Search results for: final assembly

Authors: Bastian Vollrath, Hartwig Hubel

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In case of over-elastic and cyclic loading, strain may accumulate due to a ratcheting mechanism until the state of shakedown is possibly achieved. Load history dependent numerical investigations by a step-by-step analysis are rather costly in terms of engineering time and numerical effort. In the case of multi-parameter loading, where various independent loadings affect the final state of shakedown, the computational effort becomes an additional challenge. Therefore, direct methods like the Simplified Theory of Plastic Zones (STPZ) are developed to solve the problem with a few linear elastic analyses. Post-shakedown quantities such as strain ranges and cyclic accumulated strains are calculated approximately by disregarding the load history. The STPZ is based on estimates of a transformed internal variable, which can be used to perform modified elastic analyses, where the elastic material parameters are modified, and initial strains are applied as modified loading, resulting in residual stresses and strains. The STPZ already turned out to work well with respect to cyclic loading between two states of loading. Usually, few linear elastic analyses are sufficient to obtain a good approximation to the post-shakedown quantities. In a multi-dimensional load domain, the approximation of the transformed internal variable transforms from a plane problem into a hyperspace problem, where time-consuming approximation methods need to be applied. Therefore, a solution restricted to structures with four stress components was developed to estimate the transformed internal variable by means of three-dimensional vector algebra. This paper presents the extension to cyclic multi-parameter loading so that an unlimited number of load cases can be taken into account. The theoretical basis and basic presumptions of the Simplified Theory of Plastic Zones are outlined for the case of elastic shakedown. The extension of the method to many load cases is explained, and a workflow of the procedure is illustrated. An example, adopting the FE-implementation of the method into ANSYS and considering multilinear hardening is given which highlights the advantages of the method compared to incremental, step-by-step analysis.

Keywords: cyclic loading, direct method, elastic shakedown, multi-parameter loading, STPZ

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Authors: Mariam Matiashvili

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Argumentation is an integral part of our daily communications - formal or informal. Argumentative reasoning, techniques, and language tools are used both in personal conversations and in the business environment. Verbalization of the opinions requires the use of extraordinary syntactic-pragmatic structural quantities - arguments that add credibility to the statement. The study of argumentative structures allows us to identify the linguistic features that make the text argumentative. Knowing what elements make up an argumentative text in a particular language helps the users of that language improve their skills. Also, natural language processing (NLP) has become especially relevant recently. In this context, one of the main emphases is on the computational processing of argumentative texts, which will enable the automatic recognition and analysis of large volumes of textual data. The research deals with the linguistic analysis of the argumentative structures of Georgian political speeches - particularly the linguistic structure, characteristics, and functions of the parts of the argumentative text - claims, support, and attack statements. The research aims to describe the linguistic cues that give the sentence a judgmental/controversial character and helps to identify reasoning parts of the argumentative text. The empirical data comes from the Georgian Political Corpus, particularly TV debates. Consequently, the texts are of a dialogical nature, representing a discussion between two or more people (most often between a journalist and a politician). The research uses the following approaches to identify and analyze the argumentative structures Lexical Classification & Analysis - Identify lexical items that are relevant in argumentative texts creating process - Creating the lexicon of argumentation (presents groups of words gathered from a semantic point of view); Grammatical Analysis and Classification - means grammatical analysis of the words and phrases identified based on the arguing lexicon. Argumentation Schemas - Describe and identify the Argumentation Schemes that are most likely used in Georgian Political Speeches. As a final step, we analyzed the relations between the above mentioned components. For example, If an identified argument scheme is “Argument from Analogy”, identified lexical items semantically express analogy too, and they are most likely adverbs in Georgian. As a result, we created the lexicon with the words that play a significant role in creating Georgian argumentative structures. Linguistic analysis has shown that verbs play a crucial role in creating argumentative structures.

Keywords: georgian, argumentation schemas, argumentation structures, argumentation lexicon

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Authors: Ling-Lang Huang

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Background: The holistic health care should ideally cover physical, mental, spiritual, and social aspects of a patient. With very constrained time in current clinical practice system, medical decisions often tip the balance in favor of evidence-based medicine (EBM) in comparison to patient's personal values. Even in the era of competence-based medical education (CBME), when scrutinizing the items of entrustable professional activities (EPAs), we found that EPAs of establishing doctor-patient relationship remained incomplete or even missing. This phenomenon prompted us to raise this project aiming at advocating value-based medicine (VBM), which emphasizes the importance of patient’s values in medical decisions. A true and effective doctor-patient communication and relationship should be a well-balanced harmony of EBM and VBM. By constructing VBM into current EPAs, we can further promote genuine shared decision making (SDM) and fix the missing link in holistic health care. Methods: In this project, we are going to find out EPA elements crucial for establishing an ideal doctor-patient relationship through three distinct pairs of doctor-patient relationships: patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (relatively young but with grave disease), patients undergoing surgery (facing critical medical decisions), and patients with terminal diseases (facing forthcoming death). We’ll search for important EPA elements through the following steps: 1. Narrative approach to delineate patients’ values among 2. distinct groups. 3.Hermeneutics-based interview: semi-structured interview will be conducted for both patients and physicians, followed by qualitative analysis of collected information by compiling, disassembling, reassembling, interpreting, and concluding. 4. Preliminarily construct those VBM elements into EPAs for doctor-patient relationships in 3 groups. Expected Outcomes: The results of this project are going to give us invaluable information regarding the impact of patients’ values, while facing different medical situations, on the final medical decision. The competence of well-blending and -balanced both values from patients and evidence from clinical sciences is the missing link in holistic health care and should be established in future EPAs to enhance an effective SDM.

Keywords: value-based medicine, shared decision making, entrustable professional activities, holistic health care

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Authors: Amritee Bora, B. S. Mipun

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Land degradation is often used to describe the land environmental phenomena that reduce land’s original productivity both qualitatively and quantitatively. The study of land degradation vulnerability primarily deals with “Environmentally Sensitive Areas” (ESA) and the amount of topsoil loss due to erosion. In many studies, it is observed that the assessment of the existing status of land degradation is used to represent the vulnerability. Moreover, it is also noticed that in most studies, the primary emphasis of land degradation vulnerability is to assess its sensitivity to soil erosion only. However, the concept of land degradation vulnerability can have different objectives depending upon the perspective of the study. It shows the extent to which changes in land use land cover can imprint their effect on the land. In other words, it represents the susceptibility of a piece of land to degrade its productive quality permanently or in the long run. It is also important to mention that the vulnerability of land degradation is not a single factor outcome. It is a probability assessment to evaluate the status of land degradation and needs to consider both biophysical and human induce parameters. To avoid the complexity of the previous models in this regard, the present study has emphasized on to generate a simplified model to assess the land degradation vulnerability in terms of its current human population pressure, land use practices, and existing biophysical conditions. It is a “Mixed-Method” termed as the land degradation vulnerability index (LDVi). It was originally inspired by the MEDALUS model (Mediterranean Desertification and Land Use), 1999, and Farazadeh’s 2007 revised version of it. It has followed the guidelines of Space Application Center, Ahmedabad / Indian Space Research Organization for land degradation vulnerability. The model integrates the climatic index (Ci), vegetation index (Vi), erosion index (Ei), land utilization index (Li), population pressure index (Pi), and cover management index (CMi) by giving equal weightage to each parameter. The final result shows that the very high vulnerable zone primarily indicates three (3) prominent circumstances; land under continuous population pressure, high concentration of human settlement, and high amount of topsoil loss due to surface runoff within the study sites. As all the parameters of the model are amalgamated with equal weightage further with the help of regression analysis, the LDVi model also provides a strong grasp of each parameter and how far they are competent to trigger the land degradation process.

Keywords: population pressure, land utilization, soil erosion, land degradation vulnerability

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Authors: Marios Papaevripidou, Yvoni Pavlou, Zacharias Zacharia

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Embodied cognition and additional (touch) sensory channel theories indicate that physical manipulation is crucial to learning since it provides, among others, touch sensory input, which is needed for constructing knowledge. Given these theories, the use of Physical Manipulatives (PM) becomes a prerequisite for learning. On the other hand, empirical research on Virtual Manipulatives (VM) (e.g., simulations) learning has provided evidence showing that the use of PM, and thus haptic sensory input, is not always a prerequisite for learning. In order to investigate which means of experimentation, PM or VM, are required for enhancing student science learning at the kindergarten level, an empirical study was conducted that sought to investigate the impact of haptic feedback on the conceptual understanding of pre-school students (n=44, age mean=5,7) in three science domains: beam balance (D1), sinking/floating (D2) and springs (D3). The participants were equally divided in two groups according to the type of manipulatives used (PM: presence of haptic feedback, VM: absence of haptic feedback) during a semi-structured interview for each of the domains. All interviews followed the Predict-Observe-Explain (POE) strategy and consisted of three phases: initial evaluation, experimentation, final evaluation. The data collected through the interviews were analyzed qualitatively (open-coding for identifying students’ ideas in each domain) and quantitatively (use of non-parametric tests). Findings revealed that the haptic feedback enabled students to distinguish heavier to lighter objects when held in hands during experimentation. In D1 the haptic feedback did not differentiate PM and VM students' conceptual understanding of the function of the beam as a mean to compare the mass of objects. In D2 the haptic feedback appeared to have a negative impact on PM students’ learning. Feeling the weight of an object strengthen PM students’ misconception that heavier objects always sink, whereas the scientifically correct idea that the material of an object determines its sinking/floating behavior in the water was found to be significantly higher among the VM students than the PM ones. In D3 the PM students outperformed significantly the VM students with regard to the idea that the heavier an object is the more the spring will expand, indicating that the haptic input experienced by the PM students served as an advantage to their learning. These findings point to the fact that PMs, and thus touch sensory input, might not always be a requirement for science learning and that VMs could be considered, under certain circumstances, as a viable means for experimentation.

Keywords: haptic feedback, physical and virtual manipulatives, pre-school science learning, science experimentation

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Authors: Taeho Park, Ming Zhou, Sangryul Shim

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With the emergence of the global economy, today’s business environment is getting more competitive than ever in the past. And many supply chain (SC) strategies and operations have significantly been altered over the past decade to overcome more complexities and risks imposed onto the global business. First, offshoring and outsourcing are more adopted as operational strategies. Manufacturing continues to move to better locations for enhancing competitiveness. Second, international operations are a challenge to a company’s SC system. Third, the products traded in the SC system are not just physical goods, but also digital goods (e.g., software, e-books, music, video materials). There are three main flows involved in fulfilling the activities in the SC system: physical flow, information flow, and financial flow. An advance of the Internet and electronic communication technologies has enabled companies to perform the flows of SC activities in electronic formats, resulting in the advent of an electronic supply chain management (e-SCM) system. A SC system for digital goods is somewhat different from the supply chain system for physical goods. However, it involves many similar or identical SC activities and flows. For example, like the production of physical goods, many third parties are also involved in producing digital goods for the production of components and even final products. This research aims at identifying process flows of both physical and digital goods in a SC system, and then investigating all risk elements involved in the physical, information, and financial flows during the fulfilment of SC activities. There are many risks inherent in the e-SCM system. Some risks may have severe impact on a company’s business, and some occur frequently but are not detrimental enough to jeopardize a company. Thus, companies should assess the impact and frequency of those risks, and then prioritize them in terms of their severity, frequency, budget, and time in order to be carefully maintained. We found risks involved in the global trading of physical and digital goods in four different categories: environmental risk, strategic risk, technological risk, and operational risk. And then the significance of those risks was investigated through a survey. The survey asked companies about the frequency and severity of the identified risks. They were also asked whether they had faced those risks in the past. Since the characteristics and supply chain flows of digital goods are varying industry by industry and country by country, it is more meaningful and useful to analyze risks by industry and country. To this end, more data in each industry sector and country should be collected, which could be accomplished in the future research.

Keywords: digital goods, e-SCM, risk analysis, supply chain flows

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Authors: Venere Ferraro, Silvia Ferraris

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We live in a world pervaded by new advanced technologies that have been changing the way we live and experience the surrounded. Besides, new technologies enable product innovation at different levels. Nevertheless, innovation does not lie just in the technological development and in its hard aspects but also in the meaningful use of it for the final user. In order to generate innovative products, a new perspective is needed: The shift from an instrument-oriented view of the technology towards a broader view that includes aspects like aesthetics, acceptance, comfort, and sociability. In many businesses, the user experience of the product is considered the key battlefield to achieve product innovation. (Holland 2011) The use of new technologies is indeed useless without paying attention to the user experience. This paper presents a workshop activity conducted at Design School of Politecnico di Milano in collaboration with Chiba University and aimed at generating innovative design concepts of high-tech mask. The students were asked to design the user experience of a new mask by exploiting emerging technologies such as wearable sensors and information communication technology (ICT) for a chosen field of application: safety or sport. When it comes to the user experience, the mask is a very challenging design product, because it covers aspects of product interaction and, most important, psychological and cultural aspects related to the impact on the facial expression. Furthermore, since the mask affects the face expression quite a lot, it could be a barrier to hide with, or it could be a mean to enhance user’s communication to others. The main request for the students was to take on a user-centered approach: To go beyond the instrumental aspects of product use and usability and focus on the user experience by shaping the technology in a desirable and meaningful way for the user reasoning on the metaphorical and cultural level of the product. During the one-week workshop students were asked to face the design process through (i) the research phase: an in-deep analysis of the user and field of application (safety or sport) to set design spaces (brief) and user scenario; (ii) the idea generation, (iii) the idea development. This text will shortly go through the meaning of the product innovation, the use and application of wearable technologies and will then focus on the user experience design in contrast with the technology-driven approach in the field of product innovation. Finally authors will describe the workshop activity and the concepts developed by the students stressing the important role of the user experience design in new product development.

Keywords: product innovation, user experience, technological exploitation, wearable technologies

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Authors: Hamed Hedayatnia, Nathan Van Den Bossche

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Understanding the ways in which climate change accelerates or slows down the process of material deterioration is the first step towards assessing adaptive approaches for the conservation of historical heritage. Analysis of the climate change effects on the degradation risk assessment parameters like freeze-thaw cycles and wind erosion is also a key parameter when considering mitigating actions. Due to the vulnerability of cultural heritage to climate change, the impact of this phenomenon on material degradation criteria with the focus on brick masonry walls in Timurid heritage, located in Iran, was studied. The Timurids were the final great dynasty to emerge from the Central Asian steppe. Through their patronage, the eastern Islamic world in northwestern of Iran, especially in Mashhad and Herat, became a prominent cultural center. Goharshad Mosque is a mosque in Mashhad of the Razavi Khorasan Province, Iran. It was built by order of Empress Goharshad, the wife of Shah Rukh of the Timurid dynasty in 1418 CE. Choosing an appropriate regional climate model was the first step. The outputs of two different climate model: the 'ALARO-0' and 'REMO,' were analyzed to find out which model is more adopted to the area. For validating the quality of the models, a comparison between model data and observations was done in 4 different climate zones in Iran for a period of 30 years. The impacts of the projected climate change were evaluated until 2100. To determine the material specification of Timurid bricks, standard brick samples from a Timurid mosque were studied. Determination of water absorption coefficient, defining the diffusion properties and determination of real density, and total porosity tests were performed to characterize the specifications of brick masonry walls, which is needed for running HAM-simulations. Results from the analysis showed that the threatening factors in each climate zone are almost different, but the most effective factor around Iran is the extreme temperature increase and erosion. In the north-western region of Iran, one of the key factors is wind erosion. In the north, rainfall erosion and mold growth risk are the key factors. In the north-eastern part, in which our case study is located, the important parameter is wind erosion.

Keywords: brick, climate change, degradation criteria, heritage, Timurid period

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Authors: Narges Shayesteh Moghaddam

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Tungsten (W), a refractory metal known for its remarkably high melting temperature, offers tremendous potential for use in challenging environments prevalent in sectors such as space exploration, defense, and nuclear industries. Additive manufacturing, especially the Laser Powder-Bed Fusion (LPBF) technique, emerges as a beneficial method for fabricating tungsten parts. This technique enables the production of intricate components while simultaneously reducing production lead times and associated costs. However, the inherent brittleness of tungsten and its tendency to crack under high-temperature conditions pose significant challenges to the manufacturing process. Our research primarily focuses on the process of rolling tungsten parts in a layer-by-layer manner in LPBF and the subsequent changes in microstructure. Our objective is not only to identify the alterations in the microstructure but also to assess their implications on the physical properties and performance of the fabricated tungsten parts. To examine these aspects, we conducted an extensive series of experiments that included the fabrication of tungsten samples through LPBF and subsequent characterization using advanced materials analysis techniques. These investigations allowed us to scrutinize shifts in various microstructural features, including, but not limited to, grain size and grain boundaries occurring during the rolling process. The results of our study provide crucial insights into how specific factors, such as plastic deformation occurring during the rolling process, influence the microstructural characteristics of the fabricated parts. This information is vital as it provides a foundation for understanding how the parameters of the layer-by-layer rolling process affect the final tungsten parts. Our research significantly broadens the current understanding of microstructural evolution in tungsten parts produced via the layer-by-layer rolling process in LPBF. The insights obtained will play a pivotal role in refining and optimizing manufacturing parameters, thus improving the mechanical properties of tungsten parts and, therefore, enhancing their performance. Furthermore, these findings will contribute to the advancement of manufacturing techniques, facilitating the wider application of tungsten parts in various high-demand sectors. Through these advancements, this research represents a significant step towards harnessing the full potential of tungsten in high-temperature and high-stress applications.

Keywords: additive manufacturing, rolling, tungsten, refractory materials

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Authors: Mercedes Del Rio Merino, Jaime Santacruz Astorqui, Paola Villoria Saez, Carmen Viñas Arrebola

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The lack of treatment of the waste from construction and demolition waste (CDW) is a problem that must be solved immediately. It is estimated that in the world not to use CDW generates an increase in the use of new materials close to 20% of the total value of the materials used. The problem is even greater in case these wastes are considered hazardous because the final deposition of them may also generate significant contamination. Therefore, the possibility of including CDW in the manufacturing of building materials, represents an interesting alternative to ensure their use and to reduce their possible risk. In this context and in the last years, many researches are being carried out in order to analyze the viability of using CDW as a substitute for the traditional raw material of high environmental impact. Even though it is true, much remains to be done, because these works generally characterize materials but not specific applications that allow the agents of the construction to have the guarantees required by the projects. Therefore, it is necessary the involvement of all the actors included in the life cycle of these new construction materials, and also to promote its use for, for example, definition of standards, tax advantages or market intervention is necessary. This paper presents the main findings reached in "Waste to resources (W2R)" project since it began in October 2014. The main goal of the project is to develop new materials, elements and construction systems, manufactured from CDW, to be used in improving the energy efficiency of buildings. Other objectives of the project are: to quantify the CDW generated in the energy rehabilitation works, specifically wastes from the building envelope; and to study the traceability of CDW generated and promote CDW reuse and recycle in order to get close to the life cycle of buildings, generating zero waste and reducing the ecological footprint of the construction sector. This paper determines the most important aspects to consider during the design of new constructive solutions, which improve the energy efficiency of buildings and what materials made with CDW would be the most suitable for that. Also, a survey to select best practices for reducing "close to zero waste" in refurbishment was done. Finally, several pilot rehabilitation works conform the parameters analyzed in the project were selected, in order to apply the results and thus compare the theoretical with reality. Acknowledgements: This research was supported by the Spanish State Secretariat for Research, Development and Innovation of the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness under "Waste 2 Resources" Project (BIA2013-43061-R).

Keywords: building waste, construction and demolition waste, recycling, resources

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Authors: Manami Masuda, Mariko Era, Takayoshi Kawahara, Takahide Kanyama, Hiroshi Morita

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Objectives: Fatty acid salts are a type of anionic surfactant and are produced from fatty acids and alkali. Moreover, fatty acid salts are known to have potent antibacterial activities. Acanthamoeba is ubiquitously distributed in the environment including sea water, fresh water, soil and even from the air. Although generally free-living, Acanthamoeba can be an opportunistic pathogen, which could cause a potentially blinding corneal infection known as Acanthamoeba keratitis. So, in this study, we evaluated the anti-amoeba activity of fatty acid salts and fatty acids to Acanthamoeba castellanii ATCC 30010. Materials and Methods: The antibacterial activity of 9 fatty acid salts (potassium butyrate (C4K), caproate (C6K), caprylate (C8K), caprate (C10K), laurate (C12K), myristate (C14K), oleate (C18:1K), linoleate (C18:2K), linolenate (C18:3K)) tested on cells of Acanthamoeba castellanii ATCC 30010. Fatty acid salts (concentration of 175 mM and pH 10.5) were prepared by mixing the fatty acid with the appropriate amount of KOH. The amoeba suspension mixed with KOH with a pH adjusted solution was used as the control. Fatty acids (concentration of 175 mM) were prepared by mixing the fatty acid with Tween 80 (20 %). The amoeba suspension mixed with Tween 80 (20 %) was used as the control. The anti-amoeba method, the amoeba suspension (3.0 × 104 cells/ml trophozoites) was mixed with the sample of fatty acid potassium (final concentration of 175 mM). Samples were incubated at 30°C, for 10 min, 60 min, and 180 min and then the viability of A. castellanii was evaluated using plankton counting chamber and trypan blue stainings. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) against Acanthamoeba was determined using the two-fold dilution method. The MIC was defined as the minimal anti-amoeba concentration that inhibited visible amoeba growth following incubation (180 min). Results: C8K, C10K, and C12K were the anti-amoeba effect of 4 log-unit (99.99 % growth suppression of A. castellanii) incubated time for 180 min against A. castellanii at 175mM. After the amoeba, the suspension was mixed with C10K or C12K, destroying the cell membrane had been observed. Whereas, the pH adjusted control solution did not exhibit any effect even after 180 min of incubation with A. castellanii. Moreover, C6, C8, and C18:3 were the anti-amoeba effect of 4 log-unit incubated time for 60 min. C4 and C18:2 exhibited a 4-log reduction after 180 min incubation. Furthermore, the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was determined. The MIC of C10K, C12K and C4 were 2.7 mM. These results indicate that C10K, C12K and C4 have high anti-amoeba activity against A. castellanii and suggest C10K, C12K and C4 have great potential for antimi-amoeba agents.

Keywords: Fatty acid salts, anti-amoeba activities, Acanthamoeba, fatty acids

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Authors: Yuliya Kovalenko

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Given the social nature of people, it is interesting to explore strategies of responding to psycho-traumatic situations in individuals of different ethnic and religious identity. This would allow to substantially expand the idea of human behavior in general, and coping behavior, in particular. This paper investigated the weighted impact of ethnic and religious identities on the patterns of coping behavior. This cross-cultural research empirically revealed intergroup differences in coping strategies and behavior in the samples of young students and teachers of different ethnic identities (Egyptians N=216 and Ukrainians N=109) and different religious identities (Egyptian Muslims N=147 and Christians, including Egyptian Christians N=68 and Ukrainian Christians N = 109). The empirical data were obtained using the questionnaires SACS and COPE. Statistical analysis and interpretation of the results were performed with IBM SPSS-23.0. It was found that, compared to the religious identity, the ethnic identity of the subjects appeared more predictive of coping behavior. It was shown that the constant exchange of information and the unity of biological and social contributed to a more homogeneous picture in the society where Christians and Muslims were integrated into a single cultural space. It was concluded that depending on their ethnic identity, individuals would form a specific hierarchy of coping strategies resulting in a specific pattern of coping with certain stressors. The Egyptian subjects revealed the following pattern of coping with various kinds of academic stress: 'seeking social support', 'problem solving', 'adapting', 'seeking information'. The coping pattern demonstrated by the Ukrainian subjects could be presented as 'seeking information', 'adapting', 'seeking social support', 'problem solving'. There was a tendency in the group of Egyptians to engage in more collectivist coping strategies (with the predominant coping strategy 'religious coping'), in contrast to the Ukrainians who displayed more individualistic coping strategies (with 'planning' and 'active coping' as the mostly used coping strategies). At the same time, it was obvious that Ukrainians should not be unambiguously attributed to the individualistic coping behavior due to their reliance on 'seeking social support' and 'social contact'. The final conclusion was also drawn from the peculiarities of developing religious identity, including religiosity, in Egyptians (formal religious education of both Muslims and Christians) and Ukrainians (more spontaneous process): Egyptians seem to learn to resort to the religious coping, which could be an indication that, in principle, it is possible and necessary to train individuals in desirable coping behavior.

Keywords: coping behavior, cross-cultural research, ethnic and religious identity, hierarchical pattern of coping

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Authors: Ivana Čavlina Tomašević, Višnjica Vučetić, Maja Telišman Prtenjak, Barbara Malečić

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The Split wildfire on the mid-Adriatic Coast in July 2017 is one of the most severe wildfires in Croatian history, given the size and unexpected fire behavior, and it is used in this research as a case study to run the Weather Research and Forecasting Spread Fire (WRF SFIRE) model. This coupled fire-atmosphere model was successfully run for the first time ever for one Croatian wildfire case. Verification of coupled simulations was possible by using the detailed reconstruction of the Split wildfire. Specifically, precise information on ignition time and location, together with mapped fire progressions and spotting within the first 30 hours of the wildfire, was used for both – to initialize simulations and to evaluate the model’s ability to simulate fire’s propagation and final fire scar. The preliminary simulations were obtained using high-resolution vegetation and topography data for the fire area, additionally interpolated to fire grid spacing at 33.3 m. The results demonstrated that the WRF SFIRE model has the ability to work with real data from Croatia and produce adequate results for forecasting fire spread. As the model in its setup has the ability to include and exclude the energy fluxes between the fire and the atmosphere, this was used to investigate possible fire-atmosphere interactions during the Split wildfire. Finally, successfully coupled simulations provided the first numerical evidence that a wildfire from the Adriatic coast region can modify the dynamical structure of the surrounding atmosphere, which agrees with observations from fire grounds. This study has demonstrated that the WRF SFIRE model has the potential for operational application in Croatia with more accurate fire predictions in the future, which could be accomplished by inserting the higher-resolution input data into the model without interpolation. Possible uses for fire management in Croatia include prediction of fire spread and intensity that may vary under changing weather conditions, available fuels and topography, planning effective and safe deployment of ground and aerial firefighting forces, preventing wildland-urban interface fires, effective planning of evacuation routes etc. In addition, the WRF SFIRE model results from this research demonstrated that the model is important for fire weather research and education purposes in order to better understand this hazardous phenomenon that occurs in Croatia.

Keywords: meteorology, agrometeorology, fire weather, wildfires, couple fire-atmosphere model

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Authors: Michal Lach, Maria Hebdowska-Krupa, Justyna Stefanek, Artur Stanek, Anna Stefanska, Janusz Mikula, Marek Hebda

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Limited resources of raw materials determine the necessity of obtaining materials from other sources. In this area, the most known and widespread are recycling processes, which are mainly focused on the reuse of material. Another possible solution used in various companies to achieve improvement in sustainable development is waste-free production. It involves the production exclusively from such materials, whose waste is included in the group of renewable raw materials. This means that they can: (i) be recycled directly during the manufacturing process of further products or (ii) be raw material obtained by other companies for the production of alternative products. The article presents the possibility of using post-production clay from the Jurassic limestone deposit "Raciszyn II" as a raw material for the production of alkali activated materials (AAM). Such products are currently increasingly used, mostly in various building applications. However, their final properties depend significantly on many factors; the most important of them are: chemical composition of the raw material, particle size, specific surface area, type and concentration of the activator and the temperature range of the heat treatment. Conducted mineralogical and chemical analyzes of clay from the “Raciszyn II” deposit confirmed that this material, due to its high content of aluminosilicates, can be used as raw material for the production of AAM. In order to obtain the product with the best properties, the optimization of the clay calcining process was also carried out. Based on the obtained results, it was found that this process should occur in the range between 750 oC and 800 oC. The use of a lower temperature causes getting a raw material with low metakaolin content which is the main component of materials suitable for alkaline activation processes. On the other hand, higher heat treatment temperatures cause thermal dissociation of large amounts of calcite, which is associated with the release of large amounts of CO2 and the formation of calcium oxide. This compound significantly accelerates the binding process, which consequently often prevents the correct formation of geopolymer mass. The effect of the use of various activators: (i) NaOH, (ii) KOH and (iii) a mixture of KOH to NaOH in a ratio of 10%, 25% and 50% by volume on the compressive strength of the AAM was also analyzed. Obtained results depending on the activator used were in the range from 25 MPa to 40 MPa. These values are comparable with the results obtained for materials produced on the basis of Portland cement, which is one of the most popular building materials.

Keywords: alkaline activation, aluminosilicates, calcination, compressive strength

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Authors: Abdulrahman Fahim M. Alsulami

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This paper is dedicated to a detailed investigation of the interaction between the agreement on trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights (TRIPS) and bilateral investment treaties (BITs) in the regulation of health-related intellectual property rights in Australia and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The chosen research object is complex and requires a thorough examination of a set of factors influencing the problem under investigation. At the moment, to the author’s best knowledge’ there is no academic research that would conceptualize and critically compare the regulation of health-related intellectual property rights in these two countries. While there is a substantial amount of information in the literature on certain aspects of the problem, the existing knowledge about certain aspects of the health-related regulatory frameworks in Australia and Saudi Arabia barely explains in detail the specifics of the ways in which the TRIPS agreement interacts with (BITs) in the regulation of health-related intellectual property rights. Therefore, this paper will address an evident research gap by studying an intriguing yet under-researched problem. The paper comprises five subsections. The first subsection provides an overview of the investment climate in Saudi Arabia and Australia with an emphasis on the health care industry. It will cover political, economic, and social factors influencing the investment climate in these countries, the systems of intellectual property rights protection, recent patterns relevant to the investment climate’s development, and key characteristics of the investment climate in the health care industry. The second subsection analyses BITs in Saudi Arabia and Australia in light of the countries’ responsibilities under the TRIPS Agreement. The third subsection provides a critical examination of the interaction between the TRIPS Agreement and BITs in Saudi Arabia on the basis of data collected and analyzed in previous subsections. It will investigate key discrepancies concerning the regulation of health-related intellectual property rights in Saudi Arabia and Australia from the position of BITs’ interaction with the TRIPS Agreement and explore the existing procedures for clarifying priorities between them in regulating health-related intellectual property rights. The fourth subsection of the paper provides recommendations concerning the transformation of BITS into a TRIPS+ dimension in regulating health-related intellectual property rights in Saudi Arabia and Australia. The final subsection provides a summary of differences between the Australian and Saudi BITs from the perspective of the regulation of health-related intellectual property rights under the TRIPS agreement and bilateral investment treaties.

Keywords: Australia, bilateral investment treaties, IP law, public health sector, Saudi Arabia

Procedia PDF Downloads 144

Authors: Getenet Dessie, Jinhu Li, Son Nghiem, Tinh Doan

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Background: Concerns regarding malnutrition have evolved from focusing solely on single forms to addressing the simultaneous occurrence of multiple types, commonly referred to as the double or triple burden of malnutrition. Nevertheless, data concerning the concurrent occurrence of various types of malnutrition are scarce. Therefore, this systematic review and meta-analysis aims to assess the pooled prevalence of the double burden of malnutrition among children under five in Sub-Saharan Africa and other least-developed countries (LDCs). Methods: Electronic, web-based searches were conducted from January 15 to June 28, 2023, across several databases, including PubMed, Embase, Google Scholar, and the World Health Organization's Hinari portal, as well as other search engines, to identify primary studies published up to June 28, 2023. Laboratory-based cross-sectional studies on children under the age of five were included. Two independent authors assessed the risk of bias and the quality of the identified articles. The primary outcomes of this study were micronutrient deficiencies and the comorbidity of stunting and anemia, as well as wasting and anemia. The random-effects model was utilized for analysis. The association of identified variables with the various forms of malnutrition was also assessed using adjusted odds ratios (AOR) with a 95% confidence interval (CI). This review was registered in PROSPERO with the reference number CRD42023409483. Findings: The electronic search generated 6,087 articles, 93 of which matched the inclusion criteria for the final meta-analysis. Micronutrient deficiencies were prevalent among children under five in Sub-Saharan Africa and other LDCs, with rates ranging from 16.63% among 25,169 participants for vitamin A deficiency to 50.90% among 3,936 participants for iodine deficiency. Iron deficiency anemia affected 20.56% of the 63,121 participants. The combined prevalence of wasting anemia and stunting anemia was 5.41% among 64,709 participants and 19.98% among 66,016 participants, respectively. Both stunting and vitamin A supplementation were associated with vitamin A and iron deficiencies, with adjusted odds ratios (AOR) of 1.54 (95% CI: 1.01, 2.37) and 1.37 (95% CI: 1.21, 1.55), respectively. Interpretation: The prevalence of the double burden of malnutrition among children under the age of five was notably high in Sub-Saharan Africa and other LDCs. These findings indicate a need for increased attention and a focus on understanding the factors influencing this double burden of malnutrition.

Keywords: children, Sub-Saharan Africa, least developed countries, double burden of malnutrition, systematic review, meta-analysis

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Authors: Ahmad Odeh, Ahmad Jrade

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Energy assessment is an evidently significant factor when evaluating the sustainability of structures especially at the early design stage. Today design practices revolve around the selection of material that reduces the operational energy and yet meets their displinary need. Operational energy represents a substantial part of the building lifecycle energy usage but the fact remains that embodied energy is an important aspect unaccounted for in the carbon footprint. At the moment, little or no consideration is given to embodied energy mainly due to the complexity of calculation and the various factors involved. The equipment used, the fuel needed, and electricity required for each material vary with location and thus the embodied energy will differ for each project. Moreover, the method and the technique used in manufacturing, transporting and putting in place will have a significant influence on the materials’ embodied energy. This anomaly has made it difficult to calculate or even bench mark the usage of such energies. This paper presents a model aimed at helping designers select the construction materials based on their embodied energy. Moreover, this paper presents a systematic approach that uses an efficient method of calculation and ultimately provides new insight into construction material selection. The model is developed in a BIM environment targeting the quantification of embodied energy for construction materials through the three main stages of their life: manufacturing, transportation and placement. The model contains three major databases each of which contains a set of the most commonly used construction materials. The first dataset holds information about the energy required to manufacture any type of materials, the second includes information about the energy required for transporting the materials while the third stores information about the energy required by tools and cranes needed to place an item in its intended location. The model provides designers with sets of all available construction materials and their associated embodied energies to use for the selection during the design process. Through geospatial data and dimensional material analysis, the model will also be able to automatically calculate the distance between the factories and the construction site. To remain within the sustainability criteria set by LEED, a final database is created and used to calculate the overall construction cost based on R.M.S. means cost data and then automatically recalculate the costs for any modifications. Design criteria including both operational and embodied energies will cause designers to revaluate the current material selection for cost, energy, and most importantly sustainability.

Keywords: building information modelling, energy, life cycle analysis, sustainablity

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Authors: Carolina S. Correia, Thalita V. Thomé, Andersen Boniolo, Dhayana I. Veiga

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Evidence-based practices (EBP) in education is a set of principles and practices used to raise educational policy, it involves the integration of professional expertise in education with the best empirical evidence in making decisions about how to deliver instruction. The purpose of this presentation is to describe and characterize studies about EBP in education in elementary classroom setting. Data here presented is part of an ongoing systematic review research. Articles were searched and selected from four academic databases: ProQuest, Scielo, Science Direct and Capes. The search terms were evidence-based practices or program effectiveness, and education or teaching or teaching practices or teaching methods. Articles were included according to the following criteria: The studies were explicitly described as evidence-based or discussed the most effective practices in education, they discussed teaching practices in classroom context in elementary school level. Document excerpts were extracted and recorded in Excel, organized by reference, descriptors, abstract, purpose, setting, participants, type of teaching practice, study design and main results. The total amount of articles selected were 1.185, 569 articles from Proquest Research Library; 216 from CAPES; 251 from ScienceDirect and 149 from Scielo Library. The potentially relevant references were 178, from which duplicates were removed. The final number of articles analyzed was 140. From 140 articles, are 47 theoretical studies and 93 empirical articles. The following research design methods were identified: longitudinal intervention study, cluster-randomized trial, meta-analysis and pretest-posttest studies. From 140 articles, 103 studies were about regular school teaching and 37 were on special education teaching practices. In several studies, used as teaching method: active learning, content acquisition podcast (CAP), precision teaching (PT), mediated reading practice, speech therapist programs and peer-assisted learning strategies (PALS). The countries of origin of the studies were United States of America, United Kingdom, Panama, Sweden, Scotland, South Korea, Argentina, Chile, New Zealand and Brunei. The present study in is an ongoing project, so some representative findings will be discussed, providing further acknowledgment on the best teaching practices in elementary classroom setting.

Keywords: best practices, children, evidence-based education, elementary school, teaching methods

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Authors: Benoît Leclercq, Ilse Depraetere

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The goal of this presentation is to shed new light on the semantics and pragmatics of be able to. It presents the results of a corpus analysis based on data from the BNC (British National Corpus), and discusses these results in light of a specific stance on the semantics-pragmatics interface taking into account recent developments. Be able to is often discussed in relation to can and could, all of which can be used to express ability. Such an onomasiological approach often results in the identification of usage constraints for each expression. In the case of be able to, it is the formal properties of the modal expression (unlike can and could, be able to has non-finite forms) that are in the foreground, and the modal expression is described as the verb that conveys future ability. Be able to is also argued to expressed actualised ability in the past (I was able/could to open the door). This presentation aims to provide a more accurate pragmatic-semantic profile of be able to, based on extensive data analysis and one that is embedded in a very explicit view on the semantics-pragmatics interface. A random sample of 3000 examples (1000 for each modal verb) extracted from the BNC was analysed to account for the following issues. First, the challenge is to identify the exact semantic range of be able to. The results show that, contrary to general assumption, be able to does not only express ability but it shares most of the root meanings usually associated with the possibility modals can and could. The data reveal that what is called opportunity is, in fact, the most frequent meaning of be able to. Second, attention will be given to the notion of actualisation. It is commonly argued that be able to is the preferred form when the residue actualises: (1) The only reason he was able to do that was because of the restriction (BNC, spoken) (2) It is only through my imaginative shuffling of the aces that we are able to stay ahead of the pack. (BNC, written) Although this notion has been studied in detail within formal semantic approaches, empirical data is crucially lacking and it is unclear whether actualisation constitutes a conventional (and distinguishing) property of be able to. The empirical analysis provides solid evidence that actualisation is indeed a conventional feature of the modal. Furthermore, the dataset reveals that be able to expresses actualised 'opportunities' and not actualised 'abilities'. In the final part of this paper, attention will be given to the theoretical implications of the empirical findings, and in particular to the following paradox: how can the same expression encode both modal meaning (non-factual) and actualisation (factual)? It will be argued that this largely depends on one's conception of the semantics-pragmatics interface, and that this need not be an issue when actualisation (unlike modality) is analysed as a generalised conversational implicature and thus is considered part of the conventional pragmatic layer of be able to.

Keywords: Actualisation, Modality, Pragmatics, Semantics

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Authors: Zsofia Patyi

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While empirical studies under socialism in Hungary focused on the lawyer society as a whole, current research deals with law students in specific. The change of regime and the mutation of legal education have influenced the motivation, efficiency, social background and self-concept of law students. This shift needs to be acknowledged, and the education system improved for students and together with students. A new law student society requires a different legal education system, different legal studies, or, at the minimum, a different approach to teaching law. This is to ensure that competitive lawyers be trained who understand the constantly changing nature of the law and, as a result, can potentially transform or create legislation themselves. A number of developments can affect law students’ awareness of legal relations in a democratic state. In today’s Hungary, these decisive factors are primarily the new regulation of the financing of law students, and secondly, the new Hungarian constitution (henceforth: Alaptörvény), which has modified the base of the Hungarian legal system. These circumstances necessitate a new, comprehensive, and empirical, investigation of law students. To this end, our research team (comprising a professor, a Ph.D. student, and two law students), is conducting a new type of study in February 2017. The first stage of the research project uses the desktop method to open up the research antecedents. Afterward, a structured questionnaire draft will be designed and sent to the Head of Department of Sociology and the Associate Professor of the Department of Constitutional Law at the University of Szeged to have the draft checked and amended. Next, an open workshop for students and teachers will be organized with the aim to discuss the draft and create the final questionnaire. The research team will then contact each Hungarian university with a Faculty of Law to reach all 1st- and 4th-year law students. 1st-year students have not yet studied the Alaptörvény, while 4th-year students have. All students will be asked to fill in the questionnaire (in February). Results are expected to be in at the end of February. In March, the research team will report the results and present the conclusions. In addition, the results will be compared to previous researches. The outcome will help us answer the following research question: How should legal studies and legal education in Hungary be reformed in accordance with law students and the future lawyer society? The aim of the research is to (1) help create a new student- and career-centered teaching method of legal studies, (2) offer a new perspective on legal education, and (3) create a helpful and useful de lege ferenda proposal for the attorney general as regards legal education as part of higher education.

Keywords: change, constitution, investigation, law students, lawyer society, legal education, legal studies, motivation, reform

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Authors: Deni̇z Ezgi̇ Gülmez, Mesut Kirca

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Nanoporous (np) metals have attracted considerable attention owing to their cellular morphological features at atomistic scale which yield ultra-high specific surface area awarding a great potential to be employed in diverse applications such as catalytic, electrocatalytic, sensing, mechanical and optical. As one of the carbon based nanostructures, fullerenes are also another type of outstanding nanomaterials that have been extensively investigated due to their remarkable chemical, mechanical and optical properties. In this study, the idea of improving the mechanical behavior of nanoporous metals by inclusion of the fullerenes, which offers a new metal-carbon nanocomposite material, is examined and discussed. With this motivation, tensile mechanical behavior of nanoporous metals reinforced with carbon fullerenes is investigated by classical molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Atomistic models of the nanoporous metals with ultrathin ligaments are obtained through a stochastic process simply based on the intersection of spherical volumes which has been used previously in literature. According to this technique, the atoms within the ensemble of intersecting spherical volumes is removed from the pristine solid block of the selected metal, which results in porous structures with spherical cells. Following this, fullerene units are added into the cellular voids to obtain final atomistic configurations for the numerical tensile tests. Several numerical specimens are prepared with different number of fullerenes per cell and with varied fullerene sizes. LAMMPS code was used to perform classical MD simulations to conduct uniaxial tension experiments on np models filled by fullerenes. The interactions between the metal atoms are modeled by using embedded atomic method (EAM) while adaptive intermolecular reactive empirical bond order (AIREBO) potential is employed for the interaction of carbon atoms. Furthermore, atomic interactions between the metal and carbon atoms are represented by Lennard-Jones potential with appropriate parameters. In conclusion, the ultimate goal of the study is to present the effects of fullerenes embedded into the cellular structure of np metals on the tensile response of the porous metals. The results are believed to be informative and instructive for the experimentalists to synthesize hybrid nanoporous materials with improved properties and multifunctional characteristics.

Keywords: fullerene, intersecting spheres, molecular dynamic, nanoporous metals

Procedia PDF Downloads 239

Authors: Omar Pillaca-Pullo, Arturo Alejandro-Paredes, Carol Flores-Fernandez, Marijuly Sayuri Kina, Amparo Iris Zavaleta

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Aqueous two-phase system (ATPS) is an interesting alternative for separating industrial enzymes due to it is easy to scale-up and low cost. Polyethylene glycol (PEG) mixed with potassium phosphate or magnesium sulfate is one of the most frequently polymer/salt ATPS used, but the consequences of its use is a high concentration of phosphates and sulfates in wastewater causing environmental issues. Citrate could replace these inorganic salts due to it is biodegradable and does not produce toxic compounds. On the other hand, statistical design of experiments is widely used for ATPS optimization and it allows to study the effects of the involved variables in the purification, and to estimate their significant effects on selected responses and interactions. The 24 factorial design with four central points (20 experiments) was employed to study the partition and purification of proteases produced by Pseudomonas sp. in PEG/citrate ATPS system. ATPS was prepared with different sodium citrate concentrations [14, 16 and 18% (w/w)], pH values (7, 8 and 9), PEG molecular weight (2,000; 4,000 and 6,000 g/mol) and PEG concentrations [18, 20 and 22 % (w/w)]. All system components were mixed with 15% (w/w) of the fermented broth and deionized water was added to a final weight of 12.5 g. Then, the systems were mixed and kept at room temperature until to reach two-phases separation. Volumes of the top and bottom phases were measured, and aliquots from both phases were collected for subsequent proteolytic activity and total protein determination. Influence of variables such as PEG molar mass (MPEG), PEG concentration (CPEG), citrate concentration (CSal) and pH were evaluated on the following responses: purification factor (PF), activity yield (Y), partition coefficient (K) and selectivity (S). STATISTICA program version 10 was used for the analysis. According to the obtained results, higher levels of CPEG and MPEG had a positive effect on extraction, while pH did not influence on the process. On the other hand, the CSal could be related with low values of Y because of the citrate ions have a negative effect on solubility and enzymatic structure. The optimum values of Y (66.4 %), PF (1.8), K (5.5) and S (4.3) were obtained at CSal (18%), MPEG (6,000 g/mol), CPEG (22%) and pH 9. These results indicated that the PEG/citrate system is accurate to purify these Pseudomonas sp. proteases from fermented broth as a first purification step.

Keywords: citrate, polyethylene glycol, protease, Pseudomonas sp

Procedia PDF Downloads 194

Authors: L. Hoade, O. O. Onafowokan, K. Anderson, G. E. Bartlett, E. D. Fern, M. R. Norton, R. G. Middleton

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Aims: Femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) was first recognised as a potential driver for hip pain at the turn of the last millennium. While there is an increasing trend towards surgical management of FAI by arthroscopic means, open surgical hip dislocation and debridement (SHD) remains the Gold Standard of care in terms of reported outcome measures. (1) Long-term functional and survivorship outcomes of SHD as a treatment for FAI are yet to be sufficiently reported in the literature. This study sets out to help address this imbalance. Methods: We undertook a retrospective review of our institutional database for all patients who underwent SHD for FAI between January 2003 and December 2008. A total of 223 patients (241 hips) were identified and underwent a ten year review with a standardised radiograph and patient-reported outcome measures questionnaire. The primary outcome measure of interest was survivorship, defined as progression to total hip arthroplasty (THA). Negative predictive factors were analysed. Secondary outcome measures of interest were survivorship to further (non-arthroplasty) surgery, functional outcomes as reflected by patient reported outcome measure scores (PROMS) scores, and whether a learning curve could be identified. Results: The final cohort consisted of 131 females and 110 males, with a mean age of 34 years. There was an overall native hip joint survival rate of 85.4% at ten years. Those who underwent a THA were significantly older at initial surgery, had radiographic evidence of preoperative osteoarthritis and pre- and post-operative acetabular undercoverage. In those whom had not progressed to THA, the average Non-arthritic Hip Score and Oxford Hip Score at ten year follow-up were 72.3% and 36/48, respectively, and 84% still deemed their surgery worthwhile. A learning curve was found to exist that was predicated on case selection rather than surgical technique. Conclusion: This is only the second study to evaluate the long-term outcomes (beyond ten years) of SHD for FAI and the first outside the originating centre. Our results suggest that, with correct patient selection, this remains an operation with worthwhile outcomes at ten years. How the results of open surgery compared to those of arthroscopy remains to be answered. While these results precede the advent of collison software modelling tools, this data helps set a benchmark for future comparison of other techniques effectiveness at the ten year mark.

Keywords: femoroacetabular impingement, hip pain, surgical hip dislocation, hip debridement

Procedia PDF Downloads 84

Authors: D. Bjelica, T. Slavinski, V. Vukimrovic, D. Pavlovic, D. Bodroza, V. Dabetic

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Traditional methods and techniques used in higher education may be significantly persuasive on the university students' perception about quality of the teaching process. Students’ satisfaction with the university experience may be affected by chosen educational approaches. Contemporary project management trends recognize agile approaches' beneficial, so modern practice highlights their usage, especially in the IT industry. A key research question concerns the possibility of applying agile methods in youth education. As agile methodology pinpoint iteratively-incremental delivery of results, its employment could be remarkably fruitful in education. This paper demonstrates the agile concept's application in the university students’ education through the continuous delivery of student solutions. Therefore, based on the fundamental values and principles of the agile manifest, paper will analyze students' performance and learned lessons in their encounter with the agile environment. The research is based on qualitative and quantitative analysis that includes sprints, as preparation and realization of student tasks in shorter iterations. Consequently, the performance of student teams will be monitored through iterations, as well as the process of adaptive planning and realization. Grounded theory methodology has been used in this research, as so as descriptive statistics and Man Whitney and Kruskal Wallis test for group comparison. Developed constructs of the model will be showcase through qualitative research, then validated through a pilot survey, and eventually tested as a concept in the final survey. The paper highlights the variability of educational curricula based on university students' feedbacks, which will be collected at the end of every sprint and indicates to university students' satisfaction inconsistency according to approaches applied in education. Values delivered by the lecturers will also be continuously monitored; thus, it will be prioritizing in order to students' requests. Minimal viable product, as the early delivery of results, will be particularly emphasized in the implementation process. The paper offers both theoretical and practical implications. This research contains exceptional lessons that may be applicable by educational institutions in curriculum creation processes, or by lecturers in curriculum design and teaching. On the other hand, they can be beneficial regarding university students' satisfaction increscent in respect of teaching styles, gained knowledge, or even educational content.

Keywords: academic performances, agile, high education, university students' satisfaction

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Authors: Wenhao Li, Shijun Guo

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Carbon fibre reinforced composites are progressively replacing metal structures in modern civil aircraft. This is because composite materials have large potential of weight saving compared with metal. However, the achievement to date of weight saving in composite structure is far less than the theoretical potential due to many uncertainties in structural integrity and safety concern. Unlike the conventional metallic structure, composite components are bonded together along the joints where structural integrity is a major concern. To ensure the safety, metal fasteners are used to reinforce the composite bonded joints. One of the solutions for a significant weight saving of composite structure is to develop an effective technology of on-board Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) System. By monitoring the real-life stress status of composite structures during service, the safety margin set in the structure design can be reduced with confidence. It provides a means of safeguard to minimize the need for programmed inspections and allow for maintenance to be need-driven, rather than usage-driven. The aim of this paper is to develop smart composite joint. The key technology is a multifunctional thermoplastic composite fastener (MTCF). The MTCF will replace some of the existing metallic fasteners in the most concerned locations distributed over the aircraft composite structures to reinforce the joints and form an on-board SHM network system. Each of the MTCFs will work as a unit of the AU and AE technology. The proposed MTCF technology has been patented and developed by Prof. Guo in Cranfield University, UK in the past a few years. The manufactured MTCF has been successfully employed in the composite SLJ (Single-Lap Joint). In terms of the structure integrity, the hybrid SLJ reinforced by MTCF achieves 19.1% improvement in the ultimate failure strength in comparison to the bonded SLJ. By increasing the diameter or rearranging the lay-up sequence of MTCF, the hybrid SLJ reinforced by MTCF is able to achieve the equivalent ultimate strength as that reinforced by titanium fastener. The predicted ultimate strength in simulation is in good agreement with the test results. In terms of the structural health monitoring, a signal from the MTCF was measured well before the load of mechanical failure. This signal provides a warning of initial crack in the joint which could not be detected by the strain gauge until the final failure.

Keywords: composite single-lap joint, crack propagation, multifunctional composite fastener, structural health monitoring

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Authors: Saeed Rezaeian, M. Rezaee Boroon

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Nitrogen accumulates in soils during the process of fertilizer addition to promote the plant growth. When the organic matter decomposes, the form of available nitrogen produced is in the form of nitrate, which is highly mobile. The most significant health effect of nitrate ingestion is methemoglobinemia in infants under six months of age (blue baby syndrome). The mobile nutrients, like nitrate nitrogen, are not stored in the soil as the available forms for the long periods and in large amounts. It depends on the needs for the crops such as vegetables. On the other hand, the vegetables will compete actively for nitrate nitrogen as a mobile nutrient and water. The mobile nutrients must be shared. The fewer the plants, the larger this share is for each plant. Also, this nitrate nitrogen is poisonous for the people who use these vegetables. Nitrate is converted to nitrite by the existing bacteria in the stomach and the Gastro-Intestinal (GI) tract. When nitrite is entered into the blood cells, it converts the hemoglobin to methemoglobin, which causes the anoxemia and cyanosis. The increasing use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers, especially the fertilizers with nitrates compounds, which have been common for the increased production of agricultural crops, has caused the nitrate pollution in the (soil, water, and environment). They have caused a lot of damage to humans and animals. In this research, the nitrate accumulation in different kind of vegetables such as; green pepper, tomatoes, egg plants, watermelon, cucumber, and red pepper were observed in the suburbs of Mashhad, Neisabour, and Sabzevar cities. In some of these cities, the information forms of agronomical practices collected were such as; different vegetable crops fertilizer recommendations, varieties, pesticides, irrigation schedules, etc., which were filled out by some of our colleagues in the research areas mentioned above. Analysis of the samples was sent to the soil and water laboratory in our department in Mashhad. The final results from the chemical analysis of samples showed that the mean levels of nitrates from the samples of the fruit crops in the mentioned cities above were all lower than the critical levels. These fruit crop samples were in the order of: 35.91, 8.47, 24.81, 6.03, 46.43, 2.06 mg/kg dry matter, for the following crops such as; tomato, cucumber, eggplant, watermelon, green pepper, and red pepper. Even though, this study was conducted with limited samples and by considering the mean levels, the use of these crops from the nutritional point of view will not cause the poisoning of humans.

Keywords: environmental pollution, human health, nitrate accumulations, nitrate fertilizers

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Authors: Masoomeh Alsadat Mirshafaei

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The present study aims to explore the effect of an 8-week aerobic training regimen combined with cinnamon extract on serum irisin and leptin levels in insulin-resistant rats. Additionally, this research leverages various machine learning (ML) and deep learning (DL) algorithms to model the complex interdependencies between exercise, nutrition, and metabolic markers, offering a groundbreaking approach to obesity and diabetes research. Forty-eight Wistar rats were selected and randomly divided into four groups: control, training, cinnamon, and training cinnamon. The training protocol was conducted over 8 weeks, with sessions 5 days a week at 75-80% VO2 max. The cinnamon and training-cinnamon groups were injected with 200 ml/kg/day of cinnamon extract. Data analysis included serum data, dietary intake, exercise intensity, and metabolic response variables, with blood samples collected 72 hours after the final training session. The dataset was analyzed using one-way ANOVA (P<0.05) and fed into various ML and DL models, including Support Vector Machines (SVM), Random Forest (RF), and Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN). Traditional statistical methods indicated that aerobic training, with and without cinnamon extract, significantly increased serum irisin and decreased leptin levels. Among the algorithms, the CNN model provided superior performance in identifying specific interactions between cinnamon extract concentration and exercise intensity, optimizing the increase in irisin and the decrease in leptin. The CNN model achieved an accuracy of 92%, outperforming the SVM (85%) and RF (88%) models in predicting the optimal conditions for metabolic marker improvements. The study demonstrated that advanced ML and DL techniques could uncover nuanced relationships and potential cellular responses to exercise and dietary supplements, which is not evident through traditional methods. These findings advocate for the integration of advanced analytical techniques in nutritional science and exercise physiology, paving the way for personalized health interventions in managing obesity and diabetes.

Keywords: aerobic training, cinnamon extract, insulin resistance, irisin, leptin, convolutional neural networks, exercise physiology, support vector machines, random forest

Procedia PDF Downloads 38

Authors: Sadeq Al Yaari, Ayman Al Yaari, Adham Al Yaari, Montaha Al Yaari, Aayah Al Yaari, Sajedah Al Yaari

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Background: Validation of communication activities of daily living-second edition (CADL-2) and assessment of language-related functional activities (ALFA) tests is a critical investment decision, and activities related to language impairments often are underestimated. Literature indicates that age factors, and gender differences may affect the performance of the aphasics. Thus, understanding these influential factors is highly important to neuropsycholinguists and speech language pathologists (SLPs). Purpose: The goal of this study is twofold: (1) to in/validate CADL-2 and ALFA tests, and (2) to investigate whether or not the two assessment tests are reliable. Design: A comparative study is made between the results obtained from the analyses of the Arabic versions of CADL-2 and ALFA tests. Participants: The communication activities of daily-living and language-related functional activities were assessed from the obtained results of 100 adult aphasics (50 males, 50 females; ages 16 to 65). Procedures: Firstly, the two translated and standardized Arabic versions of CADL-2 and ALFA tests were introduced to the Arab aphasics under investigation. Armed with the new two versions of the tests, one of the researchers assessed the language-related functional communication and activities. Outcomes drawn from the obtained analysis of the comparative studies were then qualitatively and statistically analyzed. Main outcomes and Results: Regarding the validity of CADL-2 and ALFA, it is found that …. Is more valid in both pre-and posttests. Concerning the reliability of the two tests, it is found that ….is more reliable in both pre-and-posttests which undoubtedly means that …..is more trustable. Nor must we forget to indicate here that the relationship between age and gender was very weak due to that no remarkable gender differences between the two in both CADL-2 and ALFA pre-and-posttests. Conclusions & Implications: CADL-2 and ALFA tests were found to be valid and reliable tests. In contrast to previous studies, age and gender were not significantly associated with the results of validity and reliability of the two assessment tests. In clearer terms, age and gender patterns do not affect the validation of these two tests. Future studies might focus on complex questions including the use of CADL-2 and ALFA functionally; how gender and puberty influence the results in case the sample is large; the effects of each type of aphasia on the final outcomes, and measurements’ results of imaging techniques.

Keywords: CADL-2, ALFA, comparison, language test, arab aphasics, validity, reliability, neuropsycholinguistics, comparison

Procedia PDF Downloads 38

Authors: Samuel Attias, Elad Schiff, Zahi Arnon, Eran Ben-Arye, Yael Keshet, Ibrahim Matter, Boker Lital Keinan

Abstract:

Background: Despite the extensive use of manual therapies, reflexology in particular, no validated tools have been developed to evaluate patients' beliefs, attitudes and expectations regarding reflexology. Such tools however are essential to improve the results of the reflexology treatment, by better adjusting it to the patients' attitudes and expectations. The tool also enables assessing correlations with clinical results of interventional studies using reflexology. Methods: The IBEAR (Inpatient Beliefs, Expectations and Attitudes toward Reflexology) tool contains 25 questions (8 demographic and 17 specifically addressing reflexology), and was constructed in several stages: brainstorming by a multidisciplinary team of experts; evaluation of each of the proposed questions by the experts' team; and assessment of the experts' degree of agreement per each question, based on a Likert 1-7 scale (1 – don't agree at all; 7 – agree completely). Cronbach's Alpha was computed to evaluate the questionnaire's reliability while the Factor analysis test was used for further validation (228 patients). The questionnaire was tested and re-tested (48h) on a group of 199 patients to assure clarity and reliability, using the Pearson coefficient and the Kappa test. It was modified based on these results into its final form. Results: After its construction, the IBEAR questionnaire passed the expert group's preliminary consensus, evaluation of the questions' clarity (from 5.1 to 7.0), inner validation (from 5.5 to 7) and structural validation (from 5.5 to 6.75). Factor analysis pointed to two content worlds in a division into 4 questions discussing attitudes and expectations versus 5 questions on belief and attitudes. Of the 221 questionnaires collected, a Cronbach's Alpha coefficient was calculated on nine questions relating to beliefs, expectations, and attitudes regarding reflexology. This measure stood at 0.716 (satisfactory reliability). At the Test-Retest stage, 199 research participants filled in the questionnaire a second time. The Pearson coefficient for all questions ranged between 0.73 and 0.94 (good to excellent reliability). As for dichotomic answers, Kappa scores ranged between 0.66 and 1.0 (mediocre to high). One of the questions was removed from the IBEAR following questionnaire validation. Conclusions: The present study provides evidence that the proposed IBEAR-16 questionnaire is a valid and reliable tool for the characterization of potential reflexology patients and may be effectively used in settings which include the evaluation of inpatients' beliefs, expectations, and attitudes toward reflexology.

Keywords: reflexology, attitude, expectation, belief, CAM, inpatient

Procedia PDF Downloads 228

Authors: Waad Al Saleemi, Badriya Al Adawi, Zaaima Al Jabri, Sahim Al Ghafri, Jalila Al Hadhramia

Abstract:

Objectives: Using standard lab methods, a positive blood culture requires a minimum of two days (two occasions of overnight incubation) to obtain a final identification (ID) and antimicrobial susceptibility results (AST) report. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the accuracy and precision of identification and antimicrobial susceptibility testing of an alternative method (direct method) that will reduce the turnaround time by 24 hours. This method involves the direct inoculation of positive blood culture broths into the Phoenix system using serum separation tubes (SST). Method: This prospective study included monomicrobial-positive blood cultures obtained from January 2022 to May 2023 in SQUH. Blood cultures containing a mixture of organisms, fungi, or anaerobic organisms were excluded from this study. The result of the new “direct method” under study was compared with the current “standard method” used in the lab. The accuracy and precision were evaluated for the ID and AST using Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) recommendations. The categorical agreement, essential agreement, and the rates of very major errors (VME), major errors (ME), and minor errors (MIE) for both gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria were calculated. Passing criteria were set according to CLSI. Result: The results of ID and AST were available for a total of 158 isolates. Of 77 isolates of gram-negative bacteria, 71 (92%) were correctly identified at the species level. Of 70 isolates of gram-positive bacteria, 47(67%) isolates were correctly identified. For gram-negative bacteria, the essential agreement of the direct method was ≥92% when compared to the standard method, while the categorical agreement was ≥91% for all tested antibiotics. The precision of ID and AST were noted to be 100% for all tested isolates. For gram-positive bacteria, the essential agreement was >93%, while the categorical agreement was >92% for all tested antibiotics except moxifloxacin. Many antibiotics were noted to have an unacceptable higher rate of very major errors including penicillin, cotrimoxazole, clindamycin, ciprofloxacin, and moxifloxacin. However, no error was observed in the results of vancomycin, linezolid, and daptomycin. Conclusion: The direct method of ID and AST for positive blood cultures using SST is reliable for gram negative bacteria. It will significantly decrease the turnaround time and will facilitate antimicrobial stewardship.

Keywords: bloodstream infection, oman, direct ast, blood culture, rapid identification, antimicrobial susceptibility, phoenix, direct inoculation

Procedia PDF Downloads 64