Search results for: patients’ related risks in the current home hemodialysis practices

Authors: Orly Redlich

Abstract:

Since the establishment of the state of Israel, and as a result of various events that led to it, Jewish citizens and Arab citizens of the state have been in constant conflict, which finds its expression in most levels of life. Therefore, the attitude of one group member to the other group members is mostly tense, loaded, and saturated with mutual suspicion. Within this reality, in many higher education institutions in Israel, Jews and Arabs meet with each other intensively and for several years. For some students, this is their first opportunity for a meaningful cross-cultural encounter. These intercultural encounters, which allow positive interactions between members of different cultural groups, may contribute to the formation of "intercultural competence" which means long-term change in knowledge, attitudes, and behavior towards 'the other culture'. The current study examined the concept of the ‘other’ among Jewish and Arab students studying together and their "intercultural competence". The study also examined whether there is a difference in the perception of the ‘other’ between students studying in different academic programs, and between students taking academic courses on multiculturalism. This quantitative study was conducted among 274 Arab and Jewish students studying together, for bachelors or master's degree, in various academic programs at the Israel Academic College of Ramat-Gan. The background data of the participants are varied, in terms of religion, origin, religiosity, employment status, living area, and marital status. The main hypothesis is that academic, social, and intercultural encounters between Jewish and Arab students, who attend college together, will be a significant factor in building "intercultural competence". Additionally, the existence of "intercultural competence" has been linked to demographic characteristics of the students, as well as the nature of intercultural encounters between Jews and Arabs in a higher education institution. The dependent variables were measured by a self-report questionnaire, using the components of '"intercultural competence"' among students, which are: 1. Cognitive knowledge of the ‘others’, 2. Feelings towards the ‘others’, 3. Change in attitudes towards the 'others', and 4. Change in behavior towards the ‘others’. The findings indicate a higher "intercultural competence" among Arab students than Jews; it was also found higher level of "intercultural competence" among Educational Counseling students than the other respondents. The importance of this research lies in finding the means to develop "intercultural competence" among Jewish and Arab students, which may reduce prejudice and stereotypes towards the other culture and may even prevent occurrences of alienation and violence in cross-cultural encounters in Israel.

Keywords: cross-cultural learning, intercultural competence, Jewish and Arab students, multiculturalism

Procedia PDF Downloads 124

Authors: Krzysztof J. Czarnocki, E. Czarnocka, K. Szaniawska

Abstract:

Main goal of the research project is Scaffold Use Risk Assessment Model (SURAM) formulation, developed for the assessment of risk levels as a various construction process stages with various work trades. Finally, in 2016, the project received financing by the National Center for Research and development according to PBS3/A2/19/2015–Research Grant. The presented data, calculations and analyzes discussed in this paper were created as a result of the completion on the first and second phase of the PBS3/A2/19/2015 project. Method: One of the arms of the research project is the assessment of worker visual concentration on the sight zones as well as risky visual point inadequate observation. In this part of research, the mobile eye-tracker was used to monitor the worker observation zones. SMI Eye Tracking Glasses is a tool, which allows us to analyze in real time and place where our eyesight is concentrated on and consequently build the map of worker's eyesight concentration during a shift. While the project is still running, currently 64 construction sites have been examined, and more than 600 workers took part in the experiment including monitoring of typical parameters of the work regimen, workload, microclimate, sound vibration, etc. Full equipment can also be useful in more advanced analyses. Because of that technology we have verified not only main focus of workers eyes during work on or next to scaffolding, but we have also examined which changes in the surrounding environment during their shift influenced their concentration. In the result of this study it has been proven that only up to 45.75% of the shift time, workers’ eye concentration was on one of three work-related areas. Workers seem to be distracted by noisy vehicles or people nearby. In opposite to our initial assumptions and other authors’ findings, we observed that the reflective parts of the scaffoldings were not more recognized by workers in their direct workplaces. We have noticed that the red curbs were the only well recognized part on a very few scaffoldings. Surprisingly on numbers of samples, we have not recognized any significant number of concentrations on those curbs. Conclusion: We have found the eye-tracking method useful for the construction of the SURAM model in the risk perception and worker’s behavior sub-modules. We also have found that the initial worker's stress and work visual conditions seem to be more predictive for assessment of the risky developing situation or an accident than other parameters relating to a work environment.

Keywords: accident assessment model, eye tracking, occupational safety, scaffolding

Procedia PDF Downloads 203

Authors: Vitalijus Leibenka

Abstract:

After 2014 the world of Russia’s actions in annexing Crimea has seen a hybrid war that has helped Russia achieve its goals. The world and NATO nations have pointed out that hybrid action can help achieve not only military but also economic and political goals. One of the weapons of action in hybrid warfare is information warfare tools, the use of which helps to carry out actions in the context of hybrid warfare as a whole. In addition, information war tools can be used alone, over time and for long-term purposes. Although forms of information war, such as propaganda and disinformation, have been used in the past, in old conflicts and wars, new forms of information war have emerged as a result of technological development, making the dissemination of information faster and more efficient. The world understands that information is becoming a weapon, but not everyone understands that both information war and information warfare differ in their essence and full content. In addition, the damage and impact of the use of information war, which may have worse consequences than a brief military conflict, is underestimated. Lithuania is also facing various interpretations of the information war. Some believe that the information attack is an information war and the understanding of the information war is limited to a false message in the press. Others, however, deepen and explain the essence of the information war. Society has formed in such a way that not all people are able to assess the threats of information war, to separate information war from information attack. Recently, the Lithuanian government has been taking measures in the context of the information war, making decisions that allow the development of the activities of the state and state institutions in order to create defense mechanisms in the information war. However, this is happening rather slowly and incompletely. Every military conflict, related to Lithuania in one way or another, forces Lithuanian politicians to take up the theme of information warfare again. As a result, a national cyber security center is being set up, and Russian channels spreading lies are banned. However, there is no consistent development and continuous improvement of action against information threats. Although a sufficiently influential part of society (not a political part) helps to stop the spread of obscure information by creating social projects such as “Demaskuok” and “Laikykis ten su Andriumi tapinu”, it goes without saying that it will not become a key tool in the fight against information threats. Therefore, in order to achieve clean dissemination of information in Lithuania, full-fledged and substantial political decisions are necessary, the adoption of which would change the public perception of the information war, its damage, impact and actions that would allow to combat the spread. Political decisions should cover the educational, military, economic and political areas, which are one of the main and most important in the state, which would allow to fundamentally change the situation against the background of information war.

Keywords: information war, information warfare, hybrid war, hybrid warfare, NATO, Lithuania, Russia

Procedia PDF Downloads 65

Authors: Madjid Karimirad

Abstract:

Floating solar was not very well-known in the renewable energy field a decade ago; however, there has been tremendous growth internationally with a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of nearly 30% in recent years. To reach the goal of global net-zero emission by 2050, all renewable energy sources including solar should be used. Considering that 40% of the world’s population lives within 100 kilometres of the coasts, floating solar in coastal waters is an obvious energy solution. However, this requires more robust floating solar solutions. This paper tries to enlighten the fundamental requirements in the design of floating solar for offshore installations from the hydrodynamic and offshore engineering points of view. In this regard, a closer look at dynamic characteristics, stochastic behaviour and nonlinear phenomena appearing in this kind of structure is a major focus of the current article. Floating solar structures are alternative and very attractive green energy installations with (a) Less strain on land usage for densely populated areas; (b) Natural cooling effect with efficiency gain; and (c) Increased irradiance from the reflectivity of water. Also, floating solar in conjunction with the hydroelectric plants can optimise energy efficiency and improve system reliability. The co-locating of floating solar units with other types such as offshore wind, wave energy, tidal turbines as well as aquaculture (fish farming) can result in better ocean space usage and increase the synergies. Floating solar technology has seen considerable developments in installed capacities in the past decade. Development of design standards and codes of practice for floating solar technologies deployed on both inland water-bodies and offshore is required to ensure robust and reliable systems that do not have detrimental impacts on the hosting water body. Floating solar will account for 17% of all PV energy produced worldwide by 2030. To enhance the development, further research in this area is needed. This paper aims to discuss the main critical design aspects in light of the load and load effects that the floating solar platforms are subjected to. The key considerations in hydrodynamics, aerodynamics and simultaneous effects from the wind and wave load actions will be discussed. The link of dynamic nonlinear loading, limit states and design space considering the environmental conditions is set to enable a better understanding of the design requirements of fast-evolving floating solar technology.

Keywords: floating solar, offshore renewable energy, wind and wave loading, design space

Procedia PDF Downloads 84

Authors: Asiye Nisa Kartal

Abstract:

An attempt to recognize the undiscovered bounds of Istiklal Street in Istanbul between its sensory experiences (intangible qualities) and physical setting (tangible qualities) could be taken as the first inspiration point for this study. ‘The dramatic physical changes’ and ‘their current impacts on sensory attributions’ of Istiklal Street have directed this study to consider the role of changing the physical layout on sensory dimensions which have a subtle but important role in the examination of urban places. The public places have always been subject to transformation, so in the last years, the changing socio-cultural structure, economic and political movements, law and city regulations, innovative transportation and communication activities have resulted in a controversial modification of Istanbul. And, as the culture, entertainment, tourism, and shopping focus of Istanbul, Istiklal Street has witnessed different changing stages within the last years. In this process, because of the projects being implemented, many buildings such as cinemas, theatres, and bookstores have restored, moved, converted, closed and demolished which have been significant elements in terms of the qualitative value of this area. And, the multi-layered socio-cultural, and architectural structure of Istiklal Street has been changing in a dramatical and controversial way. But importantly, while the physical setting of Istiklal Street has changed, the transformation has not been spatial, socio-cultural, economic; avoidably the sensory dimensions of Istiklal Street which have great importance in terms of intangible qualities of this area have begun to lose their distinctive features. This has created the challenge of this research. As the main hypothesis, this study claims that the physical transformations have led to change in the sensory characteristic of Istiklal Street, therefore the Sensescape of Istiklal Street deserve to be recorded, decoded and promoted as expeditiously as possible to observe the sensory reflections of physical transformations in this area. With the help of the method of ‘Sensewalking’ which is an efficient research tool to generate knowledge on sensory dimensions of an urban settlement, this study suggests way of ‘mapping’ to understand how do ‘changes of physical setting’ play role on ‘sensory qualities’ of Istiklal Street which have been changed or lost over time. Basically, this research focuses on the sensory mapping of Istiklal Street from the 1990s until today to picture, interpret, criticize the ‘sensory mapping of Istiklal Street in present’ and the ‘sensory mapping of Istiklal Street in past’. Through the sensory mapping of Istiklal Street, this study intends to increase the awareness about the distinctive sensory qualities of places. It is worthwhile for further studies that consider the sensory dimensions of places especially in the field of architecture.

Keywords: Istiklal street, sense, sensewalking, sensory mapping

Procedia PDF Downloads 179

Authors: Aidin Foroutan, David S. Wishart, Leluo L. Guan, Carolyn Fitzsimmons

Abstract:

Maximizing efficiency and growth potential of beef cattle requires not only genetic selection (i.e. residual feed intake (RFI)) but also adequate nutrition throughout all stages of growth and development. Nutrient restriction during gestation has been shown to negatively affect post-natal growth and development as well as fertility of the offspring. This, when combined with RFI may affect progeny traits. This study aims to investigate the impact of selection for divergent genetic potential for RFI and maternal nutrition during early- to mid-gestation, on bull calf traits such as fertility and muscle development using multiple ‘omics’ approaches. Comparisons were made between High-diet vs. Low-diet and between High-RFI vs. Low-RFI animals. An epigenetics experiment on semen samples identified 891 biomarkers associated with growth and development. A gene expression study on Longissimus thoracis muscle, semimembranosus muscle, liver, and testis identified 4 genes associated with muscle development and immunity of which Myocyte enhancer factor 2A [MEF2A; induces myogenesis and control muscle differentiation] was the only differentially expressed gene identified in all four tissues. An initial metabolomics experiment on serum samples using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) identified 4 metabolite biomarkers related to energy and protein metabolism. Once all the biomarkers are identified, bioinformatics approaches will be used to create a database covering all the ‘omics’ data collected from this project. This database will be broadened by adding other information obtained from relevant literature reviews. Association analyses with these data sets will be performed to reveal key biological pathways affected by RFI and maternal nutrition. Through these association studies between the genome and metabolome, it is expected that candidate biomarker genes and metabolites for feed efficiency, fertility, and/or muscle development are identified. If these gene/metabolite biomarkers are validated in a larger animal population, they could potentially be used in breeding programs to select superior animals. It is also expected that this work will lead to the development of an online tool that could be used to predict future traits of interest in an animal given its measurable ‘omics’ traits.

Keywords: biomarker, maternal nutrition, omics, residual feed intake

Procedia PDF Downloads 195

Authors: Magdalena Kowalska, Weronika Rupik

Abstract:

The pancreas is an important organ present in all vertebrate species. It contains two different tissues, exocrine and endocrine, that act as two glands in one. The development and differentiation of the pancreas in reptiles is poorly known in comparison to other vertebrates. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the particular steps concerning the differentiation of the pancreas in the grass snake (Natrix natrix) embryos. For this, histological methods (including hematoxylin and eosin, and Heidenhain's AZAN staining), transmission electron microscopy and three-dimensional (3D) reconstructions from serial paraffin sections were used. The results of this study indicated that the first step of pancreas development in Natrix was the connection of the two pancreatic buds: dorsal and ventral one. Then, duct walls in both buds started to be remodeled from the multilayered to single-layered epithelium. This remodeling started in the dorsal bud and was simultaneously with the differentiation of the duct lumens which occurred by the cavition. During this process, the cells that had no contact with the mesenchyme underwent cell death named anoikis. These findings indicated that the walls of ducts in the embryonic pancreas of the grass snake were initially formed by the abundant principal and single endocrine cells. Later the basal and goblet cells differentiated. Among the endocrine cells, as the first the B and A cells differentiated, then the D and PP cells. The next step of the pancreatic development was the withdrawing of the endocrine cells from the duct walls to form the pancreatic islets. The endocrine cells and islets were found only in the dorsal part of the pancreas in Natrix embryos what is different than in other vertebrate species. The islets were formed mainly by the A cells. Simultaneously, with the differentiation of the endocrine pancreas, the acinar tissue started to differentiate. The source of the acinar cells were pancreatic ducts similar as in other vertebrates. The acini formation began at the proximal part of the pancreas and went towards the caudal direction. Differentiating pancreatic ducts developed into the branched system that can be divided into extralobular, intralobular, and intercalated ducts, similarly as in other vertebrate species. However, the pattern of branching was different. In conclusions, particular steps of the pancreas differentiation in the grass snake were different than in other vertebrates. It can be supposed that these differences are related to the specific topography of the snake’s internal organs and their taxonomy position. All specimens used in the study were captured according to the Polish regulations concerning the protection of wild species. Permission was granted by the Local Ethics Commission in Katowice (41/2010; 87/2015) and the Regional Directorate for Environmental Protection in Katowice (WPN.6401.257.2015.DC).

Keywords: embryogenesis, organogenesis, pancreas, Squamata

Procedia PDF Downloads 173

Authors: Vivek Rangarajan, Kim G. Clarke

Abstract:

Bacillus lipopeptides are biosurfactants with wide ranging applications in the medical, food, agricultural, environmental and cosmetic industries. They are produced as a mix of three families, surfactin, iturin and fengycin, each comprising a large number of homologues of varying functionalities. Consequently, the method and degree of purification of the lipopeptide cocktail becomes particularly important if the functionality of the lipopeptide end-product is to be maximized for the specific application. However, downstream processing of Bacillus lipopeptides is particularly challenging due to the subtle variations observed in the different lipopeptide homologues and isoforms. To date, the most frequently used lipopeptide purification operations have been acid precipitation, solvent extraction, membrane ultrafiltration, adsorption and size exclusion. RP-HPLC (reverse phase high pressure liquid chromatography) also has potential for fractionation of the lipopeptide homologues. In the studies presented here, membrane ultrafiltration and RP-HPLC were evaluated for lipopeptide purification to different degrees of purities for maximum functionality. Batch membrane ultrafiltration using 50 kDa polyether sulphone (PES) membranes resulted in lipopeptide recovery of about 68% for surfactin and 82 % for fengycin. The recovery was further improved to 95% by using size-conditioned lipopeptide micelles. The conditioning of lipopeptides with Ca2+ ions resulted in uniformly sized micelles with average size of 96.4 nm and a polydispersity index of 0.18. The size conditioning also facilitated removal of impurities (molecular weight ranging between 2335-3500 Da) through operation of the system under dia-filtration mode, in a way similar to salt removal from protein by dialysis. The resultant purified lipopeptide was devoid of macromolecular impurities and could ideally suit applications in the cosmetic and food industries. Enhanced purification using RP-HPLC was carried out in an analytical C18 column, with the aim to fractionate lipopeptides into their constituent homologues. The column was eluted with mobile phase comprising acetonitrile and water over an acetonitrile gradient, 35% - 80%, over 70 minutes. The gradient elution program resulted in as many as 41 fractions of individual lipopeptide homologues. The efficacy test of these fractions against fungal phytopathogens showed that first 21 fractions, identified to be homologues of iturins and fengycins, displayed maximum antifungal activities, suitable for biocontrol in the agricultural industry. Thus, in the current study, the downstream processing of lipopeptides leading to tailor-made products for selective applications was demonstrated using two major downstream unit operations.

Keywords: bacillus lipopeptides, membrane ultrafiltration, purification, RP-HPLC

Procedia PDF Downloads 209

Authors: Eriko Ochiai, Fumiko Satoh, Keiko Miyashita, Yu Kakimoto, Motoki Osawa

Abstract:

Sudden and unexpected deaths from unknown causes occur in infants and youths. Recently, molecular links between a part of these deaths and several genetic diseases are examined in the postmortem. For instance, hereditary long QT syndrome and Burgada syndrome are occasionally fatal through critical ventricular tachyarrhythmia. There are a large number of target genes responsible for such diseases, the conventional analysis using the Sanger’s method has been laborious. In this report, we attempted to analyze sudden deaths comprehensively using the next generation sequencing (NGS) technique. Multiplex PCR to subject’s DNA was performed using Ion AmpliSeq Library Kits 2.0 and Ion AmpliSeq Inherited Disease Panel (Life Technologies). After the library was constructed by emulsion PCR, the amplicons were sequenced 500 flows on Ion Personal Genome Machine System (Life Technologies) according to the manufacture instruction. SNPs and indels were analyzed to the sequence reads that were mapped on hg19 of reference sequences. This project has been approved by the ethical committee of Tokai University School of Medicine. As a representative case, the molecular analysis to a 40 years old male who received a diagnosis of Brugada syndrome demonstrated a total of 584 SNPs or indels. Non-synonymous and frameshift nucleotide substitutions were selected in the coding region of heart disease related genes of ANK2, AKAP9, CACNA1C, DSC2, KCNQ1, MYLK, SCN1B, and STARD3. In particular, c.629T-C transition in exon 3 of the SCN1B gene, resulting in a leu210-to-pro (L210P) substitution is predicted “damaging” by the SIFT program. Because the mutation has not been reported, it was unclear if the substitution was pathogenic. Sudden death that failed in determining the cause of death constitutes one of the most important unsolved subjects in forensic pathology. The Ion AmpliSeq Inherited Disease Panel can amplify the exons of 328 genes at one time. We realized the difficulty in selection of the true source from a number of candidates, but postmortem genetic testing using NGS analysis deserves of a diagnostic to date. We now extend this analysis to SIDS suspected subjects and young sudden death victims.

Keywords: postmortem genetic testing, sudden death, SIDS, next generation sequencing

Procedia PDF Downloads 361

Authors: Noah Odion, Honest Jimu, Blessing Atinuke Afuape

Abstract:

Introduction: Motor control and gait abnormalities are commonly observed in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), affecting their mobility and coordination. Understanding the underlying neurological and biomechanical factors is essential for designing effective interventions. This study focuses on developing microchip-integrated wearable devices to capture real-time movement data from individuals with autism. By applying computational models to the collected data, we aim to analyze motor control patterns and gait abnormalities, bridging a crucial knowledge gap in autism-related motor dysfunction. Methods: We designed microchip-enabled wearable devices capable of capturing precise kinematic data, including joint angles, acceleration, and velocity during movement. A cross-sectional study was conducted on individuals with ASD and a control group to collect comparative data. Computational modelling was applied using machine learning algorithms to analyse motor control patterns, focusing on gait variability, balance, and coordination. Finite element models were also used to simulate muscle and joint dynamics. The study employed descriptive and analytical methods to interpret the motor data. Results: The wearable devices effectively captured detailed movement data, revealing significant gait variability in the ASD group. For example, gait cycle time was 25% longer, and stride length was reduced by 15% compared to the control group. Motor control analysis showed a 30% reduction in balance stability in individuals with autism. Computational models successfully predicted movement irregularities and helped identify motor control deficits, particularly in the lower limbs. Conclusions: The integration of microchip-based wearable devices with computational models offers a powerful tool for diagnosing and treating motor control deficits in autism. These results have significant implications for patient care, providing objective data to guide personalized therapeutic interventions. The findings also contribute to the broader field of neuroscience by improving our understanding of the motor dysfunctions associated with ASD and other neurodevelopmental disorders.

Keywords: motor control, gait abnormalities, autism, wearable devices, microchips, computational modeling, kinematic analysis, neurodevelopmental disorders

Procedia PDF Downloads 28

Authors: Roni Granot, Erica Polini

Abstract:

Music is often described in terms of non-auditory adjectives such as a rising melody, a bright sound, or a zigzagged contour. Such cross modal associations have been studied with simple isolated musical parameters, but only rarely in rich musical contexts. The current study probes cross sensory associations with polarity based dimensions by means of pairings of 10 adjectives: blunt-sharp, relaxed-tense, heavy-light, low (in space)-high, low (pitch)-high, big-small, hard-soft, active-passive, bright-dark, sad-happy. 30 participants (randomly assigned to one of two groups) were asked to rate one of 27 short saxophone improvisations on a 1 to 6 scale where 1 and six correspond to the opposite pole of each dimension. The 27 improvisations included three exemplars for each of three dimensions (size, brightness, sharpness), played by three different players. Here we focus on the question of whether ratings of scales corresponding with the musical dimension were consistently rated as such (e.g. music improvised to represent a white circle rated as bright in contrast with music improvised to represent a dark circle rated as dark). Overall the average scores by dimension showed an upward trend in the equivalent verbal scale, with a low rating for small, bright and sharp musical improvisations and higher scores for large, dark and blunt improvisations. Friedman tests indicate a statistically significant difference for brightness (χ2 (2) = 19.704, p = .000) and sharpness dimensions (χ2 (2) = 15.750, p = .000), but not for size (χ2 (2) = 1.444, p = .486). Post hoc analysis with Wilcoxon signed-rank tests within the brightness dimension, show significant differences among all possible parings resulted in significant differences: the rankings of 'bright' and 'dark' (Z = -3.310, p = .001), of 'bright' and 'medium' (Z = -2.438, p = .015) and of 'dark' and 'medium' music (Z = -2.714, p = .007); but only differences between the extreme contrasts within the sharpness dimension : 'sharp' and 'blunt' music (Z = -3.147, p = .002) and between 'sharp' and 'medium' music rated on the sharpness scale (Z = - 3.054, p = .002), but not between 'medium' and 'blunt' music (Z = -.982, p = .326). In summary our study suggests a privileged link between music and the perceptual and semantic domain of brightness. In contrast, size seems to be very difficult to convey in music, whereas sharpness seems to be mapped onto the two extremes (sharp vs. blunt) rather than continuously. This is nicely reflected in the musical literature in titles and texts which stress the association between music and concepts of light or darkness rather than sharpness or size.

Keywords: audiovisual, brightness, cross-modal perception, cross-sensory correspondences, size, visual angularity

Procedia PDF Downloads 223

Authors: Yangzhi Li

Abstract:

Network transfer of information and performance customization is now a viable method of digital industrial production in the era of Industry 4.0. Robot platforms and network platforms have grown more important in digital design and construction. The pressing need for novel building techniques is driven by the growing labor scarcity problem and increased awareness of construction safety. Robotic approaches in construction research are regarded as an extension of operational and production tools. Several technological theories related to robot autonomous recognition, which include high-performance computing, physical system modeling, extensive sensor coordination, and dataset deep learning, have not been explored using intelligent construction. Relevant transdisciplinary theory and practice research still has specific gaps. Optimizing high-performance computing and autonomous recognition visual guidance technologies improves the robot's grasp of the scene and capacity for autonomous operation. Intelligent vision guidance technology for industrial robots has a serious issue with camera calibration, and the use of intelligent visual guiding and identification technologies for industrial robots in industrial production has strict accuracy requirements. It can be considered that visual recognition systems have challenges with precision issues. In such a situation, it will directly impact the effectiveness and standard of industrial production, necessitating a strengthening of the visual guiding study on positioning precision in recognition technology. To best facilitate the handling of complicated components, an approach for the visual recognition of parts utilizing machine learning algorithms is proposed. This study will identify the position of target components by detecting the information at the boundary and corner of a dense point cloud and determining the aspect ratio in accordance with the guidelines for the modularization of building components. To collect and use components, operational processing systems assign them to the same coordinate system based on their locations and postures. The RGB image's inclination detection and the depth image's verification will be used to determine the component's present posture. Finally, a virtual environment model for the robot's obstacle-avoidance route will be constructed using the point cloud information.

Keywords: robotic construction, robotic assembly, visual guidance, machine learning

Procedia PDF Downloads 89

Authors: Florim Grajcevci, Flamur Grajcevci, Fatos Tahiri, Hamdi Kurteshi

Abstract:

The territory of Kosova is actually included in one of the most seismic-prone regions in Europe. Therefore, the earthquakes are not so rare in Kosova; and when they occurred, the consequences have been rather destructive. The importance of assessing the seismic resistance of existing masonry structures has drawn strong and growing interest in the recent years. Engineering included those of Vulnerability, Loss of Buildings and Risk assessment, are also of a particular interest. This is due to the fact that this rapidly developing field is related to great impact of earthquakes on the socioeconomic life in seismic-prone areas, as Kosova and Prishtina are, too. Such work paper for Prishtina city may serve as a real basis for possible interventions in historic buildings as are museums, mosques, old residential buildings, in order to adequately strengthen and/or repair them, by reducing the seismic risk within acceptable limits. The procedures of the vulnerability assessment of building structures have concentrated on structural system, capacity, and the shape of layout and response parameters. These parameters will provide expected performance of the very important existing building structures on the vulnerability and the overall behavior during the earthquake excitations. The structural systems of existing historical buildings in Pristina, Kosovo, are dominantly unreinforced brick or stone masonry with very high risk potential from the expected earthquakes in the region. Therefore, statistical analysis based on the observed damage-deformation, cracks, deflections and critical building elements, would provide more reliable and accurate results for the regional assessments. The analytical technique was used to develop a preliminary evaluation methodology for assessing seismic vulnerability of the respective structures. One of the main objectives is also to identify the buildings that are highly vulnerable to damage caused from inadequate seismic performance-response. Hence, the damage scores obtained from the derived vulnerability functions will be used to categorize the evaluated buildings as “stabile”, “intermediate”, and “unstable”. The vulnerability functions are generated based on the basic damage inducing parameters, namely number of stories (S), lateral stiffness (LS), capacity curve of total building structure (CCBS), interstory drift (IS) and overhang ratio (OR).

Keywords: vulnerability, ductility, seismic microzone, ductility, energy efficiency

Procedia PDF Downloads 409

Authors: Carly Copolov, Rema Nazha, Sahba C. Delshad, George Bisas

Abstract:

In New South Wales (NSW), Australia, we speak more than 275 languages and dialects. Interpreters play an indispensable role in our multicultural society by ensuring the people of NSW all enjoy the same opportunities. The NSW Government offers scholarships to enable people who speak in-demand and high priority languages to become eligible to be practicing interpreters. The NSW Interpreter Scholarship Program was launched in January 2019, targeting priority languages from new and emerging, as well as existing language communities. The program offers fully-funded scholarships to study at Technical and Further Education (TAFE), receive National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters (NAATI) certification, and be mentored and gain employment with the interpreter panel of Multicultural NSW. A Participatory Action Research approach was engaged to challenge the current system for people to become practicing interpreters in NSW. There were over 800 metro Sydney applications and close to 200 regional applications. Three courses were run through TAFE NSW (2 in metro Sydney and 1 in regional NSW). Thirty-nine students graduated from the program in 2019. The first metro Sydney location had 18 graduates complete the course in Assyrian, Burmese, Chaldean, Kurdish-Kurmanji, Nepali, and Tibetan. The second metro Sydney location had 9 graduates complete the course in Tongan, Kirundi, Mongolian and Italian. The regional location had 12 graduates who complete the course from new emerging language communities such as Kurdish-Kurmanji, Burmese, Zomi Chin, Hakha Chin, and Tigrinya. The findings showed that students were very positive about the program as the large majority said they were satisfied with the course content, they felt prepared for the NAATI test at the conclusion of the course, and they would definitely recommend the program to their friends. Also, 18 students from the 2019 cohort signed up to receive further mentoring by experienced interpreters. In 2020 it is anticipated that 3 courses will be run through TAFE NSW (2 in regional NSW and 1 in metro Sydney) to reflect the needs of new emerging language communities settling in regional areas. In conclusion, it has been demonstrated that the NSW Interpreter Scholarship Program improves the supply, quality, and use of language services in NSW, Australia, so that people who speak in-demand and high priority languages are ensured better access to crucial government services

Keywords: interpreting, emerging communities, scholarship program, Sydney

Procedia PDF Downloads 148

Authors: Barbara Pemberton

Abstract:

Now that people of all faiths are experiencing suffering due to many global issues, shared narratives may provide common ground in which true understanding of each other may take root. This paper will consider the all too common problem of suffering and address how adherents of the three great monotheistic religions seek understanding and the appropriate believer’s response from the same story found within their respective sacred texts. Most scholars from each of these three traditions—Judaism, Christianity, and Islam— consider the writings of the Tanakh/Old Testament to at least contain divine revelation. While they may not agree on the extent of the revelation or the method of its delivery, they do share stories as well as a common desire to glean God’s message for God’s people from the pages of the text. One such shared story is that of Job, the servant of Yahweh--called Ayyub, the prophet of Allah, in the Qur’an. Job is described as a pious, righteous man who loses everything—family, possessions, and health—when his faith is tested. Three friends come to console him. Through it, all Job remains faithful to his God who rewards him by restoring all that was lost. All three hermeneutic communities consider Job to be an archetype of human response to suffering, regarding Job’s response to his situation as exemplary. The story of Job addresses more than the distribution of the evil problem. At stake in the story is Job’s very relationship to his God. Some exegetes believe that Job was adapted into the Jewish milieu by a gifted redactor who used the original ancient tale as the “frame” for the biblical account (chapters 1, 2, and 4:7-17) and then enlarged the story with the complex center section of poetic dialogues creating a complex work with numerous possible interpretations. Within the poetic center, Job goes so far as to question God, a response to which Jews relate, finding strength in dialogue—even in wrestling with God. Muslims only embrace the Job of the biblical narrative frame, as further identified through the Qur’an and the prophetic traditions, considering the center section an errant human addition not representative of a true prophet of Islam. The Qur’anic injunction against questioning God also renders the center theologically suspect. Christians also draw various responses from the story of Job. While many believers may agree with the Islamic perspective of God’s ultimate sovereignty, others would join their Jewish neighbors in questioning God, not anticipating answers but rather an awareness of his presence—peace and hope becoming a reality experienced through the indwelling presence of God’s Holy Spirit. Related questions are as endless as the possible responses. This paper will consider a few of the many Jewish, Christian, and Islamic insights from the ancient story, in hopes adherents within each tradition will use it to better understand the other faiths’ approach to suffering.

Keywords: suffering, Job, Qur'an, tanakh

Procedia PDF Downloads 189

Authors: Samir Verdiyev, Fuad Huseynov, Islam Guliyev, Coşqun İsmayıl

Abstract:

The Filizchay polymetallic deposit is located on the southern slope of the Greater Caucasus Mountain Range, northwest of Azerbaijan in the Balaken district. Filizchay is the largest polymetallic deposit in the region and the second-largest polymetallic deposit in Europe. The mineral deposits in the region are associated with two different geodynamic evolutions that began with the Mesozoic collision along the Eurasian continent and the formation of a magmatic arc after the collision and continued with subduction in the Cenozoic. The bedrocks associated with Filizchay mineralization are Early Jurassic aged. The stratigraphic sequence of the deposit is consisting of black metamorphic clay shales, sandstones, and ore layers. Shales, sandstones, and siltstones are encountered in the upper and middle sections of the ore body, while only shales are observed at the lowest ranges. The ore body is mainly layered by the geometric structure of the bedrock; folding can be observed in the ore layers along with the bedrock foliation, and just in few points indirect laying due to the metamorphism. This suggests that the Filizchay ore mineralization is syngenetic, which is proved by the mineralization by the bedrock. To determine the ore petrography properties of the Filizchay deposit, samples were collected from the region where the ore is concentrated, and a polished section was prepared. These collected samples were examined under the mineralogical microscope to reveal the paragenesis of the mineralization and to explain the relation of ore minerals to each other. In this study, macroscopically observed minerals and textures of these minerals were used in the cores revealed during drilling exploration made by AzerGold CJS company. As a result of all these studies, it has been determined that there are three main mineralization types in the Filizchay deposit: banded, massive, and veinlet ores. The mineralization is in the massive pyrite; furthermore, the basis of the ore-mass contains pyrite, chalcopyrite, sphalerite, and galena. The pyrite in some parts of the ore body transformed to pyrrhotite as a result of metamorphism. Pyrite-chalcopyrite, pyrite-sphalerite-galena, pyrite-pyrrhotite mineral assemblages were determined during microscopic studies of mineralization. The replacement texture is more developed in Filizchay ores. The banded polymetallic type mineralization and near bedrocks are cut by quartz-carbonate veins. The geotectonic position and lithological conditions of the Filizchay deposit, the texture, and interrelationship of the sulfide mineralization indicate that it is a sedimentary-exhalative type of Au-Cu-Ag-Zn-Pb polymetallic deposit that is genetically related to the massive sulfide deposits.

Keywords: Balaken, Filizchay, metamorphism, polymetallic mineralization

Procedia PDF Downloads 218

Authors: Ryan C. Zlomek

Abstract:

The value of using comics in the literacy classroom has been explored since the 1930s. At that point in time researchers had begun to implement comics into daily lesson plans and, in some instances, had started the development process for comics-supported curriculum. In the mid-1950s, this type of research was cut short due to the work of psychiatrist Frederic Wertham whose research seemingly discovered a correlation between comic readership and juvenile delinquency. Since Wertham’s allegations the comics medium has had a hard time finding its way back to education. Now, over fifty years later, the definition of literacy is in mid-transition as the world has become more visually-oriented and students require the ability to interpret images as often as words. Through this transition, comics has found a place in the field of literacy education research as the shift focuses from traditional print to multimodal and media literacies. Comics are now believed to be an effective resource in bridging the gap between these different types of literacies. This paper seeks to better understand what students learn from the process of reading comics and how those skills line up with the core principles of media literacy education in the United States. In the first section, comics are defined to determine the exact medium that is being examined. The different conventions that the medium utilizes are also discussed. In the second section, the comics reading process is explored through a dissection of the ways a reader interacts with the page, panel, gutter, and different comic conventions found within a traditional graphic narrative. The concepts of intersubjective acts and visualization are attributed to the comics reading process as readers draw in real world knowledge to decode meaning. In the next section, the learning processes that comics encourage are explored parallel to the core principles of media literacy education. Each principle is explained and the extent to which comics can act as an intermediary for this type of education is theorized. In the final section, the author examines comics use in his computer science and technology classroom. He lays out different theories he utilizes from Scott McCloud’s text Understanding Comics and how he uses them to break down media literacy strategies with his students. The article concludes with examples of how comics has positively impacted classrooms around the United States. It is stated that integrating comics into the classroom will not solve all issues related to literacy education but, rather, that comics can be a powerful multimodal resource for educators looking for new mediums to explore with their students.

Keywords: comics, graphics novels, mass communication, media literacy, metacognition

Procedia PDF Downloads 301

Authors: Abulbasit G. Abdulsayid, Zinab F. Abdulla, Asma A. Omer

Abstract:

On the ground that the orifice plate is relatively inexpensive, requires very little maintenance and only calibrated during the occasion of plant turnaround, the orifice plate has turned to be in a real prevalent use in gas industry. Inaccuracy of measurement in the fiscal metering stations may highly be accounted to be the most vital factor for mischarges in the natural gas industry in Libya. A very trivial error in measurement can add up a fast escalating financial burden to the custodian transactions. The unaccounted gas quantity transferred annually via orifice plates in Libya, could be estimated in an extent of multi-million dollars. As the oil and gas wealth is the solely source of income to Libya, every effort is now being exerted to improve the accuracy of existing orifice metering facilities. Discharge coefficient has become pivotal in current researches undertaken in this regard. Hence, increasing the knowledge of the flow field in a typical orifice meter is indispensable. Recently and in a drastic pace, the CFD has become the most time and cost efficient versatile tool for in-depth analysis of fluid mechanics, heat and mass transfer of various industrial applications. Getting deeper into the physical phenomena lied beneath and predicting all relevant parameters and variables with high spatial and temporal resolution have been the greatest weighing pros counting for CFD. In this paper, flow phenomena for air passing through an orifice meter were numerically analyzed with CFD code based modeling, giving important information about the effect of orifice plate specifications on the discharge coefficient for three different tappings locations, i.e., flange tappings, D and D/2 tappings compared with vena contracta tappings. Discharge coefficients were paralleled with discharge coefficients estimated by ISO 5167. The influences of orifice plate bore thickness, orifice plate thickness, beveled angle, perpendicularity and buckling of the orifice plate, were all duly investigated. A case of an orifice meter whose pipe diameter of 2 in, beta ratio of 0.5 and Reynolds number of 91100, was taken as a model. The results highlighted that the discharge coefficients were highly responsive to the variation of plate specifications and under all cases, the discharge coefficients for D and D/2 tappings were very close to that of vena contracta tappings which were believed as an ideal arrangement. Also, in general sense, it was appreciated that the standard equation in ISO 5167, by which the discharge coefficient was calculated, cannot capture the variation of the plate specifications and thus further thorough considerations would be still needed.

Keywords: CFD, discharge coefficients, orifice meter, orifice plate specifications

Procedia PDF Downloads 121

Authors: Nahed M. M. Ismail, Bayoumy B. Mostafa, Ahmed Abdel-Kader, Khalil M. El-Said, Asmaa Abdel-Motleb, Hoda M. Abu Taleb

Abstract:

This study was carried out in lined and unlined watercourses in Beheira and Giza governorates to investigate the effect of water canals lining on water quality and aquatic vegetations. Samples of water and aquatic plants were collected from the examining sites during four seasons in two successive years. The main ecological parameters were recorded and water quality was measured. Results showed that the mean value of water conductivity and total dissolved salts in lined sites was significantly lower than those of unlined ones (p < 0.01, p < 0.05). In Beheira, the dissolved oxygen concentrations during autumn and winter were higher in lined sites (3.93±1.3 and 9.6±1.1 ppm, respectively) than those of unlined ones (the same values of 1.2±0.6 ppm). However, it represented by lower values of 5.77±6.05 and 4.9±1.8 ppm in lined watercourses in spring and summer, respectively, comparing with those in unlined ones (14.05±5.59 and 5.83±0.8 ppm, respectively). Generally, Zn, Pb, Fe, Cd were higher in both lined and unlined sites during summer than the other seasons. However, Zn and Fe were higher in lined sites (0.78±0.37 and 17.4±4.3 ppb, respectively) during summer than that of unlined ones (0.4±0.1 and 10.95±1.93 ppb, respectively). Cu was absent during summer in lined and unlined sites and only in unlined ones during spring. Regarding to Giza sites, Cu and Pb were absent in both lined and unlined sites during summer and only in unlined ones during spring. Whereas, Fe recorded higher values in autumn in both lined (8.8±20.1 ppb) and unlined sites (15.16±3 ppb) than the other seasons. Present survey study revealed that 13 species of aquatic plants were collected from lined and unlined sites in Beheira and Giza governorates. Eichhornia crassipes, Ceratophyllum demersum, and Potamogeton sp. were the only plant species infested the examined sites during autumn and winter in Beheira. In autumn C. demersum was the only plant found in lined sites represented by highly lower significant percentage (12.5% of the all examined sites) compared to the unlined sites (50%). E. crassipes was completely absent in the lined sites during the two seasons. In spring, there is only 3 plant species in lined sites compared to 6 ones in unlined. Also, in summer, there is only 2 species in lined sites comparing with 5 in unlined. The percentage of occurrence and density of these plants was highly significant (p < 0.01, p < 0.001) higher in unlined sites compared to the lined ones during all seasons. A diversity of plant species, E. crassipes, C. demersum, Jussias repens, Lemma giba, and Polygonum serr were the most abundant in many examined sites during all seasons in Giza. In summer, the percentage of sites containing the two plants E. crassipes (83.3%) and C. demersum (50%) was highly significant (p < 0.001) higher in unlined sites compared to the lined ones (50% and 0.0%, respectively). It concluded from the results that watercourses lining may play a significant role in preserving water with a good quality and reduces the distribution of aquatic vegetation which rendered the current of water.

Keywords: aquatic plants, lining of watercourses, physicochemical parameters, water quality

Procedia PDF Downloads 137

Authors: A. Gürses, T. B. Barın, Ç. Doğar

Abstract:

Bitumen has been widely used as the binder of aggregate in road pavement due to its good viscoelastic properties, as a viscous organic mixture with various chemical compositions. Bitumen is a liquid at high temperature and it becomes brittle at low temperatures, and this temperature-sensitivity can cause the rutting and cracking of the pavement and limit its application. Therefore, the properties of existing asphalt materials need to be enhanced. The pavement with polymer modified bitumen exhibits greater resistance to rutting and thermal cracking, decreased fatigue damage, as well as stripping and temperature susceptibility; however, they are expensive and their applications have disadvantages. Bituminous mixtures are composed of very irregular aggregates bound together with hydrocarbon-based asphalt, with a low volume fraction of voids dispersed within the matrix. Montmorillonite (MMT) is a layered silicate with low cost and abundance, which consists of layers of tetrahedral silicate and octahedral hydroxide sheets. Recently, the layered silicates have been widely used for the modification of polymers, as well as in many different fields. However, there are not too much studies related with the preparation of the modified asphalt with MMT, currently. In this study, organo-clay-modified bitumen, and calcareous aggregate and organo-clay blends were prepared by hot blending method with OMMT, which has been synthesized using a cationic surfactant (Cetyltrymethylammonium bromide, CTAB) and long chain hydrocarbon, and MMT. When the exchangeable cations in the interlayer region of pristine MMT were exchanged with hydrocarbon attached surfactant ions, the MMT becomes organophilic and more compatible with bitumen. The effects of the super hydrophobic OMMT onto the micro structural and mechanic properties (Marshall Stability and volumetric parameters) of the prepared blends were investigated. Stability and volumetric parameters of the blends prepared were measured using Marshall Test. Also, in order to investigate the morphological and micro structural properties of the organo-clay-modified bitumen and calcareous aggregate and organo-clay blends, their SEM and HRTEM images were taken. It was observed that the stability and volumetric parameters of the prepared mixtures improved significantly compared to the conventional hot mixes and even the stone matrix mixture. A micro structural analysis based on SEM images indicates that the organo-clay platelets dispersed in the bitumen have a dominant role in the increase of effectiveness of bitumen - aggregate interactions.

Keywords: hot mix asphalt, stone matrix asphalt, organo clay, Marshall test, calcareous aggregate, modified bitumen

Procedia PDF Downloads 241

Authors: Chana Pavneet

Abstract:

Background: In more recent years in dentistry, a greater emphasis has been placed on competency-based education (CBE) programmes. Undergraduate and postgraduate curriculums have been reformed to reflect these changes, and adopting a CBE approach has shown to be beneficial to trainees and places an emphasis on continuous lifelong learning. The literature is vast; however, very little work has been done specifically to the assessment of competence in dentistry and even less so in oral surgery. The majority of the literature tends to opinion pieces. Some small-scale studies have been undertaken in this area researching assessment tools which can be used to assess competence in oral surgery. However, there is a lack of general consensus on the preferable assessment methods. The aim of this review is to identify the assessment methods available and their usefulness. Methods: Electronic databases (Medline, Embase, and the Cochrane Database of systematic reviews) were searched. PRISMA guidelines were followed to identify relevant papers. Abstracts of studies were reviewed, and if they met the inclusion criteria, they were included in the review. Papers were reviewed against the critical appraisal skills programme (CASP) checklist and medical education research quality instrument (MERQSI) to assess their quality and identify any bias in a systematic manner. The validity and reliability of each assessment method or tool were assessed. Results: A number of assessment methods were identified, including self-assessment, peer assessment, and direct observation of skills by someone senior. Senior assessment tended to be the preferred method, followed by self-assessment and, finally, peer assessment. The level of training was shown to affect the preferred assessment method, with one study finding peer assessment more useful in postgraduate trainees as opposed to undergraduate trainees. Numerous tools for assessment were identified, including a checklist scale and a global rating scale. Both had their strengths and weaknesses, but the evidence was more favourable for global rating scales in terms of reliability, applicability to more clinical situations, and easier to use for examiners. Studies also looked into trainees’ opinions on assessment tools. Logbooks were not found to be significant in measuring the competence of trainees. Conclusion: There is limited literature exploring the methods and tools which assess the competence of oral surgery trainees. Current evidence shows that the most favourable assessment method and tool may differ depending on the stage of training. More research is required in this area to streamline assessment methods and tools.

Keywords: competence, oral surgery, assessment, trainees, education

Procedia PDF Downloads 137

Authors: Poornima Gupta, Sadaf Siraj

Abstract:

The study examined the organizational causes of organizational stress in women executives and entrepreneurs in India. This was done so that mediation strategies could be developed to combat the organizational stress experienced by them, in order to retain the female employees as well as attract quality talent. The data for this research was collected through the self- administered survey, from the women executives across various industries working at different levels in management. The research design of the study was descriptive and cross-sectional. It was carried out through a self-administered questionnaire filled in by the women executives and entrepreneurs in the NCR region. Multistage sampling involving stratified random sampling was employed. A total of 1000 questionnaires were distributed out of which 450 were returned and after cleaning the data 404 were fit to be considered for analyses. The overall findings of the study suggested that there were various job-related factors that induce stress. Fourteen factors were identified which were a major cause of stress among the working women by applying Factor analysis. The study also assessed the demographic factors which influence the stress in women executives across various industries. The findings show that the women, no doubt, were stressed by organizational factors. The mean stress score was 153 (out of a possible score of 196) indicating high stress. There appeared to be an inverse relationship between the marital status, age, education, work experience, and stress. Married women were less stressed compared to single women employees. Similarly, female employees 29 years or younger experienced more stress at work. Women having education up to 12th standard or less were more stressed compared to graduates and post graduates. Women who had spent more than two years in the same organization perceived more stress compared to their counterparts. Family size and income, interestingly, had no significant impact on stress. The study also established that the level of stress experienced by women across industries differs considerably. Banking sector emerged as the industry where the women experienced the most stress followed by Entrepreneurs, Medical, BPO, Advertising, Government, Academics, and Manufacturing, in that order. The results contribute to the better understanding of the personal and economic factors surrounding job stress and working women. It concludes that the organizations need to be sensitive to the women’s needs. Organizations are traditionally designed around men with the rules made by the men for the men. Involvement of women in top positions, decision making, would make them feel more useful and less stressed. The invisible glass ceiling causes more stress than realized among women. Less distinction between the men and women colleagues in terms of giving responsibilities, involvement in decision making, framing policies, etc. would go a long way to reduce stress in women.

Keywords: women, stress, gender in management, women in management

Procedia PDF Downloads 261

Authors: Ibrahim Burki

Abstract:

Unfortunately, all organizations (Industrial and Humanitarian/ Non-governmental organizations) are prone to fraud and corruption in their supply chain management routines. The reputational and financial fallout can be disastrous. With the growing number of companies using suppliers based in the local market has certainly increased the threat of fraud as well as corruption. There are various potential threats like, poor or non-existent record keeping, purchasing of lower quality goods at higher price, excessive entertainment of staff by suppliers, deviations in communications between procurement staff and suppliers, such as calls or text messaging to mobile phones, staff demanding extended periods of notice before they allow an audit to take place, inexperienced buyers and more. But despite all the above-mentioned threats, this research paper emphasize upon the effectiveness of well-maintained vendor/s records and sorting/filtration of vendor/s to cut down the possible threats of corruption and fraud. This exercise is applied in a humanitarian organization of Pakistan but it is applicable to whole South Asia region due to the similarity of culture and contexts. In that firm, there were more than 550 (five hundred and fifty) registered vendors. As during the disasters or emergency phases requirements are met on urgent basis thus, providing golden opportunities for the fake companies or for the brother/sister companies of the already registered companies to be involved in the tendering process without declaration or even under some different (new) company’s name. Therefore, a list of required documents (along with checklist) was developed and sent to all of the vendor(s) in the current database and based upon the receipt of the requested documents vendors were sorted out. Furthermore, these vendors were divided into active (meeting the entire set criterion) and non-active groups. This initial filtration stage allowed the firm to continue its work without a complete shutdown that is only vendors falling in the active group shall be allowed to participate in the tenders by the time whole process is completed. Likewise only those companies or firms meeting the set criterion (active category) shall be allowed to get registered in the future along with a dedicated filing system (soft and hard shall be maintained), and all of the companies/firms in the active group shall be physically verified (visited) by the Committee comprising of senior members of at least Finance department, Supply Chain (other than procurement) and Security department.

Keywords: corruption reduction, fraud prevention, supplier management, industrial/humanitarian organizations

Procedia PDF Downloads 542

Authors: Mohammad Ghahramani, Fahimeh Saei Manesh

Abstract:

Winning a soccer game is based on thorough and deep analysis of the ongoing match. On the other hand, giant gambling companies are in vital need of such analysis to reduce their loss against their customers. In this research work, we perform deep, real-time analysis on every soccer match around the world that distinguishes our work from others by focusing on particular seasons, teams and partial analytics. Our contributions are presented in the platform called “Analyst Masters.” First, we introduce various sources of information available for soccer analysis for teams around the world that helped us record live statistical data and information from more than 50,000 soccer matches a year. Our second and main contribution is to introduce our proposed in-play performance evaluation. The third contribution is developing new features from stable soccer matches. The statistics of soccer matches and their odds before and in-play are considered in the image format versus time including the halftime. Local Binary patterns, (LBP) is then employed to extract features from the image. Our analyses reveal incredibly interesting features and rules if a soccer match has reached enough stability. For example, our “8-minute rule” implies if 'Team A' scores a goal and can maintain the result for at least 8 minutes then the match would end in their favor in a stable match. We could also make accurate predictions before the match of scoring less/more than 2.5 goals. We benefit from the Gradient Boosting Trees, GBT, to extract highly related features. Once the features are selected from this pool of data, the Decision trees decide if the match is stable. A stable match is then passed to a post-processing stage to check its properties such as betters’ and punters’ behavior and its statistical data to issue the prediction. The proposed method was trained using 140,000 soccer matches and tested on more than 100,000 samples achieving 98% accuracy to select stable matches. Our database from 240,000 matches shows that one can get over 20% betting profit per month using Analyst Masters. Such consistent profit outperforms human experts and shows the inefficiency of the betting market. Top soccer tipsters achieve 50% accuracy and 8% monthly profit in average only on regional matches. Both our collected database of more than 240,000 soccer matches from 2012 and our algorithm would greatly benefit coaches and punters to get accurate analysis.

Keywords: soccer, analytics, machine learning, database

Procedia PDF Downloads 240

Authors: W. Q. Wang, Y. Yin, D. B. Zou, T. P. Yu, J. M. Ouyang, F. Q. Shao

Abstract:

High-energy-density state, i.e., matter and radiation at energy densities in excess of 10^11 J/m^3, is related to material, nuclear physics, astrophysics, and geophysics. Laser-driven particle beams are better suited to heat the matter as a trigger due to their unique properties of ultrashort duration and low emittance. Compared to X-ray and electron sources, it is easier to generate uniformly heated large-volume material for the proton and ion beams because of highly localized energy deposition. With the construction of state-of-art high power laser facilities, creating of extremely conditions of high-temperature and high-density in laboratories becomes possible. It has been demonstrated that on a picosecond time scale the solid density material can be isochorically heated to over 20 eV by the ultrafast proton beam generated from spherically shaped targets. For the above-mentioned technique, the proton energy density plays a crucial role in the formation of warm dense matter states. Recently, several methods have devoted to realize the focusing of the accelerated protons, involving externally exerted static-fields or specially designed targets interacting with a single or multi-pile laser pulses. In previous works, two co-propagating or opposite direction laser pulses are employed to strike a submicron plasma-shell. However, ultra-high pulse intensities, accurately temporal synchronization and undesirable transverse instabilities for a long time are still intractable for currently experimental implementations. A mechanism of the focusing of laser-driven proton beams from two-ion-species arched targets is investigated by multi-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations. When an intense linearly-polarized laser pulse impinges on the thin arched target, all electrons are completely evacuated, leading to a Coulomb-explosive electric-field mostly originated from the heavier carbon ions. The lighter protons in the moving reference frame by the ionic sound speed will be accelerated and effectively focused because of this radially isotropic field. At a 2.42×10^21 W/cm^2 laser intensity, a ballistic proton bunch with its energy-density as high as 2.15×10^17 J/m^3 is produced, and the highest proton energy and the focusing position agree well with that from the theory.

Keywords: Coulomb explosion, focusing, high-energy-density, ion acceleration

Procedia PDF Downloads 346

Authors: Zavkiddin Mirtoshev, Mirabbos Mirkamalov

Abstract:

We have analyzed the time series of full disk integrated soft X-ray (SXR) and hard X-ray (HXR) emission from the solar corona during 2004 January 1 to 2009 December 31, covering the descending phase of solar cycle 23. We employed the daily X-ray index (DXI) derived from X-ray observations from the Solar X-ray Spectrometer (SOXS) mission in four different energy bands: 4-5.5; 5.5-7.5 keV (SXR) and 15-20; 20-25 keV (HXR). The application of Lomb-Scargle periodogram technique to the DXI time series observed by the Silicium detector in the energy bands reveals several short and intermediate periodicities of the X-ray corona. The DXI explicitly show the periods of 13.6 days, 26.7 days, 128.5 days, 151 days, 180 days, 220 days, 270 days, 1.24 year and 1.54 year periods in SXR as well as in HXR energy bands. Although all periods are above 70% confidence level in all energy bands, they show strong power in HXR emission in comparison to SXR emission. These periods are distinctly clear in three bands but somehow not unambiguously clear in 5.5-7.5 keV band. This might be due to the presence of Ferrum and Ferrum/Niccolum line features, which frequently vary with small scale flares like micro-flares. The regular 27-day rotation and 13.5 day period of sunspots from the invisible side of the Sun are found stronger in HXR band relative to SXR band. However, flare activity Rieger periods (150 and 180 days) and near Rieger period 220 days are very strong in HXR emission which is very much expected. On the other hand, our current study reveals strong 270 day periodicity in SXR emission which may be connected with tachocline, similar to a fundamental rotation period of the Sun. The 1.24 year and 1.54 year periodicities, represented from the present research work, are well observable in both SXR as well as in HXR channels. These long-term periodicities must also have connection with tachocline and should be regarded as a consequence of variation in rotational modulation over long time scales. The 1.24 year and 1.54 year periods are also found great importance and significance in the life formation and it evolution on the Earth, and therefore they also have great astro-biological importance. We gratefully acknowledge support by the Indian Centre for Space Science and Technology Education in Asia and the Pacific (CSSTEAP, the Centre is affiliated to the United Nations), Physical Research Laboratory (PRL) at Ahmedabad, India. This work has done under the supervision of Prof. Rajmal Jain and paper consist materials of pilot project and research part of the M. Tech program which was made during Space and Atmospheric Science Course.

Keywords: corona, flares, solar activity, X-ray emission

Procedia PDF Downloads 347

Authors: Oskar Sekowski

Abstract:

Current global warming causes changes in the traditional zones of viticulture worldwide. During 20th century, the average global air temperature increased by 0.89˚C. The models of climate change indicate that viticulture, currently concentrating in narrow geographic niches, may move towards the poles, to higher geographic latitudes. Global warming may cause changes in traditional viticulture regions. Therefore, there is a need to estimate the climatic conditions and climate change in areas that are not traditionally associated with viticulture, e.g., Poland. The primary objective of this paper is to prepare methodology to evaluate the climatic and meteorological potential for viticulture in Poland based on a case study. Moreover, the additional aim is to evaluate the climatic potential of a mesoregion where a university vineyard is located. The daily data of temperature, precipitation, insolation, and wind speed (1988-2018) from the meteorological station located in Łazy, southern Poland, was used to evaluate 15 climatological parameters and indices connected with viticulture. The next steps of the methodology are based on Geographic Information System methods. The topographical factors such as a slope gradient and slope exposure were created using Digital Elevation Models. The spatial distribution of climatological elements was interpolated by ordinary kriging. The values of each factor and indices were also ranked and classified. The viticultural potential was determined by integrating two suitability maps, i.e., the topographical and climatic ones, and by calculating the average for each pixel. Data analysis shows significant changes in heat accumulation indices that are driven by increases in maximum temperature, mostly increasing number of days with Tmax > 30˚C. The climatic conditions of this mesoregion are sufficient for vitis vinifera viticulture. The values of indicators and insolation are similar to those in the known wine regions located on similar geographical latitudes in Europe. The smallest threat to viticulture in study area is the occurrence of hail and the highest occurrence of frost in the winter. This research provides the basis for evaluating general suitability and climatologic potential for viticulture in Poland. To characterize the climatic potential for viticulture, it is necessary to assess the suitability of all climatological and topographical factors that can influence viticulture. The methodology used in this case study shows places where there is a possibility to create vineyards. It may also be helpful for wine-makers to select grape varieties.

Keywords: climatologic potential, climatic classification, Poland, viticulture

Procedia PDF Downloads 109

Authors: Muhammad Khairi bin Sulaiman

Abstract:

The utilization of Building Information Modelling (BIM) in the construction industry has provided an opportunity for designers in the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry to proceed from the conventional method of using manual drafting to a way that creates alternative designs quickly, produces more accurate, reliable and consistent outputs. By using BIM Software, designers can create digital content that manipulates the use of data using the parametric model of BIM. With BIM software, more alternative designs can be created quickly and design problems can be explored further to produce a better design faster than conventional design methods. Generally, BIM is used as a documentation mechanism and has not been fully explored and utilised its capabilities as a design tool. Relative to the current issue, Modular Coordination (MC) design as a sustainable design practice is encouraged since MC design will reduce material wastage through standard dimensioning, pre-fabrication, repetitive, modular construction and components. However, MC design involves a complex process of rules and dimensions. Therefore, a tool is needed to make this process easier. Since the parameters in BIM can easily be manipulated to follow MC rules and dimensioning, thus, the integration of BIM software with MC design is proposed for architects during the design stage. With this tool, there will be an improvement in acceptance and practice in the application of MC design effectively. Consequently, this study will analyse and explore the function and customization of BIM objects and the capability of BIM software to expedite the application of MC design during the design stage for architects. With this application, architects will be able to create building models and locate objects within reference modular grids that adhere to MC rules and dimensions. The parametric modeling capabilities of BIM will also act as a visual tool that will further enhance the automation of the 3-Dimensional space planning modeling process. (Method) The study will first analyze and explore the parametric modeling capabilities of rule-based BIM objects, which eventually customize a reference grid within the rules and dimensioning of MC. Eventually, the approach will further enhance the architect's overall design process and enable architects to automate complex modeling, which was nearly impossible before. A prototype using a residential quarter will be modeled. A set of reference grids guided by specific MC rules and dimensions will be used to develop a variety of space planning and configuration. With the use of the design, the tool will expedite the design process and encourage the use of MC Design in the construction industry.

Keywords: building information modeling, modular coordination, space planning, customization, BIM application, MC space planning

Procedia PDF Downloads 86

Authors: Felippe Clemente, Evaldo Henrique da Silva

Abstract:

The need to adopt some type of industrial policy and innovation in Brazil is a recurring theme in the discussion of public interventions aimed at boosting economic growth. For many years, the country has adopted various policies to change its productive structure in order to increase the participation of sectors that would have the greatest potential to generate innovation and economic growth. Only in the 2000s, tax incentives as a policy to support industrial and technological innovation are being adopted in Brazil as a phenomenon associated with rates of productivity growth and economic development. In this context, in late 2004 and 2005, Brazil reformulated its institutional apparatus for innovation in order to approach the OECD conventions and the Frascati Manual. The Innovation Law (2004) and the 'Lei do Bem' (2005) reduced some institutional barriers to innovation, provided incentives for university-business cooperation, and modified access to tax incentives for innovation. Chapter III of the 'Lei do Bem' (no. 11,196/05) is currently the most comprehensive fiscal incentive to stimulate innovation. It complies with the requirements, which stipulates that the Union should encourage innovation in the company or industry by granting tax incentives. With its introduction, the bureaucratic procedure was simplified by not requiring pre-approval of projects or participation in bidding documents. However, preliminary analysis suggests that this instrument has not yet been able to stimulate the sector diversification of these investments in Brazil, since its benefits are mostly captured by sectors that already developed this activity, thus showing problems with moral hazard. It is necessary, then, to analyze the 'Lei do Bem' to know if there is indeed the need for some change, investigating what changes should be implanted in the Brazilian innovation policy. This work, therefore, shows itself as a first effort to analyze a current national problem, evaluating the effectiveness of the 'Lei do Bem' and suggesting public policies that help and direct the State to the elaboration of legislative laws capable of encouraging agents to follow what they describes. As a preliminary result, it is known that 130 firms used fiscal incentives for innovation in 2006, 320 in 2007 and 552 in 2008. Although this number is on the rise, it is still small, if it is considered that there are around 6 thousand firms that perform Research and Development (R&D) activities in Brazil. Moreover, another obstacle to the 'Lei do Bem' is the percentages of tax incentives provided to companies. These percentages reveal a significant sectoral correlation between R&D expenditures of large companies and R&D expenses of companies that accessed the 'Lei do Bem', reaching a correlation of 95.8% in 2008. With these results, it becomes relevant to investigate the law's ability to stimulate private investments in R&D.

Keywords: brazilian innovation system, moral hazard, R&D, Lei do Bem

Procedia PDF Downloads 340

Authors: Sharat Chandra, Zilong Wang, Ru-Rong Ji, Andrey Bortsov

Abstract:

Chronic pain (CP) therapeutic approaches have limited efficacy. As a result, doctors are prescribing opioids for chronic pain, leading to opioid overuse, abuse, and addiction epidemic. Therefore, the development of effective and safe CP drugs remains an unmet medical need. Voltage-gated sodium (Nav) channels act as cardiovascular and neurological disorder’s molecular targets. Nav channels selective inhibitors are hard to design because there are nine closely-related isoforms (Nav1.1-1.9) that share the protein sequence segments. We are targeting the Nav1.7 found in the peripheral nervous system and engaged in the perception of pain. The objective of this project was to screen a 1.5 million compound library for identification of inhibitors for Nav1.7 with analgesic effect. In this study, we designed a protocol for identification of isoform-selective inhibitors of Nav1.7, by utilizing the prior information on isoform-selective antagonists. First, a similarity search was performed; then the identified hits were docked into a binding site on the fourth voltage-sensor domain (VSD4) of Nav1.7. We used the FTrees tool for similarity searching and library generation; the generated library was docked in the VSD4 domain binding site using FlexX and compounds were shortlisted using a FlexX score and SeeSAR hyde scoring. Finally, the top 25 compounds were tested with molecular dynamics simulation (MDS). We reduced our list to 9 compounds based on the MDS root mean square deviation plot and obtained them from a vendor for in vitro and in vivo validation. Whole-cell patch-clamp recordings in HEK-293 cells and dorsal root ganglion neurons were conducted. We used patch pipettes to record transient Na⁺ currents. One of the compounds reduced the peak sodium currents in Nav1.7-HEK-293 stable cell line in a dose-dependent manner, with IC50 values at 0.74 µM. In summary, our computer-aided analgesic discovery approach allowed us to develop pre-clinical analgesic candidate with significant reduction of time and cost.

Keywords: chronic pain, voltage-gated sodium channel, isoform-selective antagonist, similarity search, virtual screening, analgesics development

Procedia PDF Downloads 127