Search results for: solid state joining processes

Authors: Tamou Nasser, Ahmed Essadki, Ali Boukhriss

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This paper presents the control of doubly fed induction generator (DFIG) used in the wind energy conversion systems. Maximum power point tracking (MPPT) strategy is used to extract the maximum of power during the conversion and taking care that the system does not exceed the operating limits. This is done by acting on the pitch angle to control the orientation of the turbine's blades. Having regard to its robustness and performance, active disturbance rejection control (ADRC) based on the extended state observer (ESO) is employed to achieve the control of both rotor and grid side converters. Simulations are carried out using matlab simulink.

Keywords: active disturbance rejection control, extended state observer, doubly fed induction generator, maximum power point tracking

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Authors: Zhaohui Tian

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China’s growing and deepening engagement in Africa has attracted numerous controversial debates on Chinese-African social-racial relations both in the media and academia. Most research tends to discuss this issue and the tensions involved at the state level, but limited attention has been given to the individual relating processes of those two racial groups from an intercultural politeness evaluation angle. Thus, taking Kenya as a country focus and putting it under recent perspectives on pragmatics and politeness, this study explores the Chinese-Kenyan workplace relating experience in Chinese-owned companies with the aim to offer new insights on Chinese-African social-racial tensions. The original data were collected through 25 interviews from 29 Chinese and Kenyan participants working in different Chinese companies and industries, some of which had been later on converted into 182 short story data in order to better capture the process and content dimensions of their experiences using Spencer &Kádár’s politeness evaluation model. Both interview and story data were analysed in MAXQDA to understand the personal relating process and the criteria they were drawing from when making evaluative judgements of their relations. The result particular draws attention to tensions around goals, rights, and obligations, and social-moral dimensions that had been underrepresented in intercultural and pragmatics literature. The study offers alternative empirical insights into Chinese-Kenyan relations from an intercultural politeness management perspective and the possible mismatches of the evaluative criteria that potentially cause tension in this context.

Keywords: chinese-kenyan, evaluation, relating, workplace

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Authors: Maria Thaemar Tana

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The paper examines the policy and practice of Japan’s human security. Specifically, it asks the question: How does Japan’s shift towards a more proactive defence posture affect the place of human security in its foreign policy agenda? Corollary to this, how is Japan sustaining its human security policy? The objective of this research is to understand how Japan, chiefly through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) and JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency), sustains the concept of human security as a policy framework. In addition, the paper also aims to show how and why Japan continues to include the concept in its overall foreign policy agenda. In light of the recent developments in Japan’s security policy, which essentially result from the changing security environment, human security appears to be gradually losing relevance. The paper, however, argues that despite the strategic challenges Japan faced and is facing, as well as the apparent decline of its economic diplomacy, human security remains to be an area of critical importance for Japanese foreign policy. In fact, as Japan becomes more proactive in its international affairs, the strategic value of human security also increases. Human security was initially envisioned to help Japan compensate for its weaknesses in the areas of traditional security, but as Japan moves closer to a more activist foreign policy, the soft policy of human security complements its hard security policies. Using the framework of neoclassical realism (NCR), the paper recognizes that policy-making is essentially a convergence of incentives and constraints at the international and domestic levels. The theory posits that there is no perfect 'transmission belt' linking material power on the one hand, and actual foreign policy on the other. State behavior is influenced by both international- and domestic-level variables, but while systemic pressures and incentives determine the general direction of foreign policy, they are not strong enough to affect the exact details of state conduct. Internal factors such as leaders’ perceptions, domestic institutions, and domestic norms, serve as intervening variables between the international system and foreign policy. Thus, applied to this study, Japan’s sustained utilization of human security as a foreign policy instrument (dependent variable) is essentially a result of systemic pressures (indirectly) (independent variables) and domestic processes (directly) (intervening variables). Two cases of Japan’s human security practice in two regions are examined in two time periods: Iraq in the Middle East (2001-2010) and South Sudan in Africa (2011-2017). The cases show that despite the different motives behind Japan’s decision to participate in these international peacekeepings ad peace-building operations, human security continues to be incorporated in both rhetoric and practice, thus demonstrating that it was and remains to be an important diplomatic tool. Different variables at the international and domestic levels will be examined to understand how the interaction among them results in changes and continuities in Japan’s human security policy.

Keywords: human security, foreign policy, neoclassical realism, peace-building

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Authors: Md Abdullah Al Mashud, M. Tariquzzaman, M. Jahangir Alam, Tapan Kumar Godder, M. Mahbubur Rahman

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This paper presents a Monte Carlo (MC) method-based dose distributions on lung tumor for 6 MV photon beam to improve the dosimetric accuracy for cancer treatment. The polystyrene which is tissue equivalent material to the lung tumor density is used in this research. In the empirical calculations, TRS-398 formalism of IAEA has been used, and the setup was made according to the ICRU recommendations. The research outcomes were compared with the state-of-the-art experimental results. From the experimental results, it is observed that the proposed based approach provides more accurate results and improves the accuracy than the existing approaches. The average %variation between measured and TPS simulated values was obtained 1.337±0.531, which shows a substantial improvement comparing with the state-of-the-art technology.

Keywords: lung tumour, Monte Carlo, polystyrene, Elekta synergy, Monaco planning system

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Authors: Chooi Fong Lee

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Maternal psychological well-being has been investigated from various aspects, such as social support, employment status. However, a perspective from self-discrepancy theory has not been employed. Moreover, most were focused on young mothers. Less is understanding the middle-aged mother’s psychological well-being. This research examined the influence of maternal self-discrepancy between actual and ideal self on maternal role achievement, state anxiety, trait anxiety, and subjective well-being among Japanese middle-aged mothers across their employment status. A pilot study with 20 Japanese mother participants (aged 40-55, 9 regular-employed, 8 non-regular-employed, and 3 homemakers) was conducted to assess the viability of survey questionnaires (Maternal Role Achievement Scale, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Subjective Well-being Scale, and Self-report questionnaire). The self-report questionnaire prompted participants to list up to 3 ideal selves they aspired to be and rate the extent to which their actual selves deviated from their ideal selves on a 7-point scale (1= not at all; 4 = medium; 7 = extremely). Self-discrepancy scores were calculated by subtracting participants’ degree ratings from a 7-point scale, summing them up, and then dividing the total by 3. The final sample consisted of 241 participants, 97 regular-employed, 87 non-regular employed, and 57 homemaker mothers. We ensured participants were randomly selected to mitigate bias. The results show that regular-employed mothers tend to exhibit lower self-discrepancy scores compared to non-regular employed and homemaker mothers. Moreover, the discrepancy between actual and ideal self negatively correlated with maternal role achievement, state anxiety, and subjective well-being, while positively correlated with trait anxiety. Trait anxiety arises when one feels they did not meet their ideal self, as evidenced by higher levels in homemaker mothers, who experience lower state anxiety. Conversely, regular-employed mothers exhibit higher state anxiety but lower trait anxiety, suggesting satisfaction in their professional pursuits despite balancing work and family responsibilities. Full-time maternal roles contribute to lower state anxiety but higher trait anxiety among homemaker mothers due to a lack of personal identity achievement. Non-regular employed mothers show similarities to homemaker mothers. In self-reports, regular-employed mothers highlight support and devotion to their children’s development, while non-regular-employed mothers seek life fulfillment through part-time work alongside child-rearing duties. Homemaker mothers emphasize qualities like sociability, and communication skills, potentially influencing their self-discrepancy scores. Furthermore, the hierarchical multiple regression analysis revealed that the discrepancy between actual and ideal self significantly predicts subjective well-being. In conclusion, the findings offer valuable insights into the impact of maternal self-discrepancy on psychological well-being among middle-aged Japanese mothers across different employment statuses. Understanding these dynamics becomes crucial as contemporary women increasingly pursue higher education and depart from traditional motherhood norms. Working toward one ideal self might contribute to a mother psychological well-being. Acknowledgment: This project was made possible with funding support from the Japan ICU Foundation.

Keywords: maternal employment, maternal role, self-discrepancy, state-trait anxiety, subjective well-being

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Authors: Chitsanzo Isaac

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Across the world, the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has challenged urban systems and policy frameworks, highlighting societal vulnerabilities and systemic inequities among many communities. Measures of confinement and social distancing to contain the Covid-19 virus have fragmented the physical and social fabric of cities. This has caused urban dwellers to reassess how they engage with their urban surroundings and maintain social ties. Urbanists have presented strategies that would allow communities to survive and even thrive, in extraordinary times of crisis like the pandemic. Tactical Urbanism, particularly the 15-Minute City, has gained popularity. It is considered a resilient approach in the global north, however, it’s transferability to the global south has been called into question. To this end, this paper poses the question: to what extent is the 15-Minute City framework integral sustainable design, and are there processes that make it adoptable by cities in the global south? This paper explores four issues using secondary quantitative data analysis and convergence analysis in the Paris and Blantyre urban regions. First, it questions how the 15-Minute City has been defined and measured, and how it impacts urban dwellers. Second, it examines the extent to which the 15-minute city performs under the lens of frameworks such as Wilber’s integral theory and Fleming’s integral sustainable design theory. Thirdly this work examines the processes that can be transferred to developing cities which foster community resilience through the perspectives of experience, behaviors, cultures, and systems. Finally, it reviews the principal ways in which a multi-perspective reality can be the basis for resilient community design and sustainable urban development. This work will shed a light on the importance of a multi-perspective reality as a means of achieving sustainable urban design goals in developing urban areas.

Keywords: 15-minute city, developing cities, global south, community resilience, integral sustainable design, systems thinking, complexity, tactical urbanism

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Authors: Nilesh Bandekar, Sumita Dasgupta, Luis Alberto Allcahuaman Huaya, Souvik Manna

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Cryptobiosis is a dormant state where all measurable metabolic activities are at a halt, allowing an organism to survive in extreme conditions like low temperature (cryobiosis), extreme drought (anhydrobiosis), etc. This phenomenon is observed especially in tardigrades that can retain this state for decades depending on the abiotic environmental conditions. On returning to favorable conditions, tardigrades re-attain a metabolically active state. In this study, cyanobacteria as a model organism are being chosen to induce cryptobiosis for its effective preservation over a long period of time. Preserving cyanobacteria using this strategy will have multiple space applications because of its ability to produce oxygen. In addition, research has shown the survivability of this organism in space for a certain period of time. Few species of cyanobacterial residents of the soil such as Microcoleus, are able to survive in extreme drought as well. This work specifically focuses on Synechococcus elongatus, an endolith cyanobacteria with multiple benefits. It has the capability to produce 25% oxygen in water bodies. It utilizes carbon dioxide to produce oxygen via photosynthesis and also uses carbon dioxide as an energy source to form glucose via the Calvin cycle. There is a fair possibility of initiating cryptobiosis in such an organism by inducing certain proteins extracted from tardigrades such as Heat Shock Proteins (Hsp27 and Hsp30c) and/or hydrophilic Late Embryogenesis Abundant proteins (LEA). Existing methods like cryopreservation are difficult to execute in space keeping in mind their cost and heavy instrumentation. Also, extensive freezing may cause cellular damage. Therefore, cryptobiosis-induced cyanobacteria for its transportation from Earth to Mars as a part of future terraforming missions on Mars will save resources and increase the effectiveness of preservation. Finally, Cyanobacteria species like Synechococcus elongatus can also produce oxygen and glucose on Mars in favorable conditions and holds the key to terraforming Mars.

Keywords: cryptobiosis, cyanobacteria, glucose, mars, Synechococcus elongatus, tardigrades

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Authors: Ayush Aditya

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In today's digitised world, the extent of an individual’s social involvement is largely determined by their interaction over the internet. The Internet has emerged as a primary source of information consumption and a reliable medium for receiving updates on everyday activities. Owing to this change in the information consumption pattern, the internet has also emerged as a hotbed of misinformation. Experts are of the view that media literacy has emerged as one of the most effective strategies for addressing the issue of misinformation. This paper aims to study the evolution of the Kerala government's media literacy policy, its implementation strategy, challenges and opportunities. The objective of this paper is to create a conceptual framework containing details of the implementation strategy based on the Kerala model. Extensive secondary research of literature, newspaper articles, and other online sources was carried out to locate the timeline of this policy. This was followed by semi-structured interview discussions with government officials from Kerala to trace the origin and evolution of this policy. Preliminary findings based on the collected data suggest that this policy is a case of policy by chance, as the officer who headed this policy during the state level implementation was the one who has already piloted a media literacy program in a district called Kannur as the district collector. Through this paper, an attempt is made to trace the history of the media literacy policy starting from the Kannur intervention in 2018, which was started to address the issue of vaccine hesitancy around measles rubella(MR) vaccination. If not for the vaccine hesitancy, this program would not have been rolled out in Kannur. Interviews with government officials suggest that when authorities decided to take up this initiative in 2020, a huge amount of misinformation emerging during the COVID-19 pandemic was the trigger. There was misinformation regarding government orders, healthcare facilities, vaccination, and lockdown regulations, which affected everyone, unlike the case of Kannur, where it was only a certain age group of kids. As a solution to this problem, the state government decided to create a media literacy curriculum to be taught in all government schools of the state starting from standard 8 till graduation. This was a tricky task, as a new course had to be immediately introduced in the school curriculum amid all the disruptions in the education system caused by the pandemic. It was revealed during the interview that in the case of the state-wide implementation, every step involved multiple checks and balances, unlike the earlier program where stakeholders were roped-in as and when the need emerged. On the pedagogy, while the training during the pilot could be managed through PowerPoint presentation, designing a state-wide curriculum involved multiple iterations and expert approvals. The reason for this is COVID-19 related misinformation has lost its significance. In the next phase of the research, an attempt will be made to compare other aspects of the pilot implementation with the state-wide implementation.

Keywords: media literacy, digital media literacy, curriculum based media literacy intervention, misinformation

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Authors: Ilirian Laçi, Alketa Spahiu

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Big strums of thyroid glandule observed by a simple viewing can be witnessed in everyday life. Medical cabinets evidence patients withpalpablenodes of thyroid glandule, mainly nodes of the size of 10 millimeters. Further, more cases which have resulted in negative under palpation have resulted in positive at ultrasound examination. Therefore, the use of ultrasound for diagnosing has increased the number of patients with nodes of thyroid glandule in the last couple of decades in all countries, Albania included. Thus, there has been evidence of an increased number of patients affected by this pathology, where female patients dominate. Demographically, the capital shows high numbers due to the high population, but of interest is the high incidence of those areas distanced from the sea. While regarding related pathologies, no significant link was evidenced, an element of ancestry was evident in the nodes of the thyroid glandule. When we talk of nodes of the thyroid glandule, we should consider hyperplasia, neoplasia, and inflammatory diseases that cause nodes of the thyroid glandule. This increase parallels the world’s increase of the incidence of thyroid glandule, with malign cases, which are at about 5% and are not depended on size. Given the numbers, with most thyroid glandule nodes being benign, the main objective of the examination of the nodes was the determination of benign and malign cases to avoid undue surgery. Subject of this study were 212 patients that underwent fine-needle aspiration (FNA) under ultrasound guidance at the Medical University Center of Tirana. All the patients came to the Mother Teresa University Hospital from public and private hospitals and other polyclinics. These patients had an ultrasound examination before visiting the Center of Nuclear Medicine for a scintigraph of thyroid glandule in the period September 2016 and September 2017. To correlate, all patients had been examined via ultrasound of the thyroid glandule prior to the scintigraph. The ultrasound included evaluation of the number of nodes, their size, their solid, cystic, or solid-cystic structure, echogenicity according to the gray scale, the presence of calcification, the presence of lymph nodes, the presence of adenopathy, and the correlation of the cytology results from the Laboratory of Pathological Anatomy of Medical University Center of Tirana.

Keywords: thyroid nodes, fine needle aspiration, ultrasound, scintigraphy

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Authors: Miriam Schäffer, Vinayak Mudgal, Wolfram Remlinger

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The functions of automated driving will initially be limited to certain so-called Operating Driving Domains (ODD). Within the ODDs, the automated vehicle can handle all situations autonomously. In the event of a critical system failure, the vehicle will establish a condition of minimal risk or offer the driver to take over control of the vehicle. When the vehicle leaves the ODD, the driver is also prompted to take over vehicle control. During automated driving, the driver is legally allowed to perform non-driving-related activities (NDRAs) for the first time. When requested to take over, the driver must return from the NDRA state to a driving-ready state. The driver’s NDRA state may imply the use of items that are necessary for the NDRA or interior modifications. Since perceived comfort is an important factor in both manual and automated driving, a study was conducted in a static driving simulator to investigate factors that influence perceived comfort during the take-over process. Based on a literature review of factors influencing perceived comfort in different domains, selected parameters such as the TOR modality or elements to support handing over the item used for the NDRA to the interior were varied. Perceived comfort and discomfort were assessed using an adapted version of a standardized comfort questionnaire, as well as other previously identified aspects of comfort. The NDRA conducted was Using a Smartphone (playing Tetris) because of its high relevance as a future NDRA. The results show the potential to increase perceived comfort through interior adaptations and support elements. Further research should focus on different layouts of the investigated factors, as well as under different conditions, such as time budget, actions required within the intervention in the vehicle control system, and vehicle interior dimensions.

Keywords: automated driving, comfort, take-over, vehicle interior

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Authors: Ágota Ábrahám, Md Nurul Islam, Karimane Zeghbib, Gábor Kemenesi, Sazeda Akter

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Collecting palm sap as a food source is an everyday practice in some parts of the world. However, the consumption of palm juice has been associated with regular infections and epidemics in parts of Bangladesh. This is attributed to fruit-eating bats and other vertebrates or invertebrates native to the area, contaminating the food with their body secretions during the collection process. The frequent intake of palm juice, whether as a processed food product or in its unprocessed form, is a common phenomenon in large areas. The range of pathogens suitable for human infection resulting from this practice is not yet fully understood. Additionally, the high sugar content of the liquid makes it an ideal culture medium for certain bacteria, which can easily propagate and potentially harm consumers. Rapid diagnostics, especially in remote locations, could mitigate health risks associated with palm juice consumption. The primary objective of this research is the rapid genomic detection and risk assessment of bacteria that may cause infections in humans through the consumption of palm juice. Utilizing state-of-the-art third-generation Nanopore metagenomic sequencing technology based on 16S rRNA, and identified bacteria primarily involved in fermenting processes. The swift metagenomic analysis, coupled with the widespread availability and portability of Nanopore products (including real-time analysis options), proves advantageous for detecting harmful pathogens in food sources without relying on extensive industry resources and testing.

Keywords: raw date palm sap, NGS, metabarcoding, food safety

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Authors: Shamir Balderman Orit, Shamir Michal

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Israel often deals with crisis situations, but most have been characterized as security crises (e.g., war). This is the first time that the Israel has dealt with a health and social emergency as part of a global crisis. The crisis began in January 2020 with the emergence of the novel coronavirus (Covid-19), which was defined as a pandemic (World Health Organization, 2020) and arrived in Israel in early March 2020. This study examined how single mothers by choice (SMBC) experience state anxiety (SA), social support, work–family conflict (WFC), and happiness. This group has not been studied in the context of crises in general or a global crisis. Using a snowball sample, 386 SMBCanswered an online questionnaire. The findings show a negative relationship between income and level of state anxiety. State anxiety was also negatively associated with social support, level of happiness, and WFC. Finally, a stepwise regression analysis indicated that happiness explained 34% of the variance in SA. We also found that most of the women did not turn to formal support agencies such as social workers, other Government Ministries, or municipal welfare. A positive and strong correlations was also found between SA and WFC. The findings of the study reinforce the understanding that although these women made a conscious and informed decision regarding the choice of their family cell, their situation is more complex in the absence of a spouse support. Therefore, this study, as other future studies in the field of SMBC, may contribute to the improvement of their social status and the understanding that they are a unique group. Although SMBC are a growing sector of society in the past few years, there are still special needs and special attention that is needed from the formal and informal supports systems. A comparative study of these two groups and in different countries would shed light on SA among mothers in general, regardless of their relationship status and location. Researchers should expand this study by comparing mothers in relationships and exploring how SMBC coped in other countries. In summary, the findings of the study contribute knowledge on three levels: (a) knowledge about SMBC in general and during crisis situations; (b) examination of social support using tools assessing receipt of assistance and support, some of which were developed for the present study; and (c) insights regarding counseling, accompaniment, and guidance of welfare mechanisms.

Keywords: single mothers by choice, state anxiety, social support, happiness, work-family conflict

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Authors: Olufemi Samuel Shola, Oladapo Adenike Adesola

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Inadequate dietary intake has increased the susceptibility of under five children to malnutrition and infections. This study, therefore, assessed the feeding practices of children of 0-23 months of age among mothers in urban areas of Akure, Ondo State, Nigeria. Simple random sampling technique was used to select four hundred (400) mothers out of 710 mothers from 7 primary health care centres in Akure metropolis for the study. Data were collected using modified WHO 2003 Questionnaire on child feeding practices. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, while chi-square was used to determine the association between variables. Results showed that 52.0% of the children were males, with 47.5% in the 6-8 months age group. More than half (57.0%) of the mothers were between the ages of 20-29 years, and 45.0% had secondary education. Majority (94.3%) of the mothers breastfed their children in the last 24 hours preceding the survey. The feeding practices history of mothers showed that 28.0% and 53.7% of the mothers initiated breastfeeding less than 30 minutes and between 30 minutes to 1 hour after delivery, respectively. Also, 52.0% of mothers practiced exclusive breastfeeding for six months, while 26.2% breastfed from 6 months up to 2 years of age. Dietary diversity of the children age 6-23 months revealed that 68.7% of the children attained the minimum dietary diversity by consuming 4 or more food groups in the last 24 hours. There was a significant association (P < 0.05) between mothers’ education (n=180), occupation(n=41) and dietary diversity (n= 150) and meal frequency (n=209). Therefore, the study concluded that the duration of breastfeeding and time of introduction of complementary food did not meet WHO recommended guidelines. There is urgent need to launching more programmes.

Keywords: breastfeeding, mothers, child feeding, urban areas, ondo state, nigeria

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Authors: Y. Bai, M. Bodlak, V. Frolov, S. Huber, V. Jary, I. Konorov, D. Levit, J. Novy, D. Steffen, O. Subrt, M. Virius

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Modern experiments in high energy physics impose great demands on the reliability, the efficiency, and the data rate of Data Acquisition Systems (DAQ). This contribution focuses on the development and deployment of the new communication library DIALOG for the intelligent, FPGA-based Data Acquisition System (iFDAQ) of the COMPASS experiment at CERN. The iFDAQ utilizing a hardware event builder is designed to be able to readout data at the maximum rate of the experiment. The DIALOG library is a communication system both for distributed and mixed environments, it provides a network transparent inter-process communication layer. Using the high-performance and modern C++ framework Qt and its Qt Network API, the DIALOG library presents an alternative to the previously used DIM library. The DIALOG library was fully incorporated to all processes in the iFDAQ during the run 2016. From the software point of view, it might be considered as a significant improvement of iFDAQ in comparison with the previous run. To extend the possibilities of debugging, the online monitoring of communication among processes via DIALOG GUI is a desirable feature. In the paper, we present the DIALOG library from several insights and discuss it in a detailed way. Moreover, the efficiency measurement and comparison with the DIM library with respect to the iFDAQ requirements is provided.

Keywords: data acquisition system, DIALOG library, DIM library, FPGA, Qt framework, TCP/IP

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Authors: ShuHui Yang, ChingChing Lu

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Measuring event-related potentials (ERPs) has been fundamental to our understanding of how people process language. One specific ERP component, a P600, has been hypothesized to be associated with syntactic reanalysis processes. We, however, propose that the P600 is not restricted to reanalysis processes, but is the index of the structural pattern processing. To investigate the structural pattern processing, we utilized the effects of stimulus degradation in structural priming. To put it another way, there was no P600 effect if the structure of the prime was the same with the structure of the target. Otherwise, there would be a P600 effect if the structure were different between the prime and the target. In the experiment, twenty-two participants were presented with four sentences of Tang poetry. All of the first two sentences, being prime, were conducted with SVO+VP. The last two sentences, being the target, were divided into three types. Type one of the targets was SVO+VP. Type two of the targets was SVO+VPVP. Type three of the targets was VP+VP. The result showed that both of the targets, SVO+VPVP and VP+VP, elicited positive-going brainwave, a P600 effect, at 600~900ms time window. Furthermore, the P600 component was lager for the target’ VP+VP’ than the target’ SVO+VPVP’. That meant the more dissimilar the structure was, the lager the P600 effect we got. These results indicate that P600 was the index of the structure processing, and it would affect the P600 effect intensity with the degrees of structural heterogeneity.

Keywords: ERPs, P600, structural pattern, structural priming, Tang poetry

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Authors: Lawrence Koech, Ray Everson, Hein Neomagus, Hilary Rutto

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Wet Flue gas desulphurization (FGD) systems are commonly used to remove sulphur dioxide from flue gas by contacting it with limestone in aqueous phase which is obtained by dissolution. Dissolution is important as it affects the overall performance of a wet FGD system. In the present study, effects of pH, stirring speed, solid to liquid ratio and acid concentration on the dissolution of limestone using an organic acid (adipic acid) were investigated. This was investigated using the pH stat apparatus. Calcium ions were analyzed at the end of each experiment using Atomic Absorption (AAS) machine.

Keywords: desulphurization, limestone, dissolution, pH stat apparatus

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Authors: K. Senthil Nathan, P. Rajasekaran

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Fatigue is a feeling of extreme physical or mental tiredness. Almost everyone becomes fatigued at some time, but driver’s fatigue is a serious problem that leads to thousands of automobile crashes each year. Fatigue process is often a change from the alertness and vigor state to the tiredness and weakness state. It is not only accompanied by drowsiness but also has a negative impact on mood. There have been studies to detect and quantify fatigue from the measurement of physiology variables such as electroencephalogram (EEG), electrooculogram (EOG), and electromyogram (EMG). This project involves a multimodal sensing of driver’s drowsiness. The first method is to count the eye blinking rate. In the second level, we authenticate the results of eye blink module with a grip sensor. The Flexiforce sensor is placed over the steering wheel. In the third level, the activities are sensed, the time elapsed from the driver’s last activity is counted here. The activities in the sense: Changing gear, applying brake, pressing sound horns, and turning the steering wheel. Absence of these activities is also an indicator of fatigue.

Keywords: eye blink sensor, Flexiforce sensor, EEG, EOG, EMG

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Authors: Dalia Suša Vugec, Ana-Marija Stjepić, Darija Ivandić Vidović

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Digital transformation is one of the latest trends on the global market. In order to maintain the competitive advantage and sustainability, increasing number of organizations are conducting digital transformation processes. Those organizations are changing their business processes and creating new business models with the help of digital technologies. In that sense, one should also observe the role of business process management (BPM) and its maturity in driving digital transformation. Therefore, the goal of this paper is to investigate the role of BPM in digital transformation process within one organization. Since experiences from practice show that organizations from financial sector could be observed as leaders in digital transformation, an insurance company has been selected to participate in the study. That company has been selected due to the high level of its BPM maturity and the fact that it has previously been through a digital transformation process. In order to fulfill the goals of the paper, several interviews, as well as questionnaires, have been conducted within the selected company. The results are presented in a form of a case study. Results indicate that digital transformation process within the observed company has been successful, with special focus on the development of digital strategy, BPM and change management. The role of BPM in the digital transformation of the observed company is further discussed in the paper.

Keywords: business process management, case study, Croatia, digital transformation, insurance company

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Authors: Yuvarani Naidu, Yasmeen Siddiqui, Mohd Yusof Rafii , Abu Seman Idris

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Sustainability of oil palm production in Southeast Asia, especially in Indonesia and Malaysia, is jeopardized by Ganoderma boninense, the fungus which causes basal stem rot (BSR) in oil palm. The root contact with unattended infected debris left in the plantations during replanting is known to be the primary source of inoculum. Abiding by the law, potentially effective technique of managing Ganoderma infected oil palm debris is deemed necessary because of the zero-burning policy in Malaysian oil palm plantations. White-rot hymenomycetes antagonistic to Ganoderma sp were selected to test their efficacy as log treatments in degrading Ganoderma infected oil palm logs and to minimize the survival of Ganoderma inoculum. Decay rate in terms of mass loss was significantly higher after the application of solid-state cultivation (SSC) of Trametes lactinea FBW (64% ±1.2), followed by Pycnoporus sanguineus FBR (55% ±1.7) in infected log block tissues, after 10 months of treatments. The degradation pattern was clearly distinguished between the treated and non-treated log blocks with the developed SSC formulations. The control infected log blocks showed the highest, whereas infected log blocks treated with either P. sanguineus FBR or T. lactinea FBW SSC formulations exhibited statistically lowest number of Ganoderma spp. recovery on Ganoderma Selective Medium (GSM), after 8 months of treatment. Out of that, the lowest recovery of Ganoderma spp. was reported in infected log blocks inoculated with the strain T. lactinea FBW (21% ± 0.9) followed by P. sanguineus FBR (33% ± 2.2), after 8 months, Further, no recovery of Ganoderma was noticeable, 10 months after treatment applications in log blocks treated with both of the formulations. This is the first nursery-base study to substantiate the initial colonization of white-rot hymenomycetes on oil palm log blocks previously infected with BSR pathogen, G. boninense. The present study has indicated that log blocks treatment with white-rot hymenomycetes significantly affected the mass loss of diseased and healthy log block tissues. This study provides a basis of biotechnological approaches inefficient degradation of oil palm-generated crop debris, under natural conditions with an ultimate aim of reducing the Ganoderma inoculum under heavy BSR infection pressure in eco-friendly manner.

Keywords: basal stem rot disease, ganoderma boninense, oil palm, white-rot fungi

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Authors: Şule Yanık, Hasan Gürgür

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It is thought that it is important for disabled children to have the opportunity to benefit preschool education that smoothens transition process to formal education, and for the constitution of a precondition for their success. Within this context, it is important for the disabled in Turkey to be evaluated medically firstly and then educational-wise in order for them to benefit early inclusive education. Thus, disabled people are both diagnosed in hospitals and at Guidance and Research Centers (GRC) attached to Ministry of Education educational-wise. It is seen that standard evaluation tools are used and evaluations are done by special education teachers (SET) in order for educational diagnosis and evaluation (EDAE) to be realized. The literature emphasizes the importance of informal evaluation tools as well as formal ones. According to this, it is thought that another party, besides students in EDAE process and SETs, is family, because families are primary care takers for their children, and that the most correct and real information can be obtained via families beside results of educational evaluation processes (EEP). It is thought that obtaining opinions of families during EEP is important to be able to exhibit the present EDAE activities in Turkey, materialize any existing problems, and increase quality of the process. Within this context, the purpose of this study is to exhibit experiences regarding EDAE processes of 10 families having preschool children with hearing loss (CHL). The process of research is designed to be descriptive based on qualitative research paradigms. Data were collected via semi-structured interview questions, and the themes were obtained. As a result, it is seen that families, after they realize the hearing loss of their children, do not have any information regarding the subject, and that they consult to an ear-nose-throat doctor or an audiologist for support. It is seen that families go to hospitals for medical evaluation which is a pre-requisite for benefiting early education opportunities. However, during this process, as some families do not have any experience of having a CHL, it is seen that they are late for medical evaluation and hearing aids. Moreover, families stated that they were directed to GRC via audiologists for educational evaluation. Families stated that their children were evaluated regarding language, academic and psychological development in proportion with their ages in GRC after they were diagnosed medically. However, families stated that EEP realized in GRC was superficial, short and lacked detail. It is seen that many families were not included in EEP process, whereas some families stated that they were asked questions because their children are too small to answer. Regarding the benefits of EEP for themselves and their children, families stated that GRC had to give a report to them for benefiting the free support of Special Education and Rehabilitation Center, and that families had to be directed to inclusive education. As a result, it is seen that opinions of families regarding EDAE processes at GRC indicate inefficiency of the process as it is short and superficial, regardless being to the point.

Keywords: children with hearing loss, educational diagnosis and evaluation, guidance and research center, inclusion

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Authors: Vesna Bosilj Vukšić, Darija Ivandić Vidović, Ljubica Milanović Glavan

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Information technology plays an irreplaceable role in introducing and improving business process orientation in a company. It enables implementation of the theoretical concept, measurement of results achieved and undertaking corrective measures aimed at improvements. Information technology is a key concept in the development and implementation of the business process management systems as it establishes a connection to business operations. Both in the literature and practice, insurance companies are often seen as highly process oriented due to the nature of their business and focus on customers. They are also considered leaders in using information technology for business process management. The research conducted aimed to investigate whether the perceived leadership status of insurance companies is well deserved, i.e. to establish the level of process orientation and explore the practice of information technology use in insurance companies in the region. The main instrument for primary data collection within this research was an electronic survey questionnaire sent to the management of insurance companies in the Republic of Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia, Serbia and Macedonia. The conducted research has shown that insurance companies have a satisfactory level of process orientation, but that there is also a huge potential for improvement, especially in the segment of information technology and its connection to business processes.

Keywords: business processes management, process orientation, information technology, insurance companies

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Authors: Gospel Iyioku, Jana Mazancova, Jiri Hejkrlik

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The “Agricultural Promotion Policy (2016–2020)” represents a strategic initiative by the Nigerian government to address domestic food shortages and the challenges in exporting products at the required quality standards. Hindered by an inefficient system for setting and enforcing food quality standards, coupled with a lack of market knowledge, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) aims to enhance support for the production and activities of key crops like cashew. By collaborating with farmers, processors, investors, and stakeholders in the cashew sector, the policy seeks to define and uphold high-quality standards across the cashew value chain. Given the challenges and opportunities faced by Nigerian cashew farmers, active participation in cashew marketing groups becomes imperative. These groups serve as essential platforms for farmers to collectively navigate market intricacies, access resources, share knowledge, improve output quality, and bolster their overall bargaining power. Through engagement in these cooperative initiatives, farmers not only boost their economic prospects but can also contribute significantly to the sustainable growth of the cashew industry, fostering resilience and community development. This study explores the perceptions and intentions of farmers regarding their involvement in cashew marketing cooperatives, utilizing an expanded version of the Theory of Planned Behaviour. Drawing insights from a diverse sample of 321 cashew farmers in Southwest Nigeria, the research sheds light on the factors influencing decision-making in cooperative participation. The demographic analysis reveals a diverse landscape, with a substantial presence of middle-aged individuals contributing significantly to the agricultural sector and cashew-related activities emerging as a primary income source for a substantial proportion (23.99%). Employing Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) with Maximum Likelihood Robust (MLR) estimation in R, the research elucidates the associations among latent variables. Despite the model’s complexity, the goodness-of-fit indices attest to the validity of the structural model, explaining approximately 40% of the variance in the intention to join cooperatives. Moral norms emerge as a pivotal construct, highlighting the profound influence of ethical considerations in decision-making processes, while perceived behavioural control presents potential challenges in active participation. Attitudes toward joining cooperatives reveal nuanced perspectives, with strong beliefs in enhanced connections with other farmers but varying perceptions on improved access to essential information. The SEM analysis establishes positive and significant effects of moral norms, perceived behavioural control, subjective norms, and attitudes on farmers’ intention to join cooperatives. The knowledge construct positively affects key factors influencing intention, emphasizing the importance of informed decision-making. A supplementary analysis using partial least squares (PLS) SEM corroborates the robustness of our findings, aligning with covariance-based SEM results. This research unveils the determinants of cooperative participation and provides valuable insights for policymakers and practitioners aiming to empower and support this vital demographic in the cashew industry.

Keywords: marketing cooperatives, theory of planned behaviour, structural equation modelling, cashew farmers

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Authors: Tamou Nasser, Ahmed Essadki, Ali Boukhriss

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This paper presents the control of doubly fed induction generator (DFIG) used in the wind energy conversion systems. Maximum power point tracking (MPPT) strategy is used to extract the maximum of power during the conversion and taking care that the system does not exceed the operating limits. This is done by acting on the pitch angle to control the orientation of the turbine's blades. Having regard to its robustness and performance, active disturbance rejection control (ADRC) based on the extended state observer (ESO) is employed to achieve the control of both rotor and grid side converters. Simulations are carried out using MATLAB simulink.

Keywords: active disturbance rejection control, extended state observer, doubly fed induction generator, maximum power point tracking

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Authors: Thummalapalli CSM Gupta, Banti Sidhiwala

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Mineral oils of naphthenic and paraffinic type have been traditionally been used as insulating liquids in the transformer applications to protect the solid insulation from moisture and ensures effective heat transfer/cooling. The performance of these type of oils have been proven in the field over many decades and the condition monitoring and diagnosis of transformer performance have been successfully monitored through oil properties and dissolved gas analysis methods successfully. Different type of gases representing various types of faults due to components or operating conditions effectively. While large amount of data base has been generated in the industry on dissolved gas analysis for mineral oil based transformer oils and various models for predicting the fault and analysis, oil specifications and standards have also been modified to include stray gassing limits which cover the low temperature faults and becomes an effective preventative maintenance tool that can benefit greatly to know the reasons for the breakdown of electrical insulating materials and related components. Natural esters have seen a rise in popularity in recent years due to their "green" credentials. Some of its benefits include biodegradability, a higher fire point, improvement in load capability of transformer and improved solid insulation life than mineral oils. However, the Stray gases evolution like hydrogen and hydrocarbons like methane (CH4) and ethane (C2H6) show very high values which are much higher than the limits of mineral oil standards. Though the standards for these type esters are yet to be evolved, the higher values of hydrocarbon gases that are available in the market is of concern which might be interpreted as a fault in transformer operation. The current paper focuses on developing a natural ester based transformer oil which shows very levels of stray gassing by standard test methods show much lower values compared to the products available currently and experimental results on various test conditions and the underlying mechanism explained.

Keywords: biodegadability, fire point, dissolved gassing analysis, stray gassing

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Authors: Irene Yi

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This paper analyzes the development of Kurdish language endangerment in Turkey and Kurdish language education over time. It examines the historical context of the Turkish state, as well as reasons for the Turkish language hegemony. From a linguistic standpoint, the Kurdish language is in danger of extinction despite a large number of speakers, lest Kurdish language education is more widely promoted. The paper argues that Kurdish is no longer in a stable diglossic state; if the current trends continue, the language will lose its vitality. This paper recognizes the importance of education in preserving the language while discussing the changing political and institutional regard for Kurdish education. Lastly, the paper outlines solutions to the issue by looking at a variety of proposals, from creating a Kurdistan to merely changing the linguistic landscape in Turkey. After analysis of possible solutions in terms of realistic ability and effectiveness, the paper concludes that changing linguistic landscape and increasing Kurdish language education are the most ideal first steps in a long fight for Kurdish linguistic equality.

Keywords: endangered, Kurdish, oppression, policy

Procedia PDF Downloads 147

Authors: Henrique C. C. Andrade, Ana Beatriz C. G. Silva, Fernando Luiz B. Ribeiro, Samir Maghous, Jose Claudio F. Telles, Eduardo M. R. Fairbairn

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The present paper aims at developing a parallel computational model for numerical simulation of poromechanics analyses of heterogeneous reservoirs. In the context of macroscopic poroelastoplasticity, the hydromechanical coupling between the skeleton deformation and the fluid pressure is addressed by means of two constitutive equations. The first state equation relates the stress to skeleton strain and pore pressure, while the second state equation relates the Lagrangian porosity change to skeleton volume strain and pore pressure. A specific algorithm for local plastic integration using a tangent operator is devised. A modified Cam-clay type yield surface with associated plastic flow rule is adopted to account for both contractive and dilative behavior.

Keywords: finite element method, poromechanics, poroplasticity, reservoir analysis

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Authors: Vladimira Vytlacilova

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Recycling of construction and demolition waste (C&DW) and their new reuse in structures is one of the solutions of environmental problems. Construction and demolition waste creates a major portion of total solid waste production in the world and most of it is used in landfills all the time. The paper deals with the situation of the recycling of the building and demolition waste in the Czech Republic during the recent years. The paper is dealing with questions of C&D waste recycling, it also characterizes construction and demolition waste in general, furthermore it analyses production of construction waste and subsequent production of recycled materials.

Keywords: Recycling, Construction and demolition waste, Recycled rubble, Waste management

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Authors: Joel Mintz, Kyle Huntley, Waseem Wahood, Samuel Raine, Farzanna Haffizulla

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The effect of different state government interventions on COVID-19 health outcomes is currently unknown. Stay at home (SAH) orders, all non-essential business closures and school closures in the Northeastern US were examined. A linear correlation between the peak number of new daily COVID-19 positive tests, hospitalizations and deaths per capita and the elapsed time between government issued guidance and a fixed number of COVID-19 deaths in each state was performed. Earlier government interventions were correlated with lower peak healthcare burden. Statewide closures of schools and non-essential businesses showed significantly greater (p<.001) correlation to peak COVID-19 disease burden as compared to a statewide SAH. The implications of these findings require further study to determine the effectiveness of these interventions.

Keywords: Coronavirus, epidemiology, government intervention, public health, social distancing

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Authors: Andreas Kohlhepp, Gerrit Schatte, Wieland Christoph, Spliethoff Hartmut

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In recent years the research of heat transfer phenomena of water and other working fluids near the critical point experiences a growing interest for power engineering applications. To match the highly volatile characteristics of renewable energies, conventional power plants need to shift towards flexible operation. This requires speeding up the load change dynamics of steam generators and their heating surfaces near the critical point. In dynamic load transients, both a high heat flux with an unfavorable ratio to the mass flux and a high difference in fluid and wall temperatures, may cause problems. It may lead to deteriorated heat transfer (at supercritical pressures), dry-out or departure from nucleate boiling (at subcritical pressures), all cases leading to an extensive rise of temperatures. For relevant technical applications, the heat transfer coefficients need to be predicted correctly in case of transient scenarios to prevent damage to the heated surfaces (membrane walls, tube bundles or fuel rods). In transient processes, the state of the art method of calculating the heat transfer coefficients is using a multitude of different steady-state correlations for the momentarily existing local parameters for each time step. This approach does not necessarily reflect the different cases that may lead to a significant variation of the heat transfer coefficients and shows gaps in the individual ranges of validity. An algorithm was implemented to calculate the transient behavior of steam generators during load changes. It is used to assess existing correlations for transient heat transfer calculations. It is also desirable to validate the calculation using experimental data. By the use of a new full-scale supercritical thermo-hydraulic test rig, experimental data is obtained to describe the transient phenomena under dynamic boundary conditions as mentioned above and to serve for validation of transient steam generator calculations. Aiming to improve correlations for the prediction of the onset of deteriorated heat transfer in both, stationary and transient cases the test rig was specially designed for this task. It is a closed loop design with a directly electrically heated evaporation tube, the total heating power of the evaporator tube and the preheater is 1MW. To allow a big range of parameters, including supercritical pressures, the maximum pressure rating is 380 bar. The measurements contain the most important extrinsic thermo-hydraulic parameters. Moreover, a high geometric resolution allows to accurately predict the local heat transfer coefficients and fluid enthalpies.

Keywords: departure from nucleate boiling, deteriorated heat transfer, dryout, supercritical working fluid, transient operation of steam generators

Procedia PDF Downloads 217

Authors: Kerstin Grunden, Ann Svensson, Berit Forsman, Christina Karlsson, Ayman Obeid

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The research question of the article is to explore whether the dialogue meetings method could be relevant for reflective learning among researchers and practitioners when welfare technology should be implemented in municipalities, or not. A testbed was planned to be implemented in a retirement home in a Swedish municipality, and the practitioners worked with a pre-study of that testbed. In the article, the dialogue between the researchers and the practitioners in the dialogue meetings is described and analyzed. The potential of dialogue meetings as an arena for learning and reflection among researchers and practitioners is discussed. The research methodology approach is participatory action research with mixed methods (dialogue meetings, focus groups, participant observations). The main findings from the dialogue meetings were that the researchers learned more about the use of traditional research methods, and the practitioners learned more about how they could improve their use of the methods to facilitate change processes in their organization. These findings have the potential both for the researchers and the practitioners to result in more relevant use of research methods in change processes in organizations. It is concluded that dialogue meetings could be relevant for reflective learning among researchers and practitioners when welfare technology should be implemented in a health care organization.

Keywords: dialogue meetings, implementation, reflection, test bed, welfare technology, participatory action research

Procedia PDF Downloads 138