Search results for: polarization Index (PI)

Authors: Sayedramin Hashemianesfehani, Seyed Hossein Hosseinilargani

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In this study, we attempt to realize that to what extent the increase in selected commodities in Iran Market is originated from the implementation of the targeted subsidies law. Hence, an econometric model based on existing theories of increasing and transferring prices in order to transferring inflation is developed. In other words, world price index and virtual variables defined for targeted subsidies has significant and positive impact on the producer price index. The obtained results indicated that the targeted subsidies act in Iran has influential long and short-term impacts on producer price indexes. Finally, world prices of dairy products and dairy price with respect to major parameters is carried out to obtain some managerial ‎results.

Keywords: econometric models, targeted subsidies, consumer price index (CPI), producer price index (PPI)

Procedia PDF Downloads 359

Authors: R. Furutani, K. Ishii

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Laser interferometers are now widely used for length and displacement measurement. In conventional methods, the optical path difference between two mirrors, one of which is a reference mirror and the other is a target mirror, is measured, as in Michelson interferometry, or two target mirrors are set up and the optical path difference between the two targets is measured, as in differential interferometry. In these interferometers, the two laser beams pass through different optical elements so that the measurement result is affected by the vibration and other effects in the optical paths. In addition, it is difficult to measure the roll angle around the optical axis. The proposed interferometer simultaneously measures both the translational motion along the optical axis and the roll motion around it by combining the retroreflective principle of the ball lens (BL) and the polarization. This interferometer detects the interferogram by the two beams traveling along the identical optical path from the beam source to BL. This principle is expected to reduce external influences by using the interferogram between the two lasers in an identical optical path. The proposed interferometer uses a BL so that the reflected light from the lens travels on the identical optical path as the incident light. After reaching the aperture of the He-Ne laser oscillator, the reflected light is reflected by a mirror with a very high reflectivity installed in the aperture and is irradiated back toward the BL. Both the first laser beam that enters the BL and the second laser beam that enters the BL after the round trip interferes with each other, enabling the measurement of displacement along the optical axis. In addition, for the measurement of the roll motion, a quarter-wave plate is installed on the optical path to change the polarization state of the laser. The polarization states of the first laser beam and second laser beam are different by the roll angle of the target. As a result, this system can measure the displacement and the roll angle of BL simultaneously. It was verified by the simulation and the experiment that the proposed optical system could measure the displacement and the roll angle simultaneously.

Keywords: common path interferometer, displacement measurement, laser interferometer, simultaneous measurement, roll angle measurement

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Authors: Olaitan Akanji, Cleophas Loto, Patricia Popoola, Andrei Kolesnikov

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Studies involving performance of corrosion inhibitors had been identified as one of the critical research needs for improving the durability of mild steel used in various industrial applications. This paper investigates the inhibiting effect of calcium gluconate against the corrosion of mild steel in 2.5M magnesium chloride using weight loss method and linear polarization technique, calculated corrosion rates from the obtained weight loss data, potentiodynamic polarization measurements are in good agreement. Results revealed calcium gluconate has strong inhibitory effects with inhibitor efficiency increasing with increase in inhibitor concentration at ambient temperature, the efficiency of the inhibitor increased in the following order of concentrations 2%g/vol,1.5%g/vol,1%g/vol,0.5%g/vol. Further results obtained from potentiodynamics experiments had good correlation with those of the gravimetric methods, the adsorption of the inhibitor on the mild steel surface from the chloride has been found to obey Langmuir, Frumkin and Freudlich adsorption isotherm. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observation confirmed the existence of an absorbed protective film on the metal surface.

Keywords: calcium gluconate, corrosion, magnesium chloride, mild steel

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Authors: Mustafa M. Donma, Orkide Donma

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Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a disease associated with obesity. It is a complicated clinical problem possibly affecting body composition as well as macrominerals. These parameters gain further attention, particularly in the pediatric population. The aim of this study is to investigate the amount of discrete body composition fractions in groups that differ in the severity of obesity. Also, the possible associations with calcium (Ca), phosphorus (P), magnesium (Mg) will be examined. The study population was divided into four groups. Twenty-eight, 29, 34, and 34 children were involved in Group 1 (healthy), 2 (obese), 3 (morbid obese), and 4 (MetS), respectively. Institutional Ethical Committee approved the study protocol. Informed consent forms were obtained from the participants. The classification of obese groups was performed based upon the recommendations of the World Health Organization. Metabolic syndrome components were defined. Serum Ca, P, Mg concentrations were measured. Within the scope of body composition, fat mass, fat-free mass, protein mass, mineral mass were determined by a body composition monitor using bioelectrical impedance analysis technology. Weight, height, waist circumference, hip circumference, head circumference, and neck circumference values were recorded. Body mass index, diagnostic obesity notation model assessment index, fat mass index, and fat-free mass index values were calculated. Data were statistically evaluated and interpreted. There was no statistically significant difference among the groups in terms of Ca and P concentrations. Magnesium concentrations differed between Group 1 and Group 4. Strong negative correlations were detected between P as well as Mg and fat mass index as well as diagnostic obesity notation model assessment index in Group 4, the group, which comprised morbid obese children with MetS. This study emphasized unique associations of P and Mg minerals with diagnostic obesity notation model assessment index and fat mass index during the evaluation of morbid obese children with MetS. It was also concluded that diagnostic obesity notation model assessment index and fat mass index were more proper indices in comparison with body mass index and fat-free mass index for the purpose of defining body composition in children.

Keywords: children, fat mass, fat-free mass, macrominerals, obesity

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Authors: Nivedha L. K., Dhinesh Kumar Murugaiah, Ganapathi Rao Kandregula, Raja Murugan, Kothandaraman R.

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ZnMn₂O₄, a non-precious metal catalyst for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), was recycled from the spent primary Zn-C battery and utilized in the zinc-air battery. Catalysts exhibiting facile ORR kinetics are a requirement for building efficient Zinc-air batteries. ZnMn₂O₄ demonstrated excellent catalytic activity towards ORR in an aqueous alkaline medium, with an onset potential of 0. 90 V vs. RHE. The recycled ZnMn₂O₄ manifested a similar performance (at ~ 1.0 V) as the chemically synthesized one with a specific capacity of 210 mAh gzn-¹ at a constant current discharge of 15 mA cm-². A single electrode potential study was done to comprehend the losses at the electrodes and to identify the limiting electrode. Interestingly, the cathode was improving during discharge, which is in contrast to the expectation due to the accumulation of peroxide around the catalytic layer. Although the anode has exhibited minimal polarization, beyond a capacity of 210 mAh g-¹, the supersaturation of electrolyte occurs with zincate ion causing precipitation of ZnO on the cell components, thereby leading to sudden polarization of the cell and hence zinc electrode act as a limiting electrode in this system.

Keywords: battery recycling, oxygen reduction reaction, single electrode measurement, Zn-air battery, ZnMn₂O₄ recovery

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Authors: N. S. Vassilieva-Vashakmadze, R. A. Gakhokidze, I. M. Khachatryan

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In the first part of the paper it is shown that both the depolarization of the cytoplasmic membrane of rods observed in invertebrates and hyperpolarization characteristic of vertebrates on the light may activate the functioning of ion (Na+) channels of cytoplasmic membrane of rods and thus provide the emergence of nerve impulse and its transfer to the neighboring neuron etc. In the second part, using the quantum mechanical program for modeling of the molecular processes, we got a clear picture demonstrating the effect of charged phosphate groups on the protein components of α-helical subunits of the visual rhodopsin receptor. The analysis shows that the phosphorylation of terminal amino acid of seventh α-helical subunits of the visual rhodopsin causes a redistribution of electron density on the atoms, i.e. polarization of subunits, also the changing the configuration of the nuclear subsystem, which corresponds to the deformation process in the molecule. Based on the use of models it can be concluded that this system has an internal relationship between polarization and deformation processes that indicates on the allosteric effect. The allosteric effect is based on quantum-mechanical principle of the self-consistency of the molecules.

Keywords: membrane potential, ion channels, visual rhodopsin, allosteric effect

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Authors: Orkide Donma, Mustafa M. Donma

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Basal metabolic rate is questioned as a risk factor for weight gain. The relations between basal metabolic rate and body composition have not been cleared yet. The impact of fat mass on basal metabolic rate is also uncertain. Within this context, indices based upon total body mass as well as total body fat mass are available. In this study, the aim is to investigate the potential clinical utility of these indices in the adult population. 287 individuals, aged from 18 to 79 years, were included into the scope of the study. Based upon body mass index values, 10 underweight, 88 normal, 88 overweight, 81 obese, and 20 morbid obese individuals participated. Anthropometric measurements including height (m), and weight (kg) were performed. Body mass index, diagnostic obesity notation model assessment index I, diagnostic obesity notation model assessment index II, basal metabolic rate-to-weight ratio were calculated. Total body fat mass (kg), fat percent (%), basal metabolic rate, metabolic age, visceral adiposity, fat mass of upper as well as lower extremities and trunk, obesity degree were measured by TANITA body composition monitor using bioelectrical impedance analysis technology. Statistical evaluations were performed by statistical package (SPSS) for Windows Version 16.0. Scatterplots of individual measurements for the parameters concerning correlations were drawn. Linear regression lines were displayed. The statistical significance degree was accepted as p < 0.05. The strong correlations between body mass index and diagnostic obesity notation model assessment index I as well as diagnostic obesity notation model assessment index II were obtained (p < 0.001). A much stronger correlation was detected between basal metabolic rate and diagnostic obesity notation model assessment index I in comparison with that calculated for basal metabolic rate and body mass index (p < 0.001). Upon consideration of the associations between basal metabolic rate-to-weight ratio and these three indices, the best association was observed between basal metabolic rate-to-weight and diagnostic obesity notation model assessment index II. In a similar manner, this index was highly correlated with fat percent (p < 0.001). Being independent of the indices, a strong correlation was found between fat percent and basal metabolic rate-to-weight ratio (p < 0.001). Visceral adiposity was much strongly correlated with metabolic age when compared to that with chronological age (p < 0.001). In conclusion, all three indices were associated with metabolic age, but not with chronological age. Diagnostic obesity notation model assessment index II values were highly correlated with body mass index values throughout all ranges starting with underweight going towards morbid obesity. This index is the best in terms of its association with basal metabolic rate-to-weight ratio, which can be interpreted as basal metabolic rate unit.

Keywords: basal metabolic rate, body mass index, children, diagnostic obesity notation model assessment index, obesity

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Authors: Anthony Chidi Ezika, Gbolahan Joseph Adekoya, Emmanuel Rotimi Sadiku, Yskandar Hamam, Suprakas Sinha Ray

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High-energy-density polymer/ceramic composites require a high breakdown strength and dielectric constant. Interface polarization and electric percolation are responsible for the high dielectric constant. In order to create composite dielectrics, high conductivity ceramic particles are combined with polymers to increase the dielectric constant. In this study, bonding and the non-uniform distribution of charges in the ceramic/ceramic interface zone are investigated using density functional theory (DFT) modeling. This non-uniform distribution of charges is intended to improve the ceramic/ceramic interface's dipole polarization (dielectric response). The interfacial chemical bond formation can also improve the structural stability of the hybrid filler and, consequently, of the composite films. To comprehend the electron-transfer process, the density of state and electron localization function of the PPy with hybrid fillers are also studied. The polymer nanocomposite is anticipated to provide a suitable dielectric response for energy storage applications.

Keywords: energy storage, V₂C/ ZnS hybrid, polypyrrole, MXene, nanocomposite, dielectric

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Authors: Umberto Platini

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This paper analyses the role of government fragmentation as predictor of the use of emergency decrees in parliamentary democracies. In particular, it focuses on the relationship between ideological divisiveness within cabinets and the choice by executives to issue emergency decrees rather initiating ordinary legislative procedures. A Bayesian multilevel analysis conducted on the population of government-initiated legislation in Italy between 1996 and 2018 finds significant evidence that those legislative proposals which are further away from the ideological centre of gravity of the executive are around three times more likely to be issued as emergency decrees. Likewise, legislative projects regulating more contentious policy areas are significantly more likely to be issued by decree. However, for more contentious issues the importance of ideological distance as a predictor diminishes. This evidence suggests that cabinets prefer decrees to ordinary legislative procedures when they expect that the bargaining environment in Parliament is more hostile. These results persist regardless of the fluctuations of the political-economic cycle. Their robustness is also tested against a battery of controls and against fixed effects both at the government level and at the legislature level.

Keywords: Bayesian multilevel logit models, executive action, executive decrees, ideology, legislative studies, polarization

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Authors: A. Amar

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The angular distributions of the nuclear systems under consideration have been analyzed in the framework of the optical model (OM), where the real part was taken in the crystal model form. A crystal model (CM) has been applied to deuteron elastically scattered by ⁶,⁷Li and ⁹Be. A crystal model (CM) + distorted-wave Born approximation (DWBA) + dynamic polarization potential (DPP) potential has been applied to deuteron elastically scattered by ⁶,⁷Li and 9Be. Also, a crystal model has been applied to ⁶Li elastically scattered by ¹⁶O and ²⁸Sn in addition to the ⁷Li+⁷Li system and the ¹²C(alpha,⁸Be) ⁸Be reaction. The continuum-discretized coupled-channels (CDCC) method has been applied to the ⁷Li+⁷Li system and agreement between the crystal model and the continuum-discretized coupled-channels (CDCC) method has been observed. In general, the models succeeded in reproducing the differential cross sections at the full angular range and for all the energies under consideration.

Keywords: optical model (OM), crystal model (CM), distorted-wave born approximation (DWBA), dynamic polarization potential (DPP), the continuum-discretized coupled-channels (CDCC) method, and deuteron elastically scattered by ⁶, ⁷Li and ⁹Be

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Authors: Muhammad Mansoor Majeed, Imtiaz Ahmed

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For centuries, honey has been used for the management and cure of different diseases for the treatment of wound, ulcers, burns, cough, and sore throat, etc. It has also been proved to decrease inflammation, edema, and exudates in different body tissues. This study is performed to find out the effectiveness of honey in the treatment and prevention of gingivitis, gingival bleeding, and accumulation of plaque. Randomized control trial was performed on two subject groups. Honey provided to one subject group to apply on their gums and tooth and then gargle with water and drink. Frequency of the procedure is thrice a day for a month. Another group was given a placebo. Before and after, readings were taken according to Loe and Silness Plaque and Gingival Index. Initially, the mean plaque index, Gingival index and the percentage of sites which were bleeding in the honey group was 0.910, 0.800 and 58.71% respectively which has reduced to 0.313, 0.296 and 27.6% in 30 ± 3 days whereas the control group did not show signs of improvement. Visible changed has observed in the honey group from 0.910 to 0.313 in mean plaque index, 0.800 to 0.296 in Gingival Index, and the percentage of bleeding sited decreased from 58.71% to 27.6%. No significant changes observed in another group. We can conclude that honey reduces the formation/accumulation of plaque and decreases gingival bleeding as well as it has therapeutic effects.

Keywords: honey, gingivitis, Pakistan, bleeding gums

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Authors: Ishu Surender, M. Amez Khair, Ishan Singh

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Urbanization is a multidimensional phenomenon. It is an indication of the long-term process for the shift of economics to industrial from rural. The significance of urbanization in modernization, socio-economic development, and poverty eradication is relevant in modern times. This paper aims to study the urbanization index model in the capital of India, Delhi using aspects such as demographic aspect, infrastructural development aspect, and economic development aspect. The urbanization index of all the nine districts of Delhi will be determined using multiple parameters such as population density and the availability of health and education facilities. The definition of the urban area varies from city to city and requires periodic classification which makes direct comparisons difficult. The urbanization index calculated in this paper can be employed to measure the urbanization of a district and compare the level of urbanization in different districts.

Keywords: multiparameter, population density, multiple regression, normalized urbanization index

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Authors: S. S. Rwanga, J. M. Ndambuki, Y. Woyessa

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Development of a groundwater management model is an important step in the exploitation and management of any groundwater aquifer as it assists in the long-term sustainable planning of the resource. The current study was conducted in Central Limpopo province of South Africa with the overall objective of determining how much water can be withdrawn from the aquifer without producing nonreversible impacts on the groundwater quantity, hence developing a model which can sustainably protect the aquifer. The development was done through the computation of Groundwater Sustainability Index (GSI). Values of GSI close to unity and above indicated overexploitation. In this study, an index of 0.8 was considered as overexploitation. The results indicated that there is potential for higher abstraction rates compared to the current abstraction rates. GSI approach can be used in the management of groundwater aquifer to sustainably develop the resource and also provides water managers and policy makers with fundamental information on where future water developments can be carried out.

Keywords: development, groundwater, groundwater sustainability index, model

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Authors: Ahmad Hashim, Zarizi Ab Rahman

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Measurement of body composition via a field method has the most popular instruments which are used to estimate the percentage of body fat. Among the instruments used are the Body Mass Index, Bio Impedance Analysis and Skinfold Test. All three of these instruments do not involve high costs, do not require high technical skills, are mobile, save time, and are suitable for use in large populations. Because all three instruments can estimate the percentage of body fat, but it is important to identify the most appropriate instruments and have high reliability. Hence, this study was conducted to determine the reliability and convergent validity of the instruments. A total of 40 students, males and females aged between 13 and 14 years participated in this study. The study found that the test retest and Pearson correlation coefficient of reliability for the three instruments is very high, r = .99. While the inter class reliability also are at high level with r = .99 for Body Mass Index and Bio Impedance Analysis, r = .96 for Skin fold test. Intra class reliability coefficient for these three instruments is too high for Body Mass Index r = .99, Bio Impedance Analysis r = .97, and Skin fold Test r = .90. However, Standard Error of Measurement value for all three instruments indicates the Body Mass Index is the most appropriate instrument with a mean value of .000672 compared with other instruments. The findings show that the Body Mass Index is an instrument which is the most accurate and reliable in estimating body fat percentage for the population studied.

Keywords: reliability, validity, body mass index, bio impedance analysis and skinfold test

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Authors: Lovro Štefan

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The main purpose of the study was to explore if a higher level of Elderly Dietary index score was correlated with lower peak plantar pressures. One-hundred and twenty older adults aged ≥60 years participated in this cross-sectional study. To assess the level of adherence to nutritional recommendations for older adults, we used Elderly Dietary Index score. Plantar pressures beneath the forefoot, midfootandhindfootregions of the foot were determined by pressure platform. Pearson’s coefficient of correlations and partial correlations were used to calculate the relationships. In the unadjusted model, higher Elderly Dietary Index was significantly correlated with lower peak plantar pressure beneath the forefoot (r = -0.45, p<0.001) and hindfoot (r = -0.37, p<0.001) the region, while no significant correlation with peak plantar pressure beneath the (r = -0.15, p=0.113) was observed. When we adjusted for age, body-mass index and gait velocity, higher Elderly Dietary Index remained significantly correlated with lower peak plantar pressure beneath the forefoot (r = -0.41, p<0.001) and hintfoot (r = -0.32, p<0.001) region. This study shows that higher adherence to nutritional recommendations is significantly correlated with lower forefoot and hindfoot peak plantar pressures in older women.

Keywords: elderly, biomechanics, nutrition, associations, force

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Authors: Muna Khethier Abbass, Bassma Finner Sultan

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In this research the effect of Al2O3 nanoparticles on corrosion behavior of aluminum base alloy(Al-4.5wt%Cu-1.5wt%Mg) has been investigated. Nanocomopsites reinforced with variable contents of 1,3 & 5wt% of Al2O3 nanoparticles were fabricated using powder metallurgy. All samples were prepared from the base alloy powders under the best powder metallurgy processing conditions of 6 hr of mixing time , 450 MPa of compaction pressure and 560°C of sintering temperature. Density and micro hardness measurements, and electrochemical corrosion tests are performed for all prepared samples in 3.5wt%NaCl solution at room temperature using potentiostate instrument. It has been found that density and micro hardness of the nanocomposite increase with increasing of wt% Al2O3 nanoparticles to Al matrix. It was found from Tafel extrapolation method that corrosion rates of the nanocomposites reinforced with alumina nanoparticles were lower than that of base alloy. From results of corrosion test by potentiodynamic cyclic polarization method, it was found the pitting corrosion resistance improves with adding of Al2O3 nanoparticles . It was noticed that the pits disappear and the hysteresis loop disappears also from anodic polarization curve.

Keywords: powder metallurgy, nano composites, Al-Cu-Mg alloy, electrochemical corrosion

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Authors: M. Kamal Uddin, H. Mohd Dandan, Ame H. Alidin

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Germination and seedling growth of plant species are reduced in saline due to an external osmotic potential. An experiment was conducted at the laboratory, Faculty of Sustainable Agriculture, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, to compare the salt effect on seed germination and growth of weedy rice and cultivated rice. Seeds (10 in each) were placed in petri dishes. Five salinity levels 0 (distilled water), 4, 8, 12 and 16 dSm-1 (NaCl) were applied. The number of germinated seeds was recorded daily. The final germination percentage, germination index (GI), seedling vigour index (SVI) mean germination time (MGT), shoot and root dry weight were estimated. At highest salinity (16 dSm-1) germination percentage was higher (100%) in weedy rice awn and weedy rice compact. Lowest germination percentage was in MR219 and TQR-8 (50-60%). Mean germination time (MGT) was found higher in all weedy rice biotypes compared to cultivated rice. At highest salinity (16dSm-1) weedy rice open produced the highest MGT (9.92) followed by weedy rice compact (9.73) while lowest MGT was in MR219 (9.48). At highest salinity (16dSm-1) germination index was higher in weedy rice awn (11.71) and compact type (9.62). Lowest germination index was in MR219 (5.90) and TQR-8 (8.94). At the highest salinity (16 dSm−1), seedling vigor index was highest in weedy rice awn (6.06) followed by weedy rice compact (5.26); while lowest was in MR219 (2.11) followed by MR269 (3.82).On the basis of Germination index, seedling vigor index and growth related results it could be concluded that weedy rice awn, compact and open biotypes were more salt tolerant compared to other cultivated rice MR219, MR269, and TQR-8.

Keywords: germination, salinity, rice and weedy rice, sustainable agriculture

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Authors: Giselda Cristina Ferreira, Carlos Alberto Kamienski, Ana Lígia Scott

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The COVID-19 pandemic has enhanced the anti-vaccination movement in Brazil, supported by unscientific theories and false news and the possibility of wide communication through social networks such as Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. The World Health Organization (WHO) classified the large volume of information on the subject against COVID-19 as an Infodemic. In this paper, we present a protocol to identify polarizing users (called polarizers) and study the profiles of Brazilian polarizers on Twitter (renamed to X some weeks ago). We analyzed polarizing interactions on Twitter (in Portuguese) to identify the main polarizers and how the conflicts they caused influenced the COVID-19 vaccination rate throughout the pandemic. This protocol uses data from this social network, graph theory, Java, and R-studio scripts to model and analyze the data. The information about the vaccination rate was obtained in a public database for the government called OpenDataSus. The results present the profiles of Twitter’s Polarizer (political position, gender, professional activity, immunization opinions). We observed that social and political events influenced the participation of these different profiles in conflicts and the vaccination rate.

Keywords: Twitter, polarization, vaccine, Brazil

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Authors: Tugbay Inan

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Competitive balance is known to have an important effect in determining the result of football matches. The degree of competitiveness is referred as competitive balance in football. Sports economics are the extent to which overall league attendances will be raised by measures, such as media effect, home advantage, revenue sharing, which aim to improve competitive balance. The purpose of present study was to measure the competitive balance in the football league of Turkey. In this study, by using long term competitive balance analysis, some facing problems and precautions were discussed through the seasons (1987-2014) in Turkish Football Super League (TSL). Within the practice of this study, The way that competitive balance level followed was determined in the history of super league (27 years). Based on this purpose, C5 Competitive Balance Index (C5CBI) and a Herfindahl index of competitive balance (HICB) were used. Finally, it is seen that in Super League, competitive balance factor took place time to time, however in total, a view apart from competitive balance is obviously seen.

Keywords: competitive balance, turkish football, c5 competitive balance index, Herfindahl-Hirschman Index

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Authors: Mustafa Metin Donma

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Obesity increases the risk of elevated blood pressure, which is a metabolic syndrome (MetS) component. Waist circumference (WC) is accepted as an indispensable parameter for the evaluation of these health problems. The close relationship of height with blood pressure values revealed the necessity of including height in tense indices. The association of tense indices with WC has also become an increasingly important topic. The purpose of this study was to develop a tense index that could contribute to differential diagnosis of MetS more than the indices previously introduced. One hundred and ninety-four children, aged 06-11 years, were considered to constitute four groups. The study was performed on normal weight (Group 1), overweight+obese (Group 2), morbid obese [without (Group 3) and with (Group 4) MetS findings] children. Children were included in the groups according to the recommendations of World Health Organization based on age- and gender dependent body mass index percentiles. For MetS group, MetS components well-established before were considered. Anthropometric measurements, as well as blood pressure values were taken. Tense indices were computed. The formula for the first tense index was (SP+DP)/2. The second index was Advanced Donma Tense Index (ADTI). The formula for this index was [(SP+DP)/2] * Height. Statistical calculations were performed. 0.05 was accepted as the p value indicating statistical significance. There were no statistically significant differences between the groups for pulse pressure, systolic-to-diastolic pressure ratio and tense index. Increasing values were observed from Group 1 to Group 4 in terms of mean arterial blood pressure and advanced Donma tense index (ADTI), which was highly correlated with WC in all groups except Group 1. Both tense index and ADTI exhibited significant correlations with WC in Group 3. However, in Group 4, ADTI, which includes height parameter in the equation, was unique in establishing a strong correlation with WC. In conclusion, ADTI was suggested as a tense index while investigating children with MetS.

Keywords: blood pressure, child, height, metabolic syndrome, waist circumference

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Authors: Sofiane Grira, Hichem Eleuch

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We explore the analytical soliton-pair solutions for unbalanced coupling between the two coherent lights and the atomic transitions in a dissipative three-level system in lambda configuration. The two allowed atomic transitions are interacting resonantly with two laser fields. For unbalanced coupling, it is possible to derive an explicit solution for non-linear differential equations describing the soliton-pair propagation in this three-level system with the same velocity. We suppose that the spontaneous emission rates from the excited state to both ground states are the same. In this work, we focus on such case where we consider the coupling between the transitions and the optical fields are unbalanced. The existence conditions for the soliton-pair propagations are determined. We will show that there are four possible configurations of the soliton-pair pulses. Two of them can be interpreted as a couple of solitons with same directions of polarization and the other two as soliton-pair with opposite directions of polarization. Due to the fact that solitons have stable shapes while propagating in the considered media, they are insensitive to noise and dispersion. Our results have potential applications in data transfer with the soliton-pair pulses, where a dissipative three-level medium could be a realistic model for the optical communication media.

Keywords: non-linear differential equations, solitons, wave propagations, optical fiber

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Authors: Erhan Berk

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The purpose of this study is to examine the efficiency and productivity of the health care sector in Turkey based on four years of health care cross-sectional data. Efficiency measures are calculated by a nonparametric approach known as Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). Productivity is measured by the Malmquist index. The research shows how DEA-based Malmquist productivity index can be operated to appraise the technology and productivity changes resulted in the Turkish hospitals which are located all across the country.

Keywords: data envelopment analysis, efficiency, health care, Malmquist Index

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Authors: Rahul Singha, D. Vakula

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This paper presents a corrugated antipodal vivaldi antenna with improved performance by using negative index metamaterial (NIM) of the Archimedean spiral design. A single layer NIM piece is placed perpendicular middle of the two arm of the proposed antenna. The antenna size is 30×60×0.787 mm3 operating at 8GHz. The simulated results of NIM corrugated antipodal vivaldi antenna show that the gain and directivity has increased up to 1.2dB and 1dB respectively. The HPBW is increased by 90 with the reflection coefficient less than ‒10 dB from 4.7 GHz to 11 GHz for UWB application.

Keywords: Negative Index Metamaterial (NIM), Ultra Wide Band (UWB), Half Power Beam Width (HPBW), vivaldi antenna

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Authors: Ujjval J. Solanki, Prof.(Dr.) P.J. Gundaliya, Prof.M.D. Barasara

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The application of Falling Weight Deflectometer is to evaluate structural performance of the flexible pavement. The exercise of back calculation is required to know the modulus of elasticity of existing in-service pavement. The process of back calculation needs in-depth field experience for the input of range of modulus of elasticity of bituminous, granular and subgrade layer, and its required number of trial to find such matching moduli with the observed FWD deflection on the field. The study carried out at Barnala-Mansa State Highway Punjab-India using FWD before and after overlay; the deflections obtained at 0 on the load cell, 300, 600, 900,1200, 1500 and 1800 mm interval from the load cell these seven deflection results used to calculate Surface Curvature Index (SCI), Base damage Index (BDI), Base curvature index (BCI). This SCI, BCI and BDI indices are useful to predict the structural performance of in-service pavement and also useful to identify homogeneous section for condition assessment. The SCI, BCI and BDI range are determined for before and after overlay the range of SCI 520 to 51 BDI 294 to 63 BCI 83 to 0.27 for old pavement and SCI 272 to 23 BDI 228 to 28, BCI 25.85 to 4.60 for new pavement. It also shows good correlation with back calculated modulus of elasticity of all the three layer.

Keywords: back calculation, base damage index, base curvature index, FWD (Falling Weight Deflectometer), surface curvature index

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Authors: S. M. A. Bekkouche, T. Benouaz, M. K. Cherier, M. Hamdani, M. R. Yaiche, N. Benamrane

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Most codes of building energy simulation neglect the humidity or well represent it with a very simplified method. It is for this reason that we have developed a new approach to the description and modeling of multizone buildings in Saharan climate. The thermal nodal method was used to apprehend thermoaeraulic behavior of air subjected to varied solicitations. In this contribution, analyzing the building geometry introduced the concept of index compactness as "quotient of external walls area and volume of the building". Physical phenomena that we have described in this paper, allow to build the model of the coupled thermoaeraulic behavior. The comparison shows that the found results are to some extent satisfactory. The result proves that temperature and specific humidity depending on compactness and geometric shape. Proper use of compactness index and building geometry parameters will noticeably minimize building energy.

Keywords: multizone model, nodal method, compactness index, specific humidity, temperature

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Authors: Lanja F. Rauf, Salahalddin S. Ali, Nadhir Al-Ansari

Abstract:

Evolving groundwater vulnerability from DRASTIC to modified DRASTIC methods helps choose the most accurate areas that are most delicate toward pollution. This study aims to modify DRASTIC with land use and water quality index for groundwater vulnerability assessment in the Halabja-Khurmal sub-basin, NE/Iraq. The Halabja- Khurmal sub-basin groundwater vulnerability index is calculated from nine hydrogeological parameters by the overlay weighting method. As a result, 1.3 % of the total area has a very high vulnerability value and 46.1 % with high vulnerability. The regions with high groundwater vulnerability have a high water table and groundwater recharge. Nitrate concentration was used to validate the result, and the Pearson correlation and recession analysis between the modified DRASTIC index and nitrate concentration depicted a strong relation with 0.76 and 0.7, respectively.

Keywords: groundwater vulnerability, modified DRASTIC, land-use, nitrate pollution, water quality index

Procedia PDF Downloads 97

Authors: Saleh Abu Dabous, Khaled Hamad, Rami Al-Ruzouq

Abstract:

Bridge condition assessment and rating provide essential information needed for bridge management. This paper reviews bridge inspection and condition rating practices and introduces a defect-based urgency index. The index is estimated at the element-level based on the extent and severity of the different defects typical to the bridge element. The urgency index approach has the following advantages: (1) It facilitates judgment submission, i.e. instead of rating the bridge element with a specific linguistic overall expression (which can be subjective and used differently by different people), the approach is based on assessing the defects; (2) It captures multiple defects that can be present within a deteriorated element; and (3) It reflects how critical the element is through quantifying critical defects and their severity. The approach can be further developed and validated. It is expected to be useful for practical purposes as an early-warning system for critical bridge elements.

Keywords: condition rating, deterioration, inspection, maintenance

Procedia PDF Downloads 452

Authors: Lingmao Xu, Hui Zhou

Abstract:

Ge film is widely used in infrared optical systems. Because of the special requirements of space application, it is usually used in low temperature. The refractive index of Ge film is always changed with the temperature which has a great effect on the manufacture of high precision infrared optical film. Specimens of Ge single film were deposited at ZnSe substrates by EB-PVD method. During temperature range 80K ~ 300K, the transmittance of Ge single film within 2 ~ 15 μm were measured every 20K by PerkinElmer FTIR cryogenic testing system. By the full spectrum inversion method fitting, the relationship between refractive index and wavelength within 2 ~ 12μm at different temperatures was received. It can be seen the relationship consistent with the formula Cauchy, which can be fitted. Then the relationship between refractive index of the Ge film and temperature/wavelength was obtained by fitting method based on formula Cauchy. Finally, the designed value obtained by the formula and the measured spectrum were compared to verify the accuracy of the formula.

Keywords: infrared optical film, low temperature, thermal refractive coefficient, Ge film

Procedia PDF Downloads 298

Authors: Fathul Mubin, Budi E. Nurcahya

Abstract:

In 2006, a large earthquake ever occurred in the province of Yogyakarta, which caused considerable damage. This is the basis need to investigate the seismic vulnerability index in around of the earthquake zone. This research is called microzonation of earthquake hazard. This research has been conducted at the site and surrounding of Prambanan Temple, includes homes and civil buildings. The reason this research needs to be done because in the event of an earthquake in 2006, there was damage to the temples at Prambanan temple complex and its surroundings. In this research, data collection carried out for 60 minutes using three component seismograph measurements at 165 points with spacing of 1000 meters. The data recorded in time function were analyzed using the spectral ratio method, known as the Horizontal to Vertical Spectral Ratio (HVSR). Results from this analysis are dominant frequency (Fg) and maximum amplification factor (Ag) are used to obtain seismic vulnerability index. The results of research showed the dominant frequency range from 0.5 to 30 Hz and the amplification is in interval from 0.5 to 9. Interval value for seismic vulnerability index is 0.1 to 50. Based on distribution maps of seismic vulnerability index and impact of buildings damage seemed for suitability. For further research, it needs to survey to the east (klaten) and south (Bantul, DIY) to determine a full distribution maps of seismic vulnerability index.

Keywords: amplification factor, dominant frequency, microzonation analysis, seismic vulnerability index

Procedia PDF Downloads 194

Authors: S. Kumchoo

Abstract:

The result of suggestion for low energy diet (1,000-1,200 kcal) in obese women to the effect on body weight, waist circumference and body mass index (BMI) in this experiment. Quisi experimental research was used for this study and it is a One-group pretest-posttest designs measurement method. The aim of this study was body weight, waist circumference and body mass index (BMI) reduction by using low energy diet (1,000-1,200 kcal) in obese women, the result found that in 15 of obese women that contained their body mass index (BMI) ≥ 30, after they obtained low energy diet (1,000-1,200 kcal) within 2 weeks. The data were collected before and after of testing the results showed that the average of body weight decrease 3.4 kilogram, waist circumference value decrease 6.1 centimeter and the body mass index (BMI) decrease 1.3 kg.m² from their previous body weight, waist circumference and body mass index (BMI) before experiment started. After this study, the volunteers got healthy and they can choose or select some food for themselves. For this study, the research can be improved for data development for forward study in the future.

Keywords: body weight, waist circumference, low energy diet, BMI

Procedia PDF Downloads 388