Search results for: moderate Islamic values

Authors: Amaba, Marinela C., Espino, Gianne Ericka S. J. Valencia, Zeia Beatriz C.

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This study aims to determine the moderating role of attachment style on the relationship between psychological symptoms and well-being of mental health practitioners in rehabilitation centers that are accredited of the Department of Health in Pampanga. Using the data gathered from 46 mental health practitioners, multiple regression models were conducted to test the main and moderating effects of attachment styles. The findings show that all three psychological symptoms namely depression, anxiety, and stress have main effects on their general well-being on a negative direction. However, attachment style did not moderate the relationship between the psychological symptoms and general well-being. On one hand, results about the relationship of psychological symptoms and well-being are consistent to previous findings of other studies while on the other hand, results in moderation were contradicting.

Keywords: attachment style, psychological symptoms, well-being, mental health practitioners, rehabilitation centers

Procedia PDF Downloads 547

Authors: C. Silveira, A. Ascenso, J. Ferreira, A. I. Miranda, P. Tuccella, G. Curci

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Poor air quality is one of the main environmental causes of premature deaths worldwide, and mainly in cities, where the majority of the population lives. It is a consequence of successive land cover (LC) and use changes, as a result of the intensification of human activities. Knowing these landscape modifications in a comprehensive spatiotemporal dimension is, therefore, essential for understanding variations in air pollutant concentrations. In this sense, the use of air quality models is very useful to simulate the physical and chemical processes that affect the dispersion and reaction of chemical species into the atmosphere. However, the modelling performance should always be evaluated since the resolution of the input datasets largely dictates the reliability of the air quality outcomes. Among these data, the updated LC is an important parameter to be considered in atmospheric models, since it takes into account the Earth’s surface changes due to natural and anthropic actions, and regulates the exchanges of fluxes (emissions, heat, moisture, etc.) between the soil and the air. This work aims to evaluate the performance of the Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled with Chemistry (WRF-Chem), when different LC classifications are used as an input. The influence of two LC classifications was tested: i) the 24-classes USGS (United States Geological Survey) LC database included by default in the model, and the ii) CLC (Corine Land Cover) and specific high-resolution LC data for Portugal, reclassified according to the new USGS nomenclature (33-classes). Two distinct WRF-Chem simulations were carried out to assess the influence of the LC on air quality over Europe and Portugal, as a case study, for the year 2015, using the nesting technique over three simulation domains (25 km², 5 km² and 1 km² horizontal resolution). Based on the 33-classes LC approach, particular emphasis was attributed to Portugal, given the detail and higher LC spatial resolution (100 m x 100 m) than the CLC data (5000 m x 5000 m). As regards to the air quality, only the LC impacts on tropospheric ozone concentrations were evaluated, because ozone pollution episodes typically occur in Portugal, in particular during the spring/summer, and there are few research works relating to this pollutant with LC changes. The WRF-Chem results were validated by season and station typology using background measurements from the Portuguese air quality monitoring network. As expected, a better model performance was achieved in rural stations: moderate correlation (0.4 – 0.7), BIAS (10 – 21µg.m^-3) and RMSE (20 – 30 µg.m^-3), and where higher average ozone concentrations were estimated. Comparing both simulations, small differences grounded on the Leaf Area Index and air temperature values were found, although the high-resolution LC approach shows a slight enhancement in the model evaluation. This highlights the role of the LC on the exchange of atmospheric fluxes, and stresses the need to consider a high-resolution LC characterization combined with other detailed model inputs, such as the emission inventory, to improve air quality assessment.

Keywords: land use, spatial resolution, WRF-Chem, air quality assessment

Procedia PDF Downloads 148

Authors: Mohamed Khalifa Zayet, Salma Belal Eiid, Mushira Mohamed Dahaba

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Introduction: Malignant tumors may not be easily detected by traditional radiographic techniques especially in an anatomically complex area like maxillofacial region. At the same time, the advent of biological functional MRI was a significant footstep in the diagnostic imaging field. Objective: The purpose of this study was to define the malignant metabolic profile of maxillofacial lesions using diffusion MRI and magnetic resonance spectroscopy, as adjunctive aids for diagnosing of such lesions. Subjects and Methods: Twenty-one patients with twenty-two lesions were enrolled in this study. Both morphological and functional MRI scans were performed, where T1, T2 weighted images, diffusion-weighted MRI with four apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) maps were constructed for analysis, and magnetic resonance spectroscopy with qualitative and semi-quantitative analyses of choline and lactate peaks were applied. Then, all patients underwent incisional or excisional biopsies within two weeks from MR scans. Results: Statistical analysis revealed that not all the parameters had the same diagnostic performance, where lactate had the highest areas under the curve (AUC) of 0.9 and choline was the lowest with insignificant diagnostic value. The best cut-off value suggested for lactate was 0.125, where any lesion above this value is supposed to be malignant with 90 % sensitivity and 83.3 % specificity. Despite that ADC maps had comparable AUCs still, the statistical measure that had the final say was the interpretation of likelihood ratio. As expected, lactate again showed the best combination of positive and negative likelihood ratios, whereas for the maps, ADC map with 500 and 1000 b-values showed the best realistic combination of likelihood ratios, however, with lower sensitivity and specificity than lactate. Conclusion: Diffusion weighted imaging and magnetic resonance spectroscopy are state-of-art in the diagnostic arena and they manifested themselves as key players in the differentiation process of orofacial tumors. The complete biological profile of malignancy can be decoded as low ADC values, high choline and/or high lactate, whereas that of benign entities can be translated as high ADC values, low choline and no lactate.

Keywords: diffusion magnetic resonance imaging, magnetic resonance spectroscopy, malignant tumors, maxillofacial

Procedia PDF Downloads 166

Authors: Abdolreza Noroozi Chakoli

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This study aims to examine the impact of five effective factors on the success of the managers of distance knowledge sharing centers in Iran. To conduct it, 3 centers, including the National Library and Archives of Iran (NLAI), Scientific Information Database Center (SID), and Islamic World Science Citation Center (ISC), were selected to study the effect of five factors 'infrastructure of information technology', 'experienced staff', 'specialized staff', 'employee public relations' and 'the geographical location of the establishment' on the success of the centers. ANOVA test, Scheffe test, and Pearson's correlation test were used to analyze the data. The findings confirmed the effect of all 5 factors on the success of these centers. However, their effects are not the same on each factor. The results show each of these factors is not only individually but also together affect the success of centers for distance knowledge sharing. Moreover, it was demonstrated that there is a correlation between these factors. The results of this study show what factors determine the success of the centers and their efficiency in distance knowledge sharing in Iran.

Keywords: distance knowledge sharing centers, Iran’s knowledge centers, knowledge sharing centers, staff success

Procedia PDF Downloads 140

Authors: G. E. Okungbowa, H. O. Adams, S. E. Eze

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This study is on the estimation of adult patient doses for Chest X-ray diagnostic examinations of new admitted undergraduate students attending a tertiary institution health centre as part of their routine clearance and check up on admitted into the institution. A total of 531 newly admitted undergraduate students were recruited for this survey in the first quarter of 2016 (January to March, 2016). CALDOSE_X 5.0 software was used to compute the Entrance Surface Dose (ESD) and Effective Dose (ED); while the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21.0 was used to carry out the statistical analyses. The basic patients' data and exposure parameters required for the software are age, sex, examination type, projection posture, tube potential and current-time product. The mean Entrance Surface Dose and Effective Doses of the undergraduate students were calculated using the software, and the values were compared with existing literature and internationally established diagnostic reference levels. The mean ESD calculated is 0.29 mGy, and the mean effective dose is 0.04 mSv. The values of ESD and ED obtained are below the internationally established diagnostic reference levels, which could be attributed to good radiographic techniques employed during the chest X-ray procedure for these students.

Keywords: x-ray, dose, examination, chest

Procedia PDF Downloads 179

Authors: Wanida Suwunniponth

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The purpose of this research was to study the factors of characteristic of business, website quality and trust affected intention to use electronic payment systems for online purchasing. This survey research used questionnaire as a tool to collect the data of 300 customers who purchased online products and used an electronic payment system. The descriptive statistics and multiple regression analysis were used to analyze data. The results revealed that customers had a good opinion towards the characteristic of the business and website quality. However, they have a moderate opinion towards trust and intention to repurchase. In addition, the characteristics of the business affected the purchase intention the most, followed by website quality and the trust with statistical significance at 0.05 level. For particular, the terms of reputation, communication, information quality, perceived risk and word of mouth affected the intention to use the electronic payment system. In contrast, the terms of size, system quality and service quality did not affect intention to use an electronic payment system.

Keywords: electronic payment, intention, online purchasing, trust

Procedia PDF Downloads 240

Authors: Rezvan Ravanfar Haghighi, V. C. Vani, Suresh Perumal, Sabyasachi Chatterjee, Pratik Kumar

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X-ray attenuation coefficient [µ(E)] of any substance, for energy (E), is a sum of the contributions from the Compton scattering [ μCom(E)] and photoelectric effect [µPh(E)]. In terms of the, electron density (ρe) and the effective atomic number (Zeff) we have µCom(E) is proportional to [(ρe)fKN(E)] while µPh(E) is proportional to [(ρeZeffx)/Ey] with fKN(E) being the Klein-Nishina formula, with x and y being the exponents for photoelectric effect. By taking the sample's HU at two different excitation voltages (V=V1, V2) of the CT machine, we can solve for X=ρe, Y=ρeZeffx from these two independent equations, as is attempted in DECT inversion. Since µCom(E) and µPh(E) are both energy dependent, the coefficients of inversion are also dependent on (a) the source spectrum S(E,V) and (b) the detector efficiency D(E) of the CT machine. In the present paper we tabulate these coefficients of inversion for different practical manifestations of S(E,V) and D(E). The HU(V) values from the CT follow: <µ(V)>=<µw(V)>[1+HU(V)/1000] where the subscript 'w' refers to water and the averaging process <….> accounts for the source spectrum S(E,V) and the detector efficiency D(E). Linearity of μ(E) with respect to X and Y implies that (a) <µ(V)> is a linear combination of X and Y and (b) for inversion, X and Y can be written as linear combinations of two independent observations <µ(V1)>, <µ(V2)> with V1≠V2. These coefficients of inversion would naturally depend upon S(E, V) and D(E). We numerically investigate this dependence for some practical cases, by taking V = 100 , 140 kVp, as are used for cardiological investigations. The S(E,V) are generated by using the Boone-Seibert source spectrum, being superposed on aluminium filters of different thickness lAl with 7mm≤lAl≤12mm and the D(E) is considered to be that of a typical Si[Li] solid state and GdOS scintilator detector. In the values of X and Y, found by using the calculated inversion coefficients, errors are below 2% for data with solutions of glycerol, sucrose and glucose. For low Zeff materials like propionic acid, Zeffx is overestimated by 20% with X being within1%. For high Zeffx materials like KOH the value of Zeffx is underestimated by 22% while the error in X is + 15%. These imply that the source may have additional filtering than the aluminium filter specified by the manufacturer. Also it is found that the difference in the values of the inversion coefficients for the two types of detectors is negligible. The type of the detector does not affect on the DECT inversion algorithm to find the unknown chemical characteristic of the scanned materials. The effect of the source should be considered as an important factor to calculate the coefficients of inversion.

Keywords: attenuation coefficient, computed tomography, photoelectric effect, source spectrum

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Authors: Mohsen Farahat, Tsuyoshi Hirajima

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Surface characteristics of Bacillus megaterium strain were investigated; zeta potential, FTIR and contact angle were measured. Surface energy components including Lifshitz-van der Waals, Hamaker constant, and acid/base components (Lewis acid/Lewis base) were calculated from the contact angle data. The results showed that the microbial cells were negatively charged over all pH regions with high values at alkaline region. A hydrophilic nature for the strain was confirmed by contact angle and free energy of adhesion between microbial cells. Adsorption affinity of the strain toward dolomite was studied at different pH values. The results showed that the cells had a high affinity to dolomite at acid pH comparing to neutral and alkaline pH. Extended DLVO theory was applied to calculate interaction energy between B. megaterium cells and dolomite particles. The adsorption results were in agreement with the results of Extended DLVO approach. Surface changes occurred on dolomite surface after the bio-treatment were monitored; contact angle decreased from 69° to 38° and the mineral’s floatability decreased from 95% to 25% after the treatment.

Keywords: Bacillus megaterium, surface modification, flotation, dolomite, adhesion energy

Procedia PDF Downloads 238

Authors: M. O. Bayram, H. B. Gencdal, N. O. Fercan, B. Basbug

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Liquid limit, which is used as a measure of soil strength, can be detected by Casagrande and fall-cone testing methods. The two methods majorly diverge from each other in terms of operator dependency. The Casagrande method that is applied according to ASTM D4318-17 standards may give misleading results, especially if the calibration process is not performed well. To reveal the effect of calibration for drop height and amount of soil paste placement in the Casagrande cup, a series of tests were carried out by multipoint method as it is specified in the ASTM standards. The tests include the combination of 6 mm, 8 mm, 10 mm, and 12 mm drop heights and under-filled, half-filled, and full-filled Casagrande cups by kaolinite samples. It was observed that during successive tests, the drop height of the cup deteriorated; hence the device was recalibrated before and after each test to provide the accuracy of the results. Besides, the tests by under-filled and full-filled samples for higher drop heights revealed lower liquid limit values than the lower drop heights revealed. For the half-filled samples, it was clearly seen that the liquid limit values didn’t change at all as the drop height increased, and this explains the function of standard specifications.

Keywords: calibration, casagrande cup method, drop height, kaolinite, liquid limit, placing form

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Authors: Gupta Amit, Kumar Ramesh, P. C. Tewari

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Globalization is putting enormous pressure on the business organizations specially manufacturing one to rethink the supply chain in innovative manners. Inventory consumes major portion of total sale revenue. Effective and efficient inventory management plays a vital role for the successful functioning of any organization. Selection of inventory policy is one of the important purchasing activities. This paper focuses on selection and ranking of alternative inventory policies. A deterministic quantitative model-based on Distance Based Approach (DBA) method has been developed for evaluation and ranking of inventory policies. We have employed this concept first time for this type of the selection problem. Four inventory policies Economic Order Quantity (EOQ), Just in Time (JIT), Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) and monthly policy are considered. Improper selection could affect a company’s competitiveness in terms of the productivity of its facilities and quality of its products. The ranking of inventory policies is a multi-criteria problem. There is a need to first identify the selection criteria and then processes the information with reference to relative importance of attributes for comparison. Criteria values for each inventory policy can be obtained either analytically or by using a simulation technique or they are linguistic subjective judgments defined by fuzzy sets, like, for example, the values of criteria. A methodology is developed and applied to rank the inventory policies.

Keywords: inventory policy, ranking, DBA, selection criteria

Procedia PDF Downloads 381

Authors: Berfin Yildiz

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These days, increasing global warming effects, limited amount of energy resources, etc., necessitates the awareness that must be present in every profession group. The architecture and construction sectors are responsible for both the embodied and operational energy of the materials. This responsibility has led designers to seek alternative solutions for energy-efficient material selection. The choice of energy-efficient material requires consideration of the entire life cycle, including the building's production, use, and disposal energy. The aim of this study is to investigate the method of material selection of external thermal insulation composite systems (ETICS). Embodied and in-use energy values of material alternatives were used for the evaluation in this study. The operational energy is calculated according to the u-value calculation method defined in the TS 825 (Thermal Insulation Requirements) standard for Turkey, and the embodied energy is calculated based on the manufacturer's Energy Performance Declaration (EPD). ETICS consists of a wall, adhesive, insulation, lining, mechanical, mesh, and exterior finishing materials. In this study, lining, mechanical, and mesh materials were ignored because EPD documents could not be obtained. The material selection problem is designed as a hypothetical volume area (5x5x3m) and defined as a multi-objective discrete optimization problem for external thermal insulation composite systems. Defining the problem as a discrete optimization problem is important in order to choose between materials of various thicknesses and sizes. Since production and use energy values, which are determined as optimization objectives in the study, are often conflicting values, material selection is defined as a multi-objective optimization problem, and it is aimed to obtain many solution alternatives by using Hypervolume (HypE) algorithm. The enrollment process started with 100 individuals and continued for 50 generations. According to the obtained results, it was observed that autoclaved aerated concrete and Ponce block as wall material, glass wool, as insulation material gave better results.

Keywords: embodied energy, multi-objective discrete optimization, performative design, thermal insulation

Procedia PDF Downloads 131

Authors: Baigts-Allende Diana, Klojdová Iveta, Kozlu Ali, Metri-ojeda Jorge

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Emulsion gels are constituted by a colloidal system (emulsion) stabilized by a polymeric gel matrix. These systems are more homogeneous and stable than conventional emulsions and can behave as either gel-like or soft-solid. Protein-based emulsion gels (PEG) have been used as carrier systems of bioactive compounds and as food structuring to improve the texture and consistency, mainly in producing low-fat content products. This work studied the effect of protein: polysaccharide ratio 0.75:1.25, 1:1, and 1.25:0.75 (levels -1, 0, and +1) and pH values (2-9) on the stability of protein-based emulsion gels using soy protein isolate and sodium alginate. Protein emulsion capacity was enhaced with increased pH (6,7,8 and 9) compared to acid pH values. The smaller particle size for PEG was at pH 9 (~23µm); however, with increasing protein ratio (level +1), higher particle size was observed (~23µm). The same trend was observed for rheological measurements; the consistency index (K) increased at pH 9 for level -1 (1.17) in comparison to level +1 (0.45). The studied PEG showed good thermal stability at neutral and pH 9 (~98 %) for all biopolymer ratios. Optimal conditions in pH and biopolymer ratios were determined for PEG using soy protein and sodium alginate ingredients with potential use in elaborating stable systems for broad application in the food sector.

Keywords: emulsion gels, food structuring, biopolymers, food systems

Procedia PDF Downloads 71

Authors: Ibrahim R. Elomari, Fin O'Flaherty, Ibrahim R. Elomari, Paul Lambert

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Cathodic protection (CP) is a technique commonly used to arrest corrosion of steel in infrastructure. However, it is not generally used on high strength, pre-stressed tendons due to the risk of hydrogen generation, leading to possible embrittlement. This paper investigates its use in such circumstances where the applied protection potential is varied to determine if CP can be safely employed on pre-stressed tendons. Plain steel tendons measuring 5.4 mm diameter were pre-stressed in timber moulds and embedded in sand/cement mortar, formulated to represent gunite. Two levels of pre-stressing were investigated (400MPa and 1200MPa). Pre-corrosion of 0% (control), 3% and 6% target loss of cross-sectional area was applied to replicate service conditions. Impressed current cathodic protection (ICCP) was then applied to the tendons at two levels of potential to identify any effect on strength. Instant-off values up to -950mV were used for normal protection with values of -1100mV or more negative to achieve overprotection. Following the ICCP phase, the tendons were removed from the mortar, cleaned and weighed to confirm actual percentage of corrosion. Tensile tests were then conducted on the tendons. The preliminary results show the influence of normal levels and overprotection of CP on the ultimate strength of the tendons.

Keywords: pre-stressed concrete, corrosion, cathodic protection, hydrogen embrittlement

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Authors: Ceren Vardar Acar, Mine Caglar

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In finance, the price of a volatile asset can be modeled using fractional Brownian motion (fBm) with Hurst parameter H>1/2. The Black-Scholes model for the values of returns of an asset using fBm is given as, 〖Y_t=Y_0 e^((r+μ)t+σB)〗_t^H, 0≤t≤T where Y_0 is the initial value, r is constant interest rate, μ is constant drift and σ is constant diffusion coefficient of fBm, which is denoted by B_t^H where t≥0. Black-Scholes model can be constructed with some Markov processes such as Brownian motion. The advantage of modeling with fBm to Markov processes is its capability of exposing the dependence between returns. The real life data for a volatile asset display long-range dependence property. For this reason, using fBm is a more realistic model compared to Markov processes. Investors would be interested in any kind of information on the risk in order to manage it or hedge it. The maximum possible loss is one way to measure highest possible risk. Therefore, it is an important variable for investors. In our study, we give some theoretical bounds on the distribution of maximum possible loss of fBm. We provide both asymptotical and strong estimates for the tail probability of maximum loss of standard fBm and fBm with drift and diffusion coefficients. In the investment point of view, these results explain, how large values of possible loss behave and its bounds.

Keywords: maximum drawdown, maximum loss, fractional brownian motion, large deviation, Gaussian process

Procedia PDF Downloads 480

Authors: Nititorn Ounpipat

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The objective of this study was to find the relationship between internal communication and job satisfaction, and to find out the best communication channel to contact employees for a quality working within the operation or organizational rules. The sample size of 100% who were working as a shop floor level employee in the company. The study used the quantitative research method by distributing a structured questionnaire to collect data from 150 employees as the sample size. Inferential statistics and forward multiple regression analysis were used to analyze the results of this research. The result shows that communication channel correlated with job satisfaction. Each channel has a correlation with the satisfaction of working with the Department Board Information and All Employee / Weekly Meeting Relevance high. Since there is a correlation coefficient equal. 851 and. 840, respectively. Company Board Information, Memo, Letter, Leader, Supervisor, Friends and Email Relevance moderate as well.

Keywords: internal communication channels, job satisfaction, personal feedback, Rayong province

Procedia PDF Downloads 220

Authors: Khader S. Al-Aidmat, Venus W. Samawi

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Blurred vision in the misty atmosphere is essential problem which needs to be resolved. To solve this problem, we developed a technique to restore foggy degraded image from its original version using Back-propagation neural network (BP-NN). The suggested technique is based on mapping between foggy scene and its corresponding original scene. Seven different approaches are suggested based on type of features used in image restoration. Features are extracted from spatial and spatial-frequency domain (using DCT). Each of these approaches comes with its own BP-NN architecture depending on type and number of used features. The weight matrix resulted from training each BP-NN represents a fog filter. The performance of these filters are evaluated empirically (using PSNR), and perceptually. By comparing the performance of these filters, the effective features that suits BP-NN technique for restoring foggy images is recognized. This system proved its effectiveness and success in restoring moderate foggy images.

Keywords: artificial neural network, discrete cosine transform, feed forward neural network, foggy image restoration

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Authors: Muzaffar Iqbal, Essam Ezzeldin, Khalid A. Al-Rashood

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Pomalidomide is a second generation oral immunomodulatory agent, being used for the treatment of multiple myeloma in patients with disease refractory to lenalidomide and bortezomib. In this study, a sensitive UPLC-MS/MS assay was developed and validated for high-throughput determination of pomalidomide in rat plasma using celecoxib as an internal standard (IS). Liquid liquid extraction using dichloromethane as extracting agent was employed to extract pomalidomide and IS from 200 µL of plasma. Chromatographic separation was carried on Acquity BEHTM C18 column (50 × 2.1 mm, 1.7 µm) using an isocratic mobile phase of acetonitrile:10 mM ammonium acetate (80:20, v/v), at a flow rate of 0.250 mL/min. Both pomalidomide and IS were eluted at 0.66 ± 0.03 and 0.80 ± 0.03 min, respectively with a total run time of 1.5 min only. Detection was performed on a triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometer using electrospray ionization in negative mode. The precursor to product ion transitions of m/z 272.01 → 160.89 for pomalidomide and m/z 380.08 → 316.01 for IS were used to quantify them respectively, using multiple reaction monitoring mode. The developed method was validated according to regulatory guideline for bioanalytical method validation. The linearity in plasma sample was achieved in the concentration range of 0.47–400 ng/mL (r2 ≥ 0.997). The intra and inter-day precision values were ≤ 11.1% (RSD, %) whereas accuracy values ranged from - 6.8 – 8.5% (RE, %). In addition, other validation results were within the acceptance criteria and the method was successfully applied in a pharmacokinetic study of pomalidomide in rats.

Keywords: pomalidomide, pharmacokinetics, LC-MS/MS, celecoxib

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Authors: Mohamed Eladham Fadl M. E. Fadl

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In Egypt, wastewater has been used for irrigation in areas with fresh water scarcity. However, continuous applications may cause potential risks. Thus, the current study aims at screening the impacts of long-term wastewater irrigation on soil pollution and human health due to the exposure of heavy metals. Soils of nine sites in Al-Qalyubiyah Governorate, Egypt were sampled and analyzed for different properties. Wastewater resulted in a build-up of metals in soils. The pollution index (PI) showed the order of Cd > Pb > Ni > Zn. The integrated pollution index of Nemerow’s (IPIN) exceeded the safe limit of 0.7. The enrichment factor (EF) surpassed 1.0 value proving anthropogenic effects. The geo-accumulation index (Igeo) indicated that Pb, Ni, and Zn-induced none to moderate pollution, while high threats were associated with Cd. The calculated hazard index proved a potential health risk for humans, particularly children. It is recommended to perform a treatment to the wastewater used in irrigation to avoid such threats.

Keywords: pollution, health risks, heavy metals, effluent, irrigation, GIS techniques

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Authors: V. Pourmostaghimi, M. Zadshakoyan

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Efficiency and productivity of the finish hard turning can be enhanced impressively by utilizing accurate predictive models for cutting tool wear. However, the ability of genetic programming in presenting an accurate analytical model is a notable characteristic which makes it more applicable than other predictive modeling methods. In this paper, the genetic equation for modeling of tool flank wear is developed with the use of the experimentally measured flank wear values and genetic programming during finish turning of hardened AISI D2. Series of tests were conducted over a range of cutting parameters and the values of tool flank wear were measured. On the basis of obtained results, genetic model presenting connection between cutting parameters and tool flank wear were extracted. The accuracy of the genetically obtained model was assessed by using two statistical measures, which were root mean square error (RMSE) and coefficient of determination (R²). Evaluation results revealed that presented genetic model predicted flank wear over the study area accurately (R² = 0.9902 and RMSE = 0.0102). These results allow concluding that the proposed genetic equation corresponds well with experimental data and can be implemented in real industrial applications.

Keywords: cutting parameters, flank wear, genetic programming, hard turning

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Authors: Adolfo Martucci, Iulian Mihai

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By means of the expansion through a Conical Nozzle and the low pressure inside the Test Chamber, a large hypersonic stable flow takes place for a duration of up to 30 minutes. Downstream the Test Chamber, the diffuser has the function of reducing the flow velocity to subsonic values, and as a consequence, the temperature increases again. In order to cool down the flow, a heat exchanger is present at the end of the diffuser. The Vacuum System generates the necessary vacuum conditions for the correct hypersonic flow generation, and the DeNOx system, which follows the Vacuum System, reduces the nitrogen oxide concentrations created inside the plasma flow behind the limits imposed by Italian law. This very large, powerful, and complex facility allows researchers and engineers to reproduce entire re-entry trajectories of space vehicles into the atmosphere. One of the most important parameters for a hypersonic flowfield representative of re-entry conditions is the specific total enthalpy. This is the whole energy content of the fluid, and it represents how severe could be the conditions around a spacecraft re-entering from a space mission or, in our case, inside a hypersonic wind tunnel. It is possible to reach very high values of enthalpy (up to 45 MJ/kg) that, together with the large allowable size of the models, represent huge possibilities for making on-ground experiments regarding the atmospheric re-entry field. The maximum nozzle exit section diameter is 1950 mm, where values of Mach number very much higher than 1 can be reached. The specific total enthalpy is evaluated by means of a number of measurements, each of them concurring with its value and its uncertainty. The scope of the present paper is the evaluation of the sensibility of the uncertainty of the specific total enthalpy versus all the parameters and measurements involved. The sensors that, if improved, could give the highest advantages have so been individuated. Several simulations in Python with the METAS library and by means of Monte Carlo simulations are presented together with the obtained results and discussions about them.

Keywords: hypersonic, uncertainty, enthalpy, simulations

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Authors: Reshma Raskar-Phule, Makarand Landge, Saurabh Singh, Vijay Singh, Jash Saparia, Shivam Tripathi

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For any construction project, slope calculations are necessary in order to evaluate constructability on the site, such as the slope of parking lots, sidewalks, and ramps, the slope of sanitary sewer lines, slope of roads and highways. When slopes and grades are to be determined, designers are concerned with establishing proper slopes and grades for their projects to assess cut and fill volume calculations and determine inverts of pipes. There are several established instruments commonly used to determine slopes, such as Dumpy level, Abney level or Hand Level, Inclinometer, Tacheometer, Henry method, etc., and surveyors are very familiar with the use of these instruments to calculate slopes. However, they have some other drawbacks which cannot be neglected while major surveying works. Firstly, it requires expert surveyors and skilled staff. The accessibility, visibility, and accommodation to remote hilly terrain with these instruments and surveying teams are difficult. Also, determination of gentle slopes in case of road and sewer drainage constructions in congested urban places with these instruments is not easy. This paper aims to develop a method that requires minimum field work, minimum instruments, no high-end technology or instruments or software, and low cost. It requires basic and handy surveying accessories like a plane table with a fixed weighing machine, standard weights, alidade, tripod, and ranging rods should be able to determine the terrain slope in congested areas as well as in remote hilly terrain. Also, being simple and easy to understand and perform the people of that local rural area can be easily trained for the proposed method. The idea for the proposed method is based on the principle of resolution of weight components. When any object of standard weight ‘W’ is placed on an inclined surface with a weighing machine below it, then its cosine component of weight is presently measured by that weighing machine. The slope can be determined from the relation between the true or actual weight and the apparent weight. A proper procedure is to be followed, which includes site location, centering and sighting work, fixing the whole set at the identified station, and finally taking the readings. A set of experiments for slope determination, mild and moderate slopes, are carried out by the proposed method and by the theodolite instrument in a controlled environment, on the college campus, and uncontrolled environment actual site. The slopes determined by the proposed method were compared with those determined by the established instruments. For example, it was observed that for the same distances for mild slope, the difference in the slope obtained by the proposed method and by the established method ranges from 4’ for a distance of 8m to 2o15’20” for a distance of 16m for an uncontrolled environment. Thus, for mild slopes, the proposed method is suitable for a distance of 8m to 10m. The correlation between the proposed method and the established method shows a good correlation of 0.91 to 0.99 for various combinations, mild and moderate slope, with the controlled and uncontrolled environment.

Keywords: surveying, plane table, weight component, slope determination, hilly terrain, construction

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Authors: Wipharat Saimo, Benjawan Thumthanaruk, Panida Banjongsinsiri, Nowwapan Noojuy

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Thai northern style sausage (sai-ou) is originally cuisine made of chili paste, pork, and lard. It always serves with curry paste, vegetable, and rice. The meat and lard ingredients used can be substituted by Shiitake mushroom (Lentinus edodes) and King oyster (Pleurotus eryngii) mushroom (50:50 w/w) which is suitable for all people, especially vegetarians. However, the texture of mushroom type sai-ou had no homogenous texture due to no adhesiveness property of mushroom. Therefore, this research aimed to study the ratio of hydrocolloids (konjac flour (0-100%), konjac gel (0-100%) and Citri-fi®100 FG (0-2%)) on the physicochemical properties mushroom type sai-ou. The mixture design was applied by using Minitab 16 software. Nine formula were designed for the test. The values of moisture content and water activity of nine formula were ranged from 66.25-72.17% and 0.96-0.97. The pH values were 5.44-5.89. The optimal ratio of konjac flour, konjac gel and Citri-fi®100 FG (74.75:24.75:0.5 (w/w)) yielded the highest texture profiles (hardness, springiness, cohesiveness, gumminess and chewiness) as well as color parameters (L*, a* and b*). Sensory results showed had higher acceptability scores in term of overall liking with the level of ‘like moderately’ (5.9 on 7 pointed scale). The mushroom type sai-ou sausage could be an alternative food for health-conscious consumers.

Keywords: Citri-fi® 100 FG, konjac flour, konjac gel, Thai northern style sausages

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Authors: Thummalapalli CSM Gupta, Banti Sidhiwala

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Mineral oils of naphthenic and paraffinic type have been traditionally been used as insulating liquids in the transformer applications to protect the solid insulation from moisture and ensures effective heat transfer/cooling. The performance of these type of oils have been proven in the field over many decades and the condition monitoring and diagnosis of transformer performance have been successfully monitored through oil properties and dissolved gas analysis methods successfully. Different type of gases representing various types of faults due to components or operating conditions effectively. While large amount of data base has been generated in the industry on dissolved gas analysis for mineral oil based transformer oils and various models for predicting the fault and analysis, oil specifications and standards have also been modified to include stray gassing limits which cover the low temperature faults and becomes an effective preventative maintenance tool that can benefit greatly to know the reasons for the breakdown of electrical insulating materials and related components. Natural esters have seen a rise in popularity in recent years due to their "green" credentials. Some of its benefits include biodegradability, a higher fire point, improvement in load capability of transformer and improved solid insulation life than mineral oils. However, the Stray gases evolution like hydrogen and hydrocarbons like methane (CH4) and ethane (C2H6) show very high values which are much higher than the limits of mineral oil standards. Though the standards for these type esters are yet to be evolved, the higher values of hydrocarbon gases that are available in the market is of concern which might be interpreted as a fault in transformer operation. The current paper focuses on developing a natural ester based transformer oil which shows very levels of stray gassing by standard test methods show much lower values compared to the products available currently and experimental results on various test conditions and the underlying mechanism explained.

Keywords: biodegadability, fire point, dissolved gassing analysis, stray gassing

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Authors: Muhammed Ertuğrul Çeloğlu, Mehmet Yılmaz

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In this study, apricot seed shell, walnut shell, and sawdust were chosen as biomass sources. The materials were sorted by using a sieve No. 50 and the sieved materials were subjected to pyrolysis process at 400 °C, resulting in three different biochar products. The resulting biochar products were added to the bitumen at three different rates (5%, 10% and 15%), producing modified bitumen. Penetration, softening point, rotation viscometer and dynamic shear rheometer (DSR) tests were conducted on modified binders. Thus the modified bitumen, which was obtained by using additives at 3 different rates obtained from biochar produced at 400 °C temperatures of 3 different biomass sources were compared and the effects of pyrolysis temperature and additive rates were evaluated. As a result of the conducted tests, it was determined that the rheology of the pure bitumen improved significantly as a result of the modification of the bitumen with the biochar. Additionally, with biochar additive, it was determined that the rutting parameter values obtained from softening point, viscometer and DSR tests were increased while the values in terms of penetration and phase angle decreased. It was also observed that the most effective biomass is sawdust while the least effective was ground apricot seed shell.

Keywords: rheology, biomass, pyrolysis, biochar

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Authors: Komon Paisal

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The aim of this research was to create collaborative learning activities in the course of Principles of Mathematics for graduate level by investigating the students’ ability in proving the mathematics principles as well as their attitudes towards the activities. The samples composed of 2 main group; lecturers and students. The lecturers consisted of 3 teachers who taught the course of Principles of Mathematics at Rajabhat Suan Sunandha Unicersity in the academic year 2012. The students consisted of 32 students joining the cooperative learning activities in the subject of Principles of Mathematics in the academic year 2012. The research tools included activity plan for cooperative learning, testing on mathematics with the reliability of 0.8067 and the attitude questionnaires reported by the students. The results showed that: 1) the efficiency of the developed cooperative learning activities was 69.76/ 68.57 which was lower than the set criteria at 70/70. 2) The students joining the cooperative learning activities were able to prove the principles of mathematics at the average of 70%. 3) The students joining the cooperative learning activities reported moderate attitude towards the activities.

Keywords: instructional design, pedagogical, teaching strategies, learning strategies

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Authors: Farej Ahmed Emhmmed Alhegagi

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Duplex stainless steels are attractive material for apparatus working with sea water, petroleum, refineries, chemical plants,vessels, and pipes operating at high temperatures and/or pressures. The role of austenite phase in duplex stainless steels performance was investigated. Zeron 100, stainless steels with 50/50 ferrite / austenite %, specimens were tested for strength, toughness, embrittlement susceptibility, and assisted environmental cracking (AEC) resistance. Specimens were heat treated at 475°C for different times and loaded to well- selected values of load. The load values were chosen to be within the range of higher / lower than the expected toughness. Sodium chloride solution 3.5wt% environment with polarity of -900mV / SCE was used to investigate the material susceptibility to (AEC). Results showed important effect of austenite on specimens overall mechanical properties. Strength was affected by the ductile nature of austenite phase leading to plastic deformation accommodated by austenite slip system. Austenite embrittlement, either by decomposition or nucleation and growth process, was not observed to take place during specimens heat treatment. Cracking due to (AEC) took place in the ferrite grains and avoided the austenite phase. Specimens showed the austenite to act as a crack arrestor during (AEC) of duplex stainless steels.

Keywords: austenite phase, mechanical properties, embrittlement susceptibility, duplex stainless steels

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Authors: Orkide Donma, Mustafa M. Donma

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Obesity, a disease associated with a low-grade inflammation, is a risk factor for the development of metabolic syndrome (MetS). So far, MetS risk factors such as parameters related to glucose and lipid metabolisms as well as blood pressure were considered for the evaluation of this disease. There are still some ambiguities related to the characteristic features of MetS observed particularly in pediatric population. Hormonal imbalance is also important, and quite a lot information exists about the behaviour of some hormones in adults. However, the hormonal profiles in pediatric metabolism have not been cleared yet. The aim of this study is to investigate the profiles of cortisol, insulin, and thyroid hormones in children with MetS. The study population was composed of morbid obese (MO) children without (Group 1) and with (Group 2) MetS components. WHO BMI-for age and sex percentiles were used for the classification of obesity. The values above 99 percentile were defined as morbid obesity. Components of MetS (central obesity, glucose intolerance, high blood pressure, high triacylglycerol levels, low levels of high density lipoprotein cholesterol) were determined. Anthropometric measurements were performed. Ratios as well as obesity indices were calculated. Insulin, cortisol, thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), free T₃ and free T₄ analyses were performed by electrochemiluminescence immunoassay. Data were evaluated by statistical package for social sciences program. p<0.05 was accepted as the degree for statistical significance. The mean ages±SD values of Group 1 and Group 2 were 9.9±3.1 years and 10.8±3.2 years, respectively. Body mass index (BMI) values were calculated as 27.4±5.9 kg/m² and 30.6±8.1 kg/m², successively. There were no statistically significant differences between the ages and BMI values of the groups. Insulin levels were statistically significantly increased in MetS in comparison with the levels measured in MO children. There was not any difference between MO children and those with MetS in terms of cortisol, T₃, T₄ and TSH. However, T₄ levels were positively correlated with cortisol and negatively correlated with insulin. None of these correlations were observed in MO children. Cortisol levels in both MO as well as MetS group were significantly correlated. Cortisol, insulin, and thyroid hormones are essential for life. Cortisol, called the control system for hormones, orchestrates the performance of other key hormones. It seems to establish a connection between hormone imbalance and inflammation. During an inflammatory state, more cortisol is produced to fight inflammation. High cortisol levels prevent the conversion of the inactive form of the thyroid hormone T₄ into active form T₃. Insulin is reduced due to low thyroid hormone. T₃, which is essential for blood sugar control- requires cortisol levels within the normal range. Positive association of T₄ with cortisol and negative association of it with insulin are the indicators of such a delicate balance among these hormones also in children with MetS.

Keywords: children, cortisol, insulin, metabolic syndrome, thyroid hormones

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Authors: Musthaya Patchanee

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The study of Sanitary landfill in Bang Nok-khwaek municipality consists of two procedures. First, to survey and create the spatial database by using physical factor, environmental factor, economical factor and social factor to follow the method of Geographic information system: GIS, second, to analyze the proper spatial for allocating the sanitary landfill in Bang Nok-khwaek municipality by using Overlay techniques to calculate the weighting linear total in Arc GIS program. The study found that there are 2.49 sq.km. proper spatial for the sanitary landfill in Bang Nok-khwaek municipals city which is 66.76% of the whole area. The highest proper spatial is 0.02 sq.km. which is 0.54%, The high proper spatial is 0.3 sq.km. which is 8.04%, the moderate spatial is 1.62 sq.km. which is 43.43% and the low proper spatial is 0.55 sq.km. which is 14.75%. These results will be used as the guideline to select the sanitary landfill area in accordance with sanitation standard for Subdistrict Administrative Organization and Subbdistrict Municipality in Samut Songkhram provice.

Keywords: Geographic Information System (GIS), sanitary landfill, Bang Nok-Khwaek municipality, Subdistrict Administrative Organization

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Authors: Fadhl Qutaish

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This paper examines the pharyngealization spread in one of the Yemeni Arabic dialects, namely, Ibbi Arabic (IA). It investigates how pharyngealized sounds spread their acoustic features onto the neighboring vowels and change their default features. This feature has been investigated quietly well in MSA but still has to be deeply studied in the different dialect of Arabic which will bring about a clearer picture of the similarities and the differences among these dialects and help in mapping them based on the way this feature is utilized. Though the studies are numerous, no one of them has illustrated how far in the multi-syllabic word the spread can be and whether it takes a steady or gradient manner. This study tries to fill this gap and give a satisfactory explanation of the pharyngealization spread in Ibbi Dialect. This study is the first step towards a larger investigation of the different dialects of Yemeni Arabic in the future. The data recorded are represented in minimal pairs in which the trigger (pharyngealized or the non-pharyngealized sound) is in the initial or final position of monosyllabic and multisyllabic words. A group of 24 words were divided into four groups and repeated three times by three subjects which will yield 216 tokens that are tested and analyzed. The subjects are three male speakers aged between 28 and 31 with no history of neurological, speaking or hearing problems. All of them are bilingual speakers of Arabic and English and native speakers of Ibbi-Dialect. Recordings were done in a sound-proof room and praat software was used for the analysis and coding of the trajectories of F1 and F2 for the low vowel /a/ to see the effect of pharyngealization on the formant trajectory within the same syllable and in other syllables of the same word by comparing the F1 and F2 formants to the non-pharyngealized environment. The results show that pharyngealization spread is gradient (progressively and regressively). The spread is reflected in the gradual raising of F1 as we move closer towards the trigger and the gradual lowering of F2 as well. The results of the F1 mean values in tri-syllabic words when the trigger is word initially show that there is a raise of 37.9 HZ in the first syllable, 26.8HZ in the second syllable and 14.2HZ in the third syllable. F2 mean values undergo a lowering of 239 HZ in the first syllable, 211.7 HZ in the second syllable and 176.5 in the third syllable. This gradual decrease in the difference of F2 values in the non-pharyngealized and pharyngealized context illustrates that the spread is gradient. A similar result was found when the trigger is word-final which proves that the spread is gradient (progressively and regressively.

Keywords: pharyngealization, Yemeni Arabic, Ibbi dialect, pharyngealization spread

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Authors: Noorh Albadi, Salha Khayyat

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People's moods and well-being are affected by their environment. The built environment impacts one's level of activity and health. In order to enhance users' physical health, sustainable design strategies have been developed for the physical environment to improve users' health. This study aimed to determine whether adult resorts in Saudi Arabia meet standards that ensure physical wellness to identify the needed requirements. It will be significant to the Ministry of Tourism, Sports, developers, and designers. Physical activity affects human health physically and mentally. In Saudi Arabia, the percentage of people who practiced sports in the Kingdom in 2019 was 20.04% - males and females older than 15. On the other hand, there is a lack of physical activity in Saudi Arabia; 90% of the Kingdom's population spends more than two hours sitting down without moving, which puts them at risk of contracting a non-communicable disease. The lack of physical activity and movement led to an increase in the rate of obesity among Saudis by 59% in 2020 and consequently could cause chronic diseases or death. The literature generally endorses that leading an active lifestyle improves physical health and affects mental health. Therefore, the United Nations has set 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all ages. One of SDG3's targets is reducing mortality, which can be achieved by raising physical activity. In order to support sustainable design, many rating systems and strategies have been developed, such as WELL building, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, (LEED), Active design strategies, and RIPA plan of work. The survey was used to gather qualitative and quantitative information. It was designed based on the Active Design and WELL building theories targeting beach resorts visitors, professional and beginner athletes, and non-athletics to ask them about the beach resorts they visited in the Kingdom and whether they met the criteria of sports resorts and healthy and active design theories, in addition to gathering information about the preferences of physical activities in the Saudi society in terms of the type of activities that young people prefer, where they prefer to engage in and under any thermal and light conditions. The final section asks about the design of residential units in beach sports resorts, the data collected from 127 participants. Findings revealed that participants prefer outdoor activities in moderate weather and sunlight or the evening with moderate and sufficient lighting and that no beach sports resorts in the country are constructed to support sustainable design criteria for physical activity. Participants agreed that several measures that lessen tension at beach resorts and enhance movement and activity are needed by Saudi society. The study recommends designing resorts that meet the sustainable design criteria regarding physical activity in Saudi Arabia to increase physical activity to achieve psychological and physical benefits and avoid psychological and physical diseases related to physical inactivity.

Keywords: sustainable design, SDGs, active design strategies, well building, beach resort design

Procedia PDF Downloads 115