Search results for: contemporary conditions

Authors: Carolina Pereira Lobato Costa, Cristina Pascual-González, Monica Echeverry, Javier LLorca, Carlos Gonzáléz, Juan Pedro Fernández-Bláquez

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Although the potential of PLA self-reinforced composites for bone applications, not much literature addresses optimal manufacturing conditions. In this regard, this paper describes the woven self-reinforced PLA composites manufacturing processes: the commingling of yarns, weaving, and hot pressing and characterizes the manufactured laminates. Different structures and properties can be achieved by varying the hot compaction process parameters (pressure, holding time, and temperature). The specimens manufactured were characterized in terms of thermal properties (DSC), microstructure (C-scan optical microscope and SEM), strength (tensile test), and biocompatibility (MTT assays). Considering the final device, 155 ℃ for 10 min at 2 MPa act as the more appropriate hot pressing parameters. The laminate produced with these conditions has few voids/porosity, a tensile strength of 30.39 ± 1.21 MPa, and a modulus of 4.09 ± 0.24 GPa. Subsequently to the tensile testing was possible to observe fiber pullout from the fracture surfaces, confirming that this material behaves as a composite. From the results, no single laminate can fulfill all the requirements, being necessary to compromise in function of the priority property. Further investigation is required to improve materials' mechanical performance. Subsequently, process parameters and materials configuration can be adjusted depending on the place and type of implant to suit its function.

Keywords: woven fabric, self-reinforced polymer composite, poly(lactic acid), biodegradable

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Authors: Kent Salomonsson, Xuefang Zhao, Sara Kallin

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Human soft tissue is loaded and deformed by any activity, an effect known as a stress-strain relationship, and is often described by a load and tissue elongation curve. Several advances have been made in the fields of biology and mechanics of soft human tissue. However, there is limited information available on in vivo tissue mechanical characteristics and behavior. Confident mechanical properties of human soft tissue cannot be extrapolated from e.g. animal testing. Thus, there is need for non invasive methods to analyze mechanical characteristics of soft human tissue. In the present study, the internal mechanical conditions of the lower limb, which is subject to an external load, is studied by use of the finite element method. A detailed finite element model of the lower limb is made possible by use of MRI scans. Skin, fat, bones, fascia and muscles are represented separately and the material properties for them are obtained from literature. Previous studies have been shown to address macroscopic deformation features, e.g. indentation depth, to a large extent. However, the detail in which the internal anatomical features have been modeled does not reveal the critical internal strains that may induce hypoxia and/or eventual tissue damage. The results of the present study reveals that lumped material models, i.e. averaging of the material properties for the different constituents, does not capture regions of critical strains in contrast to more detailed models.

Keywords: FEM, tissue, indentation, properties

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Authors: Md Abdullah Al Faruque, Ram Balachandar

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Sudden change of bed condition is frequent in open channel flow. Change of bed condition affects the turbulence characteristics in both streamwise and wall-normal direction. Understanding the turbulence intensity in open channel flow is of vital importance to the modeling of sediment transport and resuspension, bed formation, entrainment, and the exchange of energy and momentum. A comprehensive study was carried out to understand the extent of the effect of Reynolds number and bed roughness on different turbulence characteristics in an open channel flow. Four different bed conditions (impervious smooth bed, impervious continuous rough bed, pervious rough sand bed, and impervious distributed roughness) and two different Reynolds numbers were adopted for this cause. The effect of bed roughness on different turbulence characteristics is seen to be prevalent for most of the flow depth. Effect of Reynolds number on different turbulence characteristics is also evident for flow over different bed, but the extent varies on bed condition. Although the same sand grain is used to create the different rough bed conditions, the difference in turbulence characteristics is an indication that specific geometry of the roughness has an influence on turbulence characteristics. Roughness increases the contribution of the extreme turbulent events which produces very large instantaneous Reynolds shear stress and can potentially influence the sediment transport, resuspension of pollutant from bed and alter the nutrient composition, which eventually affect the sustainability of benthic organisms.

Keywords: open channel flow, Reynolds Number, roughness, turbulence

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Authors: Charmaine Devinee Pillay

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Employees in both public and private sectors are expected to contribute significantly to the growth and development of the organization that employs them. Good working conditions are directly linked to the optimum output emanating from the workforce’s excellent performance. Insecurity, instability and lack of benefits negatively impact on the employees’ commitment to their job. This is a qualitative case study that comprised 40 “Contract Employees” (Academic and Supporting staff) in the Faculty of Health Sciences, Walter Sisulu University, Mthatha, Eastern Cape, South Africa. Questionnaire, as instrument of data collection, was used to obtain qualitative data. Data collected were categorized in themes and sub-themes for analyses and discussion. Findings showed that “contract Employees” are highly demoralized due to job insecurity and non-benefits, among other factors, which directly affect their overall output in discharging their duties. The case study at Walter Sisulu University typifies the generalized challenges faced by workers on contract basis in South Africa. It is therefore, recommended that employers hire their workforce on permanent basis or, where “Contract Employment “is inevitable, similar conditions that go with permanent employment should be incorporated in the contract terms of “Contract Employees”. This serves as impetus for optimum performance.

Keywords: contract employee, insecurity, instability, risk factors

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Authors: Esha Banerji

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This paper attempts an assessment of India's behaviour as a foreign policy actor amidst the COVID 19 pandemic by briefly surveying the various introductions and alterations made to India's foreign policy. First, the paper attempts to establish the key strategic pillars of Indian foreign policy after reviewing the existing works. It then proceeds to assess the prominent part played by Health Diplomacy ("Vaccine Maitri") in India's bilateral and multilateral relations during the pandemic and the role of the Indian diaspora in shaping India's foreign policy. This is followed by examining "India's Neighbourhood First policy" and the way it's been employed by the Indian government to extend India’s strategic influence during the pandemic. An empirical assessment will be done to examine the changing dynamics of India's relation with different regional groupings like SAARC, ASEAN, BIMSTEC, etc. The paper also explores the new alliances formed post-pandemic and India's role in them. This paper analyses the contemporary challenges that the largest nation in South Asia faces with the onset of a global pandemic and how Ancient Indian values like "Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam" have influenced India's foreign policy, especially during the pandemic. It also attempts to grasp the changes within the negotiation style of the Indian government, and the role played by various stakeholders in shaping India's position in the present geopolitical landscape. The study has been conducted using data collected from government records, External Affairs Ministry database, and other available literature. The paper concludes with an attempt to predict the far-reaching strategic implications that the policy, as mentioned above, may have for India.

Keywords: Indian foreign policy, COVID19, diplomacy, post pandemic world

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Authors: Shirin Shafaei, James R. Bolton, Mohamed Gamal El Din

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Ultraviolet (UV) disinfection causes damage to the DNA or RNA of microorganisms, but many microorganisms can repair this damage after exposure to near-UV or visible wavelengths (310–480 nm) by a mechanism called photoreactivation. Photoreactivation is gaining more attention because it can reduce the efficiency of UV disinfection of wastewater several hours after treatment. The focus of many photoreactivation research activities on the single species has caused a considerable lack in knowledge about complex natural communities of microorganisms and their response to UV treatment. In this research, photoreactivation experiments were carried out on the influent of the UV disinfection unit at a municipal wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) in Edmonton, Alberta after exposure to a Medium-Pressure (MP) UV lamp system to evaluate the effect of environmental factors on photoreactivation of microorganisms in the actual municipal wastewater. The effect of reactivation fluence, temperature, and river water on photoreactivation of total coliforms was examined under indoor conditions. The results showed that higher effective reactivation fluence values (up to 20 J/cm²) and higher temperatures (up to 25 °C) increased the photoreactivation of total coliforms. However, increasing the percentage of river in the mixtures of the effluent and river water decreased the photoreactivation of the mixtures. The results of this research can help the municipal wastewater treatment industry to examine the environmental effects of discharging their effluents into receiving waters.

Keywords: photoreactivation, reactivation fluence, river water, temperature, ultraviolet disinfection, wastewater effluent

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Authors: Bryan Low

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In the coming decades, the global maritime industry will face a most formidable environmental challenge -achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050. To meet this target, the Maritime Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) has worked to establish green shipping and digital corridors with ports of several other countries around the world where ships will use low-carbon alternative fuels such as ammonia for power generation. While this paradigm shift to the bunkering of greener fuels is encouraging, fuels like ammonia will also introduce a new and unique type of environmental risk in the unlikely scenario of a spill. While numerous modelling studies have been conducted for oil spills and their associated environmental impact on coastal and marine ecosystems, ammonia spills are comparatively less well understood. For example, there is a knowledge gap regarding how the complex hydrodynamic conditions of the Singapore Straits may influence the dispersion of a hypothetical ammonia plume, which has different physical and chemical properties compared to an oil slick. Chemically, ammonia can be absorbed by phytoplankton, thus altering the balance of the marine nitrogen cycle. Biologically, ammonia generally serves the role of a nutrient in coastal ecosystems at lower concentrations. However, at higher concentrations, it has been found to be toxic to many local species. It may also have the potential to trigger eutrophication and harmful algal blooms (HABs) in coastal waters, depending on local hydrodynamic conditions. Thus, the key objective of this research paper is to support the development of a model-based forecasting system that can predict ammonia plume behaviour in coastal waters, given prevailing hydrodynamic conditions and their environmental impact. This will be essential as ammonia bunkering becomes more commonplace in Singapore’s ports and around the world. Specifically, this system must be able to assess the HAB-triggering potential of an ammonia plume, as well as its lethal and sub-lethal toxic effects on local species. This will allow the relevant authorities to better plan risk mitigation measures or choose a time window with the ideal hydrodynamic conditions to conduct ammonia bunkering operations with minimal risk. In this paper, we present the first part of such a forecasting system: a jointly coupled hydrodynamic-water quality model that can capture how advection-diffusion processes driven by ocean currents influence plume behaviour and how the plume interacts with the marine nitrogen cycle. The model is then applied to various ammonia spill scenarios where the results are discussed in the context of current ammonia toxicity guidelines, impact on local ecosystems, and mitigation measures for future bunkering operations conducted in the Singapore Straits.

Keywords: ammonia bunkering, forecasting, harmful algal blooms, hydrodynamics, marine nitrogen cycle, oceanography, water quality modeling

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Authors: Stephanie Ann Houghton

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SDG-driven intercultural citizenship education through performing arts and history research, combined with dance-fitness development inspired by performing arts, can provide a third space in which performing arts, local history, and contemporary society drive educational and social development, supporting the performing arts in student-generated ways, reflecting their sense, priorities, and goals. Within a string of rugged volcanic peninsulas along the north-western coastline of the Ariake Sea, Kyushu, southern Japan, are found a range of traditional performing arts endangered in Japan’s ageing society, including Menburyu mask dance. From 2017, Menburyu culture and history were explored with Menburyu veterans and students within Houghton’s FURYU Educational Program (FEP) at Saga University. Through collaboration with professional fitness instructor Kazuki Miyata, basic Menburyu movements and concepts were blended into aerobics routines to generate Menburyu-Inspired Dance-Fitness (MIDF). Drawing on history, legends, and myths, three important storylines for understanding Menburyu, captured in students’ bilingual (English/Japanese) exhibition panels, emerged: harvest, demons and gods, and the Battle of Tadenawate 1530. Houghton and Miyata performed the first MIDF routine at the 22nd Traditional Performing Arts Festival at Yutoku Inari Shrine, Kashima, in September 2019. FEP exhibitions, dance-fitness events, and MIDF performance have been reported in the media locally and nationally. In an action research case study, a classroom research project was conducted with four female Japanese students over fifteen three-hour online lessons (April-July 2020). Part 1 of each lesson focused on Menburyu history. This included a guest lecture by Kensuke Ryuzoji. The three Menburyu storylines served as keys for exploring Menburyu history from international standpoints.Part 2 focused on the development of MIDF basic steps and an online MIDF event with outside guests. Through post-lesson reflective diaries and reports/videos documenting their experience, students engaged in heritage management, intercultural dialogue, health/fitness, technology and art generation activities within the FEP, centring on UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) including health and wellness (SDG3), and quality education (SDG4), taking a glocal approach. In this presentation, qualitative analysis of student-generated reflective diary and reports will be presented to reveal educational processes, learning outcomes,and apparent areas of (potential) social impact of this classroom research project. Data will be presented in two main parts: (1) The mutually beneficial relationship between local traditional performing arts research and local history researchwill be addressed. One has the power both inform and illuminate the other given their deep connections. This can drive the development of students’ intercultural history competence related to and through the performing arts. (2) The development of dance-fitness inspired by traditional performing arts provides a third space in which performing arts, local history and contemporary society can be connected through SDG-driven education inside the classroom in ways that can also drive social innovation outside the classroom, potentially supporting the performing arts itself in student-generated ways, reflecting their own sense, priorities and social goals. Links will be drawn with intercultural citizenship, strengths and weaknesses of this teaching approach will be highlighted, and avenues for future research in this exciting new area will be suggested.

Keywords: cultural traditions, dance-fitness performance and participation, intercultural communication approach, mask dance origins

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Authors: John Rosswell Cummings III

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This research examines the discourse ancient Maya ritual practice manifest and maintained through language in a contemporary society as led by a daykeeper— a Maya spiritual leader— with the objective of discovering if the Maya Calendar has an influence on worldview. Through an ethnography of communication and discursive analysis framework, this research examines the discourse of and around the Maya calendar through original research. Data collected includes the ceremonial performance of the Tzolkin ritual, a ritual that takes place every 13 days to ceremonially welcome one of the 20 Universal Forces. During the ceremony, participants supplicate, sacrifice, and venerate. This ritual, based off the Tzolkin cycle in the Mayan Calendar, contains strong, culture-binding ideologies. This research performs a close analysis of the 20 energies of the Tzolkin and their glyphs so as to gain a better understanding of current ideologies in Maya communities. Through a linguistic relativity frame of reference, including both the strong and weak versions, the 20 Universal Forces are shown to influence ways of life. This research argues that it is not just the native language, but the discourses native to the community as held through the calendar, influence thought and have the potential to offer an alternate worldview, thus shaping the cultural narrative which in return influences identity of the community. Research of this kind, on calendric systems and linguistic relativity, has the power to make great discoveries about the societies of the world and their worldviews.

Keywords: anthropological linguistics, discourse analysis, cultural studies, sociolinguistics

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Authors: Hicham Gourgue, Ahmed Aharoune, Ahmed Ihlal

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We present in this work our model of road traffic emissions (line sources) and dispersion of these emissions, named DISPOLSPEM (Dispersion of Poly Sources and Pollutants Emission Model). In its emission part, this model was designed to keep the consistent bottom-up and top-down approaches. It also allows to generate emission inventories from reduced input parameters being adapted to existing conditions in Morocco and in the other developing countries. While several simplifications are made, all the performance of the model results are kept. A further important advantage of the model is that it allows the uncertainty calculation and emission rate uncertainty according to each of the input parameters. In the dispersion part of the model, an improved line source model has been developed, implemented and tested against a reference solution. It provides improvement in accuracy over previous formulas of line source Gaussian plume model, without being too demanding in terms of computational resources. In the case study presented here, the biggest errors were associated with the ends of line source sections; these errors will be canceled by adjacent sections of line sources during the simulation of a road network. In cases where the wind is parallel to the source line, the use of the combination discretized source and analytical line source formulas minimizes remarkably the error. Because this combination is applied only for a small number of wind directions, it should not excessively increase the calculation time.

Keywords: air pollution, dispersion, emissions, line sources, road traffic, urban transport

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Authors: Antonia Stanojević, Agnes Akkerman

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In contemporary society, economically active people typically spend most of their waking hours doing their job. Having that in mind, this research examines how socialization at the workplace shapes political preferences. Innovatively, it examines, in particular, the possible relationship between employees’ voice suppression by the employer and the formation of their political preferences. Since the employer is perceived as an authority figure, their behavior might induce spillovers to attitudes about political authorities and authoritarian governance. Therefore, a positive effect of suppression of voice by employers on employees' preference for authoritarian governance is expected. Furthermore, this relation is expected to be mediated by two mechanisms: system justification and power distance. Namely, it is expected that suppression of voice would create a power distance organizational climate and increase employees’ acceptance of unequal distribution of power, as well as evoke attempts of oppression rationalization through system justification. The hypotheses will be tested on the data gathered within the first wave of Work and Politics Dataset 2017 (N=6000), which allows for a wide range of demographic and psychological control variables. Although a cross-sectional analysis to be used at this point does not allow for causal inferences, the confirmation of expected relationships would encourage and justify further longitudinal research on the same panel dataset, in order to get a clearer image of the causal relationship between employers' suppression of voice and workers' political preferences.

Keywords: authoritarian values, political preferences, power distance, system justification, voice suppression

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Authors: Karim Saeidi

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Safflower capsule fly, Acanthiophilus helianthi Rossi (Diptera: Tephritidae), is a key pest of safflower in Iran. The toxicity of Methidathion, Malathion, Deltamethrin, and Lufenuron to adult males and females of Acanthiophilus helianthi was studied under laboratory conditions. Malathion was the most toxic among the tested compounds followed by Methidathion, Lufenuron, and Deltamethrin to Acanthiophilus helianthi at 24 h post treatment, the respective LC50 values were 0.40 ppm, 0.68 ppm, 10.99 ppm, and 11.75 ppm for males and 0.46 ppm, 0.97 ppm, 13.45 ppm, and 16.32 ppm for females. At 48 h post treatment, Malathion was the most toxic followed by Methidathion, Deltamethrin, and Lufenuron to Acanthiophilus helianthi, LC50 values were 0.08 ppm, 0.54 ppm, 1.80 ppm, and 1.96 ppm for males and 0.34 ppm, 0.64 ppm, 1.88 ppm, and 2.37 ppm for females. At 72 h post treatment, Malathion was the most toxic followed by Methidathion, Lufenuron, and Deltamethrin to Acanthiophilus helianthi LC50 values were 0.04 ppm, 0.33 ppm, 0.44 ppm, and 0.71 ppm for males and 0.09 ppm, 0.36 ppm, 0.75 ppm, and 0.82 ppm for females. It is observed that LC50 values for treated adult females increased more than in the treated adult males at 24 h, 48 h, and 72 h post treatment. It means that the adult males were more susceptible to the tested insecticides than the adult females.

Keywords: safflower, Methidathion, Deltamethrin, Lufenuron, Malathion, Tephritidae, safflower capsule fly, Acanthiophilus helianthi

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Authors: Fella Lahmar

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This chapter investigates the educational reforms in Algeria, highlighting the challenges and complexities that arise in the context of globalization, equity, and decolonization. While Algeria’s education system historically had a socialist-economic model grounded in Islamic values, contemporary reforms reflect global influences and aspirations for cultural authenticity. The study employed a qualitative approach, utilizing semi-structured interviews with a diverse sample of 15 participants intimately involved in the Algerian education system. Analysis of the data reveals a discrepancy between the educational system’s pedagogical practices and students’ diverse learning needs, implying ramifications for educational equity and social justice. Furthermore, a critical tension was evident between global influences, local cultural authenticity, and the endeavor to decolonize education. In conclusion, the chapter advocates for reforms that prioritize the students’ holistic development and well-being while fostering intrinsic motivation and engagement. This entails re-evaluating curriculum frameworks, assessment strategies, and pedagogies in light of Algeria’s cultural and religious heritage. The chapter also calls for future research to explore methods for innovatively integrating cultural heritage into education in ways to cultivate learners who are both locally grounded and globally aware.

Keywords: impact of globalization on education, parental involvement in education, marketization of education, policy enactment and reform, curriculum overload, holistic approach, shadow education

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Authors: Hassan Nabipour Afrouzi, Naser Mahmoudnia

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Broiler production has increased rapidly in tropical and subtropical regions in the past and sustained growth is forecast for the future. One of the greatest challenges to efficient production in these regions is reduced performance from warm and hot weather conditions. There are many ways to decrease these detrimental effects of heat on broiler chickens. One way is to supplement broiler diet with betaine added to feed or drinking water. A review of the results of this study suggest that betaine supplement was effective to significantly improve body weight and feed conversion ratio at the initial stages of growth but not in the finisher stages (P<0/05). It was also demonstrated that the use of betaine significantly reduced the percentage of abdominal meat and the percentage of breast meat (P<0/05), but had no effect on other carcass compositions. Betaine may improve the digestibility of specific nutrients. Betaine, as a methyl donor provides labile methyl groups for the synthesis of several metabolically active substances such as creatine and carnitine. Oil in a broiler diet is known to promote a response to dietary betaine supplements, that is, chicks have a higher demand for betaine with a high fat diet. This study implies that betaine supplement may stimulate protection of intestinal epithelium against osmotic disturbance, improve digestion and absorption conditions of the gastrointestinal tract and promote amended use of nutrients.

Keywords: heat stress, betaine, performance, broiler‚ growth

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Authors: Damien Gondre, Hatem Ben Maad, Abdelkrim Trabelsi, Frédéric Kuznik, Joseph Virgone

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The use of a radiant cooling solution would enable to lower cooling needs which is of great interest when the demand is initially high (hot climate). But, radiant systems are not naturally compatibles with humid climates since a low-temperature surface leads to condensation risks as soon as the surface temperature is close to or lower than the dew point temperature. A radiant cooling system combined to a dehumidification system would enable to remove humidity for the space, thereby lowering the dew point temperature. The humidity removal needs to be especially effective near the cooled surface. This requirement could be fulfilled by a system using a single desiccant fluid for the removal of both excessive heat and moisture. This task aims at providing an estimation of the specification requirements of such system in terms of cooling power and dehumidification rate required to fulfill comfort issues and to prevent any condensation risk on the cool panel surface. The present paper develops a preliminary study on the specification requirements, performances and behavior of a combined dehumidifier/cooling ceiling panel for different operating conditions. This study has been carried using the TRNSYS software which allows nodal calculations of thermal systems. It consists of the dynamic modeling of heat and vapor balances of a 5m x 3m x 2.7m office space. In a first design estimation, this room is equipped with an ideal heating, cooling, humidification and dehumidification system so that the room temperature is always maintained in between 21^◦C and 25^◦C with a relative humidity in between 40% and 60%. The room is also equipped with a ventilation system that includes a heat recovery heat exchanger and another heat exchanger connected to a heat sink. Main results show that the system should be designed to meet a cooling power of 42W.m⁻² and a desiccant rate of 45 g_H2O.h⁻¹. In a second time, a parametric study of comfort issues and system performances has been achieved on a more realistic system (that includes a chilled ceiling) under different operating conditions. It enables an estimation of an acceptable range of operating conditions. This preliminary study is intended to provide useful information for the system design.

Keywords: dehumidification, nodal calculation, radiant cooling panel, system sizing

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Authors: Deinzel R. Uezono, Vivien Fe F. Fadrilan-Camacho, Bianca Margarita L. Medina, Antonio Domingo R. Reario, Trisha M. Salcedo, Luke Wesley P. Borromeo

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The environment of health care workers is considered one of the most hazardous settings due to the nature of their work. In developing countries especially, the Philippines, this continues to be overlooked in terms of programs and services on occupational health and safety (OHS). One possible reason for this is the existing information gap on OHS which limits data comparability and impairs effective monitoring and assessment of interventions. To address this gap, there is a need to determine the current conditions of Filipino health care workers in their workplace. This descriptive cross-sectional study assessed the occupational health and safety conditions of health care workers in barangay health centers in a selected city in Metro Manila, Philippines by: (1) determining the hazards present in the workplace; (2) determining the most common self-reported medical problems; and (3) describing the elements of an OHS system based on the six building blocks of health system. Assessment was done through walkthrough survey, self-administered questionnaire, and key informant interview. Data analysis was done using Epi Info 7 and NVivo 11. Results revealed different health hazards present in the workplace particularly biological hazards (exposure to sick patients and infectious specimens), physical hazards (inadequate space and/or lighting), chemical hazards (toxic reagents and flammable chemicals), and ergonomic hazards (activities requiring repetitive motion and awkward posture). Additionally, safety hazards (improper capping of syringe and lack of fire safety provisions) were also observed. Meanwhile, the most commonly self-reported chronic diseases among health care workers (N=336) were hypertension (20.24%, n=68) and diabetes (12.50%, n=42). Top commonly self-reported symptoms were colds (66.07%, n=222), coughs (63.10%, n=212), headache (55.65%, n=187), and muscle pain (50.60%, n=170) while other diseases were influenza (16.96%, n=57) and UTI (15.48%, n=52). In terms of the elements of the OHS system, a general policy on occupational health and safety was found to be lacking and in effect, an absence of health and safety committee overseeing the implementing and monitoring of the policy. No separate budget specific for OHS programs and services was also found to be a limitation. As a result, no OHS personnel and trainings/seminar were identified. No established information system for OHS was in place. In conclusion, health and safety hazards were observed to be present across the barangay health centers visited in a selected city in Metro Manila. Medical conditions identified as most commonly self-reported were hypertension and diabetes for chronic diseases; colds, coughs, headache, and muscle pain for medical symptoms; and influenza and UTI for other diseases. As for the elements of the occupational health and safety system, there was a lack in the general components of the six building blocks of the health system.

Keywords: health hazards, occupational health and safety, occupational health and safety system, safety hazards

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Authors: Abraham Castro-Alvarez, Luisaldo Sandate-Flores, Roberto Parra-Saldivar

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The losing of crops during the whole production process is a problem that is affecting farmers in the whole world, as climate change affects the weather behavior. Stenocereus spp. is a tropical, exotic and endemic columnar cacti, it produces a colored and expensive fruit known how “pitaya”. The quality and value of the fruit, these species represent an attractive option for economical development in arid and semi-arid regions. This fruits are produced in Mexico, mainly in 4 regions, Mixteca Oaxaca-Puebla, Michoacan, Sinaloa-Sonora, Jalisco-Zacatecas. Pitaya can be an option to try mixed crop in this states due to the resistance to hard weather conditions. And also because of the marginalization problems that exist in these townships. As defined by the Population National Council it consists in the absence of development opportunities and the lack of capacity to get them. According to an analysis done in EsriPress ArcGis 10.1 the potential area in the country is almost the half of the territory being the total area of Mexico 1,965,249 km2 and the area with potential to produce pitaya 960,527 km2. This area covers part of the most affected townships that also have a few options of maize varieties making even harder the production of maize and exposing farmers to crop losing if conditions are good enough. Making pitaya a good option for these farmers to have an economic backup in their productions.

Keywords: maize, pitaya, rain fed, Stenocereus

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Authors: Bekir O. Bartin, Kaan Ozbay, Sandeep Mudigonda, Hong Yang

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The use of microscopic traffic simulation in evaluating the operational and safety conditions at toll plazas is demonstrated. Two toll plazas in New Jersey are selected as case studies and were developed and validated in Paramics traffic simulation software. In order to simulate drivers’ lane selection behavior in Paramics, a utility-based lane selection approach is implemented in Paramics Application Programming Interface (API). For each vehicle approaching the toll plaza, a utility value is assigned to each toll lane by taking into account the factors that are likely to impact drivers’ lane selection behavior, such as approach lane, exit lane and queue lengths. The results demonstrate that similar operational conditions, such as lane-by-lane toll plaza traffic volume can be attained using this approach. In addition, assessment of safety at toll plazas is conducted via a surrogate safety measure. In particular, the crash index (CI), an improved surrogate measure of time-to-collision (TTC), which reflects the severity of a crash is used in the simulation analyses. The results indicate that the spatial and temporal frequency of observed crashes can be simulated using the proposed methodology. Further analyses can be conducted to evaluate and compare various different operational decisions and safety measures using microscopic simulation models.

Keywords: microscopic simulation, toll plaza, surrogate safety, application programming interface

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Authors: Spandan Sahu, Amiya Kumar Pati, Kishanjit Kumar Khatua

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River is the main source of water. It is a form of natural open channel which gives rise to many complex phenomenon of sciences that needs to be tackled such as the critical flow conditions, boundary shear stress and depth averaged velocity. The development of society more or less solely depends upon the flow of rivers. The rivers are major sources of many sediments and specific ingredients which are much essential for human beings. During floods, part of a river is carried by the simple main channel and rest is carried by flood plains. For such compound asymmetric channels, the flow structure becomes complicated due to momentum exchange between main channel and adjoining flood plains. Distribution of boundary shear in subsections provides us with the concept of momentum transfer between the interface of main channel and the flood plains. Experimentally, to get better data with accurate results are very complex because of the complexity of the problem. Hence, Conveyance Estimation System (CES) software has been used to tackle the complex processes to determine the shear stresses at different sections of an open channel having asymmetric flood plains on both sides of the main channel and the results are compared with the symmetric flood plains for various geometrical shapes and flow conditions. Error analysis is also performed to know the degree of accuracy of the model implemented.

Keywords: depth average velocity, non prismatic compound channel, relative flow depth , velocity distribution

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Authors: Tytus Tulwin, Adam Majczak

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In aviation most important systems that impact the aircraft flight safety are duplicated. The ASz-62IR aircraft radial engine consists of two spark plugs powered by two separate magnetos. The relative difference in spark timing has an influence on the combustion process. The retardation of the second spark relative to the first spark was analyzed. The CFD simulation was developed as a multicycle transient model. Two independent spark sources imitate two flame fronts after an ignition period. It makes the combustion process shorter but only for certain range of second spark retardation. The model was validated by the in-cylinder pressure comparison. Combustion parameters were analyzed for different second spark retardation values. It was found that the most advantageous ignition timing in means of performance is simultaneous ignition. Nevertheless, for this engine the ignition time of the second spark plug is greatly retarded eliminating the advantageous performance influence. The reason behind this is maintaining high ignition certainty for all engine running conditions and for whole operating rpm range. In aviation the engine reliability is more important than its performance. Introducing electronic ignition system can yield from simultaneous ignition timing by increasing the engine performance and providing good reliability for all flight conditions. This work has been financed by the Polish National Centre for Research and Development, INNOLOT, under Grant Agreement No. INNOLOT/I/1/NCBR/2013.

Keywords: CFD, combustion, ignition, simulation, timing

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Authors: Chukwuemeka Castro Nwabuzor

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The 2015 Administration of Criminal Justice Act in Nigeria clearly sets out conditions for bail for felonies, lesser offenses and capital offenses. Even where the conditions for bail are met, granting an application for bail is not automatic as it is subject to the discretion of the court. Where the court, however, grants bail to an accused, the detaining authority which usually is the executive arm of government is bound to comply with the order of the court. This paper discusses the constitutionality of the continued detention of criminal suspects in disobedience to an order of the court and in the absence of an appeal. Particularly, the paper looks at the rights to personal liberty, the dignity of the human person and also the presumption of innocence which remains one of the crucial pillars of our criminal jurisprudence. The paper analyses the reasons posed by the executive for the continued detention of a suspect including State security and security of the suspect and questions whether the reasons are reasonable justifiable in a constitutional democratic society and whether they breach the principles of separation of powers. The paper concludes that the continued detention criminal of suspects in disobedience to court orders constitutes contempt of court and dishonours the principles of separation of powers enshrined in the Nigerian Constitution. This paper makes a strong case for the donation of more enforceable powers to the judiciary particularly with regards to the granting of compensation orders against the executive and ensuring compliance by the executive to bail orders.

Keywords: breach of fundamental rights, contempt of court, discretion of court, right to bail, separation of powers

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Authors: Mohammad Javad Shakori, Esmaeil Babakhanzadeh Sajirani, Vajihe Esmaili

Abstract:

Today, the increasing contamination is an environmental concern. There is relationship between plants and microorganisms many years ago. In this regard, an experiment was conducted in order to investigate the effect of different levels of lead across three levels ‘zero, 50, and 100 mg/L’ and Trichoderma Harzanium fungus across three levels ‘5, 10, and 15%’ in a factorial design in the form of fully randomized blocks in three replications under form conditions in the climatic conditions of Shahroud in Dehlama Village. This research was performed in 2014-2015 on cauliflower. In this experiment, chlorophyll a, b, total, cartenoid, phenol, flavonoid, and antioxidant properties of cauliflowers were measured. The results indicated that the greatest level of chlorophyll a (75.723 mg/wet weight), chlorophyll b (27.378 mg/wet weight), and total chlorophyll (109.074 mg/wet weight) was related to the interactive effects of 5% treatment of Trichoderma fungus and 0mg/L lead. The results also indicated that the greatest amount of antioxidant (79.88% of free radical) and flavonoides (22.889 mg of coercetin/g of dry weight) was related to the interactive effects of lead 50 mg/L and the treatment of Trichoderma fungus 5%. Further, the greatest level of phenol (21.33 mg of Gaelic acid/ dry weight) was related to the interactive effects of lead 100 mg/L and Trichoderma fungus 5% . As carotenoids are a type of antioxidant and precursor of vitamin A, with the development of alignment effect with other antioxidants such as the total phenol, flavonoid, achieved desirable levels of antioxidant.

Keywords: antioxidant, lead, flavonoid, cauliflower, chlorophyll

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Authors: Ibrahim Yakubu Seini, Oluwole Daniel Makinde

Abstract:

MHD chemically reacting viscous fluid flow towards a vertical surface with slip and convective boundary conditions has been conducted. The temperature and the chemical species concentration of the surface and the velocity of the external flow are assumed to vary linearly with the distance from the vertical surface. The governing differential equations are modeled and transformed into systems of ordinary differential equations, which are then solved numerically by a shooting method. The effects of various parameters on the heat and mass transfer characteristics are discussed. Graphical results are presented for the velocity, temperature, and concentration profiles whilst the skin-friction coefficient and the rate of heat and mass transfers near the surface are presented in tables and discussed. The results revealed that increasing the strength of the magnetic field increases the skin-friction coefficient and the rate of heat and mass transfers toward the surface. The velocity profiles are increased towards the surface due to the presence of the Lorenz force, which attracts the fluid particles near the surface. The rate of chemical reaction is seen to decrease the concentration boundary layer near the surface due to the destructive chemical reaction occurring near the surface.

Keywords: boundary layer, surface slip, MHD flow, chemical reaction, heat transfer, mass transfer

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Authors: Ramonika Sengupta, Stuti Kachhwaha, Asha Adhiya, K. Satya Raja Sekhar, Rajwinder Kaur

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Numerous efforts have been done in the past decade to develop the methods of secure communication that are free from interception and eavesdropping. In fiber optic communication, chaotic optical carrier signals are used for data encryption in secure data transmission. Mach-Zehnder Modulators (MZM) are the key components for generating the chaotic signals to be used as optical carriers. This paper presents the dynamics of a lithium niobate MZM modulator under various biasing conditions. The chaotic fluctuations of the intensity of a laser diode have been generated using the electro-optic MZM modulator operating in a highly nonlinear regime. The modulator is driven in closed loop by its own output at an earlier time. When used as an electro-optic oscillator employing delayed feedback, the MZM displays a wide range of output waveforms of varying complexity. The dynamical behavior of the system ranges from periodic to nonlinear oscillations. The nonlinearity displayed by the system is reproducible and is easily controllable. In this paper, we demonstrate a wide variety of optical signals generated by MZM using easily controllable device parameters in both open and close loop bias conditions.

Keywords: chaotic carrier, fiber optic communication, Mach-Zehnder modulator, secure data transmission

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Authors: Shaleni Bajpai, Nancy Stephan

Abstract:

Various designs of women’s kurtis with different styles, motifs and prints were available in market but none of the kurtis was found in army print. Mostly army prints are used for men’s wear like jackets, trousers, caps, bags. The main colours available in military prints were beige, parrot green, red, dark blue, light blue, orange, bottle green, pink and the original military green colour. As the original camouflage is banned in civil wears so the different variety and colours were used in this study to popularize army prints in women’s wear. The aim of this project was to construct different styles of women kurti’s with various colours of different military prints. Mood board, inspiration and colour board was prepared to design the kurtis. The fabric used for construction was army printed poplin and crepe. The designing and construction of kurti’s were divided into two categories such as - casual and party wear. Casual wear had simple silhouette like a-line, high-low and waist coat style whereas party wear included princess line, panelled and bandhani style. Structured questionnaire was prepared to assess the acceptance of newly designed kurtis with respect to colour combination, overall appearance and cost. Purposively sampling method was adopted for selection of respondents. Opinion was taken from 100 women of various age groups. The result and analysis was presented through graph and percentage. Kurtis in army print of both the categories were appreciated by the respondents.

Keywords: army, kurti, casual wear, party wear

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Authors: Neha Ahirwar

Abstract:

In the contemporary digital era, the rise of credit card fraud poses a significant threat to both financial institutions and consumers. As fraudulent activities become more sophisticated, there is an escalating demand for robust and effective fraud detection mechanisms. Advanced machine learning algorithms have become crucial tools in addressing this challenge. This paper conducts a thorough examination of the design and evaluation of a credit card fraud detection system, utilizing four prominent machine learning algorithms: random forest, logistic regression, decision tree, and XGBoost. The surge in digital transactions has opened avenues for fraudsters to exploit vulnerabilities within payment systems. Consequently, there is an urgent need for proactive and adaptable fraud detection systems. This study addresses this imperative by exploring the efficacy of machine learning algorithms in identifying fraudulent credit card transactions. The selection of random forest, logistic regression, decision tree, and XGBoost for scrutiny in this study is based on their documented effectiveness in diverse domains, particularly in credit card fraud detection. These algorithms are renowned for their capability to model intricate patterns and provide accurate predictions. Each algorithm is implemented and evaluated for its performance in a controlled environment, utilizing a diverse dataset comprising both genuine and fraudulent credit card transactions.

Keywords: efficient credit card fraud detection, random forest, logistic regression, XGBoost, decision tree

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Authors: Emmanuel Agunloye, Asterios Gavriilidis, Luca Mazzei

Abstract:

Gold nanoparticles are commonly synthesized by reducing chloroauric acid with sodium citrate. This method, referred to as the citrate method, can produce spherical gold nanoparticles (NPs) in the size range 10-150 nm. Gold NPs of this size are useful in many applications. However, the NPs are usually polydisperse and irreproducible. A better understanding of the synthesis mechanisms is thus required. This work thoroughly investigated the only model that describes the synthesis. This model combines mass and population balance equations, describing the NPs synthesis through a sequence of chemical reactions. Chloroauric acid reacts with sodium citrate to form aurous chloride and dicarboxy acetone. The latter organizes aurous chloride in a nucleation step and concurrently degrades into acetone. The unconsumed precursor then grows the formed nuclei. However, depending on the pH, both the precursor and the reducing agent react differently thus affecting the synthesis. In this work, we investigated the model for different conditions of pH, temperature and initial reactant concentrations. To solve the model, we used Parsival, a commercial numerical code, whilst to test it, we considered various conditions studied experimentally by different researchers, for which results are available in the literature. The model poorly predicted the experimental data. We believe that this is because the model does not account for the acid-base properties of both chloroauric acid and sodium citrate.

Keywords: citrate method, gold nanoparticles, Parsival, population balance equations, Turkevich organizer theory

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Authors: A. V. Ayanwale, S. M. Tsadu, S. L. Lamai, R. J. Kolo, Y. I. Auta, A. Z. Mohammed

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A twelve weeks experiment was carried out on Heteroclarias freshwater hybrid fish fingerlings under laboratory conditions to study the effects of different temperature levels, 26.91 (control), 28.00, 30.00, 32.00°C respectively and their physiological responses to oxygen consumption, ammonia excretion and opercular respiratory beats were evaluated. The oxygen consumption, ammonia excretion and opercular respiratory beats were determined weekly based on standard procedures. The findings revealed that the oxygen consumption of Heteroclarias hybrid fingerlings significantly (p<0.05) increased with increase in temperature. The ammonia excretion were not significantly different (p>0.05) in all the temperature levels. The opercular respiratory beats per minutes showed similar trend in weeks 1,2,4 and 8 but indicated significantly higher (p<0.05) opercular respiratory beats (range= 117.10±2.26 at 30oC to 142.75±3.04 opercular beat at 32oC in week 8) at highest tested temperature levels. However, there was a decreasing trend in the opercular respiratory beats per minute of the controlled fingerlings. Generally, the opercular respiratory beats per minute decreased with increase in fish size. The findings of this study confirmed that increase in water temperature affects the physiology of Heteroclarias hybrid and hence for effective rearing and for profit making, it is essential for the hybrid to be cultured in the temperature range between 26.91°C (control) and 28.00°C.

Keywords: heteroclarias, hybrid, physiological responses, temperature

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Authors: Abdul Khaliq Amiri, Shigeyuki Date

Abstract:

This study investigates the effect of using carbon-free fly ash (CfFA) and ground granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBFS) on the compressive strength of mortar. The CfFA used in this investigation is high-quality fly ash and the carbon content is 1.0% or less. In this study, three types of blends with a 30% water-binder ratio (w/b) were prepared: control, binary and ternary blends. The Control blend contained only Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC), in binary and ternary blends OPC was partially replaced with CfFA and GGBFS at different substitution rates. Mortar specimens were cured for 1 day, 7 days and 28 days under two curing conditions: steam curing and water curing. The steam cured specimens were exposed to two different pre-curing times (1.5 h and 2.5 h) and one steam curing duration (6 h) at 45 °C. The test results showed that water cured specimens revealed higher compressive strength than steam cured specimens at later ages. An increase in CfFA and GGBFS contents caused a decrease in the compressive strength of mortar. Ternary mixes exhibited better compressive strength than binary mixes containing CfFA with the same replacement ratio of mineral admixtures.

Keywords: carbon-free fly ash, compressive strength, ground granulated blast-furnace slag, steam curing, water curing

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Authors: Kanza Tahir, Mubassar Fida, Rashna Hoshang Sukhia

Abstract:

Background/Objective: A contemporary concept states that dental midline deviation towards the direction of facial flow line (FFL) can mask the compromised smile esthetics. This study aimed to identify a range of midline deviations that can be perceived towards or away from the FFL influencing smile esthetics. Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted using a frontal smile photograph of an adult female. The photograph was altered on Adobe Photoshop software into six different photographs by deviating the dental midlines towards and away from the FFL. A constant deviation of the chin towards the left side was incorporated in all the photographs. Forty-three laypersons (LP)and dental professionals (DPs) evaluated those photographs onVisual Analog Scale (VAS). An Independent t-test was used to compare the perception of dental midline deviation between LP and DPs. Simple linear regression was run to identify the factors associated with the VAS scoring. Results: A statistically significant difference was observed for picture two with 4 mm towards FFL in the perception of midline deviation between LP and DPs. LP could not perceive the midline deviations up to 4 mm, while DPs were able to perceive deviations above 2 mm. Age was positively associated with the VAS score, while the female gender had a negative association. Limitations: Only one component of mini-esthetics was studied. This study did not include an ideal picture for comparison. Only one female subject was studied of normal facial type. Conclusions: 2-4 mm of midline deviation towards the facial flow line can be tolerated by laypersons and dental professionals.

Keywords: midline, facial flow line, smile esthetics, female

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