Search results for: rise to span ratio

Authors: Chamindi Dilkushi Senaratne

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Sri Lanka has lived with the English language for more than 200 years. Although officially considered a link language, the phenomenal usage of English by the Sinhala-English bilingual has given rise to a mixed code with identifiable structural characteristics. The extensive use of the mixed language by the average Sri Lankan bilingual has resulted in it being used as a medium of communication by creative writers of bilingual advertisements in Sri Lanka. This study analyses the way in which English is used in bilingual advertisements in both print and electronic media in Sri Lanka. The theoretical framework for the study is based on Kachru’s analysis of the use of English by the bilingual, Muysken’s typology on code mixing theories in colonial settings and Myers-Scotton’s theory on the Matrix Language Framework Model. The study will look at a selection of Sinhala-English advertisements published in newspapers from 2015 to 2016. Only advertisements using both Sinhala and English are used for the analysis. To substantiate data collected from the newspapers, the study will select bilingual advertisements from television advertisements. The objective of the study is to analyze the mixed patterns used for creative purposes by advertisers. The results of the study will reveal the creativity used by the Sinhala –English bilingual and the morphological processes used by the creators of Sinhala-English bilingual advertisements to attract the masses.

Keywords: bilingual, code mixing, morphological processes, mixed code

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Authors: E. Irankhah, M. Zarif, E. Mazrooei Rad, K. Ghandehari

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Alzheimer's prevalence is on the rise, and the disease comes with problems like cessation of treatment, high cost of treatment, and the lack of early detection methods. The pathology of this disease causes the formation of protein deposits in the brain of patients called plaque amyloid. Generally, the diagnosis of this disease is done by performing tests such as a cerebrospinal fluid, CT scan, MRI, and spinal cord fluid testing, or mental testing tests and eye tracing tests. In this paper, we tried to use the Medial Temporal Atrophy (MTA) method and the Leave One Out (LOO) cycle to extract the statistical properties of the three Fz, Pz, and Cz channels of ERP signals for early diagnosis of this disease. In the process of CT scan images, the accuracy of the results is 81% for the healthy person and 88% for the severe patient. After the process of ERP signaling, the accuracy of the results for a healthy person in the delta band in the Cz channel is 81% and in the alpha band the Pz channel is 90%. In the results obtained from the signal processing, the results of the severe patient in the delta band of the Cz channel were 89% and in the alpha band Pz channel 92%.

Keywords: Alzheimer's disease, image and signal processing, LOO cycle, medial temporal atrophy

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Authors: Anargha A. Dhorde, Deshpande Gauri, Amit G. Dhorde

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Mula-Mutha basin is one of the speedily urbanizing watersheds, wherein two major urban centers, Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad, have developed at a shocking rate in the last two decades. Such changing land use/land cover (LULC) is prone to hydrological problems and flash floods are a frequent, eventuality in the lower reaches of the basin. The present research brings out the impact of varying LULC, impervious surfaces on urban surface hydrology and generates storm-runoff scenarios for the hydrological units. The two multi-temporal satellite images were processed and supervised classification is performed with > 75% accuracy. The built-up has increased from 14.4% to 34.37% in the 28 years span, which is concentrated in and around the Pune-PCMC region. Impervious surfaces that were obtained by population calibrated multiple regression models. Almost 50% area of the watershed is impervious, which attribute to increase surface runoff and flash floods. The SCS-CN method was employed to calculate surface runoff of the watershed. The comparison between calculated and measured values of runoff was performed in a statistically precise way which shows no significant difference. Increasing built-up areas, as well as impervious surface areas due to rapid urbanization and industrialization, may lead to generating high runoff volumes in the basin especially in the urbanized areas of the watershed and along the major transportation arteries. Simulations generated with 50 mm and 100 mm rainstorm depth conspicuously noted that most of the changes in terms of increased runoff are constricted to the highly urbanized areas. Considering whole watershed area, the runoff values 39 m³ generated with 1'' rainfall whereas only urbanized areas of the basin (Pune and Pimpari-Chinchwad) were generated 11154 m³ runoff. Such analysis is crucial in providing information regarding their intensity and location, which proves instrumental in their analysis in order to formulate proper mitigation measures and rehabilitation strategies.

Keywords: land use/land cover, LULC, impervious surfaces, surface hydrology, storm-runoff scenarios

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Authors: Yao-Hui Huang, Ming-Chun Yen, Jui-Yen Lin, Yu-Jen Shih

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This work investigated the reclamation of boron in industrial wastewaters by a chemical oxo-precipitation (COP) technique at room temperature. In COP, the boric acid was pretreated with H₂O₂, yielding various perborate anions. Afterwards, calcium chloride was used to efficiently remove boron through precipitation of calcium perborate. The important factors included reacted pH and the molar ratio of [Ca]/[B]. Under conditions of pH 11 and [Ca]/[B] of 1, the boron concentration could be reduced immediately from 600 ppm to 50 ppm in 10 minutes. The boron removal was enhanced with a higher [Ca]/[B], which further reduced boron to 20 ppm in 10 minutes. Nevertheless, the dissolution of carbon dioxide potentially affected the efficacy of COP and increased the boron concentration after 10 minutes.

Keywords: chemical oxo-precipitation, boron, carbon dioxide, hydrogen peroxide

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Authors: Emmanuel Dele Balogun

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This paper analyzes, using descriptive statistics and econometrics data which span the period 1981 to 2014 to gauge the effects of trade policy incentives on economic growth in Nigeria. It argues that the provided incentives penalize economic growth during pre-trade liberalization eras, but stimulated a rapid increase in total factor productivity during the post-liberalization period of 2000 to 2014. The trend analysis shows that Nigeria maintained high tariff walls in economic regulation eras which became low in post liberalization era. The protections were in favor of infant industries, which were mainly appendages of multinationals but against imports of competing food and finished consumer products. The trade openness index confirms the undue exposure of Nigeria’s economy to the vagaries of international market shocks; while banking sector recapitalization and new listing of telecommunications companies deepened the financial markets in post-liberalization era. The structure of economic incentives was biased in favor of construction, trade and services, but against the real sector despite protectionist policies. Total Factor Productivity (TFP) estimates show that the Nigerian economy suffered stagnation in pre-liberalization eras, but experienced rapid growth rates in post-liberalization eras. The regression results relating trade policy incentives to TFP growth rate yielded a significant but negative intercept suggesting that a non-interventionist policy could be detrimental to economic progress, while protective tariff which limits imports of competing products could spur productivity gains in domestic import substitutes beyond factor growth with market liberalization. The main constraint to the effectiveness of trade policy incentives is the failure of benefiting industries to leverage on the domestic factor endowments of the nation. This paper concludes that there is the need to review the current economic transformation strategies urgently with a view to provide policymakers with a better understanding of the most viable options that could make for rapid success.

Keywords: economic growth, macroeconomic incentives, total factor productivity, trade policies

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Authors: Mubita Namuyamba

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Despite an increase in the number of cancer programs and partnerships in cancer care provision, the burden of cancer in Zambia is increasingly having a significant impact on morbidity and mortality rates. The increase in cancer morbidity and mortality rates has given rise to psychological and psycho social implications (PPsI) in cancer care. Cancer patients, care givers and health care providers are faced with a multitude of PPsIs in cancer care that mainly impact negatively on the management of cancer patients. The study adopted a case study design and was purposively conducted at the Cancer Diseases Hospital in Lusaka (Zambia) after obtaining ethical clearance from the Ethics committee. The sample for this study included 70 cancer patients, 20 care givers and 5 hospital staff (4 nurses and 1 doctor). Data was collected using interviews guides, focus group discussion guides and questionnaires respectively. The qualitative data was analysed thematically. The various psychological and psychosocial challenges that conspire to deter the provision of effective cancer care nursing and improved methods of minimizing the psychological and psychosocial implications in cancer care are the products of this study.

Keywords: case study, enquiry, psychological and psycho social aspects, Zambia

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Authors: Jean Yves Trepanier, Sami Ammar, Sagnik Banik

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Lattice Boltzmann Method has been advantageous in simulating complex boundary conditions and solving for fluid flow parameters by streaming and collision processes. This paper includes the study of three different test cases in a confined domain using the method of the Lattice Boltzmann model. 1. An SRT (Single Relaxation Time) approach in the Lattice Boltzmann model is used to simulate Lid Driven Cavity flow for different Reynolds Number (100, 400 and 1000) with a domain aspect ratio of 1, i.e., square cavity. A moment-based boundary condition is used for more accurate results. 2. A Thermal Lattice BGK (Bhatnagar-Gross-Krook) Model is developed for the Rayleigh Benard convection for both test cases - Horizontal and Vertical Temperature difference, considered separately for a Boussinesq incompressible fluid. The Rayleigh number is varied for both the test cases (10^3 ≤ Ra ≤ 10^6) keeping the Prandtl number at 0.71. A stability criteria with a precise forcing scheme is used for a greater level of accuracy. 3. The phase change problem governed by the heat-conduction equation is studied using the enthalpy based Lattice Boltzmann Model with a single iteration for each time step, thus reducing the computational time. A double distribution function approach with D2Q9 (density) model and D2Q5 (temperature) model are used for two different test cases-the conduction dominated melting and the convection dominated melting. The solidification process is also simulated using the enthalpy based method with a single distribution function using the D2Q5 model to provide a better understanding of the heat transport phenomenon. The domain for the test cases has an aspect ratio of 2 with some exceptions for a square cavity. An approximate velocity scale is chosen to ensure that the simulations are within the incompressible regime. Different parameters like velocities, temperature, Nusselt number, etc. are calculated for a comparative study with the existing works of literature. The simulated results demonstrate excellent agreement with the existing benchmark solution within an error limit of ± 0.05 implicates the viability of this method for complex fluid flow problems.

Keywords: BGK, Nusselt, Prandtl, Rayleigh, SRT

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Authors: M. Irannezhad, E. H. N. Gashti, U. Moback, B. Kløve

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Climate change because of increases in concentration level of greenhouse gases emissions to the atmosphere will result in mean sea level rise about +1 m by 2100. To prevent coastal floods resulted from the sea level rising, different flood control structures have been built, e.g. the Thames barrier on the Thames River in London (UK), with acceptable protection levels at least so far. Gothenburg located on the southwest coast of Sweden, with the River Göta älv running through it, is one of vulnerable cities to the accelerated rises in mean sea level. Developing a water level model by MATLAB, we evaluated using a sea barrage in the Göta älv River as the flood control structure for protecting the Gothenburg city during this century. Considering three operational scenarios for two barriers in upstream and downstream, the highest sea level was estimated to + 2.95 m above the current mean sea level by 2100. To verify flood protection against such high sea levels, both barriers have to be closed. To prevent high water level in the River Göta älv reservoir, the barriers would be open when the sea level is low. The suggested flood control structures would successfully protect the city from flooding events during this century.

Keywords: climate change, flood control structures, gothenburg, sea level rising, water level mode

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Authors: Y. Alqaheem, A. Alomair, F. Altarkait, F. Alswaileh, Nusrat Tanoli

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Helium market is continuously growing due to its essential uses in the electronic and healthcare sectors. Currently, helium is produced by cryogenic distillation but the process is uneconomical especially for low production volumes. On the other hand, polymeric membranes can provide a cost-effective solution for helium purification due to their low operating energy. However, the preparation of membranes involves the use of very toxic solvents such as chloroform. In this work, polyetherimide membranes were prepared using a less toxic solvent, n-methylpyrrolidone with a polymer-to-solvent ratio of 27 wt%. The developed membrane showed a superior helium permeability of 15.9 Barrer that surpassed the permeability of membranes made by chloroform.

Keywords: helium separation, polyetherimide, dense membrane, gas permeability

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Authors: Mohammad Rahim Rahimi, Yuji Hoshino, Kota Masuyama, Naoya Nakajima

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The aim of this paper is to study the behavior or influence of climate adaptation and change in Kabul Metropolitan Area (KMA). The Kabul Metropolitan Area (KMA) in Afghanistan includes Kabul existing city and Kabul New City (KNC). Kabul Metropolitan Area has admitted the challenges due to climate change, which includes, natural climate change, social transformations, city landscape, economic and political issues, etc. KMA will withhold a large population within its boundaries. The main problems competed in KMA were the temperature changes over the years, especially in Hindukush and Central Highland of Afghanistan from 1950 up to 2010, 1°C and 1.71°C raised respectively and reduction of water table in existing Kabul city due to the use of more water from underground water resources. Moreover, the cause of temperature rise, the precipitation in spring season and melting of snow early or melting in compressed time as well as the water source is directly related to the capacity of the mountains snow and precipitation. In addition, the temperature increased, and precipitation declined in spring period. It is directly related to separation of dissertation, migration to the cities and other challenges that we will discuss in this paper.

Keywords: climate change, climate adaption, adaptation in Kabul metropolitan area, precipitation

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Authors: S. R. Kumar, Shashikant Rajpal

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A nanocrystalline thin film of ZnSe was successfully electrodeposited on copper substrate using a non-aqueous solution and subsequently annealed in air at 400°C. XRD analysis indicates the polycrystalline deposit of (111) plane in both the cases. The sharpness of the peak increases due to annealing of the film and average grain size increases to 20 nm to 27nm. SEM photograph indicate that grains are uniform and densely distributed over the surface. Due to annealing the average grain size increased by 20%. The EDS spectroscopy shows the ratio of Zn & Se is 1.1 in case of annealed film. AFM analysis indicates the average roughness of the film reduces from 181nm to 165nm due to annealing of the film. The bandgap also decreases from 2.71eV to 2.62eV.

Keywords: electrodeposition, non-aqueous medium, SEM, XRD

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Authors: Mehdi Shahbazian, Alireza Aarabi, Mohsen Hadiyan

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Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) controllers are the most widely used controllers in industry because of its simplicity and robustness. Different values of PID parameters make different step response, so an increasing amount of literature is devoted to proper tuning of PID controllers. The problem merits further investigation as traditional tuning methods make large control signal that can damages the system but using evolutionary algorithms based tuning methods improve the control signal and closed loop performance. In this paper three tuning methods for PID controllers have been studied namely Ziegler and Nichols, which is traditional tuning method and evolutionary algorithms based tuning methods, that are, Genetic algorithm and particle swarm optimization. To examine the validity of PSO and GA tuning methods a comparative analysis of DC motor plant is studied. Simulation results reveal that evolutionary algorithms based tuning method have improved control signal amplitude and quality factors of the closed loop system such as rise time, integral absolute error (IAE) and maximum overshoot.

Keywords: evolutionary algorithm, genetic algorithm, particle swarm optimization, PID controller

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Authors: Ya Ting Tang

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Social learning theory has told us that the cognitions of gender roles come from learning. Thus, the images of gender roles which media describes will shape our cognitions. Taiwan and Japan are both in the East Asian cultural Sphere, and more or less influenced by the traditional Chinese culture. But our social structure and changes must be different. Others, the study also concerns that, with the rise of female consciousness in society, whether the female stereotype in drama of Taiwan and Japan are improved. This research first uses content analysis to analyze drama of Taiwan and Japan in 2003 and 2013 on how to shape female roles. Then use text analysis to conduct a qualitative analysis. Result of this study showed that drama on how to depict women indeed have changed, women are no longer just talk about love, but can serve as president or doctor, and show its mettle in the workplace. In Japanese drama, the female roles have diverse occupation than Taiwanese drama, and not just a background character set. But in most Taiwanese drama, female roles are given a career, but it always put emphasis on women emotionally. To include, although the stereotype in the drama of Taiwan and Japan are improved, female will still be derided due to their ages, love or marriage situations. Taiwanese drama must depict the occupation of female more diverse and let the female roles have more space to play, rather than focusing on romance which women of any occupation can have.

Keywords: female images, stereotype, TV drama, gender roles

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Authors: Shashank Mukkoti, Mainak Majumder, Srinivasan Venkatraman

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Owing to the land scarcity in the modern-day, most of the construction activities are carried out closed to the existing buildings. Most of the high-rise buildings are constructed on pile foundations to transfer the design loads to a strong stratum below the ground surface. Due to the proximity of the new and existing structures, noise disturbances are prominent during the pile installation. Installation of vibratory piles is most suitable in urban areas. The ground vibrations developed due to the vibratory pile driving may cause many detrimental effects on the surrounding structures based on the proximity of the sources and nature of the structures. In the present study, an attempt has been made to study the severity of ground vibrations induced by vibratory pile driving. For this purpose, a three-dimensional finite element model has been developed in the ABAQUS/ Explicit finite element program. The couple finite/infinite element method has been employed for the capturing of propagating waves due to the pile installation. The geometry of the pile foundations, frequency of the pile driving, length of the pile has been considered for the parametric study. The results show that vibrations generated due to the vibratory pile installation are either very close or more than the thresholds tolerance limits set by different guidelines.

Keywords: FE model, pile driving, free field vibrations, wave propagation

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Authors: Porag Jyoti Ligira, Gargi Khanna

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The paper presents a simulation study of the electrical characteristic of Bulk Planar Junctionless Transistor (BPJLT) using spacer. The BPJLT is a transistor without any PN junctions in the vertical direction. It is a gate controlled variable resistor. The characteristics of BPJLT are analyzed by varying the oxide material under the gate. It can be shown from the simulation that an ideal subthreshold slope of ~60 mV/decade can be achieved by using highk dielectric. The effects of variation of spacer length and material on the electrical characteristic of BPJLT are also investigated in the paper. The ION / IOFF ratio improvement is of the order of 107 and the OFF current reduction of 10-4 is obtained by using gate dielectric of HfO2 instead of SiO2.

Keywords: spacer, BPJLT, high-k, double gate

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Authors: Muhammad Rizwan, Naveed Ahmad, Akhtar Naeem Khan

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Seismic behavior factors are evaluated for the performance assessment of low rise reinforced concrete RC frame structures based on experimental study of unidirectional dynamic shake table testing of two 1/3rd reduced scaled two storey frames, with a code confirming special moment resisting frame (SMRF) model and a noncompliant model of similar characteristics but built in low strength concrete .The models were subjected to a scaled accelerogram record of 1994 Northridge earthquake to deformed the test models to final collapse stage in order to obtain the structural response parameters. The fully compliant model was observed with more stable beam-sway response, experiencing beam flexure yielding and ground-storey column base yielding upon subjecting to 100% of the record. The response modification factor - R factor obtained for the code complaint and deficient prototype structures were 7.5 and 4.5 respectively, which is about 10% and 40% less than the UBC-97 specified value for special moment resisting reinforced concrete frame structures.

Keywords: Northridge 1994 earthquake, reinforced concrete frame, response modification factor, shake table testing

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Authors: S. B. Provost, Hossein Zareamoghaddam

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A univariate density approximation technique whereby the derivative of the logarithm of a density function is assumed to be expressible as a rational function is introduced. This approach which extends Pearson’s curve system is solely based on the moments of a distribution up to a determinable order. Upon solving a system of linear equations, the coefficients of the polynomial ratio can readily be identified. An explicit solution to the integral representation of the resulting density approximant is then obtained. It will be explained that when utilised in conjunction with sample moments, this methodology lends itself to the modelling of ‘big data’. Applications to sets of univariate and bivariate observations will be presented.

Keywords: density estimation, log-density, moments, Pearson's curve system

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Authors: Stefano Scippo, Damiana Luzzi, Stefano Cuomo, Maria Ranieri

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Background: In response to the rise in natural disasters linked to climate change, numerous studies on Disaster Risk Reduction Education (DRRE) have emerged since the '90s, mainly using a didactic transmission-based approach. Effective DRRE should align with an interactive, experiential, and participatory educational model, which can be costly and risky. A potential solution is using simulations facilitated by eXtended Reality (XR). Research Question: This study aims to conduct a scoping review to explore educational methodologies that use XR to enhance knowledge among teachers, students, and citizens about environmental risks, natural disasters (including climate-related ones), and their management. Method: A search string of 66 keywords was formulated, spanning three domains: 1) education and target audience, 2) environment and natural hazards, and 3) technologies. On June 21st, 2023, the search string was used across five databases: EBSCOhost, IEEE Xplore, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science. After deduplication and removing papers without abstracts, 2,152 abstracts (published between 2013 and 2023) were analyzed and 2,062 papers were excluded, followed by the exclusion of 56 papers after full-text scrutiny. Excluded studies focused on unrelated technologies, non-environmental risks, and lacked educational outcomes or accessible texts. Main Results: The 34 reviewed papers were analyzed for context, risk type, research methodology, learning objectives, XR technology use, outcomes, and educational affordances of XR. Notably, since 2016, there has been a rise in scientific publications, focusing mainly on seismic events (12 studies) and floods (9), with a significant contribution from Asia (18 publications), particularly Japan (7 studies). Methodologically, the studies were categorized into empirical (26) and non-empirical (8). Empirical studies involved user or expert validation of XR tools, while non-empirical studies included systematic reviews and theoretical proposals without experimental validation. Empirical studies were further classified into quantitative, qualitative, or mixed-method approaches. Six qualitative studies involved small groups of users or experts, while 20 quantitative or mixed-method studies used seven different research designs, with most (17) employing a quasi-experimental, one-group post-test design, focusing on XR technology usability over educational effectiveness. Non-experimental studies had methodological limitations, making their results hypothetical and in need of further empirical validation. Educationally, the learning objectives centered on knowledge and skills for surviving natural disaster emergencies. All studies recommended XR technologies for simulations or serious games but did not develop comprehensive educational frameworks around these tools. XR-based tools showed potential superiority over traditional methods in teaching risk and emergency management skills. However, conclusions were more valid in studies with experimental designs; otherwise, they remained hypothetical without empirical evidence. The educational affordances of XR, mainly user engagement, were confirmed by the studies. Authors’ Conclusions: The analyzed literature lacks specific educational frameworks for XR in DRRE, focusing mainly on survival knowledge and skills. There is a need to expand educational approaches to include uncertainty education, developing competencies that encompass knowledge, skills, and attitudes like risk perception.

Keywords: disaster risk reduction education, educational technologies, scoping review, XR technologies

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Authors: Dina H. Gabr, Mona A. El Bannan

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With growing worldwide concern for global warming, green finance has become the fuel that pushes the world to act in combating and mitigating climate change. Coupled with adopting the Paris Agreement and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, Green finance became a vital tool in creating a pathway to sustainable development, as it connects the financial world with environmental and societal benefits. This paper provides a comprehensive review of the concepts and definitions of green finance and the importance of 'green' impact investments today. The core challenge in combating climate change is reducing and controlling Greenhouse gas emissions; therefore, this study explores the solutions green finance provides putting emphasis on the use of renewable energy, which is necessary for enhancing the transition to the green economy. With increasing attention to the concept of green finance, multiple forms of green investments and financial tools have come to fruition; the most prominent are green bonds. The rise of green bonds, a debt market to finance climate solutions, provide a promising mechanism for sustainable finance. Following the review, this paper compiles a comprehensive green bond dataset, presenting a statistical study of the evolution of the green bonds market from its first appearance in 2006 until 2021.

Keywords: climate change, GHG emissions, green bonds, green finance, sustainable finance

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Authors: L. Ereku, R. E. Mackay, A. Naveenathayalan, K. Ajayi, W. Balachandran

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Over the past decade the increase of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) especially in the developing world due to high cost and lack of sufficient medical testing have given rise to the need for a rapid, low cost point of care medical diagnostic that is disposable and most significantly reproduces equivocal results achieved within centralised laboratories. This paper present the development of a disposable PDMS microfluidic cartridge incorporating blisters filled with reagents required for isothermal DNA amplification in clinical diagnostics and point-of-care testing. In view of circumventing the necessity for external complex microfluidic pumps, designing on-chip pressurised fluid reservoirs is embraced using finger actuation and blister storage. The fabrication of the blisters takes into consideration three proponents that include: material characteristics, fluid volume and structural design. Silicone rubber is the chosen material due to its good chemical stability, considerable tear resistance and moderate tension/compression strength. The case of fluid capacity and structural form go hand in hand as the reagent need for the experimental analysis determines the volume size of the blisters, whereas the structural form has to be designed to provide low compression stress when deformed for fluid expulsion. Furthermore, the top and bottom section of the blisters are embedded with miniature polar opposite magnets at a defined parallel distance. These magnets are needed to lock or restrain the blisters when fully compressed so as to prevent unneeded backflow as a result of elasticity. The integrated chip is bonded onto a large microscope glass slide (50mm x 75mm). Each part is manufactured using a 3D printed mould designed using Solidworks software. Die-casting is employed, using 3D printed moulds, to form the deformable blisters by forcing a proprietary liquid silicone rubber through the positive mould cavity. The set silicone rubber is removed from the cast and prefilled with liquid reagent and then sealed with a thin (0.3mm) burstable layer of recast silicone rubber. The main microfluidic cartridge is fabricated using classical soft lithographic techniques. The cartridge incorporates microchannel circuitry, mixing chamber, inlet port, outlet port, reaction chamber and waste chamber. Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS, QSil 216) is mixed and degassed using a centrifuge (ratio 10:1) is then poured after the prefilled blisters are correctly positioned on the negative mould. Heat treatment of about 50C to 60C in the oven for about 3hours is needed to achieve curing. The latter chip production stage involves bonding the cured PDMS to the glass slide. A plasma coroner treater device BD20-AC (Electro-Technic Products Inc., US) is used to activate the PDMS and glass slide before they are both joined and adequately compressed together, then left in the oven over the night to ensure bonding. There are two blisters in total needed for experimentation; the first will be used as a wash buffer to remove any remaining cell debris and unbound DNA while the second will contain 100uL amplification reagents. This paper will present results of chemical cell lysis, extraction using a biopolymer paper membrane and isothermal amplification on a low-cost platform using the finger actuated blisters for reagent storage. The platform has been shown to detect 1x105 copies of Chlamydia trachomatis using Recombinase Polymerase Amplification (RPA).

Keywords: finger actuation, point of care, reagent storage, silicone blisters

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Authors: Sonia Butalia, Huong Luu, Alexis Guigue, Karen J. B. Martins, Khanh Vu, Scott W. Klarenbach

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Obesity is associated with significant personal impacts on health and has a substantial economic burden on payers due to increased healthcare use. A contemporary estimate of the healthcare costs associated with obesity at the population level are lacking. This evidence may provide further rationale for weight management strategies. Methods: Adults who underwent a medical procedure between 2012 and 2019 in Alberta, Canada were categorized into the investigational cohort (had body mass index [BMI]-defined class 2 or 3 obesity based on a procedure-associated code) and the control cohort (did not have the BMI procedure-associated code); those who had bariatric surgery were excluded. Characteristics were presented and healthcare costs ($CDN) determined over a 1-year observation period (2019/2020). Logistic regression and a generalized linear model with log link and gamma distribution were used to assess total healthcare costs (comprised of hospitalizations, emergency department visits, ambulatory care visits, physician visits, and outpatient prescription drugs); potential confounders included age, sex, region of residence, and whether the medical procedure was performed within 6-months before the observation period in the partial adjustment, and also the type of procedure performed, socioeconomic status, Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI), and seven obesity-related health conditions in the full adjustment. Cost ratios and estimated cost differences with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were reported; incremental cost differences within the adjusted models represent referent cases. Results: The investigational cohort (n=220,190) was older (mean age: 53 standard deviation [SD]±17 vs 50 SD±17 years), had more females (71% vs 57%), lived in rural areas to a greater extent (20% vs 14%), experienced a higher overall burden of disease (CCI: 0.6 SD±1.3 vs 0.3 SD±0.9), and were less socioeconomically well-off (material/social deprivation was lower [14%/14%] in the most well-off quintile vs 20%/19%) compared with controls (n=1,955,548). Unadjusted total healthcare costs were estimated to be 1.77-times (95% CI: 1.76, 1.78) higher in the investigational versus control cohort; each healthcare resource contributed to the higher cost ratio. After adjusting for potential confounders, the total healthcare cost ratio decreased, but remained higher in the investigational versus control cohort (partial adjustment: 1.57 [95% CI: 1.57, 1.58]; full adjustment: 1.21 [95% CI: 1.20, 1.21]); each healthcare resource contributed to the higher cost ratio. Among urban-dwelling 50-year old females who previously had non-operative procedures, no procedures performed within 6-months before the observation period, a social deprivation index score of 3, a CCI score of 0.32, and no history of select obesity-related health conditions, the predicted cost difference between those living with and without obesity was $386 (95% CI: $376, $397). Conclusions: If these findings hold for the Canadian population, one would expect an estimated additional $3.0 billion per year in healthcare costs nationally related to BMI-defined obesity (based on an adult obesity rate of 26% and an estimated annual incremental cost of $386 [21%]); incremental costs are higher when obesity-related health conditions are not adjusted for. Results of this study provide additional rationale for investment in interventions that are effective in preventing and treating obesity and its complications.

Keywords: administrative data, body mass index-defined obesity, healthcare cost, real world evidence

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Authors: Nathan Junell S. Arjona, Al-Noor O. Guinal, Marc Leugin V. Logronio, Jean Clark L. Naga

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This study looks at how digital culture is shown in David Fincher's movie "The Social Network." It uses a mix of methods from different theories, including Saussurean semiotics, Castells' Network Society theory, and Jenkins' ideas on digital culture. The research focuses on three important scenes from the film, analyzing them in a clear three-step process. This reveals how movies tell stories about the rise of technology. By using a detailed approach, the study shows that digital platforms connect people but can also create gaps in their experiences. The main findings highlight how the film portrays social networks as important cultural systems. It uncovers the power struggles and identities shaped by technology. The research explains how movies help us understand changes in digital culture, challenging old ways of thinking about technology. This analysis connects film studies, digital sociology, and cultural theory, providing a solid way to understand how technology is represented in modern media. By exploring how technology is turned into cultural stories, the study offers important insights into the changing world of digital culture.

Keywords: digital culture, media, social media representation, digital identity

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Authors: S. Bader, N. Essoukri Ben Amara

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With the technological development and rise of virtual worlds, these spaces are becoming more and more attractive for cybercriminals, hidden behind avatars and fictitious identities. Since access to these spaces is not restricted or controlled, some impostors take advantage of gaining unauthorized access and practicing cyber criminality. This paper proposes an identity management approach for securing access to virtual worlds. The major purpose of the suggested solution is to install a strong security mechanism to protect virtual identities represented by avatars. Thus, only legitimate users, through their corresponding avatars, are allowed to access the platform resources. Access is controlled by integrating an authentication process based on biometrics. In the request process for registration, a user fingerprint is enrolled and then encrypted into a watermark utilizing a cancelable and non-invertible algorithm for its protection. After a user personalizes their representative character, the biometric mark is embedded into the avatar through a watermarking procedure. The authenticity of the avatar identity is verified when it requests authorization for access. We have evaluated the proposed approach on a dataset of avatars from various virtual worlds, and we have registered promising performance results in terms of authentication accuracy, acceptation and rejection rates.

Keywords: identity management, security, biometrics authentication and authorization, avatar, virtual world

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Authors: Yiyuan David Hu, Alex Lindqwister, Samuel B. Klein, Karen Moodie, Norman A. Paradis

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Introduction: Pseudo-Pulseless Electrical Activity (p-PEA) is a lifeless form of profound cardiac shock characterized by measurable cardiac mechanical activity without clinically detectable pulses. Patients in pseudo-PEA carry different prognoses than those in true PEA and may require different therapies. End-tidal carbon dioxide (ET-CO2) is a reliable indicator of the return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) in ventricular fibrillation and true-PEA but has not been studied p-PEA. Hypothesis: ET-CO2 can be used as an independent indicator of ROSC in p-PEA resuscitation. Methods: 30kg female swine (N = 14) under intravenous anesthesia were instrumented with aortic and right atrial micromanometer pressure. ECG and ET-CO2 were measured continuously. p-PEA was induced by ventilation with 6% oxygen in 94% nitrogen and was defined as a systolic Ao less than 40 mmHg. The statistical relationships between ET-CO2 and ROSC are reported. Results: ET-CO2 during resuscitation strongly correlated with ROSC (Figure 1). Mean ET-CO2 during p-PEA was 28.4 ± 8.4, while mean ET-CO2 in ROSC for 100% O2 cohort was 42.2 ± 12.6 (p < 0.0001), mean ET-CO2 in ROSC for 100% O2 + CPR was 33.0 ± 15.4 (p < 0.0001). Analysis of slope was limited to one minute of resuscitation data to capture local linearity; assessment began 10 seconds after resuscitation started to allow the ventilator to mix 100% O2. Pigs who would recover with 100% O2 had a slope of 0.023 ± 0.001, oxygen + CPR had a slope of 0.018 ± 0.002, and oxygen + CPR + epinephrine had a slope of 0.0050 ± 0.0009. Conclusions: During resuscitation from porcine hypoxic p-PEA, a rise in ET-CO2 is indicative of ROSC.

Keywords: ET-CO2, resuscitation, capnography, pseudo-PEA

Procedia PDF Downloads 189

Authors: R. Henry, H. Andriamboavonjy, J. B. Paulin, S. Drahy, R. Gourichon

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During past decade, Chinese monetary policy has been to maintain stability of exchange rate CNY/USD by creating parity between the two currencies. This policy, against market equilibrium, impacts the exchange rate in having low Yuan currency, and keeping attractiveness of Chinese industries. Using macroeconomic and statistic approach, the impact of such policy onto CNY/USD exchange rate is quantitatively determined. It is also pointed out how Chinese banks respect Basel III ratios, in particular the foreign exchange ratio. The main analysis is focusing on how Chinese banks will respect these ratios in the future.

Keywords: macroeconomics models, yuan floating exchange rate, basel iii, china banking system

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Authors: Abiodun Afolabi, Rufus Adesoji Adedoyin

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This study investigated and compared the effects of gym-based exercise programme (GEBP) and audio-visual guided home-based exercise programme (AVGHBEP) on selected Anthropometric variables (Weight (W), Body Mass Index (BMI), Waist Circumference (WC), Hip Circumference (HC), Thigh Circumference (TC), Waist-Hip-Ratio (WHR), Waist-Height-Ratio (WHtR), Waist-Thigh-Ratio (WTR), Biceps Skinfold Thickness (BSFT), Triceps Skinfold Thickness (TSFT), Suprailliac Skinfold Thickness (SISFT), Subscapular Skinfold Thickness (SSSFT) and Percent Body Fat (PBF)); and Cardiovasular variables (Systolic Blood Pressure (SBP), Diastolic Blood Pressure (DBP) and Heart Rate (HR)) of overweight and obese students of Federal College of Education (Special), Oyo, Oyo State, Nigeria, with a view to providing information and evidence for GBEP and AVGHBEP in reducing overweight and obesity for promoting cardiovascular fitness. Eighty overweight and obese students (BMI ≥ 25 Kg/m²) were involved in this pretest-posttest quasi experimental study. Participants were randomly assigned into GBEP (n = 40) and AVGBBEP (n = 40) groups. Anthropometric and cardiovascular variables were measured using a weighing scale, height meter, tape measure, skinfold caliper and electronic sphygmomanometer following standard protocols. GBEP and AVGHBEP were implemented following a circuit training (aerobic and resistance training) pattern with a duration of 40-60 minutes, thrice weekly for twelve weeks. GBEP consisted of gymnasium supervised exercise programme while AVGHBEP is a Visual Display guided exercise programme conducted at the home setting. Data were analyzed by Descriptive and Inferential Statistics. The mean ages of the participants were 22.55 ± 2.55 and 23.65 ± 2.89 years for the GBEP group and AVGHBEP group, respectively. Findings showed that in the GBEP group, there were significant reductions in anthropometric variables and adiposity measures of Weight, BMI, BSFT, TSFT, SISFT, SSSFT, WC, HC, TC, WHtR, and PBF at week 12 of the study. Similarly, in the AVGHBEP group, there were significant reductions in Weight, BMI, BSFT, TSFT, SISFT, SSSFT, WC, HC, TC, WHtR and PBF at the 12th week of intervention. Comparison of the effects of GEBP and AVGHBEP on anthropometric variables and measures of adiposity showed that there was no significant difference between the two groups in weight, BMI, BSFT, TSFT, SISFT, SSSFT, WC, HC, TC, WHR, WHtR, WTR and PBF between the two groups at week 12 of the study. Furthermore, findings on the effects of exercise on programmes on cardiovascular variables revealed that significant reductions occurred in SBP in GBEP group and AVGHBEP group respectively. Comparison of the effects of GBEP and AVGHBEP on cardiovascular variables showed that there was no significant difference in SBP, DBP and HR between the two groups at week 12 of the study. It was concluded that the Audio-Visual Guided Home-based Exercise Programme was as effective as the Gym-Based Exercise Programme in causing a significant reduction in anthropometric variables and body fat among college students who are overweight and obese over a period of twelve weeks. Both Gymnasium-Based Exercise Programme and Audio-Visual Guided Home-Based Exercise Programme led to significant reduction in Systolic Blood Pressure over a period of weeks. Audio-Visual Guided Home-Based Exercise Programme can, therefore, be used as an alternative therapy in the non-pharmacological management of people who are overweight and obese.

Keywords: gym-based exercises, audio-visual guided home-based exercises, anthropometric parameters, cardiovascular parameters, overweight students, obese students

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Authors: Laila Oubahman, Duleba Szabolcs

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Public transport stakeholders aim to increase the ridership ratio by encouraging citizens to use common transportation modes. For this sight, improving service quality is a crucial option to reach the quality desired by users and reduce the gap between desired and perceived quality. Multi-criteria decision aid has been applied in literature in recent decades because it provides efficient models to assess the most impacting criteria on the overall assessment. In this paper, the PROMETHEE method is combined with the best-worst approach to construct a consensual model that avoids rank reversal to support stakeholders in ameliorating service quality.

Keywords: best-worst method, MCDA, PROMETHEE, public transport

Procedia PDF Downloads 210

Authors: E. Manikandan, C. Chilambarasan, M. Sulthan Ariff Rahman, S. Kanagaraj, Abhimanyu Pugazhandhi, V. R. Sanal Kumar

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The designer of any flying car has the major concern on the creation of upward force with low takeoff velocity, with minimum drag, coupled with better stability and control warranting its overall high performance both in road and air. In this paper, 3D numerical simulations of external flow of a Ferrari F430 fitted with different NACA series rectangular wings have been carried out for finding the best aerodynamic design option in road and air. The principle that allows a car to rise off the ground by creating lift using deployable wings with desirable lifting characteristics is the main theme of our paper. Additionally, the car body is streamlined in accordance with the speed range. Further, the rounded and tapered shape of the top of the car is designed to slice through the air and minimize the wind resistance. The 3D SST k-ω turbulence model has been used for capturing the intrinsic flow physics during the take off phase. In the numerical study, a fully implicit finite volume scheme of the compressible, Reynolds-Averaged, Navier-Stokes equations is employed. Through the detailed parametric analytical studies, we have conjectured that Ferrari F430 can be converted into a lucrative flying car with best fit NACA wing through a proper aerodynamic design optimization.

Keywords: aerodynamics of flying car, air taxi, Ferrari F430, roadable airplane

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Authors: Arash Jafari, Mehdi Taghaddosi, Azin Parvin

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In this study, a vibrational differential equation governing on swinging single-degree-of-freedom pendulum in a viscous fluid has been investigated. The damping process is characterized according to two different regimes: at first, damping in stationary viscous fluid, in the second, damping in flowing viscous fluid with constant velocity. Our purpose is to enhance the ability of solving the mentioned nonlinear differential equation with a simple and innovative approach. Comparisons are made between new method and Numerical Method (rkf45). The results show that this method is very effective and simple and can be applied for other nonlinear problems.

Keywords: oscillating systems, angular frequency and damping ratio, pendulum at fluid, locus of maximum

Procedia PDF Downloads 340

Authors: Jiwon Lee, Si-hwan Jang, Sanghyun Joo

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The popularity of emoticons are on the rise since the mobile messengers are generalized. At the same time, few problems of emoticons are also occurred due to innate characteristics of emoticons. Too many emoticons make difficult people to select one which is well-suited for user's intention. On the contrary to this, sometimes user cannot find the emoticon which expresses user's exact intention. Poor information delivery of emoticon is another problem due to a major part of current emoticons are focused on emotion delivery. In this situation, we propose a new concept of emoticons, editable emoticons, to solve above drawbacks of emoticons. User can edit the components inside the proposed editable emoticon and send it to express his exact intention. By doing so, the number of editable emoticons can be maintained reasonable, and it can express user's exact intention. Further, editable emoticons can be used as information deliverer according to user's intention and editing skills. In this paper, we propose the concept of editable emoticons and schema based editable emoticon description method. The proposed description method is 200 times superior to the compared screen capturing method in the view of transmission bandwidth. Further, the description method is designed to have compatibility since it follows MPEG-UD international standard. The proposed editable emoticons can be exploited not only mobile applications, but also various fields such as education and medical field.

Keywords: description schema, editable emoticon, emoticon transmission, mobile applications

Procedia PDF Downloads 298