Search results for: chaotic differential evolution (CDDE)

Authors: Rosy Saikia, Krishna Barua

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The evolution of visual art can be traced back from “pre-historic” humans, from the age of Paleolithic, Neolithic, and Metal Age. Mesopotamians and the Egyptians were the pioneers of art, in the first period of history. But the field of art first flourished in the west during the Renaissance. Since then, art represents a continuous yet varied tradition till present day. Until the early 19th century art focused chiefly on representational, religious and classical motifs, but gradually art became more abstract and conceptual approaches gained popularity. Rainer Maria Rilke (1875-1926) was one of the leading poets cum art critic of European modernism. This paper addresses the relationship between Rilke's poetry and visual art, which involves an intimate transference of aesthetic means and definitions of form in the creative process of writing. Rilke’s connection with Auguste Rodin made him learn that a person who can “see” things could realize the beauty of a “thing” and could subsequently write. To “see” the “thing” or “object” rather than representing emotion was considered as more important by Rodin and that was the way he cracked the old aesthetic mould. Rilke himself agreed that his correspondence with the artists made him acquainted nothing but a new way of seeing. Rilke admitted to the constant reference to the Bible, the books of the Danish poet Jens Peter Jacobsen and Auguste Rodin, who all had given him the experience of the essence of creativity, its depths and eternity. Rilke’s association with philosophers such as Nietzhche and artists, starting from Worpweders and Rodin to Cezanne’s paintings, made him almost an apprentice in visual art.

Keywords: seeing, gaze, aesthetic, beauty, visual art, Rilke

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Authors: Anjana Jain, S. Jayanth Kumar

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Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) is a well-known material for remarkable mechanical properties, resistance to chemicals and superior ferroelectric performances. This endows PVDF the potential for application in supercapacitor devices. The dielectric properties of PVDF, however, are not very high. To improve the dielectric properties of Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), Piezoelectric polymer nanocomposites are prepared without affecting the other useful properties of PVDF. Polyaniline (PANI) was chosen as a filler material to prepare the nanocomposites. PVDF-PANI nanocomposite films were prepared using solvent cast method with different volume fractions of PANI varying from 0.04% to 0.048% of PANI content. The films are characterized for structural, mechanical, and surface morphological properties using X-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimeter, Raman spectra, Infrared spectra, tensile testing, and scanning electron microscopy. The X-ray diffraction analysis shows that, prepared films were in β-phase. The DSC scans indicated that the degree of crystallinity in PVDF-PANI is improved. Raman and Infrared spectrum further confirm the presence of β-phase of PVDF-PANI film. Tensile properties of PVDF-PANI films were in good agreement with those reported in literature. The surface feature shows that PANI is uniformly distributed in PVDF and also results in disappearance of spherulites. The influence of volume fraction of PANI in PVDF on dielectric properties was analyzed. The results showed that the dielectric permittivity of PVDF-PANI (120) was much higher than that of PVDF (12). The sensitivity of these films was studied on application of a pressure and a constant output voltage was obtained.

Keywords: dielectric Properties, PANI, PVDF, smart materials

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Authors: Abd-Alrahman Embaby, Ayman Abu Halawa, Medhat Ramadan

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The infiltrated water into the subsurface activates expansive soil in localized manner, leading to the differential heaving and destructive of the construction. The Watershed Modeling System (WMS) and Hydrologic Engineering Center (HEC-1) are used to delineate and identify the drainage system and basin morphometry in Tabuk area, where flash floods and accumulation of water may take place. Eight drainage basins effect on Tabuk city. Three of them are expected to be high. The flash floods and surface runoff behavior in these basins are important for any protection projects. It was found that the risky areas that contain Tabuk shale could be expanded when exposed to flash floods and/or surface runoff. The resident neighborhoods in the middle of Tabuk city and affected by surface runoff of the tributaries of the basin of Wadi Abu Nishayfah, Na'am and Atanah outlet, represent high-risk zones. These high-risk neighborhoods are Al Qadsiyah, Al Maseif, Arrwdah, Al Nakhil and Al Rajhi. It can be avoided new constructions on these districts. The low or very low-risk zones include the western and the eastern districts. The western side of the city is lying in the upstream of the small basin. It is suitable for a future urban extension. The direction of surface runoff flow or storm water drain discharge should be away from Tabuk city. The quicker the water can flow out, the better it is.

Keywords: digital elevation model (DEM), flash floods, Saudi Arabia, Tabuk City, watershed modeling system (WMS)

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Authors: Loubna Hamami, Bouchaib Nassereddine

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Due to the evolution of technologies, the need to observe and manage hostile environments, and reduction in size, wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are becoming essential and implicated in the most fields of life. WSNs enable us to change the style of living, working and interacting with the physical environment. The agricultural sector is one of such sectors where WSNs are successfully used to get various benefits. For successful agricultural production, the irrigation system is one of the most important factors, and it plays a tactical role in the process of agriculture domain. However, it is considered as the largest consumer of freshwater. Besides, the scarcity of water, the drought, the waste of the limited available water resources are among the critical issues that touch the almost sectors, notably agricultural services. These facts are leading all governments around the world to rethink about saving water and reducing the volume of water used; this requires the development of irrigation practices in order to have a complete and independent system that is more efficient in the management of irrigation. Consequently, the selection of WSNs in irrigation system has been a benefit for developing the agriculture sector. In this work, we propose a prototype for a complete and intelligent irrigation system based on wireless sensor networks and we present and discuss the design of this prototype. This latter aims at saving water, energy and time. The proposed prototype controls water system for irrigation by monitoring the soil temperature, soil moisture and weather conditions for estimation of water requirements of each plant.

Keywords: precision irrigation, sensor, wireless sensor networks, water resources

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Authors: Nungki Rositaningsih, Emil Budianto

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Starch has been widely used as an encapsulation material for drug delivery system. However, starch hydrogel is very easily degraded during metabolism in human stomach. Modification of this material is needed to improve the encapsulation process in drug delivery system, especially for gastrointestinal drug. In this research, three modified starch-based hydrogels are synthesized i.e. Crosslinked starch hydrogel, Semi- and Full- Interpenetrating Polymer Network (IPN) starch hydrogel using Poly(N-Vinyl-Pyrrolidone). Non-modified starch hydrogel was also synthesized as a control. All of those samples were compared as biomaterials, floating drug delivery, and their ability in loading drug test. Biomaterial characterizations were swelling test, stereomicroscopy observation, Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). Buoyancy test and stereomicroscopy scanning were done for floating drug delivery characterizations. Lastly, amoxicillin was used as test drug, and characterized with UV-Vis spectroscopy for loading drug observation. Preliminary observation showed that Full-IPN has the most dense and elastic texture, followed by Semi-IPN, Crosslinked, and Non-modified in the last position. Semi-IPN and Crosslinked starch hydrogel have the most ideal properties and will not be degraded easily during metabolism. Therefore, both hydrogels could be considered as promising candidates for encapsulation material. Further analysis and issues will be discussed in the paper.

Keywords: biomaterial, drug delivery system, interpenetrating polymer network, poly(N-vinyl-pyrrolidone), starch hydrogel

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Authors: Q. Toufeeq, R. Kauser, U. R. Jamil, N. Sohaib

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Foundation design of a structure needs soil investigation to avoid failures due to settlements. This soil investigation is expensive and time-consuming. Developments of new residential societies involve huge leveling of large sites that is accompanied by heavy land filling. Poor practices of land fill for deep depths cause differential settlements and consolidations of underneath soil that sometimes result in the collapse of structures. The extent of filling remains unknown to the individual developer unless soil investigation is carried out. Soil investigation cannot be performed on each available site due to involved costs. However, fair estimate of bearing capacity can be made if such tests are already done in the surrounding areas. The geotechnical guidance maps can provide a fair assessment of soil properties. Previously, GIS-based approaches have been used to develop maps using extrapolation and interpolations techniques for bearing capacities, underground recharge, soil classification, geological hazards, landslide hazards, socio-economic, and soil liquefaction mapping. Standard penetration test (SPT) data of surrounding sites were already available. Google Earth is used for digitization of collected data. Few points were considered for data calibration and validation. Resultant Geographic information system (GIS)-based guidance maps are helpful to anticipate the bearing capacity in the real estate industry.

Keywords: bearing capacity, soil classification, geographical information system, inverse distance weighted, radial basis function

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Authors: Soukaina Motia, Nadia El Alami El Hassani, Alassane Diouf, Benachir Bouchikhi, Nezha El Bari

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Parabens are the antimicrobial molecules largely used in cosmetic products as a preservative agent. Among them, the methylparaben (MP) is the most frequently used ingredient in cosmetic preparations. Nevertheless, their potential dangers led to the development of sensible and reliable methods for their determination in environmental samples. Firstly, a sensitive and selective molecular imprinted polymer (MIP) based on screen-printed gold electrode (Au-SPE), assembled on a polymeric layer of carboxylated poly(vinyl-chloride) (PVC-COOH), was developed. After the template removal, the obtained material was able to rebind MP and discriminate it among other interfering species such as glucose, sucrose, and citric acid. The behavior of molecular imprinted sensor was characterized by Cyclic Voltammetry (CV), Differential Pulse Voltammetry (DPV) and Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) techniques. Then, the biosensor was found to have a linear detection range from 0.1 pg.mL^-1 to 1 ng.mL^-1 and a low limit of detection of 0.12 fg.mL^-1 and 5.18 pg.mL^-1 by DPV and EIS, respectively. For applications, this biosensor was employed to determine MP content in four wastewaters in Meknes city and two cosmetic products (shower gel and shampoo). The operational reproducibility and stability of this biosensor were also studied. Secondly, another MIP biosensor based on tungsten trioxide (WO₃) functionalized by gold nanoparticles (Au-NPs) assembled on a polymeric layer of PVC-COOH was developed. The main goal was to increase the sensitivity of the biosensor. The developed MIP biosensor was successfully applied for the MP determination in wastewater samples and cosmetic products.

Keywords: cosmetic products, methylparaben, molecularly imprinted polymer, wastewater

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Authors: R. M. Srivastava, Subbanna A.R.N.S, Md Abbas Ahmad, S. P.More, Shivashankar, B. Kalyanbabu

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The similar morphology associated with high genetic variability poses problems in phylogenetic studies of Helicoverpa armigera (Hubner). To identify genetic variation of North Western Himalayan population’s, partial (Mid to terminal region) cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COX-1) gene was amplified and sequenced for three populations collected from Pantnagar, Almora, and Chinyalisaur. The alignment of sequences with other two populations, Nagpur representing central India population and Anhui, China representing complete COX-1 sequence revealed unanimity in middle region with eleven single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in Nagpur populations. However, the consensus is missing when approaching towards terminal region, which is associated with 15 each SNPs and pair base substitutions in Chinyalisaur populations. In minimum evolution tree, all the five populations were majorly separated into two clades, one comprising of only Nagpur population and the other with rest. Amongst, North Western populations, Chinyalisaur one is promising by farming a separate clade. The pairwise genetic distance ranges from 0.025 to 0.192 with the maximum between H. armigera populations of Nagpur and Chinyalisaur. This genetic isolation of populations can be attributed to a key role of topological barriers of weather and mountain ranges and temporal barriers due to cropping patterns.

Keywords: cytochrome c oxidase subunit I, northwestern Himalayan population, Helicoverpa armigera (Noctuidae: Lepidoptera), phylogenetic relationship, genetic variation

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Authors: Dhiraj Biswas, Chaitali Ray

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A modified refined higher order zigzag theory has been developed in this paper in order to compute the accurate interlaminar stresses within hybrid laminates. Warping has significant effect on the mechanical behaviour of the laminates. To the best of author(s)’ knowledge the stress analysis of hybrid laminates is not reported in the published literature. The present paper aims to develop a new C0 continuous element based on the refined higher order zigzag theories considering warping effect in the formulation of hybrid laminates. The eight noded isoparametric plate bending element is used for the flexural analysis of laminated composite plates to study the performance of the proposed model. The transverse shear stresses are computed by using the differential equations of stress equilibrium in a simplified manner. A computer code has been developed using MATLAB software package. Several numerical examples are solved to assess the performance of the present finite element model based on the proposed higher order zigzag theory by comparing the present results with three-dimensional elasticity solutions. The present formulation is validated by comparing the results obtained from the relevant literature. An extensive parametric study has been carried out on the hybrid laminates with varying percentage of materials and angle of orientation of fibre content.

Keywords: hybrid laminate, Interlaminar stress, refined higher order zigzag theory, warping effect

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Authors: Suzan Abd El Majid, Menachem Bamberger, Alexander Katsman

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Two Al-4 wt. % Cu based alloys, A201 and A201+Si were investigated in the as-cast, solution treated and aged conditions. The addition of Si was used to improve the castability of the basic alloy. The all investigated alloys in the as-cast condition contained a eutectic structure along grain boundaries (GBs) with the composition Al-50at. %Cu that was found by HRSEM EDS. Addition of Si refined the grain structure and changed the amount of the eutectic regions, their size and shape. Additionally, the A201+Si microstructure contained Si rods and small amount of Al6Mn4Cu3Fe2Si-phase. Solution treatment (ST) at 550°C for ~ 20 hours resulted in a slight dissolution of the eutectic structure in the A201 alloy while substantial dissolution and change of the eutectic composition was detected in the A201+Si alloy. After ST, the A201alloy contained θ-Al2Cu, Al5Cu2Mn3 and Al9Cu7Mn3(Fe) phases associated to the GBs, while the ST A201+Si alloy contained θ-Al2Cu, Al6Mn4Cu3(Fe,Si) and Si94Mn3Al2Cu phases. Precipitation hardening during aging at 170°C was investigated for both alloys. The microhardness of the ST A201alloy increased during aging and reached the maximum value ~ 140 HV after 2 h of aging. Initial microhardness of the ST A201+Si alloy was distinctly higher than one of the ST A201 alloy, but it decreased during the first hour of aging, then increased and reached the same maximum value ~ 140 HV after ~ 4 h of aging. It was concluded that the Si addition influenced the precipitation sequence and slowed down the age hardening process. The Si induced grain refining and evolution of the eutectic structure during the heat treatments applied are discussed.

Keywords: A201 alloys, castability, microstructure, micro-hardness

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Authors: Benhui Fan, Fahmi Bedoui, Jinbo Bai

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Incorporated carbon nanotube-BaTiO₃ hybrids (H-CNT-BT) with core-shell structure, a better dispersion of CNTs can be achieved in a semi-crystalline polymeric matrix, polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF). Carried by BT particles, CNTs are easy to mutually connect which helps to obtain an extremely low percolation threshold (fc). After thermal treatments, the dielectric constants (ε’) of samples further increase which depends on the conditions of thermal treatments such as annealing temperatures, annealing durations and cooling ways. Thus, in order to study more comprehensively about the influence of thermal treatments on composite’s dielectric behaviors, in situ synchrotron X-ray is used to detect re-crystalline behavior of PVDF. Results of wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD) and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) show that after the thermal treatment, the content of β polymorph (the polymorph with the highest ε’ among all the polymorphs of PVDF’s crystalline structure) has increased nearly double times at the interfacial region of CNT-PVDF, and the thickness of amorphous layers (La) in PVDF’s long periods (Lp) has shrunk around 10 Å. The evolution of CNT’s network possibly occurs in the procedure of La shrinkage, where the strong interfacial polarization may be aroused and increases ε’ at low frequency. Moreover, an increase in the thickness of crystalline lamella may also arouse more orientational polarization and improve ε’ at high frequency.

Keywords: dielectric properties, thermal treatments, carbon nanotubes, crystalline structure

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Authors: Chayan Gupta, Arun Prasad

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The quick evolution of industrialization causes the scarcity of precious land. Thus, it is vital need to influence the R&D societies to achieve sustainable, economic and social benefits from huge utilization of waste for universal aids. The current study promotes the influence of steel industries waste i.e. ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS) in geotechnical properties of jarosite waste (solid waste residues produced from hydrometallurgy operations involved in extraction of Zinc). Numerous strengths tests (unconfined compression (qu) and splitting tensile strength (qt)) are conducted on jarosite-GGBS blends (GGBS, 10-30%) with different curing periods (7, 28 & 90 days). The results indicate that both qu and qt increase with the increase in GGBS content along with curing periods. The increased strength with the addition of GGBS is also observed from microstructural study, which illustrates the occurrence of larger agglomeration of jarosite-GGBS blend particles. The Freezing-Thawing (F-T) durability analysis is also conducted for all the jarosite-GGBS blends and found that the reduction in unconfined compressive strength after five successive F-T cycles enhanced from 62% (natural jarosite) to 48, 42 and 34% at 7, 14 and 28 days curing periods respectively for stabilized jarosite-GGBS samples containing 30% GGBS content. It can be concluded from this study that blending of cementing additives (GGBS) with jarosite waste resulted in a significant improvement in geotechnical characteristics.

Keywords: jarosite, GGBS, strength characteristics, microstructural study, durability analysis

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Authors: Michael Regev, Shai Essel, Alexander Katz-Demyanetz

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Magnesium alloys are characterized by good physical properties: They exhibit high strength, are lightweight and have good damping absorption and good thermal and electrical conductivity. Amorphous magnesium alloys, moreover, exhibit higher strength, hardness and a large elastic domain in addition to having excellent corrosion resistance. These above-mentioned advantages make magnesium based metallic glasses attractive for industrial use. Among the various existing magnesium alloys, Mg₆₅Cu₂₅Y₁₀ alloy is known to be one of the best glass formers. In the current study, Mg₆₅Cu₂₅Y₁₀ ribbons were produced by melt spinning, their microstructure was investigated in its as-cast condition, after pressing under 0.5 GPa for 5 minutes under different temperatures - RT, 500C, 1000C, 1500C and 2000C - and after five minute exposure to the above temperatures without pressing. The microstructure was characterized by means of X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), High Resolution Scanning Electron Microscope (HRSEM) and High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (HRTEM). XRD and DSC studies showed that the as-cast material had an amorphous character and that the material crystallized during exposure to temperature with or without applying stress. HRTEM revealed that the as-cast Mg65Cu25Y10, although known to be one of the best glass formers, is nano-crystalline rather than amorphous. The current study casts light on the question what an amorphous alloy is and whether there is any clear borderline between amorphous and nano-crystalline alloys.

Keywords: metallic glass, magnesium, melt spinning, amorphous alloys

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Authors: Silvia Maria Moya

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After the Great Depression, the number of admissions to psychiatric facilities saw a significant increase. This increase, coupled with the arrival of new antipsychotic drugs, prepared the ground to the psychiatric deinstitutionalization movement in North America. Community services became an essential part of care where the role of the nurse also became crucial in the management of patients. Looking through the archives of the Department of Psychiatry at the Ottawa Montfort Hospital, this project aims to assess the role of the nurse in a multidisciplinary team in a period of psychiatric deinstitutionalization. This research focuses on the different roles of the mental health nurse during the second half of the twentieth century. The case study, used as a methodological approach allows in-depth analysis of the journey of a female patient with long hospital course. The analysis of the document ‘psychiatric evaluation’ on the medical records of outpatient Montfort Hospital – where, on a regular basis, different health professionals of the multidisciplinary team write their notes – allow us to better understand the difficulties of the patient, their problems, their family and work relationships and the evolution of their self-esteem, but most importantly, it allows us to identify the importance of the different nurse`s roles in the team and in the mental health setting. This project therefore reveals that the nurse occupies a larger professional space than the other professionals in the multidisciplinary team and highlights the role of mental health nurses with patients and their families and their leadership role within a multidisciplinary team.

Keywords: mental health, nursing, deinstitutionalization, professional space

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Authors: Myrto Vlazaki

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Tetanus is a non-transmissible, preventable bacterial disease with high mortality. In the U.K., the demographic group systematically accounting for a large proportion of the infections notified to the authorities over the years have been the elderly (> 60 years old). The 2009 seroepidemiological study for tetanus in England reports a gender-age interaction for the +70, with males having significantly higher anti-tetanus antibody levels than females. A systematic review of the literature was carried out to characterise: I. the seroepidemiology of tetanus in economically developed countries with similar immunisation schemes to the U.K., introduced in the 1960’s. II. the factors leading to differential vaccine uptake between males and females in 1910-1945 (corresponding to ages of 60-95 in 2005). III. the immune response elicited by anti-tetanus immunisation in males and females IV. the value of catch-up immunisation in the elderly Similar age- and gender- differences in anti-tetanus antibody levels are noted in other countries. Gender differences in immune responses elicited by vaccination are not consistent with the finding that elder females are less well protected against tetanus compared to their male counterparts. Attention is drawn to the selective anti-tetanus immunisation scheme introduced in the U.K. in 1938, specific to the World War II conscripts. The age-specific immunity gap observed amongst the +70 could be explained as the by-product of that early scheme targetting mostly males. Introducing anti-tetanus vaccination in the +70 in the U.K. could help bridge the immunity gap between males and females and reduce the overall tetanus susceptibility of this age group.

Keywords: elderly, immunisation, gender-specific differences, seroepidemiology, tetanus, World War II

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Authors: Madhu Aneja, Sapna Sharma

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The water-based bioconvection of a nanofluid containing motile gyrotactic micro-organisms over nonlinear inclined stretching sheet has been investigated. The governing nonlinear boundary layer equations of the model are reduced to a system of ordinary differential equations via Oberbeck-Boussinesq approximation and similarity transformations. Further, the modified set of equations with associated boundary conditions are solved using Finite Element Method. The impact of various pertinent parameters on the velocity, temperature, nanoparticles concentration, density of motile micro-organisms profiles are obtained and analyzed in details. The results show that with the increase in angle of inclination δ, velocity decreases while temperature, nanoparticles concentration, a density of motile micro-organisms increases. Additionally, the skin friction coefficient, Nusselt number, Sherwood number, density number are computed for various thermophysical parameters. It is noticed that increasing Brownian motion and thermophoresis parameter leads to an increase in temperature of fluid which results in a reduction in Nusselt number. On the contrary, Sherwood number rises with an increase in Brownian motion and thermophoresis parameter. The findings have been validated by comparing the results of special cases with existing studies.

Keywords: bioconvection, finite element method, gyrotactic micro-organisms, inclined stretching sheet, nanofluid

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Authors: Irene Perez Lopez

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Delta and estuary cities are spaces constantly evolving, incessantly altered by the ever-changing actions of water transformation. Strategies that incorporate comprehensive and integrated approaches to planning and design with water will play a powerful role in defining new types of flood defense. These strategies will encourage more resilient and active urban environments, allowing for new spatial and functional programs. This abstract presents the undergoing research in Newcastle, the first urbanized delta in New South Wales (Australia), and the region's second-biggest catchment and estuary. The research methodology is organized in three phases: 1) a projective cartography that analyses maps and data across the region's recorded history, identifying past and present constraints, and predicting future conditions. The cartography aids to identify worst-case scenarios, revealing the implications of land reclamation that have not considered the confronting evolution of climate change and its conflicts with inhabitation; 2) the cartographic studies identify the areas under threat and form the basis for further interdisciplinary research, complimented by community consultation, to reduce flood risk and increase urban resilience and livability; 3) a speculative or prospective phase of design with water to generate evidence-based guidelines that strengthen urban resilience of shorelines and flood prone areas.

Keywords: coastal defense, design, urban resilience, mapping

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Authors: Sarthak Mishra, Astha Sinha

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There’s no doubt about the convenience of making commercial and business transactions over the Internet under the new business model known as the e-Commerce. The term 'Electronic commerce' or e-Commerce refers to the use of an electronic medium to carry out commercial transactions. E-Commerce is one of the parts of Information Science framework and its uses are gradually becoming popular. Thus, the threat of security issues in Information Science has now become an important subject of discussion amongst the concerned users. These two issues i.e. security and privacy are required to be looked into through social, organizational, technical and economic perspectives. The current paper analyses the effect of these two issues in the arena of e-commerce. Here, no specification has been discussed rather an attempt has been made to provide a general overview. Further, attempts have been made to discuss the security and privacy issues in relation to the E-Commerce financial transactions. We shall also discuss in particular different steps required to be taken before online shopping and also shall discuss the purpose of security and privacy in E-Commerce and why it has currently become the need of the present hour. Lastly, an attempt has been made to discuss the plausible future course of development of this practice and its impact upon the global economy and if any changes should be bought about to ensure a smooth evolution of the practice. This paper has adopted a descriptive methodology to undertake its major area of study, wherein the major source of information has been via the secondary resources. Also, the study is of a comparative nature wherein the position of the various national regimes have compared with regards to the research question.

Keywords: business-business transaction (B2B), business-consumer transaction (B2C), e-commerce, online transaction, privacy and security threats

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Authors: Akshita Jindal, Renu Chadha, Maninder Karan

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Supramolecular chemistry has gained recent eminence in a flurry of research documents demonstrating the formation of new crystalline forms with potentially advantageous characteristics. Mesalamine (5-amino salicylic acid) belongs to anti-inflammatory class of drugs, is used to treat ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease. Unfortunately, mesalamine suffer from poor solubility and therefore very low bioavailability. This work is focused on preparation and characterization of cocrystal of mesalamine with nicotinamide (MNIC) a coformer of GRAS status. Cocrystallisation was achieved by solvent drop grinding in stoichiometric ratio of 1:1 using acetonitrile as solvent and was characterized by various techniques including DSC (Differential Scanning Calorimetry), PXRD (X-ray Powder Diffraction), and FTIR (Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometer). The co-crystal depicted single endothermic transitions (254°C) which were different from the melting peaks of both drug (288°C) and coformer (128°C) indicating the formation of a new solid phase. Different XRPD patterns and FTIR spectrums for the co-crystals from those of individual components confirms the formation of new phase. Enhancement in apparent solubility study and intrinsic dissolution study showed effectiveness of this cocrystal. Further improvement in pharmacokinetic profile has also been observed with 2 folds increase in bioavailability. To conclude, our results show that application of nicotinamide as a coformer is a viable approach towards the preparation of cocrystals of potential drug molecule having limited solubility.

Keywords: cocrystal, mesalamine, nicotinamide, solvent drop grinding

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Authors: Najmul Hasan, Shiping Li, Chunli Liu

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The synergy effect of surface modifications using the acid treatment and noble metal (Au) deposition on the efficiency of SnFe2O4 (SFO) nano-octahedron photocatalyst has been investigated. Inorganic acids (H2SO4 and HNO3) were employed to compare the effects of different acids. It has been found that after corrosion treatment using H2SO4 and deposition of Au nanoparticles, SnFe2O4 nano-octahedron (Au-S-SFO) showed significantly enhanced photocatalytic activity under simulated light irradiation. Au-S-SFO was characterized by XRD, XPS, EDS, FTIR, Uv-vis-DRS, SEM, PL, and EIS analysis. The mechanism for CO2 reduction was investigated by scavenger tests. The stability of Au-S-SFO was confirmed by continuously repeated tests followed by XRD analysis. The surface corrosion treatment of SFO octahedron with H2SO4 could produce hydroxyl group (-OH) and sulfonic acid group (-SO3H) as reaction sites. These active sites not only enhanced the Au nanoparticles deposition to the acid treated SFO surface but also acted as the Brønsted acid sites that enhance the water adsorption and provide protons for CTC degradation and CO2 reduction. These effects improved the carrier separation and transfer efficiency. In addition, the photocatalytic efficiency was further enhanced by the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) effect of Au nanoparticles deposited on the surface of acid-treated SFO. As a result of the synergy of both acid treatment and SPR effect from the Au NPs, Au-S-SFO exhibited the highest CO2 reduction activity with 2.81, 1.92, and 2.69 times higher evolution rates for CO, CH4, and H2, respectively than that of pure SFO.

Keywords: surface modification, CO2 reduction, Au deposition, Gas-liquid interfacial plasma

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Authors: Ajeet K. Jha, Pankaj K. Jha, Pravin Mishra

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The study was conducted to evaluate the freezability of crossbred bulls’ semen at early age. Semen of three consecutive collections at 7 days interval from 12 crossbred bulls 17 was evaluated. The age at first collection was 15 to 20 months. Evaluation of semen was done soon after collection. Triladyl, Minitub, Germany was used as extender and was frozen using standard semen freezing protocol. Post-thaw sperm motility was evaluated. Morphology of paraformaldehyde fixed spermatozoa was evaluated under differential interference phase contrast microscopy and the viability of spermatozoa was evaluated by using stain SYBR-14 (1 mM/ml) and propidium iodide (2.41 mM/ml) under an epifluorescent microscopy. Scrotal circumference was correlated with all possible measures in all groups of crossbred bulls. Volume of semen, sperm concentration, total number of spermatozoa, initial sperm motility, post-thaw sperm motility, proportion of normal spermatozoa and proportion of live spermatozoa were compared among individual bull within and between two groups of crossbred bulls. A significant positive correlation was observed between scrotal circumference and volume of semen and between scrotal circumference and the total number of sperm production per ejaculate (r = 0.72, p < 0.04). Significant variation was observed in different semen parameters among individual bulls within the same group (p < 0.05) but no significant variation was found between two groups of crossbred bulls. Out of 12 bulls, semen freezability of 10 bulls was found satisfactory while semen of 2 bulls (Local × Friesian) was unsatisfactory. In conclusion, crossbred bulls aged 18 months having scrotal circumference > 30 cm produce freezable quality semen.

Keywords: Bangladesh, crossbred bull, scrotal circumference, semen freezability

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Authors: Fatiha Besahraoui, M'hamed Guezzoul, Kheira Chebbah, M'hamed Bouslama

Abstract:

SnO₂ thin film is characterized by Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and Photoluminescence Spectroscopies. AFM images show a dense surface of columnar grains with a roughness of 78.69 nm. The PL measurements at 7 K reveal the presence of PL peaks centered in IR and visible regions. They are attributed to radiative transitions via oxygen vacancies, Sn interstitials, and dangling bonds. A bands diagram model is presented with the approximate positions of intrinsic point defect levels in SnO₂ thin films. The integrated PL measurements demonstrate the good thermal stability of our sample, which makes it very useful in optoelectronic devices functioning at room temperature. The unusual behavior of the evolution of PL peaks and their full width at half maximum as a function of temperature indicates the thermal sensitivity of the point defects present in the band gap. The shallower energy levels due to dangling bonds and/or oxygen vacancies are more sensitive to the temperature. However, volume defects like Sn interstitials are thermally stable and constitute deep and stable energy levels for excited electrons. Small redshifting of PL peaks is observed with increasing temperature. This behavior is attributed to the reduction of oxygen vacancies.

Keywords: transparent conducting oxide, photoluminescence, intrinsic point defects, semiconductors, oxygen vacancies

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Authors: José M. Brotons, Manuel E. Sansalvador

Abstract:

The relationship between Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and financial performance (FP) is a subject of great interest that has not yet been resolved. In this work, we have developed a new and original tool to measure this relation. The tool quantifies the value contributed to companies that are committed to CSR. The theoretical model used is the fuzzy discounted cash flow method. Two assumptions have been considered, the first, the company has implemented the IQNet SR10 certification, and the second, the company has not implemented that certification. For the first one, the growth rate used for the time horizon is the rate maintained by the company after obtaining the IQNet SR10 certificate. For the second one, both, the growth rates company prior to the implementation of the certification, and the evolution of the sector will be taken into account. By using triangular fuzzy numbers, it is possible to deal adequately with each company’s forecasts as well as the information corresponding to the sector. Once the annual growth rate of the sales is obtained, the profit and loss accounts are generated from the annual estimate sales. For the remaining elements of this account, their regression with the nets sales has been considered. The difference between these two valuations, made in a fuzzy environment, allows obtaining the value of the IQNet SR10 certification. Although this study presents an innovative methodology to quantify the relation between CSR and FP, the authors are aware that only one company has been analyzed. This is precisely the main limitation of this study which in turn opens up an interesting line for future research: to broaden the sample of companies.

Keywords: corporate social responsibility, case study, financial performance, company valuation

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Authors: Nicola Rubino

Abstract:

This paper presents an analysis of a group of commodity exporting countries' nominal exchange rate movements in relationship to the US dollar. Using a series of Unrestricted Self-exciting Threshold Autoregressive models (SETAR), we model and evaluate sixteen national CPI price differentials relative to the US dollar CPI. Out-of-sample forecast accuracy is evaluated through calculation of mean absolute error measures on the basis of two-hundred and fifty-three months rolling window forecasts and extended to three additional models, namely a logistic smooth transition regression (LSTAR), an additive non linear autoregressive model (AAR) and a simple linear Neural Network model (NNET). Our preliminary results confirm presence of some form of TAR non linearity in the majority of the countries analyzed, with a relatively higher goodness of fit, with respect to the linear AR(1) benchmark, in five countries out of sixteen considered. Although no model appears to statistically prevail over the other, our final out-of-sample forecast exercise shows that SETAR models tend to have quite poor relative forecasting performance, especially when compared to alternative non-linear specifications. Finally, by analyzing the implied half-lives of the > coefficients, our results confirms the presence, in the spirit of arbitrage band adjustment, of band convergence with an inner unit root behaviour in five of the sixteen countries analyzed.

Keywords: transition regression model, real exchange rate, nonlinearities, price differentials, PPP, commodity points

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Authors: H. K. G. K. D. K. Hapuhinna, R. D. Gunaratne, H. M. J. C. Pitawala

Abstract:

Hydroxyapatite is a bioceramic which can be used for applications in orthopedics and dentistry due to its structural similarity with the mineral phase of mammalian bones and teeth. In this study, it was synthesized, chemically changing natural Eppawala chloroapatite mineral as a value-added product. Sol-gel approach and solid state sintering were used to synthesize products using diluted nitric acid, ethanol and calcium hydroxide under different conditions. Synthesized Eppawala hydroxyapatite powder was characterized using X-ray Fluorescence (XRF), X-ray Powder Diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA) and Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) in order to find out its composition, crystallinity, presence of functional groups, bonding type, surface morphology, microstructural features, and thermal dependence and stability, respectively. The XRD results reflected the formation of a hexagonal crystal structure of hydroxyapatite. Elementary composition and microstructural features of products were discussed based on the XRF and SEM results of the synthesized hydroxyapatite powder. TGA and DSC results of synthesized products showed high thermal stability and good material stability in nature. Also, FTIR spectroscopy results confirmed the formation of hydroxyapatite from apatite via the presence of hydroxyl groups. Those results coincided with the FTIR results of mammalian bones including human bones. The study concludes that there is a possibility of producing hydroxyapatite using commercially available Eppawala chloroapatite in Sri Lanka.

Keywords: dentistry, Eppawala chlorapatite, hydroxyapatite, orthopedics

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Authors: Djeamsly Salomon

Abstract:

Background: Epidemiological surveillance is a dynamic national system used to observe all aspects of the evolution of priority health problems, through: collection, analysis, systematic interpretation of information, and dissemination of results with necessary recommendations. The study was conducted to assess the mandatory disease surveillance system in the Sud Department. Methods: A study was conducted from March to May 2021 with key players involved in surveillance at the level of health institutions in the department . The CDC's 2021 updated guideline was used to evaluate the system. We collected information about the operation, attributes, and usefulness of the surveillance system using interviewer-administered questionnaires. Epi-Info7.2 and Excel 2016 were used to generate the mean, frequencies and proportions. Results: Of 30 participants, 23 (77%) were women. The average age was 39 years[30-56]. 25 (83%) had training in epidemiological surveillance. (50%) of the forms checked were signed by the supervisor. Collection tools were available at (80%). Knowledge of at least 7 notifiable diseases was high (100%). Among the respondents, 29 declared that the collection tools were simple, 27 had already filled in a notification form. The maximum time taken to fill out a form was 10 minutes. The feedback between the different levels was done at (60%). Conclusion: The surveillance system is useful, simple, acceptable, representative, flexible, stable and responsive. The data generated was of high quality. However, it is threatened by the lack of supervision of sentinel sites, lack of investigation and weak feedback. This evaluation demonstrated the urgent need to improve supervision in the sites and to feedback information. Strengthen epidemiological surveillance.

Keywords: evaluation, notifiable diseases, surveillance, system

Procedia PDF Downloads 78

Authors: Zhang Rui

Abstract:

Multinational corporations have significantly increased their investment in China due to their strong economic strength and advanced production technology. On the one hand, this has promoted the development of China's economy, created a large amount of tax revenue for China's finance, and brought huge economic benefits to China's economic development. On the other hand, it has also consumed huge resources in China and even caused serious environmental damage, which has attracted widespread attention from all sectors of society to the environmental violations committed by multinational corporations in China. Due to the incomplete legal regulation of environmental responsibility of multinational corporations in China, there are legal gaps that provide convenient conditions for them to transfer pollution. These multinational corporations in China will take advantage of the loopholes in Chinese laws and even achieve "zero pollution" in their home country's environmental protection, but their branches in China only meet the minimum standards stipulated by Chinese environmental protection laws. Therefore, the differential treatment of environmental protection by multinational corporations urgently needs to be regulated from a legal perspective in China to promote the balance and harmony between ecological environment protection and economic development. At present, the environmental pollution caused by multinational corporations in China has received widespread attention from Chinese scholars. Through research on the environmental pollution and legal aspects of multinational corporations in China, it not only helps to enrich the theoretical research results of environmental pollution and legal regulation of multinational corporations in China, but also promotes the continuous improvement of the relevant legal system for environmental pollution caused by multinational corporations in China, so as to effectively regulate the environmental pollution caused by multinational corporations in China in practice, and provide legal basis for the governance of environmental violations.

Keywords: international law, environmental law, multinational corporations, jurisdiction

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Authors: Chia-li Wang

Abstract:

The surge of service and commerce platforms, such as e-commerce and internet-of-things, have rapidly changed our lives. How to avoid the congestion and get the job done in the platform is now a common problem that many people encounter every day. This requires platform users to make decisions about when to enter the platform. To that end, we investigate the strategic entering time of a simple platform containing random numbers of buyers and sellers of some item. Upon a trade, the buyer and the seller gain respective profits, yet they pay the cost of waiting in the platform. To maximize their expected payoffs from trading, both buyers and sellers can choose their entering times. This creates an interesting and practical framework of a game that is played among buyers, among sellers, and between them. That is, a strategy employed by a player is not only against players of its type but also a response to those of the other type, and, thus, a strategy profile is composed of strategies of buyers and sellers. The players' best response, the Nash equilibrium (NE) strategy profile, is derived by a pair of differential equations, which, in turn, are used to establish its existence and uniqueness. More importantly, its structure sheds valuable insights of how the entering strategy of one side (buyers or sellers) is affected by the entering behavior of the other side. These results provide a base for the study of dynamic pricing for stochastic demand-supply imbalances. Finally, comparisons between the social welfares (the sum of the payoffs incurred by individual participants) obtained by the optimal strategy and by the NE strategy are conducted for showing the efficiency loss relative to the socially optimal solution. That should help to manage the platform better.

Keywords: double-sided queue, non-cooperative game, nash equilibrium, price of anarchy

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Authors: A. Naamane, M. Hasnaoui

Abstract:

Numerical modeling of fluid flows, whether compressible or incompressible, laminar or turbulent presents a considerable contribution in the scientific and industrial fields. However, the development of an approximate model of a supersonic flow requires the introduction of specific and more precise techniques and methods. For this purpose, the object of this paper is modeling a supersonic flow of inviscid fluid around a dihedral airfoil. Based on the thin airfoils theory and the non-dimensional stationary Steichen equation of a two-dimensional supersonic flow in isentropic evolution, we obtained a solution for the downstream velocity potential of the oblique shock at the second order of relative thickness that characterizes a perturbation parameter. This result has been dealt with by the asymptotic analysis and characteristics method. In order to validate our model, the results are discussed in comparison with theoretical and experimental results. Indeed, firstly, the comparison of the results of our model has shown that they are quantitatively acceptable compared to the existing theoretical results. Finally, an experimental study was conducted using the AF300 supersonic wind tunnel. In this experiment, we have considered the incident upstream Mach number over a symmetrical dihedral airfoil wing. The comparison of the different Mach number downstream results of our model with those of the existing theoretical data (relative margin between 0.07% and 4%) and with experimental results (concordance for a deflection angle between 1° and 11°) support the validation of our model with accuracy.

Keywords: asymptotic modelling, dihedral airfoil, supersonic flow, supersonic wind tunnel

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Authors: Aleksandr S. Ermolenko

Abstract:

Allometry is an important factor of morphological integration, contributing to the organization of the phenotype and its variability. The allometric change in the shape of the hand is particularly important in primate evolution, as the hand has important taxonomic features. Some of these features are known to parts with the shape, especially the ratio of the lengths of the index and ring fingers (2d: 4d ratio). The hand is a fairly well-studied system in the context of the evolutionary development of complex morphological structures since it consists of various departments (basipodium, metapodium, acropodium) that form a single structure –autopodium. In the present study, we examined the allometric variability of acropodium. We tested the null hypothesis that there would be no difference in allometric variation between the two components. Geometric morphometry based on a procrustation of 16 two-dimensional (2D) landmarks was analyzed using multivariate shape-by-size regressions in samples from 100 people (50 men and 50 women). The results obtained show that men have significantly greater allometric variability for the ring finger (variability in the transverse axis prevails), while women have significantly greater allometric variability for the index finger (variability in the longitudinal axis prevails). The influence of the middle finger on the shape of the hand is typical for both men and women. The influence of the little finger on the shape of the hand, regardless of gender, was not revealed. The results of this study support the hypothesis that allometry contributes to the organization of variation in the human hand.

Keywords: human hand, size and shape, 2d:4d ratio, geometric morphometry

Procedia PDF Downloads 157