Search results for: effect of Reynolds number on heat transfer

Authors: Doran C. Kalmin

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The descending genicular artery (DGA) perforator free flap provides an alternative to free flap reconstruction based on a review of the literature detailing both anatomical and clinical studies. The descending genicular artery (DGA) supplies skin, muscle, tendon, and bone located around the medial aspect of the knee that has been used in several pioneering reports in reconstructing defects located in various areas throughout the body. After the success of the medial femoral condyle flap in early studies, a small number of studies have been published detailing the use of the DGA in free flap reconstruction. Despite early success in the use of the DGA flap, acceptance within the Plastic and Reconstructive Surgical community has been limited due primarily to anatomical variations of the pedicle. This literature review is aimed at detailing the progression of the DGA perforator free flap and its variations as an alternative and reliable free flap for reconstruction of composite defects with an exploration into both anatomical and clinical studies. A literature review was undertaken, and the progression of the DGA flap is explored from the early review by Acland et al. pioneering the saphenous free flap to exploring modern changes and studies of the anatomy of the DGA. An extensive review of the literature was undertaken that details the anatomy and its variations, approaches to harvesting the flap, the advantages, and disadvantages of the DGA perforator free flap as well as flap outcomes. There are 15 published clinical series of DGA perforator free flaps that incorporate cutaneous, osteoperiosteal, cartilage, osteocutaneous, osteoperiosteal and muscle, osteoperiosteal and subcutaneous and tendocutatenous. The commonest indication for using a DGA free flap was for non-union of bone, particularly that of the scaphoid whereby the medial femoral condyle could be used. In the case series, a success rate of over 90% was established, showing that these early studies have had good success with a wide range of tissue transfers. The greatest limitation is the anatomical variation of the DGA and therefore, the challenges associated with raising the flap. Despite the variation in anatomy and around 10-15% absence of the DGA, the saphenous artery can be used as well as the superior medial genicular artery if the vascular bone is required as part of the flap. Despite only a handful of anatomical and clinical studies describing the DGA perforator free flap, it ultimately provides a reliable flap that can include a variety of composite structure used for reconstruction in almost any area throughout the body. Although it has limitations, it provides a reliable option for free flap reconstruction that can routinely be performed as a single-stage procedure.

Keywords: anatomical study, clinical study, descending genicular artery, literature review, perforator free flap reconstruction

Procedia PDF Downloads 146

Authors: Sarpong Boateng, Rohit Balasundaram, Akua Afrah Amoah

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Introduction: Racial and Gender disparities have been found to be independently associated with Salivary Gland Cancers (SGCs) survival; however, to our best knowledge, there are no previous studies on the interplay of these social determinants on the prognosis of SGCs. The objective of this study was to examine the joint effect of race and gender on the survival of SGCs. Methods: We analyzed survival outcomes of 13,547 histologically confirmed cases of SGCs using the Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database (2004 to 2015). Multivariable Cox regression analysis and Kaplan-Meier curves were used to estimate hazard ratios (HR) after controlling for age, tumor characteristics, treatment type and year of diagnosis. Results: 73.5% of the participants were whites, 8.5% were blacks, 10.1% were Hispanics and 58.5% were males. Overall, males had poorer survival than females (HR = 1.16, p=0.003). In the adjusted multivariable model, there were no significant differences in survival by race. However, the interaction of gender and race was statistically significant (p=0.01) in Hispanic males. Thus, compared to White females (reference), Hispanic females had significantly better survival (HR=0.53), whiles Hispanic males had worse survival outcomes (HR=1.82) for SGCs. Conclusions: Our results show significant interactions between race and gender, with racial disparities varying across the different genders for SGCs survival. This study indicates that racial and gender differences are crucial factors to be considered in the prognostic counseling and management of patients with SGCs. Biologic factors, tumor genetic characteristics, chemotherapy, lifestyle, environmental exposures, and socioeconomic and dietary factors are potential yet proven reasons that could account for racial and gender differences in the survival of SGCs.

Keywords: salivary, cancer, survival, disparity, race, gender, SEER

Procedia PDF Downloads 204

Authors: I. Rodionov, A. Semenov, E. Gosteva, O. Sokolova

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Currently, the venture capital becomes more and more advanced and effective source of the innovation project financing, connected with a high-risk level. In the developed countries, it plays a key role in transforming innovation projects into successful businesses and creating prosperity of the modern economy. Actually, in Russia there are many necessary preconditions for creation of the effective venture investment system: the network of the public institutes for innovation financing operates; there is a significant number of the small and medium-sized enterprises, capable to sell production with good market potential. However, the current system does not confirm the necessary level of efficiency in practice that can be substantially explained by the absence of the accurate plan of action to form the national venture model and by the lack of experience of successful venture deals with profitable exits in Russian economy. This paper studies the influence of various factors on the venture industry development by the example of the IT-sector in Russia. The choice of the sector is based on the fact, that this segment is the main driver of the venture capital market growth in Russia, and the necessary set of data exists. The size of investment of the second round is used as the dependent variable. To analyse the influence of the previous round such determinant as the volume of the previous (first) round investments is used. There is also used a dummy variable in regression to examine that the participation of an investor with high reputation and experience in the previous round can influence the size of the next investment round. The regression analysis of short-term interrelations between studied variables reveals prevailing influence of the volume of the first round investments on the venture investments volume of the second round. Because of the research, the participation of investors with first-class reputation has a small impact on an indicator of the value of investment of the second round. The expected positive dependence of the second round investments on the forecasted market growth rate now of the deal is also rejected. So, the most important determinant of the value of the second-round investment is the value of first–round investment, so it means that the most competitive on the Russian market are the start-up teams which can attract more money on the start, and the target market growth is not the factor of crucial importance.

Keywords: venture industry, venture investment, determinants of the venture sector development, IT-sector

Procedia PDF Downloads 358

Authors: Eyal Rosen

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This study is aimed to report a possible effect of the presence of dental implants on the development of crown or root fractures in adjacent natural teeth. A series of 26 cases of teeth diagnosed with crown or root fractures following the placement of adjacent dental implants is presented. In addition, a comprehensive systematic review of the literature was performed to detect other studies that evaluated this possible complication. The case series analysis revealed that all crown-fractured teeth were non-endodontically treated teeth (n=18), and all root fractured teeth were endodontically treated teeth (n=8). The time from implant loading to the diagnosis of a fracture in an adjacent tooth was longer than 1 year in 78% of cases. The majority of crown or root fractures occurred in female patients, over 50 years of age, with an average age of 59 in the crown fractures group, and 54 in the root fractures group. Most of the patients received 2 or more implants. Nine (50%) of the teeth with crown fracture were molars, 7 (39%) were mandibular premolars, and 2 (11%) were incisor teeth. The majority of teeth with root fracture were premolar or mandibular molar teeth (6 (75%)). The systematic review of the literature did not reveal additional studies that reported on this possible complication. To the best of the author’s knowledge this case series, although limited in its extent, is the first clinical report of a possible serious complication of implants, associated fractures in adjacent endodontically and non-endodontically treated natural teeth. The most common patient profile found in this series was a woman over 50 years of age, having a fractured premolar tooth, which was diagnosed more than 1 year after reconstruction that was based on multiple adjacent implants. Additional clinical studies are required in order to shed light on this potential serious complication.

Keywords: complications, dental implants, endodontics, fractured teeth

Procedia PDF Downloads 143

Authors: Maria Armalita Tumimbang

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Jathilan or Kuda Lumping is a dance-drama with warfare as the main theme and the dancers mimicking mighty horsemen armed with sword in the middle of the battle field. However, to most people this dance-drama is more identical with magical nuanced dance and trance, beside the attractive and even dangerous acts of the dancers, such as eating shard or broken glass in a state of trance. Several music players play the accompaniment made up of incomplete gamelan set that include saron, kendang, gong, and kempul. In general, it remains unchanged with regards to the seemingly monotonous beat and occasional “bumps” that may lead the dancers into a trance state. The dances performed also tend to be of repetitive patterns. The development of Jathilan and other traditional art performance in this globalization and industrialization era can be divided into two: firstly, they are subjected to the power of industrialization, which means their performances are to be recorded for commercial purpose, and secondly, they are to be presented in live performances. To some people, live performances are preferable, and for some reasons, they represent a form of cultural résistance to globalization and industrialization. The present study is qualitative in nature. It aims to describe the music and performance of Jathilan in the era of globalization in Indonesia. The subject of this study is a traditional art group, Jathilan Kuda Pranesa of Godean, Yogyakarta. Data collection was conducted by interviews with the leader of the group, the dancers and music players, as well as the audience. The wave of globalization has brought strong capitalistic industrialization that render traditional arts simply into industrial commodities tailored to the need of the era. This very fact has made the repositioning of traditional art performance of Jathilan a necessity. And by repositioning we mean that Jathilans should be put back to their traditional forms and functions as they used to be.

Keywords: Jathilan, globalization, industrialization, music, performance

Procedia PDF Downloads 311

Authors: Abdolreza Farhadian, Anh Phan, Zahra Taheri Rizi, Elaheh Sadeh

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The utilization of solidified gas technology based on hydrates exhibits considerable promise for carbon capture, storage, and natural gas transportation applications. The pivotal factor impeding the industrial implementation of hydrates lies in the need for efficient and non-foaming promoters. In this study, a biosurfactant with sulfonate, amide, and carboxyl groups (BS) was synthesized as a methane hydrate formation promoter, replicating the chemical characteristics of amino acids and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). The synthesis of BS follows a simple, three-step process that is amenable to industrial scale production. The first two steps of the process are solvent-free, which helps reduce potential environmental impacts and makes scaling up more feasible. Additionally, the final step utilizes a water-isopropanol mixture, which is an easily accessible and cost-effective solvent system for large-scale production. High-pressure autoclave experiments demonstrated a significant enhancement in methane hydrate formation kinetics with low BS concentrations. 50 ppm of BS yielded a maximum water-to-hydrate conversion of 66.9%, equivalent to a storage capacity of 119.9 v/v in distilled water. With increasing BS concentration to 500 ppm, the conversion degree and storage capacity reached 97% and 162.6 v/v, respectively. Molecular dynamic simulation revealed that BS molecules acted as collectors for methane molecules, augmenting hydrate growth rate and increasing the number of hydrate cavities. Additionally, BS demonstrated a biodegradability exceeding 60% within 28 days. Toxicity assessments confirmed BS's biocompatibility, with cell viability above 70% for skin and lung cells at concentrations up to 160 and 80 µg/mL, respectively. BS showed significant potential as an environmentally friendly alternative to synthetic surfactants like SDS for methane storage. These findings suggest that the synthesis of effective, such as BS, holds promise for diverse applications, including seawater desalination, carbon capture, and gas storage. Acknowledgments This study was funded by Russian Science Foundation according to the research project № 24-73-10069.

Keywords: solidified methane, gas storage, gas hydrates, green surfactant, gas hydrate promoter, computational simulation, sustainability

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Authors: Suhaida Salleh, Tee Yei Kheng

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Black pod is the most commonly destructive disease of cacao (Theobroma cacao) which cause major losses to global production of cocoa beans. The genus of Phytophthora is the important pathogen of this disease worldwide. The species of P. megakarya causes black pod disease in West Africa, whereas P. capsici and P. citrophthora cause the incident in Central and South America. In Malaysia, this disease is caused by P. palmivora which infect all stages of pod development including flower cushion, cherelle, immature and mature pods. This pathogen destroys up to 10% of trees yearly through stem cankers and causes 20 to 30% pod damages through black pod rot. Since P. palmivora has a high impact on cocoa yield, it is crucial to identify some of the abiotic factors that can constrain their growth. In an effort to evaluate the effect of different substrates and temperatures to the growth of P. palmivora, a laboratory study was done under a different range of temperatures. Different substrate for the growth of P. palmivora were used which are corn meal agar (CMA) media and detached pod of cocoa. An agar plug of seven days old of P. palmivora growth was transferred on both substrates and incubated at 24, 27, 30, 33 and 36ᵒC, respectively. The diameter of lesion on pod and the cultural growth of pathogen was recorded for 7 consecutive days. The optimum incubation temperature of P. palmivora on both substrates is at 27ᵒC. However, the growth tends to be inhibited as the temperature increases. No lesion developed on pod surface incubated at 36ᵒC and only a small lesion observed at 33ᵒC. The sporulation with the formation of white mycelial growth on pod surface was only visible at optimum temperature, 27ᵒC. On CMA, the pathogen grew over the entire range of temperatures tested. The study is, therefore, concluded that P. palmivora grow the best at temperature of 27ᵒC on both substrates and their growth begin to inhibit when the temperature rises to more than 27ᵒC. The growth pattern of this pathogen is similar on both pod surface and cultural media.

Keywords: cocoa, Phytophthora palmivora, substrate, temperature

Procedia PDF Downloads 195

Authors: Z. Abdollahi Biron, P. Pisu

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Connected vehicles are one of the promising technologies for future Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS). A connected vehicle system is essentially a set of vehicles communicating through a network to exchange their information with each other and the infrastructure. Although this interconnection of the vehicles can be potentially beneficial in creating an efficient, sustainable, and green transportation system, a set of safety and reliability challenges come out with this technology. The first challenge arises from the information loss due to unreliable communication network which affects the control/management system of the individual vehicles and the overall system. Such scenario may lead to degraded or even unsafe operation which could be potentially catastrophic. Secondly, faulty sensors and actuators can affect the individual vehicle’s safe operation and in turn will create a potentially unsafe node in the vehicular network. Further, sending that faulty sensor information to other vehicles and failure in actuators may significantly affect the safe operation of the overall vehicular network. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to take these issues into consideration while designing the control/management algorithms of the individual vehicles as a part of connected vehicle system. In this paper, we consider a connected vehicle system under Co-operative Adaptive Cruise Control (CACC) and propose a fault diagnosis scheme that deals with these aforementioned challenges. Specifically, the conventional CACC algorithm is modified by adding a Kalman filter-based estimation algorithm to suppress the effect of lost information under unreliable network. Further, a sliding mode observer-based algorithm is used to improve the sensor reliability under faults. The effectiveness of the overall diagnostic scheme is verified via simulation studies.

Keywords: fault diagnostics, communication network, connected vehicles, packet drop out, platoon

Procedia PDF Downloads 241

Authors: Cigdem Karaaslan, Yalcin Duydu, Aylin Ustundag, Can Ozgur Yalcın, Hakan Goker

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Benzazole nucleus is found in the structure of many compounds as anticancer agents. Bendamustine (Alkylating agent), Nocodazole (Mitotic inhibitor), Veliparib (PARP inhibitor), Glasdegib (SMO inhibitor) are clinically used as anticancer therapeutics which bearing benzimidazole moiety. Based on the principle of bioisosterism in the present work, 23 compounds belonging to 2-(3,4-dimethoxy-phenyl) benzazoles and imidazopyridine series were synthesized and evaluated for their anticancer activities. N-(5-Chloro-2-hydroxyphenyl)-3,4-dimethoxybenzamide, was obtained by the amidation of 2-hydroxy-5-chloroaniline with 3,4-dimethoxybenzoic acid by using 1,1'-carbonyldiimidazole. Cyclization of benzamide derivative to benzoxazole, was achieved by p-toluenesulfonic acid. Other 1H-benz (or pyrido) azoles were prepared by the reaction between 2-aminothiophenol, o-phenylenediamine, o-pyridinediamine with sodium metabisulfite adduct of 3,4-dimethoxybenzaldehyde. The NMR assignments of the dimethoxy groups were established by the Nuclear Overhauser Effect Spectroscopy. A compound named, 5(4),7(6)-Dichloro-2-(3,4-dimethoxy) phenyl-1H-benzimidazole, bearing two chlorine atoms at the 5(4) and 7(6) positions of the benzene moiety of benzimidazole was found the most potent analogue, against A549 cells with the GI50 value of 1.5 µg/mL. In addition, 2-(3,4-Dimethoxyphenyl)-5,6-dimethyl-1H-benzimi-dazole showed remarkable cell growth inhibition against MCF-7 and HeLa cells with the GI₅₀ values of 7 and 5.5 µg/mL, respectively. It could be concluded that introduction of di-chloro atoms at the phenyl ring of 2-(3,4-dimethoxyphenyl)-1H-benzimidazoles increase significant cytotoxicity to selected human tumor cell lines in comparison to other all benzazoles synthesized in this study. Unsubstituted 2-(3,4-dimethoxyphenyl) imidazopyridines also gave the good inhibitory profile against A549 and HeLa cells.

Keywords: 3, 4-Dimethoxyphenyl, 1H-benzimidazole, benzazole, imidazopyridine

Procedia PDF Downloads 122

Authors: M. M. Islam, S. Sharmin, M. Shah Newaz, N. S. Juyena, M. M. Rahman, P. K. Jha, F. Y. Bari

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The aim of the present study was to select the high quality ram by measuring the scrotal biometry which has an effect on semen parameters. Ten rams were selected in the present study. Eight ejaculates were collected from each ram using artificial vagina method. Scrotal circumference was measured before and after semen collection on weekly basis using the Scrotal tape. Bio-metries of scrotum (scrotal length and scrotal volume) were calculated. Semen was evaluated for macroscopic and microscopic characteristics. The average estimated scrotal circumference (cm) and scrotal volume (cm3) in 8 different age groups were 17.16±0.05 cm and 61.30±0.70 cm3, 17.17±0.62 cm and 63.67±4.49 cm3, 17.22±0.52 cm and 64.90±4.21 cm3, 17.72±0.37 cm and 67.10±4.20 cm3, 18.41±0.35cm and 69.52±4.12cm3, 18.45±0.36cm and 77.17±3.81 cm3, 18.55±0.41 cm and 78.72±4.90 cm3, 19.10±0.30 cm and 87.35±5.45 cm3 respectively. The body weight, scrotal circumference and scrotal volume increased with the progress of age (P < 0.05). Body weight of age group 381-410 days (13.62+1.48 kg) was significantly higher than group 169-200 days (10.17±0.05 kg) and 201-230 days (10.42±1.18 kg) (p < 0.05). Scrotal circumference (SC) of age group 381-410 days (19.10±0.30 cm) was significantly higher (p < 0.05) than other groups. In age group 381-410 days, scrotal volume (SCV) (87.35±5.45 cm3) was significantly higher than other first five groups (p < 0.05). Both scrotal circumference and scrotal volume development was positively correlated with the increasing of body weight (R2= 0.51). Semen volume increased accordingly with the increasing of ages, varied from 0.35±0.00 ml to 1.15+0.26 ml. Semen volume of age group 381-410 days (1.15±0.26 ml) was significantly higher than other age groups (p < 0.05) except age group 351-380 days (p > 0.05). Mass activity of different age groups varied from 2.75 (±0.35) to 4.25 (±0.29) ml in the scale of 1-5. Sperm concentration, progressive motility (%),progressively improved according to the increasing of ages, but significant changes in these parameters were seen when the animals reaches the age 291 days or more (p < 0.05). However, normal spermatozoa (%) improved significantly from the age of 261 days or more. Mass activity (mass) was positively correlated with sperm concentration (R2=0.568) and progressive motility (%) (R2=0.616). The relationships of semen volume with body weight and scrotal measurements and sperm concentration indicate that they are useful in evaluating rams for breeding soundness and genetic improvement for fertility in indigenous ram.

Keywords: breeding soundness, ram, semen quality, scrotal biometry

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Authors: Sylvain Caillol, Maxence Fache, Bernard Boutevin

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Recent years have witnessed an increasing demand on renewable resource-derived polymers owing to increasing environmental concern and restricted availability of petrochemical resources. Thus, a great deal of attention was paid to renewable resources-derived polymers and to thermosetting materials especially, since they are crosslinked polymers and thus cannot be recycled. Also, most of thermosetting materials contain aromatic monomers, able to confer high mechanical and thermal properties to the network. Therefore, the access to biobased, non-harmful, and available aromatic monomers is one of the main challenges of the years to come. Starting from phenols available in large volumes from renewable resources, our team designed platforms of chemicals usable for the synthesis of various polymers. One of these phenols, vanillin, which is readily available from lignin, was more specifically studied. Various aromatic building blocks bearing polymerizable functions were synthesized: epoxy, amine, acid, carbonate, alcohol etc. These vanillin-based monomers can potentially lead to numerous polymers. The example of epoxy thermosets was taken, as there is also the problematic of bisphenol A substitution for these polymers. Materials were prepared from the biobased epoxy monomers obtained from vanillin. Their thermo-mechanical properties were investigated and the effect of the monomer structure was discussed. The properties of the materials prepared were found to be comparable to the current industrial reference, indicating a potential replacement of petrosourced, bisphenol A-based epoxy thermosets by biosourced, vanillin-based ones. The tunability of the final properties was achieved through the choice of monomer and through a well-controlled oligomerization reaction of these monomers. This follows the same strategy than the one currently used in industry, which supports the potential of these vanillin-derived epoxy thermosets as substitutes of their petro-based counterparts.

Keywords: lignin, vanillin, epoxy, amine, carbonate

Procedia PDF Downloads 237

Authors: A. E. Mukhametov, M. T. Yerbulekova, D. R. Dautkanova, G. A. Tuyakova, G. Aitkhozhayeva

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The accumulation of heavy metals in food is a constant problem in many parts of the world. Vegetable oils are widely used, both for cooking and for processing in the food industry, meeting the main dietary requirements. One of the main chemical pollutants, heavy metals, is usually found in vegetable oils. These chemical pollutants are carcinogenic, teratogenic and immunotoxic, harmful to consumption and have a negative effect on human health even in trace amounts. Residues of these substances can easily accumulate in vegetable oil during cultivation, processing and storage. In this article, the content of the concentration of heavy metal ions in vegetable oils of Kazakhstan production is studied: sunflower, rapeseed, safflower and linseed oil. Heavy metals: arsenic, cadmium, lead and nickel, were determined in three repetitions by the method of flame atomic absorption. Analysis of vegetable oil samples revealed that the largest lead contamination (Pb) was determined to be 0.065 mg/kg in linseed oil. The content of cadmium (Cd) in the largest amount of 0.009 mg/kg was found in safflower oil. Arsenic (As) content was determined in rapeseed and safflower oils at 0.003 mg/kg, and arsenic (As) was not detected in linseed and sunflower oil. The nickel (Ni) content in the largest amount of 0.433 mg/kg was in linseed oil. The heavy metal contents in the test samples complied with the requirements of regulatory documents for vegetable oils. An assessment of the health risk of vegetable oils with a daily consumption of 36 g per day shows that all samples of vegetable oils produced in Kazakhstan are safe for consumption. But further monitoring is needed, since all these metals are toxic and their harmful effects become apparent only after several years of exposure.

Keywords: vegetable oil, sunflower oil, linseed oil, safflower oil, toxic metals, food safety, rape oil

Procedia PDF Downloads 139

Authors: Jungkyun Im

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Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are effective for relieving pain and reducing inflammation. They are nonselective inhibitors of two isoforms of COX, cyclooxygenase-1 (COX-1) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), and thereby inhibiting the production of hormone-like lipid compounds such as, prostaglandins and thromboxanes which cause inflammation, pain, fever, platelet aggregation, etc. In addition, recently there are many research articles reporting the neuroprotective effect of NSAIDs in neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Parkinson’s disease (PD). However, the clinical use of NSAIDs in these diseases is limited by low brain distribution. Therefore, in order to assist the in-depth investigation on the pharmaceutical mechanism of flurbiprofen in neuroprotection and to make flurbiprofen a more potent drug to prevent or alleviate neurodegenerative diseases, delivery of flurbiprofen to brain should be effective and sufficient amount of flurbiprofen must penetrate the BBB thus gaining access into the patient’s brain. We have recently developed several types of guanidine-rich molecular carriers with high molecular weights and good water solubility that readily cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and display efficient distributions in the mouse brain. The G8 (having eight guanidine groups) molecular carrier based on D-sorbitol was found to be very effective in delivering anticancer drugs to a mouse brain. In the present study, employing the same molecular carrier, we prepared the flurbiprofen conjugate and studied its BBB permeation by mouse tissue distribution study. Flurbiprofen was attached to a molecular carrier with a fluorescein probe and multiple terminal guanidiniums. The conjugate was found to internalize into live cells and readily cross the BBB to enter the mouse brain. Our novel synthetic flurbiprofen conjugate will hopefully delivery NSAIDs into brain, and is therefore applicable to the neurodegenerative diseases treatment or prevention.

Keywords: flurbiprofen, drug delivery, molecular carrier, organic synthesis

Procedia PDF Downloads 235

Authors: Emilio A. Berny-Brandt, Sonia E. Ruiz

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Steel tubular towers serving as support structures for large wind turbines are subject to several hundred million stress cycles arising from the turbulent nature of the wind. This causes high-cycle fatigue which can govern tower design. The practice of maintaining the support structure after wind turbines reach its typical 20-year design life have become common, but without quantifying the changes in the reliability on the tower. There are several studies on this topic, but most of them are based on the S-N curve approach using the Miner’s rule damage summation method, the de-facto standard in the wind industry. However, the qualitative nature of Miner’s method makes desirable the use of fracture mechanics to measure the effects of fatigue in the capacity curve of the structure, which is important in order to evaluate the integrity and reliability of these towers. Temporal and spatially varying wind speed time histories are simulated based on power spectral density and coherence functions. Simulations are then applied to a SAP2000 finite element model and step-by-step analysis is used to obtain the stress time histories for a range of representative wind speeds expected during service conditions of the wind turbine. Rainflow method is then used to obtain cycle and stress range information of each of these time histories and a statistical analysis is performed to obtain the distribution parameters of each variable. Monte Carlo simulation is used here to evaluate crack growth over time in the tower base using the Paris-Erdogan equation. A nonlinear static pushover analysis to assess the capacity curve of the structure after a number of years is performed. The capacity curves are then used to evaluate the changes in reliability of a steel tower located in Oaxaca, Mexico, where wind energy facilities are expected to grow in the near future. Results show that fatigue on the tower base can have significant effects on the structural capacity of the wind turbine, especially after the 20-year design life when the crack growth curve starts behaving exponentially.

Keywords: crack growth, fatigue, Monte Carlo simulation, structural reliability, wind turbines

Procedia PDF Downloads 517

Authors: Macarena-Paz Celume, Sylvie Tordjman

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There is still no consensus regarding the differences between gifted and non-gifted students in relationship to their self-esteem and the impact that this might have on behavioral and emotional troubles. In fact, some studies present no difference between both groups or present gifted population having higher scores in self-esteem, while others indicate all the opposite, presenting lower self-esteem in gifted population, suggesting that self-esteem issues are probably due to the fact that gifted children who present low self-esteem might not consider their high Intellectual Quotient (IQ) as a positive characteristic, thus leading to behavioral or emotional troubles. According to the author's knowledge, there is poor evidence trying to understand self-esteem issues in troubled gifted and non-gifted students in France, also finding an important lack regarding the possible moderators that might influence self-esteem. This study aimed to validate the results of these samples, looking for age and sex moderators in order to present recent evidence for the study of self-esteem in troubled gifted students in France. This study analysed the data gathered in the past 12 years for troubled students attending to the National Centre for Assistance to High Potential of Children and Adolescents (CNAHP) in France comparing the results of gifted versus non-gifted population. Primary results showed no significant differences between the groups in global self-esteem (t=1,15 p < .25), consistent with correlation analysis that found no correlation between global self-esteem and total IQ for each of the groups (rgifted=.04, rnon-gifted=.-08). Nevertheless, an ANOVA analysis showed an important effect of giftedness over academic self-esteem even though no significant differences were found (t=1,8 p < .06). No significant differences between sex regarding global self-esteem in any of the groups were found. Nevertheless, non-gifted population showed a significant difference in physical self-esteem, being higher for boys than for girls (t=2.65 p < .01). Sex and age moderator analyses for self-esteem will be presented and discussed.

Keywords: children and adolescents, giftedness, self-esteem, troubled children and adolescents

Procedia PDF Downloads 139

Authors: A. K. Jain, M. C. Paliwal

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The production of cement leads to the emission of large amounts of carbon-dioxide gas into the atmosphere which is a major contributor for the greenhouse effect and the global warming; hence it is mandatory either to quest for another material or partly replace it with some other material. According to the practical demonstrations and reports, Egg Shell Powder (ESP) can be used as a binding material for different field applications as it contains some of the properties of lime. It can partially replace the cement and further; it can be used in different proportion for enhancing the performance of cement. It can be used as a first-class alternative, for material reuse and waste recycling practices. Eggshell is calcium rich and analogous to limestone in chemical composition. Therefore, use of eggshell waste for partial replacement of cement in concrete is feasible. Different studies reveal that plasticity index of the soil can be improved by adding eggshell wastes in all the clay soil and it has wider application in construction projects including earth canals and earthen dams. The scarcity of aggregates is also increasing nowadays. Utilization of industrial waste or secondary materials is increasing in different construction applications. Coconut shell was successfully used in the construction industry for partial or full replacement for coarse aggregates. The use of coconut shell gives advantage of using waste material to partially replace the coarse aggregate. Studies carried on coconut shell indicate that it can partially replace the aggregate. It has good strength and modulus properties along with the advantage of high lignin content. It absorbs relatively low moisture due to its low cellulose content. In the paper, study carried out on eggshell powder and coconut shell will be discussed. Optimum proportions of these materials to be used for partial replacement of cement and aggregate will also be discussed.

Keywords: greenhouse, egg shell powder, binding material, aggregates, coconut shell, coarse aggregates

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Authors: Sinisa Prvanov

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This research is an attempt to analyze the existing urban form of outdoor public space of Duhok city and to give proposals for their improvements in terms of urban seating. The aim of this research is to identify the main urban furniture elements and behaviour of users of three central parks of Duhok city, recognizing their functionality and the most common errors. Citizens needs, directly related to the physical characteristics of the environment, are categorized in terms of contact with nature. Parks as significant urban environments express their aesthetic preferences, as well as the need for recreation and play. Citizens around the world desire to contact with nature and places where they can socialize, play and practice different activities, but also participate in building their community and feeling the identity of their cities. The aim of this research is also to reintegrate these spaces in the wider urban context of the city of Duhok, to develop new functions by designing new seating patterns, more improved urban furniture, and necessary supporting facilities and equipment. Urban furniture is a product that uses an enormous number of people in public space. It has a high level of wear and damage due to intense use, exposure to sunlight and weather conditions. Iraq has a hot and dry climate characterized by long, warm, dry summers and short, cold winters. The climate is determined by the Iraq location at the crossroads of Arab desert areas and the subtropical humid climate of the Persian Gulf. The second part of this analysis will describe the possibilities of traditional and contemporary materials as well as their advantages in urban furniture production, providing users protection from extreme local climate conditions, but also taking into account solidities and unwelcome consequences, such as vandalism. In addition, this research represents a preliminary stage in the development of IND307 furniture design course for needs of the Department of Interior design, at the American University in Duhok. Based on results obtained in this research, the course would present a symbiosis between people and technology, promotion of new street furniture design that perceives pedestrian activities in an urban setting, and practical use of anthropometric measurements as a tool for technical innovations.

Keywords: Furniture design, Street furniture, Social interaction, Public space

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Authors: Aliyaa Zaidan, Rayan Bahabri

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The twenty-first century revealed an accelerating change and intensifying complexity of communication technology. Online social networking engines have gained astounding recognition worldwide. The influence of those social media platforms on dentistry and dental students is not well established. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the impact of using social media on professional and profile level among dental students in Saudi Arabia. A cross-sectional study developed via online questionnaire concerning on social media usage and its effect on professional and profile level of dental students and dental interns from several universities in Saudi Arabia. A total of 296 dental students and dental interns in Saudi Arabia responded to the questionnaire. Ninety-eight percent of the participants usually use the social media on a regular basis. Most social media sites used among the participants were Snapchat, Instagram, and YouTube by 85%, 81%, 77% respectively. Forty-one percent of the participants agreed that using social media in the dental field is a necessity nowadays. Thirty-eight percent of participants agreed that using social media is an easy way to gain a reliable knowledge, while 43% agreed that social media will improve the quality of healthcare. Furthermore, 65% of the students deemed using social media for academic purposes will improve their performance. Fifty-five percent of the respondents often use social media tools to obtain information about subject or procedures related to the dental field. Regarding profile reputation of dental students, 40% of the respondents agreed that their profile information published on social networking websites, could be used by others to judge their level of professionalism. Male and female dental students both agreed that their reputation would be adversely affected by 37%,63%, respectively, if their social networking activity were viewed by members of the public. The discrepancy among student levels reveals that social media profile positively influence the acceptance to postgraduate programs (P= 0.01).

Keywords: dental students, professional, reputation, social media

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Authors: Takahiro Katayama, Hsueh-Sheng Chang

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Due to the global climate change, it has increased the extreme rainfall that led to serious floods around the world. In recent years, urbanization and population growth also tend to increase the number of impervious surfaces, resulting in significant loss of life and property during floods especially for the urban areas of Taiwan. In the past, the primary governmental response to floods was structural flood control and the only flood protection standards in use were the design standards. However, these design standards of flood control facilities are generally calculated based on current hydrological conditions. In the face of future extreme events, there is a high possibility to surpass existing design standards and cause damages directly and indirectly to the public. To cope with the frequent occurrence of floods in recent years, it has been pointed out that there is a need for a different standard called FPSR (Flood Protection Standard of Regions) in Taiwan. FPSR is mainly used for disaster reduction and used to ensure that hydraulic facilities draining regional flood immediately under specific return period. FPSR could convey a level of flood risk which is useful for land use planning and reflect the disaster situations that a region can bear. However, little has been reported on FPSR and its impacts to the public in Taiwan. Hence, this study proposes a quantity procedure to evaluate the FPSR. This study aimed to examine FPSR of the region and public perceptions of and knowledge about FPSR, as well as the public’s WTP (willingness to pay) for FPSR. The research is conducted via literature review and questionnaire method. Firstly, this study will review the domestic and international research on the FPSR, and provide the theoretical framework of FPSR. Secondly, CVM (Contingent Value Method) has been employed to conduct this survey and using double-bounded dichotomous choice, close-ended format elicits households WTP for raising the protection level to understand the social costs. The samplings of this study are citizens living in Taichung city, Taiwan and 700 samplings were chosen in this study. In the end, this research will continue working on surveys, finding out which factors determining WTP, and provide some recommendations for adaption policies for floods in the future.

Keywords: climate change, CVM (Contingent Value Method), FPSR (Flood Protection Standard of Regions), urban flooding

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Authors: Eric Gismondi, Aurelie Bigot-Clivot

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Endocrine disruptors (EDCs) are well known to disrupt the development and the reproduction of exposed organisms. Although this point has been studied in vertebrate models, the limited knowledge of the endocrine system of invertebrates makes the evaluation of EDCs effects difficult. However, invertebrates represent the major part of aquatic ecosystems, such as amphipods Gammaridea, which are crucial for their functioning (e.g., litter degradation, food resource). Moreover, gammarids are hosts of parasites such as vertically-transmitted microsporidia (microsporidia VT), which could be confounding factors in assessment of EDC effects. Indeed, some microsporidia VT could have endocrine effects by their own present in the host since it was observed for example, a feminization of juvenile males, which become phenotypic females. This work evaluated the impact of ethinylestradiol (EE₂, estrogenic), cyproterone acetate (CPA, anti-androgenic), 4-hydroxytamoxifen (4HT, anti-estrogenic) and 17α-methyltestosterone (17MT - androgenic), on the 20-hydroxyecdysone concentration (i.e. 20HE - molt process) and the vitellogenin gene expression (i.e. reproduction) in the freshwater amphipod Gammarus pulex, after a 96h laboratory exposure. In addition, the presence of microsporidia VT was verified in order to analyze the effect of this confounding factor. Results of this study shown that, although endocrine systems of invertebrates and vertebrates are different, EDCs proved in vertebrates could also affect biological functions hormonally controlled in invertebrates. Indeed, the molt process of crustaceans was disrupted in the first stage (i.e. 20-HE concentration) and therefore, could affect, at the long term, the population dynamic. In addition, it was observed that G. pulex was differently impacted according to the gender and parasitism, which underline the importance to take into account these confounding factors to better evaluate the EDCs impact on invertebrate populations.

Keywords: endocrine disruption, gammarus sp., molt, parasitism

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Authors: Ahmed R. Z. Baghdadi, Ibrahim M. I. Hamoda,  Mona H. Gamal Eldein, Ibrahim Magdy Elnaggar

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Background: High-velocity low amplitude thrust (HVLAT) manipulation and low-velocity low amplitude (LVLA) mobilization are an effective treatment for low back pain (LBP). Purpose: This study compared the effects of HVLAT versus LVLA on pain, functional deficits and segmental mobility in treatment of chronic mechanical LBP. Methods: Ninety patients suffering from chronic mechanical LBP are classified to three groups; Thirty patients treated by HVLAT (group I), thirty patients treated by LVLA (group II) and thirty patients as control group (group III) participated in the study. The mean age was 28.00±2.92, 27.83±2.28 and 28.07±3.05 years and BMI 27.98±2.60, 28.80±2.40 and 28.70±2.53 kg/m2 for group I, II and III respectively. The Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), the Oswestry low back pain disability questionnaire and modified schoper test were used for assessment. Assessments were conducted two weeks before and after treatment with the control group being assessed at the same time intervals. The treatment program group one was two weeks single session per week, and for group II two sessions per week for two weeks. Results: The One-way ANOVA revealed that group I had significantly lower pain scores and Oswestry score compared with group II two weeks after treatment. Moreover, the mobility in modified schoper increased significantly and the pain scores and Oswestry scores decreased significantly after treatment in group I and II compared with control group. Interpretation/Conclusion: HVLAT is preferable to LVLA mobilization, possibly due to a beneficial neurophysiological effect by Stimulating mechanically sensitive neurons in the lumbar facet joint capsule.

Keywords: low back pain, manipulation, mobilization, low velocity

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Authors: Javed Iqbal

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Filling of Xiangjiaba Reservoir Lake in Southwest China triggered and re-activated numerous landslides due to water fluctuation. In order to understand the relationship between reservoirs and slope instability, a typical reservoir landslide (Dasha landslide) at right bank of Jinsha River was selected as a case study for in-depth investigations. The detailed field investigations were carried out in order to identify the landslide with respect to its surroundings and to find out the slip-surface. Boreholes were drilled in order to find out the subsurface lithology and the depth of failure of Dasha landslide. The in-situ geotechnical tests were performed, and the soil samples from exposed slip surface were retrieved for geotechnical laboratory analysis. Finally, stability analysis was done using 3D strength reduction method under different conditions of reservoir water level fluctuations and rainfall conditions. The in-depth investigations show that the Dasha landslide is a bedding rockslide which was once activated in 1986. The topography of Dasha landslide is relatively flat, while the back scarp and local terrain are relatively steep. The landslide area is about 29 × 104 m², and the maximum thickness of the landslide deposits revealed by drilling is about 40 m with the average thickness being about 20 m, and the volume is thus estimated being about 580 × 10⁴ m³. Bedrock in the landslide area is composed of Suining Formation of Jurassic age. The main rock type is silty mudstone with sandstone, and bedding orientation is 300~310° ∠ 7~22°. The factor of safety (FOS) of Dasha landslide obtained by 3D strength reduction cannot meet the minimum safety requirement under the working condition of reservoir level fluctuation as designed, with effect of rainfall and rapid drawdown.

Keywords: Dasha landslide, Xiangjiaba reservoir, strength reduction method, bedding rockslide

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Authors: Ayesha Iftikhar, Faisal Hafeez, Muhammad Jawad Saleem, Afifa Naeem, Muhammad Sohaib

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To further develop integrated pest management (IPM) tactics against insect pests, demographic toxicology is considered important and efficient to evaluate the long-term effects of pesticides on biological control agents. In this study, lethal and sub-lethal effects of Pyriproxyfen (insect growth regulator) two concentrations of LC10 and LC30 were tested on second instar larvae of convergent lady beetle, Hippodamia convergens (Goeze) in order to evaluate the effect of insecticide on demographic parameters of the predator under laboratory conditions. The life table parameters were analysed statistically by using age-stage, two sex life table procedure. The results of this study show that developmental time for immature was prolonged in treated population (LC30 and LC10) rather than in control. Similarly, male and female longevity was also longer in the control group as compared to the treated population. Adult pre-oviposition period and fecundity were also greater in control as compared to the treated population. In addition, population parameters such as net reproductive rate (R0), intrinsic rate of increase (r) and finite rate of increase (λ) were also greater in control group rather than treated population. However, mean generation time (T) was greater in the treated group. The results revealed that pyriproxyfen, even at low concentrations, has potential to greatly affect the population growth of predatory lady beetle, therefore care should be taken when insect growth regulators are used within an IPM framework.

Keywords: ladybird beetle, IGR, integrated pest management, population inhibition

Procedia PDF Downloads 133

Authors: Humberto Miranda, Haroldo G. Santana, Gabriel A. Paz, Vicente P. Lima, Jeffrey M. Willardson

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Foam rolling is a practice that has increased in popularity before and after strength training. The purpose of this study was to compare the acute effects of different foam rolling periods for the lower body muscles on subsequent performance (total repetitions and training volume), myoelectric activity and rating of perceived exertion in trained men. Fourteen trained men (26.2 ± 3.2 years, 178 ± 0.04 cm height, 82.2 ± 10 kg weight and body mass index 25.9 ± 3.3kg/m2) volunteered for this study. Four repetition maximum (4-RM) loads were determined for hexagonal bar deadlift and 45º angled leg press during test and retest sessions over two nonconsecutive days. Five experimental protocols were applied in a randomized design, which included: a traditional protocol (control)—a resistance training session without prior foam rolling; or resistance training sessions performed following one (P1), two (P2), three (P3), or four (P4) sets of 30 sec. foam rolling for the lower extremity musculature. Subjects were asked to roll over the medial and lateral aspects of each muscle group with as much pressure as possible. All foam rolling was completed at a cadence of 50 bpm. These procedures were performed on both sides unilaterally as described below. Quadriceps: between the apex of the patella and the ASIS; Hamstring: between the gluteal fold and popliteal fossa; Triceps surae: between popliteal fossa and calcaneus tendon. The resistance training consisted of five sets with 4-RM loads and two-minute rest intervals between sets, and a four-minute rest interval between the hexagonal bar deadlift and the 45º angled leg press. The number of repetitions completed, the myoelectric activity of vastus lateralis (VL), vastus medialis oblique (VMO), semitendinosus (SM) and medial gastrocnemius (GM) were recorded, as well as the rating of perceived exertion for each protocol. There were no differences between the protocols in the total repetitions for the hexagonal bar deadlift (Control - 16.2 ± 5.9; P1 - 16.9 ± 5.5; P2 - 19.2 ± 5.7; P3 - 19.4 ± 5.2; P4 - 17.2 ± 8.2) (p > 0.05) and 45º angled leg press (Control - 23.3 ± 9.7; P1 - 25.9 ± 9.5; P2 - 29.1 ± 13.8; P3 - 28.0 ± 11.7; P4 - 30.2 ± 11.2) exercises. Similar results between protocols were also noted for myoelectric activity (p > 0.05) and rating of perceived exertion (p > 0.05). Therefore, the results of the present study indicated no deleterious effects on performance, myoelectric activity and rating of perceived exertion responses during lower body resistance training.

Keywords: self myofascial release, foam rolling, electromyography, resistance training

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Authors: Rajinikanth Siddalingam, Poonguzhali Subramanian

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The present study aims to prepare and evaluate the self-nano emulsifying drug delivery (SNEDDS) system to enhance the dissolution rate of a poorly soluble drug dutasteride. The formulation was prepared using capryol PGMC, Cremophor EL, and polyethylene glycol (PEG) 400 as oil, surfactant and co-surfactant, respectively. The pseudo-ternary phase diagrams with presence and absence of drug were plotted to find out the nano emulsification range and also to evaluate the effect of dutasteride on the emulsification behavior of the phases. Prepared SNEDDS formulations were evaluated for its particle size distribution, nano emulsifying properties, robustness to dilution, self-emulsification time, turbidity measurement, drug content and in-vitro dissolution. The optimized formulations are further evaluated for heating cooling cycle, centrifugation studies, freeze-thaw cycling, particle size distribution and zeta potential were carried out to confirm the stability of the formed SNEDDS formulations. The particle size, zeta potential and polydispersity index of the optimized formulation found to be 35.45 nm, -15.45 and 0.19, respectively. The in vitro results are revealed that the prepared formulation enhanced the dissolution rate of dutasteride significantly as compared with pure drug. The in vivo studies in was conducted using rats and the results are revealed that SNEDDS formulation has enhanced the bioavailability of dutasteride drug significantly as compared with raw drug. Based the results, it was concluded that the dutasteride-loaded SNEDDS shows potential to enhance the dissolution of dutasteride, thus improving the bioavailability and therapeutic effects.

Keywords: self-emulsifying drug delivery system, dutasteride, enhancement of bioavailability, dissolution enhancement

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Authors: C. M. Choi, H. C. Tsang, W. K. Fong, Y. K. Cheng, T. K. Chui, L. Y. Chan, K. W. Lee, C. K. Yuen, P. W. Lau, Y. L. To, K. C. Chow

Abstract:

Six-minute walk test (6MWT) is a sub-maximal exercise test to assess aerobic capacity and exercise tolerance of patients with chronic respiratory disease and heart failure. This has been proven to be a reliable and valid tool and commonly used in clinical situations. Traditional 6MWT is labour-intensive and time-consuming especially for patients who require assistance in ambulation and oxygen use. When performing the test with these patients, one staff will assist the patient in walking (with or without aids) while another staff will need to manually record patient’s oxygen saturation, heart rate and walking distance at every minute and/or carry oxygen cylinder at the same time. Physiotherapist will then have to document the test results in bed notes in details. With the use of electronic 6MWT (E-6MWT), patients wear a wireless oximeter that transfers data to a tablet PC via Bluetooth. Real-time recording of oxygen saturation, heart rate, and distance are displayed. No manual work on recording is needed. The tablet will generate a comprehensive report which can be directly attached to the patient’s bed notes for documentation. Data can also be saved for later patient follow up. This study was carried out in North District Hospital. Patients who followed commands and required 6MWT assessment were included. Patients were assigned to study or control groups. In the study group, patients adopted the E-6MWT while those in control group adopted the traditional 6MWT. Manpower and time consumed were recorded. Physiotherapists also completed a questionnaire about the use of E-6MWT. Total 12 subjects (Study=6; Control=6) were recruited during 11-12/2017. An average number of staff required and time consumed in traditional 6MWT were 1.67 and 949.33 seconds respectively; while in E-6MWT, the figures were 1.00 and 630.00 seconds respectively. Compared to traditional 6MWT, E-6MWT required 67.00% less manpower and 50.10% less in time spent. Physiotherapists (n=7) found E-6MWT is convenient to use (mean=5.14; satisfied to very satisfied), requires less manpower and time to complete the test (mean=4.71; rather satisfied to satisfied), has better data management (mean=5.86; satisfied to very satisfied) and is recommended to be used clinically (mean=5.29; satisfied to very satisfied). It is proven that E-6MWT requires less manpower input with higher efficiency and better data management. It is welcomed by the clinical frontline staff.

Keywords: electronic, physiotherapy, six-minute walk test, 6MWT

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Authors: Yuan-Chung Tsai, Masao Kamimura, Kohei Soga, Hsin-Cheng Chiu

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In order to enhance the photodynamic/photothermal therapeutic efficacy on glioblastoma, the functionized upconversion nanoparticles with the capability of converting the deep tissue penetrating near-infrared light into visible wavelength for activating photochemical reaction were developed. The drug-loaded nanoparticles (NPs) were obtained from the self-assembly of oleic acid-coated upconversion nanoparticles along with maleimide-conjugated poly(ethylene glycol)-cholesterol (Mal-PEG-Chol), as the NP stabilizer, and hydrophobic photosensitizers, IR-780 (for photothermal therapy, PTT) and mTHPC (for photodynamic therapy, PDT), in aqueous phase. Both the IR-780 and mTHPC were loaded into the hydrophobic domains within NPs via hydrophobic association. The peptide targeting ligand, angiopep-2, was further conjugated with the maleimide groups at the end of PEG adducts on the NP surfaces, enabling the affinity coupling with the low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein-1 of tumor endothelial cells and malignant astrocytes. The drug-loaded NPs with the size of ca 80 nm in diameter exhibit a good colloidal stability in physiological conditions. The in vitro data demonstrate the successful targeting delivery of drug-loaded NPs toward the ALTS1C1 cells (murine astrocytoma cells) and the pronounced cytotoxicity elicited by combinational effect of PDT and PTT. The in vivo results show the promising brain orthotopic tumor targeting of drug-loaded NPs and sound efficacy for brain tumor dual-modality treatment. This work shows great potential for improving photodynamic/photothermal therapeutic efficacy of brain cancer.

Keywords: drug delivery, orthotopic brain tumor, photodynamic/photothermal therapies, upconversion nanoparticles

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Authors: Syed Toqueer Akhter, Rabia Zulfiqar

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This paper attempts to trace the determining factor- as far as individual preferences and expectations are concerned- of what causes the direction of international migration to drift in certain ways owing to factors such as Religiosity and Cultural Assimilation. The narrative on migration has graduated from the age long ‘push/pull’ debate to that of complex factors that may vary across each individual. We explore the longstanding factor of religiosity widely acknowledged in mentioned literature as a key variable in the assessment of migration, wherein the impact of religiosity in the form of a drift into the intent of migration has been analyzed. A more conventional factor cultural assimilation is used in a contemporary way to estimate how it plays a role in affecting the drift in direction. In particular what our research aims at achieving is to isolate the effect our key variables: Cultural Assimilation and Religiosity have on direction of migration, and to explore how they interplay as a composite unit- and how we may be able to justify the change in behavior displayed by these key variables. In order to establish a true sense of what drives individual choices we employ the method of survey research and use a questionnaire to conduct primary research. The questionnaire was divided into six sections covering subjects including household characteristics, perceptions and inclinations of the respondents relevant to our study. Religiosity was quantified using a proxy of Migration Network that utilized secondary data to estimate religious hubs in recipient countries. To estimate the relationship between Intent of Migration and its variants three competing econometric models namely: the Ordered Probit Model, the Ordered Logit Model and the Tobit Model were employed. For every model that included our key variables, a highly significant relationship with the intent of migration was estimated.

Keywords: international migration, drift in direction, cultural assimilation, religiosity, ordered probit model

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Authors: Khaled M. Nabil

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This paper introduces the Nested Vortexes conception of the universe structure and interprets all the physical phenomena according this conception. The paper first reviews recent physics theories, either in microscopic scale or macroscopic scale, to collect evidence that the space is not empty. But, these theories describe the property of the space medium without determining its structure. Determining the structure of space medium is essential to understand the mechanism that leads to its properties. Without determining the space medium structure, many phenomena; such as electric and magnetic fields, gravity, or wave-particle duality remain uninterpreted. Thus, this paper introduces a conception about the structure of the universe. It assumes that the universe is a medium of ultra-tiny homogeneous particles which are still undiscovered. Like any medium with certain movements, possibly because of a great asymmetric explosion, vortexes have occurred. A vortex condenses the ultra-tiny particles in its center forming a bigger particle, the bigger particles, in turn, could be trapped in a bigger vortex and condense in its center forming a much bigger particle and so on. This conception describes galaxies, stars, protons as particles at different levels. Existing of the particle’s vortexes make the consistency of the speed of light postulate is not true. This conception shows that the vortex motion dynamic agrees with the motion of all the universe particles at any level. An experiment has been carried out to detect the orbiting effect of aggregated vortexes of aligned atoms of a permanent magnet. Based on the described particle’s structure, the gravity force of a particle and attraction between particles as well as charge, electric and magnetic fields and quantum mechanics characteristics are interpreted. All augmented physics phenomena are solved.

Keywords: astrophysics, cosmology, particles’ structure model, particles’ forces

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Authors: Przemysław Tomczyk, Dagmara Plata-Alf, Piotr Kwiatek

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Literature review is indispensable in research. One of the key techniques used in it is bibliometric analysis, where one of the methods is science mapping. The classic approach that dominates today in this area consists of mapping areas, keywords, terms, authors, or citations. This approach is also used in relation to the review of literature in the field of marketing. The development of technology has resulted in the fact that researchers and practitioners use the capabilities of software available on the market for this purpose. The use of science mapping software tools (e.g., VOSviewer, SciMAT, Pajek) in recent publications involves the implementation of a literature review, and it is useful in areas with a relatively high number of publications. Despite this well-grounded science mapping approach having been applied in the literature reviews, performing them is a painstaking task, especially if authors would like to draw precise conclusions about the studied literature and uncover potential research gaps. The aim of this article is to identify to what extent a new approach to science mapping, variable mapping, takes advantage of the classic science mapping approach in terms of research problem formulation and content/thematic analysis for literature reviews. To perform the analysis, a set of 5 articles on customer ideation was chosen. Next, the analysis of key words mapping results in VOSviewer science mapping software was performed and compared with the variable map prepared manually on the same articles. Seven independent expert judges (management scientists on different levels of expertise) assessed the usability of both the stage of formulating, the research problem, and content/thematic analysis. The results show the advantage of variable mapping in the formulation of the research problem and thematic/content analysis. First, the ability to identify a research gap is clearly visible due to the transparent and comprehensive analysis of the relationships between the variables, not only keywords. Second, the analysis of relationships between variables enables the creation of a story with an indication of the directions of relationships between variables. Demonstrating the advantage of the new approach over the classic one may be a significant step towards developing a new approach to the synthesis of literature and its reviews. Variable mapping seems to allow scientists to build clear and effective models presenting the scientific achievements of a chosen research area in one simple map. Additionally, the development of the software enabling the automation of the variable mapping process on large data sets may be a breakthrough change in the field of conducting literature research.

Keywords: bibliometrics, literature review, science mapping, variable mapping

Procedia PDF Downloads 125