Search results for: control analysis

Authors: Arun Goel

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The present paper attempts to investigate the prediction of air entrainment rate and aeration efficiency of a free over-fall jets issuing from a triangular sharp crested weir by using regression based modelling. The empirical equations, support vector machine (polynomial and radial basis function) models and the linear regression techniques were applied on the triangular sharp crested weirs relating the air entrainment rate and the aeration efficiency to the input parameters namely drop height, discharge, and vertex angle. It was observed that there exists a good agreement between the measured values and the values obtained using empirical equations, support vector machine (Polynomial and rbf) models, and the linear regression techniques. The test results demonstrated that the SVM based (Poly & rbf) model also provided acceptable prediction of the measured values with reasonable accuracy along with empirical equations and linear regression techniques in modelling the air entrainment rate and the aeration efficiency of a free over-fall jets issuing from triangular sharp crested weir. Further sensitivity analysis has also been performed to study the impact of input parameter on the output in terms of air entrainment rate and aeration efficiency.

Keywords: air entrainment rate, dissolved oxygen, weir, SVM, regression

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Authors: Adewale Oladapo, Carolyn A. Afolami

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Agricultural production should be the major financial contributor to the Nigerian economy; however, the petroleum sector had taken the importance attached to this sector. The situation tends to be more worsening unless necessary attention is given to adequate credit supply among food crop farmers. This research analyses the effect of credit use on the technical efficiency of cassava farmers in Ondo State, Nigeria. Primary data were collected from two hundred randomly selected cassava farmers through a multistage sampling procedure in the study area. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and stochastic frontier analysis (SFA). Findings revealed that 95.0% of the farmers were male while 56.0% had no formal education and were married. The SFA showed that cassava farmer’s efficiency increased with farm size, herbicide and planting material at 5%,10% and 1% respectively but decreased with fertilizer application at 1% level while farmers’ age, education, household size, experience and access to credit increased technical inefficiency at 10%. The study concluded that cassava farmers are technically inefficient in the use of farm resources and recommended that adequate and workable agricultural policy measures that will ensure availability and efficient fertilizer distribution should be put in place to increase efficiency. Furthermore, the government should encourage youth participation in cassava production and ensure improvement in farmer’s access to credit to increase farmer’s technical efficiency.

Keywords: agriculture, access to credit, cassava farmers, technical efficiency

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Authors: Strahinja Kovačević, Lidija Jevrić, Miloš Kuzmanović, Sanja Podunavac-Kuzmanović

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In this paper, various derivatives of benzimidazole have been evaluated against Gram-negative bacteria Escherichia coli. For all investigated compounds the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was determined. Quantitative structure-activity relationships (QSAR) attempts to find consistent relationships between the variations in the values of molecular properties and the biological activity for a series of compounds so that these rules can be used to evaluate new chemical entities. The correlation between MIC and some absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion (ADME) parameters was investigated, and the mathematical models for predicting the antibacterial activity of this class of compounds were developed. The quality of the multiple linear regression (MLR) models was validated by the leave-one-out (LOO) technique, as well as by the calculation of the statistical parameters for the developed models and the results are discussed on the basis of the statistical data. The results of this study indicate that ADME parameters have a significant effect on the antibacterial activity of this class of compounds. Principal component analysis (PCA) and agglomerative hierarchical clustering algorithms (HCA) confirmed that the investigated molecules can be classified into groups on the basis of the ADME parameters: Madin-Darby Canine Kidney cell permeability (MDCK), Plasma protein binding (PPB%), human intestinal absorption (HIA%) and human colon carcinoma cell permeability (Caco-2).

Keywords: benzimidazoles, QSAR, ADME, in silico

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Authors: Stephanie Aguirre Moreno, Jesús Everardo Olguín Tiznado, Claudia Camargo Wilson, Juan Andrés López Barreras

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This research work presents a proposal to evaluate the environmental performance of a Higher Education Institution (HEI) in Mexico in order to minimize their environmental impact. Given that public education has limited financial resources, it is necessary to conduct studies that support priorities in decision-making situations and thus obtain the best cost-benefit ratio of continuous improvement programs as part of the environmental management system implemented. The methodology employed, adapted from the Environmental Effect Analysis (EEA), weighs the environmental aspects identified in the environmental diagnosis by two characteristics. Number one, environmental priority through the perception of the stakeholders, compliance of legal requirements, and environmental impact of operations. Number two, the possibility of improvement, which depends of factors such as the exchange rate that will be made, the level of investment and the return time of it. The highest environmental priorities, or hot spots, identified in this evaluation were: electricity consumption, water consumption and recycling, and disposal of municipal solid waste. However, the possibility of improvement for the disposal of municipal solid waste is higher, followed by water consumption and recycling, in spite of having an equal possibility of improvement to the energy consumption, time of return and cost-benefit is much greater.

Keywords: environmental performance, environmental priority, possibility of improvement, continuous improvement programs

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Authors: Yamani Amal, Lazaae Jamila, Elachouri Mostafa

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Plants and their active agents – especially polyphenols – may have a principal role in the treatment of diseases that result from the defect of physiological antioxidant mechanisms. Bryonia dioica is well known in Moroccan traditional medicine for alleviatin pain and traiting many diseases. We have focused on plant belonging to Cucurbitaceae Family from around the world to understand their therapeutic uses and their potential antioxidant activities Although several biological activities and Chemical composition of Bryonia dioica are well characterized, no direct, in vitro study, of this natural product examined the antioxydant effect of the extract from the roots of Bryonia dioica. The aim of this study was to determine in vitro antioxidant activity of the B.dioica root, using antioxidant analysis methods based on determination of Hydroxyradical Scavenging, 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazine (DPPH) radical scavenging, Hydrogenperoxide Scavenging and Nitric Oxide Scavenging. In this study, it was demonstrated, that, B. dioica root extract showed excellent antioxidant properties. This investigation showed that the roots of this plant contain potent natural scavengers R. It may represent an interesting source of antioxidant phenolics that may favour the extension of their cultivation as new source of natural antioxidants in addition to containing high quality proteins for human or animal nutrition. Therefore, there is need for all stakeholders on the Morocco to strive towards taking advantage of our enormous biodiversity resources to free our people from diseases, abject poverty and stagnation.

Keywords: Morocco, bryoniadioica, in vitro, antioxydant

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Authors: Abdulfattah A. Q .Alwah, Wen Li, Mohammed A. Q. Alwah, Duc Thien Tran, Bing Xi Liu

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The historical cities in the third world suffer from many environmental problems; one of them is the spread of visual pollution manifestations. These phenomena increase with low levels of public awareness and low per capita income. The historical city of Ibb is suffering from a variety of visual pollution of the urban environment, so it has been chosen as a case study. This study aims to identify the difficulty and complexity of dealing with visual pollutions manifestations in the historical city of Ibb, and to provide appropriate solutions, which suit with the complex and contradictory circumstances. The study relies on an inductive approach to achieve its aims through two methods; the first is a visual survey of the visual pollution phenomenon based on images and researcher notes. The Second method is the analyses of the opinions and impressions of the city's residents and visitors through interviews, in addition to interviews with the officials in the competent authorities, and some specialists in the field of urban environment. Through the results of the field study and discussion of the interview results, this study presents an analysis of the phenomenon of visual distortion of the historical city of Ibb regarding the appearances and the reasons. Furthermore, this study provides appropriate solutions, which suitable with the complex and contradictory circumstances. These solutions take two paths: the first one is to stop the spread of visual distortions, and the second path is to address the current visual pollutions.

Keywords: visual pollution, visual image, urban environment, difficulty, complexity, historical cities, the historical city of Ibb

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Authors: Naomi Weiner-Levy

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The Mofet Institute of Research, established a School of Professional Development, the only one of its kind in Israel and throughout the world. It offers specialized programs for teacher educators, providing them with the professional knowledge and skills. The studies aim at updating teachers about rapidly changing knowledge and skills. Teacher educators are conceptualized as shifting from first order practitioners (school teachers) to second order practitioners. Those who train teachers are referred to as third order practitioners. The instructors in the School of Professional Development are third-order practitioners – teacher educators specializing in teaching their colleagues. Collegial guidance by teachers’ college staff members is no simple task: Tutors must be expert in their field of specialization, as well as in instruction. Moreover, although colleagues, they have to position themselves within the group as authoritative figures in terms of instruction and knowledge. To date, the role and professional identity of these third-order practitioners, has not been studied. To understand the nature and development of professional identity, a qualitative study was conducted in which 12 tutors of various subjects were interviewed. These were analyzed by categorical content analysis. The findings, assessed professional identity through a post-modern prism, while examining the interplay among events that tutors experienced, the knowledge they acquired and the structuring of their professional identity. The Tutors’ identity transformed through negotiating with ‘self’ and ‘other’ in the class, and constructed by their mutual experiences as tutors and learners. Understanding the function and identity of tutors facilitates comprehension of this unique training process for teacher educators.

Keywords: professional development, professional identity, teacher education, tutoring

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Authors: Abderrahim Sidi Mohammed Nekrouf, Sarra Youcefi

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Fluid mixing plays a crucial role in numerous industries as it has a significant impact on the final product quality and performance. In certain cases, the circulation of viscous fluids presents challenges, leading to the formation of stagnant zones. To overcome this issue, stirring devices are employed for fluid mixing. This study focuses on a numerical analysis aimed at understanding the behavior of Newtonian fluids when agitated by a two-blade agitator in a cylindrical vessel. We investigate the influence of the agitator shape on fluid motion. Bi-blade agitators of this type are commonly used in the food, cosmetic, and chemical industries to agitate both viscous and non-viscous liquids. Numerical simulations were conducted using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) software to obtain velocity profiles, streamlines, velocity contours, and the associated power number. The obtained results were compared with experimental data available in the literature, validating the accuracy of our numerical approach. The results clearly demonstrate that modifying the agitator shape has a significant impact on fluid motion. This modification generates an axial flow that enhances the efficiency of the fluid flow. The various velocity results convincingly reveal that the fluid is more uniformly agitated with this modification, resulting in improved circulation and a substantial reduction in stagnant zones.

Keywords: Newtonian fluids, numerical modeling, two blade., CFD

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Authors: Gulnaz Erkomaishvili

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Introduction: There are some of the biggest technological shifts happening in the modern world. The introduction of digital technologies, information, and communication services has given rise to unprecedented global socio-political and economic changes. The role of digital technologies in increasing productivity and national competitiveness is increasing. Today, it is used in almost every area of the economy. E-commerce, organizational process in computerized management, and digital infrastructure's pace of growth is remarkably high and is a key instrument of economic development. Methodology: Different research methods are applied in the presented paper; statistical, analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction, comparison ones. Works by local and foreign scientists, Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development, as well as various organizations' studies and reports were used as a theoretical basis for research and variety of laws, government decrees and orders, and the publications of the National Statistics Office of Georgia were used as an informational basis. Conclusions: The paper deals with the processes and challenges in Georgia in the digital economy. Access to current resources in Georgia and current processes are described. Digital technology for the development of the required environmental conditions is described, how the Internet and communications are available for the population in the regions of Georgia. The pros and cons of the digital economy development and its impact on the country's economy are analyzed. The main difficulties of implementation of the digital economy in Georgia, government involvement, and future action plans are presented.

Keywords: digital economy, digital technologies, internet, communications, economic policy

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Authors: Erdem Meriç

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Measuring total temperature of air flow accurately is a very important requirement in the development phases of many industrial products, including gas turbines and rockets. Thermocouples are very practical devices to measure temperature in such cases, but in high speed and high temperature flows, the temperature of thermocouple junction may deviate considerably from real flow total temperature due to the effects of heat transfer mechanisms of convection, conduction, and radiation. To avoid errors in total temperature measurement, special probe designs which are experimentally characterized are used. In this study, a validation case which is an experimental characterization of a specific class of total temperature probes is selected from the literature to develop a numerical conjugate heat transfer analysis methodology to study the total temperature probe flow field and solid temperature distribution. Validated conjugate heat transfer methodology is used to investigate flow structures inside and around the probe and effects of probe design parameters like the ratio between inlet and outlet hole areas and prob tip geometry on measurement accuracy. Lastly, a thermal model is constructed to account for errors in total temperature measurement for a specific class of probes in different operating conditions. Outcomes of this work can guide experimentalists to design a very accurate total temperature probe and quantify the possible error for their specific case.

Keywords: conjugate heat transfer, recovery factor, thermocouples, total temperature probes

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Authors: Hosein I. Hosein, Ragab Azzam, Ahmed M. S. Menshawy, Sherin Rouby, Khaled Hendy, Ayman Mahrous, Hany Hussien

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Brucellosis is a highly contagious bacterial zoonotic disease of a worldwide spread and has different names; Infectious or enzootic abortion and Bang's disease in animals; and Mediterranean or Malta fever, Undulant Fever and Rock fever in humans. It is caused by the different species of genus Brucella which is a Gram-negative, aerobic, non-spore forming, facultative intracellular bacterium. Brucella affects a wide range of mammals including bovines, small ruminants, pigs, equines, rodents, marine mammals as well as human resulting in serious economic losses in animal populations. In human, Brucella causes a severe illness representing a great public health problem. The disease was reported in Egypt for the first time in 1939; since then the disease remained endemic at high levels among cattle, buffalo, sheep and goat and is still representing a public health hazard. The annual economic losses due to brucellosis were estimated to be about 60 million Egyptian pounds yearly, but actual estimates are still missing despite almost 30 years of implementation of the Egyptian control programme. Despite being the gold standard, bacterial isolation has been reported to show poor sensitivity for samples with low-level of Brucella and is impractical for regular screening of large populations. Thus, serological tests still remain the corner stone for routine diagnosis of brucellosis, especially in developing countries. In the present study, a total of 1533 cows (256 from Beni-Suef Governorate, 445 from Al-Fayoum Governorate and 832 from Damietta Governorate), were employed for estimation of relative sensitivity, relative specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of buffered acidified plate antigen test (BPAT), rose bengal test (RBT) and complement fixation test (CFT). The overall seroprevalence of brucellosis revealed (19.63%). Relative sensitivity, relative specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of BPAT,RBT and CFT were estimated as, (96.27 %, 96.76 %, 87.65 % and 99.10 %), (93.42 %, 96.27 %, 90.16 % and 98.35%) and (89.30 %, 98.60 %, 94.35 %and 97.24 %) respectively. BPAT showed the highest sensitivity among the three employed serological tests. RBT was less specific than BPAT. CFT showed the least sensitivity 89.30 % among the three employed serological tests but showed the highest specificity. Different tissues specimens of 22 seropositive cows (spleen, retropharyngeal udder, and supra-mammary lymph nodes) were subjected for bacteriological studies for isolation and identification of Brucella organisms. Brucella melitensis biovar 3 could be recovered from 12 (54.55%) cows. Bacteriological examinations failed to classify 10 cases (45.45%) and were culture negative. Bruce-ladder PCR was carried out for molecular identification of the 12 Brucella isolates at the species level. Three fragments of 587 bp, 1071 bp and 1682 bp sizes were amplified indicating Brucella melitensis. The results indicated the importance of using several procedures to overcome the problem of escaping of some infected animals from diagnosis.Bruce-ladder PCR is an important tool for diagnosis and epidemiologic studies, providing relevant information for identification of Brucella spp.

Keywords: brucellosis, relative sensitivity, relative specificity, Bruce-ladder, Egypt

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Authors: Yun-Ru Tsai, Jo-Hui Lin

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The cultural interactions between tourists and destination communities have received increased attention. Tourists play an important role in constructing a rewarding intercultural experience and cultural understanding. Cultural literacy is the ability for tourists to negotiate different cultures, this research aimed to develop a measurement of Tourist Cultural Literacy (TCL), the result provides a theoretical framework to assess how tourists interact with different cultural destinations. A pilot qualitative research was conducted in order to generate the initial items. In this study, the procedure of developing the TCL scale was divided into two parts. First, an exploratory factor analysis was conducted, a 25-item TCL scale was developed and six factors were identified: cultural sensitivity, appreciation of the culture, respect for the culture, knowledge of the culture, participate in the culture, and empathy for the culture. Second, confirmatory factor analyses and structural equation modeling were employed, the six-factor model was verified, and was proven to have good fit, reliability, convergent validity, discriminant validity, and criterion-related validity. The study provides managerial implications for tourist management and education, the popularization of TCL might increase the respect and understanding between tourists and local societies as well as decrease the cultural shocks and negative social-cultural impacts derived from tourism activities, thereby reducing the maintenance cost of management and allowing tourists to obtain a better cultural experience. Future research suggestions are also provided.

Keywords: cultural literacy, cultural tourism, scale development, tourism contact

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Authors: Tan Zhang, Zhongjian Wang, Jack Xin, Zhiwen Zhang

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We aim to efficiently compute the spreading speeds of reaction-diffusion-advection (RDA) fronts in divergence-free random flows under the Kolmogorov-Petrovsky-Piskunov (KPP) nonlinearity. We study a stochastic interacting particle method (IPM) for the reduced principal eigenvalue (Lyapunov exponent) problem of an associated linear advection-diffusion operator with spatially random coefficients. The Fourier representation of the random advection field and the Feynman-Kac (FK) formula of the principal eigenvalue (Lyapunov exponent) form the foundation of our method implemented as a genetic evolution algorithm. The particles undergo advection-diffusion and mutation/selection through a fitness function originated in the FK semigroup. We analyze the convergence of the algorithm based on operator splitting and present numerical results on representative flows such as 2D cellular flow and 3D Arnold-Beltrami-Childress (ABC) flow under random perturbations. The 2D examples serve as a consistency check with semi-Lagrangian computation. The 3D results demonstrate that IPM, being mesh-free and self-adaptive, is simple to implement and efficient for computing front spreading speeds in the advection-dominated regime for high-dimensional random flows on unbounded domains where no truncation is needed.

Keywords: KPP front speeds, random flows, Feynman-Kac semigroups, interacting particle method, convergence analysis

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Authors: Salamatu Sani

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This study is an investigation of how code-mixing manifests in the language development of a Nigerian child, especially in the Hausa speaking environment. It is hinged on the fact that the environment influences the first language acquired by a child regardless of the cultural and/or linguistic background of the parents. The child under investigation has been subjected to close monitoring on her speech hitherto. It is a longitudinal study covering a period of twelve months (January 2018 to December 2018); that was when the subject was between twenty-four and thirty months of age. The speeches have been recorded by means of a tape recorder, video, and a diary. The study employs as a theoretical framework, emergentism, which is an eclectic of the behaviourist and the mentalist theories to the study of language development, for analysis. This is in agreement with the positions of Skinner and Watson. Sequel to this investigation, it was discovered the environment is a major factor that influences the exposure of a child to a language more than the other factors and that, if a child is exposed to more than one language, there is a great tendency for such a child to code-mix and code-switch in her speech production. The child under investigation, in spite of the linguistic background of her parents, speaks the Hausa Language much better than the other languages around her though with remarkable code-mixing with other languages around her such as English and Ebira languages. The study concludes that although a child is born with the innate ability to acquire a particular language, the environment plays a key role to trigger the innate ability and consequently, the child is exposed to the acquisition of the dominant language around her at a particular given time.

Keywords: bilingual, code-mixing, emergentism, environment, Hausa

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Authors: Dominika Pihikova, Stefan Belicky, Tomas Bertok, Roman Sokol, Petra Kubanikova, Jan Tkac

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Since aberrant glycosylation is frequently accompanied by both physiological and pathological processes in a human body (cancer, AIDS, inflammatory diseases, etc.), the analysis of tumor-associated glycan patterns have a great potential for the development of novel diagnostic approaches. Moreover, altered glycoforms may assist as a suitable tool for the specificity and sensitivity enhancement in early-stage prostate cancer diagnosis. In this paper we discuss the construction and optimization of ultrasensitive sandwich biosensor platform employing lectin as glycan-binding protein. We focus on the immunoassay development, reduction of non-specific interactions and final glycoprofiling of human serum samples including both prostate cancer (PCa) patients and healthy controls. The fabricated biosensor was measured by label-free electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) with further lectin microarray verification. Furthermore, we analyzed different biosensor interfaces with atomic force microscopy (AFM) in nanomechanical mapping mode showing a significant differences in the altitude. These preliminary results revealing an elevated content of α-2,3 linked sialic acid in PCa patients comparing with healthy controls. All these experiments are important step towards development of point-of-care devices and discovery of novel glyco-biomarkers applicable in cancer diagnosis.

Keywords: biosensor, glycan, lectin, prostate cancer

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Authors: C. Soh, S. Muktar, C. M. Malata, J. R. Benson

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Introduction Reasons for requesting CPM include prevention of recurrence, peace of mind and moving on after breast cancer. Some women seek CPM as a delayed procedure but factors influencing this are poorly understood. Methods A retrospective analysis examined patients undergoing CPM as either an immediate or delayed procedure with or without breast reconstruction (BR) between January 2009 and December 2019. A cross-sectional survey based on validated questionnaires (5 point Likert scale) explored patients’ decision-making process in terms of timing of CPM and any BR. Results A total of 123 patients with unilateral breast cancer underwent CPM with 39 (32.5%) delayed procedures with or without BR. The response rate amongst patients receiving questionnaires (n=33) was 22/33 (66%). Within this delayed CPM cohort were three reconstructive scenarios 1) unilateral immediate BR with CPM (n=12); 2) delayed CPM with concomitant bilateral BR (n=22); 3) delayed bilateral BR after delayed CPM (n=3). Two patients had delayed CPM without BR. The most common reason for delayed CPM was to complete all cancer treatments (including radiotherapy) before surgery on the unaffected breast (score 2.91). The second reason was unavailability of genetic test results at the time of therapeutic mastectomy (score 2.64) whilst the third most cited reason was a subsequent change in family cancer history. Conclusion Factors for delayed CPM are patient-driven with few women spontaneously changing their mind having initially decided against immediate CPM for reasons also including surgical duration. CPM should be offered as a potentially delayed option with informed discussion of risks and benefits.

Keywords: Breast Cancer, CPM, Prophylactic, Rationale

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Authors: Lama Bendak

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Parents and teachers face major problems dealing with attention deficit hyperactivity students. One solution is by changing the school to a less restrictive one or leaving school for good. The purpose of this study is to highlight the importance and role of individual educational plans (IEP) in helping cycle one ages six to nine attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) students on the behavioral level. We have adopted the qualitative approach experimental where the total number of the students in our field of study was 66 from four schools. We have limited our study to cycle one students; that is grades 1, 2 and 3, whose ages range from 5.5 to 8.5. We divided the students into two groups where the controlled group was 36 students, and the experimental group was 30 students. The measuring instrument or tool that we used in our study is The SNAP-IV Teacher and Parents Rating Scale and was filled by class teachers. We did the pretest during the first trimester of the school year. Then we applied the Individual Educational Plans IEP's for two trimesters. Then we did the posttest and submitted the results for analysis, where we used the ANCOVA. The results of this study showed that the IEP's efficacy in helping ADHD students on the behavioral aspect showed statistical differences and varied depending on the initial level of difficulty of the student.

Keywords: attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, individual educational plans, behavioral charts, SNAP-IV teacher and parents rating scale

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Authors: Yadav Shyamjeet Maniram

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Despite reports of more than seventy million population of India affected by rare diseases, it rarely figured on the agenda of the Indian scientist and policymakers. Hitherto ignored, a fresh initiative is being attempted to establish the first national registry for rare diseases. Though there are registries for rare diseases, established by the clinicians and patient advocacy groups, they are isolated, scattered and lacks information sharing mechanism. It is the first time that there is an effort from the government of India to make an initiative on the rare disease registries, which would be more formal and systemic in nature. Since there is lack of epidemiological evidence for the rare disease in India, it is interesting to note how rare disease policy is being attempted in the vacuum of evidence required for the policy process. The objective of this study is to analyse rare disease registry creation and implementation from the parameters of evolutionary policy perspective in the absence of evidence for the policy process. This study will be exploratory and qualitative in nature, primarily based on the interviews of stakeholders involved in the rare disease registry creation and implementation. Some secondary data will include various documents related to rare disease registry. The expected outcome of this study would be on the role of stakeholders in the generation of evidence for the rare disease registry creation and implementation. This study will also try to capture negotiations and deliberations on the ethical issues in terms of data collection, preservation, and protection.

Keywords: evolutionary policy perspective, evidence for policy, rare disease policy, rare disease in India

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Authors: Michel Zaitouni, Mohamed Nassar

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The purpose of this study is first, to explore the effect of employees’ perception of justice on trust in the supervisor in the context of performance appraisal; Second, to assess the role of perceived supervisor support as a mediator between organizational justice and trust in the supervisor in a non-western society such as Kuwait.The survey data consisted of 415 employees working at different hierarchical levels in three major banks in Kuwait. Hierarchical regression analysis was used to test the research hypotheses. Results supported hypothesized relationships between distributive, informational and interpersonal justice and trust in the supervisor but failed to support that procedural justice positively and significantly relate to trust in the supervisor. Moreover, results found that this relationship is partially mediated by perceived supervisor support. A potential limitation of this study is that data were obtained from the same industry which limits the generalizability of this study to other industries. Moreover, a longitudinal research will be helpful to strengthen the mediating relationship. The findings provide valuable information for the development of common perspectives regarding the perception of justice in the context of performance appraisal between the western and non-western societies. The paper has the privilege to explore additional relationships related to justice perceptions in the Kuwaiti banking sector, whereas previous research focused mainly on procedural and distributive justice as predictors of trust in the supervisor.

Keywords: Kuwait, organizational justice, perceived supervisor support, trust in the supervisor

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Authors: Grzegorz Kubinski

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In the proposed paper, we would like to present the phenomenon of disease and disability as an element of discourse redefining the contemporary canons of beauty and the category of normativity. In widely understood media, and above all in social media and fashion industry, the use of the disease as an aesthetic category has long been observed. There is an interesting case of promoting and maintaining a certain, ideal pattern of physical beauty, while at the same time very clear exploitation of various types of illnesses. The categories of disease and disabled body are shown as an element of the expression of the individuality and originality of one's own identity, while at the same time the disabled person is still experiencing social exclusion. Illness or body abnormality as an aesthetic category also functions as an ethical-political category. The analysis of the interrelations of these discourses will be presented on the example of selected projects present in social media, like Instagram or Facebook. We would like to present how old forms of 'curiosities' or 'abnormalities' turned into mainstream forms of a new aesthetic. For marginalized disabled people, there is a new form of expression and built their identity. But, there is an interesting point: are this contemporary forms of using disability and illness really new? Or maybe this is just another form of Wunderkammer or even cabinets of curiosities? We propose to analyze contemporary cultural and social context in order to clarify this issue. On the other hand, we would like to present some examples from personal interviews with disabled internet influencers and statements disabled persons concerning the role of the different body in society (e.g. #bodypositive, #perfeclyflawed).

Keywords: disability, new media, defect, fashion

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Authors: Zhang Zhenzhen

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Valproate (VPA) is commonly used in the treatment of bipolar disorder and epilepsy. The mechanism is complicated, including its ability to inhibit histone deacetylases (HDACs). Here, we show that VPA attenuated VEGF gene expression and the morphological changes in choroidal neovascularization (CNV) induced by photocoagulation in retina. C57BL/6 mice were injected subcutaneously at 300mg/kg twice daily with VPA before insult. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-A and VEGF-B were examined in the eyes of VPA-treated mice and in human retinal pigment epithelial cell lines (ARPE-19) exposed to VPA. In addition, CNV was induced by photocoagulation in mice injected with VPA, and the volume of CNV was compared by fluorescence-labeled choroidal flat mount. Morphological changes were analyzed on stained histological sections. Western blot analysis was used to determine protein levels of VEGF-A and VEGF-B, and acetylation of histone H3 in each group. VPA injected intraperitoneally attenuated the VEGF-A and VEGF-B expression in the retina, accompanied by the hyperacetylation of retina tissue, indicating that VPA acts directly on retina tissues through acetylation to reduce the expression of VEGF. VPA also attenuated the VEGF-A mRNA expression in the retinal pigment epithelium showed by immunohistochemistry. Moreover, the administration of VPA significantly attenuated photocoagulation-induced CNV in mice. These results demonstrate that VPA attenuated VEGF production in retina associated with choroidal neovascularization possibly via the HDAC inhibition.

Keywords: retina, acetylation, chorodial neovascularization, vascular endothelial growth factor

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Authors: Ahmed Al-Mansour, Qiang Zeng

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Recycling waste plastics in the form of concrete components, i.e. fine aggregates, has been an attractive topic among the society of civil engineers. Not only does the recycling of plastics reduce the overall cost of concrete production, but it also takes part in solving environmental issues. Nevertheless, the incorporation of recycled plastics into concrete results in an increasing reduction in the mechanical properties of concrete as the percentage of replacement of natural aggregates increases. In order to overcome this reduction, Ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA) was used as an additive in concrete with recycled plastic aggregates. The aim of this additive is to: 1) increase the interfacial interaction at the interfacial transition zone (ITZ) between plastic pellets and cement matrix, and 2) mitigate the loss in mechanical properties. Three different groups of samples (i.e. cubes and prisms) were tested according to the plastics substituting fine aggregates. 5, 10, and 15% of fine aggregates were substituted for recycled plastic pellets, and 2 – 4% of the cement was substituted for EVA that produces a flexible agent when mixed properly with water. Compressive and tensile strength tests were conducted for the mechanical properties, while SEM and X-CT scan were implemented for further investigation of calcium-silicate-hydrate (C–S–H) formation and ITZ analysis. The optimal amount of plastic particles with EVA is suggested to get the most compact and dense matrix structure according to the results of this study.

Keywords: the durability of concrete, ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA), interfacial transition zone (ITZ), recycled plastics

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Authors: Meltem Bolluk, Ismail Duman

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Boron exhibits the properties of high melting temperature (2273K to 2573 K), high hardness (Mohs: 9,5), low density (2,340 g/cm3), high chemical resistance, high strength, and semiconductivity (band gap:1,6-2,1 eV). These superior properties enable to use it in several high-tech areas from electronics to nuclear industry and especially in high temperature metallurgy. Amorphous boron and crystalline boron have different application areas. Amorphous boron powder (directly amorphous and/or α-rhombohedral) is preferred in rocket firing, airbag inflating and in fabrication of superconducting MgB2 wires. The conventional ways to produce elemental boron with a purity of 85 pct to 95 prc are metallothermic reduction, fused salt electrolysis and mechanochemical synthesis; but the only way to produce high-purity boron powders is Chemical Vapour Deposition (Hot Surface CVD). In this study; amorphous boron powders with a minimum purity of 99,9 prc were synthesized in quartz tubes using BCl3-H2 gas mixture by CVD. Process conditions based on temperature and gas flow rate were determined. Thermodynamical interpretation of BCl3-H2 system for different temperatures and molar rates were performed using Fact Sage software. The characterization of powders was examined by using Xray diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM), Stereo Microscope (SM), Helium gas pycnometer analysis. The purities of final products were determined by titration after lime fusion.

Keywords: amorphous boron, CVD, powder production, powder characterization

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Authors: Mai Ali

Abstract:

Advancing beyond the junior stage of a paediatrician’s career is a crucial step where they accumulate essential skills and knowledge. This process prepares them for the challenges they'll encounter throughout their profession, particularly in dealing with paediatric emergencies. This can be especially demanding for trainees specializing in fields like endocrinology, particularly in the management of Diabetic Ketoacidosis (DKA) in the UK. In different societal contexts, junior doctors, whether specializing in pediatrics or other medical fields, are generally expected to possess a fundamental level of knowledge and skills necessary for managing diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) emergencies. These physicians consistently concurred in recognizing prevalent problems in the healthcare facilities they examined. Such issues include the lack of established guidelines for DKA treatment and the inadequate availability of comprehensive training opportunities. The abstract underscores the critical importance of junior paediatricians acquiring expertise in managing paediatric emergencies, with a specific focus on DKA. Commonly, issues like the lack of standardized protocols and training deficiencies are recurring themes across healthcare facilities. This research proposal aims to conduct a thematic analysis of the proficiency of paediatric trainees in the United Kingdom when handling DKA in various clinical contexts. The primary goal is to assess their competency and suggest effective strategies for comprehensive DKA training improvement.

Keywords: junior pediatrician, DKA, standardized protocols, level of competence

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Authors: Mariane G. Tadros, Shahira M. Ezzat, Maha M. Salama, Mohamed A. Farag

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In this study, the in vitro anticholinesterase activity of the volatile oils of both O. basilicum and O. africanum was investigated and both samples showed significant activity. As a result, the major constituents of the two oils were isolated using several column chromatography. Linalool, 1,8-cineol and eugenol were isolated from the volatile oil of O. basilicum and camphor was isolated from the volatile oil of O. africanum. The anticholinesterase activity of the isolated compounds were also evaluated where 1,8-cineol showed the highest inhibitory activity followed by camphor. To confirm these activities, learning and memory enhancing effects were tested in mice. Memory impairment was induced by scopolamine, a cholinergic muscarinic receptor antagonist. Anti-amnesic effects of both volatile oils and their terpenoids were investigated by the passive avoidance task in mice. We also examined their effects on brain acetylcholinesterase activity. Results showed that scopolamine-induced cognitive dysfunction was significantly attenuated by administration of the volatile oils and their terpenoids, eugenol and camphor, in the passive avoidance task and inhibited brain acetylcholinesterase activity. These results suggest that O. basilicum and O. africanum volatile oils can be good candidates for further studies on Alzheimer’s disease via their acetylcholinesterase inhibitory actions.

Keywords: Ocimum baselicum, Ocimum africanum, GC/MS analysis, anticholinesterase

Procedia PDF Downloads 436

Authors: Hasan Husnu Korkmaz, Serra Zerrin Korkmaz

Abstract:

The reinforced concrete (RC) framed structures composed of beams, columns, shear walls and the slabs. The other members are assumed to be nonstructural. Especially the brick infill walls which are used to separate the rooms or spaces are just handled as dead loads. On the other hand, if these infills are constructed within the frame bays, they also have higher shear and compression capacities. It is a well-known fact that, brick infills increase the lateral rigidity of the structure and thought to be a reserve capacity in the design. But, brick infills can create unfavorable failure or damage modes in the earthquake action such as soft story or short columns. The increase in the lateral rigidity also causes an over estimation of natural period of the structure and the corresponding earthquake loads in the design are less than the actual ones. In order to obtain accurate and realistic design results, the infills must be modelled in the structural design and their capacities must be included. Unfortunately, in Turkish Earthquake Code, there is no design methodology for the engineers. In this paper, finite element modelling of infilled reinforced concrete structures are studied. The proposed or used method is compared with the experimental results of a previous study. The effect of infills on the structural response is expressed within the paper.

Keywords: seismic loading, brick infills, finite element analysis, reinforced concrete, earthquake code

Procedia PDF Downloads 292

Authors: Taruna Katyal Arora, Geeta Kumari, Hari Shankar, Neelima Mishra

Abstract:

Substandard and counterfeit antimalarials is a major problem in malaria endemic areas. The availability of counterfeit/ substandard medicines is not only decreasing the efficacy in patients, but it is also one of the contributing factors for developing antimalarial drug resistance. Owing to this, a pilot study was conducted to survey quality of drugs collected from different malaria endemic areas of India. Artesunate+Sulphadoxine-Pyrimethamine (AS+SP), Artemether-Lumefantrine (AL), Chloroquine (CQ) tablets were randomly picked from public health facilities in selected states of India. The quality of antimalarial drugs from these areas was assessed by using Global Pharma Health Fund Minilab test kit. This includes physical/visual inspection and disintegration test. Thin-layer chromatography (TLC) was carried out for semi-quantitative assessment of active pharmaceutical ingredients. A total of 45 brands, out of which 21 were for CQ, 14 for AL and 10 for AS+SP were tested from Uttar Pradesh (U.P.), Mizoram, Meghalaya and Gujrat states. One out of 45 samples showed variable disintegration and retension factor. The variable disintegration and retention factor which would have been due to substandard quality or other factors including storage. However, HPLC analysis confirms standard active pharmaceutical ingredient, but may be due to humid temperature and moisture in storage may account for the observed result.

Keywords: antimalarial medicines, counterfeit, substandard, TLC

Procedia PDF Downloads 297

Authors: Sridhar S, Govinda Raj Mandela, Aruna Mangalpady

Abstract:

In the present day scenario, Indian underground mines are moving towards full scale mechanisation for improvement of production and productivity levels. These mines are employing a wide variety of earth moving machines for the transportation of ore and overburden (waste). Low Profile Dump Trucks (LPDTs) have proven more advantageous towards improvement of production levels in underground mines through quick transportation. During the operation of LPDT, different kinds of vibrations are generated which can affect the health condition of the operator. Keeping this in view, the present research work focuses on measurement and evaluation of Hand Arm Vibrations (HAVs) from the steering system of LPDTs. The study also aims to evaluate the HAVs of different job components of a work cycle in operating LPDTs. The HAVs were measured and evaluated according to ISO 5349-2: 2001 standards, and the daily vibration exposures A(8) were calculated. The evaluated A(8) results show that LPDTs of 60 and 50 tons capacity have vibration levels more than that of the Exposure Action Value (EAV) of 2.5 m/s2 in every job component of the work cycle. Further, the results show that the vibration levels were more during empty haulage especially during descending journey when compared to other job components in all LPDTs considered for the study.

Keywords: low profile dump trucks, hand arm vibrations, exposure action value, underground mines

Procedia PDF Downloads 111

Authors: Zair Firdaous, Fourka Mohamed, Elfelsoufi Zoubir

Abstract:

The arrival of e-commerce has changed the supply chain management on the operational level as well as on the organization and strategic and even tactical decisions of the companies. The optimization of resources is an issue that is needed on the tactical and operational strategic plan. This work considers the allocation of resources in the case of pure players that have launched online sales. The aim is to improve the level of customer satisfaction and maintaining the benefits of e-retailer and of its cooperators and reducing costs and risks. We first modeled the B2C chain with all operations that integrates and possible scenarios since online retailers offer a wide selection of personalized service. The personalized services that online shopping companies offer to the clients can be embodied in many aspects, such as the customizations of payment, the distribution methods, and after-sales service choices. Every aspect of customized service has several modes. At that time, we analyzed the optimization problems of supply chain resource in customized online shopping service mode. Then, we realized an optimization model and algorithm for the development based on the analysis of the of the B2C supply chain resources. It is a multi-objective optimization that considers the collaboration of resources in operations, time and costs but also the risks and the quality of services as well as dynamic and uncertain characters related to the request.

Keywords: supply chain resource, e-commerce, pure-players, optimization

Procedia PDF Downloads 231

Authors: Mohamed Hesham Hamdy Abdelmohsen, Ahmed Shawky Abdul Aziz, Mona Fawzy Al-Daghma

Abstract:

Helical piles are widely used as axially and laterally loaded deep foundations. Once they are required to resist bearing combined loads (BCLs), as axial compression and lateral thrust, different behaviour is expected, necessitating further investigation. The objective of the present article is to clarify the behaviour of a single helical pile of different shaft rigidity embedded in cohesion-less soil and subjected to simultaneous or successive loading patterns of BCLs. The study was first developed analytically and extended numerically. The numerical analysis was further verified through a laboratory experimental program on a set of helical pile models. The results indicate highly interactive effects of the studied parameters, but it is obviously confirmed that the pile performance increases with both the increase of shaft rigidity and the change of BCLs loading pattern from simultaneous to successive. However, it is noted that the increase of vertical load does not always enhance the lateral capacity but may cause a decrement in lateral capacity, as observed with helical piles of flexible shafts. This study provides insightful information for the design of helical piles in structures loaded by complex sequence of forces, wind turbines, and industrial shafts.

Keywords: helical pile, lateral loads, combined loads, cohesion-less soil, analytical, numerical

Procedia PDF Downloads 19