficult to control inter- and inner-cell interference due to the limited power, limited calculation capability, mobility of patient, and non-cooperation among WBANs. In this paper, we compare the performance of resource allocation scheme based on several Pseudo Orthogonal Codewords (POCs) to mitigate inter-WBAN interference. Previously, the POCs are widely exploited for a protocol sequence and optical orthogonal code. Each POCs have different properties of auto- and cross-correlation and spectral efficiency according to its construction of POCs. To identify different WBANs, several different pseudo orthogonal patterns based on POCs exploits for resource allocation of WBANs. By simulating these pseudo orthogonal resource allocations of WBANs on MATLAB, we obtain the performance of WBANs according to different POCs and can analyze and evaluate the suitability of POCs for the resource allocation in the WBANs system.

Keywords: wireless body area network, body sensor network, resource allocation without feedback, interference mitigation, pseudo orthogonal pattern

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Authors: Abhishek Agarwal, Manoj Sarda, Juhi Kaushik, Vatsal Sanjay, Arup Kumar Das

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Propagation of fire through a non-air conditioned railway compartment is studied by virtue of numerical simulations. Simultaneous computational fire dynamics equations, such as Navier-Stokes, lumped species continuity, overall mass and energy conservation, and heat transfer are solved using finite volume based (for radiation) and finite difference based (for all other equations) solver, Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS). A single coupe with an eight berth occupancy is used to establish the numerical model, followed by the selection of a three coupe system as the fundamental unit of the locomotive compartment. Heat Release Rate Per Unit Area (HRRPUA) of the initial fire is varied to consider a wide range of compartmental fires. Parameters, such as air inlet velocity relative to the locomotive at the windows, the level of interaction with the ambiance and closure of middle berth are studied through a wide range of numerical simulations. Almost all the loss of lives and properties due to fire breakout can be attributed to the direct or indirect exposure to flames or to the inhalation of toxic gases and resultant suffocation due to smoke and soot. Therefore, the temporal stature of fire and smoke are reported for each of the considered cases which can be used in the present or extended form to develop guidelines to be followed in case of a fire breakout.

Keywords: fire dynamics, flame propagation, locomotive fire, soot flow pattern, non-air-conditioned coaches

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Authors: Gabriela Kloudova, Miloslav Stehlik, Peter Sos

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The quality of sleep can affect combat performance where the vigilance, accuracy and reaction time are a decisive factor. In the present study, airborne and special units are measured on duty using actigraphy fingerprint scoring algorithm and QEEG (quantitative EEG). Actigraphic variables of interest will be: mean nightly sleep duration, mean napping duration, mean 24-h sleep duration, mean sleep latency, mean sleep maintenance efficiency, mean sleep fragmentation index, mean sleep onset time, mean sleep offset time and mean midpoint time. In an attempt to determine the individual somnotype of each subject, the data like sleep pattern, chronotype (morning and evening lateness), biological need for sleep (daytime and anytime sleepability) and trototype (daytime and anytime wakeability) will be extracted. Subsequently, a series of recommendations will be included in the training plan based on daily routine, timing of the day and night activities, duration of sleep and the number of sleeping blocks in a defined time. The aim of these modifications in the training plan is to reduce day-time sleepiness, improve vigilance, attention, accuracy, speed of the conducted tasks and to optimize energy supplies. Regular improvement of the training supposed to have long-term neurobiological consequences including neuronal activity changes measured by QEEG. Subsequently, that should enhance cognitive functioning in subjects assessed by the digital cognitive test batteries and improve their overall performance.

Keywords: sleep quality, combat performance, actigraph, somnotype

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Authors: Guangyan Chen

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This study examined Chinese teachers’ perceptions of assessing U.S. college students’ L2 (second language) Chinese oral performances at different levels. Ten oral performances were videotaped from which three were chosen as samples to represent three different proficiency levels based on professionals’ judgments according to the ACTFL proficiency guidelines. The three samples were shown to L2 Chinese teachers who completed questionnaires about their assessments for each speech sample. In total, 104 L2 Chinese teachers responded to each of the three samples. The Exploratory Factor Analyses (EFA) of the teachers’ responses revealed three similar rating criteria patterns for assessing the three levels of oral performances. The teachers’ responses to Samples 2 and 3 revealed five rating criteria: Global proficiency, Chinese conceptual framework, content richness, communication appropriateness, and communication clarity. The teachers’ responses to Sample 1 revealed four rating criteria: global proficiency, Chinese conceptual framework, communication appropriateness/content richness, and communication clarity. However, the analyses of variance (ANOVAs) revealed that the proficiency levels of the three oral performances differed significantly across all rating criteria. Therefore, the data suggests that L2 classroom teachers could use the similar rating criteria pattern to assess college-level L2 Chinese students’ oral performances at different proficiency levels.

Keywords: language assessment, L2 Chinese, oral performance, rating criteria

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Authors: Ahmad Mohsin, Syda Fatima, Falak Nawaz, Aman Ullah Khan

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Selection of an appropriate architectural style is vital to the success of target web service under development. The nature of architecture design and selection for service-oriented computing applications is quite different as compared to traditional software. Web Services have complex and rigorous architectural styles to choose. Due to this, selection for accurate architectural style for web services development has become a more complex decision to be made by architects. Architectural style selection is a multi-criteria decision and demands lots of experience in service oriented computing. Decision support systems are good solutions to simplify the selection process of a particular architectural style. Our research suggests a new approach using DSS for selection of architectural styles while developing a web service to cater FRs and NFRs. Our proposed DSS helps architects to select right web service architectural pattern according to the domain and non-functional requirements. In this paper, a rule base DSS has been developed using CLIPS (C Language Integrated Production System) to support decisions using multi-criteria requirements. This DSS takes architectural characteristics, domain requirements and software architect preferences for NFRs as input for different architectural styles in use today in service-oriented computing. Weighted sum model has been applied to prioritize quality attributes and domain requirements. Scores are calculated using multiple criterions to choose the final architecture style.

Keywords: software architecture, web-service, rule-based, DSS, multi-criteria requirements, quality attributes

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Authors: I. T. Asowata, A. S. Akinwumiju

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The enrichment of potentially harmful elements (PHEs) in stream sediments (SS) and floodplain soils (FS) poses great environmental hazards to water bodies and other parts of the ecosystem. The aim of this research was to assess the distribution pattern of selected PHEs (Cu, Pb, Zn, Co, Mn, As, Cd, V, Cr, Ni, Th, Sr, and La) in SS of selected rivers that drain Ile-Ife area and their adjacent FS, to ascertain the pollution status of these elements in the study area. 60 samples (40 SS and 20 FS) were purposely collected for this study; the samples were air-dried at room temperature, disaggregated, sieved with > 63 µm and digested with modified aqua reqia (1:1:1 HCl:HNO₃:H₂O) and were analysed with ultra-trace inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry method (ICP-ES). The geochemical results showed decreasing trend of average contents of PHEs studied Mn > Zn > V > Cr > Pb > La > Sr > Cu > Ni > Co > Th > As > Cd for both SS and FS. Floodplain topsoil in ppm, Cu range from 10.0-180.0; mean, 71.1, Pb, 17.1-255.0; 93.5 and Zn, 83.0-3122.2; 826.0. Also, floodplain sub-soils, Cu range from 30.0-203.1; mean of 76.6, Pb, 16.0-214.0; 77.9 and Zn, 59.1-2351.0; 622.3. Similarly, SS results for Cu, 22.1-257.0; 70.3, Pb, 15.0-172.0; 67.3 and Zn, 65.0-1285.0; 357.8, among other PHEs, suggesting significant level of PHEs enrichment in the studied geo media. Elemental association showed positive and/or negative correlation among the PHEs and also showed different sources of metal enrichment to be largely anthropogenic with some geogenic. Geoaccumulation and metal ratio indexes indicated that FS and SS studied have received significant PHEs of between moderately to strongly polluted, which implies significant environmental implications in the study area.

Keywords: aqua regia, enrichment, GIS, Ile-Ife, potentially harmful elements

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Authors: Ahmad Afif, Teuku Yuri M. Zagloel

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Sustainable supply chain management is a new pattern that has emerged recently in industry and companies. The procurement process is one of the key factors for efficiency in supply chain management practices. Partnership is one of the procurement strategies for strategic items. The success factors of the partnership must be determined to avoid things that endanger the financial and operational status of the company. The current supplier partnership research focuses on the selection of general criteria and sustainable supplier selection. Currently, there is still limited research on the success factors of supplier partnerships that focus on strategic items in the coal mining industry. Meanwhile, the procurement of coal mining has its own characteristics, and there are regulations related to the procurement of goods. Therefore, this research was conducted to determine the categories of goods that are included in the strategic items and to design the success factors of supplier partnerships. The main factors studied are general, financial, production, reputation, synergies, and sustainable. The research was conducted using the Kraljic method to determine the categories of goods that are included in the strategic items. To design a supplier partnership success factor using the Hybrid Multi Criteria Decision Making method. Integrated Fuzzy AHP-Fuzzy TOPSIS is used to determine the weight of the success factors of supplier partnerships and to rank suppliers on the factors used.

Keywords: supplier, partnership, strategic item, success factors, and coal mining industry

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Authors: Abdullahi Musa, Yakubu Kukure Enebe Ibrahim, Adeshina Gujumbola

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The emergence of multidrug resistance in clinical Escherichia coli has been associated with plasmid-mediated genes. DNA transfer among bacteria is critical to the dissemination of resistance. Plasmids have proved to be the ideal vehicles for dissemination of resistance genes. Plasmids coding for antibiotic resistance were long being recognized by many researchers globally. The study aimed at determining the antibiotic susceptibility pattern of ESBL E. coli isolates claimed to be multidrug resistance using disc diffusion method. Antibacterial activity of the test isolates was carried out using disk diffusion methods. The results showed that, majority of the multidrug resistance among clinical isolates of ESBL E. coli was as a result of acquisition of plasmid carrying antibiotic-resistance genes. Production of these ESBL enzymes by these organisms which are normally carried by plasmid and transfer from one bacterium to another has greatly contributed to the rapid spread of antibiotic resistance amongst E. coli isolates, which lead to high economic burden, increase morbidity and mortality rate, complication in therapy and limit treatment options. To curtail these problems, it is of significance to checkmate the rate at which over the counter drugs are sold and antibiotic misused in animal feeds. This will play a very important role in minimizing the spread of resistance bacterial strains in our environment.

Keywords: Escherichia coli, plasmid, multidrug resistance, ESBL, pan drug resistance

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Authors: S. Abd Rahim, F. A. Rahman, E. M. Nasir, N. A. Ramle

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Co-crystal is believed to improve the solubility and dissolution rates and thus, enhanced the bioavailability of poor water soluble drugs particularly during the oral route of administration. With the existing of poorly soluble drugs in pharmaceutical industry, the screening of co-crystal formation using carbamazepine (CBZ) as a model drug compound with dicarboxylic acids co-crystal formers (CCF) namely fumaric (FA) and succinic (SA) acids in ethanol has been studied. The co-crystal formations were studied by varying the mol ratio values of CCF to CBZ to access the effect of CCF concentration on the formation of the co-crystal. Solvent evaporation, slurry, and cooling crystallisations which representing the solution based method co-crystal screening were used. The product crystal from the screening was characterized using X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD). The XRPD pattern profile analysis has shown that the CBZ co-crystals with FA and SA were successfully formed for all ratios studied. The findings revealed that CBZ-FA co-crystal were formed in two different polymorphs. It was found that CBZ-FA form A and form B were formed from evaporation and slurry crystallisation methods respectively. On the other hand, in cooling crystallisation method, CBZ-FA form A was formed at lower mol ratio of CCF to CBZ and vice versa. This study disclosed that different methods and mol ratios during the co-crystal screening can affect the outcome of co-crystal produced such as polymorphic forms of co-crystal and thereof. Thus, it was suggested that careful attentions is needed during the screening since the co-crystal formation is currently one of the promising approach to be considered in research and development for pharmaceutical industry to improve the poorly soluble drugs.

Keywords: co-crystal, dicarboxylic acid, carbamazepine, industry

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Authors: Robertson Freeman

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The prime objective of this research is to examine income inequality and its effects on household livelihoods in Parker Paint. Many researchers failed to address the potential threat of income inequality on diverse household livelihood indicators, including health, food, housing, transport and many others. They examine and generalize the effects of income differentials on household livelihoods by addressing one indicator of livelihood security. This research fills the loopholes of previous research by examining the effects of income inequality and how it affects the livelihoods of households, taking into consideration livelihood indicators including health, food security, and transport. The researcher employed the mixed research method to analyze the distribution of income and solicit opinions of household heads on the effects of their monthly income on their livelihoods. Age and sex structure, household composition, type of employment and educational status influence income inequality. The level of income, Lorenz curve and the Gini coefficient was mutually employed to calculate and determine the level of income inequality. One hundred eighty-two representing 96% of household heads are employed while 8, representing 4%, are unemployed. However, out of a total number of 182 employed, representing 96%, 27 people representing 14%, are employed in the formal private sector, while 110, representing 58%, are employed in the private informal sector. Monthly average income, savings, investments and unexpected circumstances affect the livelihood of households. Infrastructural development and wellbeing should be pursued by reducing expenditure earmarked in other sectors and channeling the funds towards the provision of household needs. One of the potent tools for consolidating household livelihoods is to initiate livelihood empowerment programs. Government and private sector agencies should establish more health insurance schemes, providing mosquito nets, immunization services, public transport, as well as embarking on feeding programs, especially in the remote areas of Parker paint. To climax the research findings, self-employment, entrepreneurship and the general private sector employment is a transparent double-edged sword. If employed in the private sector, there is the likelihood to increase one’s income. However, this also induces the income gap between the rich and poor since many people are exploited by affluence, thereby relegating the poor from the wealth hierarchy. Age and sex structure, as well as type of employment, should not be overlooked since they all play fundamental roles in influencing income inequality. Savings and investments seem to play a positive role in reducing income inequality. However, savings and investment in this research affect livelihoods negatively. It behooves mankind to strive and work hard to the best of ability in earning sufficient income and embracing measures to retain his financial strength. In so doing, people will be able to provide basic household needs, celebrate the reduction in unemployment and dependence and finally ensure sustainable livelihoods.

Keywords: income, inequality, livelihood, pakerpaint

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Authors: Behrang Dadfar, Hossein Bidhendi, Jimmy Susetyo, John Paul Abbatangelo

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Finding structural demand under various conditions that a structure may experience during its service life is an important step towards structural life-cycle analysis. In this paper, structural demand for the precast concrete tunnel lining (PCTL) segments of Toronto’s 60-year-old subway tunnels is investigated. Numerical modelling was conducted using FLAC3D, a finite difference-based software capable of simulating ground-structure interaction and ground material’s flow in three dimensions. The specific structural details of the segmental tunnel lining, such as the convex shape of the PCTL segments at radial joints and the PCTL segment pockets, were considered in the numerical modelling. Also, the model was developed in a way to accommodate the flexibility required for the simulation of various deterioration scenarios, shapes, and patterns that have been observed over more than 20 years. The soil behavior was simulated by using plastic-hardening constitutive model of FLAC3D. The effect of the depth of the tunnel, the coefficient of lateral earth pressure as well as the patterns of deterioration of the segments were studied. The structural capacity under various deterioration patterns and the existing loading conditions was evaluated using axial-flexural interaction curves that were developed for each deterioration pattern. The results were used to provide recommendations for the next phase of tunnel lining rehabilitation program.

Keywords: precast concrete tunnel lining, ground-structure interaction, numerical modelling, deterioration, tunnels

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Authors: Jalal M. Abdallah

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There is a great problem in testing and investigations the reliability of different type of transformers insulation materials. It summarized in how to create and simulate the real conditions of working transformer and testing its insulation materials for Partial Discharge PD, typically as in the working mode. A lot of tests may give untrue results as the physical behavior of the insulation material differs under tests from its working condition. In this work, the real working conditions were simulated, and a large number of specimens have been tested. The investigations first stage, begin with choosing samples of different types of insulation materials (papers, pressboards, etc.). The second stage, the samples were dried in ovens at 105 C⁰and 0.01bar for 48 hours, and then impregnated with dried and gasless oil (the water content less than 6 ppm.) at 105 C⁰and 0.01bar for 48 hours, after so specimen cooling at room pressure and temperature for 24 hours. The third stage is investigating PD for the samples using ICM PD measuring device. After that, a continuous test on oil-impregnated insulation materials (paper, pressboards) was developed, and the phase resolved partial discharge pattern of PD signals was measured. The important of this work in providing the industrial sector with trusted high accurate measuring results based on real simulated working conditions. All the PD patterns (results) associated with a discharge produced in well-controlled laboratory condition. They compared with other previous and other laboratory results. In addition, the influence of different temperatures condition on the partial discharge activities was studied.

Keywords: transformers, insulation materials, voids, partial discharge

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Authors: Mohammed Abdelsabour-Khalaf, F. Yusuf , B Brand-Saberi

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Purpose: Applications of nanotechnology nowadays extended to include a wide range of scientific areas such electron micrscopy and gene expression. The aim of the current study was to investigate the developmental expression pattern of genes involved in human glomerulo-nephropathies associated with massive proteinuria and podocyte differentiation using the chicken mesonephros as a model system. Method: We performed in situ hybridization using chicken specific mRNA probes for genes expressed in the early nephron and slit diaphragm genes. The probes used were cNeph1, cNeph2, cSim1, cLmx1b, and cAtoh8. Chicken embryos from Hamburger Hamilton developmental stage HH19 (E3) to HH 34 (E9) were used for the in situ hybridization (ISH). ISH was performed on whole mount embryos which were sectioned by vibratome. Results: Our result show that Neph1, Neph2, Sim1. Lmx1b and Atoh8 genes are dynamically expressed during nephron morphogenesis and Neph1 and Atoh8 are also specifically expressed in the podocytes during late stages of differentiation. Conclusion: We conclude from our results that the genes implicated in congenital and acquired glomerulo-nephropathies like Neph1 and Neph2 are dynamically expressed during mesonephros development pointing towards a role in the formation of the filtration barrier and the differentiation of the mesonephric podocytes. Thus the avian mesonephros could serve as a model to study human kidney diseases.

Keywords: mesonephros, chicken embryo, gene expression, immunohistochemistry

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Authors: S. V. N. Pammi, Soon-Gil Yoon

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In the present study, we report a facile chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method for Perovskite MAPbI3 thin films by doping with Br and Cl. We performed a systematic optimization of CVD parameters such as deposition temperature, working pressure and annealing time and temperature to obtain high-quality films of CH3NH3PbI3, CH3NH3PbI3-xBrx and CH3NH3PbI3-xClx perovskite. Scanning electron microscopy and X-ray Diffraction pattern showed that the perovskite films have a large grain size when compared to traditional spin coated thin films. To the best of our knowledge, there are very few reports on highly quality perovskite thin films by various doping such as Br and Cl using one step CVD and there is scope for significant improvement in device efficiency. In addition, their band-gap can be conveniently and widely tuned via doping process. This deposition process produces perovskite thin films with large grain size, long diffusion length and high surface coverage. The enhancement of the output power, CH3NH3PbI3 (MAPbI3) dye films when compared to spin coated films and enhancement in output power by doping in doped films was demonstrated in detail. The facile one-step method for deposition of perovskite thin films shows a potential candidate for photovoltaic and energy harvesting applications.

Keywords: perovskite thin films, chemical vapor deposition, energy harvesting, photovoltaics

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Authors: Mostafa Jafari

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Religious tourism is the core strategy of shaping Iranian's life-style. Why and How? This paper answers to this question. Theoretical base: From strategic marketing point of view, Life style is pattern of believes values, interests and acts. Strategy can be defined as a set of continuous important decisions. Here, strategy is making decisions about the target place and vehicle of touristic travel due to reform and redefine the self-identity and shaping life style. Methodology: Target society of this research is the selected residents of three provinces at northwest of Iran. The data collection instrument is interview and questionnaire and the collected data analysis by SEM (structural Equation Modeling) and LISREL software. Results: The primary results show that variety of touristic travels play an important role on shaping new life style of Iranian people. The target places of touristic travel (Europe, USA. Japan and etc.) are at the second priority. The number of foreign friends is at the third position. The fourth criteria are the number of travels. Among all kind of touristic travels the religious tourism from competitive point of view plays the main role. Findings: The geometry of Iranian life style are shaping and reshaping through some domestic and international tourism strategies particular religious strategy. During the dynamic trend of identity redefine, so many Iranians put the quantity and quality of their touristic travel on the first priority.

Keywords: religious tourism, core strategy, shaping life style

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Authors: K. S. Hemant Yadav, H. G. Shivakumar

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The present study investigation was to prepare and evaluate the mucoadhesive multi-particulate system for nasal drug delivery of anti-histaminic drug. Ebastine was chosen as the model drug. Drug loaded nanoparticles of Ebastine were prepared by ionic gelation method using chitosan as polymer using the drug-polymer weight ratios 1:1, 1:2, 1:3. Sodium tripolyphosphate (STPP) was used as the cross-linking agent in the range of 0.5 and 0.7% w/v. FTIR and DSC studies indicated that no chemical interaction occurred between the drug and polymers. Particle size ranged from 169 to 500 nm. The drug loading and entrapment efficiency was found to increase with increase in chitosan concentration and decreased with increase in poloxamer 407 concentration. The results of in vitro mucoadhesion carried out showed that all the prepared formulation had good mucoadhesive property and mucoadhesion increases with increase in the concentration of chitosan. The in vitro release pattern of all the formulations was observed to be in a biphasic manner characterized by slight burst effect followed by a slow release. By the end of 8 hrs, formulation F6 showed a release of only 86.9% which explains its sustained behaviour. The ex-vivo permeation of the pure drug ebastine was rapid than the optimized formulation(F6) indicating the capability of the chitosan polymer to control drug permeation rate through the sheep nasal mucosa. The results indicated that the mucoadhesive nanoparticulate system can be used for the nasal delivery of antihistaminic drugs in an effective manner.

Keywords: nasal, nanoparticles, ebastine, anti-histaminic drug, mucoadhesive multi-particulate system

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Authors: Natheer Alatawneh

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The finite element analysis of magnetic fields in electromagnetic devices shows that the machine cores experience different flux patterns including alternating and rotating fields. The rotating fields are generated in different configurations range between circular and elliptical with different ratios between the major and minor axis of the flux locus. Experimental measurements on electrical steel exposed to different flux patterns disclose different magnetic losses in the samples under test. Consequently, electric machines require special attention during the cores loss calculation process to consider the flux patterns. In this study, a circular rotational single sheet tester is employed to measure the core losses in electric steel sample of M36G29. The sample was exposed to alternating field, circular field, and elliptical fields with axis ratios of 0.2, 0.4, 0.6 and 0.8. The measured data was implemented on 6-4 switched reluctance motor at three different frequencies of interest to the industry as 60 Hz, 400 Hz, and 1 kHz. The results disclose a high margin of error that may occur during the loss calculations if the flux patterns issue is neglected. The error in different parts of the machine associated with considering the flux patterns can be around 50%, 10%, and 2% at 60Hz, 400Hz, and 1 kHz, respectively. The future work will focus on the optimization of machine geometrical shape which has a primary effect on the flux pattern in order to minimize the magnetic losses in machine cores.

Keywords: alternating core losses, electric machines, finite element analysis, rotational core losses

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Authors: E. Abustam, M. I. Said, M. Yusuf, H. M. Ali

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This study aims to examine the sensory quality of meatballs made from Balinese beef and buffalo meat after the addition of smoke powder prior to storage at the temperatures of 2-5°C for 7 days. This study used meat from Longissimus dorsi muscle of male Balinese cattle aged 3 years and of male buffalo aged 5 years as the main raw materials, and smoke powder as a binder and preservative in making meatballs. The study was based on completely randomized design (CRD) of factorial pattern of 2 x 3 x 2 where factors 1, 2 and 3 included the types of meat (cattle and buffalo), types of smoke powder (oven dried, freeze dried and spray dried) with a level of 2% of the weight of the meat (b/b), and storage duration (0 and 7 days) with three replications respectively. The parameters measured were the meatball sensory quality (scores of tenderness, firmness, chewing residue, and intensity of flavor). The results of this study show that each type of meat has produced different sensory characteristics. The meatballs made from buffalo meat have higher tenderness and elasticity scores than the Balinese beef. Meanwhile, the buffalo meatballs have a lower residue mastication score than the Balinese beef. Each type of smoke powders has produced a relatively similar sensory quality of meatballs. It can be concluded that the smoke powder of 2% of the weight of the meat (w/w) could maintain the sensory quality of the meatballs for 7 days of storage.

Keywords: Balinese beef meatballs, buffalo meatballs, sensory quality, smoke powder

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Authors: Ayoola Adekunle Dada, Tolulope Omolola Fateropa

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There is no gain saying the fact that the Nigerian correctional services lack rehabilitation reformation. Owing to this, some so many inmates, including the female, become more emotionally bruised and hardened instead of coming out of the prison reformed. Although female inmates constitute only a small percentage worldwide, the challenges resulting from women falling under the provision of the penal system have prompted ficial and humanitarian bodies to consider female inmateas as vulnerable persons who need particular social work measures that meet their specific needs. Female inmates’condition may become worseinprisondue to the absence of the standard living condition. A survey of 100 female inmates will be used to determine the assessment of the living condition of the female inmates within the contexts in which they occur. Employing field methods from Medical Sociology and Law, the study seeks to make use of the collaboration of both disciplines for a comprehensive understanding of the scenario. Its specific objectives encompassed: (1) To examine access and use of health facilities among the female inmates;(2) To examine the effect of officers/warders attitude towards female inmates;(3)To investigate the perception of the female inmates towards the housing facilities in the centre and; (4) To investigate the feeding habit of the female inmates. Due to the exploratory nature of the study, the researchers will make use of mixed-method, such qualitative methods as interviews will be undertaken to complement survey research (quantitative). By adopting the above-explained inter-method triangulation, the study will not only ensure that the advantages of both methods are exploited but will also fulfil the basic purposes of research. The sampling for this study will be purposive. The study aims at sampling two correctional centres (Ado Ekiti and Akure) in order to generate representative data for the female inmates in South West Nigeria. In all, the total number of respondents will be 100. A cross-section of female inmates will be selected as respondents using a multi-stage sampling technique. 100 questionnaires will be administered. A semi structured (in-depth) interviews will be conducted among workers in the two selected correctional centres, respectively, to gain further insight on the living conditions of female inmates, which the survey may not readily elicit. These participants will be selected purposively in respect to their status in the organisation. Ethical issues in research on human subjects will be given due consideration. Such issues rest on principles of beneficence, non-maleficence, autonomy/justice and confidentiality. In the final analysis, qualitative data will be analyzed using manual content analysis. Both the descriptive and inferential statistics will be used for analytical purposes. Frequency, simple percentage, pie chart, bar chart, curve and cross-tabulations will form part of the descriptive analysis.

Keywords: assessment, health facilities, inmates, perception, living conditions

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Authors: Gayle Nunley

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Between the mid-nineteenth and early twentieth century, a number of Western European women broke with gender norms of their time and undertook to write and publish accounts of their own international journeys. In addition to contributing to their contemporaries’ progressive reimagining of the space and place of female experience within the public sphere, these often orientalism-tinged texts have come to provide key source material for the analysis of gendered voice in the narration of Empire, particularly with regard to works associated with Europe’s then-ascendant imperial powers, Britain and France. Incorporation of contemporaneous writings from the once-dominant Empires of Iberian Europe introduces an important additional lens onto this process. By bringing to bear geographic notions of placedness together with discourse analysis, the examination of works by Iberian Europe’s female travelers in conjunction with those of their more celebrated Northern European peers reveals a pervasive pattern of conjoined belonging and displacement traceable throughout the broader corpus, while also underscoring the insufficiency of binary paradigms of gendered voice. The re-situating of women travelers’ participation in the European imperial project to include voices from the Iberian south creates a more robust understanding of these writers’ complex, and often unexpectedly modern, engagement with notions of gender, mobility, ‘otherness’ and contact-zone encounter acted out both within and against the imperial paradigm.

Keywords: colonialism, orientalism, Spain, travel writing, women travelers

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Authors: Davood Mousanezhad, Ashkan Vaziri

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As a traditional cellular structure, hexagonal honeycombs are known for their high strength-to-weight ratio. Here, we introduce a class of fractal-appearing hierarchical metamaterials by replacing the vertices of the original non-hierarchical hexagonal grid with smaller hexagons and iterating this process to achieve higher levels of hierarchy. It has been recently shown that the isotropic in-plane Young's modulus of this hierarchical structure at small deformations becomes 25 times greater than its regular counterpart with the same mass. At large deformations, we find that hierarchy-dependent elastic buckling introduced at relatively early stages of deformation decreases the value of Poisson's ratio as the structure is compressed uniaxially leading to auxeticity (i.e., negative Poisson's ratio) in subsequent stages of deformation. We also show that the topological hierarchical architecture and instability-induced pattern transformations of the structure under compression can be effectively used to tune the propagation of elastic waves within the structure. We find that the hierarchy tends to shift the existing phononic bandgaps (defined as frequency ranges of strong wave attenuation) to lower frequencies while opening up new bandgaps. Deformation is also demonstrated as another mechanism for opening more bandgaps in hierarchical structures. The results provide new insights into the role of structural organization and hierarchy in regulating mechanical properties of materials at both the static and dynamic regimes.

Keywords: cellular structures, honeycombs, hierarchical structures, metamaterials, multifunctional structures, phononic crystals, auxetic structures

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