Search results for: regional pattern

Authors: Suchismita Dattagupta

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Social rules and guidelines specify how a body should be clothed and how it should look. The social rules have made the body a space for expression, oppression and sexual 'commodification'. Being a malleable aspect of the human body, hair has always been worn in a number of ways and this characteristic of hair has made it an essential vehicle for conveying symbolic meaning. Hair, particularly women’s hair has always been considered to be associated with richness and beauty, apart from being associated with sexual power. Society has always had a preoccupation with hair bordering on obsession and has projected its moral and political supremacy by controlling and influencing how an individual wears their hair. Irrespective of the gender of the individual, society has tried to control an individual’s hair to express its control. However, with time, there has been a marked change in the way hair has been used by the individual. Hair has always been the focus of scholarly studies; not just aesthetically, but also in the cultural and social context. The fascination with hair rises from the fact that it is the only part of the human body that is always on display. Fetishization of hair is common in literature and goes ahead to reveal the character’s social and moral status. Modern authors for children and young adults have turned this concept on its head to point out how characters are breaking away from the mould and establishing their personal, moral and social boundaries. This paper will trace the change in hair symbolism in literature for children and young adults to understand how it has changed over the course of the time and what light it throws on the changing pattern of women’s position in society.

Keywords: gender, hair, social symbols, society, women's role

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Authors: Joy Ghosh, Debasmita Biswas

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The road network of any area is the most important indicator of regional planning. For proper utilization of urban road networks, the structural parameters such as connectivity and accessibility should be analyzed and evaluated. This paper aims to explain the application of GIS on urban road network connectivity and accessibility analysis with a case study of Chandannagar City. This paper has been made to analyze the road network connectivity through various connectivity measurements like the total number of nodes and links, Cyclomatic Number, Alpha Index, Beta Index, Gamma index, Eta index, Pi index, Theta Index, and Aggregated Transport Score, Road Density based on existing road network in Chandannagar city in India. Accessibility is measured through the shortest Path Matrix, associate Number, and Shimbel Index. Various urban services, such as schools, banks, Hospitals, petrol pumps, ATMs, police stations, theatres, parks, etc., are considered for the accessibility analysis for each ward. This paper also highlights the relationship between urban land use/ land cover (LULC) and urban road network and population density using various spatial and statistical measurements. The datasets were collected through a field survey of 33 wards of the Chandannagar Municipal Corporation area, and the secondary data were collected through an open street map and satellite image of LANDSAT8 OLI & TIRS from USGS. Chandannagar was actually once a French colony, and at that time, various sort of planning was applied, but now Chandannagar city continues to grow haphazardly because that city is facing some problems; the knowledge gained from this paper helps to create a more efficient and accessible road network. Therefore, it would be suggested that some wards need to improve their connectivity and accessibility for the future growth and development of Chandannagar.

Keywords: accessibility, connectivity, transport, road network

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Authors: Jalil Qoulizadeh, Hasan Sadeghi

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Brain waves are electrical wave patterns that are produced in the human brain. Knowing these waves and activating them can have a positive effect on brain function and ultimately create an ideal life. The brain has the ability to produce waves from 0.1 to above 65 Hz. (The Beta One device produces exactly these waves) This is because it is said that the waves produced by the Beta One device exactly match the waves produced by the brain. The function and method of this device is based on the magnetic stimulation of the brain. The technology used in the design and producƟon of this device works in a way to strengthen and improve the frequencies of brain waves with a pre-defined algorithm according to the type of requested function, so that the person can access the expected functions in life activities. to perform better. The effect of this field on neurons and their stimulation: In order to evaluate the effect of this field created by the device, on the neurons, the main tests are by conducting electroencephalography before and after stimulation and comparing these two baselines by qEEG or quantitative electroencephalography method using paired t-test in 39 subjects. It confirms the significant effect of this field on the change of electrical activity recorded after 30 minutes of stimulation in all subjects. The Beta One device is able to induce the appropriate pattern of the expected functions in a soft and effective way to the brain in a healthy and effective way (exactly in accordance with the harmony of brain waves), the process of brain activities first to a normal state and then to a powerful one. Production of inexpensive neuroscience equipment (compared to existing rTMS equipment) Magnetic brain stimulation for clinics - homes - factories and companies - professional sports clubs.

Keywords: stimulation, brain, waves, betaOne

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Authors: Umm-E-Hani, Faiza Babar, Hanif Durad

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Malware-detecting approaches suffer many limitations, due to which all anti-malware solutions have failed to be reliable enough for detecting zero-day malware. Signature-based solutions depend upon the signatures that can be generated only when malware surfaces at least once in the cyber world. Another approach that works by detecting the anomalies caused in the environment can easily be defeated by diligently and intelligently written malware. Solutions that have been trained to observe the behavior for detecting malicious files have failed to cater to the malware capable of detecting the sandboxed or protected environment. Machine learning and deep learning-based approaches greatly suffer in training their models with either an imbalanced dataset or an inadequate number of samples. AI-based anti-malware solutions that have been trained with enough samples targeted a selected feature vector, thus ignoring the input of leftover features in the maliciousness of malware just to cope with the lack of underlying hardware processing power. Our research focuses on producing an anti-malware solution for detecting malicious PE files by circumventing the earlier-mentioned shortcomings. Our proposed framework, which is based on automated feature engineering through autoencoders, trains the model over a fairly large dataset. It focuses on the visual patterns of malware samples to automatically extract the meaningful part of the visual pattern. Our experiment has successfully produced a state-of-the-art accuracy of 99.54 % over test data.

Keywords: malware, auto encoders, automated feature engineering, classification

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Authors: P. G. Siddheshwar, R. K. Vanishree, C. Kanchana

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A local nonlinear stability analysis using a eight-mode expansion is performed in arriving at the coupled amplitude equations for Rayleigh-Bénard-Brinkman convection (RBBC) in the presence of LTNE effects. Streamlines and isotherms are obtained in the two-dimensional unsteady finite-amplitude convection regime. The parameters’ influence on heat transport is found to be more pronounced at small time than at long times. Results of the Rayleigh-Bénard convection is obtained as a particular case of the present study. Additional modes are shown not to significantly influence the heat transport thus leading us to infer that five minimal modes are sufficient to make a study of RBBC. The present problem that uses rolls as a pattern of manifestation of instability is a needed first step in the direction of making a very general non-local study of two-dimensional unsteady convection. The results may be useful in determining the preferred range of parameters’ values while making rheometric measurements in fluids to ascertain fluid properties such as viscosity. The results of LTE are obtained as a limiting case of the results of LTNE obtained in the paper.

Keywords: coupled Ginzburg–Landau model, local thermal non-equilibrium (LTNE), local thermal equilibrium (LTE), Rayleigh–Bénard-Brinkman convection

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Authors: Ki-Yeo Kim

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Trends in genetics are transforming in order to identify differential coexpressions of correlated gene expression rather than the significant individual gene. Moreover, it is known that a combined biomarker pattern improves the discrimination of a specific cancer. The identification of the combined biomarker is also necessary for the early detection of invasive oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). To identify the combined biomarker that could improve the discrimination of OSCC, we explored an appropriate number of genes in a combined gene set in order to attain the highest level of accuracy. After detecting a significant gene set, including the pre-defined number of genes, a combined expression was identified using the weights of genes in a gene set. We used the Principal Component Analysis (PCA) for the weight calculation. In this process, we used three public microarray datasets. One dataset was used for identifying the combined biomarker, and the other two datasets were used for validation. The discrimination accuracy was measured by the out-of-bag (OOB) error. There was no relation between the significance and the discrimination accuracy in each individual gene. The identified gene set included both significant and insignificant genes. One of the most significant gene sets in the classification of normal and OSCC included MMP1, SOCS3 and ACOX1. Furthermore, in the case of oral dysplasia and OSCC discrimination, two combined biomarkers were identified. The combined genomic expression achieved better performance in the discrimination of different conditions than in a single significant gene. Therefore, it could be expected that accurate diagnosis for cancer could be possible with a combined biomarker.

Keywords: oral squamous cell carcinoma, combined biomarker, microarray dataset, correlated genes

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Authors: Chaiwat Tantarangsee

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The purposes of this study are 1) to study the frequent English writing errors of students registering the course: Reading and Writing English for Academic Purposes II, and 2) to find out the results of writing error correction by using coded indirect corrective feedback and writing error treatments. Samples include 28 2nd year English Major students, Faculty of Education, Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University. Tool for experimental study includes the lesson plan of the course; Reading and Writing English for Academic Purposes II, and tool for data collection includes 4 writing tests of short texts. The research findings disclose that frequent English writing errors found in this course comprise 7 types of grammatical errors, namely Fragment sentence, Subject-verb agreement, Wrong form of verb tense, Singular or plural noun endings, Run-ons sentence, Wrong form of verb pattern and Lack of parallel structure. Moreover, it is found that the results of writing error correction by using coded indirect corrective feedback and error treatment reveal the overall reduction of the frequent English writing errors and the increase of students’ achievement in the writing of short texts with the significance at .05.

Keywords: coded indirect corrective feedback, error correction, error treatment, English writing

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Authors: Y. B. Kirankumar, J. D. Mallapur

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Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) is an emerging technology, which has great invention for various low cost applications both for mass public as well as for defence. The wireless sensor communication technology allows random participation of sensor nodes with particular applications to take part in the network, which results in most of the uncovered simulation area, where fewer nodes are located at far distances. The drawback of such network would be that the additional energy is spent by the nodes located in a pattern of dense location, using more number of nodes for a smaller distance of communication adversely in a region with less number of nodes and additional energy is again spent by the source node in order to transmit a packet to neighbours, thereby transmitting the packet to reach the destination. The proposed work is intended to develop Energy Efficient Node Placement Algorithm (EENPA) in order to place the sensor node efficiently in simulated area, where all the nodes are equally located on a radial path to cover maximum area at equidistance. The total energy consumed by each node compared to random placement of nodes is less by having equal burden on fewer nodes of far location, having distributed the nodes in whole of the simulation area. Calculating the network lifetime also proves to be efficient as compared to random placement of nodes, hence increasing the network lifetime, too. Simulation is been carried out in a qualnet simulator, results are obtained on par with random placement of nodes with EENP algorithm.

Keywords: energy, WSN, wireless sensor network, energy approach

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Authors: Nur A. Azmi, Suseela D. Chandran, Fadilah Puteh, Azizan Zainuddin

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Medical tourism has been associated as a global phenomenon in developed and developing countries in the 21st century. Medical tourism is defined as an activity in which individuals who travel from one country to another country to seek or receive medical healthcare. Based on the global trend, the number of medical tourists is increasing annually, especially in the Southeast Asia (SEA) region. Since the establishment of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 1967, the SEA nations have worked towards regional integration in medical tourism. The medical tourism in the SEA has become the third-largest sector that contributes towards economic development. Previous research has demonstrated several factors that affect the development of medical tourism. However, despite the already published literature on SEA's medical tourism in the last ten years there continues to be a scarcity of research on niche areas each of the SEA countries. Hence, this paper is significant in enriching the literature in the field of medical tourism particularly in showcasing the niche market of medical tourism among the SEA best players namely Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. This paper also contributes in offering a comparative analysis between the said nations whether they are complementing or competing with each other in the medical tourism sector. This then, will increase the availability of information in SEA region on medical tourism. The data was collected through an in-depth interview with various stakeholders and private hospitals. The data was then analyzed using two approaches namely thematic analysis (interview data) and document analysis (secondary data). The paper concludes by arguing that the ASEAN countries have specific niche market to promote their medical tourism industry. This paper also concludes that these key nations complement each other in the industry. In addition, the medical tourism sector in SEA region offers greater prospects for market development and expansion that witnessed the emerging of new key players from other nations.

Keywords: healthcare services, medical tourism, medical tourists, SEA region, comparative analysis

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Authors: Alaa Alateeqi, Sara Aldhulaiee, Sara Alibraheem, Noura Alsaleh

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For the past few decades or so, Kuwait's local food industry has grown remarkably due to increase in demand for processed or semi processed food products in the market. It is important that the ever increasing food manufacturing/processing units maintain the required quality standards as per regional and to some extent international quality requirements. It has been realized that all Kuwait food manufacturing units should understand and follow the international standard practices, and moreover a set of guidelines must be set for quality assurance such that any new business in this area is aware of the minimum requirements. The current study has been undertaken to identify the gaps in Kuwait food industries in following the Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) in terms of quality planning, control and quality assurance. GMP refers to Good Manufacturing Practices, which are a set of rules, laws or regulations that certify producing products within quality standards and ensuring that it is safe, pure and effective. The present study therefore reports about a ‘case study’ in a reputed food manufacturing unit in Kuwait; starting from assessment of the current practices followed by diagnosis, report of the diagnosis and road map and corrective measures for GMP implementation in the unit. The case study has also been able to identify the best practices and establish a benchmarking data for other companies to follow, through measuring the selected company's quality, policies, products and strategies and compare it with the established benchmarking data. A set of questionnaires and assessment mechanism has been established for companies to identify their ‘benchmarking score’ in relation to the number of non-conformities and conformities with the GMP standard requirements.

Keywords: good manufacturing practices, GMP, benchmarking, Kuwait Food Industries, food quality

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Authors: Kavindan Balakrishnan

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Root cause Identification of the Vibration phenomenon in a feedwater pumping station was the main objective of this research. First, the mode shapes of the pumping structure were investigated using numerical and analytical methods. Then the flow pressure and streamline distribution in the pump sump were examined using C.F.D. simulation, which was hypothesized can be a cause of vibration in the pumping station. As the problem specification of this research states, the vibration phenomenon in the pumping station, with four parallel pumps operating at the same time and heavy vibration recorded even after several maintenance steps. They also specified that a relatively large amplitude of vibration exited by pumps 1 and 4 while others remain normal. As a result, the focus of this research was on determining the cause of such a mode of vibration in the pump station with the assistance of Finite Element Analysis tools and Analytical methods. Major outcomes were observed in structural behavior which is favorable to the vibration pattern phenomenon in the pumping structure as a result of this research. Behaviors of the numerical and analytical models of the pump structure have similar characteristics in their mode shapes, particularly in their 2nd mode shape, which is considerably related to the exact cause of the research problem statement. Since this study reveals several possible points of flow visualization in the pump sump model that can be a favorable cause of vibration in the system, there is more room for improved investigation on flow conditions relating to pump vibrations.

Keywords: vibration, simulation, analysis, Ansys, Matlab, mode shapes, pressure distribution, structure

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Authors: R. C. Law, Shirley Kang, T. Y. Hin, M. Z. Abdullah

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LED technology has been evolving aggressively in recent years from incandescent bulb during older days to as small as chip scale package. It will continue to stay bright in future. As such, there is tremendous pressure to stay competitive in the market by optimizing products to next level of performance and reliability with the shortest time to market. This changes the conventional way of product design and development to virtual prototyping by means of Computer Aided Engineering (CAE). It comprises of the deployment of Finite Element Method (FEM) and Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD). FEM accelerates the investigation for early detection of failures such as crack, improve the thermal performance of system and enhance solder joint reliability. CFD helps to simulate the flow pattern of molding material as a function of different temperature, molding parameters settings to evaluate failures like voids and displacement. This paper will briefly discuss the procedures and applications of FEM in thermal stress, solder joint reliability and CFD of compression molding in LED CSP. Integration of virtual prototyping in product development had greatly reduced the time to market. Many successful achievements with minimized number of evaluation iterations required in the scope of material, process setting, and package architecture variant have been materialized with this approach.

Keywords: LED, chip scale packaging (CSP), computational fluid dynamic (CFD), virtual prototyping

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Authors: Zia Ullah, Muhammad Asim, Shi Sujuan, Rayyan Khan, Aaqib Shaheen, LIU Haobao

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The plant-specific auxin efflux proteins PIN-FORMED (PIN) have been well depicted in many plant species for their essential roles in regulating the transport of auxins in several phases of plant growth. Little is known about the various functions of the PIN family genes in the Nicotiana tabacum (N. tabacum) species during plant growth. To define the expression pattern of the NtPIN1a gene under abiotic stresses and hormone treatment, transgenic tobacco with promoterNtPIN1a::GUS construct was employed. Comprehensive computational analyses of the NtPIN1a promoter confirmed the existence of common core promoter elements including CAAT-box, TATA-box, hormone, and abiotic stress-responsive elements such as ABRE, P-box, MYC, MYB, ARE, and GC-motifs. The transgenic plants with the promoter of NtPIN1a displayed a promising expression of β-glucuronidase (GUS) in germinating seeds, root tips, shoot-apex, and developing leaves under optimal conditions. While the differential expression of GUS in moderate salt, drought, low potassium stresses, and externally high auxin level at two different time points, suggested NtPIN1a played a key role in growth processes and the plants’ response to abiotic stresses. This analysis provides a foundation for more in-depth discoveries of the biological functions of NtPIN1a in Nicotiana species and this promoter may be employed in genetic engineering of other crops for enhanced stress tolerance.

Keywords: tobacco, nicotiana tabacum, pin, promoter, GUS, abiotic stresses, auxin

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Authors: Harsi Nastiti, Haidar Fikri

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Indonesia has been known for its diversity of cultures, ethnics, religions, and races. This diversity signs as the uniqueness of the country, so tolerance becomes vital point here. As a unitary state, tolerance value is established strongly as the foundation of democracy implementation but recently this tolerance condition facing up some problems after regional election. In this case, religion issue takes a main role for the Indonesian political system which is managed into tolerance breaker especially for local democracy. The election of Jakarta’s Governor 2017 can be said as the momentum for the people to rethink the democracy and tolerance meaning. It begins from one of the governor candidates who makes statement about the majority religion and unfortunately the candidate comes from the minority. The statement emerges into a new social movement based on religiosity. Basically, the social movement which is coordinated by Islamic Defender Front (Front Pembela Islam or FPI) and National Movement to Safeguard the Fatwa-Indonesian Ulama Council (GNPF-MUI) want to demand the justice in the name of blasphemy. The action continuously happens in different names (Action 411, 212, etc.). So, this article analyzes the new phenomenon and how does the impact for the tolerance and democracy life in Indonesia. The method is using qualitative method by review of literature and media content analysis. Results show this phenomenon potentially spreading new conflicts far beyond the goal of the action itself; justice. It makes the conflicts more complex after there are actions such as; Parade Kebhinekaan and Aksi Lilin which contrary reacts to the actions before. These actions and reactions rise up the sensitive issues for Indonesia like religions, Pancasila, unity in diversity, ethnics, and races. At the same time raising skepticism; will it be over after the candidate is getting sentenced or becomes the dangerous latent conflict that will threaten tolerance and democracy in Indonesia.

Keywords: conflict, democracy, religion, tolerance

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Authors: S. P. Chintan, A. M. Khoja, M. Modi, R. K. Chopra, S. Garde, D. Jain, O. Kajale

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Pulmonary Hypertension is a rare but debilitating disease that affects individuals of all ages and walks of life. As recent as 15 years ago, a patient diagnosed with PH was given an average survival rate of 2.8 years. Recent advances in treatment options have allowed patients to improve quality o and quantity of life. Initial screening for PH is through echocardiography with final diagnosis confirmed through right heart catheterization. PH is now considered to have five major classifications with subgroups among each. The mild to moderate PH is common in chronic lung diseases like Chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases and Interstitial lung disease. But very severe PH is noted in few cases. In COPD patients, PH is associated with an increased risk of severe exacerbations and a reduced life expectancy. Similarly, in patients with ILD, the presence of PH correlates with a poor prognosis. Early diagnosis is essential to slow disease progression. We report here five cases of severe PH (Out of Proportion) of which four cases were of COPD and another one of IPF (UIP pattern). There echocardiography showed gross RA/RV dilatation, interventricular septum bulging to the left and mPAP of more than 100 mmHg in all the five cases. These patients were put on LTOT, pulmonary rehabilitation, combination pharmacotherapy of vasodilators and diuretics in continuation to the treatment of underlying disease. As these patients have grave prognosis close monitoring and follow up is required. Physicians associated with respiratory care and treating chronic lung disease should have knowledge in the diagnosis and management of patients with PH.

Keywords: COPD, pulmonary hypertension, chronic lung disease, India

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Authors: Ghada A. Gamea, Nabila A. Yaseen, Ahmed A. Othman, Ahmed S. Tawfik

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Infection with Toxoplasma gondii can cause serious complications in pregnant women, leading to abortion, stillbirth, and congenital anomalies in the fetus. Definitive diagnosis of T. gondii acute infection is therefore critical for the clinical management of a mother and her fetus. This study was conducted on 250 pregnant females in the first trimester who were inpatients or outpatients at Obstetrics and Gynaecology Department at Tanta University Hospital. Screening of the selected females was done for the detection of immunoglobulin (IgG and IgM), and all subjects were submitted to history taking through a questionnaire including personal data, risk factors for Toxoplasma, complaint and history of the present illness. Thirty-eight samples, including 18 IgM +ve and 20 IgM-ve cases were further investigated by the avidity and IgE ELISA tests. The seroprevalence of toxoplasmosis in pregnant women was (42.8%) based on the presence of IgG antibodies in their sera. Contact with cats and consumption of raw or undercooked meat are important risk factors that were associated with toxoplasmosis in pregnant women. By serology, it could be observed that in the IgM +ve group, only one case (5.6%) showed an acute pattern by using the avidity test, though 10 (55.6%) cases were found to be acute by the IgE assay. On the other hand, in the IgM –ve group, 3 (15%) showed low avidity, but none of them was positive by using the IgE assay. In conclusion, there is no single serological test that can be used to confirm whether T. gondii infection is recent or was acquired in the distant past. A panel of tests for detection of toxoplasmosis will certainly have higher discriminatory power than any test alone.

Keywords: diagnosis, serology, seroprevalence, toxoplasmosis

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Authors: Ganiyu Rasaq Omokeji

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The growing recognition of the pivotal role of universities in promoting socio-economic development has led to a focus upon the expansion of the sector around the world. As the economy and society become more ‘knowledge intensive’, the role of universities in development is more onerous than just teaching, research, and service. It is to help create the open society upon which the progress of ideas depends on. Driven to fulfill this role, universities are likely to become even more important in building regional networks of their host communities. Currently, there are about 129 universities in Nigeria, with a total number of 37 federal, 36 state, and 56 privately owned universities. Fountain University is among the private universities in Nigeria located in Osogbo, Osun State. The university is committed to the total development of men and women in an enabling environment, through appropriate teaching, research, and service to humanity, influenced by Islamic ethics and culture. The university focuses on educational development and growth that are relevant to the nation’s manpower needs and global competitiveness through a gradual but steady process. This paper examines the role of Private University in the socio-economic development of host community using Fountain University as a case study. The research methodology design for this paper has a total of 200 respondents. The research instrument of data collection was a questionnaire and in-depth interview (IDI). The finding reveals that Fountain University plays an important role in socio-economic and cultural development through their Islamic culture. The paper recommend that universities must bridge the gaps between creative individual with innovative ideas and the application of technology for economic progress and social betterment of their host communities. University also must serve as a bridge that carries the traffic of social and economic development.

Keywords: private university, socio-economic development, host communities, role of universities and community development

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Authors: Ayse Cagil Kandemir, Derya Erdem, Markus Niederberger, Ralph Spolenak

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Dip Pen nanolithography (DPN), which is a tip based method, serves a novel approach to produce nano and micro-scaled patterns due to its high resolution and pattern flexibility. It is introduced as a new constructive scanning probe lithography (SPL) technique. DPN delivers materials in the form of an ink by using the tip of a cantilever as pen and substrate as paper in order to form surface architectures. First studies rely on delivery of small organic molecules on gold substrate in ambient conditions. As time passes different inks such as; polymers, colloidal particles, oligonucleotides, metallic salts were examined on a variety of surfaces. Discovery of DPN also enabled patterning with multiple inks by using multiple cantilevers for the first time in SPL history. Specifically, polymer inks, which constitute a flexible matrix for various materials, can have a potential in MEMS, NEMS and drug delivery applications. In our study, it is aimed to construct polymer patterns using DPN by studying wetting behavior of polymer on semiconductor, metal and polymer surfaces. The optimum viscosity range of polymer and effect of environmental conditions such as humidity and temperature are examined. It is observed that there is an inverse relation with ink viscosity and depletion time. This study also yields the optimal writing conditions to produce consistent patterns with DPN. It is shown that written dot sizes increase with dwell time, indicating that the examined writing conditions yield repeatable patterns.

Keywords: dip pen nanolithography, polymer, surface patterning, surface science

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Authors: Muhammad Alif Bin Razali, Cheng-Gang Xie, Wai Lam Loh

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A venturi device is commonly used as an integral part of a multiphase flowmeter (MPFM) in real-time oil-gas production monitoring. For an accurate determination of individual phase fraction and flowrate, a gas-liquid flow ideally needs to be well mixed in the venturi measurement section. Partial flow mixing is achieved by installing a venturi vertically downstream of the blind-tee pipework that ‘homogenizes’ the incoming horizontal gas-liquid flow. In order to study in-depth the flow-mixing effect of the blind-tee, gas-liquid flows are captured at blind-tee and venturi sections by using a high-speed video camera and a purpose-built transparent test rig, over a wide range of superficial liquid velocities (0.3 to 2.4m/s) and gas volume fractions (10 to 95%). Electrical capacitance sensors are built to measure the instantaneous holdup (of oil-gas flows) at the venturi inlet and throat. Flow regimes and flow (a)symmetry are investigated based on analyzing the statistical features of capacitance sensors’ holdup time-series data and of the high-speed video time-stacked images. The perceived homogenization effect of the blind-tee on the incoming intermittent horizontal flow regimes is found to be relatively small across the tested flow conditions. A horizontal (blind-tee) to vertical (venturi) flow-pattern transition map is proposed based on gas and liquid mass fluxes (weighted by the Baker parameters).

Keywords: blind-tee, flow visualization, gas-liquid two-phase flow, MPFM

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Authors: Oscar Javier Montiel Mendez

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The link between knowledge-creativity-innovation-entrepreneurship is well established, and broadly emphasized the importance of national innovation systems (NIS) as an approach stresses that the flow of information and technology among people, organizations and institutions are key to its process. Understanding the linkages among the actors involved in innovation is relevant to NIS. Creativity is supposed to fuel NIS, mainly focusing on a personal, group or organizational level, leaving aside the fourth one, as a national system. It is suggested that NIS takes Creativity for granted, an ex-ante stage already solved through some mechanisms, like programs for nurturing it at elementary and secondary schools, universities, or public/organizational specific programs. Or worse, that the individual already has this competence, and that the elements of the NIS will communicate between in a way that will lead to the creation of S curves, with an impact on national systems/programs on entrepreneurship, clusters, and the economy. But creativity constantly appears at any time during NIS, being the key input. Under an initial, exploratory, focused and refined literature review, based on Csikszentmihalyi’s systemic model, Amabile's componential theory, Kaufman and Beghetto’s 4C model, and the OECD’s (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) NIS model (expanded), an NCS theoretical model is elaborated. Its suggested that its implementation could become a significant factor helping strengthen local, regional and national economies. The results also suggest that the establishment of a national creativity system (NCS), something that appears not been previously addressed, as a strategic/vital companion for a NIS, installing it not only as a national education strategy, but as its foundation, managing it and measuring its impact on NIS, entrepreneurship and the rest of the ecosystem, could make more effective public policies. Likewise, it should have a beneficial impact on the efforts of all the stakeholders involved and should help prevent some of the possible failures that NIS present.

Keywords: national creativity system, national innovation system, entrepreneurship ecosystem, systemic creativity

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Authors: Chen Bingru

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This study is intended to describe and analyze the effects of polysyllabic shortening and word or phrase boundary on the duration patterns of spoken utterances by Mandarin learners of English in comparison with native speakers of English. To investigate the relative contribution of these effects, two production experiments were conducted. The study included 11 native British English speakers and 20 Mandarin learners of English who were asked to produce four sets of tokens consisting of a mono-syllabic base form, disyllabic, and trisyllabic words derived from the base by the addition of suffixes, and a set of short sentences with a particular combination of phrase size, stress pattern, and boundary location. The duration of words and segments was measured, and results from the data analysis suggest that the amount of polysyllabic shortening and the effect of word or phrase position are likely to affect a Chinese accent for Mandarin ESL speakers. This study sheds light on research on the duration patterns of language by demonstrating the effect of duration-related factors on the foreign accent of Mandarin ESL speakers. It can also benefit both L2 learners and language teachers by increasing their sensitivity to the duration differences and difficulties experienced by L2 learners of English. An understanding of the amount of polysyllabic shortening and the effect of position in words and phrase on syllable duration can also facilitate L2 teachers to establish priorities for teaching pronunciation to ESL learners.

Keywords: duration patterns, Chinese accent, Mandarin ESL speakers, polysyllabic shortening

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Authors: Ahmed Ramadhan Al-Obaidi, Jassim Alhamid

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In this investigation, the flow pattern, characteristics of thermal-hydraulic, and improvement of heat transfer performance are evaluated using a numerical technique in three dimensions corrugated pipe heat exchanger. The modification was made under different corrugated pipe geometrical parameters, including corrugated ring angle (CRA), distance between corrugated ring (DBCR), and corrugated diameter (CD), the range of Re number from 2000 to 12000. The numerical results are validated with available experimental data. The numerical outcomes reveal that there is an important change in flow field behaviour and a significant increase in friction factor and improvement in heat transfer performance owing to the use of the corrugated shape in the heat exchanger pipe as compared to the conventional smooth pipe. Using corrugated pipe with different configurations makes the flow more turbulence, flow separation, boundary layer distribution, flow mixing, and that leads to augmenting the performance of heat transfer. Moreover, the value of pressure drop, and the Nusselt number increases as the corrugated pipe geometrical parameters increase. Furthermore, the corrugation configuration shapes have an important influence on the thermal evaluation performance factor, and the maximum value was more than 1.3. Numerical simulation can be performed to predict the various geometrical configurations effects on fluid flow, thermal performance, and heat transfer enhancement.

Keywords: corrugated ring angle, corrugated diameter, Nusselt number, heat transfer

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Authors: Baluku Nathan

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Transferring critically ill patients from one health facility to another poses a major risk to the patient because of increased oxygen demands. transferring patients with critical COVID-19 from a rural health canter in a rural district to a national referral hospital over 350 km in 7 hours would require three size H oxygen cylinders for successful transfer. It was always difficult to arrange the three size cylinders in the ambulance as workspace was greatly compromised for the ambulance assistant. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact and effectiveness of transport ventilators on the transportation of the critically ill patients from rural health canters to national referral hospitals in Uganda. Methodology: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted in sept 2022 among critical care nurses and ambulance assistants who had used both methods of transportation (ventilators and cylinders). A semi structured questionnaire was used to collect quantitative data after informed consent. Results: From the findings, distribution of transport ventilators to the regional referral hospitals by the Ministry of Health has gradually improved patient transfer as the team requires less than one size oxygen cylinder to successfully transfer a patient. We use two ambulance assistants (a critical care nurse and another nurse who has been trained on use of the ventilator) when transferring patients with critical COVID-19 as the teams have to interchange over the long distance. Conclusions: Transport ventilators are effective and efficient in transferring critically ill patients, therefore should be rolled out to lower levels coupled with user training to improve outcomes of patients transferred in ambulances in lower income countries.

Keywords: emergency medical technician, critically ill, COVID-19, transport ventilator

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Authors: Dongju Kim, Youngjoo Suh, Hyojin Kim, Gyeongyeong Kim

Abstract:

Acoustic Emission Testing (AET) is widely used to test the structural integrity of an operational hydrogen storage container, and clustering algorithms are frequently used in pattern recognition methods to interpret AET results. However, the interpretation of AET results can vary from user to user as the tuning of the relevant parameters relies on the user's experience and knowledge of AET. Therefore, it is necessary to use a deep learning model to identify patterns in acoustic emission (AE) signal data that can be used to classify defects instead. In this paper, a deep learning-based model for classifying the types of defects in hydrogen storage tanks, using AE sensor waveforms, is proposed. As hydrogen storage tanks are commonly constructed using carbon fiber reinforced polymer composite (CFRP), a defect classification dataset is collected through a tensile test on a specimen of CFRP with an AE sensor attached. The performance of the classification model, using one-dimensional convolutional neural network (1-D CNN) and synthetic minority oversampling technique (SMOTE) data augmentation, achieved 91.09% accuracy for each defect. It is expected that the deep learning classification model in this paper, used with AET, will help in evaluating the operational safety of hydrogen storage containers.

Keywords: acoustic emission testing, carbon fiber reinforced polymer composite, one-dimensional convolutional neural network, smote data augmentation

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Authors: Marco Antonio Lara De la Calleja, María Catalina Ovando Chico, Eduardo Lopez Ruiz

Abstract:

Community empowerment has been proved to be a key element in the solution of the food security problem. As a result of a conceptual analysis, it was found that agricultural production, economic development and governance, are the traditional basis of food security models. Although the literature points to social inclusion as an important factor for food security, no model has considered it as the basis of it. The aim of this research is to identify different dimensions that make an integral model for food security, with emphasis on community empowerment. A diagnosis was made in the study community (Tatoxcac, Zacapoaxtla, Puebla), to know the aspects that impact the level of food insecurity. With a statistical sample integrated by 200 families, the Latin American and Caribbean Food Security Scale (ELCSA) was applied, finding that: in households composed by adults and children, have moderated food insecurity, (ELCSA scale has three levels, low, moderated and high); that result is produced mainly by the economic income capacity and the diversity of the diet on its food. With that being said, a model was developed to promote food security through five dimensions: 1. Regional context of the community; 2. Structure and system of local food; 3. Health and nutrition; 4. Information and technology access; and 5. Self-awareness and empowerment. The specific actions on each axis of the model, allowed a systemic approach needed to attend food security in the community, through the empowerment of society. It is concluded that the self-awareness of local communities is an area of extreme importance, which must be taken into account for participatory schemes to improve food security. In the long term, the model requires the integrated participation of different actors, such as government, companies and universities, to solve something such vital as food security.

Keywords: community empowerment, food security, model, systemic approach

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Authors: Anton A. Bykov, Irina O. Glot, Igor N. Shardakov, Alexey P. Shestakov

Abstract:

This paper presents the results of experimental and theoretical investigations of the mechanisms of crack formation in reinforced concrete beams subjected to quasi-static bending. The boundary-value problem has been formulated in the framework of brittle fracture mechanics and has been solved by using the finite-element method. Numerical simulation of the vibrations of an uncracked beam and a beam with cracks of different size serves to determine the pattern of changes in the spectrum of eigenfrequencies observed during crack evolution. Experiments were performed on the sequential quasistatic four-point bending of the beam leading to the formation of cracks in concrete. At each loading stage, the beam was subjected to an impulse load to induce vibrations. Two stages of cracking were detected. At the first stage the conservative process of deformation is realized. The second stage is an active cracking, which is marked by a sharp change in eingenfrequencies. The boundary of a transition from one stage to another is well registered. The vibration behavior was examined for the beams strengthened by carbon-fiber sheet before loading and at the intermediate stage of loading after the grouting of initial cracks. The obtained results show that the vibrodiagnostic approach is an effective tool for monitoring of cracking and for assessing the quality of measures aimed at strengthening concrete structures.

Keywords: crack formation, experiment, mathematical modeling, reinforced concrete, vibrodiagnostics

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Authors: Sebastian Töpfer, Jorge Fuenzalida, Marta Gilaberte Basset, Juan P. Torres, Markus Gräfe

Abstract:

This work presents an experimental and theoretical study about the noise resilience of quantum holography with undetected photons. Quantum imaging has become an important research topic in the recent years after its first publication in 2014. Following this research, advances towards different spectral ranges in detection and different optical geometries have been made. Especially an interest in the field of near infrared to mid infrared measurements has developed, because of the unique characteristic, that allows to sample a probe with photons in a different wavelength than the photons arriving at the detector. This promising effect can be used for medical applications, to measure in the so-called molecule fingerprint region, while using broadly available detectors for the visible spectral range. Further advance the development of quantum imaging methods have been made by new measurement and detection schemes. One of which is quantum holography with undetected light. It combines digital phase shifting holography with quantum imaging to extent the obtainable sample information, by measuring not only the object transmission, but also its influence on the phase shift experienced by the transmitted light. This work will present extended research for the quantum holography with undetected light scheme regarding the influence of external noise. It is shown experimentally and theoretically that the samples information can still be at noise levels of 250 times higher than the signal level, because of its information being transmitted by the interferometric pattern. A detailed theoretic explanation is also provided.

Keywords: distillation, quantum holography, quantum imaging, quantum metrology

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Authors: Sunday Sedodo Nupo, Clara Berstien Oguntona, Babatunde Oguntona, Oluseyi Akinloye, P. A. Olunusi Adeboye

Abstract:

Cardiovascular diseases are now becoming dominant sources of morbidity and mortality worldwide. This study investigated the lipid profile of civil servants. A cross-sectional study was carried out among randomly selected 202 male and 298 female civil servants in Abeokuta Ogun state. A pretested structured questionnaire was used to elicit information on history of non-communicable diseases and physical activity pattern of the respondents. The blood pressures of the subjects were measured and classified using World Health Organization criteria. The total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), high-density lipoprotein (HDL). Ethical approval was obtained from Ogun State Ministry of Health. Data collected were analysed using Statistical package for social science version 17.1. Results showed that majority (76%) of the subjects were within the age range of 20 - 40 years, 75% earned between N58,500 - N98,000 monthly and 68% were sedentary. The mean energy intake of men and women were 3942±38 kcal and 2791±3 kcal respectively, while the protein intake for men was 65±49 g/day and 54.28±40 g/day for women. Desirable TC level (<200 mg/dl) was found in 80% of the selected subjects while the normal TG (<150 mg/dl) and LDL (<129 mg/dl) was found in 95% and 90% subjects respectively. The mean TC was 78.91±11 mg/dl and 62.69±9 mg/dl in men and women respectively. The study showed that most of the subjects had normal lipid in terms of serum triglycerides, total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol and LDL cholesterol.

Keywords: high density lipoprotein, morbidity, mortality, triglycerides

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Authors: Eva Tolmeijer, Emmanuelle Peters, Veena Kumari, Liam Mason

Abstract:

Cognitive behavioral therapy for psychosis (CBTp) is effective in many but not all patients, making it important to better understand the factors that determine treatment outcomes. To date, no studies have examined whether neuroimaging can make clinically useful predictions about who will respond to CBTp. To this end, we used machine learning methods that make predictions about symptom improvement at the individual patient level. Prior to receiving CBTp, 22 patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia completed a social-affective processing task during functional MRI. Multivariate pattern analysis assessed whether treatment response could be predicted by brain activation responses to facial affect that was either socially threatening or prosocial. The resulting models did significantly predict symptom improvement, with distinct multivariate signatures predicting psychotic (r=0.54, p=0.01) and affective (r=0.32, p=0.05) symptoms. Psychotic symptom improvement was accurately predicted from relatively focal threat-related activation across hippocampal, occipital, and temporal regions; affective symptom improvement was predicted by a more dispersed profile of responses to prosocial affect. These findings enrich our understanding of the neurobiological underpinning of treatment response. This study provides a foundation that will hopefully lead to greater precision and tailoring of the interventions offered to patients.

Keywords: cognitive behavioral therapy, machine learning, psychosis, schizophrenia

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Authors: Mehdi Mirzaei Alavijeh, Farzad Jalilian

Abstract:

Background: Marijuana is the most widely used illicit drug worldwide, especially among adolescents and young adults, which can cause numerous complications. The aim of this study was to determine the pattern, motivation use, and factors related to marijuana use among Iranian youths based on the integrative model of behavioral prediction Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 174 youths marijuana user in Kermanshah County and Isfahan County, during summer 2014 which was selected with the convenience sampling for participation in this study. A self-reporting questionnaire was applied for collecting data. Data were analyzed by SPSS version 21 using bivariate correlations and linear regression statistical tests. Results: The mean marijuana use of respondents was 4.60 times at during week [95% CI: 4.06, 5.15]. Linear regression statistical showed, the structures of integrative model of behavioral prediction accounted for 36% of the variation in the outcome measure of the marijuana use at during week (R2 = 36% & P < 0.001); and among them attitude, marijuana refuse, and subjective norms were a stronger predictors. Conclusion: Comprehensive health education and prevention programs need to emphasize on cognitive factors that predict youth’s health-related behaviors. Based on our findings it seems, designing educational and behavioral intervention for reducing positive belief about marijuana, marijuana self-efficacy refuse promotion and reduce subjective norms encourage marijuana use has an effective potential to protect youths marijuana use.

Keywords: marijuana, youth, integrative model of behavioral prediction, Iran

Procedia PDF Downloads 541