Search results for: experimental results

Authors: Saeed Sayyad Hagh Shomar

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Modeling users’ decisions on departure time choice is the main motivation for this research. In particular, it examines the impact of social-demographic features, household, job characteristics and trip qualities on individuals’ departure time choice. Departure time alternatives are presented as adjacent discrete time periods. The choice between these alternatives is done using a discrete choice model. Since a great deal of early morning trips and traffic congestion at that time of the day comprise work trips, the focus of this study is on the work trip over the entire day. Therefore, this study by using the users’ stated preference in questionnaire models users’ departure time choice affected by congestion pricing schemes in high traffic suburban entrance roads of Tehran. The results demonstrate efficient social-demographic impact on work trips’ departure time. These findings have substantial outcomes for the analysis of transportation planning. Particularly, the analysis shows that ignoring the effects of these variables could result in erroneous information and consequently decisions in the field of transportation planning and air quality would fail and cause financial resources loss.

Keywords: congestion pricing, departure time, modeling, travel timing, time of the day, transportation planning

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Authors: Dzatur Rizqi Fathienah Syarifuddin, Isharyah Sunarno, Eddy Hartono, Siti Maisuri T. Chalid

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Introduction: The potential impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on the health of expectant mothers and fetuses has strained attention. Pregnant women are considered a vulnerable category to respiratory infections. Moreover, several inflammatory cytokines are 2-100 times more abundant in COVID-19 with cytokine storms than in normal individuals; interleukin 6 (IL-6) exhibits much higher elevations. Investigating potential relationships between IL-6 serum levels and the severity of COVID-19 symptoms in pregnant women is the aim of this study. Material and Methods: Sixty-two eligible pregnant women were divided into a positive COVID-19 group (n=31) and a negative COVID-19 group (n=31) in this cross-sectional study. The research subjects were selected using consecutive sampling. The IL-6 was measured from a vein blood specimen using ELISA methods. Results: The COVID-19 positive group had a higher median IL-6 serum level (45.35 (35.15- 153.99) vs. 38.86 ± 11.43 (15.02-59.52), p=0.03) than the negative group. On the other hand, the IL-6 serum level had comparable value according to the COVID-19 symptoms severity (88.35 ± 36.14 ng/mL vs. 51.09 ± 25.48 ng/mL vs. 56.02 ± 33.20 ng/mL in moderate symptoms, mild symptoms, and asymptomatic, respectively; p=0.152). Conclusion: Although the IL-6 serum levels are not related to COVID-19 symptoms severity, an elevated of this biomarker was found in pregnant women with affected diagnoses.

Keywords: interleukin-6, pregnancy, COVID-19, several inflammatory

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Authors: Sipu Guo, Silin Huang

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Background: Most studies investigate the link between executive function and allostatic load (AL) among adults aged 18 years and older. Studies differed regarding the specific biological indicators studied and executive functions accounted for. Specific executive functions may be differentially related to allostatic load. We investigated the comorbidities of executive functions and allostatic load via network analysis. Methods: We included 603 adolescents (49.84% girls; Mean age = 12.38, SD age = 1.79) from junior high school in rural China. Eight biological markers at T1 and four executive function tasks at T2 were used to evaluate networks. Network analysis was used to determine the network structure, core symptoms, and bridge symptoms in the AL-executive function network among rural adolescents. Results: The executive functions were related to 6 AL biological markers, not to cortisol and epinephrine. The most influential symptoms were inhibition control, cognitive flexibility, processing speed, and systolic blood pressure (SBP). SBP, dehydroepiandrosterone, and processing speed were the bridges through which AL was related to executive functions. dehydroepiandrosterone strongly predicted processing speed. The SBP was the biggest influencer in the entire network. Conclusions: We found evidence for differential relations between markers and executive functions. SBP was a driver in the network; dehydroepiandrosterone showed strong relations with executive function.

Keywords: allostatic load, executive function, network analysis, rural adolescent

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Authors: Sibel Yoleri

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In this research it is aimed to determine the adjustment of students who attend the first class at elementary school to school in terms of several variables. The study group of the research consists of 286 students (131 female, 155 male) who continue attending the first class of elementary school in 2013-2014 academic year, in the city center of Uşak. In the research, ‘Personal Information Form’ and ‘Walker-Mcconnell Scale of Social Competence and School Adjustment’ have been used as data collection tools. In the analysis of data, the t-test has been applied in the independent groups to determine whether the sampling group students’ scores of school adjustment differ according to the sex variable or not. For the evaluation of data identified as not showing normal distribution, Mann Whitney U test has been applied for paired comparison, Kruskal Wallis H test has been used for multiple comparisons. In the research, all the statistical processes have been evaluated bidirectional and the level of significance has been accepted as .05. According to the results gathered from the research, a meaningful difference could not been identified in the level of students’ adjustment to school in terms of sex variable. At the end of the research, it is identified that the adjustment level of the students who have started school at the age of seven is higher than the ones who have started school at the age of five and the adjustment level of the students who have preschool education before the elementary school is higher than the ones who have not taken.

Keywords: starting school, preschool education, school adjustment, Walker-Mcconnell Scale

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Authors: Kanae Suzuki

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Handheld video games are popular communication tools among Japanese elementary school students today. This study aims to examine the effects of the use of handheld video games on interpersonal relationships of the students in real and virtual worlds. A two-wave panel survey was conducted for students of ten elementary schools at an interval of approximately six months. The survey questionnaire included questions about the average amount of time spent playing a handheld video game during the past one month, the frequency of communication with players during game play, and the interpersonal relationships, such as the number of real and virtual friends the students have. A multiple regression model was constructed for 324 students to examine causal relationships. The results indicated that the more frequently the students communicated with other players while playing games, the number of the real friends tended to increase. In contrast, no significant effect of the total time spent playing games was found on interpersonal relationships. The findings suggested that communication during game play is an important factor for improving interpersonal relationships of this age group.

Keywords: communication, real friend, social adjustment, virtual friend

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Authors: A B M Enamol Hassan

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The forest storing up in Bangladesh is of deep concern to policy analysts because of increasing encroachment that results in deforestation and degradation of the ecosystem. To address these problems, forest-dependent people, as responsible for encroachment, could be involved in the co-management process along with other local stakeholders through a participatory approach. On the basis of this premise, this paper conceptualizes and empirically assesses the integration of all stakeholders in the co-management process through two lenses such as participation and collaboration. The study also analyzed the issues of sustainability in local communities along with examining constraints that limit the processes of integration. The study used a qualitative research method, which included face-to-face interviews with semi-structured questionnaires and field notes following the purposive sampling technique focusing on Comilla Sadar South Upazila (CSSU), Bangladesh. The findings of this paper reveal beneficiaries, Bangladesh Forest Department (BFD) and Union Parishad (UP), come together as leading actors, while NGOs and business entrepreneurs are ignored in the co-management process of social forestry. However, integrated management contributes to the strength of community sustainability, although it has some major limitations causing the matter of concerns among the local communities and policy analysts.

Keywords: integration, participation, collaboration, stakeholders, community sustainability

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Authors: Zeinab Sayed Abdel Rehim, M. A. Ziada, H. Salwa El-Deeb

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Numerical study of fluid flow, heat transfer and thermal energy storing or released in/from spongy-porous media to predict the thermal performance and characteristics of the porous media as packed bed system is presented in this work. This system is cylindrical channel filled with porous media (carbon foam). The system consists of working fluid (air) and spongy-porous medium; they act as the heat exchanger (heating or cooling modes) where thermal interaction occurs between the working fluid and the porous medium. The spongy-porous media are defined by the different type of porous medium employed in the storing or cooling modes. Two different porous media are considered in this study: Carbon foam, and Silicon rubber. The flow of the working fluid (air) is one dimensional in the axial direction from the top to downward and steady state conditions. The numerical results of transient temperature distribution for both working fluid and the spongy-porous medium phases and the amount of stored/realized heat inside/from the porous medium for each case with respect to the operating parameters and the spongy-porous media characteristics are illustrated.

Keywords: fluid flow, heat transfer, numerical analysis, spongy-porous media, thermal performance, transient conditions

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Authors: Tareq Issa

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Lean manufacturing is concerned with the implementation of several tools and methodologies that aim for the continuous elimination of wastes throughout manufacturing process flow in the production system. This research addresses the implementation of lean principles and tools in a small-medium industry focusing on 'fused' plastic bags production company in Amman, Jordan. In this production operation, the major type of waste to eliminate include material, waiting-transportation, and setup wastes. The primary goal is to identify and implement selected lean strategies to eliminate waste in the manufacturing process flow. A systematic approach was used for the implementation of lean principles and techniques, through the application of Value Stream Mapping analysis. The current state value stream map was constructed to improve the plastic bags manufacturing process through identifying opportunities to eliminate waste and its sources. Also, the future-state value stream map was developed describing improvements in the overall manufacturing process resulting from eliminating wastes. The implementation of VSM, 5S, Kanban, Kaizen, and Reduced lot size methods have provided significant benefits and results. Productivity has increased to 95.4%, delivery schedule attained at 99-100%, reduction in total inventory to 1.4 days and the setup time for the melting process was reduced to about 30 minutes.

Keywords: lean implementation, plastic bags industry, value stream map, process flow

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Authors: Abdulrahman Aljabri, Essam R. I. Mahmoud, Hamad Almohamedi, Zhengyi Jiang

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Cold rolled thin strip has received intensive attention through technological and theoretical progress in the rolling process, as well as researchers have focused on its control during rolling as an essential parameter for producing thinner strip with good shape and profile. An advanced approach has been proposed to analysis the thin strip profile in cold rolling of pair roll crossing and shifting mill using Finite Element Analysis (FEA) with an ALE technique. The ALE (Arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian) techniques to enable more flexibility of the ALE technique in the adjustment of the finite element mesh, which provides a significant tool for simulating the thin strip under realistic rolling process constraint and provide accurate model results. The FEA can provide theoretical basis for the 3D model of controlling the strip shape and profile in thin strip rolling, and deliver an optimal rolling process parameter, and suggest corrective changes during cold rolling of thin strip.

Keywords: pair roll crossing, work roll shifting, strip shape and profile, finite element modeling

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Authors: Wipharat Saimo, Benjawan Thumthanaruk, Panida Banjongsinsiri, Nowwapan Noojuy

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Thai northern style sausage (sai-ou) is originally cuisine made of chili paste, pork, and lard. It always serves with curry paste, vegetable, and rice. The meat and lard ingredients used can be substituted by Shiitake mushroom (Lentinus edodes) and King oyster (Pleurotus eryngii) mushroom (50:50 w/w) which is suitable for all people, especially vegetarians. However, the texture of mushroom type sai-ou had no homogenous texture due to no adhesiveness property of mushroom. Therefore, this research aimed to study the ratio of hydrocolloids (konjac flour (0-100%), konjac gel (0-100%) and Citri-fi®100 FG (0-2%)) on the physicochemical properties mushroom type sai-ou. The mixture design was applied by using Minitab 16 software. Nine formula were designed for the test. The values of moisture content and water activity of nine formula were ranged from 66.25-72.17% and 0.96-0.97. The pH values were 5.44-5.89. The optimal ratio of konjac flour, konjac gel and Citri-fi®100 FG (74.75:24.75:0.5 (w/w)) yielded the highest texture profiles (hardness, springiness, cohesiveness, gumminess and chewiness) as well as color parameters (L*, a* and b*). Sensory results showed had higher acceptability scores in term of overall liking with the level of ‘like moderately’ (5.9 on 7 pointed scale). The mushroom type sai-ou sausage could be an alternative food for health-conscious consumers.

Keywords: Citri-fi® 100 FG, konjac flour, konjac gel, Thai northern style sausages

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Authors: Esperanza Garcia-Uceda, Josefina L. Murillo-Luna, M. Pilar Latorre-Martinez, Marta Ferrer-Serrano

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Social entrepreneurship represents an innovation of traditional business models. During the last decade, its important role in contributing to rural and regional development has been widely recognized, due to its capacity to combat the problem of depopulation through the creation of employment. However, the success of this type of innovative business initiatives depends to a large extent on the existence of an adequate ecosystem of support resources. Based on the theoretical framework of the quadruple helix (QH), which highlights the need for collaboration between different interest groups -university, industry, government and civil society- for the development of regional innovations, in this work the network analysis is applied to study the ecosystem of resources to support social entrepreneurship in the rural area of the province of Zaragoza (Spain). It is a quantitative analysis that can be used to measure the interactions between the different actors that make up the quadruple helix, as well as the networks created between the different institutions and support organizations, through the study of the complex networks they form. The results show the importance of the involvement of local governments and the university, as key elements in the development process, but also allow identifying other issues that are susceptible to improvement.

Keywords: ecosystem of support resources, network analysis, quadruple helix, social entrepreneurship

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Authors: Chang Hsueh-Sheng, Chen Tzu-Ling

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Earthquake is an unpredictable natural disaster and intensive earthquakes have caused serious impacts on social-economic system, environmental and social resilience. Conventional ways to mitigate earthquake disaster are to enhance building codes and advance structural engineering measures. However, earthquake-induced ground damage such as liquefaction, land subsidence, landslide happen on places nearby earthquake prone or poor soil condition areas. Therefore, this study uses spatial statistical analysis to explore the spatial pattern of damaged buildings. Afterwards, principle components analysis (PCA) is applied to categorize the similar features in different kinds of clustered patterns. The results show that serious landslide prone area, close to fault, vegetated ground surface and mudslide prone area are common in those highly damaged buildings. In addition, the oldest building might not be directly referred to the most vulnerable one. In fact, it seems that buildings built between 1974 and 1989 become more fragile during the earthquake. The incorporation of both spatial statistical analyses and PCA can provide more accurate information to subsidize retrofit programs to enhance earthquake resistance in particular areas.

Keywords: earthquake disaster, spatial statistic analysis, principle components analysis (pca), clustered patterns

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Authors: Jasmine Latiolais

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Much of the disaster-related literature finds a positive relationship between the impact of a natural disaster and the growth of wages. Panel datasets are often used to explore these effects. However, natural disasters do not impact a single variable in the economy. Rather, natural disasters affect all facets of the economy, simultaneously, upon impact. It is difficult to control for all factors that would be influenced by the impact of a natural disaster, which can lead to lead to omitted variable bias in those studies employing panel datasets. To address this issue of omitted variable bias, an interrupted time series analysis is used to test the short-run relationship between the impact of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita on parish wage levels in Southern Louisiana, inherently controlling for economic conditions. This study provides evidence that natural disasters do increase wages in the very short term (one quarter following the impact of the hurricane) but that these results are not seen in the longer term and are not robust. In addition, the significance of the coefficients changes depending on the parish. Overall, this study finds that previous literature on this topic may not be robust when considered through a time-series lens.

Keywords: economic recovery, local economies, local wage growth, natural disasters

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Authors: Madhusudan Purohit, Stephen Philip, Bharathkumar Inturi

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In this paper we report the quantitative structure activity relationship of novel bis-triazole derivatives for predicting the activity profile. The full model encompassed a dataset of 46 Bis- triazoles. Tripos Sybyl X 2.0 program was used to conduct CoMSIA QSAR modeling. The Partial Least-Squares (PLS) analysis method was used to conduct statistical analysis and to derive a QSAR model based on the field values of CoMSIA descriptor. The compounds were divided into test and training set. The compounds were evaluated by various CoMSIA parameters to predict the best QSAR model. An optimum numbers of components were first determined separately by cross-validation regression for CoMSIA model, which were then applied in the final analysis. A series of parameters were used for the study and the best fit model was obtained using donor, partition coefficient and steric parameters. The CoMSIA models demonstrated good statistical results with regression coefficient (r2) and the cross-validated coefficient (q2) of 0.575 and 0.830 respectively. The standard error for the predicted model was 0.16322. In the CoMSIA model, the steric descriptors make a marginally larger contribution than the electrostatic descriptors. The finding that the steric descriptor is the largest contributor for the CoMSIA QSAR models is consistent with the observation that more than half of the binding site area is occupied by steric regions.

Keywords: 3D QSAR, CoMSIA, triazoles, novel heterocycles

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Authors: Kesya Terinda Natalie, Marcellina Natasha, Rosinta Ria Panggabean

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Purpose: Over the last few years, the company has been implementing sustainability practices to ensure business continuity. However, there are pros and cons regarding the impact of financial reports if companies provide non-financial reports. So this paper aims to prove what the effect of Sustainability Reporting (SR) has on company profitability, as well as things that can be considered as the decision-making of SR disclosure. Methodology: This paper uses the literature review method to describe the results of published articles concerning Sustainability Reporting and Profitability. This study links and analyzes the essence of 50 previous studies related to SR on company profitability, most of which were conducted in Asia. Therefore this research is limited to only 23 studies in Asia. Findings: Sustainability Reporting does not have a significant impact on company profitability because the SR quality of each company varies based on Agency & Legitimacy Theory considerations. Stakeholders are required to focus not only on profitability but also on the long-term of the company. Thus, it is found that SR is used by companies as a sustainable investment, which can improve overall company performance by reducing capital costs and generating positive company value in increasing reputation capital. Value: This paper focuses on how sustainability reporting affects company profitability, as well as things that can be considered as the decision-making of SR disclosure.

Keywords: sustainability reporting, profitability, agency theory, legitimacy theory

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Authors: Ofra Walter Btel Liran Hazan

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This study’s goal was to clarify whether psychological capital (PsyCap) mediated the relations between social support and subjective well-being among post-secondary students during the Covid-19 pandemic and to assess whether students diagnosed with a learning disability (LD) and/or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) differed from others in their reliance on social support and their level of PsyCap and subjective wellbeing. Participants were257 students, 152 diagnosed with LD/ADHD and the rest neurotypical. The study used four questionnaires: demographic and academic information; Psychological Capital Questionnaire (PCQ); Subjective Well-Being Index; social support questionnaire. The results indicated PsyCapmediated relations between social support and subjective wellbeing. Students diagnosed with LD/ADHD differed from neurotypicals in their PsyCap and subjective wellbeing levels but not in their social support. In addition, the relations between PsyCap and social support were stronger among students diagnosed with LD/ADHD. PsyCap was an important resource for all participants and was related to social support and subjective wellbeing, making it especially valuable for LD/ADHD students facing new and threatening situations, such as the Covid-19 pandemic.

Keywords: LD/ADHD post-secondary students, subjective wellbeing, social support, PsyCap, covid-19

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Authors: Hussain Darraj

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Background: Healthcare workers, especially nurses, are subjected to a great risk of psychological stress, mostly moral distress. Therefore, it is crucial to address moral distress in nurses. Objectives: The aim of this study is to study the extent of moral distress among hospital nurses in Jazan. Methods: This study used a cross-sectional study design, which included 419 nurses from Jazan hospitals. A questionnaire was used to measure moral distress and its related factors. Results: The average total score for moral distress among the study participants is 134.14, with a standard deviation of 53.94. Moreover, the current study findings indicate that those over the age of 35 years who work as nurse managers, working in critical departments, have the intention to leave a position, have received ethical training or workshops, have provided care for COVID-19 cases, or work in a department with staff shortages are associated with the experience of higher-level moral stress. Conclusion: Nurses are recommended to be provided with ongoing education and resources in order to reduce moral distress and create a positive work atmosphere for nurses. Moreover, the current study sheds light on the importance of organizational support to provide enough resources and staffing in order to reduce moral distress among nurses. Further research is needed to focus on other health professionals and moral distress. Moreover, future studies are also required to explore the strategies to reduce moral distress levels among nurses.

Keywords: moral distress, Jazan, nurses, hospital

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Authors: Sabraoui Abdelhadi, El Bouhssini Mustapha, Lhaloui Saadia, El Fakhouri Karim, Bouchelta Aziz

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The surveys carried out in 2014, 2015 in the regions of Abda- Doukala, Chaouia- Ouardigha, Zemour- Zair and Fes- Sais have confirmed that the leaf miner was the main insect pest attacking chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) in Morocco. The grain yield losses caused by this pest could be more than 20% for winter planting and more than 42% for spring-sown crop. To reduce the chickpea leaf miner infestations, four essential oils, as biopesticide alternatives, were tested for their insecticidal effect on L. ciccerina, adults and larvae under laboratory conditions. In addition, we assessed the efficacy of these essential oils with and without adjuvant against this pest in comparison to three insecticides under field conditions. Mentha pulegium, with a dose of 33 µl/l of air caused 100% mortality on adults and larvae, after three hours and six hours of exposure, respectively. Eucalyptus showed 100% mortality on adults and larvae, with doses of 33 and 83 µl/l, after six and three hours of exposure, respectively. In the field conditions M. pulegium and E. globulus with adjuvant showed promising results compared with Abamectin, Azadirachtin and Spinetoram respectively. Essential oils could be used as one of the IPM components for the control of chickpea leaf miner.

Keywords: Liriomyza cicerina, chickpea, essential oils, insecticidal activity, Morocco

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Authors: Lai Tzu-Hsuan, Lai Jung-Nien, Lin Jaung-Geng, Kao Shung-Te, Hsuan-Kuang Jung

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Background: Whether acupuncture therapy contributes to preserving residual renal function (RRF) remains largely unknown. This case series evidenced the potential beneficial effects of acupuncture for preserving RRF in five patients with the end-stage renal disease under hemodialysis (HD) treatment. Participants: Five patients on HD receiving eight sessions of weekly 30-min interdialytic acupuncture (Inter-A) with residual urine volume (rUV) and residual glomerular filtration rate (rGFR) recorded once every two weeks were included for analysis. Outcomes: Changes in rUV and rGFR calculated using 24-hour urine collection data were analyzed to assess RRF. Variations in hemoglobin, urea Kt/V and serum albumin levels measured monthly were analyzed to evaluate HD adequacy. Results: After eight Inter-A sessions, mean (standard deviation (SD)) rUV and rGFR increased from 612 (184) ml/day and 1.48 (.94) ml/min/1.73 m2 at baseline to 803(289) ml/day and 2.04(1.17) ml/min/1.73m2 at 2- and 4-week follow-up, respectively. The mean percentage difference increased by 31% in rUV and 38% in rGFR. Routine measurements on HD adequacy also showed improvement. Conclusions: Acupuncture might be an optional add-on treatment for HD population with poor control of water; however, further well-designed controlled trials are warranted.

Keywords: end-stage renal disease, hemodialysis, acupuncture, residual renal function, residual urine volume

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Authors: Adem Rama, Rabiha Seboussi, Mahmoud Muhamadin, Sultan Alzarooni, Fatima Mohamed, Khuloud Al Ali

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To assess public health hazards associated with the occurrence of Antibiotics and AFM1 residues in UHT milk, a survey was carried out in Sharjah, UAE. In the present study, a total of 42 UHT milk samples analyzed were from different commercial brands manufactured in industrial dairy units in the UAE and from foreign producers. Milk samples were collected for four months (January to April 2020). The occurrence and concentration range of Antibiotics (Streptomycin and Gentamycin) and AFM1 in the samples were investigated by applying the ELISA method. According to the methodology used in this study, in total, 2 (5%) out of 42(95%) samples tested positive on the presence of AFM1. While, 1(2.4%) out of 41(97.6%) positive samples were found to contain Streptomycin and Gentamycin, respectively. The positive incidence of AFM1 in the UHT milk samples ranged from 58.8 to 1074 µg/L, for Streptomycin from up to 1004 µg/L, and Gentamycin up to 6909 µg/L. There were no positive samples found in locally produced UHT milk. AFM1 and antibiotic levels in positive samples UHT milk samples exceeded the maximum tolerable limits as set by the European Union - EC guidelines/standards. These levels in the samples show a presence of contaminants that might constitute a human health risk in Sharjah. The results of this study imply that more emphasis should be given to the routine inspection of milk and dairy products in the Sharjah region.

Keywords: milk, contaminant residues, ELISA, public health, Sharjah

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Authors: A. Al-Rifaie, Z. W. Guan, S. W. Jones

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This paper presents a method for modelling and analysing end plate beam-to-column connections to obtain the quasi-static behaviour using non-linear dynamic explicit integration. In addition to its importance to study the static behaviour of a structural member, quasi-static behaviour is largely needed to be compared with the dynamic behaviour of such members in order to investigate the dynamic effect by proposing dynamic increase factors (DIFs). The beam-to-column bolted connections contain various contact surfaces at which the implicit procedure may have difficulties converging, resulting in a large number of iterations. Contrary, explicit procedure could deal effectively with complex contacts without converging problems. Hence, finite element modelling using ABAQUS/explicit is used in this study to address the dynamic effect may be produced using explicit procedure. Also, the effect of loading rate and mass scaling are discussed to investigate their effect on the time of analysis. The results show that the explicit procedure is valuable to model the end plate beam-to-column connections in terms of failure mode, load-displacement relationships. Also, it is concluded that loading rate and mass scaling should be carefully selected to avoid the dynamic effect in the solution.

Keywords: quasi-static, end plate, finite elements, connections

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Authors: Mohamed Ahmed Gesraha, Amany Ramadan Ebeid

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Aphids are noxious and serious persistent pests in the open fields worldwide. Many authors studied the possibility of aphid control by applying Ladybirds and Lacewings at different releasing rates under open-field conditions. Results clarify that releasing 3rd instar larvae of Coccinella undecimpunctata at the rate of 1 larva:50 aphid was more effective than 1:100 or 1:200 rates for controlling Aphis gossypii population in Okra field; reflecting more than 90% reduction in the aphid population within 15 days. When Chrysoperla carnea 2nd larval instar were releasing at 1:5, 1:10, and 1:20 (predator: aphid), it was noticed that the former rate was the most effective one, inducing 98.93% reduction in aphid population; while the two other rates reflecting less reduction. Additionally, in the case of double releases, the reduction percentage at the 1:5 rate was 99.63%, emphasize that this rate was the most effective one; the other rates induced 97.05 and 95.64% reduction. Generally, a double release was more effective in all tested rates than the single one because of the cumulative existence of the predators in large numbers at the same period of the experiment. It could be concluded that utilizing insect predators (Coccinella undecimpunctata or Chrysoperla carnea) at an early larval stag were faire enough to reduce the aphids’ populations under open fields conditions.

Keywords: releasing predators, lacewings, ladybird, open fields

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Authors: Abdurraouf O. Gaja, Salah Y. A. Al-Dahash, Guru Solmon Raju, Chikara Kubota

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Corpus luteum cross sectional (by ultrasonography) and plasma progesterone (by DELFIA) were estimated in early pregnant and non pregnant cows on days 14th and 20th to 23rd post insemination. On day 14th, corpus luteum sectional area was 348.43 mm2 in pregnant and 387.84mm2 in non pregnant cows. Within days 20th to 23rd, corpus luteum sectional area ranged between 342.06 and 367.90 mm2 in pregnant and between 193.85 and 270.69 mm2 in non pregnant cows. Plasma progesterone level was 2.43 ng/ml in pregnant and 2.46 ng/ml in non pregnant cows on day 14th, while during days 20th to 23rd the level ranged between 2.47 and 2,84 ng/ml in pregnant and between 0.53 and 1.17 ng/ml in non pregnant cows. Results of both luteal tissue areas as well as plasma progesterone levels were highly significantly deferent (P<0.01) between pregnant and non pregnant cows during days 20th to 23rd, but there were no significant differences on day 14th. The correlation between CL cross-sectional area and plasma progesterone level was 0.4 in pregnant cows and 0.99 in non pregnant cow. It is clear, from this study, that ultrasonic assessment of corpora lutea is a viable alternative to determine plasma progesterone levels for early pregnancy diagnosis in cows.

Keywords: progesterone, ultrasonography, corpus luteum, pregnancy diagnosis, cow

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Authors: Waris Piyaphon, Sathaphorn O-Suwankul, Kittima Bootdee, Manit Nithitanakul

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Starch from rice was used as a filler in low density polyethylene in preparation of low density polyethylene/rice starch composite. This study aims to prepare LDPE/rice starch composites. Glycerol (GC) was used as a plasticizer in order to increase dispersion and reduce agglomeration of rice starch in low density polyethylene (LDPE) matrix. Low density polyethylene grafted maleic anhydride (LDPE-g-MA) was used as a compatibilizer to increase the compatibility between LDPE and rice starch. The content of rice starch was varied between 10, 20, and 30 %wt. Results indicated that increase of rice starch content reduced tensile strength at break, elongation, and impact strength of composites. LDPE-g-MA showed positive effect on mechanical properties which increased in tensile strength and impact properties as well as compatibility between rice starch and LDPE matrix. Moreover, the addition of LDPE-g-MA significantly improved the impact strength by 50% compared to neat composite. The incorporation of GC enhanced the processability of composite. Introduction of GC affected the viscosity after blending by reducing the viscosity at all shear rate. The presence of plasticizer increased the impact strength but decreased the stiffness of composite. Water absorption of the composite was increased when plasticizer was added.

Keywords: composite material, plastic starch composite, polyethylene composite, PE grafted maleic anhydride

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Authors: Ayan Chakraborty, BV. Rathish Kumar

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Off-late many models in viscoelasticity, signal processing or anomalous diffusion equations are formulated in fractional calculus. Tempered fractional calculus is the generalization of fractional calculus and in the last few years several important partial differential equations occurring in the different field of science have been reconsidered in this term like diffusion wave equations, Schr$\ddot{o}$dinger equation and so on. In the present paper, a time-dependent tempered fractional diffusion equation of order $\gamma \in (0,1)$ with forcing function is considered. Existence, uniqueness, stability, and regularity of the solution has been proved. Crank-Nicolson discretization is used in the time direction. B spline finite element approximation is implemented. Generally, B-splines basis are useful for representing the geometry of a finite element model, interfacing a finite element analysis program. By utilizing this technique a priori space-time estimate in finite element analysis has been derived and we proved that the convergent order is $\mathcal{O}(h²+T²)$ where $h$ is the space step size and $T$ is the time. A couple of numerical examples have been presented to confirm the accuracy of theoretical results. Finally, we conclude that the studied method is useful for solving tempered fractional diffusion equations.

Keywords: B-spline finite element, error estimates, Gronwall's lemma, stability, tempered fractional

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Authors: Adel Omar Ashour, Paul S. Dyer

Abstract:

Aspergillus nidulans can reproduce by asexual or sexual means, producing green conidiospores or red-purple ascospores respectively. The latter one is produced in dark-purple globose ‘cleistothecia’ which are surrounded by Hülle cells. The species has a homothallic (self fertile) sexual breeding system. Given the extra metabolic costs associated with sexual compared to asexual reproduction it would be predicted that ascospore production would confer evolutionary benefits. However, due to the homothallic breeding system there is very rarely any increased genetic variation in ascospore offspring and traditionally conidia and ascospores are considered to be equally environmental resistant. We therefore examined in detail whether conidia and ascospores might exhibit as yet undetected differences in spore viability when subjected to certain environmental stressors. Spores from two strains of A. nidulans (comprising wild-type and KU mutants) were exposed to various levels of temperature (50-70°C for 30 min) and UV (350 nm for 10-60 min) stress. Results of experiments will be presented, including comparison of ‘D’ (decimal point reduction) values of conidia versus ascospores of A. nidulans. We detected that under certain exposure levels ascospores have significantly increased resistance compared to conidia. The increased environmental resistance of ascospores might be a key factor explaining the persistence of sexuality in this homothallic species, and reasons for differential survival are suggested.

Keywords: Aspergillus nidulans, asexual reproduction, conidia, ascospores, cleistothecia, d-value

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Authors: Ahmed Krobba, Meriem Touzene, Mohamed Debeyche

Abstract:

The wireless communications system (5G) will provide more diverse applications and higher quality services for users compared to the long-term evolution 4G (LTE). 5G uses a higher carrier frequency, which suffers from information loss in 5G coverage. Most 5G users often cannot obtain high-quality communications due to transmission channel noise and channel complexity. Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH-NR: Physical Uplink Control Channel New Radio) plays a crucial role in 5G NR telecommunication technology, which is mainly used to transmit link control information uplink (UCI: Uplink Control Information. This study based of evaluating the performance of channel physical uplink control PUCCH-NR under low Signal-to-Noise Ratios with various antenna numbers reception. We propose the artificial intelligence approach based on deep neural networks (Deep Learning) to estimate the PUCCH-NR channel in comparison with this approach with different conventional methods such as least-square (LS) and minimum-mean-square-error (MMSE). To evaluate the channel performance we use the block error rate (BLER) as an evaluation criterion of the communication system. The results show that the deep neural networks method gives best performance compared with MMSE and LS

Keywords: 5G network, uplink (Uplink), PUCCH channel, NR-PUCCH channel, deep learning

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Authors: Fatmeh Alzoubi, Reem Ali

Abstract:

Jordan is a developing country in the Middle East and, much like other countries in the world, has high rates of intimate partner violence (IPV). Little information is available on Jordanian men’s and women’s attitudes toward IPV. The purpose of this study is to examine men’s and women’s attitudes toward IPV in Jordan and its relationship with some demographics and family functioning. A descriptive cross-sectional correlational design with a sample of 401 men and women was used. Descriptive statistics (M, SD), Pearson r, t test, and ANOVA were used. The results indicated that Jordanian men and women have a lower score of IPVAS, 40.06 (SD = 8.20), indicating lower acceptance of IPV compared with the literature. Family functioning was 3.12 (SD = 0.46), indicating more healthy families. Family functioning was negatively correlated with IPVAS scores (r = –.22, p = .00). All demographic variables showed small to moderate correlations with IPVAS. Education for both study participants and their spouses had a negative correlation with IPVAS (r = –.27, p = .00) and (r = –.20, p = .00), respectively. Male participants, individuals who were living with extended family, and those living in rural areas had significantly high IPVAS scores, indicating more accepting attitudes toward IPV. Practitioners should provide families with education on the methods of conflict resolution, effective communication within the family, problem-solving approaches, equal role distribution, and appropriate styles of establishing a family.

Keywords: intimate partner violence, Jordanian men and women’s health, attitudes, family functioning

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Authors: Reza Pourjafar, Morteza Sohrabi-Gilani, Mostafa Jamshidi Avanaki, Malek Mohammad Ranjbar

Abstract:

Cementitious composites like concrete, are the most widely used materials in civil infrastructures. Numerous investigations on fiber’s effect on the properties of cement-based composites have been conducted in the last few decades. The use of fibers such as carbon nanofibers (CNFs) and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in these materials is an ongoing field and needs further researches and studies. Excellent mechanical, thermal, and electrical properties of carbon nanotubes and nanofibers have motivated the development of advanced nanocomposites with outstanding and multifunctional properties. In this study, the electrical resistance of CNF reinforced cement mortar was examined. Three different dosages of CNF were used, and the resistances were compared to plain cement mortar. One of the biggest challenges in this study is dispersing CNF particles in the mortar mixture. Therefore, polycarboxylate superplasticizer and ultrasonication of the mixture have been selected for the purpose of dispersing CNFs in the cement matrix. The obtained results indicated that the electrical resistance of the CNF reinforced mortar samples decreases with increasing CNF content, which would be the first step towards examining strain and damage monitoring ability of cementitious composites containing CNF for structural health monitoring purposes.

Keywords: carbon nanofiber, cement and concrete, CNF reinforced mortar, smart mater, strain monitoring, structural health monitoring

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Authors: Pranjali Avinash Yadav-Deshmukh

Abstract:

Remarkable development of the Internet along with the new technological innovation, such as high-speed systems and affordable large storage space have led to a tremendous increase in the amount and accessibility to digital records. For any person, studying of all these data is tremendously time intensive, so there is a great need to access effective multi-document summarization (MDS) systems, which can successfully reduce details found in several records into a short, understandable summary or conclusion. For semantic representation of textual details in ontology area, as a theoretical design, our system provides a significant structure. The stability of using the ontology in fixing multi-document summarization problems in the sector of catastrophe control is finding its recommended design. Saliency ranking is usually allocated to each phrase and phrases are rated according to the ranking, then the top rated phrases are chosen as the conclusion. With regards to the conclusion quality, wide tests on a selection of media announcements are appropriate for “Jammu Kashmir Overflow in 2014” records. Ontology centered multi-document summarization methods using “NLP centered extraction” outshine other baselines. Our participation in recommended component is to implement the details removal methods (NLP) to enhance the results.

Keywords: disaster management, extraction technique, k-means, multi-document summarization, NLP, ontology, sentence extraction

Procedia PDF Downloads 367