Search results for: material nonlinear analysis

Authors: Mohammad Ghiasvand, Babak Khorsandi, Morteza Kolahdoozan

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Under the influence of waves, oil in the sea is subject to vertical scattering in the water column. Scientists' knowledge of how oil is dispersed in the water column is one of the lowest levels of knowledge among other processes affecting oil in the marine environment, which highlights the need for research and study in this field. Therefore, this study investigates the distribution of oil in the water column in a turbulent environment with zero velocity characteristics. Lack of laboratory results to analyze the distribution of petroleum pollutants in deep water for information Phenomenon physics on the one hand and using them to calibrate numerical models on the other hand led to the development of laboratory models in research. According to the aim of the present study, which is to investigate the distribution of oil in homogeneous and isotropic turbulence caused by the oscillating Grid, after reaching the ideal conditions, the crude oil flow was poured onto the water surface and oil was distributed in deep water due to turbulence was investigated. In this study, all experimental processes have been implemented and used for the first time in Iran, and the study of oil diffusion in the water column was considered one of the key aspects of pollutant diffusion in the oscillating Grid environment. Finally, the required oscillation velocities were taken at depths of 10, 15, 20, and 25 cm from the water surface and used in the analysis of oil diffusion due to turbulence parameters. The results showed that with the characteristics of the present system in two static modes and network motion with a frequency of 0.8 Hz, the results of oil diffusion in the four mentioned depths at a frequency of 0.8 Hz compared to the static mode from top to bottom at 26.18, 57 31.5, 37.5 and 50% more. Also, after 2.5 minutes of the oil spill at a frequency of 0.8 Hz, oil distribution at the mentioned depths increased by 49, 61.5, 85, and 146.1%, respectively, compared to the base (static) state.

Keywords: homogeneous and isotropic turbulence, oil distribution, oscillating grid, oil spill

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Authors: Alina Goldberg Cavalleri, Sara Franco Ortega, Nawaporn Onkokesung, Richard Dale, Melissa Brazier-Hicks, Robert Edwards

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Non-target site based resistance (NTSR) to herbicides in weeds is a polygenic trait associated with the upregulation of proteins involved in xenobiotic detoxification and translocation we have termed the xenome. Among the xenome proteins, ABC transporters play a key role in enhancing herbicide metabolism by effluxing conjugated xenobiotics from the cytoplasm into the vacuole. The importance of ABC transporters is emphasized by the fact that they often contribute to multidrug resistance in human cells and antibiotic resistance in bacteria. They also play a key role in insecticide resistance in major vectors of human diseases and crop pests. By surveying available databases, transcripts encoding ABCs have been identified as being enhanced in populations exhibiting NTSR in several weed species. Based on a transcriptomics data in black grass (Alopecurus myosuroides, Am), we have identified three proteins from the ABC-C subfamily that are upregulated in NTSR populations. ABC-C transporters are poorly characterized proteins in plants, but in Arabidopsis localize to the vacuolar membrane and have functional roles in transporting glutathionylated (GSH)-xenobiotic conjugates. We found that the up-regulation of AmABCs strongly correlates with the up-regulation of a glutathione transferase termed AmGSTU2, which can conjugate GSH to herbicides. The expression profile of the ABC transcripts was profiled in populations of black grass showing different degree of resistance to herbicides. This, together with a phylogenetic analysis, revealed that AmABCs cluster in different groups which might indicate different substrate and roles in the herbicide resistance phenotype in the different populations

Keywords: black grass, herbicide, resistance, transporters

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Authors: Salah Brahim Belakhdar, Tari Mohammed Amin, Rafai Abderrahmen, Amalsi Bilal

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Shear strength of sandy soils has been considered as the important parameter to study the stability of different civil engineering structures when subjected to monotonic, cyclic, and earthquake loading conditions. The proposed research investigated the effect of grading characteristics on the shear strength and mechanical behaviour of granular classes of sands mixed with salt in loose and dense states (Dr=15% and 90%). The laboratory investigation aimed at understanding the extent or degree at which shear strength of sand-silt mixture soil is affected by its gradation under static loading conditions. For the purpose of clarifying and evaluating the shear strength characteristics of sandy soils, a series of Casagrande shear box tests were carried out on different reconstituted samples of sand-silt mixtures with various gradations. The soil samples were tested under different normal stresses (100, 200, and 300 kPa). The results from this laboratory investigation were used to develop insight into the shear strength response of sand and sand-silt mixtures under monotonic loading conditions. The analysis of the obtained data revealed that the grading characteristics (D10, D50, Cu, ESR, and MGSR) have a significant influence on the shear strength response. It was found that shear strength can be correlated to the grading characteristics for the sand-silt mixture. The effective size ratio (ESR) and mean grain size ratio (MGSR) appear as pertinent parameters to predict the shear strength response of the sand-silt mixtures for soil gradation under study.

Keywords: mechanical behavior, silty sand, friction angle, cohesion, fines content

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Authors: Sudhir K. Gupta

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Introduction: When a forensic doctor determines that a suspicious death is a suicide, homicide, or accident, the decision virtually becomes incontestable by the investigating police officer, and it becomes an issue whether the medical opinion was created with necessary checks and balances on the other probabilities of the case. It is suggested that the opinion of Forensic Medical experts is conventional, mutable, and shifting from one expert to another. The determination of suicide, accident, or homicide is mandatorily required, which is the Gold Standard for conducting death investigations. Forensic investigations serve many audiences, but the court is by far the most critical. The likely questions on direct and cross-examination determine how forensic doctors gather and handle evidence and what conclusions they reach. Methodology: The author interacted with the investigative authority, and a crime scene visit was also done along with the perusal of the Postmortem report, subsequent opinion, and crime scene photographs and statements of the witness and accused. Further analysis of all relevant scientific documents and opinions of other forensic doctors, forensic scientists, and ballistic experts involved in these cases was done to arrive at an opinion with scientific justification. Findings: The opinions arrived at by the author and how they helped the judiciary in delivering justice in these cases have been discussed in this article. This can help the readers to understand the process involved in formulating a credible forensic medical expert opinion for investigators and the judiciary. Conclusion: A criminal case might be won or lost over doubt cast on the chain of custody. Medically trained forensic doctors, therefore, learn to practice their profession in legally appropriate ways, and opinions must be based on medical justifications with credible references.

Keywords: forensic doctor, professional credibility, investigation, expert opinion

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Authors: Megat Zuhairy, Megat Tajuddin, Hadijah Iberahim, Noraini Ismail

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This paper aims to discuss the impact of external networking on innovation and organizational performance in the construction industry. In Malaysia, the construction industry is known to be one of the industries that contribute significantly towards her economic growth. The construction industry is described as a fragmented and complex product system as construction projects implementation requires involvement of varying combination of large and small organizations across the supply chain spectrum. The innovation and performance of Malaysian construction industry are reported to be at underachieving and efforts for its improvement have inspired this study initiative. External networking among industry players is capable in bringing them to work together as a team, reducing the adversarial relationships among them for innovation effort and greater performance. The instrument in measuring innovation and organizational performance specific to the construction industry was developed by adapting measures introduced by several scholars in these fields. Contractors and consulting companies were the sampling frames of this study representing the construction industry in Malaysia. The population lists were developed from the lists provided by CIDB, BEM, BOA and BQSM. The samples were selected based on a stratified sampling method to gauge representation of the different groups in the population. Regression analysis was performed in this quantitative study to assess relationships amongst variables. The results revealed that principally, external networking is significant in influencing both innovation and organizational performance. Nevertheless, external networking with different industry players has a different impact on innovation and organizational performance. The study revealed that external networking with project players is significant on project performance but not on innovation. On the other hand, external networking with government agencies, academic institutions and professional bodies is significant in influencing innovation but not on organizational performance.

Keywords: innovation, external networking, organizational performance, construction industry

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Authors: Tatyana Suvorkina

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It is indisputable that the problem of the origin of Manichaeism is very complex. Manichaeism is characterized as a syncretic religion, which was influenced by many teachings, but it is difficult to define one which can be called fundamental. The aim of this paper is an attempt to regard Jewish apocalyptic tradition as one of the most defining source of formation of Manichaean systems. To realize this aim a comparison of the Manichean texts and the Jewish apocryphal literature is made. Consideration is given first to the Coptic Manichaean treatise Kephalaia, The Cologne Mani Codex and to books of Enoch. Under the article it is not denied that Manichaeism was influenced by different doctrines and, passed through centuries, it could adapt and strengthen this influence at an even deeper level. But the fact that the Judeo-Christian environment where Mani grew up and where the first sprouts of his teaching were formed had impact on future prophet seems obvious. Nevertheless, attempts to analyze the system of Mani within the Jewish tradition are quite rare, although such studies were carried out for Gnosticism. But Manichaeism, despite the Gnostic features it contains, is not 'one of the Gnostics' to place it under this term among the rest. Frequently, gnostic currents are pointed out as the main sources for the formation of Mani’s teachings. But it seems possible that Mani's interest in Gnosticism was motivated by the fact that he considered it as something close to that interpretation of Hebrew texts, which he aspired to undertake. The question of understanding the Manichaean system is connected not only with Manichaeism but also with other dualistic teachings, which were recognized by contemporaries as Manichaean. It is seen that polemics between Manicheans and Hellenized Christianity separated from Judaism and continued to separate with every century, were polemics between adherents of initially two different worldviews who had, however, a common source. Therefore an analysis of the controversy in the context of interpretations of this common source by disputing parties is seen very important for further study.

Keywords: dualism, Jewish apocalypticism, Manichaeism, syncretism

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Authors: Yue Zhang, Bo Yang, Gang Xiong, Mohamed Elchalakanic, Shidong Nie

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This study aims to investigate the lateral torsional buckling of I-shaped cross-section beams fabricated from Q460GJ structural steel plates. Both experimental and numerical simulation results are presented in this paper. A total of eight specimens were tested under a three-point bending, and the corresponding numerical models were established to conduct parametric studies. The effects of some key parameters such as the non-dimensional member slenderness and the height-to-width ratio, were investigated based on the verified numerical models. Also, the results obtained from the parametric studies were compared with the predictions calculated by different design codes including the Chinese design code (GB50017-2003, 2003), the new draft version of Chinese design code (GB50017-201X, 2012), Eurocode 3 (EC3, 2005) and the North America design code (ANSI/AISC360-10, 2010). These comparisons indicated that the sectional height-to-width ratio does not play an important role to influence the overall stability load-carrying capacity of Q460GJ structural steel beams with welded I-shaped cross-sections. It was also found that the design methods in GB50017-2003 and ANSI/AISC360-10 overestimate the overall stability and load-carrying capacity of Q460GJ welded I-shaped cross-section beams.

Keywords: experimental study, finite element analysis, global stability, lateral torsional buckling, Q460GJ structural steel

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Authors: Kgaugelo Lekota, Ayesha Hassim, Henriette Van Heerden

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Bacillus anthracis is the causative agent of anthrax that is composed of three genetic groups, namely A, B, and C. Clade-A is distributed world-wide, while sub-clades B has been identified in Kruger National Park (KNP), South Africa. KNP is one of the endemic anthrax regions in South Africa with distinctive genetic diversity. Genomic surveillance of KNP B. anthracis strains was employed on the historical culture collection isolates (n=67) dated from the 1990’s to 2015 using a whole genome sequencing approach. Whole genome single nucleotide polymorphism (SNPs) and pan-genomics analysis were used to define the B. anthracis genetic population structure. This study showed that KNP has heterologous B. anthracis strains grouping in the A-clade with more prominent ABr.005/006 (Ancient A) SNP lineage. The 2012 and 2015 anthrax isolates are dispersed amongst minor sub-clades that prevail in non-stabilized genetic evolution strains. This was augmented with non-parsimony informative SNPs of the B. anthracis strains across minor sub-clades of the Ancient A clade. Pan-genomics of B. anthracis showed a clear distinction between A and B-clade genomes with 11 374 predicted clusters of protein coding genes. Unique accessory genes of B-clade genomes that included biosynthetic cell wall genes and multidrug resistant of Fosfomycin. South Africa consists of diverse B. anthracis strains with unique defined SNPs. The sequenced B. anthracis strains in this study will serve as a means to further trace the dissemination of B. anthracis outbreaks globally and especially in South Africa.

Keywords: bacillus anthracis, whole genome single nucleotide polymorphisms, pangenomics, kruger national park

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Authors: Gwi Hyun Lee, Mun Soo Na

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Solar energy has many advantages of infinite and clean source, and also it can be used for reduction of greenhouse gases and environment pollution. Concentrated solar system is a very useful to achieve reasonably high thermal efficiency. Different types of solar concentrating systems have been developed such as parabolic trough and parabolic dish. Conical solar concentrator is one of the most reliable and promising renewable energy systems for higher temperature applications. The objectives of this study were to investigate the influence of flow rate affecting the thermal efficiency of a conical solar collector, which has a double tube absorber placed at focal axis for collecting solar radiation. A conical solar concentrator consists of a conical reflector, which reflects direct solar radiation into an absorber. A double tube absorber was placed at the center of focal axis for collecting the solar radiation reflected from a conical reflector. A dual tracking system consists of a linear actuator and slew drive with driving cycle of 6 seconds. Water was used as circulating fluid, which flows from inlet to outlet of an absorber for collecting solar radiation. Three identical conical solar concentrator systems were installed side by side at the same place for the accurate performance analysis under the same environmental conditions. Performance evaluations were carried out with different volumetric flow rate of 2, 4 and 6 L/min to find the influence of flow rate affecting on thermal efficiency. The results indicated that average thermal efficiency was 73.24%, 81.96%, and 79.78% for each flow rate of 2 L/min, 4 L/min, and 6 L/min. It shows that the flow rate of circulating water has a significant effect on the thermal efficiency of the conical solar concentrator. It is concluded that an optimum flow rate of conical solar concentrator is 6 L/min.

Keywords: conical solar concentrator, performance evaluation, solar energy, solar energy system

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Authors: Manendra Singh Parihar, Sandip Ghosh Chowdhury

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Austenitic stainless steels are widely used and give a good combination of properties. When this steel is plastically deformed, a phase transformation of the metastable Face Centred Cubic Austenite to the stable Body Centred Cubic (α’) or to the Hexagonal close packed (ԑ) martensite may occur, leading to the enhancement in the mechanical properties like strength. The work was based on variant selection and corresponding texture analysis for the strain induced martensitic transformation during deformation of the parent austenite FCC phase to form the product HCP and the BCC martensite phases separately, obeying their respective orientation relationships. The automated method for reconstruction of the parent phase orientation using the EBSD data of the product phase orientation is done using the MATLAB and TSL-OIM software. The method of triplets was used which involves the formation of a triplet of neighboring product grains having a common variant and linking them using a misorientation-based criterion. This led to the proper reconstruction of the pre-transformation phase orientation data and thus to its micro structure and texture. The computational speed of current method is better compared to the previously used methods of reconstruction. The reconstruction of austenite from ԑ and α’ martensite was carried out for multiple samples and their IPF images, pole figures, inverse pole figures and ODFs were compared. Similar type of results was observed for all samples. The comparison gives the idea for estimating the correct sequence of the transformation i.e. γ → ε → α’ or γ → α’, during deformation of AISI 304 austenitic stainless steel.

Keywords: variant selection, reconstruction, EBSD, austenitic stainless steel, martensitic transformation

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Authors: Din Eak Arathai

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The purpose of this research report is to investigate the language choice and use among the young generation of Malaysian Thais community. Besides that, it aims to investigate if there is a difference in language choice across the different domains. It will also examine if there has been a language shift from Thai to other languages by the young generation of Thai community in Malaysia. First the study focuses on the proficiency of Thai and other languages used by hundred (100) respondents belonging to young generation of Malaysian Thais aged range from 18-35. Next, language use and choice will be presented with a focus on the domains of family, friendship, entertainment and social. Finally, based on the findings and data collected, we will be able to see if language shift from Thai to other languages has occurred among the young Thai generation in Malaysia. The instrument used in this study was a 30-item questionnaire and the findings of the data analysis were presented in the form of frequency counts and percentages. The findings found that Thai language remains the most preferred language of choice among young Malaysian Thais but usage of other languages, such as Malay, English and Mandarin has increased and begun to influence the language choice of young Malaysian Thais and their proficiency of their mother tongue.In all the domains studied, Thai is almost exclusively the preferred language used when communicating with family. Malay is the most preferred language in communicating with friends while English is the most preferred language when communicating with colleagues. With regards to social and entertainment activities, young Malaysian Thais show great affinity for entertainment in the Thai language. In conclusion, the result of the study showed the beginning of young Malaysian Thais shifting to other languages, especially English and Malay through their daily choices when communicating with friends and family and especially through their language preferences in entertainment.

Keywords: language choice, language use, language shift, language maintenance, young Malaysian Thais, code switching, code mixing

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Authors: Ekpeti Bukola Grace, Mahmoudi Sabar Esmail, Chaer Issa

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Global energy consumption has been increasing steadily over the last half - century, and this trend is projected to continue. As energy demand rises in many countries throughout the world due to population growth, natural ventilation in buildings has been identified as a viable option for lowering these demands, saving costs, and also lowering CO2 emissions. However, natural ventilation is driven by forces that are generally unpredictable in nature thus, it is important to manage the resulting airflow in order to maintain pleasant indoor conditions, making it a complex system that necessitates specific control approaches. The effective application of fuzzy logic technique amidst other intelligent systems is one of the best ways to bridge this gap, as its control dynamics relates more to human reasoning and linguistic descriptions. This article reviewed existing literature and presented practical solutions by applying fuzzy logic control with optimized techniques, selected input parameters, and expert rules to design a more effective control system. The control monitors used indoor temperature, outdoor temperature, carbon-dioxide levels, wind velocity, and rain as input variables to the system, while the output variable remains the control of window opening. This is achieved through the use of fuzzy logic control tool box in MATLAB and running simulations on SIMULINK to validate the effectiveness of the proposed system. Comparison analysis model via simulation is carried out, and with the data obtained, an improvement in control actions and energy savings was recorded.

Keywords: fuzzy logic, intelligent control systems, natural ventilation, optimization

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Authors: Nicholas Anarfi Bofah, James Damsere- Derry

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There is increasing interest among institutions, governments, and international organisations to combat congestion, reduce contribution to green gases and provide sustainable urban transportation. College campuses are a preeminent setting for promoting active commuting to ameliorate a community's healthy lifestyle. Cycling is an important physical activity and has a long-term effect on health, and it is considered one of the top five interventions to reduce the prevalence of non-communicable diseases. The main objectives of the research were: (i) to identify students’ attitudes and behavior toward cycling usage, (ii) to identify barriers and opportunities for cycling on a university campus, and (iii) to construct tangible policy recommendations for promoting cycling in the vicinity of the university. The data used in this study were obtained from a survey conducted among students at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Kumasi between May 2022 and September 2022. A convenient sampling method was used to recruit and interview 398 participants. Two survey assistants who are former students of the university were engaged to administer the questionnaires randomly to students at the selected locations. Descriptive statistics were employed in the analysis of the data. Out of the 398 questionnaires, bicycle ridership and ownership among university students were 57% and 39%, respectively. Generally, the desire to use a bicycle as a mode of transport on campus was 36%. The desire to use a bicycle on campus was more prevalent among males 41% compared to females 30%. There is a high potential for increasing bicycle use among students. Recommendations include the provision of bicycle lanes, public education on the use of bicycles, and a campus bicycle-sharing program.

Keywords: sustainable development, cycling, university campus, bicycle

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Authors: Piotr Dukalski, Bartlomiej Bedkowski, Tomasz Jarek, Tomasz Wolnik

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The article is concerned with the design of an electric in wheel hub motor installed in an electric car with two-wheel drive. It presents the construction of the motor on the 3D cross-section model. Work simulation of the motor (applicated to Fiat Panda car) and selected driving parameters such as driving on the road with a slope of 20%, driving at maximum speed, maximum acceleration of the car from 0 to 100 km/h are considered by the authors in the article. The demand for the drive power taking into account the resistance to movement was determined for selected driving conditions. The parameters of the motor operation and the power losses in its individual elements, calculated using the FEM 2D method, are presented for the selected car driving parameters. The calculated power losses are used in 3D models for thermal calculations using the CFD method. Detailed construction of thermal models with materials data, boundary conditions and losses calculated using the FEM 2D method are presented in the article. The article presents and describes calculated temperature distributions in individual motor components such as winding, permanent magnets, magnetic core, body, cooling system components. Generated losses in individual motor components and their impact on the limitation of its operating parameters are described by authors. Attention is paid to the losses generated in permanent magnets, which are a source of heat as the removal of which from inside the motor is difficult. Presented results of calculations show how individual motor power losses, generated in different load conditions while driving, affect its thermal state.

Keywords: electric car, electric drive, electric motor, thermal calculations, wheel hub motor

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Authors: Nnadi Ezekiel Ejiofor

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The construction industry plays a decisive role in the healthy development of any nation. Not only large but even small construction projects contribute to a country’s economic growth. There is a need for good management to ensure successful delivery and sustainability because of the plethora of risks that have resulted in low-profit margins for contractors, cost and schedule overruns, poor quality delivery, and abandoned projects. This research reviewed Capitalization on Sustainable Risk Management. Questionnaires and oral interviews conducted were utilized as means of data collection. One hundred and ninety-eight (198) large construction firms in Nigeria form the population of this study. 15 (fifteen) companies that emanated from merger and acquisition were used for the study. The instruments used for data collection were a researcher-developed structured questionnaire based on a five-point rating scale, interviews, focus group discussion, and secondary sources (bill of quantities and stock and exchange commission). The instrument was validated by two experts in the field. The reliability of the instrument was established by applying the split-half method. Kendall’s coefficient of concordance was used to test the data, and a degree of agreement was obtained. Data were subjected to descriptive statistics and analyzed using analysis of variance, t-test, and SPSS. The identified impacts of capitalization were an increase in turnover (24.5%), improvement in the image (24.5%), risk reduction (20%), business expansion (17.3%), and geographical spread (13.6%). The study strongly advocates the inclusion of risk management evaluation as part of the construction procurement process.

Keywords: capitalization, project delivery, risks, risk management, sustainability

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Authors: Aline Valverde Arroteia, Tatiana Gondim do Amaral, Silvio Burrattino Melhado

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During the last twenty years, the construction field in Brazil has evolved significantly in response to its market growing and competitiveness. However, this evolving path has faced many obstacles such as cultural barriers and the lack of efforts to achieve quality at the construction site. At the same time, the greatest amount of information generated on the designing or construction phases is lost due to the lack of an effective coordination of these activities. Face this problem, the aim of this research was to implement a French method named PEO which means preparation for building construction (in Portuguese) seeking to understand the design management process and its interface with the building construction phase. The research method applied was qualitative, and it was carried out through two case studies in the city of Goiania, in Goias, Brazil. The research was divided into two stages called pilot study at Company A and implementation of PEO at Company B. After the implementation; the results demonstrated the PEO method's effectiveness and feasibility while a booster on the quality improvement of design management. The analysis showed that the method has a purpose to improve the design and allow the reduction of failures, errors and rework commonly found in the production of buildings. Therefore, it can be concluded that the PEO is feasible to be applied to real estate and building companies. But, companies need to believe in the contribution they can make to the discovery of design failures in conjunction with other stakeholders forming a construction team. The result of PEO can be maximized when adopting the principles of simultaneous engineering and insertion of new computer technologies, which use a three-dimensional model of the building with BIM process.

Keywords: communication, design and construction interface management, preparation for building construction (PEO), proactive coordination (CPA)

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Authors: Siveshnee Devar

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Background: The rate of absenteeism and prevalence of NCDs in South Africa is extremely high. This is consistent with other educational institutions and workplaces around the globe. In most cases the absence of health and the presence of one or more non communicable diseases coupled with the lack of physical exercise is a major factor in absenteeism. Absenteeism at the workplace comes at a huge cost to the employer and the country as a whole. Aim: Findings from this study was to develop a suitable nutritional wellness program for the workplace. Methodology: A needs analysis in the form of 24-hour recall, food frequency, health and socio demographic questionnaires was undertaken to determine the need for a wellness program for the institution. Anthropometric indices such as BMI, waist circumference and blood pressure were also undertaken to determine the state of health of the staff. Results: This study has found that obesity, central obesity, hypertension as well as deficiencies in nutrients and minerals were prevalent in this group. Fruit and vegetable consumption was also below the WHO recommendation. This study showed a link between diet, physical activity and diseases of lifestyle. There were positive correlations between age and systolic blood pressure, waist circumference and systolic blood pressure, waist circumference and diastolic blood pressure and waist-to-height ratio and BMI. Conclusion: The results indicated the need for immediate intervention in the form of a wellness program. Nutrition education is important for both the workplace and out. Education and knowledge are important factors for lifestyle changes. The proposed intervention is aimed at improving presenteeism and decreasing the incidence of non- communicable diseases. Presenteeism and good health are important factors for quality education at all educational institutions.

Keywords: absenteeism, non-communicable diseases, nutrition, wellness

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Authors: Raana Babadi Fathipour

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Tea, a beverage widely cherished across the globe, has captured the interest of scholars with its recent acknowledgement for possessing noteworthy health advantages. Of particular significance is its proven ability to ward off ailments such as cancer and cardiovascular afflictions. Moreover, within the realm of culinary creations, lipid oxidation poses a significant challenge for food product development. In light of these aforementioned concerns, this present discourse turns its attention towards exploring diverse methodologies employed in extracting polyphenols from various types of tea leaves and examining their utility within the vast landscape of the ever-evolving food industry. Based on the discoveries unearthed in this comprehensive investigation, it has been determined that the fundamental constituents of tea are polyphenols possessed of intrinsic health-enhancing properties. This includes an assortment of catechins, namely epicatechin, epigallocatechin, epicatechin gallate, and epigallocatechin gallate. Moreover, gallic acid, flavonoids, flavonols and theaphlavins have also been detected within this aromatic beverage. Of these myriad components examined vigorously in this study's analysis, catechin emerges as particularly beneficial. Multiple techniques have emerged over time to successfully extract key compounds from tea plants, including solvent-based extraction methodologies, microwave-assisted water extraction approaches and ultrasound-assisted extraction techniques. In particular, consideration is given to microwave-assisted water extraction method as a viable scheme which effectively procures valuable polyphenols from tea extracts. This methodology appears adaptable for implementation within sectors such as dairy production along with meat and oil industries alike.

Keywords: camellia sinensis, extraction, food application, shelf life, tea

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Authors: Dawoon Choi, Jian Li, Yunhyun Cho

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Axial Flux Permanent Magnet (AFPM) machines have been widely used in various applications due to their important merits, such as compact structure, high efficiency and high torque density. This paper presents one of the most important characteristics in the design process of the AFPM device, which is a recent issue. To design AFPM machine, the predicting electromagnetic forces between the permanent magnets and stator is important. Because of the magnitude of electromagnetic force affects many characteristics such as machine size, noise, vibration, and quality of output power. Theoretically, this force is canceled by the equilibrium of force when it is in the middle of the gap, but it is inevitable to deviate due to manufacturing problems in actual machine. Such as large scale wind generator, because of the huge attractive force between rotor and stator disks, this is more serious in getting large power applications such as large. This paper represents the characteristics of Double-Stator Inner –Rotor AFPM machines when it has rotor eccentricity. And, unbalanced air-gap and inclined air-gap condition which is caused by rotor offset and tilt in a double-stator single inner-rotor AFPM machine are each studied in electromagnetic and mechanical aspects. The output voltage and cogging torque under un-normal air-gap condition of AF machines are firstly calculated using a combined analytical and numerical methods, followed by a structure analysis to study the effect to mechanical stress, deformation and bending forces on bearings. Results and conclusions given in this paper are instructive for the successful development of AFPM machines.

Keywords: axial flux permanent magnet machine, inclined air gap, unbalanced air gap, rotor eccentricity

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Authors: Shah Fahad

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Managing the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effects is a pressing concern for achieving sustainable urban development and ensuring thermal comfort in major cities of developing nations, such as Lahore, Pakistan. The current UHI effect is mostly triggered by climate change and rapid urbanization. This study explored UHI over the Lahore district and its adjoining urban and rural-urban fringe areas. Landsat satellite data was utilized to investigate spatiotemporal patterns of Land Use and Land Cover changes (LULC), Land Surface Temperature (LST), UHI, Normalized Difference Built-up Index (NDBI), Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), and Urban Thermal Field Variance Index (UTFVI). The built-up area increased very fast, with a coverage of 22.99% in 2000, 36.06% in 2010, and 47.17% in 2020, while vegetation covered 53.21 % in 2000 and 46.16 % in 2020. It also revealed a significant increase in the mean LST, from 33°C in 2000 to 34.8°C in 2020. The results indicated a significantly positive correlation between LST and NDBI, a weak correlation was also observed between LST and NDVI. The study used scatterplots to show the correlation between NDBI and NDVI with LST, results revealed that the NDBI and LST had an R² value of 0.6831 in 2000 and 0.06541 in 2022, while NDVI and LST had an R² value of 0.0235 in 1998 and 0.0295 in 2022. Proper environmental planning is vital in specific locations to enhance quality of life, protect the ecosystem, and mitigate climate change impacts.

Keywords: land use land cover, spatio-temporal analysis, remote sensing, land surface temperature, urban heat island, lahore pakistan

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Authors: Angelo Gabriel Buenaventura, Allan Christopher Yago

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A carbon paste electrode (CPE) composed of Multiwalled Carbon Nanotube (MWCNT) conducting particle and Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) binder was used for simultaneous detection of Dopamine (DA) and Uric Acid (UA) in the presence of Ascorbic Acid (AA) at physiological level. The MWCNT-PDMS CPE was initially activated via potentiodynamic cycling in a basic (NaOH) solution, which resulted in enhanced electrochemical properties. Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy measurements revealed a significantly lower charge transfer resistance (Rct) for the OH--activated MWCNT-PDMS CPE (Rct = 5.08kΩ) as compared to buffer (pH 7)-activated MWCNT-PDMS CPE (Rct = 25.9kΩ). Reversibility analysis of Fe(CN)63-/4- redox couple of both Buffer-Activated CPE and OH--Activated CPE showed that the OH—Activated CPE have peak current ratio (Ia/Ic) of 1.11 at 100mV/s while 2.12 for the Buffer-Activated CPE; this showed an electrochemically reversible behavior for Fe(CN)63-/4- redox couple even at relatively fast scan rate using the OH--activated CPE. Enhanced voltammetric signal for DA and significant peak separation between DA and UA was obtained using the OH--activated MWCNT-PDMS CPE in the presence of 50 μM AA via Differential Pulse Voltammetry technique. The anodic peak currents which appeared at 0.263V and 0.414 V were linearly increasing with increasing concentrations of DA and UA, respectively. The linear ranges were obtained at 25 μM – 100 μM for both DA and UA. The detection limit was determined to be 3.86 μM for DA and 5.61 μM for UA. These results indicate a practical approach in the simultaneous detection of important bio-organic molecules using a simple CPE composed of MWCNT and PDMS with base anodization as activation technique.

Keywords: anodization, ascorbic acid, carbon paste electrodes, dopamine, uric acid

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Authors: Bhawna Chandravanshi, Ramesh Bhonde

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In the present study, we focused on the improvisation of islet survival in hypoxia. The Islet-like cell aggregates (ICAs) derived from Wharton's jelly mesenchymal stem cells (WJ-MSC) were cultured with and without WJ-MSC for 48h in hypoxia and normoxia and tested for their direct trophic effect on β cell survival. The WJ MSCs themselves secreted insulin upon glucose challenge and expressed the pancreatic markers at both transcription and translational level (C-peptide, Insulin, Glucagon and Glut 2). Direct contact of MSCs with ICAs facilitate the highest viability under hypoxia as evidenced by fluorescein diacetate/propidium iodide and 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. The cytokine analysis of the co-cultured ICAs revealed amplification of anti-inflammatory cytokine-like TGFβ and TNFα accompanied by depletion of pro-inflammatory cytokines. The increment in VEGF and PDGFa was also seen showing their ability to vascularize upon transplantation. This was further accompanied by reduction in total reactive oxygen species, nitric oxide, and super oxide ions and down-regulation of Caspase3, Caspase8, p53 and up regulation of Bcl2 confirming prevention of apoptosis in ICAs. There was a significant reduction in the expression of p38 protein in the presence of MSCs making the ICAs responsive to glucose. Taken together our data demonstrate for the first time that the WJ-MSC expressed pancreatic markers and their supplementation protected engineered islets against hypoxia, oxidative stress, and inflammatory cytokines by inhibiting p38 MAPK protein.

Keywords: hypoxia, islet-like cell aggregates, inflammatory cytokines, oxidative stress

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Authors: Ghimire K., Mehta R. S., Parajuli P., Chettri R.

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Background: Malnutrition is a common hallmark of Human Immuno Virus (HIV) disease. It plays a synergistic role in immunosuppression which is initiated by Human Immuno Virus itself, and malnutrition forms an independent risk factor for disease progression. Objectives: The objective of the study is to assess the nutritional status of the people living with Human Immuno Virus/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome attending the Anti-Retro viral Treatment Clinic and find the association of nutritional status with different socio-demographic variables. Methods: A total of 101 people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) were selected by convenient sampling technique. The study was conducted at the ART clinic of BPKIHS. A subjective global assessment tool was used for data collection. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used for data analysis. Results: The study demonstrated that the mean age of the respondents was 40.97+8.650 years. 65.3% were well-nourished, and 34.7% of the participants were mildly/moderately malnourished, whereas none of them were severely malnourished. BMI was statistically significant with education status, family income, and duration of illness of the participants, and nutritional status was statistically significant with gender, marital status, education status, and family history of HIV. Conclusion: On the basis of the result, it can be concluded that more than half of the respondents were well nourished. Gender, marital status, and education are associated with nutritional status.

Keywords: nutritional status, people living with HIV/AIDS, ART treatment, Nepal

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Authors: Osama Shibani

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Corporate governance effective is critical to the proper functioning of the banking sector and the economy as a whole, the Basel Committee have issued principles of corporate governance inspired from Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), but there is no single model of corporate governance that can work well in every country; each country, or even each organization should develop its own model that can cater for its specific needs and objectives, the corporate governance in Islamic Institutions is unique and offers a particular structure and guided by a control body which is Shariah supervisory Board (SSB), for this reason Islamic Financial Services Board in Malaysia (IFSB) has amended BCBS corporate governance principles commensurate with Islamic financial Institutions to suit the nature of the work of Islamic institutions, this paper highlight these amended by using comparative analysis method in context of the differences of corporate governance structure of Islamic banks and conventional banks. We find few different between principles (Principle 1: The Board's overall responsibilities, Principles 3: Board’s own structure and practices, Principles 9: Compliance, Principle 10: Internal audit, Principle 12: Disclosure and transparency) and there are similarities between principles (Principle 2: Board qualifications and composition, Principles 4: Senior Management (composition and tasks), Principle 6: Risk Management and Principle 8: Risk communication). Finally, we found that corporate governance principles issued by Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) are complemented to CG principles of Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) with some modifications to suit the composition of Islamic banks, there are deficiencies in the interest of the Basel Committee to Islamic banks.

Keywords: basel committee (BCBS), corporate governance principles, Islamic financial services board (IFSB), agency theory

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Authors: Sarah Ledoux

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This paper analyses the quantitative effects of political content consumption in social media platforms on self-reported ideological preference across the Latin American region. Initially praising the democratic potential of the internet and its social networking websites, digital politics scholars have transitioned their discourse to warning against the undemocratic side-effects it cultivates, such as hate speech, filter bubbles, and ideological polarisation. Holding technology solely responsible for political trends worldwide is an oversimplification of the factors influencing social change. Nonetheless, widespread use of social media in new democracies raises questions on the reproduction of recent trends that have been observed in the US and Western Europe. Through the analysis of ordered logistic regressions on data from the 2018 AmericasBarometer survey, this study examines the extent to which the relationship between the consumption of political content on social media is related to ideological polarisation in Latin America. The findings indicate that there is a close link between consumption of political information on social media, specifically on Facebook and WhatsApp, and ideological positioning on the extremes of the political left- and right-wings. This relation holds when controlling for individual-level demographic and attitudinal factors, as well as country-level effects. These results demonstrate with empirical evidence that viewing political content on social media has a significant positive effect on the likelihood that citizens position themselves on the extreme ends of the left-right ideological spectrum and implies that political polarisation is a phenomenon that accompanies politically driven social media use.

Keywords: Latin America, polarisation, political consumption, political ideology, social media, survey

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Authors: Masoumeh Khailghi Sikaroudi, Mohsen Masoodi, Fazad Shidfar, Meghdad Sedaghat

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Background: The hypertonicity of internal anal sphincter resting pressure is one of the main reasons for chronic anal fissures. The aim of this study is to assess the effect of oral administration of L-arginine on anal fissure symptom improvement by relaxation of the internal anal sphincter. Method: Seventy-six chronic anal fissure patients (age: 18-65 years) took part in this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial study from February 2019 to October 2020 at Rasoul-e-Akram Hospital, Tehran, Iran. Participants were allocated into treatment (L-arginine) or placebo groups. They took a 1000 mg capsule three times a day for one month and were followed up at the end of the first and third months after receiving the intervention. Clinical symptoms, anal sphincter resting pressure, and quality of life (QoL) were completed at baseline and the end of the study. Result: The analysis of data was shown significant improvement in bleeding, fissure size, and pain within each group; however, this effect was more seen in the arginine group compared to the control group at the end of the study (P-values<0.001). Following that, a significant increase in QoL was seen just in patients who were treated with arginine (P-value=0.006). Also, the comparison of anal pressures to baseline and between groups at the end of the study showed a significant reduction in sphincter pressure in treated patients (P-value<0.001, =0.049; respectively). Conclusion: Oral administration of 3000 mg L-arginine can heal chronic anal fissures by reducing anal internal sphincter pressure with fewer side effects. However, a long-term study with more follow-up is recommended.

Keywords: L-arginine, anal fissure, sphincter pressure, clinical symptoms, quality of life

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Authors: Emre Bayamlıoğlu

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Apart from being the subject of neighboring rights when broadcasted on TV or of cinematographic work when fixed to a tangible medium including a hard drive, the copyright eligibility of a sports performance, and eventually the sporting event has once again given rise to controversy following the CJEU judgment in the Murphy case. Most of the arguments which deny copyright protection for sports performances focus on the fact that unlike movies, plays, television programs, or operas, athletic events are competitive and have no underlying script. The first part of the paper aims to explain that such rhetoric is rather weak simply for the fact that, several types of performances such as improvised musical or dramatic shows are still protected by copyright despite the fact that they are not based on a script. The second part argues that the core reason for the denial copyright protection was the functionality aiming certain practical results such as winning the game, scoring, eliminating an opponent, obstructing a shot and etc., but no scientific or artistic expression in whatsoever form. The paper further argues that expanding copyright protection to functional performances would give rise to unintended copyright claims by the athletes on tackles, shoots, passes, crosses etc. resulting with further restrictions on reporting and photographing of sporting events. The final part provides a policy analysis of the trend to broaden the scope of copyright to cover sports performances. It is argued that such expansion will clearly undermine the ratio legis of copyright laws since it will give rise to excessive commodification of information beyond the needs of a viable market economy. Therefore, remedies other than copyright protection such as unfair competition and unjust enrichment provides sufficient redress for the damages to be sustained by the investors of sporting events.

Keywords: copyright eligibility, idea-expression dichotomy, sports performance

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Authors: Anna Sanczyk

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Teacher agency plays a crucial role in effective teaching, supporting diverse students, and providing an enriching learning environment; therefore, it is significant to gain a deeper understanding of language teachers’ sense of agency in teaching linguistically and culturally diverse students. This paper presents an overview of qualitative research on how language teachers exercise their agency in diverse classrooms. The analysis of the literature reveals that language teachers strive for addressing students’ needs and challenging educational inequalities, but experience educational constraints in enacting their agency. The examination of the research on language teacher agency identifies four major areas where language teachers experience challenges in enacting their agency: (1) implementing curriculum; (2) adopting school reforms and policies; (3) engaging in professional learning; (4) and negotiating various identities as professionals. The practical contribution of this literature review is that it provides a much-needed compilation of the studies on how language teachers exercise agency amid educational constraints. The discussion of the overview points to the importance of teacher identity, learner advocacy, and continuous professional learning and the critical need of promoting empowerment, activism, and transformation in language teacher education. The findings of the overview indicate that language teacher education programs should prepare teachers to be active advocates for English language learners and guide teachers to become more conscious of complexities of teaching in constrained educational settings so that they can become agentic professionals. This literature overview illustrates agency work in English language teaching contexts and contributes to understanding of the important link between experiencing educational constraints and development of teacher agency.

Keywords: advocacy, educational constraints, language teacher agency, language teacher education

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Authors: Pranav Ajmera, Amit Kharat, Tanveer Gupte, Richa Pant, Viraj Kulkarni, Vinay Duddalwar, Purnachandra Lamghare

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The cardiothoracic ratio (CTR) is the ratio of the diameter of the heart to the diameter of the thorax. An abnormal CTR, that is, a value greater than 0.55, is often an indicator of an underlying pathological condition. The accurate prediction of an abnormal CTR from chest X-rays (CXRs) aids in the early diagnosis of clinical conditions. We propose a deep learning-based model for automatic CTR calculation that can assist the radiologist with the diagnosis of cardiomegaly and optimize the radiology flow. The study population included 1012 posteroanterior (PA) CXRs from a single institution. The Attention U-Net deep learning (DL) architecture was used for the automatic calculation of CTR. A CTR of 0.55 was used as a cut-off to categorize the condition as cardiomegaly present or absent. An observer performance test was conducted to assess the radiologist's performance in diagnosing cardiomegaly with and without artificial intelligence (AI) assistance. The Attention U-Net model was highly specific in calculating the CTR. The model exhibited a sensitivity of 0.80 [95% CI: 0.75, 0.85], precision of 0.99 [95% CI: 0.98, 1], and a F1 score of 0.88 [95% CI: 0.85, 0.91]. During the analysis, we observed that 51 out of 1012 samples were misclassified by the model when compared to annotations made by the expert radiologist. We further observed that the sensitivity of the reviewing radiologist in identifying cardiomegaly increased from 40.50% to 88.4% when aided by the AI-generated CTR. Our segmentation-based AI model demonstrated high specificity and sensitivity for CTR calculation. The performance of the radiologist on the observer performance test improved significantly with AI assistance. A DL-based segmentation model for rapid quantification of CTR can therefore have significant potential to be used in clinical workflows.

Keywords: cardiomegaly, deep learning, chest radiograph, artificial intelligence, cardiothoracic ratio

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Authors: Benhaddadi M., Déry D.

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Electric motors are the single biggest consumer of electricity, and the consumption will have more than to double by 2050. Meanwhile, the existing technologies offer the potential to reduce the motor energy demand by up to 30 %, whereas the know-how to realise energy savings is not extensively applied. That is why the authors first conducted a detailed analysis of the regulation of the electric motor market in North America To illustrate the colossal energy savings potential permitted by the VFD, the authors have equipped experimental setup, based on centrifugal pump, simultaneously equipped with regulating throttle valves and variable frequency drive VFD. The obtained experimental results for 1.5 HP motor pump are extended to another motor powers, as centrifugal pumps that are different in power may have similar operational characteristics if they are located in a similar kind of process, permitting the simulations for 5 HP and 100 HP motors. According to the obtained results, VFDs tend to be most cost-effective when fitted to larger motor pumps, in addition to higher duty cycle of the motor and relative time operating at lower than full load. The energy saving permitted by the VFD use is huge, and the payback period for drive investment is short. Nonetheless, it’s important to highlight that there is no general rule of thumb that can be used to obtain the impact of the relative time operating at lower than full load. Indeed, in terms of energy-saving differences, 50 % flow regulation is tremendously better than 75 % regulation, but a slightly enhanced relative to 25 %. Two main distinct reasons can explain this somewhat not anticipated results: the characteristics of the process and the drop in efficiency when motor is operating at low speed.

Keywords: motor, drive, energy efficiency, centrifugal pump

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