Search results for: virtual platform

Authors: Syed Asif Hassan, Tabrej Khan

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Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic demyelinating autoimmune disorder, of the central nervous system (CNS). In the present scenario, the current therapies either do not halt the progression of the disease or have side effects which limit the usage of current Disease Modifying Therapies (DMTs) for a longer period of time. Therefore, keeping the current treatment failure schema, we are focusing on screening novel analogues of the available DMTs that specifically bind and inhibit the Sphingosine1-phosphate receptor1 (S1PR1) thereby hindering the lymphocyte propagation toward CNS. The novel drug-like analogs molecule will decrease the frequency of relapses (recurrence of the symptoms associated with MS) with higher efficacy and lower toxicity to human system. In this study, an integrated approach involving ligand-based virtual screening protocol (Ultrafast Shape Recognition with CREDO Atom Types (USRCAT)) to identify the non-toxic drug like analogs of the approved DMTs were employed. The potency of the drug-like analog molecules to cross the Blood Brain Barrier (BBB) was estimated. Besides, molecular docking and simulation using Auto Dock Vina 1.1.2 and GOLD 3.01 were performed using the X-ray crystal structure of Mtb LprG protein to calculate the affinity and specificity of the analogs with the given LprG protein. The docking results were further confirmed by DSX (DrugScore eXtented), a robust program to evaluate the binding energy of ligands bound to the ligand binding domain of the Mtb LprG lipoprotein. The ligand, which has a higher hypothetical affinity, also has greater negative value. Further, the non-specific ligands were screened out using the structural filter proposed by Baell and Holloway. Based on the USRCAT, Lipinski’s values, toxicity and BBB analysis, the drug-like analogs of fingolimod and BG-12 showed that RTL and CHEMBL1771640, respectively are non-toxic and permeable to BBB. The successful docking and DSX analysis showed that RTL and CHEMBL1771640 could bind to the binding pocket of S1PR1 receptor protein of human with greater affinity than as compared to their parent compound (Fingolimod). In this study, we also found that all the drug-like analogs of the standard MS drugs passed the Bell and Holloway filter.

Keywords: antagonist, binding affinity, chemotherapeutics, drug-like, multiple sclerosis, S1PR1 receptor protein

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Authors: Siti Dewi Aisyah

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The rise of the Internet in the late twentieth century rapidly gains information and understands the world through screens. The digital way of communication through the Internet becomes an ordinary daily pattern. In the digital era, Fashion has been tremendously shared on social media platform especially because of the emergence of #OOTD (Outfit of the Day). Fashion cannot survive without the media. The media have played a vital role in shaping fashion into the complex cultural phenomenon it has become, and fashion has become an intrinsic part of today’s visual culture, and vice versa. Islamic Muslim Fashion has become a trend in Indonesia. It is said that social media has a huge impact in its development. Indonesia is ranked among the most users of social media. That is why people who wear hijab also use social media for different purposes, one of this is to introduce hijab fashion. Consequently, they are becoming famous in social media. Social media has become a tool for communicating their beliefs as a Muslim as well as personal branding as a good hijabi yet with a fashionable style. This study will examine how social media especially Blog and Instagram can lead the movement of Islamic Modest Fashion in Indonesia, how it triggers the consumer culture to hijabi, how they visualize their style in their social media. This research had been conducted through in-depth interviews with several bloggers who created Hijabers Community who have made a new trend in Islamic fashion and also Instagrammers who made their feeds as a style inspiration. This research is based on empirical research with qualitative methods (text and picture analysis). The methodology used for this research is by analyzing Blog and Instagram through visual analysis on the social media especially about the Islamic Modest Fashion trend. This research also contains a literature review of a diverse group of works on topics related to the study. This research will be examined through several theoretical frameworks including the study of social media, visual analysis and consumer culture. Fashion and consumer culture are also two main topics because fashion furthermore leads to consumer culture. The benefit of this research is for gaining the insight how social media can visualize the trend in hijab fashion style of Indonesian people.

Keywords: blog, consumer culture, hijab fashion, instagram, style, visual analysis

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Authors: Kimberley Kershaw, Denis Hyams-Ssekasi

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Although there is a wealth of information about refugees and Asylum seekers, Refugee job opportunities continue to be one of the most hotly contested areas and less researched within the social sciences. Refugees are a vital asset in the society due to their experiences, skills, and competences. However, society perceives them differently, and as such, their prior lived experiences are often underutilised. This research study gleans from the work conducted during the Refugee Employment Support Clinic delivered for 12 weeks within a University setting in the North West of England. The study is conducted using three perspectives, refugees, students, and researchers, allowing for identification of the challenges encountered by the refugees concerning job opportunities. Through the utilisation of the qualitative research method, the study has found that refugees experience a wide range of issues unrelated to their skills, prior experience, and education but rather due to the red tapes connected to their legal identity labelling. Refugees struggle to build reliable employment networks that appreciate and acknowledge their capabilities and talents, impacting their ability to navigate the labour market and classism. Notably, refugees are misunderstood within their new societies, and little care is taken to understand the unique struggles they face with respect to securing paid work in their industry or field of work due to their lack of experience in the UK. Unlike other European countries, it is evident that the UK has no strategic approach to enhancing the chances of paid or voluntary work for refugees. A clinic like this provided lenses for comprehending how refugees can be better supported with employment related opportunities. By creating a safe and conducive platform for honest and open discussion about employment and through collaborative approaches with local community agencies, doors were opened for social and professional networks to be built. The study concluded that there is a need for local communities and education establishments to be more aware of the prevailing challenges and in a position to support at all stages of their asylum claim in order for the perceptions of distrust and uncertainty around refugees to be minimised.

Keywords: refugees, employment, community, classism, education

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Authors: Qingqing Feng, S. Thomas Ng, Frank J. Xu, Jiduo Xing

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Faced with unprecedented challenges including aging assets, lack of maintenance budget, overtaxed and inefficient usage, and outcry for better service quality from the society, today’s infrastructure systems has become the main focus of many metropolises to pursue sustainable urban development and improve resilience. Digital twin, being one of the most innovative enabling technologies nowadays, may open up new ways for tackling various infrastructure asset management (IAM) problems. Digital twin application for IAM, as its name indicated, represents an evolving digital model of intended infrastructure that possesses functions including real-time monitoring; what-if events simulation; and scheduling, maintenance, and management optimization based on technologies like IoT, big data and AI. Up to now, there are already vast quantities of global initiatives of digital twin applications like 'Virtual Singapore' and 'Digital Built Britain'. With digital twin technology permeating the IAM field progressively, it is necessary to consider the maturity of the application and how those institutional or industrial digital twin application processes will evolve in future. In order to deal with the gap of lacking such kind of benchmark, a draft maturity model is developed for digital twin application in the IAM field. Firstly, an overview of current smart cities maturity models is given, based on which the draft Maturity Model of Digital Twin Application for Infrastructure Asset Management (MM-DTIAM) is developed for multi-stakeholders to evaluate and derive informed decision. The process of development follows a systematic approach with four major procedures, namely scoping, designing, populating and testing. Through in-depth literature review, interview and focus group meeting, the key domain areas are populated, defined and iteratively tuned. Finally, the case study of several digital twin projects is conducted for self-verification. The findings of the research reveal that: (i) the developed maturity model outlines five maturing levels leading to an optimised digital twin application from the aspects of strategic intent, data, technology, governance, and stakeholders’ engagement; (ii) based on the case study, levels 1 to 3 are already partially implemented in some initiatives while level 4 is on the way; and (iii) more practices are still needed to refine the draft to be mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive in key domain areas.

Keywords: digital twin, infrastructure asset management, maturity model, smart city

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Authors: Masome Moeni, Roya Abedizadeh, Elham Aram, Hamid Sadeghi-Abandansari, Davood Sabour, Robert Menzel, Ali Hassanpour

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Mitochondria- targeting immunogenic cell death inducers (MT-ICD) have been designed to trigger intrinsic apoptosis signalling pathway in malignant cells and revive the antitumour immune system. MT-ICD inducers have considered to be non-specific, which can deteriorate the ability to initiate mitochondria-selective oxidative stress, causing high toxicity. Iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) can be an ideal candidate as vehicles for utilizing in immunotherapy due to their biocompatibility, modifiable surface chemistry, magnetic characteristics and multi-functional applications in single platform. These types of NPs can facilitate a real time imaging which can provide an effective strategy to analyse pharmacokinetic parameters of nano-formula, including blood circulation time, targeted and controlled release at tumour microenvironment. To our knowledge, the conjugation of IONPs with MT-ICD and oxaliplatin (a chemotherapeutic agent used for the treatment of colorectal cancer) for immunotherapy have not been investigated. Herein, IONPs were generated via co-precipitation reaction at high temperatures, followed by coating the colloidal suspension with tetraethyl orthosilicate and 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane to optimize their bio-compatibility, preventing aggregation and maintaining stability at physiological pH, then functionalized with (3-carboxypropyl) triphenyl phosphonium bromide for mitochondrial delivery. Analytical results demonstrated the successful process of IONPs functionalization. In particular, the colloidal particles of doped IONPs exhibited an excellent stability and dispersibility. The resultant particles were also successfully loaded with the oxaliplatin for an active mitochondrial targeting in immunotherapy, resulting in well-maintained super-paramagnetic characteristics and stable structure of the functionalized IONPs with nanoscale particle sizes.

Keywords: Immunotherapy, mitochondria, cancer, iron oxide nanoparticle

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Authors: Cristobal Miralles Insa

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The network of chairs of the "Valencian Public System of Social Services" (VPSSS) is sponsored by the Valencian Institute of Training, Research, and Quality in Social Services and aims to promote research, dissemination, and evaluation of the needs that arise in the field of the public system of social services. It also seeks to transfer knowledge to foster the development of public policies in this field. Given that it is an Interuniversity Chair among the five public universities in Valencia, there is coordination of complementary themes and roles for this objective, with Universitat Politènica de València focusing primarily on promoting innovation and social entrepreneurship to address multiple social challenges through its platform INSSPIRA. This approach is aimed at the entire university community and its various interest groups, carrying out research, teaching, and dissemination activities that promote social inclusion, personal development, and autonomy for groups in situations of vulnerability, lack of protection, dependence, or social urgency. Although it focuses on the Valencian context, both the issues in this context and the tools in process to address them, often have a universal and scalable character and has been inspiring for the innovation system of UPV. This entrepreneurial incubator goes along from early stages of students on the campus until the so-called “StartUPV” system, where students are challenged with social problems that require creative solutions. Therefore, the Chair is conceived with a holistic spirit and an inspiring vocation that engages the whole university community. In this communication, it is described the entities and individuals participating in this UPV Chair of VPSSS, followed by the presentation of different work lines and objectives for the chair. Subsequently, a description of various activities undertaken to promote innovation in social services are described, where support to teaching and extracurricular activities in this field are exposed. It must be noted that some awareness and dissemination of activities are carried out in a transversal mode as they contribute to different objectives simultaneously; with special focus on Learning-Service approaches that achieved very good results which are also summarized.

Keywords: social innovation, entrepeneurship, university, vulnerable sectors

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Authors: Hwang Ahreum, Kang Taejoon, Kim Bongsoo

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Nanosensors for high sensitive detection of diseases have been widely studied to improve the quality of life. Here, we suggest robust nano-plasmonic diagnostic sensor using cysteine tagged protein G (Cys3-protein G) and ultraflat, ultraclean and single-crystalline Au nanoplates. Protein G formed on an ultraflat Au surface provides ideal background for dense and uniform immobilization of antibodies. The Au is highly stable in diverse biochemical environment and can immobilize antibodies easily through Au-S bonding, having been widely used for various biosensing applications. Especially, atomically smooth single-crystalline Au nanomaterials synthesized using chemical vapor transport (CVT) method are very suitable to fabricate reproducible sensitive sensors. As the C-reactive protein (CRP) is a nonspecific biomarker of inflammation and infection, it can be used as a predictive or prognostic marker for various cardiovascular diseases. Cys3-protein G immobilized uniformly on the Au nanoplate enable CRP antibody (anti-CRP) to be ordered in a correct orientation, making their binding capacity be maximized for CRP detection. Immobilization condition for the Cys3-protein G and anti-CRP on the Au nanoplate is optimized visually by AFM analysis. Au nanoparticle - Au nanoplate (NPs-on-Au nanoplate) assembly fabricated from sandwich immunoassay for CRP can reduce zero-signal extremely caused by nonspecific bindings, providing a distinct surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) enhancement still in 10-18 M of CRP concentration. Moreover, the NP-on-Au nanoplate sensor shows an excellent selectivity against non-target proteins with high concentration. In addition, comparing with control experiments employing a Au film fabricated by e-beam assisted deposition and linker molecule, we validate clearly contribution of the Au nanoplate for the attomolar sensitive detection of CRP. We expect that the devised platform employing the complex of single-crystalline Au nanoplates and Cys3-protein G can be applied for detection of many other cancer biomarkers.

Keywords: Au nanoplate, biomarker, diagnostic sensor, protein G, SERS

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Authors: Jinming Du

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With the COVID-19 pandemic beginning in 2020, many higher education institutions and education systems are turning to hybrid or fully distance online courses to maintain social distance and provide a safe virtual space for learning and teaching. However, the majority of faculty members were not well prepared for the shift to blended or distance learning. Communication frustrations are prevalent in both hybrid and full-distance courses. A systematic literature review was conducted by a comprehensive analysis of 1688 publications that focused on the application of the adoption of chatbots in education. This study aimed to explore instructors' experiences with chatbots in online and blended undergraduate English courses. Language learners are overwhelmed by the variety of information offered by many online sites. The recently emerged chatbots (e.g.: ChatGPT) are slightly superior in performance as compared to those traditional through previous technologies such as tapes, video recorders, and websites. The field of chatbots has been intensively researched, and new methods have been developed to demonstrate how students can best learn and practice a new language in the target language. However, it is believed that among the many areas where chatbots are applied, while chatbots have been used as effective tools for communicating with business customers, in consulting and targeting areas, and in the medical field, chatbots have not yet been fully explored and implemented in the field of language education. This issue is challenging enough for language teachers; they need to study and conduct research carefully to clarify it. Pedagogical chatbots may alleviate the perception of a lack of communication and feedback from instructors by interacting naturally with students through scaffolding the understanding of those learners, much like educators do. However, educators and instructors lack the proficiency to effectively operate this emerging AI chatbot technology and require comprehensive study or structured training to attain competence. There is a gap between language teachers’ perceptions and recent advances in the application of AI chatbots to language learning. The results of the study found that although the teachers felt that the chatbots did the best job of giving feedback, the teachers needed additional training to be able to give better instructions and to help them assist in teaching. Teachers generally perceive the utilization of chatbots to offer substantial assistance to English language instruction.

Keywords: artificial intelligence in education, chatbots, education and technology, education system, pedagogical chatbot, chatbots and language education

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Authors: Julia Wimmers-Klick

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In the contemporary study of anatomy, medical students utilize a diverse array of resources, including lab handouts, lectures, and, increasingly, digital media such as interactive anatomy apps and digital images. Notably, a significant shift has occurred, with fewer students possessing traditional anatomy atlases or books, reflecting a broader trend towards digital approaches like Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, and web-based programs. This paper seeks to explore the evolution of anatomy education by contrasting current digital tools with historical resources, such as classical anatomical illustrations and atlases, to assess their relevance and potential benefits in modern medical education. Through a comprehensive literature review, the development of anatomical illustrations is traced from the textual descriptions of Galen to the detailed and artistic representations of Da Vinci, Vesalius, and later anatomists. The examination includes how the printing press facilitated the dissemination of anatomical knowledge, transforming covert dissections into public spectacles and formalized teaching practices. Historical illustrations, often influenced by societal, religious, and aesthetic contexts, not only served educational purposes but also reflected the prevailing medical knowledge and ethical standards of their times. Critical questions are raised about the place of historical illustrations in today's anatomy curriculum. Specifically, their potential to teach critical thinking, highlight the history of medicine, and offer unique insights into past societal conditions are explored. These resources are viewed in their context, including the lack of diversity and the presence of ethical concerns, such as the use of illustrations from unethical sources like Pernkopf’s atlas. In conclusion, while digital tools offer innovative ways to visualize and interact with anatomical structures, historical illustrations provide irreplaceable value in understanding the evolution of medical knowledge and practice. The study advocates for a balanced approach that integrates traditional and modern resources to enrich medical education, promote critical thinking, and provide a comprehensive understanding of anatomy. Future research should investigate the optimal combination of these resources to meet the evolving needs of medical learners and the implications of the digital shift in anatomy education.

Keywords: human anatomy, historical illustrations, historical context, medical education

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Authors: Madhuri Goswami

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The matrix of power establishes the hegemonic dominance and supremacy of one group through exercising repression and relegation upon the other. However, the injustice done to any race, ethnicity, or caste has instigated the protest and resistance through various modes -social campaigns, political movements, literary expression and so on. Consequently, the search for identity, the means of claiming it and strive for recognition have evolved as the persistent phenomena all through the world. In the discourse of protest and minority literature, these two discourses -African American and Indian Dalit- surprisingly, share wrath and anger, hope and aspiration, and quest for identity and struggle for self-assertion. African American and Indian Dalit are two geographically and culturally apart communities that stand together on a single platform. This paper has sought to comprehend the form and investigate the formation of identity in general and in the literary work of Toni Morrison and Indian Dalit writing, particular, i.e., Black identity and Dalit identity. The study has speculated two types of identity, namely, individual or self and social or collective identity in the literary province of these marginalized literature. Morrison’s work outsources that self-identity is not merely a reflection of an inner essence; it is constructed through social circumstances and relations. Likewise, Dalit writings too have a fair record of discovery of self-hood and formation of identity, which connects to the realization of self-assertion and worthiness of their culture among Dalit writers. Bama, Pawar, Limbale, Pawde, and Kamble investigate their true self concealed amid societal alienation. The study has found that the struggle for recognition is, in fact, the striving to become the definer, instead of just being defined; and, this striving eventually, leads to the introspection among them. To conclude, Morrison as well as Indian marginalized authors, despite being set quite distant, communicate the relation between individual and community in the context of self-consciousness, self-identification and (self) introspection. This research opens a scope for further research to find out similar phenomena and trace an analogy in other world literatures.

Keywords: identity, introspection, self-access, struggle for recognition

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Authors: Biniam Tedros Kahsay, Yohannes Yebabe Tesfay

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Eritrea is a country in the East of Africa. The country is a neighbor of Djibouti, Ethiopia, and Sudan and is bordered by the Red Sea. The country declared its independence from Ethiopia in 1993. Thus, Eritrea has a lot of commonalities with the Northern Part of Ethiopia's tradition, religion, and languages. Many economists suggested that Eritrea is in a very strategic position for world trade roots and has an impact on geopolitics. This study focused on identifying the most important factor in boosting the Eritrean Economy. The paper collected big secondary data from the World Bank, International Trade and Tariff Data (WTO), East African Community (EAC), Ethiopian Statistical Agency (ESA), and the National Statistics Office (Eritrea). Economists consider economic and population growth in determining trade belts in East Africa. One of the most important Trade Belt that will potentially boost the Eritrean economy is the root of Eritrea (Massawa)->Eritea, (Asmara)->Tigray, (Humora)->Tigray, (Dansha)-> Gondar-> Gojjam-> Benshangual Gumuz => {Oromia, South Sudan}->Uganda. The estimate showed that this is one of the biggest trade roots in East Africa and has a participation of more than 150 million people. We employed various econometric analyses to predict the GDP of Eritrea, considering the future trade belts in East Africa. The result showed that the economy of Eritrea from the Trade Belt will have an elasticity estimate of 65.87% of the GDP of Ethiopia, 3.32% of the GDP of South Sudan, and 0.09% of the GDP of Uganda. The result showed that the existence of war has an elasticity of -93% to the GDP of the country. Thus, if Eritrea wants to strengthen its economy from the East African Trade Belt, the country needs to permanently avoid war in the region. Essentially, the country needs to establish a collaborative platform with the Northern part of Ethiopia (Tigray). Thus, establishing a mutual relationship with Tigray will boost the Eritrean economy. In that regard, Eritrean scholars and policymakers need to work on establishing the East African Trade Belt to boost their economy.

Keywords: Eritrea, east Africa trade belt, GDP, cointegration analysis, critical path analysis

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Authors: Pin Xiu Chen, Shang Liang Chen

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A virtualized software controller is developed in this research to replace traditional hardware control units. This virtualized software controller transfers motion interpolation calculations from the motion control units of end devices to edge computing platforms, thereby reducing the end devices' computational load and hardware requirements and making maintenance and updates easier. The study also applies the concept of microservices, dividing the control system into several small functional modules and then deploy into a cloud data server. This reduces the interdependency among modules and enhances the overall system's flexibility and scalability. Finally, with containerization technology, the system can be deployed and started in a matter of seconds, which is more efficient than traditional virtual machine deployment methods. Furthermore, this virtualized software controller communicates with end control devices via wireless networks, making the placement of production equipment or the redesign of processes more flexible and no longer limited by physical wiring. To handle the large data flow and maintain low-latency transmission, this study integrates 5G technology, fully utilizing its high speed, wide bandwidth, and low latency features to achieve rapid and stable remote machine control. An experimental setup is designed to verify the feasibility and test the performance of this framework. This study designs a smart manufacturing site with a 5G communication architecture, serving as a field for experimental data collection and performance testing. The smart manufacturing site includes one robotic arm, three Computer Numerical Control machine tools, several Input/Output ports, and an edge computing architecture. All machinery information is uploaded to edge computing servers and cloud servers via 5G communication and the Internet of Things framework. After analysis and computation, this information is converted into motion control commands, which are transmitted back to the relevant machinery for motion control through 5G communication. The communication time intervals at each stage are calculated using the C++ chrono library to measure the time difference for each command transmission. The relevant test results will be organized and displayed in the full-text.

Keywords: 5G, MEC, microservices, virtualized software controller, smart manufacturing

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Authors: Yangzhi Li

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

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

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Authors: Muhammad Arif Jalil, Xaythavay Luangvilay, Montree Bunruangses, Somchat Sonasang, Preecha Yupapin

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Black and white holes form the entangled pair⟨BH│WH⟩, where a white hole occurs when the particle moves at the same speed as light. The entangled black-white hole pair is at the center with the radian between the gap. When the speed of particle motion is slower than light, the black hole is gravitational (positive gravity), where the white hole is smaller than the black hole. On the downstream side, the entangled pair appears to have a black hole outside the gap increases until the white holes disappear, which is the emptiness paradox. On the upstream side, when moving faster than light, white holes form times tunnels, with black holes becoming smaller. It will continue to move faster and further when the black hole disappears and becomes a wormhole (Singularity) that is only a white hole in emptiness (Emptiness). This research studies use of black and white holes generated by a two-level circuit for communication transmission carriers, in which high ability and capacity of data transmission can be obtained. The black and white hole pair can be generated by the two-level system circuit when the speech of a particle on the circuit is equal to the speed of light. The black hole forms when the particle speed has increased from slower to equal to the light speed, while the white hole is established when the particle comes down faster than light. They are bound by the entangled pair, signal and idler, ⟨Signal│Idler⟩, and the virtual ones for the white hole, which has an angular displacement of half of π radian. A two-level system is made from an electronic circuit to create black and white holes bound by the entangled bits that are immune or cloning-free from thieves. Start by creating a wave-particle behavior when its speed is equal to light black hole is in the middle of the entangled pair, which is the two bit gate. The required information can be input into the system and wrapped by the black hole carrier. A timeline (Tunnel) occurs when the wave-particle speed is faster than light, from which the entangle pair is collapsed. The transmitted information is safely in the time tunnel. The required time and space can be modulated via the input for the downlink operation. The downlink is established when the particle speed is given by a frequency(energy) form is down and entered into the entangled gap, where this time the white hole is established. The information with the required destination is wrapped by the white hole and retrieved by the clients at the destination. The black and white holes are disappeared, and the information can be recovered and used.

Keywords: cloning free, time machine, teleportation, two-level system

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Authors: R. Premasiri, W. A. H. A. Abeygunasekara, S. M. Hewavidana, T. Jananthan, R. M. S. Madawala, K. Vaheeshan

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Forecasting the potential for disastrous events such as landslides has become one of the major necessities in the current world. Most of all, the landslides occurred in Sri Lanka are found to be triggered mostly by intense rainfall events. The study area is the landslide near Gerandiella waterfall which is located by the 41st kilometer post on Nuwara Eliya-Gampala main road in Kotmale Division in Sri Lanka. The landslide endangers the entire Kotmale town beneath the slope. Geographic Information System (GIS) platform is very much useful when it comes to the need of emulating the real-world processes. The models are used in a wide array of applications ranging from simple evaluations to the levels of forecast future events. This project investigates the possibility of developing a dynamic model to map the spatial distribution of the slope stability. The model incorporates several theoretical models including the infinite slope model, Green Ampt infiltration model and Perched ground water flow model. A series of rainfall values can be fed to the model as the main input to simulate the dynamics of slope stability. Hydrological model developed using GIS is used to quantify the perched water table height, which is one of the most critical parameters affecting the slope stability. Infinite slope stability model is used to quantify the degree of slope stability in terms of factor of safety. DEM was built with the use of digitized contour data. Stratigraphy was modeled in Surfer using borehole data and resistivity images. Data available from rainfall gauges and piezometers were used in calibrating the model. During the calibration, the parameters were adjusted until a good fit between the simulated ground water levels and the piezometer readings was obtained. This model equipped with the predicted rainfall values can be used to forecast of the slope dynamics of the area of interest. Therefore it can be investigated the slope stability of rainfall induced landslides by adjusting temporal dimensions.

Keywords: factor of safety, geographic information system, hydrological model, slope stability

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Authors: N. Nalini, Bhanu Prakash Gopularam

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The term data security refers to the degree of resistance or protection given to information from unintended or unauthorized access. The core principles of information security are the confidentiality, integrity and availability, also referred as CIA triad. Cloud computing services are classified as SaaS, IaaS and PaaS services. With cloud adoption the confidential enterprise data are moved from organization premises to untrusted public network and due to this the attack surface has increased manifold. Several cloud computing platforms like OpenStack, Eucalyptus, Amazon EC2 offer users to build and configure public, hybrid and private clouds. While the traditional encryption based on PKI infrastructure still works in cloud scenario, the management of public-private keys and trust certificates is difficult. The Identity based Public Key Cryptography (also referred as ID-PKC) overcomes this problem by using publicly identifiable information for generating the keys and works well with decentralized systems. The users can exchange information securely without having to manage any trust information. Another advantage is that access control (role based access control policy) information can be embedded into data unlike in PKI where it is handled by separate component or system. In OpenStack cloud platform the keystone service acts as identity service for authentication and authorization and has support for public key infrastructure for auto services. In this paper, we explain OpenStack security architecture and evaluate the PKI infrastructure piece for data confidentiality. We provide method to integrate ID-PKC schemes for securing data while in transit and stored and explain the key measures for safe guarding data against security attacks. The proposed approach uses JPBC crypto library for key-pair generation based on IEEE P1636.3 standard and secure communication to other cloud services.

Keywords: data confidentiality, identity based cryptography, secure communication, open stack key stone, token scoping

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Authors: B. Vadiraj, S. N. Omkar, B. Kapil Bharadwaj, Yash Vardhan Gupta

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During manned exploration of space, missions will require astronaut crewmembers to perform Extra Vehicular Activities (EVAs) for a variety of tasks. These EVAs take place after long periods of operations in space, and in and around unique vehicles, space structures and systems. Considering the remoteness and time spans in which these vehicles will operate, EVA system operations should utilize common worksites, tools and procedures as much as possible to increase the efficiency of training and proficiency in operations. All of the preparations need to be carried out based on studies of astronaut motions. Until now, development and training activities associated with the planned EVAs in Russian and U.S. space programs have relied almost exclusively on physical simulators. These experimental tests are expensive and time consuming. During the past few years a strong increase has been observed in the use of computer simulations due to the fast developments in computer hardware and simulation software. Based on this idea, an effort to develop a computational simulation system to model human dynamic motion for EVA is initiated. This study focuses on the simulation of an astronaut moving the orbital replaceable units into the worksites or removing them from the worksites. Our physics-based methodology helps fill the gap in quantitative analysis of astronaut EVA by providing a multisegment human arm model. Simulation work described in the study improves on the realism of previous efforts, incorporating joint stops to account for the physiological limits of range of motion. To demonstrate the utility of this approach human arm model is simulated virtually using ADAMS/LifeMOD® software. Kinematic mechanism for the astronaut’s task is studied from joint angles and torques. Simulation results obtained is validated with numerical simulation based on the principles of Newton-Euler method. Torques determined using mathematical model are compared among the subjects to know the grace and consistency of the task performed. We conclude that due to uncertain nature of exploration-class EVA, a virtual model developed using multibody dynamics approach offers significant advantages over traditional human modeling approaches.

Keywords: extra vehicular activity, biomechanics, inverse kinematics, human body modeling

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

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

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

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Authors: Gabrielle Brand, Christopher Etherton-Beer

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The learning landscape of higher education environment is changing, with an increased focus over the past decade on how educators might begin to cultivate reflective skills in health professions students. In addition, changing professional requirements demand that health professionals are adequately prepared to practice in today’s complex Australian health care systems, including responding to changing demographics of population ageing. To counteract a widespread perception of health professions students’ disinterest in caring for older persons, the authors will report on an exploratory, mixed method research study that used photographs, narrative and small group work to enhance medical and nursing students’ reflective learning experience. An innovative photo-elicitation technique and reflective questioning prompts were used to increase engagement, and challenge students to consider new perspectives (around ageing) by constructing shared storylines in small groups. The qualitative themes revealed how photographs, narratives and small group work created learning spaces for reflection whereby students could safely explore their own personal and professional values, beliefs and perspectives around ageing. By providing the space for reflection, the students reported how they found connection and meaning in their own learning through a process of self-exploration that often challenged their assumptions of both older people and themselves as future health professionals. By integrating cognitive and affective elements into the learning process, this research demonstrates the importance of embedding visual methodologies that enhance reflection and transformative learning. The findings highlight the importance of integrating the arts into predominantly empirically driven health professional curricula and can be used as a catalyst for individual and/or collective reflection which can potentially enhance empathy, insight and understanding of the lived experiences of older patients. Based on these findings, the authors have developed ‘Depth of Field: Exploring Ageing’ an innovative, interprofessional, digital reflective learning resource that uses Prezi Inc. software (storytelling tool that presents ideas on a virtual canvas) to enhance students’ reflective capacity in the higher education environment.

Keywords: narrative, photo-elicitation, reflective learning, qualitative research

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Authors: Donna Woodhouse, Beth Fielding-Lloyd, Ruth Sequerra

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This paper explores the structure and culture of the English Football Association (FA) the governing body of soccer in England, in relation to the development of the FA Women’s Super League (WSL). In doing so, it examines the organisation’s journey from banning the sport in 1921 to establishing the country’s first semi professional female soccer league in 2011. As the FA has a virtual monopoly on defining the structures of the elite game, we attempted to understand its behaviour in the context of broader issues of power, control and resistance by giving voice to the experiences of those affected by its decisions. Observations were carried out at 39 matches over three years. Semi structured interviews with 17 people involved in the women’s game, identified via snowball sampling, were also carried out. Transcripts accompanied detailed field notes and were inductively coded to identify themes. What emerged was the governing body’s desire to create a new product, jettisoning the long history of the women’s game in order to shape and control the sport in a way it is no longer able to, with the elite male club game. The League created was also shaped by traditional conceptualisations of gender, in terms of the portrayal of its style of play and target audience, setting increased participation and spectatorship targets as measures of ‘success’. The national governing body has demonstrated pseudo inclusion and a lack of enthusiasm for the implementation of equity reforms, driven by a belief that the organisation is already representative, fair and accessible. Despite a consistent external pressure, the Football Association is still dominated at its most senior levels by males. Via claiming to hold a monopoly on expertise around the sport, maintaining complex committee structures and procedures, and with membership rules rooted in the amateur game, it remains a deeply gendered organisation, resistant to structural and cultural change. In WSL, the FA's structure and culture have created a franchise over which it retains almost complete control, dictating the terms of conditions of entry and marginalising alternative voices. The organisation presents a feminised version of both play and spectatorship, portraying the sport as a distinct, and lesser, version of soccer.

Keywords: football association, organisational culture, soccer, women’s super league

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Authors: Teemu Saressalo

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This article examines the evolution of the Israel Defence Forces’ information operation activities during an eight-year timespan from the 2006 war with Hezbollah to more recent operations such as Pillar of Defence and Protective Edge. To this end, the case study will show a change in the Israel Defence Forces’ activities in the information domain. In the 2006 war with Hezbollah in Lebanon, Israel inflicted enormous damage on the Lebanese infrastructure, leaving more than 1,200 people dead and 4,400 injured. Casualties among Hezbollah, Israel’s main adversary, were estimated to range from 250 to 700 fighters. Damage to the Lebanese infrastructure was estimated at over USD 2.5bn, with almost 2,000 houses and buildings damaged and destroyed. Even this amount of destruction did not force Hezbollah to yield and while both sides were claiming victory in the war, Israel paid a heavier price in political backlashes and loss of reputation, mainly due to failures in the media and the way in which the war was portrayed and perceived in Israel and abroad. Much of this can be credited to Hezbollah’s efficient use of the media, and Israel’s failure to do so. Israel managed the next conflict it was engaged in completely differently – it had learnt its lessons and built up new ways to counter its adversary’s propaganda and media operations. In Operation Cast Lead at the turn of 2009, Hamas, Israel’s adversary and Gaza’s dominating faction, was not able to utilize the media in the same way that Hezbollah had. By creating a virtual and physical barrier around the Gaza Strip, Israel almost totally denied its adversary access to the worldwide media, and by restricting the movement of journalists in the area, Israel could let its voice be heard above all. The operation Cast Lead began with a deception operation, which caught Hamas totally off guard. The 21-day campaign left the Gaza Strip devastated, but did not cause as much protest in Israel during the operation as the 2006 war did, mainly due to almost total Israeli dominance in the information dimension. The most important outcome from the Israeli perspective was the fact that Operation Cast Lead was assessed to be a success and the operation enjoyed domestic support along with support from many western nations, which had condemned Israeli actions in the 2006 war. Later conflicts have shown the same tendency towards virtually total dominance in the information domain, which has had an impact on target audiences across the world. Thus, it is clear that well-planned and conducted information operations are able to shape public opinion and influence decision-makers, although Israel might have been outpaced by its rivals.

Keywords: Hamas, Hezbollah, information operations, Israel Defence Forces

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Authors: S. Jabeen

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Though Pakistan has a rich cultural history and a diverse population; its global image is tarnished with labels of Muslim ‘fundamentalism’ and ‘extremism.’ Cultural policy is a tool that can be used by the government of Pakistan to ameliorate this image, but instead, this fundamentalist reputation is reinforced in the 2005 draft of Pakistan’s cultural policy. With its stern focus on a homogenized cultural identity, this 2005 draft bases itself largely on forced participation from the largely Muslim public and leaves little or no benefits to them or cultural minorities in Pakistan. The effects of this homogenized ‘Muslim’ identity linger ten years later where the study and celebration of the cultural heritage of Pakistan in schools and educational festivals focus entirely on creating and maintaining a singular ‘Islamic’ cultural identity. The current lack of inclusion has many adverse effects that include the breeding of extremist mindsets through the usurpation of minority rights and lack of safe cultural public spaces. This paper argues that Pakistan can improve social inclusivity and boost its global image through cultural policy. The paper sets the grounds for research by surveying the effectiveness of different cultural policies across nations with differing socioeconomic status. Then, by sampling two public literary festivals in Pakistan as case studies, the National Youth Peace Festival hosted with a nationalistic agenda using public funds and the Lahore Literary Festival (LLF) that aims to boost the cultural literacy scene of Lahore using both private and public efforts, this paper looks at the success of the private, more inclusive LLF. A revision of cultural policy is suggested that combines public and private efforts to host cultural festivals for the sake of cultural celebration and human development, without a set nationalistic agenda. Consequently, this comparison which is grounded in the human capabilities approach, recommends revising the 2005 draft of the Cultural Policy to improve human capabilities in order to support cultural diversity and ultimately contribute to economic growth in Pakistan.

Keywords: cultural policy, festivals, human capabilities, Pakistan

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Authors: Marwa Brahim, Nicolas Brosse, Nadia Boussetta, Nabil Grimi, Eugene Vorobiev

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Rapeseed plant is an established product in France which is mainly dedicated to oil production. However, the economic potential of residues from this industry (rapeseed hulls, rapeseed cake, rapeseed straw etc.), has not been fully exploited. Currently, only low-grade applications are found in the market. As a consequence, it was deemed of interest to develop a technological platform aiming to convert rapeseed residues into value- added products. Specifically, a focus is given on the conversion of rapeseed straw into valuable molecules (e.g. lignin, glucose). Existing pretreatment technologies have many drawbacks mainly the production of sugar degradation products that limit the effectiveness of saccharification and fermentation steps in the overall scheme of the lignocellulosic biorefinery. In addition, the viability of fractionation strategies is a challenge in an environmental context increasingly standardized. Hence, the need to find cleaner alternatives with comparable efficiency by implementing physical phenomena that could destabilize the structural integrity of biomass without necessarily using chemical solvents. To meet environmental standards increasingly stringent, the present work aims to study the new pretreatment strategies involving lower consumption of chemicals with an attenuation of the severity of the treatment. These strategies consist on coupling physical treatments either high voltage electrical discharges or ultrasounds to conventional chemical pretreatments (soda and organosolv). Ultrasounds treatment is based on the cavitation phenomenon, and high voltage electrical discharges cause an electrical breakdown accompanied by many secondary phenomena. The choice of process was based on a technological feasibility study taking into account the economic profitability of the whole chain after products valorization. Priority was given to sugars valorization into bioethanol and lignin sale.

Keywords: high voltage electrical discharges, organosolv, pretreatment strategies, rapeseed straw, soda, ultrasounds

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Authors: Jamie Sundvall, Lisa Jennings

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Site based field internship learning (SBL) is an educational approach within a Master’s of Social Work (MSW) university field placement department that promotes a more streamlined approach to the integration of theory and evidence based practices for social work students. The SBL model is founded on research in the field, consideration of current work force needs, United States national trends of MSW graduate skill and knowledge deficits, educational trends in students pursing a master’s degree in social work, and current social problems that require unique problem solving skills. This study explores the use of site-based learning in a hybrid social work program. In this setting, site based learning pairs online education courses and social work field education to create training opportunities for social work students within their own community and cultural context. Students engage in coursework in an online setting with both synchronous and asynchronous features that facilitate development of core competencies for MSW students. Through the SBL model, students are then partnered with faculty in a virtual course room and a university vetted site within their community. The study explores how this model of learning creates community partnerships, through which students engage in a learning loop to develop social work skills, while preparing students to address current community, social, and global issues with the engagement of technology. The goal of SBL is to more effectively equip social work students for practice according to current workforce demands, provide access to education and care to populations who have limited access, and create self-sustainable partnerships. Further, the model helps students learn integration of evidence based practices and helps instructors more effectively teach integration of ethics into practice. The study found that the SBL model increases the influence and professional relevance of the social work profession, and ultimately facilitates stronger approaches to integrating theory into practice. Current implementation of the practice in the United States will be presented in the study. dditionally, future research conceptualization of SBL models will be presented, in order to collaborate on advancing best approaches of translating theory into practice, according to the current needs of the profession and needs of social work students.

Keywords: collaboration, fieldwork, research, site-based learning, technology

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Authors: Sezer Kefeli, Sertaç Arslan

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In this paper, supercavitationphenomena, and parameters are explained, and hydrodynamic design approaches are investigated for supercavitating torpedoes. In addition, drag force calculation methods ofsupercavitatingvehicles are obtained. Basically, conventional heavyweight torpedoes reach up to ~50 knots by classic hydrodynamic techniques, on the other hand super cavitating torpedoes may reach up to ~200 knots, theoretically. However, in order to reachhigh speeds, hydrodynamic viscous forces have to be reduced or eliminated completely. This necessity is revived the supercavitation phenomena that is implemented to conventional torpedoes. Supercavitation is a type of cavitation, after all, it is more stable and continuous than other cavitation types. The general principle of supercavitation is to separate the underwater vehicle from water phase by surrounding the vehicle with cavitation bubbles. This situation allows the torpedo to operate at high speeds through the water being fully developed cavitation. Conventional torpedoes are entitled as supercavitating torpedoes when the torpedo moves in a cavity envelope due to cavitator in the nose section and solid fuel rocket engine in the rear section. There are two types of supercavitation phase, these are natural and artificial cavitation phases. In this study, natural cavitation is investigated on the disk cavitators based on numerical methods. Once the supercavitation characteristics and drag reduction of natural cavitationare studied on CFD platform, results are verified with the empirical equations. As supercavitation parameters cavitation number (), pressure distribution along axial axes, drag coefficient (C_?) and drag force (D), cavity wall velocity (U_?) and dimensionless cavity shape parameters, which are cavity length (L_?/d_?), cavity diameter(d_ₘ/d_?) and cavity fineness ratio (〖L_?/d〗_ₘ) are investigated and compared with empirical results. This paper has the characteristics of feasibility study to carry out numerical solutions of the supercavitation phenomena comparing with empirical equations.

Keywords: CFD, cavity envelope, high speed underwater vehicles, supercavitating flows, supercavitation, drag reduction, supercavitation parameters

Procedia PDF Downloads 166

Authors: H. B. Grobler, K. Du Plooy, P. Kruger, S. Ellis

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Objectives: The primary objective of the study was to determine the common mental disorders (CMD) identified by professional South African rugby players and its correlation with their mental toughness, as a first step towards developing such a programme within a larger research project. Design: Survey research, within the theoretical perspective of field theory, was conducted, utilising an adaptation of an already existing mental health questionnaire. The aim was to obtain feedback from as many possible professional South African rugby players in order to make certain generalizations and come to conclusions with regard to the current mental health experiences of these rugby players. Methods: Non-randomized sampling was done, linking it with internet research in the form of the online completion of a questionnaire. A sample of 215 rugby players participated and completed the online questionnaire. Permission was obtained to make use of an existing questionnaire, previously used by the specific authors with retired professional rugby players. A section on mental toughness was added. Data were descriptively analysed by means of the SPSS software platform. Results: Results indicated that the most significant problem that the players are experiencing, is a problem with alcohol (47.9%). Other problems that featured are distress (16.3%), sleep disturbances (7%), as well as anxiety and depression (4.2%). 4.7% of the players indicated that they smoke. 3.3% of the players experience themselves as not being mentally tough. A positive correlation between mental toughness and sound sleep (0.262) was found while a negative correlation was found between mental toughness and the following: anxiety/depression (-0.401), anxiety/depression positive (-0.423), distress (-0.259) and common mental disorder problems in general (-0.220). Conclusions: Although the presence of CMD at first glance do not seem significantly high amongst all the players, it must be considered that if one player in a team experiences the presence of CMD, it will have an impact on his mental toughness and most likely on his performance, as well as on the performance of the whole team. It is therefore important to ensure mental health in the whole team, by addressing individual CMD problems. A mental health support programme is therefore needed to be implemented to the benefit of these players within the South African context.

Keywords: common mental disorders, mental toughness, professional athletes, rugby players

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Authors: Moustafa Osman Mohammed

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The photocurrent generations are influencing ultra-high efficiency solar cells based on self-assembled quantum dot (QD) nanostructures. Nanocrystal quantum dots (QD) provide a great enhancement toward solar cell efficiencies through the use of quantum confinement to tune absorbance across the solar spectrum enabled multi-exciton generation. Based on theoretical predictions, QDs have potential to improve systems efficiency in approximate regular electrons excitation intensity greater than 50%. In solar cell devices, an intermediate band formed by the electron levels in quantum dot systems. The spatial architecture is exploring how can solar cell integrate and produce not only high open circuit voltage (> 1.7 eV) but also large short-circuit currents due to the efficient absorption of sub-bandgap photons. In the proposed QD system, the structure allows barrier material to absorb wavelengths below 700 nm while multi-photon processes in the used quantum dots to absorb wavelengths up to 2 µm. The assembly of the electronic model is flexible to demonstrate the atoms and molecules structure and material properties to tune control energy bandgap of the barrier quantum dot to their respective optimum values. In terms of energy virtual conversion, the efficiency and cost of the electronic structure are unified outperform a pair of multi-junction solar cell that obtained in the rigorous test to quantify the errors. The milestone toward achieving the claimed high-efficiency solar cell device is controlling the edge causes of energy bandgap between the barrier material and quantum dot systems according to the media design limits. Despite this remarkable potential for high photocurrent generation, the achievable open-circuit voltage (Voc) is fundamentally limited due to non-radiative recombination processes in QD solar cells. The orientation of voltage recovery system is compared theoretically with experimental Voc variation in mediation upper–limit obtained one diode modeling form at the cells with different bandgap (Eg) as classified in the proposed spatial architecture. The opportunity for improvement Voc is valued approximately greater than 1V by using smaller QDs through QD solar cell recovery systems as confined to other micro and nano operations states.

Keywords: nanotechnology, photovoltaic solar cell, quantum systems, renewable energy, environmental modeling

Procedia PDF Downloads 151

Authors: Tim Giesen, Raphael Adamietz, Pablo Mayer, Philipp Stiefel, Patrick Alle, Dirk Schlenker

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The competitiveness and success of new electrical energy storages such as battery cells are significantly dependent on a short time-to-market. Producers who decide to supply new battery cells to the market need to be easily adaptable in manufacturing with respect to the early customers’ needs in terms of cell size, materials, delivery time and quantity. In the initial state, the required output rates do not yet allow the producers to have a fully automated manufacturing line nor to supply handmade battery cells. Yet there was no solution for manufacturing battery cells in low to medium volumes in a reproducible way. Thus, in terms of cell format and output quantity, a concept for the flexible assembly of battery cells was developed by the Fraunhofer-Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation. Based on clustered processes, the modular system platform can be modified, enlarged or retrofitted in a short time frame according to the ordered product. The paper shows the analysis of the production steps from a conventional battery cell assembly line. Process solutions were found by using I/O-analysis, functional structures, and morphological boxes. The identified elementary functions were subsequently clustered by functional coherences for automation solutions and thus the single process cluster was generated. The result presented in this paper enables to manufacture different cell products on the same production system using seven process clusters. The paper shows the solution for a batch-wise flexible battery cell production using advanced process control. Further, the performed tests and benefits by using the process clusters as cyber-physical systems for an integrated production and value chain are discussed. The solution lowers the hurdles for SMEs to launch innovative cell products on the global market.

Keywords: automation, battery production, carrier, advanced process control, cyber-physical system

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Authors: Mohammed Alharbi, Clare Wood, Vasileios Samaras

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Sustainability leadership is a controversial topic, particularly in the engineering context. The theoretical and practical technical focus of the engineering profession impacts our lives. Technologically, engineers significantly contribute to our modern civilization. Industrial revolutions are among the top engineering accomplishments that have contributed to the flourishing of our life. However, engineers have not always received the credit they deserve; instead, they have been blamed for the advent of various global issues, among them the global warming phenomena that are believed to be a result of the industrial revolutions. Global challenges demand engineers demonstrate more than their technical skills for effective contribution to a sustainable future. As a result, engineering leadership has emerged as a new research field. Sustainable manufacturing is a cornerstone for sustainable development. Investigating the change to more sustainable manufacturing practices is a significant issue for all, and even more in the field of engineering leadership. Engineers dominate the manufacturing industry; however, one of the main criticism of engineers is the lack of leadership skills. The literature on engineering leadership has not highlighted enough the engineers' leadership ability in leading sustainable manufacturing. Since we are at the cusp of a new industrial revolution -Industry 4.0, it is vital to investigate the ability of engineers to lead the industry towards a sustainable future. The primary purpose of this paper is to evaluate engineers' sustainability leadership competencies utilizing The Cambridge University Behavioral Competency Model. However, the practical application of the Cambridge model is limited due to the absence of a reliable measurement tool. Therefore, this study developed a valid and reliable survey instrument tool compatible with the Cambridge model as a secondary objective. More than 300 Saudi engineers from the manufacturing industry responded to an online questionnaire collected through the Qualtrics platform and analyzed using SPSS software. The findings provide a contemporary understanding of engineers' mindset related to sustainability leadership. The output of this research study could be valuable in designing effective engineering leadership programs in academia or industry, particularly for enhancing a sustainable manufacturing environment.

Keywords: engineer, leadership, manufacturing, sustainability

Procedia PDF Downloads 155

Authors: Mohammad Zafar-ul Islam

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The breeding programme of Houbara bustard was started in Saudi Arabia in 1986 to undertake the restoration of native species such as Houbara through a programme of re-introduction, involving the release of captive-bred birds in the wild. Two sites were selected for houbara re-introduction, i.e., Mahazat as-Sayd and Saja Umm Ar-Rimth protected areas in 1988 and 1998 respectively. Both the areas are fenced fairly level, sandy plain with a few rock outcrops. Captive bred houbara have been released in Mahazat since 1992 by NWRC and those birds have been successfully breeding since then. The nesting season of the houbara at Mahazat recorded from February to May and on an average 20-25 nests are located each year but no nesting recorded in Saja. Houbara are monitored using radio transmitters through aerial tracking technique and also a vehicle for terrestrial tracking. Total population of houbara in Mahazat is roughly estimated around 300-400 birds, using the following: N = n1+n2+n3+n4+n5 (n1 = released or wild-born, radio, regularly monitored/checked; n2 = radio tagged missing; n3 = wild born chicks not recorded; n4 = wild born chicks, recorded but not tagged; n5 = immigrants). However, in Saja only 4-7 individuals of houbara have been survived since 2001 because most of the birds are predated immediately after the release. The mean annual home was also calculated using Kernel and Convex polygons methods with Range VII software. The minimum density of houbara was also calculated. In order to know the houbara movement or their migration to other regions, two captive-reared male houbara that were released into the wild and one wild born female were fitted with Platform Transmitter Terminals (PTT). The home range shows that wild-born female has larger movement than two males. More areas need to be selected for reintroduction programme to establish the network of sites to provide easy access to move these birds and mingle with the wild houbara. Some potential sites have been proposed which require more surveys to check the habitat suitability.

Keywords: re-introduction, survival rate, home range, Saudi Arabia

Procedia PDF Downloads 410