Search results for: scientific and technical creativity

Authors: Kehinde Adeyeye Adelabu

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Computer applications has completely revolutionized the way of life of people which does not exclude the field of sport education. There are computer technologies which help to enhance teaching in every field of education. Invention of computers has done great to the field of education. This study was therefore carried out to examine the effects and merits of computer operations in Human Kinetics Education and Sports. The study was able to identify the component of computer, uses of computer in Human Kinetics education (sports), computer applications in some branches of human kinetics education. A qualitative research method was employed by the author in gathering experts’ views and used to analyze the effects and merits of computer applications in the field of human kinetics education. No experiment was performed in the cause of carrying out the study. The source of information for the study was text-books, journal, articles, past project reports, internet i.e. Google search engine. Computer has significantly helped to improve Education (Human Kinetic), it has complemented the basic physical fitness testing and gave a more scientific basis to the testing. The use of the software and packages has made cost projections, database applications, inventory control, management of events, word processing, electronic mailing and record keeping easier than the pasts.

Keywords: application, computer operation, education, human kinetics

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Authors: William Michael Short

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Semantic Web’ technologies such as the Unified Medical Language System Metathesaurus, SNOMED-CT, and MeSH have been touted as transformational for the way users access online medical and health information, enabling both the automated analysis of natural-language data and the integration of heterogeneous healthrelated resources distributed across the Internet through the use of standardized terminologies that capture concepts and relationships between concepts that are expressed differently across datasets. However, the approaches that have so far characterized ‘semantic bioinformatics’ have not yet fulfilled the promise of the Semantic Web for medical and health information retrieval applications. This paper argues within the perspective of cognitive linguistics and cognitive anthropology that four features of human meaning-making must be taken into account before the potential of semantic technologies can be realized for this domain. First, many semantic technologies operate exclusively at the level of the word. However, texts convey meanings in ways beyond lexical semantics. For example, transitivity patterns (distributions of active or passive voice) and modality patterns (configurations of modal constituents like may, might, could, would, should) convey experiential and epistemic meanings that are not captured by single words. Language users also naturally associate stretches of text with discrete meanings, so that whole sentences can be ascribed senses similar to the senses of words (so-called ‘discourse topics’). Second, natural language processing systems tend to operate according to the principle of ‘one token, one tag’. For instance, occurrences of the word sound must be disambiguated for part of speech: in context, is sound a noun or a verb or an adjective? In syntactic analysis, deterministic annotation methods may be acceptable. But because natural language utterances are typically characterized by polyvalency and ambiguities of all kinds (including intentional ambiguities), such methods leave the meanings of texts highly impoverished. Third, ontologies tend to be disconnected from everyday language use and so struggle in cases where single concepts are captured through complex lexicalizations that involve profile shifts or other embodied representations. More problematically, concept graphs tend to capture ‘expert’ technical models rather than ‘folk’ models of knowledge and so may not match users’ common-sense intuitions about the organization of concepts in prototypical structures rather than Aristotelian categories. Fourth, and finally, most ontologies do not recognize the pervasively figurative character of human language. However, since the time of Galen the widespread use of metaphor in the linguistic usage of both medical professionals and lay persons has been recognized. In particular, metaphor is a well-documented linguistic tool for communicating experiences of pain. Because semantic medical knowledge-bases are designed to help capture variations within technical vocabularies – rather than the kinds of conventionalized figurative semantics that practitioners as well as patients actually utilize in clinical description and diagnosis – they fail to capture this dimension of linguistic usage. The failure of semantic technologies in these respects degrades the efficiency and efficacy not only of medical research, where information retrieval inefficiencies can lead to direct financial costs to organizations, but also of care provision, especially in contexts of patients’ self-management of complex medical conditions.

Keywords: ambiguity, bioinformatics, language, meaning, metaphor, ontology, semantic web, semantics

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Authors: Axel Thallemer, Martin Danzer, Dominik Diensthuber, Aleksandar Kostadinov, Bernhard Rogler

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Nature has always inspired the creative mind, to a lesser or greater extent. Introduced around the 1950s, Biomimetics served as a systematic method to treat the natural world as a ‘pattern book’ for technical solutions with the aim to create innovative products. Unfortunately, this technique is prone to failure when performed as a mere reverse engineering of a natural system or appearance. Contrary to that, a solution which looks at the principles of a natural design, promises a better outcome. One such example is the here presented case study, which shows the design process of three distinctive grippers. The devices have biomimetic properties on two levels. Firstly, they use a kinematic chain found in beaks and secondly, they have a biomimetic structural geometry, which was realized using additive manufacturing. In a next step, the manufacturing method was evaluated to estimate its efficiency for commercial production. The results show that the fabrication procedure is still in its early stage and thus it is not able to guarantee satisfactory results. To summarize the study, we claim that a novel solution can be derived using principles from nature, however, for the solution to be actualized successfully, there are parameters which are beyond reach for designers. Nonetheless, industrial designers can contribute to product innovation using biomimetics.

Keywords: biomimetics, innovation, design process, additive manufacturing

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Authors: Weber A. R. Souza, Andre A. N. Dantas, Marcio A. Medeiros, Rafaella F. Costa

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The erosive processes are natural phenomena that cause changes in the soil continuously due to the actions of natural erosive agents and their speed can be intensified or retarded by factors such as climate, inclination, type of matrix rock, vegetation and anthropic activities, the latter being very relevant in occupied areas without planning and urban infrastructure. Inadequate housing sites associated with an inefficient urban drainage network and lack of vegetation cover potentiate the erosive processes that, over time, are gaining alarming proportions, as is the case of the erosion in Planaltina in Federal district, a Brazilian state in the central west. Thus, the aim of this work was to compare the use of Vetiver grass and Alfalfa as vegetation cover to slope protection. For that, a study was carried out in the scientific literature about the improvement of the soil properties provided by them and verification of the safety factor through the simulation of slopes with different heights and inclination using SLOPE / W software. The Vetiver grass presented little more satisfactory results than the Alfalfa, but these obtained results slightly closer to that of the vetiver grass in less time of planting.

Keywords: erosive processes, planting, slope protection, vegetation cover

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Authors: Tao Song, Hao Cheng, Guangfeng Tian, Chuang Xu

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An autonomous emergency braking system is an advanced driving assistance system that enables vehicle collision avoidance and pedestrian collision avoidance to improve vehicle safety. At present, because the pedestrian target is small, and the mobility is large, the pedestrian AEB system is faced with more technical difficulties and higher functional requirements. In this paper, a method of pedestrian target selection based on a variable width funnel is proposed. Based on the current position and predicted position of pedestrians, the relative position of vehicle and pedestrian at the time of collision is calculated, and different braking strategies are adopted according to the hazard level of pedestrian collisions. In the CNCAP standard operating conditions, comparing the method of considering only the current position of pedestrians and the method of considering pedestrian prediction position, as well as the method based on fixed width funnel and variable width funnel, the results show that, based on variable width funnel, the choice of pedestrian target will be more accurate and the opportunity of the intervention of AEB system will be more reasonable by considering the predicted position of the pedestrian target and vehicle's lateral motion.

Keywords: automatic emergency braking system, pedestrian target selection, TTC, variable width funnel

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Authors: Kyung Hwa Shin

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Primary school music education plays a crucial role in nurturing students' musical abilities and fostering a lifelong appreciation for music. As we embark on the 21st century, it becomes imperative to explore advanced approaches that can effectively engage and empower students in the realm of music. This study aims to shed light on the aspects of primary school music education in South Korea, with a specific focus on the incorporation of the Zoltán Kodály Concept. The Zoltán Kodály Concept, developed by Hungarian composer and educator Zoltán Kodály (Kodály, 1974) advocates for a holistic music education that integrates singing, movement, and music literacy. This concept has gained recognition worldwide for its effectiveness in developing musicianship and enhancing music learning experiences. This study will delve into the ways in which the Zoltán Kodály Concept has been adapted and implemented in the context of South Korean primary school music education. It will highlight the benefits of this approach in nurturing students' musical skills, fostering creativity, and promoting cultural understanding through music. Furthermore, it will enhance the delivery of the Kodály-based curriculum challenges posed by the 21st-century digital age. Drawing on this research, pedagogical practices, and case studies, this study will provide valuable insights into the practical applications of the Zoltán Kodály Concept in South Korean primary school music education. It will discuss the impact of this approach on student engagement, motivation, and achievement, as well as the role of teachers in facilitating effective implementation. Additionally, it will address the professional development opportunities available to music educators to enhance their pedagogical skills in line with the Kodály philosophy. Ultimately, it aims to inspire and empower educators, policymakers, and researchers to embrace the Zoltán Kodály Concept as a transformative and forward-thinking approach to primary school music education in the 21st century. By embracing current aspects and progressive methodologies, South Korea can continue to strengthen its music education system and cultivate a generation of musically literate and culturally enriched individuals.

Keywords: primary school music education, Zoltán Kodály concept, 21st century, South Korea, music literacy, pedagogy, curriculum

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Authors: Hakim Aguedal, Abdelkader Iddou, Abdallah Aziz, Djillali Reda Merouani, Ferhat Bensaleh, Saleh Bensadek

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The textile industry produces high amount of colored effluent each year. The management or treatment of these discharges depends on the applied techniques. Adsorption is one of wastewater treatment techniques destined to treat this kind of pollution, and the performance and efficiency predominantly depend on the nature of the adsorbent used. Therefore, scientific research is directed towards the development of new materials using different physical and chemical treatments to improve their adsorption capacities. In the same perspective, we looked at the effect of the heat treatment on the effectiveness of diatomite, which is found in abundance in Algeria. The textile dye Orange Bezaktiv (SRL-150) which is used as organic pollutants in this study is provided by the textile company SOITEXHAM in Oran city (west Algeria). The effect of different physicochemical parameters on the adsorption of SRL-150 on natural and modified diatomite is studied, and the results of the kinetics and adsorption isotherms were modeled.

Keywords: wastewater treatment, diatomite, adsorption, dye pollution, kinetic, isotherm

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Authors: Mohammad Amin Mozaheb, Mahnaz Saeidi, Saeideh Ahangari, Saeideh Ahangari

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The present genre-driven study aims at comparing moves and sub-moves deployed by Iranian and English medical writers while writing their research articles in English. To obtain the goals of the study, the researchers randomly selected a number of medical articles and compared them using Nwogu (1997)’s model. The results of relevant statistical tests, Chi-square tests for goodness of fit, used for comparing the two groups of the articles dubbed IrISI (Iranian ISI articles) and EISI (English ISI articles) have shown that no significant difference exists between the two groups of the articles in terms of the moves and sub-moves used in the method and results sections of them. The findings can be beneficial for people interested in English for Specific Purposes (ESP) and medical experts. The findings can also increase language awareness and genre awareness among researchers who are interested in publishing their research outcomes in ISI-indexed journals in the Islamic Republic of Iran and some other world countries.

Keywords: writing, ESP, research articles, medical sciences, language, scientific writing

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Authors: Jihane Mossalim

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This study proposes a methodological framework that combines Participatory Action Research (PAR) with Arts-Based Research (ABR) to explore the potential of generative AI in elementary art education. By integrating PAR, this framework emphasizes elementary school students’ active participation as co-researchers, engaging with AI technologies and reflecting on their creative journeys. PAR’s iterative cycles of planning, action, observation, and reflection provide a solid structure for involving children in the research process, ensuring that the study is inclusive and reflective of the children’s perspectives. Arts-Based Research, on the other hand, allows for the exploration of AI not just as a tool but as a medium of creative expression. ABR’s emphasis on visual, performative, and creative outputs complements PAR’s inclusive approach, offering a dynamic and flexible way of studying the intersection of technology and art in educational contexts. This combination is particularly valuable as it encourages students to express their ideas and emotions through art, making the learning process more engaging and personally meaningful. Despite the recognized benefits of both PAR and ABR, there remains a notable gap in research that applies these methodologies in combination with elementary school students, particularly in the context of emerging technologies like generative AI. Addressing this gap is crucial, as integrating these approaches can lead to more inclusive and innovative educational practices that cater to the diverse needs of young learners. This chapter seeks to demonstrate how integrating PAR and ABR can empower young learners, giving them a voice in the research process while enriching their creative and critical thinking skills. This chapter will develop a methodology that integrates both theoretical and practical aspects of PAR and ABR, highlighting the challenges and opportunities that emerge when these approaches are integrated. It will also discuss how to adapt these methods for research in the elementary art education, providing a foundation for future inquiry. Further, the chapter will focus on situating these methodological developments in relation to a study that seeks to understand the potential of generative AI in fostering creativity, collaboration, and critical thinking among young learners. Ultimately, this work aims to provide a pioneering example that inspires further exploration and development of educational practices in the digital age.

Keywords: participatory action research, arts-based research, generative AI, elementary art education

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Authors: S. R. Santhanam

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A gifted child is one who gives evidence of creativity, good memory, rapid learning. In mathematics, a teacher often comes across some gifted children and they exhibit the following characteristics: unusual alertness, enjoying solving problems, getting bored on repetitions, self-taught, going beyond what teacher taught, ask probing questions, connecting unconnected concepts, vivid imagination, readiness for research work, perseverance of a topic. There are two main areas of research carried out on them: 1)identifying gifted children, 2) interacting and channelizing them. A lack of appropriate recognition will lead the gifted child demotivated. One of the main findings is if proper attention and nourishment are not given then it leads a gifted child to become depressed, underachieving, fail to reach their full potential and sometimes develop negative attitude towards school and study. After identifying them, a mathematics teacher has to develop them into a fall fledged achiever. The responsibility of the teacher is enormous. The teacher has to be resourceful and patient. But interacting with them one finds a lot of surprises and awesomeness. The elementary algebraic identities like (a+b)(a-b)=a²-b², expansion of like (a+b)²(a-b)² and others are taught to students, of age group 13-15 in India. An average child will be satisfied with a single proof and immediate application of these identities. But a gifted child expects more from the teacher and at one stage after a little training will surpass the teacher also. In this short paper, the author shares his experience regarding teaching algebraic identities to gifted children. The following problem was given to a set of 10 gifted children of the specified age group: If a natural number ‘n’ to expressed as the sum of the two squares, will 2n also be expressed as the sum of two squares? An investigation has been done on what multiples of n satisfying the criterion. The attempts of the gifted children were consolidated and conclusion was drawn. A second problem was given to them as: can two natural numbers be found such that the difference of their square is 3? After a successful solution, more situations were analysed. As a third question, the finding of the sign of an algebraic expression in three variables was analysed. As an example: if a,b,c are real and unequal what will be sign of a²+4b²+9c²-4ab-12bc-6ca? Apart from an expression as a perfect square what other methods can be employed to prove an algebraic expression as positive negative or non negative has been analysed. Expressions like 4x²+2y²+13y²-2xy-4yz-6zx were given, and the children were asked to find the sign of the expression for all real values of x,y and z. In all investigations, only basic algebraic identities were used. As a next probe, a divisibility problem was initiated. When a,b,c are natural numbers such that a+b+c is at least 6, and if a+b+c is divisible by 6 then will 6 divide a³+b³+c³. The gifted children solved it in two different ways.

Keywords: algebraic identities, gifted children, Indian scenario, research

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Authors: Z. A. Al Marhoon, H. S. Al Ramis, C. Teodoriu

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Well-integrity is one of the major elements considered for drilling geothermal, oil, and gas wells. Well-integrity is minimizing the risk of unplanned fluid flow in the well bore throughout the well lifetime. Well integrity is maximized by applying technical concepts along with practical practices and strategic planning. These practices are usually governed by standardization and regulation entities. Practices during well construction can affect the integrity of the seal at the time of abandonment. On the other hand, achieving a perfect barrier system is impracticable due to the needed cost. This results in a needed balance between regulations requirements and practical applications. The guidelines are only effective when they are attainable in practical applications. Various governmental regulations and international standards have different guidelines on what constitutes high-quality isolation from unwanted flow. Each regulating or standardization body differ in requirements based on the abandonment objective. Some regulation account more for the environmental impact, water table contamination, and possible leaks. Other regulation might lean towards driving more economical benefits while achieving an acceptable isolation criteria. The research methodology used in this topic is derived from a literature review method combined with a compare and contrast analysis. The literature review on various zonal isolation regulations and standards has been conducted. A review includes guidelines from NORSOK (Norwegian governing entity), BSEE (USA offshore governing entity), API (American Petroleum Institute) combined with ISO (International Standardization Organization). The compare and contrast analysis is conducted by assessing the objective of each abandonment regulations and standardization. The current state of well barrier regulation is in balancing action. From one side of this balance, the environmental impact and complete zonal isolation is considered. The other side of the scale is practical application and associated cost. Some standards provide a fair amount of details concerning technical requirements and are often flexible with the needed associated cost. These guidelines cover environmental impact with laws that prevent major or disastrous environmental effects of improper sealing of wells. Usually these regulations are concerned with the near future of sealing rather than long-term. Consequently, applying these guidelines become more feasible from a cost point of view to the required plugging entities. On the other hand, other regulation have well integrity procedures and regulations that lean toward more restrictions environmentally with an increased associated cost requirements. The environmental impact is detailed and covered with its entirety, including medium to small environmental impact in barrier installing operations. Clear and precise attention to long-term leakage prevention is present in these regulations. The result of the compare and contrast analysis of the literature showed that there are various objectives that might tip the scale from one side of the balance (cost) to the other (sealing quality) especially in reference to zonal isolation. Furthermore, investing in initial well construction is a crucial part of ensuring safe final well abandonment. The safety and the cost saving at the end of the well life cycle is dependent upon a well-constructed isolation systems at the beginning of the life cycle. Long term studies on zonal isolation using various hydraulic or mechanical materials need to take place to further assess permanently abandoned wells to achieve the desired balance. Well drilling and isolation techniques will be more effective when they are operationally feasible and have reasonable associated cost to aid the local economy.

Keywords: plug and abandon, P&A regulation, P&A standards, international guidelines, gap analysis

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Authors: Diogo de Carvalho Cabral

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This article offers a non-declensionist account of tropical deforestation, arguing that, rather than social stamp upon the environment or ecological endgame, deforestation is part of social site-making and remaking, the process through which humans produce sociality by carrying out nature-mediated – and therefore nature-transforming – practices that inevitably reset the very conditions of those practices. Human landscape-shaping inadvertently alters other species’ habitats –most often decimating them, but sometimes improving them–, the outcomes of which always resonate back upon human inhabitation and land use. Despite the overall tendency of biotic homogenization resulting from modern deforestation processes, there are always winners, i.e., species that gain competitive advantages enabling them to thrive in the novel ecosystems. Here it is examined one such case of deforestation-boosted species, namely leafcutter ants, which wrought havoc in the rural landscapes of nineteenth-century Brazil by defoliating a wide range of crops. By combining Historical GIS analysis and qualitative interpretation, it is shown how agricultural deforestation might have changed the ant species' biogeographies, and how in turn these changes – construed as 'infestation' – stimulated social innovations and rearrangements such as technical ingenuity, legal-administrative practices, and even local electoral arenas.

Keywords: deforestation, leafcutter ants, nineteenth-century Brazil, socio-ecological change

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Authors: Pooya Niksiar, Ali Ashrafizadeh, Mehrzad Shams, Amir Hossein Madani

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There are many computationally demanding applications in science and engineering which need efficient algorithms implemented on high performance computers. Recently, Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) have drawn much attention as compared to the traditional CPU-based hardware and have opened up new improvement venues in scientific computing. One particular application area is Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), in which mature CPU-based codes need to be converted to GPU-based algorithms to take advantage of this new technology. In this paper, numerical solutions of two classes of discrete fluid flow models via both CPU and GPU are discussed and compared. Test problems include an Eulerian model of a two-dimensional incompressible laminar flow case and a Lagrangian model of a two phase flow field. The CUDA programming standard is used to employ an NVIDIA GPU with 480 cores and a C++ serial code is run on a single core Intel quad-core CPU. Up to two orders of magnitude speed up is observed on GPU for a certain range of grid resolution or particle numbers. As expected, Lagrangian formulation is better suited for parallel computations on GPU although Eulerian formulation represents significant speed up too.

Keywords: CFD, Eulerian formulation, graphics processing units, Lagrangian formulation

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Authors: Ramdani Nadia, Kheddaoui Abdelkrim, Nemmich Said, Tilmatine Amar

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The waste production nationwide is increasing every year, on account of therapid urbanization and growing populations, also consumption modes. Algerian political authorities have chosen Technical Landfill Centres (TLC) as a competitive and safe technique of waste management. However, storing these wastes in a bad way poses several environmental challenges, especially in the Department of Saïda, the latter have significant groundwaters. The major problem registered on this Landfill is the leachate resulting from the degradation of buried wastes which were disposed off the outside of the leachate basin and present a source of pollution for the local groundwaters by heavy metals and pathogenic germs. The present paper investigates the leachate treatment ozone process produced by Dielectric Barrier Discharge (DBD) under high potential. The experimental results obtained allowed us to show the efficiency of the treatment process by ozone based on the micro pollutant analysis (DCO, DBO5 , COT, heavy metals) and microbial analysis, after ozonation treatment. The results show that 80% of micro pollutants are eliminated and 100% destruction of all bacteria which reveals the high efficiency of the process.

Keywords: landfill, leachate, treatment, ozone, polluants, bacteria, micropolluant

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Authors: Elijah Acquah-Andoh

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The UK has had its fair share of the shale gas revolutionary waves blowing across the global oil and gas industry at present. Although, its exploitation is widely agreed to have been delayed, shale gas was looked upon favorably by the UK Parliament when they recognized it as genuine energy source and granted licenses to industry to search and extract the resource. This, although a significant progress by industry, there yet remains another test the UK fracking resource must pass in order to render shale gas extraction feasible – it must be economically extractible and sustainably so. Developing unconventional resources is much more expensive and risky, and for shale gas wells, producing in commercial volumes is conditional upon drilling horizontal wells and hydraulic fracturing, techniques which increase CAPEX. Meanwhile, investment in shale gas development projects is sensitive to gas price and technical and geological risks. Using a Two-Factor Model, the economics of the Bowland shale wells were analyzed and the operational conditions under which fracking is profitable in the UK was characterized. We find that there is a great degree of flexibility about Opex spending; hence Opex does not pose much threat to the fracking industry in the UK. However, we discover Bowland shale gas wells fail to add value at gas price of $8/ Mmbtu. A minimum gas price of $12/Mmbtu at Opex of no more than $2/ Mcf and no more than $14.95M Capex are required to create value within the present petroleum tax regime, in the UK fracking industry.

Keywords: capex, economical, investment, profitability, shale gas development, sustainable

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Authors: Juan Carlos Briones Macias

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Currently, the Huancavilca City Park in Guayaquil is an abandoned public space that is discovering a growing problem of insecurity, where various problems have been perceived, such as the lack of green areas, deteriorating furniture, insufficient lighting, the use of inadequate cladding materials and very sunny areas due to the lack of planning in the design of green areas. The objective of this scientific article is to redesign Huancavilca Park through public space design strategies for more attractive and comfortable areas, becoming a point of interaction in a safe and accessible way. A mixed methodology (qualitative and quantitative) was applied, obtaining information based on surveys, interviews, field observations, and systematizing the data in the traditional weighting of the structuring aspects of the park. The results were obtained from the methodological design scheme of iterative analysis of public spaces by Jan Güell. It is concluded that the use of urban strategies in the structuring elements of the park, such as vegetation, furniture, generating new activities, and security interventions, will specifically solve all the problems of the Huancavilca Park tested in a Pareto 80/20 Diagram.

Keywords: public space, green areas, vegetation, street furniture, urban analysis

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Authors: Eddy Neuhaus, Hanif Shirinzadeh, Cigdem Karaaslan, Elif Ince, Hande Gurer-Orhan, Sibel Suzen

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Reactive oxygen species (ROS) and oxidative stress can cause fatal damage to essential cell structures, including DNA. It is known that use of antioxidants could be advantageous in the prevention of various diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular diseases and neurodegenerative disorders. Since antioxidant properties of the indole ring-containing melatonin (MLT) has been described and evaluated, MLT-related compounds such as MLT metabolites and synthetic analogues are under investigation to determine which exhibit the highest activity with the lowest side-effects. Owing to indole and hydrazones appealing physiological properties and are mostly found in numerous biologically active compounds a series of indole-7-carbaldehyde hydrazone derivatives were synthesized, characterized and in vitro antioxidant activity was investigated by evaluating their reducing effect against oxidation of a redox-sensitive fluorescent probe. Cytotoxicity potential of all indole-based MLT analogues was investigated both by lactate dehydrogenase leakage assay and by MTT assay. This work was supported by The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK) Research and Development Grant 112S599.

Keywords: melatonin, antioxidant activity, indole, hydrazone, oxidative stress

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Authors: Marjan Ghazisaeedi, Azadeh Bashiri

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Background: Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder(ADHD), is one of the most common psychiatric disorders in early childhood that in addition to its main symptoms provide significant deficits in the areas of educational, social and individual relationship. Considering the importance of rehabilitation in ADHD patients to control these problems, this study investigated the advantages of computer-based cognitive training in these patients. Methods: This review article has been conducted by searching articles since 2005 in scientific databases and e-Journals and by using keywords including computerized cognitive rehabilitation, computer-based training and ADHD. Results: Since drugs have short term effects and also they have many side effects in the rehabilitation of ADHD patients, using supplementary methods such as computer-based cognitive training is one of the best solutions. This approach has quick feedback and also has no side effects. So, it provides promising results in cognitive rehabilitation of ADHD especially on the working memory and attention. Conclusion: Considering different cognitive dysfunctions in ADHD patients, application of the computerized cognitive training has the potential to improve cognitive functions and consequently social, academic and behavioral performances in patients with this disorder.

Keywords: ADHD, computer-based cognitive training, cognitive functions, rehabilitation

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Authors: EMMANUEL DWAMENA SASU

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International climate policy actions require countries under Paris Agreement to design instruments, provide support (financial and technical), and strengthen institutional capacity with tendency to transcending policy formulation to implementation and sustainability. Changes associated with moisture depletion has been a growing phenomenon; especially in developing countries with projected global GDP drop from 7% to 2% between 2005 and 2050. These developments have potential to adversely affect food production in feeding the growing world population, with corresponding rise in global hunger. Incongruously, there is global absence of a harmonized policy direction; capable of providing the required indicators on climate policies for monitoring sustainability of international agricultural development projects. We conduct extensive review and synthesis on existing limitations on global climate policy governance, agricultural food security and sustainability of international agricultural development projects, and conjecture the role of non-state and sub-national climate stakeholder engagements, and monitoring and evaluation strategies for improved climate policy action for sustaining international agricultural development projects.

Keywords: climate policy, agriculture, development projects, sustainability

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Authors: Fabienne Baraud, Lydia Leleyter, Sandra Poree, Melanie Lemoine

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SEDIBRIC (valorization de SEDIments en BRIQues et tuiles) is a French project that aims to replace a part of natural clays with dredged sediments in the preparation of fired bricks in order to propose an alternative solution for the management of harbor dredged sediments. The feasibility of such re-use is explored from a technical, economic, and environmental point of view. The present study focuses on the potential environmental impact of various chemical elements (Al, Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Ni, Mg, Mn, Pb, Ti, and Zn) that are initially present in the dredged sediments. The total content (after acid digestion) and the environmental availability (estimated by single extractions with various extractants) of these elements are determined in the raw sediments and in the obtained fired bricks. The possible influence of some steps of the manufacturing process (sediment pre-treatment, firing) is also explored. The first results show that the pre-treatment step, which uses tap water to desalinate the raw sediment, does not influence the environmental availability of the studied elements. However, the firing process, performed at 900°C, can affect the amount of some elements detected in the bricks, as well as their environmental availability. We note that for Cr, or Ni, the HCl or EDTA availability was increased in the brick (compared to the availability in the raw sediment). For Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn, the HCl and EDTA availability was reduced in the bricks, meaning that these elements were stabilized within the bricks.

Keywords: bricks, chemical extraction, metals, sediment

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Authors: Ekow A. Kwofie, Emmanuel K. Anto, Godfred Mensah

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In this paper, CYME Distribution software has been used to assess the impacts of solar Photovoltaic (PV) distributed generation (DG) plant on the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) 33 kV sub-transmission network at different PV penetration levels. As ECG begins to encourage DG PV interconnections within its network, there has been the need to assess the impacts on the sub-transmission losses and voltage contribution. In Tema, a city in Accra - Ghana, ECG has a 33 kV sub-transmission network made up of 20 No. 33 kV buses that was modeled. Three different locations were chosen: The source bus, a bus along the sub-transmission radial network and a bus at the tail end to determine the optimal location for DG PV interconnection. The optimal location was determined based on sub-transmission technical losses and voltage impact. PV capacities at different penetration levels were modeled at each location and simulations performed to determine the optimal PV penetration level. Interconnection at a bus along (or in the middle of) the sub-transmission network offered the highest benefits at an optimal PV penetration level of 80%. At that location, the maximum voltage improvement of 0.789% on the neighboring 33 kV buses and maximum loss reduction of 6.033% over the base case scenario were recorded. Hence, the optimal location for DG PV integration within the 33 kV sub-transmission utility network is at a bus along the sub-transmission radial network.

Keywords: distributed generation photovoltaic (DG PV), optimal location, penetration level, sub–transmission network

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Authors: Stefano Sorace, Gloria Terenzi

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The study of a base isolation seismic retrofit solution for a reinforced concrete school building is presented in this paper. The building was assumed as a benchmark structure for a Research Project financed by the Italian Department of Civil Protection, and is representative of several similar public edifices designed with earlier Technical Standards editions, in Italy as well as in other earthquake-prone European countries. The structural characteristics of the building, and a synthesis of the investigation campaigns developed on it, are initially presented. The mechanical parameters, dimensions, locations and installation details of the base isolation system, incorporating double friction pendulum sliding bearings as protective devices, are then illustrated, along with the performance assessment analyses carried out in original and rehabilitated conditions according to a full non-linear dynamic approach. The results of the analyses show a remarkable enhancement of the seismic response capacities of the structure in base-isolated configuration. This allows reaching the high performance levels postulated in the rehabilitation design with notably lower costs and architectural intrusion as compared to traditional retrofit interventions designed for the same objectives.

Keywords: seismic retrofit, seismic assessment, r/c structures, school buildings, base isolation

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Authors: Nadali Babaeian Jelodar, Chan Lai Keng, Arvind Bhatt, Laleh Bordbar, Leow E Shuen, Kamaruzaman Mohamed

Abstract:

Recently artemisinin (the endoperoxide sesquiterpene lactone) has received considerable attention because of its antimalarial activity. It is isolated from the aerial part of the Artemisia annua L. Artemisinin is very difficult to synthesise also its production by mean of cell, tissue or organ cultures is very low. Presently, only its extraction from A. annua L. plants remains the only source of the drug. The reported yield of artemisinin from leaves of A. annua L. is very low and unstable, with yields typically less than 1% of leaf dry weight. To increase the percentage of artemisinin, researchers have been engaged in developing new varieties. A review concerning the breeding of A. annua L. is presented. The aim of this review is to bring together most of the available scientific research papers about the breeding conducted on the genus A. annua L., which is currently scattered across various publications. Through this review the authors hope to attract the attention of breeders throughout the world to focus on the unexplored potential of A. annua L. species. Also the future scope of this plant has been emphasized with a view of the importance of breeding of A. annua L. for increasing of artemisinin content. By releasing of new cultivar of A. annua L. and cultivation of this plant offers the opportunity to optimize yield and achieve a uniform, high quality product.

Keywords: Artemisia annua L., breeding, artemisinin, cultivation, medicinal plant

Procedia PDF Downloads 263

Authors: Darius Danesh, Michael J. Ryan, Alireza Abbasi

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Project Portfolio Management (PPM) is an essential component of an organisation’s strategic procedures, which requires attention of several factors to envisage a range of long-term outcomes to support strategic project portfolio decisions. To evaluate overall efficiency at the portfolio level, it is essential to identify the functionality of specific projects as well as to aggregate those findings in a mathematically meaningful manner that indicates the strategic significance of the associated projects at a number of levels of abstraction. PPM success is directly associated with the quality of decisions made and poor judgment increases portfolio costs. Hence, various Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) techniques have been designed and employed to support the decision-making functions. This paper reviews possible option to improve the decision-making outcomes in the organisational portfolio management processes using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) both from academic and practical perspectives and will examine the usability, certainty and quality of the technique. The results of the study will also provide insight into the technical risk associated with current decision-making model to underpin initiative tracking and strategic portfolio management.

Keywords: analytic hierarchy process, decision support systems, multi-criteria decision making, project portfolio management

Procedia PDF Downloads 321

Authors: M. Nagaraja, H. M. Mahesh, K. Rajanna, M. Z. Kurian, J. Manjanna

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In recent years, composites of conjugated polymers with fullerenes (C60) has attracted considerable scientific and technological attention in the field of organic electronics because they possess a novel combination of electrical, optical, ferromagnetic, mechanical and sensor properties. These properties represent major advances in the design of organic electronic devices. With the addition of C60 in the conjugated polymer matrix, the primary photo-excitation of the conjugated polymer undergoes an ultrafast electron transfer, and it has been demonstrated that fullerene molecules may serve as efficient electron acceptors in polymeric solar cells. The present paper includes the systematic studies on the effect of electrical, structural and sensor properties of polyaniline (PANI) matrix by the presence of C60. Polyaniline-fullerene (PANI/C60) composite is prepared by the introduction of fullerene during polymerization of aniline with ammonium persulfate and dodechyl benzene sulfonic acid as oxidant and dopant respectively. FTIR spectroscopy indicated the interaction between PANI and C60. X-ray diffraction proved the formation of a PANI/C60 complex. SEM image shows the highly branched chain structure of the PANI in the presence of C60. The conductivity of the PANI/C60 was found to be more than ten orders of magnitude over the pure PANI.

Keywords: conductivity, fullerene, nanocomposite, polyaniline

Procedia PDF Downloads 217

Authors: Eduardo Rodrigues, Gisela Mendes, José M. Torres, José E. Sousa

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In the sequence of the liberalisation of the electricity sector a progressive engagement of consumers has been considered and targeted by sector regulatory policies. With the objective of promoting market competition while protecting consumers interests, by transferring some of the upstream benefits to the end users while reaching a fair distribution of system costs, different market models to value consumers’ demand flexibility at the energy community level are envisioned. Local Energy and Flexibility Markets (LEFM) involve stakeholders interested in providing or procure local flexibility for community, services and markets’ value. Under the scope of DOMINOES, a European research project supported by Horizon 2020, the local market concept developed is expected to: • Enable consumers/prosumers empowerment, by allowing them to value their demand flexibility and Distributed Energy Resources (DER); • Value local liquid flexibility to support innovative distribution grid management, e.g., local balancing and congestion management, voltage control and grid restoration; • Ease the wholesale market uptake of DER, namely small-scale flexible loads aggregation as Virtual Power Plants (VPPs), facilitating Demand Response (DR) service provision; • Optimise the management and local sharing of Renewable Energy Sources (RES) in Medium Voltage (MV) and Low Voltage (LV) grids, trough energy transactions within an energy community; • Enhance the development of energy markets through innovative business models, compatible with ongoing policy developments, that promote the easy access of retailers and other service providers to the local markets, allowing them to take advantage of communities’ flexibility to optimise their portfolio and subsequently their participation in external markets. The general concept proposed foresees a flow of market actions, technical validations, subsequent deliveries of energy and/or flexibility and balance settlements. Since the market operation should be dynamic and capable of addressing different requests, either prioritising balancing and prosumer services or system’s operation, direct procurement of flexibility within the local market must also be considered. This paper aims to highlight the research on the definition of suitable DR models to be used by the Distribution System Operator (DSO), in case of technical needs, and by the retailer, mainly for portfolio optimisation and solve unbalances. The models to be proposed and implemented within relevant smart distribution grid and microgrid validation environments, are focused on day-ahead and intraday operation scenarios, for predictive management and near-real-time control respectively under the DSO’s perspective. At local level, the DSO will be able to procure flexibility in advance to tackle different grid constrains (e.g., demand peaks, forecasted voltage and current problems and maintenance works), or during the operating day-to-day, to answer unpredictable constraints (e.g., outages, frequency deviations and voltage problems). Due to the inherent risks of their active market participation retailers may resort to DR models to manage their portfolio, by optimising their market actions and solve unbalances. The interaction among the market actors involved in the DR activation and in flexibility exchange is explained by a set of sequence diagrams for the DR modes of use from the DSO and the energy provider perspectives. • DR for DSO’s predictive management – before the operating day; • DR for DSO’s real-time control – during the operating day; • DR for retailer’s day-ahead operation; • DR for retailer’s intraday operation.

Keywords: demand response, energy communities, flexible demand, local energy and flexibility markets

Procedia PDF Downloads 99

Authors: Yusuf Abubakar Mamud

Abstract:

Highlighting the imperatives of local conflicts considering the dangerous dimensions of terrorism they are assuming in Africa has not attracted serious academic and political attention. The discourse about conflict in Africa was discussed within five identified conflict zones in the continent. The threats from these local conflicts are diverse and complex and the acts of terrorism in these local conflicts are driven by certain attitudes and behaviours linked to the African leadership. The paper examined and noted that the current conflict resolution model of the African Union (AU) was robust with requisite institutions to address the trends in local conflicts. However, it was observed that the AU peace and security framework lacked the requisite structural and technical capabilities to proactively address the drivers of local conflicts in Africa. It was found that the persistence of local conflicts in the African region may deny her the opportunities of achievement of the targets envisioned in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Consequently, the paper called on the international community to support Africa through provision of capacity. It urged the African leaders themselves to develop the political will to ensure that all issues concerning peace and security in the continent were guided by the provisions of the AU Constitutive Act. The need to strengthen the APRM in the light of the current trends in local conflicts was also highlighted.

Keywords: conflicts, local conflicts, terrorism, sustainable development

Procedia PDF Downloads 276

Authors: Andreas Hammer

Abstract:

Six peculiar architecture designs from the Frankfurt University will be discussed within this paper and their future potential of the adaptable and solar thin-film sheets implemented facades will be shown acting and reacting on climate/solar changes of their specific sites. The different aspects, as well as limitations with regard to technical and functional restrictions, will be named. The design process for a “multi-purpose building”, a “high-rise building refurbishment” and a “biker’s lodge” on the river Rheine valley, has been critically outlined and developed step by step from an international studentship towards an overall energy strategy, that firstly had to push the design to a plus-energy building and secondly had to incorporate bionic aspects into the building skins design. Both main parameters needed to be reviewed and refined during the whole design process. Various basic bionic approaches have been given [e.g. solar ivyᵀᴹ, flectofinᵀᴹ or hygroskinᵀᴹ, which were to experiment with, regarding the use of bendable photovoltaic thin film elements being parts of a hybrid, kinetic façade system.

Keywords: bionic and bioclimatic design, climate adaptive building shells [CABS], energy-strategy, harvesting façade, high-efficiency building skin, photovoltaic in building skins, plus-energy-buildings, solar gain, sustainable building concept

Procedia PDF Downloads 430

Authors: N. Songumpai, W. Sumranwanich, S. Chatmaneerungcharoen

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This research aims to study the understanding of 8 aspects of nature of science (NOS). The research participants were 39 General Science student teachers who were selected by purposive sampling. In 2015 academic year, they enrolled in the course of Science Education Learning Management. Qualitative research was used as research methodology to understand how the student teachers propose on NOS. The research instruments consisted of open-ended questionnaires and semi-structure interviews that were used to assess students’ understanding of NOS. Research data was collected by 8 items- questionnaire and was categorized into students’ understanding of NOS, which consisted of complete understanding (CU), partial understanding (PU), misunderstanding (MU) and no understanding (NU). The findings reveal the majority of students’ misunderstanding of NOS regarding the aspects of theory and law(89.7%), scientific method(61.5%) and empirical evidence(15.4%) respectively. From the interview data, the student teachers present their misconceptions of NOS that indicate about theory and law cannot change; science knowledge is gained through experiment only (step by step); science is the things that are around humans. These results suggest that for effective science teacher education, the composition of design of NOS course needs to be considered. Therefore, teachers’ understanding of NOS is necessary to integrate into professional development program/course for empowering student teachers to begin their careers as strong science teachers in schools.

Keywords: nature of science, student teacher, no understanding, misunderstanding, partial understanding, complete understanding

Procedia PDF Downloads 261

Authors: A. Bayaga

Abstract:

This research provides a technical account of estimating Transition Probability using Time-homogeneous Markov Jump Process applying by South African HIV/AIDS data from the Statistics South Africa. It employs Maximum Likelihood Estimator (MLE) model to explore the possible influence of Transition Probability of mortality cases in which case the data was based on actual Statistics South Africa. This was conducted via an integrated demographic and epidemiological model of South African HIV/AIDS epidemic. The model was fitted to age-specific HIV prevalence data and recorded death data using MLE model. Though the previous model results suggest HIV in South Africa has declined and AIDS mortality rates have declined since 2002 – 2013, in contrast, our results differ evidently with the generally accepted HIV models (Spectrum/EPP and ASSA2008) in South Africa. However, there is the need for supplementary research to be conducted to enhance the demographic parameters in the model and as well apply it to each of the nine (9) provinces of South Africa.

Keywords: AIDS mortality rates, epidemiological model, time-homogeneous markov jump process, transition probability, statistics South Africa

Procedia PDF Downloads 496