Search results for: virtual electrostatic field

Authors: Rakesh Hajiyani, Chetan Chauhan, Harshkant Jethva, Mihir Joshi

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Metal bis-thiourea type organo-metallic crystals are popular as non-linear optical materials. Bis-thiourea nickel barium chloride was synthesized and crystals were grown by slow aqueous solvent evaporation technique. The transparent and colorless crystals having maximum dimensions of 13 mm x 8 mm x 2.2 mm were obtained. The EDAX was carried out to estimate the content of nickel and barium in the grown crystals. The powder XRD analysis suggested orthorhombic crystal structure with unit cell parameters as: a= 9.70 Å, b= 10.68 Å and c= 17.95 Å. The FTIR spectroscopy study confirmed the presence of various functional groups. The UV-vis spectroscopy study indicated that the crystals were transparent in the visible region with 90% transmittance level further optical parameters were studied. From the TGA it was found that the crystals remained stable up to 170 0C and then decomposed through two decomposition stages. The dielectric study was carried out in the frequency range of applied field from 500 Hz to 1 MHz. The variations of dielectric constant, dielectric loss were studied with frequency. It was found that the dielectric constant and the dielectric loss decreased as the frequency of applied field increased. The results are discussed.

Keywords: crystal growth, dielectric study, optical parameters, organo-metallic crystals, powder xrd, slow evaporation technique, TGA

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Authors: Imen Soltani, Takoua Soltani, Taoufik Aguili

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Metamaterials crossover classic physical boundaries and gives rise to new phenomena and applications in the domain of beam steering and shaping. Where electromagnetic near and far field manipulations were achieved in an accurate manner. In this sense, 3D imaging is one of the beneficiaries and in particular Denis Gabor’s invention: holography. But, the major difficulty here is the lack of a suitable recording medium. So some enhancements were essential, where the 2D version of bulk metamaterials have been introduced the so-called metasurface. This new class of interfaces simplifies the problem of recording medium with the capability of tuning the phase, amplitude, and polarization at a given frequency. In order to achieve an intelligible wavefront control, the electromagnetic properties of the metasurface should be optimized by means of solving Maxwell’s equations. In this context, integral methods are emerging as an important method to study electromagnetic from microwave to optical frequencies. The method of moment presents an accurate solution to reduce the problem of dimensions by writing its boundary conditions in the form of integral equations. But solving this kind of equations tends to be more complicated and time-consuming as the structural complexity increases. Here, the use of equivalent circuit’s method exhibits the most scalable experience to develop an integral method formulation. In fact, for allaying the resolution of Maxwell’s equations, the method of Generalised Equivalent Circuit was proposed to convey the resolution from the domain of integral equations to the domain of equivalent circuits. In point of fact, this technique consists in creating an electric image of the studied structure using discontinuity plan paradigm and taken into account its environment. So that, the electromagnetic state of the discontinuity plan is described by generalised test functions which are modelled by virtual sources not storing energy. The environmental effects are included by the use of an impedance or admittance operator. Here, we propose a tunable metasurface composed of graphene-based elements which combine the advantages of reflectarrays concept and graphene as a pillar constituent element at Terahertz frequencies. The metasurface’s building block consists of a thin gold film, a dielectric spacer SiO₂ and graphene patch antenna. Our electromagnetic analysis is based on the method of moment combined with generalised equivalent circuit (MoM-GEC). We begin by restricting our attention to study the effects of varying graphene’s chemical potential on the unit cell input impedance. So, it was found that the variation of complex conductivity of graphene allows controlling the phase and amplitude of the reflection coefficient at each element of the array. From the results obtained here, we were able to determine that the phase modulation is realized by adjusting graphene’s complex conductivity. This modulation is a viable solution compared to tunning the phase by varying the antenna length because it offers a full 2π reflection phase control.

Keywords: graphene, method of moment combined with generalised equivalent circuit, reconfigurable metasurface, reflectarray, terahertz domain

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Authors: Ahmad Hashim, Zarizi Ab Rahman

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Measurement of body composition via a field method has the most popular instruments which are used to estimate the percentage of body fat. Among the instruments used are the Body Mass Index, Bio Impedance Analysis and Skinfold Test. All three of these instruments do not involve high costs, do not require high technical skills, are mobile, save time, and are suitable for use in large populations. Because all three instruments can estimate the percentage of body fat, but it is important to identify the most appropriate instruments and have high reliability. Hence, this study was conducted to determine the reliability and convergent validity of the instruments. A total of 40 students, males and females aged between 13 and 14 years participated in this study. The study found that the test retest and Pearson correlation coefficient of reliability for the three instruments is very high, r = .99. While the inter class reliability also are at high level with r = .99 for Body Mass Index and Bio Impedance Analysis, r = .96 for Skin fold test. Intra class reliability coefficient for these three instruments is too high for Body Mass Index r = .99, Bio Impedance Analysis r = .97, and Skin fold Test r = .90. However, Standard Error of Measurement value for all three instruments indicates the Body Mass Index is the most appropriate instrument with a mean value of .000672 compared with other instruments. The findings show that the Body Mass Index is an instrument which is the most accurate and reliable in estimating body fat percentage for the population studied.

Keywords: reliability, validity, body mass index, bio impedance analysis and skinfold test

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Authors: A. Gonzalez Aguna, J. M. Santamaria Garcia, J. L. Gomez Gonzalez, R. Barchino Plata, M. Fernandez Batalla, S. Herrero Jaen

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Background: Computer Science is a field that transcends other disciplines of knowledge because it allows to support all kinds of physical and mental tasks. Health centres have a greater number and complexity of technological devices and the population consume and demand services derived from technology. Also, nursing education plans have included competencies related to and, even, courses about new technologies are offered to health professionals. However, nurses still limit their performance to the use and evaluation of products previously built. Objective: Develop a teaching-learning methodology for acquiring skills on designing applications for care. Methodology: Blended learning teaching with a group of graduate nurses through official training within a Master's Degree. The study sample was selected by intentional sampling without exclusion criteria. The study covers from 2015 to 2017. The teaching sessions included a four-hour face-to-face class and between one and three tutorials. The assessment was carried out by written test consisting of the preparation of an IEEE 830 Standard Specification document where the subject chosen by the student had to be a problem in the area of care. Results: The sample is made up of 30 students: 10 men and 20 women. Nine students had a degree in nursing, 20 diploma in nursing and one had a degree in Computer Engineering. Two students had a degree in nursing specialty through residence and two in equivalent recognition by exceptional way. Except for the engineer, no subject had previously received training in this regard. All the sample enrolled in the course received the classroom teaching session, had access to the teaching material through a virtual area and maintained at least one tutoring. The maximum of tutorials were three with an hour in total. Among the material available for consultation was an example of a document drawn up based on the IEEE Standard with an issue not related to care. The test to measure competence was completed by the whole group and evaluated by a multidisciplinary teaching team of two computer engineers and two nurses. Engineers evaluated the correctness of the characteristics of the document and the degree of comprehension in the elaboration of the problem and solution elaborated nurses assessed the relevance of the chosen problem statement, the foundation, originality and correctness of the proposed solution and the validity of the application for clinical practice in care. The results were of an average grade of 8.1 over 10 points, a range between 6 and 10. The selected topic barely coincided among the students. Examples of care areas selected are care plans, family and community health, delivery care, administration and even robotics for care. Conclusion: The applied methodology of learning-teaching for the design of technologies demonstrates the success in the training of nursing professionals. The role of expert is essential to create applications that satisfy the needs of end users. Nursing has the possibility, the competence and the duty to participate in the process of construction of technological tools that are going to impact in care of people, family and community.

Keywords: care, learning, nursing, technology

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Authors: Muhammad Omer Farooq Saeed

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The purpose of the proposal is to find out what time actually is! And to understand the natural phenomenon of the behavior of time and light corresponding to the motion of the bodies at relatively high speeds. The utmost concern of the paper is to deal with the possible demerits in the equations of relativity, thereby providing some valuable extensions in those equations and concepts. The idea used develops the most basic conception of the relative motion of the body with respect to space and a real understanding of time and the variation of energy of the body in different frames of reference. The results show the development of a completely new understanding of time, relative motion and energy, along with some extensions in the equations of special relativity most importantly the time dilation and the mass-energy relationship that will explain all frames of a body, all in one go. The proposal also raises serious questions on the validity of the “Principle of Equivalence” on which the General Relativity is based, most importantly a serious case of the bending light that eventually goes against its own governing concepts of space-time being proposed in the theory. The results also predict the existence of a completely new field that explains the fact just how and why bodies acquire energy in space-time. This field explains the production of gravitational waves based on time. All in all, this proposal challenges the formulas and conceptions of Special and General Relativity, respectively.

Keywords: time, relative motion, energy, speed, frame of reference, photon, curvature, space-time, time –differentials

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Authors: Daniel N. L. Alves, Marcelo C. Rodrigues, Jose G. de Almeida

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The search for structural efficiency in mechanical systems has been strongly exerted with aim of economic optimization and structural safety. As soon, to understand the response of materials when submitted to adverse conditions is essential to design a safety project. This work investigates the presence of cracks in dissimilar welded joints (DWJ). Its fracture toughness responses depend upon the heterogeneity present in these joints. Thus, this work aim analyzing the behavior of the crack tip zone located in a buttery dissimilar welded joint (ASTM A-36, Inconel, and AISI 8630 M) used in the union of pipes present in the offshore oil production lines. The crack was placed 1 mm from fusion line (FL) Inconel-AISI 8630 M toward the AISI 8630 M. Finite Element Method (FEM) was used to analyze stress and strain fields generated during the loading imposed on the specimen. It was possible observing critical stress area by the numerical tool as well as a preferential plastic flow was also observed in the sample of dissimilar welded joint, which can be considered a harbinger of the crack growth path. The results obtained through numerical analysis showed a convergent behavior in relation to the plastic flow, qualitatively and quantitatively, in agreement with previous performed.

Keywords: crack, dissimilar welded joint, numerical analysis, strain field, the stress field

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Authors: Lina Ismail Jassim, Robiah Yunus

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To successfully drill oil or gas well, two main characteristics of numerous other tasks of an efficient drilling fluid are required, which are suspended and carrying cuttings from the beneath wellbore to the surface and managed between pore (formation) and hydrostatic pressure (mud pressure). Several factors like mud composition and its rheology, wellbore design, drilled cuttings characteristics and drilling string rotation contribute to drill wellbore successfully. Simulation model can support an appropriate indication on the drilling fluid performance in the real field as Genting Timur field, located in Pahang in Malaysia on 4295 m depth, held the world record in Sempah Muda 1 (Vertical). A detailed 3 dimensional CFD analysis of vertical, concentric annular two phase flow was developed to study and asses Herschel Bulkley drilling fluid. The effect of Hematite, Barite and calcium carbonates types and size of cutting rock particles on such flow is analyzed. The vertical flows are also associated with a good amount of temperature variation along the depth. This causes a good amount of change in viscosity of the fluid, which is non-Newtonian in nature. Good understanding of the nature of such flows is imperative in developing and maintaining successful vertical well systems. A detailed analysis of flow characteristics due to the drill pipe rotation is done in this work. The inner cylinder of the annulus gets different rotational speed, depending upon the operating conditions. This speed induces a good swirl on the particles and primary fluids which interpret in Ester based drilling fluid cleaning well ability, which in turn determines energy loss along the pipe. Energy loss is assessed in this work in terms of wall shear stress and pressure drop along the pipe. The flow is under an adverse pressure gradient condition, which causes chance of reversed flow and transfers the rock cuttings to the surface.

Keywords: concentric annulus, non-Newtonian, two phase, Herschel Bulkley

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Authors: Benselama Khadidja, El Meiche Noureddine

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This paper presents the effect of hybridization material on the variation of non-dimensional critical buckling load with different cross-ply laminates plate resting on elastic foundations of Winkler and Pasternak types subjected to combine uniaxial and biaxial loading by using two variable refined plate theories. Governing equations are derived from the Principle of Virtual Displacement; the formulation is based on a new function of shear deformation theory taking into account transverse shear deformation effects vary parabolically across the thickness satisfying shear stress-free surface conditions. These equations are solved analytically using the Navier solution of a simply supported. The influence of the various parameters geometric and material, the thickness ratio, and the number of layers symmetric and antisymmetric hybrid laminates material has been investigated to find the critical buckling loads. The numerical results obtained through the present study with several examples are presented to verify and compared with other models with the ones available in the literature.

Keywords: buckling, hybrid cross-ply laminates, Winkler and Pasternak, elastic foundation, two variables plate theory

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Authors: Hossein Soltani, Zahra Hojati, Seyed Reza Attarzadeh Hossini

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Anxiety levels before and during competition are not clear due to conflicting findings; various athletes have reported different levels of anxiety from much too low. With respect to the fact that every sport field has its own special nature, and the lack of a comprehensive theory in this field made the author to compare competitive state anxiety among team sport and individual sport athletes in Iran. The sample included 120 male athletes, 60 athletes in individual sports (taekwondo, karate, and wrestling) and 60 athletes in team sports (volleyball, basketball, futsal). All participants in this study were regularly competing at the super leagues and regional level. The research instrument employed was the Persian version of the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2. This inventory was distributed among the subjects about 30 minutes before the first competition. Finally, using one-way ANOVA data was analyzed. The results indicated that the mean score of cognitive and somatic anxiety among individual sport athletes was higher than that of team sport athletes (P<0.05). Self-confidence levels of individual sports athletes was higher than that of team sports athletes but the difference was not significant (P >0.05). It seems the being part of a team alleviates some of the pressure experienced by those who compete alone. Conclusion: Individual sport athletes may be more exposed to evaluation and more engaged in their own skills and abilities than team sport athletes given that responsibility for performance is not distributed across several performers.

Keywords: competitive state anxiety, cognitive anxiety, somatic anxiety, team sports, individual sports

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Authors: Wei Wang, Yuan Hu

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Epoxy resins (EP), one of the most important thermosetting polymers, is widely applied in various fields due to its desirable properties, such as excellent electrical insulation, low shrinkage, outstanding mechanical stiffness, satisfactory adhesion and solvent resistance. However, like most of the polymeric materials, EP has the fatal drawbacks including inherent flammability and high yield of toxic smoke, which restricts its application in the fields requiring fire safety. So, it is still a challenge and an interesting subject to develop new flame retardants which can not only remarkably improve the flame retardancy, but also render modified resins low toxic gases generation. In recent work, polymer nanocomposites based on nanohybrids that contain two or more kinds of nanofillers have drawn intensive interest, which can realize performance enhancements. The realization of previous hybrids of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and molybdenum disulfide provides us a novel route to decorate layered double hydroxide (LDH) nanosheets on the surface of β-FeOOH nanorods; the deposited LDH nanosheets can fill the network and promote the work efficiency of β-FeOOH nanorods. Moreover, the synergistic effects between LDH and β-FeOOH can be anticipated to have potential applications in reducing fire hazards of EP composites for the combination of condense-phase and gas-phase mechanism. As reported, β-FeOOH nanorods can act as a core to prepare hybrid nanostructures combining with other nanoparticles through electrostatic attraction through layer-by-layer assembly technique. In this work, LDH nanosheets wrapped β-FeOOH nanorods (LDH-β-FeOOH) hybrids was synthesized by a facile method, with the purpose of combining the characteristics of one dimension (1D) and two dimension (2D), to improve the fire resistance of epoxy resin. The hybrids showed a well dispersion in EP matrix and had no obvious aggregation. Thermogravimetric analysis and cone calorimeter tests confirmed that LDH-β-FeOOH hybrids into EP matrix with a loading of 3% could obviously improve the fire safety of EP composites. The plausible flame retardancy mechanism was explored by thermogravimetric infrared (TG-IR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The reasons were concluded: condense-phase and gas-phase. Nanofillers were transferred to the surface of matrix during combustion, which could not only shield EP matrix from external radiation and heat feedback from the fire zone, but also efficiently retard transport of oxygen and flammable pyrolysis.

Keywords: fire hazards, toxic gases, self-assembly, epoxy

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Authors: Timmis W., Simms M., Thomas C.

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This case discusses the management of two floors of mouth (FOM) Squamous Cell Carcinomas (SCC) not identified upon initial biopsy. A 51 year-old male presented with right FOM erythroleukoplakia. Relevant medical history included alcoholic dependence syndrome and alcoholic liver disease. Relevant drug therapy encompassed acamprosate, folic acid, hydroxocobalamin and thiamine. The patient had a 55.5 pack-year smoking history and alcohol dependence from age 14, drinking 16 units/day. FOM incisional biopsy and histopathological analysis diagnosed Carcinoma in situ. Treatment involved wide local excision. Specimen analysis revealed two separate foci of pT1 moderately differentiated SCCs. Carcinoma staging scans revealed no pathological lymphadenopathy, no local invasion or metastasis. SCCs had been excised in completion with narrow margins. MDT discussion concluded that in view of the field changes it would be difficult to identify specific areas needing further excision, although techniques such as Lugol’s Iodine were considered. Further surgical resection, surgical neck management and sentinel lymph node biopsy was offered. The patient declined intervention, primary management involved close monitoring alongside alcohol and smoking cessation referral. Narrow excisional margins can increase carcinoma recurrence risk. Biopsy failed to identify SCCs, despite sampling an area of clinical concern. For gross field change multiple incisional biopsies should be considered to increase chance of accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatment. Coupling of tobacco and alcohol has a synergistic effect, exponentially increasing the relative risk of oral carcinoma development. Tobacco and alcoholic control is fundamental in reducing treatment‑related side effects, recurrence risk and second primary cancer development.

Keywords: alcohol dependence, biopsy, oral carcinoma, tobacco

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Authors: Patricia Helena Dos Santos Martins, Mateus Atique, Lucas Oliveira Gomes Ferreira

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There is a growing body of literature that recognizes the importance of bibliometric analysis through the evolutionary nuances of a specific field while shedding light on the emerging areas in that field. Surprisingly, its application in the manufacturing research of vitiviniculture is relatively new and, in many instances, underdeveloped. The aim of this study is to present an overview of the bibliometric methodology, with a particular focus on the Meta-Analytical Approach Theory model – TEMAC, while offering step-by-step results on the available techniques and procedures for carrying out studies about the elements associated with vitiviniculture. Where TEMAC is a method that uses metadata to generate heat maps, graphs of keyword relationships and others, with the aim of revealing relationships between authors, articles and mainly to understand how the topic has evolved over the period study and thus reveal which subthemes were worked on, main techniques and applications, helping to understand that topic under study and guide researchers in generating new research. From the studies carried out using TEMAC, it is possible to raise which are the techniques within the statistical control of processes that are most used within the wine industry and thus assist professionals in the area in the application of the best techniques. It is expected that this paper will be a useful resource for gaining insights into the available techniques and procedures for carrying out studies about vitiviniculture, the cultivation of vineyards, the production of wine, and all the ethnography connected with it.

Keywords: TEMAC, vitiviniculture, statical control of process, quality

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Authors: Huraizah Arshad, Maizan Baba

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Malaysia is the country that consists of high population of Muslim community with more than 60%; as reported in year 2014. The stability of economy allowed people to contribute towards ongoing charity such as waqf and infaq. Waqf is an important component of the Islamic economic instruments since it is beneficial to help those needy in the community. Although waqf had been implemented in Malaysia for many years, there is no specific framework on how to manage and maintain the waqf properties in effective and efficient practice. Thus, a comprehensive framework related to the management and maintenance of the waqf properties is crucial to ensure that the administration of the fund is fair within the community. The objective of this article is to examine the related literatures in administration, management and maintenance of waqf for the past ten (10) years. The methodology of this article is through qualitative research based on literature on waqf administration and management; waqf planning and development and the application of maintenance concept. Data from each articles related in this field were collected and statistically analyzed using the SPSS software. A variable such as authorship patterns, number of articles published and geographical affiliation are identified in this study. The general finding in this article shows that there are still limited number of articles and papers published by the researchers related to this field. Henceforth, this article provides significant suggestions and strategies for the future research on waqf administration, management and maintenance.

Keywords: Waqf, administration and management, maintenance, improvement, facilities management

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Authors: Nurhajati Hakim, Kiki Amalia, A. Agustian, H. Hermansah, Y. Yulnafatmawita

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Ultisols require greater amounts of fertilizer application compared to other soils and susceptible to erosion. Unfortunately, the price of synthetic fertilizers has increased over time during the years, making them unaffordable for most Indonesian farmers. While terrace technique to control erosion very costly.Over the last century, efforts to reduce reliance on synthetic agro-chemicals fertilizers and erosion control have recently focused on Tithonia diversifolia as a fertilizer alternative, and as hedgerow plant to control erosion. Generally known by its common name of tree marigold or Mexican sunflower, this plant has attracted considerable attention for its prolific production of green biomass, rich in nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium (NPK). In pot experiments has founded some microbial such as Mycorrhizal, Azotobacter, Azospirillum, phosphate solubilizing bacterial (PSB) and fungi (PSF) are expected to play an important role in biomass production and high nutrient uptake of this plant. This issue of importance was pursued further in the following investigation in field condition. The aim of this study was to determine the type of microbial combination suitable for Tithonia cultivation as hedgerow plants in Ultisols which have higher biomass production and nutrient content, and decline soil erosion. The field experiment was conducted with 6 treatments in a randomized block design (RBD) using 3 replications. The treatments were: Tithonia rhizosphere without microbial inoculated (A); Inokulanted by Mycorrhizal + Azotobacter + Azospirillium (B); Mycorrhizal + PSF (C); Mycorrhizal + PSB(D); Mycorrhizal + PSB + PSF(E);and without hedgerow Tithonia (F).The microbial substrates were inoculated into the Tithonia rhizosphere in the nursery. The young Tithonia plants were then planted as hedgerow on Ultisols in the experimental field for 8 months, and pruned once every 2 months. Soil erosion were collected every rainy time. The differences between treatments were statistically significant by HSD test at the 95% level of probability. The result showed that treatment C (mycorrhizal + PSB) was the most effective, and followed by treatment D (mycorrhizal + PSF) in producing higher Tithonia biomass about 8 t dry matter 2000 m-2 ha-1 y-1 and declined soil erosion 71-75%.

Keywords: hedgerow tithonia, microbial inoculants, organic fertilizer, soil erosion control

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Authors: Shuen-Tai Wang, Yu-Ching Lin, Hsi-Ya Chang

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With the development of virtualization technologies, a new type of service named cloud computing service is produced. Cloud users usually encounter the problem of how to use the virtualized platform easily over the web without requiring the plug-in or installation of special software. The object of this paper is to develop a system and a method enabling process interfacing within an automation scenario for accessing remote application by using the web browser. To meet this challenge, we have devised a web-based interface that system has allowed to shift the GUI application from the traditional local environment to the cloud platform, which is stored on the remote virtual machine. We designed the sketch of web interface following the cloud virtualization concept that sought to enable communication and collaboration among users. We describe the design requirements of remote application technology and present implementation details of the web application and its associated components. We conclude that this effort has the potential to provide an elastic and resilience environment for several application services. Users no longer have to burden the system maintenances and reduce the overall cost of software licenses and hardware. Moreover, this remote application service represents the next step to the mobile workplace, and it lets user to use the remote application virtually from anywhere.

Keywords: virtualization technology, virtualized platform, web interface, remote application

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Authors: Mustafa Yıldız, Ali Ulvi Uzer, Murat Olgun

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In this study, geotechnical and mineralogical properties of gypsum containing clay basis which form the ground of Second Organized Industrial Zone in Konya province have been researched through comprehensive field and laboratory experiments. Although sufficient geotechnical research has not been performed yet, an intensive structuring in the region continues at present. The study area consists of mid-lake sediments formed by gypsum containing soft silt-clay basis which evolves to a large area. To determine the soil profile and geotechnical specifications; 18 drilling holes were opened and disturbed / undisturbed soil samples have been taken through shelby tubes within 1.5m intervals. Tests have been performed on these samples to designate the index and strength properties of soil. Besides, at all drilling holes Standart Penetration Tests have been done within 1.5m intervals. For the purpose of determining the mineralogical characteristics of the soil; all rock and X-RD analysis have been carried out on 6 samples which were taken from various depths through the soil profile. Strength and compressibility characteristics of the soil were defined with correlations using laboratory and field test results. Unconfined compressive strength, undrained cohesion, compression index varies between 16 kN/m2 and 405.4 kN/m2, 6.5 kN/m2 and 72 kN/m2, 0.066 and 0.864, respectively.

Keywords: Konya second organized industrial region, strength, compressibility, soft clay

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Authors: Ria Forner

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Introduction: Due to increases in the SNR at 7T and above, it becomes more favourable to make use of X-nuclear imaging. Integrated body coils tuned to 120MHz for 31P, 79MHz for 23Na, and 75 MHz for 13C at 7T were simulated with a human male, female, or child body model to assess strategies of use for metabolic MR imaging in the body. Methods: B1 and SAR efficiencies in the heart, liver, spleen, and kidneys were assessed using numerical simulations over the three frequencies with phase shimming. Results: B1+ efficiency is highly variable over the different organs, particularly for the highest frequency; however, local SAR efficiency remains relatively constant over the frequencies in all subjects. Although the optimal phase settings vary, one generic phase setting can be identified for each frequency at which the penalty in B1+ is at a max of 10%. Discussion: The simulations provide practical strategies for power optimization, B1 management, and maintaining safety. As expected, the B1 field is similar at 75MHz and 79MHz, but reduced at 120MHz. However, the B1 remains relatively constant when normalised by the square root of the peak local SAR. This is in contradiction to generalized SAR considerations of 1H MRI at different field strengths, which is defined by global SAR instead. Conclusion: Although the B1 decreases with frequency, SAR efficiency remains constant throughout the investigated frequency range. It is possible to shim the body coil to obtain a maximum of 10% extra B1+ in a specific organ in a body when compared to a generic setting.

Keywords: birdcage, multi-nuclear, B1 shimming, 7 Tesla MRI, liver, kidneys, heart, spleen

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Authors: Baratali Monfaredraz

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The concept of justice has been able to occupy a lot of people’s minds and speeches for a long time. Justice has various dimensions such as economic justice, judicial justice, political justice, educational justice, ethnical justice and etc. Educational justice as one of the most basic dimensions of justice can alter our education in every field and it can flourish the talents and capabilities on macro level. One of the most efficient ways for social justice realization is to provide equal opportunities for all people in the society to be able to access equally to education as their human rights since today how progress occurs in education is regarded as the index of social development. On this basis, especially developing countries try to provide equal opportunities for all people in terms of access to education, specifically in higher education. At present, private education system violates the principles of conducting effort, meeting the needs and in part realizing the capabilities and so it cannot be justified to be a fair conductance. It seems that providing higher quality education in public schools and lowering role of teacher and educational facilities in educational achievement can be considered as a proper way to remove the discrimination in terms of unequal distribution of educational facilities. In addition, higher education development in deprived regions can initialize social activities among the inhabitants of these regions. Justice in educational field can result in access of all people to economic and social situations and job opportunities in future.

Keywords: educational justice, deprivation, private schools, higher education, job opportunities

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Authors: Shinsuke Udagawa, Masato Yamagishi, Masanori Ota

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The Schlieren method, which has been conventionally used to visualize high-speed flows, has disadvantages such as the complexity of the experimental setup and the inability to quantitatively analyze the amount of refraction of light. The Background Oriented Schlieren (BOS) method proposed by Meier is one of the measurement methods that solves the problems, as mentioned above. The refraction of light is used for BOS method same as the Schlieren method. The BOS method is characterized using a digital camera to capture the images of the background behind the observation area. The images are later analyzed by a computer to quantitatively detect the amount of shift of the background image. The experimental setup for BOS does not require concave mirrors, pinholes, or color filters, which are necessary in the conventional Schlieren method, thus simplifying the experimental setup. However, the defocusing of the observation results is caused in case of using BOS method. Since the focus of camera on the background image leads to defocusing of the observed object. The defocusing of object becomes greater with increasing the distance between the background and the object. On the other hand, the higher sensitivity can be obtained. Therefore, it is necessary to adjust the distance between the background and the object to be appropriate for the experiment, considering the relation between the defocus and the sensitivity. The purpose of this study is to experimentally clarify the effect of defocus on density field reconstruction. In this study, the visualization experiment of underexpanded jet using BOS measurement system with ronchi ruling as the background that we constructed, have been performed. The reservoir pressure of the jet and the distance between camera and axis of jet is fixed, and the distance between background and axis of jet has been changed as the parameter. The images have been later analyzed by using personal computer to quantitatively detect the amount of shift of the background image from the comparison between the background pattern and the captured image of underexpanded jet. The quantitatively measured amount of shift have been reconstructed into a density flow field using the Abel transformation and the Gradstone-Dale equation. From the experimental results, it is found that the reconstructed density image becomes blurring, and noise becomes decreasing with increasing the distance between background and axis of underexpanded jet. Consequently, it is cralified that the sensitivity constant should be greater than 20, and the circle of confusion diameter should be less than 2.7mm at least in this experimental setup.

Keywords: BOS method, underexpanded jet, abel transformation, density field visualization

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Authors: K. Yang, Y. Wei, M. Zhang, S. Yong, R. Torah, J. Tudor, S. Beeby

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E-textiles are traditional textiles with integrated electronic functionality. It is an emerging innovation with numerous applications in fashion, wearable computing, health and safety monitoring, and the military and medical sectors. The piezoelectric effect is a widespread and versatile transduction mechanism used in sensor and actuator applications. Piezoelectric materials produce electric charge when stressed. Conversely, mechanical deformation occurs when an electric field is applied across the material. Lead Zirconate Titanate (PZT) is a widely used piezoceramic material which has been used to fabricate e-textiles through screen printing, electro spinning and hydrothermal synthesis. This paper explores an alternative fabrication process: Spray coating. Spray coating is a straightforward and cost effective fabrication method applicable on both flat and curved surfaces. It can also be applied selectively by spraying through a stencil which enables the required design to be realised on the substrate. This work developed a sprayable PZT based piezoelectric ink consisting of a binder (Fabink-Binder-01), PZT powder (80 % 2 µm and 20 % 0.8 µm) and acetone as a thinner. The optimised weight ratio of PZT/binder is 10:1. The components were mixed using a SpeedMixer DAC 150. The fabrication processes is as follows: 1) Screen print a UV-curable polyurethane interface layer on the textile to create a smooth textile surface. 2) Spray one layer of a conductive silver polymer ink through a pre-designed stencil and dry at 90 °C for 10 minutes to form the bottom electrode. 3) Spray three layers of the PZT ink through a pre-designed stencil and dry at 90 °C for 10 minutes for each layer to form a total thickness of ~250µm PZT layer. 4) Spray one layer of the silver ink through a pre-designed stencil on top of the PZT layer and dry at 90 °C for 10 minutes to form the top electrode. The domains of the PZT elements were aligned by polarising the material at an elevated temperature under a strong electric field. A d33 of 37 pC/N has been achieved after polarising at 90 °C for 6 minutes with an electric field of 3 MV/m. The application of the piezoelectric textile was demonstrated by fabricating a pressure sensor to switch an LED on/off. Other potential applications on e-textiles include motion sensing, energy harvesting, force sensing and a buzzer.

Keywords: piezoelectric, PZT, spray coating, pressure sensor, e-textile

Procedia PDF Downloads 452

Authors: M. Bevilacqua, F. E. Ciarapica, G. Marcucci

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Supply Chain Resilience has been broadly studied during the last decade, focusing the research on many aspects of Supply Chain performance. Consequently, different definitions of Supply Chain Resilience have been developed by the research community, drawing inspiration also from other fields of study such as ecology, sociology, psychology, economy et al. This way, the definitions so far developed in the extant literature are therefore very heterogeneous, and many authors have pointed out a lack of consensus in this field of analysis. The aim of this research is to find common points between these definitions, through the development of a framework of study: the Resilience Triangle. The Resilience Triangle is a tool developed in the field of civil engineering, with the objective of modeling the loss of resilience of a given structure during and after the occurrence of a disruption such as an earthquake. The Resilience Triangle is a simple yet powerful tool: in our opinion, it can summarize all the features that authors have captured in the Supply Chain Resilience definitions over the years. This research intends to recapitulate within this framework all these heterogeneities in Supply Chain Resilience research. After collecting a various number of Supply Chain Resilience definitions present in the extant literature, the methodology approach provides a taxonomy step with the scope of collecting and analyzing all the data gathered. The next step provides the comparison of the data obtained with the plotting of a disruption profile, in order to contextualize the Resilience Triangle in the Supply Chain context. The tool and the results developed in this research will allow to lay the foundation for future Supply Chain Resilience modeling and measurement work.

Keywords: supply chain resilience, resilience definition, supply chain resilience triangle

Procedia PDF Downloads 305

Authors: Parichehr Sharifi, Konrad Reschke, Hans-Liudger Dienel

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Psychological intervention generally targets changes in attitudes and behavior. Working with DUIs is part of traffic psychologists’ work. The primary goal of this field is to reduce the probability of re-conspicuous of the delinquent driver. One of these measurements in Germany is IFT courses for DUI s. The IFT course was designed by the Institute for Therapy Research. Participants are drivers who have fallen several times or once with a blood alcohol concentration of 1.6 per mill and who have completed a medical-psychological assessment (MPU) with the result of the course recommendation. The course covers four sessions of 3.5 hours each (1 hour / 60 m) and in a period of 3 to 4 weeks in the group discussion. This work analyzes interventions for the rehabilitation of DUI (Drunk Drivers offenders) offenders in groups under the aspect of activating psychological resources. From the aspect of sustainability, they should also have long-term consequences for the maintenance of unproblematic driving behavior in terms of the activation of resources. It is also addressing a selected consistency-theory-based intervention effect, activating psychological resources. So far, this has only been considered in the psychotherapeutic field but never in the field of traffic psychology. The methodology of this survey is one qualitative and three quantitative. In four sub-studies, it will be examined which measurements can determine the resources and how traffic psychological interventions can strengthen resources. The results of the studies have the following implications for traffic psychology research and practice: (1) In the field of traffic psychology intervention for the restoration of driving fitness, it can be stated that aspects of resource activation in this work have been investigated for the first time by qualitative and quantitative methods. (2) The resource activation could be confirmed based on the determined results as an effective factor of traffic psychological intervention. (3) Two sub-studies show a range of resources and resource activation options that must be given greater emphasis in traffic psychology interventions: - Social resource activation - improvement of the life skills of participants - Reactivation of existing social support options - Re-experiencing self-esteem, self-assurance, and acceptance of traffic-related behaviors. (4) In revising the IFT-§70 course, as well as other courses on recreating aptitude for DUI, new traffic-specific resource-enabling interventions against alcohol abuse should be developed to further enhance the courses through motivational, cognitive, and behavioral effects of resource activation, Resource-activating interventions can not only be integrated into behavioral group interventions but can also be applied in psychodynamic, psychodynamic (individual psychological) and other contexts of individual traffic psychology. The results are indicative but clearly show that personal resources can be strengthened through traffic psychology interventions. In the research, practice, training, and further education of traffic psychology, the aspect of primary resource activation (Grawe, 1999), therefore, always deserves the greatest attention for the rehabilitation of DUIs and Traffic safety.

Keywords: traffic safety, psychological resources, activating of resources, intervention programs for alcohol offenders, empowerment

Procedia PDF Downloads 67

Authors: Zhao Hong

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When international students study Chinese as a foreign or second language, it is important for them to form constructive viewpoints and possess an open mindset on Chinese culture. This helps them to make faster progress in their language acquisition. Observations from African students at Liaoning Institute of Science and Technology show that by integrating video-focused social networking apps such as Tiktok (“Douyin”) on a controlled basis, students raise their interest not only in making an effort in learning the Chinese language, but also in the understanding of the Chinese culture. During the last twelve months, our research group explored a teaching model using selected contents in certain classroom settings, including virtual classrooms during lockdown periods due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Using interviews, a survey was conducted on international students from African countries at the Liaoning Institute of Science and Technology in Chinese language courses. Based on the results, a teaching model was built for Chinese language acquisition by entering the "mobile Chinese culture".

Keywords: Chinese as a foreign language, cultural education, social networking apps, teaching model

Procedia PDF Downloads 61

Authors: Y. Kamarulzaman, A. Madun, F. D. Yusop, N. Abdullah, N. K. Hoong

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In 2011, the Malaysian Government has initiated a nationwide project called 1BestariNet which will adopt the using of technology in teaching and learning, resulting in the construction of telecommunication towers inside the public schools’ premise. Using qualitative approach, this study investigated public perception of risks associated with the project, particularly the telecommunication towers. Data collection involved observation and in-depth interviews with 22 individuals consist of a segment of public that was anxious about the risks of radio frequency electromagnetic field (RFEMF) which include two employees of telecommunication companies (telcos) and five employees of Government agencies. Observation of the location of the towers at 10 public schools, a public forum, and media reports provide valuable information in our analysis. The study finds that the main concern is related to the health risks. This study also shows that it is not easy for the Government to manage public perception mainly because it involves public trust. We find that risk perception is related with public trust, as well as the perceived benefits and level of knowledge. Efficient communication and continuous engagement with the local communities help to build and maintain public trust, reduce public fear and anxiety, hence mitigating the risk perception among the public.

Keywords: risk perception, risk communication, trust, telecommunication tower, radio frequency electromagnetic field (RFEMF)

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Authors: Mishak Rahul, Naveen Kumar, Bharath Kumar

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Conceived as a high-end engine to revolutionise sustainable agri-food production, the intelligent crop circle (ICC) aims to incorporate the Internet of Things (IoT), blockchain technology and artificial intelligence (AI) to bolster resource efficiency and prevent waste, increase the volume of production and bring about sustainable solutions with long-term ecosystem conservation as the guiding principle. The operating principle of the ICC relies on bringing together multidisciplinary bottom-up collaborations between producers, researchers and consumers. Key elements of the framework include IoT-based smart sensors for sensing soil moisture, temperature, humidity, nutrient and air quality, which provide short-interval and timely data; blockchain technology for data storage on a private chain, which maintains data integrity, traceability and transparency; and AI-based predictive analysis, which actively predicts resource utilisation, plant growth and environment. This data and AI insights are built into the ICC platform, which uses the resulting DSS (Decision Support System) outlined as help in decision making, delivered through an easy-touse mobile app or web-based interface. Farmers are assumed to use such a decision-making aid behind the power of the logic informed by the data pool. Building on existing data available in the farm management systems, the ICC platform is easily interoperable with other IoT devices. ICC facilitates connections and information sharing in real-time between users, including farmers, researchers and industrial partners, enabling them to cooperate in farming innovation and knowledge exchange. Moreover, ICC supports sustainable practice in agriculture by integrating gamification techniques to stimulate farm adopters, deploying VR technologies to model and visualise 3D farm environments and farm conditions, framing the field scenarios using VR headsets and Real-Time 3D engines, and leveraging edge technologies to facilitate secure and fast communication and collaboration between users involved. And through allowing blockchain-based marketplaces, ICC offers traceability from farm to fork – that is: from producer to consumer. It empowers informed decision-making through tailor-made recommendations generated by means of AI-driven analysis and technology democratisation, enabling small-scale and resource-limited farmers to get their voice heard. It connects with traditional knowledge, brings together multi-stakeholder interactions as well as establishes a participatory ecosystem to incentivise continuous growth and development towards more sustainable agro-ecological food systems. This integrated approach leverages the power of emerging technologies to provide sustainable solutions for a resilient food system, ensuring sustainable agriculture worldwide.

Keywords: blockchain, internet of things, artificial intelligence, decision support system, virtual reality, gamification, traceability, sustainable agriculture

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Authors: Nouh Zeggai, Lucas Debrux, Fabien Parrain, Brahim Dkhil, Martino Lobue, Morgan Almanza

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Refrigeration and air conditioning are some of the most used energies in our daily life, especially vapor compression refrigeration. Electrocaloric material might appears as an alternative towards solid-state cooling. polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) based polymer has shown promising adiabatic temperature change (∆T) and entropy change (∆S). There is practically no limit to the electric field that can be applied, except the one that the material can withstand. However, when working with a large surface as required in a device, the chance to have a defect is larger and can drastically reduce the voltage breakdown, thus reducing the electrocaloric properties. In this work, we propose to study how the characteristic of a single film are transposed when going to multilayer. The laminator and the hot press appear as two interesting processes that have been investigating to achieve a multilayer film. The study is mainly focused on the breakdown field and the adiabatic temperature change, but the phase and crystallinity have also been measured. We process one layer-based PVDF and assemble them to obtain a multilayer. Pressing at hot temperature method and lamination were used for the production of the thin films. The multilayer film shows higher breakdown strength, temperature change, and crystallinity (beta phases) using the hot press technique.

Keywords: PVDF-TrFE-CFE, multilayer, electrocaloric effect, hot press, cooling device

Procedia PDF Downloads 161

Authors: Ali Taher Othman Ali

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The aim of this research is to provide a draft proposal for the professional development of mathematics teachers in accordance with the orientation of science, technology, engineering and mathematics which is known by the abbreviation STEM, as a modern and contemporary orientation in the teaching and learning of mathematics and in order to achieve the objective of the research, the researcher used the theoretical descriptive method through the induction of the literature of education and the previous studies and experiments related to the topic. The researcher concluded by providing the proposal according to five basic axes, the first axe: professional development as a system, and its requirements include: development of educational systems, and allocate sufficient budgets to support the requirements of teaching STEM, identifying mechanisms for incentives and rewards for teachers attending professional development programs based on STEM; the second: development of in-depth knowledge content and its requirements include: basic sciences content development for STEM, linking the scientific understanding of teachers with real-world issues and problems, to provide the necessary resources to expand teachers' knowledge in this area; the third: the necessary pedagogical skills of teachers in the field of STEM, and its requirements include: identification of the required training and development needs and the mechanism of determining these needs, the types of professional development programs and the mechanism of designing it, the mechanisms and places of execution, evaluation and follow-up; the fourth: professional development strategies and mechanisms in the field of STEM, and its requirements include: using a variety of strategies to enable teachers to design and transfer effective educational experiences which reflect their scientific mastery in the fields of STEM, provide learning opportunities, and developing the skills of procedural research to generate new knowledge about the STEM; the fifth: to support professional development in the area of STEM, and its requirements include: support leadership within the school, provide a clear and appropriate opportunities for professional development for teachers within the school through professional learning communities, building partnerships between the Ministry of education and the local and international community institutions. The proposal includes other factors that should be considered when implementing professional development programs for mathematics teachers in the field of STEM.

Keywords: professional development, mathematics teachers, the orientation of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM)

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Authors: Sérgio J. Teixeira, João J. Ferreira

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Tourism frequently gets identified as one of the sectors with the greatest potential for expansion on a global scale and hence conveying the importance of attempting to better understand the regional factors of competitiveness prevailing in this sector. This study’s objective essentially strives to provide a mapping of the scientific publications and the intellectual knowledge therein contained while conveying past research trends and identifying potential future lines of research in the fields of regional competitiveness and tourism innovation. This correspondingly deploys a systematic review of the literature in keeping with the bibliometric approach based upon VOSviewer software, with a particular focus on drafting maps for visualising the underlying intellectual structure. This type of analysis encapsulates the number of articles published and their annual number of citations for the period between 1900 and 2016 as registered by the Web of Science database. The results demonstrate how the intellectual structure on regional competitiveness divides essentially into three major categories: regional competitiveness, tourism innovation, and tourism clusters. Thus, the main contribution of this study arises out of identifying the main research trends in this field and the respective shortcomings and specific needs for future scientific research in the field of regional competitiveness and innovation in tourism.

Keywords: regional competitiveness, tourism cluster, bibliometric studies, tourism innovation, systematic review

Procedia PDF Downloads 221

Authors: Ujjval J. Solanki, Prof.(Dr.) P.J. Gundaliya, Prof.M.D. Barasara

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The application of Falling Weight Deflectometer is to evaluate structural performance of the flexible pavement. The exercise of back calculation is required to know the modulus of elasticity of existing in-service pavement. The process of back calculation needs in-depth field experience for the input of range of modulus of elasticity of bituminous, granular and subgrade layer, and its required number of trial to find such matching moduli with the observed FWD deflection on the field. The study carried out at Barnala-Mansa State Highway Punjab-India using FWD before and after overlay; the deflections obtained at 0 on the load cell, 300, 600, 900,1200, 1500 and 1800 mm interval from the load cell these seven deflection results used to calculate Surface Curvature Index (SCI), Base damage Index (BDI), Base curvature index (BCI). This SCI, BCI and BDI indices are useful to predict the structural performance of in-service pavement and also useful to identify homogeneous section for condition assessment. The SCI, BCI and BDI range are determined for before and after overlay the range of SCI 520 to 51 BDI 294 to 63 BCI 83 to 0.27 for old pavement and SCI 272 to 23 BDI 228 to 28, BCI 25.85 to 4.60 for new pavement. It also shows good correlation with back calculated modulus of elasticity of all the three layer.

Keywords: back calculation, base damage index, base curvature index, FWD (Falling Weight Deflectometer), surface curvature index

Procedia PDF Downloads 319

Authors: Arka Roy, Chandra Prakash Dubey

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Inverse problem generally used for recovering hidden information from outside available data. Vertical component of gravity field we will be going to use for underneath density structure calculation. Ill-posing nature is main obstacle for any inverse problem. Linear regularization using Tikhonov formulation are used for appropriate choice of SVD and GSVD components. For real time data handle, signal to noise ratios should have to be less for reliable solution. In our study, 2D and 3D synthetic model with rectangular grid are used for gravity field calculation and its corresponding inversion for density reconstruction. Fine grid also we have considered to hold any irregular structure. Keeping in mind of algebraic ambiguity factor number of observation point should be more than that of number of data point. Picard plot is represented here for choosing appropriate or main controlling Eigenvalues for a regularized solution. Another important study is depth resolution plot (DRP). DRP are generally used for studying how the inversion is influenced by regularizing or discretizing. Our further study involves real time gravity data inversion of Vredeforte Dome South Africa. We apply our method to this data. The results include density structure is in good agreement with known formation in that region, which puts an additional support of our method.

Keywords: depth resolution plot, gravity inversion, Picard plot, SVD, Tikhonov formulation

Procedia PDF Downloads 196