Search results for: base damage index

Authors: K. Azimzadeh, S. Rasouli

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The present study investigates whether malondialdehyde (MDA) and heat shock protein-27 (HSP-27) are altered in sheep with cystic echinococcosis (CE). For this purpose, forty parasitized and thirty healthy sheep were selected based on severe cystic form observation in liver and lack of blood parasite along with no cystic conformation in carcass respectively. The results revealed a significant decrease (p<0.01) in albumin (Alb) and total plasma protein (TPP) and a significant increase (p<0.01) in HSP-27, MDA, total bilirubin and unconjugated bilirubin in the infected group compared with healthy ones.The results indicate low levels of TPP and Alb reveal liver damage in suffered sheep and MDA elevation demonstrates oxidative stress in infected group. In addition, HSP-27 enhancement may attribute to disease-induced stress conditions.

Keywords: malondialdehyde, heat shock protein-27, Echinococcosis, blood parasites

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Authors: Jeong-Hwan Choi, Hyo-Sang Park, Tae-Hyung Lee

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The transmission tower is one of the crucial lifeline structures in a modern society, and it needs to be protected against extreme loading conditions. However, the transmission tower is a very complex structure and, therefore, it is very difficult to simulate the actual damage and the collapse behavior of the tower structure. In this study, the actual collapse behavior of the transmission tower due to lateral loading conditions such as wind load is evaluated through the computational simulation. For that, a progressive collapse procedure is applied to the simulation. In this procedure, after running the simulation, if a member of the tower structure fails, the failed member is removed and the simulation run again. The 154kV transmission tower is selected for this study. The simulation is performed by nonlinear static analysis procedure, namely pushover analysis, using OpenSEES, an earthquake simulation platform. Three-dimensional finite element models of those towers are developed.

Keywords: transmission tower, OpenSEES, pushover, progressive collapse

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Authors: Mohamed Albordini

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Bruises in apples affect the quality and acceptance of the apples and consumers’ willingness to accept apples after harvest, transport and storage. This paper seeks to analyze the impact of various drop heights on bruising when apples are dropped on structural steel, material that is frequently used in fruits pallets. In this study, 27 simulations were carried out using SolidWorks at three drop heights, including 500 mm, 1000 mm and 1500 mm, and nine types of trays to determine the stress. The results reveal that the level of bruising rises with the increase in drop height and that stress impact velocity and surface hardness are decisive for it. Among the nine designs of the tray, the tray design 1 was the best one in terms of least stress measured at different drop heights. The findings imply the desirability of minimizing drop height and increasing packaging to reduce mechanical damage, increase apple quality, and increase shelf life.

Keywords: bruising, apple, SolidWorks, drop test

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Authors: Azzah Aldeghather, Sara Alkhodair

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In the modern urban planning and architecture landscape, with western ideologies and styles becoming the mainstay of experience and definitions globally, the Islamic world requires a methodology that defines its expression, which transcends cultural, societal, and national styles. This paper will propose a methodology as an objective system to define, evaluate and apply traditional Islamic knowledge to Islamic urban planning and architecture, providing the Islamic world with a system to manifest its approach to design. The methodology is expressed as Four Pillars which are based on traditional meanings of Arab words roughly translated as Pillar One: The Principles (Al Mabade’), Pillar Two: The Foundations (Al Asas), Pillar Three: The Purpose (Al Ghaya), Pillar Four: Presence (Al Hadara). Pillar One: (The Principles) expresses the unification (Tawheed) pillar of Islam: “There is no God but God” and is comprised of seven principles listed as: 1. Human values (Qiyam Al Insan), 2. Universal language as sacred geometry, 3. Fortitude© and Benefitability©, 4. Balance and Integration: conjoining the opposites, 5. Man, time, and place, 6. Body, mind, spirit, and essence, 7. Unity of design expression to achieve unity, harmony, and security in design. Pillar Two: The Foundations is based on two foundations: “Muhammad is the Prophet of God” and his relationship to the renaming of Medina City as a prototypical city or place, which defines a center space for collection conjoined by an analysis of the Medina Charter as a base for the humanistic design. Pillar Three: The Purpose (Al Ghaya) is comprised of four criteria: The naming of the design as a title, the intention of the design as an end goal, the reasoning behind the design, and the priorities of expression. Pillar Four: Presence (Al Hadara) is usually translated as a civilization; in Arabic, the root of Hadara is to be present. This has five primary definitions utilized to express the act of design: Wisdom (Hikma) as a philosophical concept, Identity (Hawiya) of the form, and Dialogue (Hiwar), which are the requirements of the project vis-a-vis what the designer wishes to convey, Expression (Al Ta’abeer) the designer wishes to apply, and Resources (Mawarid) available. The Proposal will provide examples, where applicable, of past and present designs that exemplify the manifestation of the Pillars. The proposed methodology endeavors to return Islamic urban planning and architecture design to its a priori position as a leading design expression adaptable to any place, time, and cultural expression while providing a base for analysis that transcends the concept of style and external form as a definition and expresses the singularity of the esoteric “Spiritual” aspects in a rational, principled, and logical manner clearly addressed in Islam’s essence.

Keywords: Islamic architecture, Islamic design, Islamic urban planning, principles of Islamic design

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Authors: Harpreet Kaur, Er. Arjun, Kirandeep Kaur, P. K. Mittal

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Simulation of a human body from a 20% gelatin & 80% water mixture is examined from a wound ballistics point of view. Parameters such as incapacitation energy & temporary to permanent cavity size & tools of hydrodynamics have been employed to arrive at a model of the human body similar to the one adopted by NATO. Calculations using equations of motion yield a value of 339 µs in which a temporary cavity with maximum size settles down to a permanent cavity. This occurs for 10mm size bullets & settles down to a permanent cavity in the case of 4 different bullets, i.e., 5.45, 5.56, 7.62,10 mm sizes. The obtained results are in excellent agreement with the body as a right circular cylinder of 15 cm height & 10 cm diameter. An effort is made here in this work to present a sound theoretical base to parameters commonly used in wound ballistics from field experience discussed by Col Coats & Major Beyer.

Keywords: gelatine, gunshot, hydrodynamic model, oscillation time, temporary and permanent cavity, wound ballistics

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Authors: Abanob Nady Wasef Moawed

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In more complicated systems, inclusive of automotive gearboxes, a rigorous remedy of the data is essential because there are several transferring elements (gears, bearings, shafts, and many others.), and in this way, there are numerous viable sources of mistakes and also noise. The fundamental goal of these elements are the detection of damage in car gearbox. The detection strategies used are the wavelet technique, the bispectrum, advanced filtering techniques (selective filtering) of vibrational alerts and mathematical morphology. Gearbox vibration assessments were achieved (gearboxes in proper circumstance and with defects) of a manufacturing line of a huge car assembler. The vibration indicators have acquired the use of five accelerometers in distinct positions of the sample. The effects acquired using the kurtosis, bispectrum, wavelet and mathematical morphology confirmed that it's far possible to identify the lifestyles of defects in automobile gearboxes.

Keywords: 3D-shaped electronics, electronic components, thermoforming, component positioningautomotive gearbox, mathematical morphology, wavelet, bispectrum

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Authors: Seyed Mahdi Jameii

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Underwater wireless sensor networks have been attracting the interest of many ‎researchers lately, and the past three decades have beheld the rapid progress of ‎underwater acoustic communication. One of the major problems in underwater wireless ‎sensor networks is how to transfer data from the moving node to the base stations and ‎choose the optimized route for data transmission. Secure routing in underwater ‎wireless sensor network (UWCNs) is necessary for packet delivery. Some routing ‎protocols are proposed for underwater wireless sensor networks. However, a few ‎researches have been done on secure routing in underwater sensor networks. In this ‎article, a secure routing protocol is provided to resist against wormhole and sybil ‎attacks. The results indicated acceptable performance in terms of increasing the packet ‎delivery ratio with regards to the attacks, increasing network lifetime by creating ‎balance in the network energy consumption, high detection rates against the attacks, ‎and low-end to end delay.‎

Keywords: attacks, routing, security, underwater wireless sensor networks

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Authors: Ferrah F., Baheddi M.

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This study relates to how water content in some clay soils affects their structure by increasing or decreasing the volume. These cyclic phenomena of swelling-shrinkage cause parasitic stresses in structures and at the foundation. These stresses create damage in buildings, highways, pavements, airports and structures lightly loaded. This study was conducted on soil from a site near the hospital of N'gaous (Batna), whose soil is at the origin of cracks in the filler walls of the hospital. After a few years of exploitation, and according to the findings of experts in subdivision of construction and urbanism (SUCH), cracks appeared just after the heavy rains that the region experienced in 1987. Our study shows the need to become aware of the importance of damages occasioned by swellings by adopting construction techniques to solve this problem. The study is to determine a methodology to take into account the effects of swelling in calculating long-term foundations.

Keywords: clay, swelling, shrinkage, swelling pressure, compressibility

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Authors: Xi Yang, Bulent Chavdar, Alan Vonseggern, Taylan Altan

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Fracture in hot precision forging of engine valves was investigated in this paper. The entire valve forging procedure was described and the possible cause of the fracture was proposed. Finite Element simulation was conducted for the forging process, with commercial Finite Element code DEFORMTM. The effects of material properties, the effect of strain rate and temperature were considered in the FE simulation. Two fracture criteria were discussed and compared, based on the accuracy and reliability of the FE simulation results. The selected criterion predicted the fracture location and shows the trend of damage increasing with good accuracy, which matches the experimental observation. Additional modification of the punch shapes was proposed to further reduce the tendency of fracture in forging. Finite Element comparison shows a great potential of such application in the mass production.

Keywords: hotforging, engine valve, fracture, tooling

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Authors: Leonard Simoni, Ilir Alimehmeti, Ervina Shirka, Endri Hasimi, Ndricim Kallashi, Verona Beka, Suerta Kabili, Artan Goda

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Background: Diabetes Mellitus type 2, small vessel calibre, stented length of vessel, complex lesion morphology, and prior bypass surgery have resulted risk factors for In-Stent Restenosis (ISR). However, there are some contradictory results about body mass index (BMI) as a risk factor for ISR. Purpose: We want to identify clinical, lesional and procedural factors that can predict clinical ISR in our patients. Methods: Were enrolled 759 patients who underwent first-time elective PCI with Bare Metal Stents (BMS) from September 2011 to December 2013 in our Department of Cardiology and followed them for at least 1.5 years with a median of 862 days (2 years and 4 months). Only the patients re-admitted with ischemic heart disease underwent control coronary angiography but no routine angiographic control was performed. Patients were categorized in ISR and non-ISR groups and compared between them. Multivariate analysis - Binary Logistic Regression: Forward Conditional Method was used to identify independent predictive risk factors. P was considered statistically significant when <0.05. Results: ISR compared to non-ISR individuals had a significantly lower BMI (25.7±3.3 vs. 26.9±3.7, p=0.004), higher risk anatomy (LM + 3-vessel CAD) (23% vs. 14%, p=0.03), higher number of stents/person used (2.1±1.1 vs. 1.75±0.96, p=0.004), greater length of stents/person used (39.3±21.6 vs. 33.3±18.5, p=0.01), and a lower use of clopidogrel and ASA (together) (95% vs. 99%, p=0.012). They also had a higher, although not statistically significant, prevalence of Diabetes Mellitus (42% vs. 32%, p=0.072) and a greater number of treated vessels (1.36±0.5 vs. 1.26±0.5, p=0.08). In the multivariate analysis, Diabetes Mellitus type 2 and multiple stents used were independent predictors risk factors for In-Stent Restenosis, OR 1.66 [1.03-2.68], p=0.039, and OR 1.44 [1.16-1.78,] p=0.001, respectively. On the other side higher BMI and use of clopidogrel and ASA together resulted protective factors OR 0.88 [0.81-0.95], p=0.001 and OR 0.2 [0.06-0.72] p=0.013, respectively. Conclusion: Diabetes Mellitus and multiple stents are strong predictive risk factors, whereas the use of clopidogrel and ASA together are protective factors for clinical In-Stent Restenosis. Paradoxically High BMI is a protective factor for In-stent Restenosis, probably related to a larger diameter of vessels and consequently a larger diameter of stents implanted in these patients. Further studies are needed to clarify this finding.

Keywords: body mass index, diabetes mellitus, in-stent restenosis, percutaneous coronary intervention

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Authors: Farah Lazzali, Yamina Ait Meziane

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Recent earthquakes in Algeria have demonstrated the need for seismic risk reduction. In fact, the latest major earthquake that affected the Algiers-Boumerdes region in 2003 caused excessive levels of loss of life and property. Economic, social and environmental damage were also experienced. During the three days following the event, a relatively weak coordination of public authority was noted. Many localities did not receive any relief due to lack of information from concerned authorities and delay in connecting damaged roads. Following this event, Algerian government and civil society has recognized the urgent need for an appropriate and immediate seismic risk mitigation strategy. This paper describes procedures for emergency response following past earthquakes in Algeria and provides a brief review of risk mitigation activities since 1980. The paper also aims to provide measures to reduce earthquake risk through general strategy and practical implementation of the mitigation actions.

Keywords: earthquake, hazard, prevention, strategy, risk reduction

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Authors: Xiquan Weng, Chaoge Wang, Guoqin Xu, Wentao Lin

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Objective: Cold exposure and exercise serve as two powerful physiological stimuli to launch the conversion of fat-accumulating white adipose tissue (WAT) into energy-dissipating brown adipose tissue (BAT). So far, it remains to be elucidated whether exercise plus cold exposure can produce an addictive effect on promoting WAT browning. Methods: 64 SD rats were subjected to high-fat and high-sugar diets for 9-week and successfully established an obesity model. They were randomly divided into 8 groups: normal control group (NC), normal exercise group (NE), continuous cold control group (CC), continuous cold exercise group (CE), intermittent cold control group (IC) and intermittent cold exercise group (IE). For continuous cold exposure, the rats stayed in a cold environment all day; For intermittent cold exposure, the rats were exposed to cold for only 4h per day. The protocol for treadmill exercises were as follows: 25m/min (speed), 0°C (slope), 30mins each time, an interval for 10 mins between two exercises, twice/two days, lasting for 5 weeks. Sampling were conducted on the 5th weekend. The body length and weight of the rats were measured, and the Lee's index was calculated. The visceral fat rate (VFR), subcutaneous fat rate (SFR), brown fat rate (BrFR) and body fat rate (BoFR) were measured by Micro-CT LCT200, and the expression of UCP1 protein in inguinal fat was examined by Western-blot. SPSS 22.0 was used for statistical analysis of the experimental results, and the ANOVA analysis was performed between groups (P < 0.05 was significant). Results: (1) Compared with the NC group, the weight of obese rats was significantly declined in the NE, CE and IE groups (P < 0.05), the Lee's index of obese rats significantly declined in the CE group (P < 0.05). Compared with the NE group, the weight of obese rats was significantly declined in the CE and IE groups (P < 0.05). (2)Compared with the NC group, the VFR and BoFR of the rats significantly declined in the NE, CE and IE groups (P < 0.05), the SFR of the rats significantly declined in the CE and IE groups (P < 0.05), and the BFR of the rats was significantly higher in the CC and IC groups (P < 0.05), respectively. Compared with the NE group, the VFR and BoFR of the rats significantly declined in the CE group (P < 0.05), the SFR of the rats was significantly higher in the CC and IS groups (P < 0.05), and the BrFR of the rats was significantly higher in the IC group (P < 0.05). (3)Compared with the NC group, the up-regulation of UCP1 protein expression in the inguinal fat of the rats was significant in the NE, CC, CE, IC and IE groups (P < 0.05). Compared with the NE group, the up-regulation of UCP1 protein expression in the inguinal fat of the rats was significant in the CC, CE and IE groups (P < 0.05). Conclusions: Exercise in the continuous and intermittent cold, especially in the former, can effectively decline the weight and body fat rate of obese rats. This is related to the effect of cold and exercise on the browning of white fat in rats.

Keywords: cold, browning of white fat, exercise, obesity

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Authors: Jatin Kumar Choudhary, Naren Rayala, Abbas Eslami Kiasari, Fahimeh Jafari

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The Great Britain has one of the safest road networks in the world. However, the consequences of any death or serious injury are devastating for loved ones, as well as for those who help the severely injured. This paper aims to analyse the Great Britain's road safety situation and show the response measures for areas where the total damage caused by accidents can be significantly and quickly reduced. In this paper, we do an exploratory data analysis using STATS19 data. For the past 30 years, the UK has had a good record in reducing fatalities. The UK ranked third based on the number of road deaths per million inhabitants. There were around 165,000 accidents reported in the Great Britain in 2009 and it has been decreasing every year until 2019 which is under 120,000. The government continues to scale back road deaths empowering responsible road users by identifying and prosecuting the parameters that make the roads less safe.

Keywords: road safety, data analysis, openstreetmap, feature expanding.

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Authors: Ghazaleh Monazami Tehrani, Zhamak Monazami Tehrani, Raziyeh Hadavand

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Optimal site selection for temporary housing is one of the most important issues in crisis management. In this research, district six of Tehran city with high frequency and geographical distribution of earthquakes has been selected as a case study for positioning temporary housing after a probable earthquake. For achieving this goal this study tries to identify and evaluate distribution of location according to some standards such as compatible and incompatible urban land uses with utility of GIS and AHP. The results of this study show the most susceptible parts of this region in the center. According to the maps, north eastern part of Kordestan, Shaheed Gomnam intersection possesses the highest pixels value in terms of areal extent, therefore these places are recommended as an optimum site location for construction of emergency evacuation base.

Keywords: optimal site selection, temporary housing , crisis management, AHP, GIS

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Authors: Mahacine Amrani

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This paper aims at reviewing some Moroccan industrial applications of wavelet especially in the dynamic identification of a process model using Haar wavelet mother response. Two recent Moroccan study cases are described using dynamic data originated by a distillation column and an industrial polyethylene process plant. The purpose of the wavelet scheme is to build on-line dynamic models. In both case studies, a comparison is carried out between the Haar wavelet mother response model and a linear difference equation model. Finally it concludes, on the base of the comparison of the process performances and the best responses, which may be useful to create an estimated on-line internal model control and its application towards model-predictive controllers (MPC). All calculations were implemented using AutoSignal Software.

Keywords: process performance, model, wavelets, Haar, Moroccan

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Authors: Denys Sebov, Viktoriia Korotaieva, Kateryna Markina

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The clinical advantage of the multipill combination drugs administration (polypill-strategy) over single-component drugs (monopill-strategy) has been established in patients with comorbid arterial hypertension, heart failure, chronic coronary syndrome, diabetes. It was found that polypill-strategy provides better treatment adherence in 33.4% of the patients. It was proven a significant decrease in systolic and diastolic blood pressure, as well as a decrease in dispersion index due to the stability of the blood pressure profile in patients with the polypill-strategy treatment.

Keywords: polypill, artetial hypertension, cardiovascular disease, compliance

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Authors: Chor Yi Ng, Christine Kong, Loretta Teo, Stephen Yau, FC Cheung, TL Poon, Francis Lee

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Purpose: Dynamic conformal arc (DCA) and intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) are two treatment techniques commonly used for stereotactic radiosurgery/radiotherapy of cranial lesions. IMRT plans usually give better dose conformity while DCA plans have better dose fall off. Rapid dose fall off is preferred for radiotherapy of cranial lesions, but dose conformity is also important. For certain lesions, DCA plans have good conformity, while for some lesions, the conformity is just unacceptable with DCA plans, and IMRT has to be used. The choice between the two may not be apparent until each plan is prepared and dose indices compared. We described a deviation index (DI) which is a measurement of the deviation of the target shape from a sphere, and test its functionality to choose between the two techniques. Method and Materials: From May 2015 to May 2017, our institute has performed stereotactic radiotherapy for 105 patients treating a total of 115 lesions (64 DCA plans and 51 IMRT plans). Patients were treated with the Varian Clinac iX with HDMLC. Brainlab Exactrac system was used for patient setup. Treatment planning was done with Brainlab iPlan RT Dose (Version 4.5.4). DCA plans were found to give better dose fall off in terms of R50% (R50% (DCA) = 4.75 Vs R50% (IMRT) = 5.242) while IMRT plans have better conformity in terms of treatment volume ratio (TVR) (TVR(DCA) = 1.273 Vs TVR(IMRT) = 1.222). Deviation Index (DI) is proposed to better facilitate the choice between the two techniques. DI is the ratio of the volume of a 1 mm shell of the PTV and the volume of a 1 mm shell of a sphere of identical volume. DI will be close to 1 for a near spherical PTV while a large DI will imply a more irregular PTV. To study the functionality of DI, 23 cases were chosen with PTV volume ranged from 1.149 cc to 29.83 cc, and DI ranged from 1.059 to 3.202. For each case, we did a nine field IMRT plan with one pass optimization and a five arc DCA plan. Then the TVR and R50% of each case were compared and correlated with the DI. Results: For the 23 cases, TVRs and R50% of the DCA and IMRT plans were examined. The conformity for IMRT plans are better than DCA plans, with majority of the TVR(DCA)/TVR(IMRT) ratios > 1, values ranging from 0.877 to1.538. While the dose fall off is better for DCA plans, with majority of the R50%(DCA)/ R50%(IMRT) ratios < 1. Their correlations with DI were also studied. A strong positive correlation was found between the ratio of TVRs and DI (correlation coefficient = 0.839), while the correlation between the ratio of R50%s and DI was insignificant (correlation coefficient = -0.190). Conclusion: The results suggest DI can be used as a guide for choosing the planning technique. For DI greater than a certain value, we can expect the conformity for DCA plans to become unacceptably great, and IMRT will be the technique of choice.

Keywords: cranial lesions, dynamic conformal arc, IMRT, image guided radiotherapy, stereotactic radiotherapy

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Authors: Naveed Tahir, Adnan Maqsood

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Cognitive workload is a significant factor affecting user performance, and it has been broadly investigated for its application in ergonomics as well as in designing and optimizing effective human-machine interactions. It is mentally challenging to maneuver an aircraft, and pilots must control the aircraft and adequately communicate to the verbal-auditory stimuli. Several physiological measures have long been researched and used to demonstrate the cognitive workload. In our current study, we have summarized recent findings of the effectiveness, accuracy, and applicability of commonly used physiological measures in evaluating cognitive workload. We have also highlighted on the advancements in physiological measures. The strength and limitations of physiological measures have also been discussed to assess the cognitive workload of people, especially the aircrews in laboratory settings and real-time situations. We have presented the research findings of the physiological measures to base suggestions on the proper applications of the measures and settings demanding the use of single measure or their combinations.

Keywords: aircrew, cognitive workload, subjective measure, physiological measure, performance measure

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Authors: Hesham A. El Zouka, Mustafa M. Hosni ka

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The Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology has a diverse base of applications, but it is also prone to security threats. There are different types of security attacks that limit the range of the RFID applications. For example, deploying the RFID networks in insecure environments could make the RFID system vulnerable to many types of attacks such as spoofing attack, location traceability attack, physical attack and many more. Therefore, security is often an important requirement for RFID systems. In this paper, RFID mutual authentication protocol is implemented based on mobile agent technology and timestamp, which are used to provide strong authentication and integrity assurances to both the RFID readers and their corresponding RFID tags. The integration of mobile agent technology and timestamp provides promising results towards achieving this goal and towards reducing the security threats in RFID systems.

Keywords: RFID, security, authentication protocols, privacy, agent-based architecture, time-stamp, digital signature

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Authors: C. Román, M. Guevara, P. Salas, D. Duclap, J. Houenou, C. Poupon, J. F. Mangin, P. Guevara

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Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging (dMRI) allows the non-invasive study of human brain white matter. From diffusion data, it is possible to reconstruct fiber trajectories using tractography algorithms. Our previous work consists in an automatic method for the identification of short association bundles of the superficial white matter (SWM), based on a whole brain inter-subject hierarchical clustering applied to a HARDI database. The method finds representative clusters of similar fibers, belonging to a group of subjects, according to a distance measure between fibers, using a non-linear registration (DTI-TK). The algorithm performs an automatic labeling based on the anatomy, defined by a cortex mesh parcelated with FreeSurfer software. The clustering was applied to two independent groups of 37 subjects. The clusters resulting from both groups were compared using a restrictive threshold of mean distance between each pair of bundles from different groups, in order to keep reproducible connections. In the left hemisphere, 48 reproducible bundles were found, while 43 bundles where found in the right hemisphere. An inter-hemispheric bundle correspondence was then applied. The symmetric horizontal reflection of the right bundles was calculated, in order to obtain the position of them in the left hemisphere. Next, the intersection between similar bundles was calculated. The pairs of bundles with a fiber intersection percentage higher than 50% were considered similar. The similar bundles between both hemispheres were fused and symmetrized. We obtained 30 common bundles between hemispheres. An atlas was created with the resulting bundles and used to segment 78 new subjects from another HARDI database, using a distance threshold between 6-8 mm according to the bundle length. Finally, a laterality index was calculated based on the bundle volume. Seven bundles of the atlas presented right laterality (IP_SP_1i, LO_LO_1i, Op_Tr_0i, PoC_PoC_0i, PoC_PreC_2i, PreC_SM_0i, y RoMF_RoMF_0i) and one presented left laterality (IP_SP_2i), there is no tendency of lateralization according to the brain region. Many factors can affect the results, like tractography artifacts, subject registration, and bundle segmentation. Further studies are necessary in order to establish the influence of these factors and evaluate SWM laterality.

Keywords: dMRI, hierarchical clustering, lateralization index, tractography

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Authors: Jungbhin You, Taekyun Kim, Jongho Park, Sungnam Hong, Sun-Kyu Park

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Reinforced concrete has been mainly used in construction field because of excellent durability. However, it may lead to reduction of durability and safety due to corrosion of reinforcement steels according to damage of concrete surface. Recently, research of textile is ongoing to complement weakness of reinforced concrete. In previous research, only experiment of longitudinal length were performed. Therefore, in order to investigate the adhesion performance according to the lattice shape and the embedded length, the pull-out test was performed on the roving with parameter of the number of lateral reinforcement, the lateral reinforcement length and the lateral reinforcement spacing. As a result, the number of lateral reinforcement and the lateral reinforcement length did not significantly affect the load variation depending on the adhesion performance, and only the load analysis results according to the reinforcement spacing are affected.

Keywords: adhesion performance, lateral reinforcement, pull-out test, textile

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Authors: Hanady Hamdallah, H. Elyse Ireland, John H. H. Williams

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Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) is a food supplement that is reported to have multiple beneficial health effects, including being anti-carcinogenic, anti-inflammatory and anti-obesity. Animal studies have shown a significant anti-obesity effect of CLA, but results in humans were inconsistent, where some of the studies found an anti-obesity effect while other studies failed to find any decline in obesity markers after CLA supplementation. This meta-analysis aimed to determine if oral CLA supplementation has been shown to reduce obesity related markers in women. Pub Med, Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar were used to identify the eligible trials using two main searching strategies: the first one was to search eligible trials using keywords 'Conjugated linoleic acid', 'CLA', 'Women', and the second strategy was to extract the eligible trials from previously published systematic reviews and meta-analyses. The eligible trials were placebo control trials where women supplemented with CLA mixture in the form of oral capsules for 6 months or less. Also, these trials provided information about body composition expressed as body weight (BW), body mass index (BMI), total body fat (TBF), percentage body fat (BF %), and/ or lean body mass (LBM). The quality of each included study was assessed using both JADAD scale and an adapted CONSERT checklist. Meta-analysis of 8 eligible trials showed that CLA supplementation was significantly associated with reduced BW (Mean ± SD, 1.2 ± 0.26 kg, p < 0.001), BMI (0.6 ± 0.13kg/m², p < 0.001) and TBF (0.76 ± 0.26 kg, p= 0.003) in women, when supplemented over 6-16 weeks. Subgroup meta-analysis demonstrated a significant reduction in BW (1.29 ± 0.31 kg, p < 0.001), BMI (0.60 ± 0.14 kg/m², p < 0.001) and TBF (0.82 ± 0.28 kg, p= 0.003) in the trials that had recruited overweight-obese women. The second subgroup meta-analysis, that considered the menopausal status of the participants, found that CLA was significantly associated with reduced BW (1.35 ± 0.37 kg, p < 0.001; 1.05 ± 0.36 kg, p= 0.003) and BMI (0.50 ± 0.17 kg/m², p= 0.003; 0.75 ± 0.2 kg/m², p < 0.001) in both pre and post-menopausal age women, respectively. A reduction in TBF (1.09 ± 0.37 kg, p= 0.003) was only significant in post-menopausal women. Interestingly, CLA supplementation was associated with a significant reduction in BW (1.05 ± 0.35 kg, p< 0.003), BMI (0.73 ± 0.2 kg/m², p < 0.001) and TBF (1.07 ± 0.36 kg, p= 0.003) in the trials without lifestyle monitoring or interventions. No significant effect of CLA on LBM was detected in this meta-analysis. This meta-analysis suggests a moderate anti-obesity effect of CLA on BW, BMI and TBF reduction in women, when supplemented over 6-16 weeks, particularly in overweight-obese women and post-menopausal women. However, this finding requires careful interpretation due to several issues in the designs of available CLA supplementation trials. More well-designed trials are required to confirm this meta-analysis results.

Keywords: body composition, body mass index, body weight, conjugated linoleic acid

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Authors: Samuel E. Okere, Anthony E. Ataga

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Introduction: This paper evaluated the mineral compositions, disease resistance elicitors in Pleurotus ostratus (POWESMS), and Pleurotus tuber-regium water extract spent mushroom substrate (PTWESMS) on the growth, yield, and management of cassava mosaic disease. Materials and Methods: The cassava plantlet (tms 98/0505) were generated through meristem tip culture at the Tissue Culture Laboratory, National Root Crop Research Institute, Umudike before they were transferred to the screen house, University of Port Harcourt Research Farm. The minerals and elicitors contained in the two spent mushroom substrates were evaluated using standard procedures. The treatments for this investigation comprised cassava plants treated with POWESMS, PTWESMS, and untreated cassava as control, which were inoculated with viral inoculum seven days after treatment application. The experiment was laid out in a completely randomized block design with 3 replicates. The data generated were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA). Means were separated using Fishers Least Significant Difference at p=0.05. Results: The results obtained revealed that POWESMS contained 19.3, 0.52, and 0.1g/200g substrate of carbohydrate polymers, glycoproteins, and lipid molecules elicitors respectively while it also contained 3.17, 212.1, 17.9,21.8, 58.8 and 111.0 mg/100g substrate for N, P, K, Na, Mg and Ca respectively. Further, PTWESMS contain 1.6, 0.04, and 0.2g/200g of the substrate as carbohydrate polymers, glycoprotein, and lipid respectively; the minerals contained in this substrate were 3.4, 204.8, 8.9, 24.2, 32.2 and 105.5 mg respectively for N, P, K, Na, and Ca. There were also significant differences in the mean values of the number of storage roots, root length, fresh root weight, fresh weight plant biomass, root girth, and whole plant dry biomass, but no significant difference was recorded for harvest index. The result also revealed significant differences in mean values of disease severity index evaluated at 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, 24, and 28 weeks after inoculation (WAI). Conclusion: The aqueous extract of these spent mushrooms substrate have shown outstanding prospect in managing cassava mosaic disease and also improvement in growth and yield of cassava due to the high level of the minerals and elicitors they contain when compared with the control. However, more work is recommended, especially in understanding the mechanism of this induced resistance.

Keywords: characterization, elicitors, mosaic, mushroom

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Authors: Salete Martins Alves, José Josemar de Oliveira Junior

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The current efforts on design of lubricants are based in attending the new requirement of modern equipment with the focus on the choice of base oil and additives. Nowadays, there are different types of lubricant oils’ bases, such as mineral oils, synthetic oils, re-refined oils and vegetable oils. The lubrication in the boundary condition is controlled mainly by EP additives that interact with the surface forming very thin films. Therefore, the study’s goal is to evaluate the action of three EP additives, with different percentage of sulfur, on friction and wear reduction. They were evaluated in mineral and synthetic oils. Lubricants were prepared with synthetic and mineral oils and added 3 % and 5 % of EP additives. The friction and wear characteristics were studied using HFRR test. In this test, a normal load of 10 N was applied at a frequency of 20 Hz. The analysis of results has appointed that the percentage of sulfur in mineral oil has influenced on wear reduction. However, synthetic oil had good performance with low sulfur content.

Keywords: boundary lubrication, EP additives, sulfur, wear

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Authors: Emmanuel O. Ezim, Idowu A. Olayinka, Michael Oladunjoye, Izuchukwu I. Obiadi

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Monitoring of reservoir properties prior to well placements and production is a requirement for optimisation and efficient oil and gas production. This is usually done using well log analyses and 3-D seismic, which are often prone to errors. However, 4-D (Time-lapse) seismic, incorporating numerous 3-D seismic surveys of the same field with the same acquisition parameters, which portrays the transient changes in the reservoir due to production effects over time, could be utilised because it generates better resolution. There is, however dearth of information on the applicability of this approach in the Niger Delta. This study was therefore designed to apply 4-D seismic, well-log and geologic data in monitoring of reservoirs in the EK field of the Niger Delta. It aimed at locating bypassed accumulations and ensuring effective reservoir management. The Field (EK) covers an area of about 1200km2 belonging to the early (18ma) Miocene. Data covering two 4-D vintages acquired over a fifteen-year interval were obtained from oil companies operating in the field. The data were analysed to determine the seismic structures, horizons, Well-to-Seismic Tie (WST), and wavelets. Well, logs and production history data from fifteen selected wells were also collected from the Oil companies. Formation evaluation, petrophysical analysis and inversion alongside geological data were undertaken using Petrel, Shell-nDi, Techlog and Jason Software. Well-to-seismic tie, formation evaluation and saturation monitoring using petrophysical and geological data and software were used to find bypassed hydrocarbon prospects. The seismic vintages were interpreted, and the amounts of change in the reservoir were defined by the differences in Acoustic Impedance (AI) inversions of the base and the monitor seismic. AI rock properties were estimated from all the seismic amplitudes using controlled sparse-spike inversion. The estimated rock properties were used to produce AI maps. The structural analysis showed the dominance of NW-SE trending rollover collapsed-crest anticlines in EK with hydrocarbons trapped northwards. There were good ties in wells EK 27, 39. Analysed wavelets revealed consistent amplitude and phase for the WST; hence, a good match between the inverted impedance and the good data. Evidence of large pay thickness, ranging from 2875ms (11420 TVDSS-ft) to about 2965ms, were found around EK 39 well with good yield properties. The comparison between the base of the AI and the current monitor and the generated AI maps revealed zones of untapped hydrocarbons as well as assisted in determining fluids movement. The inverted sections through EK 27, 39 (within 3101 m - 3695 m), indicated depletion in the reservoirs. The extent of the present non-uniform gas-oil contact and oil-water contact movements were from 3554 to 3575 m. The 4-D seismic approach led to better reservoir characterization, well development and the location of deeper and bypassed hydrocarbon reservoirs.

Keywords: reservoir monitoring, 4-D seismic, well placements, petrophysical analysis, Niger delta basin

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Authors: Xing Feng, Yuanbin Li

Abstract:

Oil spills at sea can cause severe marine environmental damage, including bringing huge hazards to living resources and human beings. In situ burning or chemical dispersant methods can be used to handle the oil spills sometimes, but these approaches will bring secondary pollution and fail in some situations. Oil recovery techniques have also been developed to recover oil using oil skimmer equipment installed on ships, while the hydrodynamic process of the oil flowing through the oil skimmer is very complicated and important for evaluating the recovery efficiency. Based on this, a two-dimensional numerical simulation platform for simulating the hydrodynamic process of the oil flowing through the oil skimmer is established based on the Navier-Stokes equations for viscous, incompressible fluid. Finally, the influence of the design of the flow channel in the curved plane oil skimmer on the hydrodynamic process of the oil flowing through the oil skimmer is investigated based on the established simulation platform.

Keywords: curved plane oil skimmer, flow channel, CFD, VOF

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Authors: Na Young Kim

Abstract:

This is a study on the relation between the introduction bill of the Whistle Blowing Act and the CPI (Corruption Perception Index) from 1998 to 2019. It shows that the degree of corruption can be relatively lowered when WBA is introduced, and the system is matured. And when WBA was introduced at the national level and matured, it was found that it could have a greater impact on corruption. Secondly, it shows that OECD countries may have relatively low levels of corruption. In addition to the two variables representing democracy, when additional control variables (GDP (economic power), population size, HDI (education level), etc.) are controlled under the same conditions, the degree of corruption in countries with high political rights can be low (it means clean), while those with high civil freedom can be serious (it means not clean).

Keywords: Whistle Blowing Act, anti-corruption, CPI, GDP

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Authors: M. Esmailian, M. Shakouri, A. Mottahedi, S. G. Shabestari

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Heat treatable aluminium alloys such as 7075 and 7055, because of high strength and low density, are used widely in aircraft industry. For best mechanical properties, T6 heat treatment has recommended for this regards, but this temper treatment is sensitive to corrosion induced and Stress Corrosion Cracking (SCC) damage. For improving this property, the over-aging treatment (T7) applies to this alloy, but it decreases the mechanical properties up to 30 percent. Hence, to increase the mechanical properties, without any remarkable decrease in SCC resistant, Retrogression and Re-Aging (RRA) heat treatment is used. This treatment performs in a relatively short time. In this paper, the RRA heat treatment was applied to 7055 aluminum alloy and then effect of RRA time on the mechanical properties of 7055 has been investigated. The results show that the 40 minute time is suitable time for retrogression of 7055 aluminum alloy and ultimate strength increases up to 625MPa.

Keywords: 7055 Aluminum alloy, mechanical properties, SCC resistance, heat Treatment

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Authors: Sibongiseni Thabethe, Ian Korir

Abstract:

The effective management of spent fuel pool (SFP) safety has been raised as one of the emerging issues to further enhance nuclear installation safety after the Fukushima accident on March 11, 2011. Before then, SFP safety-related issues have been mainly focused on (a) controlling the configuration of the fuel assemblies in the pool with no loss of pool coolants and (b) ensuring adequate pool storage space to prevent fuel criticality owing to chain reactions of the fission products and the ability for neutron absorption to keep the fuel cool. A probabilistic safety (PSA) assessment was performed using the systems analysis program for hands-on integrated reliability evaluations (SAPHIRE) computer code. Event and fault tree analysis was done to develop a PSA model for the Koeberg SFP. We present preliminary PSA results of events that lead to boiling and cause fuel uncovering, resulting in possible fuel damage in the Koeberg SFP.

Keywords: computer code, fuel assemblies, probabilistic risk assessment, spent fuel pool

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Authors: Ksenia Siadkowska, Łukasz Grabowski, Michał Gęca

Abstract:

The dynamic development of photovoltaics in the 21st century has resulted in more possibilities for using photovoltaic systems. In order to reduce emissions, a retrofitting of vehicles with photovoltaic modules has recently become increasingly popular. Preparing such an installation, however, requires professional knowledge and compliance with safety rules. The paper discusses the advantages and disadvantages of some types of flexible photovoltaic modules that can be applied to mobile installations, types and causes of damage to photovoltaic modules as well as the most frequent types of misinstallation. Our attention has been drawn to the risk of fire caused by misintallation or defective insulation and the need to closely monitor mobile installations, for example by a non-destructive testing with a thermal imaging camera. The paper also presents certain selected results of the research conducted at the Lublin University of Technology. This work has been financed by the Polish National Centre for Research and Development, under Grant Agreement No. PBS2/A6/16/2013.

Keywords: flexible PV module, mobile PV module, photovoltaic module, photovoltaic

Procedia PDF Downloads 254