Search results for: Mohammad Tariqul Islam
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 1861

Search results for: Mohammad Tariqul Islam

1591 The Influence of Wealth on the Enjoyment of Role and Status of the Rural Elderly in Bangladesh

Authors: Aminul Islam

Abstract:

The issue of aging is now an emerging aspect of all over the world. Both the rural and urban societies of our country are not immune from this problem. This study mainly explored the influence of wealth on the enjoyment of role and status of the elderly in rural Bangladesh. It is based on empirical findings from the four villages of Gopalnagar union of Dhunat upazila of Bogra district. The study depicted that wealth has much influence regarding the enjoyment of role and status. Mixed approach has been given priority in this study. Survey, observation, case study and life history methods and focus group discussion technique have also been used in this study. Data have been collected from both primary and secondary sources. Simple random sampling procedure has also been followed in this study.

Keywords: wealth, role status, elderly

Procedia PDF Downloads 390
1590 Design and Analysis of Semi-Active Isolation System in Low Frequency Excitation Region for Vehicle Seat to Reduce Discomfort

Authors: Andrea Tonoli, Nicola Amati, Maria Cavatorta, Reza Mirsanei, Behzad Mozaffari, Hamed Ahani, Akbar Karamihafshejani, Mohammad Ghazivakili, Mohammad Abuabiah

Abstract:

The vibrations transmitted to the drivers and passengers through vehicle seat seriously effect on the level of their attention, fatigue and physical health and reduce the comfort and efficiency of the occupants. Recently, some researchers have focused on vibrations at low excitation frequency(0.5-5 Hz) which are considered to be the main risk factors for lumbar part of the backbone but they were not applicable to A and B-segment cars regarding to the size and weight. A semi-active system with two symmetric negative stiffness structures (NSS) in parallel to a positive stiffness structure and actuators has been proposed to attenuate low frequency excitation and makes system flexible regarding to different weight of passengers which is applicable for A and B-Segment cars. Here, the 3 degree of freedom system is considered, dynamic equation clearly is presented, then simulated in MATLAB in order to analysis of performance of the system. The design procedure is derived so that the resonance peak of frequency–response curve shift to the left, the isolating range is increased and especially, the peak of the frequency–response curve is minimized. According to ISO standard different class of road profile as an input is applied to the system to evaluate the performance of the system. To evaluate comfort issues, we extract the RMS value of the vertical acceleration acting on the passenger's body. Then apply the band-pass filter, which takes into account the human sensitivity to acceleration. According to ISO, this weighted acceleration is lower than 0.315 m/s^2, so the ride is considered as comfortable.

Keywords: low frequency excitation, negative stiffness, seat vehicle, vibration isolation

Procedia PDF Downloads 408
1589 Eating Behaviours in Islam and Mental Health: A Preventative Approach

Authors: Muhammad Rafiq, Lamae Zulfiqar, Nazish Idrees Chaudhary

Abstract:

A growing number of research focuses on healthy and unhealthy eating behaviors and their impact on health. It was intended to study the Islamic point of view on eating behavior, its impact on mental health and preventative strategies in the light of the Quran and Sunnah. Different articles and Islamic sayings related to eating behaviors and mental health were reviewed in detail. It was also revealed scientifically and through Islamic point of view that appropriate quantity, quality and timings of food have positive effects on mental health. Therefore, a 3Rs model of eating behaviors has been proposed.

Keywords: food intake, mental health, quality of food, quantity of food

Procedia PDF Downloads 195
1588 Study of the Genotoxic Potential of Plant Growth Regulator Ethephon

Authors: Mahshid Hodjat, Maryam Baeeri, Mohammad Amin Rezvanfar, Mohammad Abdollahi

Abstract:

Ethephon is one of the most widely used plant growth regulator in agriculture that its application has been increased in recent years. The toxicity of organophosphate compounds is mostly attributed to their potent inhibition of acetylcholinesterase and their involvement in neurodegenerative disease. Although there are few reports on butyrylcholinesterase inhibitory role of ethephon, still there is no evidence on neurotoxicity and genotoxicity of this compound. The aim of the current study is to assess the potential genotoxic effect of ethephon using two genotoxic endpoints; γH2AX expression and comet assay on embryonic murine fibroblast. γH2AX serves as an early and sensitive biomarker for evaluating the genotoxic effects of chemicals. Oxidative stress biomarkers, including intracellular reactive oxygen species, lipid peroxidation and antioxidant capacity were also examined. The results showed a significant increase in cell proliferation 24h post-treatment with 10, 40,160µg/ml ethephon. The γH2AX expression and γH2AX foci count per cell were increased at low concentration of ethephon that was concomitant with increased DNA damage break at 40 and 160 µg/ml as illustrated by increased comet tail moment. A significant increase in lipid peroxidation and ROS formation were observed at 160 µg/ml and higher doses. The results showed that low-dose of ethephon promoted cell proliferation while induce DNA damage, raising the possibility of ethephon mutagenicity. Ethephon-induced genotoxic effect of low dose might not related to oxidative damage. However, ethephon was found to increase oxidative stress at higher doses, lead to cellular cytotoxicity. Taken together, all data indicated that ethylene, deserves more attention as a plant regulator with potential genotoxicity for which appropriate control is needed to reduce its usage.

Keywords: ethephon, DNA damage, γH2AX, oxidative stress

Procedia PDF Downloads 281
1587 Immature Palm Tree Detection Using Morphological Filter for Palm Counting with High Resolution Satellite Image

Authors: Nur Nadhirah Rusyda Rosnan, Nursuhaili Najwa Masrol, Nurul Fatiha MD Nor, Mohammad Zafrullah Mohammad Salim, Sim Choon Cheak

Abstract:

Accurate inventories of oil palm planted areas are crucial for plantation management as this would impact the overall economy and production of oil. One of the technological advancements in the oil palm industry is semi-automated palm counting, which is replacing conventional manual palm counting via digitizing aerial imagery. Most of the semi-automated palm counting method that has been developed was limited to mature palms due to their ideal canopy size represented by satellite image. Therefore, immature palms were often left out since the size of the canopy is barely visible from satellite images. In this paper, an approach using a morphological filter and high-resolution satellite image is proposed to detect immature palm trees. This approach makes it possible to count the number of immature oil palm trees. The method begins with an erosion filter with an appropriate window size of 3m onto the high-resolution satellite image. The eroded image was further segmented using watershed segmentation to delineate immature palm tree regions. Then, local minimum detection was used because it is hypothesized that immature oil palm trees are located at the local minimum within an oil palm field setting in a grayscale image. The detection points generated from the local minimum are displaced to the center of the immature oil palm region and thinned. Only one detection point is left that represents a tree. The performance of the proposed method was evaluated on three subsets with slopes ranging from 0 to 20° and different planting designs, i.e., straight and terrace. The proposed method was able to achieve up to more than 90% accuracy when compared with the ground truth, with an overall F-measure score of up to 0.91.

Keywords: immature palm count, oil palm, precision agriculture, remote sensing

Procedia PDF Downloads 36
1586 Comparison of Different Hydrograph Routing Techniques in XPSTORM Modelling Software: A Case Study

Authors: Fatema Akram, Mohammad Golam Rasul, Mohammad Masud Kamal Khan, Md. Sharif Imam Ibne Amir

Abstract:

A variety of routing techniques are available to develop surface runoff hydrographs from rainfall. The selection of runoff routing method is very vital as it is directly related to the type of watershed and the required degree of accuracy. There are different modelling softwares available to explore the rainfall-runoff process in urban areas. XPSTORM, a link-node based, integrated storm-water modelling software, has been used in this study for developing surface runoff hydrograph for a Golf course area located in Rockhampton in Central Queensland in Australia. Four commonly used methods, namely SWMM runoff, Kinematic wave, Laurenson, and Time-Area are employed to generate runoff hydrograph for design storm of this study area. In runoff mode of XPSTORM, the rainfall, infiltration, evaporation and depression storage for sub-catchments were simulated and the runoff from the sub-catchment to collection node was calculated. The simulation results are presented, discussed and compared. The total surface runoff generated by SWMM runoff, Kinematic wave and Time-Area methods are found to be reasonably close, which indicates any of these methods can be used for developing runoff hydrograph of the study area. Laurenson method produces a comparatively less amount of surface runoff, however, it creates highest peak of surface runoff among all which may be suitable for hilly region. Although the Laurenson hydrograph technique is widely acceptable surface runoff routing technique in Queensland (Australia), extensive investigation is recommended with detailed topographic and hydrologic data in order to assess its suitability for use in the case study area.

Keywords: ARI, design storm, IFD, rainfall temporal pattern, routing techniques, surface runoff, XPSTORM

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1585 Carbon based Smart Materials: Functional Carbon for Lightweight Automotive Component 3D Printing

Authors: Mohammad M. Garmabia, Peyman Shahia, Jimi Tjonga, Mohini Saina

Abstract:

Flame retardant composite filaments with functional carbon in the composition were fabricated, and printed parts showed enhancedcrash resistance pproperties and imporved EMI shielding. The negligible mass difference after prolonged immersion in automobile chemicals revealed the outstanding performance of parts for under-the-hood high-temperature applications.

Keywords: FDM, crash worthy, EMI Shield, lightweight, automotive parts

Procedia PDF Downloads 71
1584 Post-Discharge Oral Nutritional Supplements Following Gastric Cancer Surgery: A systematic Review

Authors: Mohammad Mohammadi, Mohammad Pashmchi

Abstract:

Background: Malnutrition commonly develops and worsens following gastric cancer surgery, particularly after discharge, which is associated with adverse outcomes. Former studies have primarily focused on patients during their hospital stay period, and there is limited evidence regarding the recommendation of nutritional interventions for patients after discharge from the hospital following gastric cancer surgery. This review is aimed to evaluate the efficiency of post-discharge dietary counseling with oral nutritional supplements (ONS), and dietary counseling alone on post-surgical nutritional outcomes in patients undergoing gastric cancer surgery. Methods: The four databases of Embase, PubMed, web of science, and google scholar were searched up to November 2022 for relevant randomized controlled trials. The Cochrane Collaboration’s assessment tool for randomized trials was used to evaluate the quality of studies. Results: Compared to patients who only received dietary counseling, patients who received both dietary counseling and ONS had considerably higher SMI, BMI, and less weight loss and sarcopenia occurrence rate. The patients who had received dietary counseling and ONS had significantly lower risk of chemotherapy intolerance. No differences in the readmission rate between the two groups was found. In terms of the quality of life, concomitant dietary advice and ONS significantly was associated with lower appetite loss and fatigue rate, but there was no difference in the other outcomes between the two groups. Conclusions: Post-discharge dietary advice with ONS following gastric cancer surgery may improve skeletal muscle maintenance, nutritional outcomes, quality of life variables, and chemotherapy tolerance. This evidence supports the recommendation of post-discharge dietary advice with ONS for patients who underwent gastric cancer surgery.

Keywords: gastric cancer surgery, oral nutritional supplements, malnutrition, gastric cancer

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1583 Necessary Condition to Utilize Adaptive Control in Wind Turbine Systems to Improve Power System Stability

Authors: Javad Taherahmadi, Mohammad Jafarian, Mohammad Naser Asefi

Abstract:

The global capacity of wind power has dramatically increased in recent years. Therefore, improving the technology of wind turbines to take different advantages of this enormous potential in the power grid, could be interesting subject for scientists. The doubly-fed induction generator (DFIG) wind turbine is a popular system due to its many advantages such as the improved power quality, high energy efficiency and controllability, etc. With an increase in wind power penetration in the network and with regard to the flexible control of wind turbines, the use of wind turbine systems to improve the dynamic stability of power systems has been of significance importance for researchers. Subsynchronous oscillations are one of the important issues in the stability of power systems. Damping subsynchronous oscillations by using wind turbines has been studied in various research efforts, mainly by adding an auxiliary control loop to the control structure of the wind turbine. In most of the studies, this control loop is composed of linear blocks. In this paper, simple adaptive control is used for this purpose. In order to use an adaptive controller, the convergence of the controller should be verified. Since adaptive control parameters tend to optimum values in order to obtain optimum control performance, using this controller will help the wind turbines to have positive contribution in damping the network subsynchronous oscillations at different wind speeds and system operating points. In this paper, the application of simple adaptive control in DFIG wind turbine systems to improve the dynamic stability of power systems is studied and the essential condition for using this controller is considered. It is also shown that this controller has an insignificant effect on the dynamic stability of the wind turbine, itself.

Keywords: almost strictly positive real (ASPR), doubly-fed induction generator (DIFG), simple adaptive control (SAC), subsynchronous oscillations, wind turbine

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1582 Reversal of Testicular Damage and Subfertility by Resveratrol

Authors: Samy S. Eleawa, Mahmoud A. Alkhateeb, Fahaid H. Alhashem, Ismaeel bin-Jaliah, Hussein F. Sakr, Hesham M. Elrefaey, Abbas O. Elkarib, Mohammad A. Haidara, Abdullah S. Shatoor, Mohammad A. Khalil

Abstract:

This effect of Resveratrol (RES) against CdCl2- induced toxicity in the rat testes was investigated. Seven experimental groups of adult male rats were formulated as follows: A) Controls + NS, B) Control+ vehicle (saline solution of hydroxypropyl cyclodextrin), C) RES treated, D) CdCl2 +NS, E) CdCl2+ vehicle, F) RES followed by CdCl2 and M) CdCl2 followed by RES. At the end of the protocol, serum levels of FSH, LH, and testosterone were measured in all groups. Testicular levels of TBARS and Super Oxide Dismutase (SOD) activity were also measured. Epidydidimal semen analysis was performed and testicular expression of Bcl-2, p53 and Bax were assessed by RT-PCR. Also, histopathological changes of testes were examined microscopically and described. Pre and Post administration of RES in cadmium chloride-intoxicated rats improved semen parameters including count, motility, daily sperm production and morphology, increased serum concentrations of gonadotropins and testosterone, decreased testicular lipid peroxidation and increased SOD activity. Not only RES attenuated cadmium chloride induced testicular histopathology but was also able to protect against the onset of cadmium chloride testicular toxicity. Cadmium chloride downregulated the anti-apoptotic gene Bcl2 and upregulated the expression of both pro-apoptotic genes p53 and Bax. Resveratrol protected from and partially reversed cadmium chloride testicular via upregulation of Bcl2 and down regulation of p53 and Bax gene expression. Antioxidant activity of RES protects against cadmium chloride testicular toxicity and partially reverses its effect via upregulation of BCl2 and downregulation of p53 and Bax expression. These findings have far reaching implications on subfertility and impotency frequently seen in hypertensive as well as metabolic syndrome patients.

Keywords: resveratrol, cadmium, infertility, sperm, testis, metabolic syndrome

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1581 Congruences Induced by Certain Relations on Ag**-Groupoids

Authors: Faisal Yousafzai, Murad-ul-Islam Khan, Kar Ping Shum

Abstract:

We introduce the concept of partially inverse AG**-groupoids which is almost parallel to the concepts of E-inversive semigroups and E-inversive E-semigroups. Some characterization problems are provided on partially inverse AG**-groupoids. We give necessary and sufficient conditions for a partially inverse AG**-subgroupoid E to be a rectangular band. Furthermore, we determine the unitary congruence η on a partially inverse AG**-groupoid and show that each partially inverse AG**-groupoid possesses an idempotent separating congruence μ. We also study anti-separative commutative image of a locally associative AG**-groupoid. Finally, we give the concept of completely N-inverse AG**-groupoid and characterize a maximum idempotent separating congruence.

Keywords: AG**-groupoids, congruences, inverses, rectangular band

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1580 Tensile Strength of Asphalt Concrete Due to Moisture Conditioning

Authors: R. Islam, Rafiqul A. Tarefder

Abstract:

This study investigates the effect of moisture conditioning on the Indirect Tensile Strength (ITS) of asphalt concrete. As a first step, cylindrical samples of 100 mm diameter and 50 mm thick were prepared using a Superpave gyratory compactor. Next, the samples were conditioned using Moisture Induced Susceptibility Test (MIST) device at different numbers of moisture conditioning cycles. In the MIST device, samples are subjected water pressure through the sample pores cyclically. The MIST conditioned samples were tested for ITS. Results show that the ITS does not change significantly with MIST conditioning at the specific pressure and cycles adopted in this study.

Keywords: asphalt concrete, tensile strength, moisture, laboratory test

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1579 Illegal Immigrants of Bangladesh in Malaysia and Present Situation

Authors: Md. Zahidul Islam

Abstract:

Illegal immigrants’ problem is a big problem all over the world including America. Malaysia is also facing this problem. Nowadays, it is turned into a major problem for Malaysia. Many illegal immigrants are staying in Malaysia from different countries such as Bangladesh, Myanmar, India, Pakistan, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Philippine, Nigeria. This article is only focusing on the present situation of illegal immigrants of Bangladesh. The aim of this article is to highlight how the Bangladeshi nationals are becoming an illegal immigrant in Malaysia. In the same time, this article also tries to identify the present situation of Bangladeshi illegal immigrants in Malaysia. The research will adopt qualitative methods of research. Both countries have to find a solution to solve this problem.

Keywords: illegal immigrants, present situation, Bangladesh, Malaysia

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1578 Salt Scarcity and Crisis Solution in Islam Perspective

Authors: Taufik Nugroho, Firsty Dzainuurahmana, Tika Widiastuti

Abstract:

The polemic about the salt crisis re-emerged, this is a classic problem in Indonesia and is still a homework that is not finished yet. This salt crisis occurs due to low productivity of salt commodities that have not been able to meet domestic demand and lack of salt productivity caused by several factors. One of the biggest factors of the crisis is the weather anomaly that disrupts salt production, less supportive technology and price stability. This study will try to discuss the salt scarcity and crisis solution in Islamic view. As for the conclusion of this study is the need for equilibrium or balancing between demand and supply, need to optimize the role of the government as Hisbah to maintain the balance of market mechanisms and prepare the stock system of salt stock by buying farmers products at reasonable prices then storing them.

Keywords: crisis, Islamic solution, scarcity, salt

Procedia PDF Downloads 254
1577 Bioinformatics Identification of Rare Codon Clusters in Proteins Structure of HBV

Authors: Abdorrasoul Malekpour, Mohammad Ghorbani Mojtaba Mortazavi, Mohammadreza Fattahi, Mohammad Hassan Meshkibaf, Ali Fakhrzad, Saeid Salehi, Saeideh Zahedi, Amir Ahmadimoghaddam, Parviz Farzadnia Dr., Mohammadreza Hajyani Asl Bs

Abstract:

Hepatitis B as an infectious disease has eight main genotypes (A–H). The aim of this study is to Bioinformatically identify Rare Codon Clusters (RCC) in proteins structure of HBV. For detection of protein family accession numbers (Pfam) of HBV proteins; used of uni-prot database and Pfam search tool were used. Obtained Pfam IDs were analyzed in Sherlocc program and RCCs in HBV proteins were detected. In further, the structures of TrEMBL entries proteins studied in PDB database and 3D structures of the HBV proteins and locations of RCCs were visualized and studied using Swiss PDB Viewer software. Pfam search tool have found nine significant hits and 0 insignificant hits in 3 frames. Results of Pfams studied in the Sherlocc program show this program not identified RCCs in the external core antigen (PF08290) and truncated HBeAg protein (PF08290). By contrast the RCCs become identified in Hepatitis core antigen (PF00906) Large envelope protein S (PF00695), X protein (PF00739), DNA polymerase (viral) N-terminal domain (PF00242) and Protein P (Pf00336). In HBV genome, seven RCC identified that found in hepatitis core antigen, large envelope protein S and DNA polymerase proteins and proteins structures of TrEMBL entries sequences that reported in Sherlocc program outputs are not complete. Based on situation of RCC in structure of HBV proteins, it suggested those RCCs are important in HBV life cycle. We hoped that this study provide a new and deep perspective in protein research and drug design for treatment of HBV.

Keywords: rare codon clusters, hepatitis B virus, bioinformatic study, infectious disease

Procedia PDF Downloads 445
1576 Financial Market Turmoil and Performance of Islamic Equity Indices

Authors: Abul Shamsuddin

Abstract:

The Islamic stock market indices are constructed by screening out stocks that are incompatible with Islam’s prohibition of interest and certain lines of business. This study examines the effects of Islamic screening on the risk-return characteristics of Islamic vis-a-vis mainstream equity portfolios. We use data on Dow Jones Islamic market indices and FTSE Global Islamic indices over 1993-2013. We observe that Islamic equity indices outperform their mainstream counterparts in both raw and risk-adjusted returns. In addition, Islamic equity indices are more resilient to turbulence in international markets than that of their mainstream counterparts. The findings are robust across a variety of portfolio performance measures.

Keywords: Dow Jones Islamic market index, FTSE global Islamic index, ethical investment, finance

Procedia PDF Downloads 322
1575 Islamic Extremist Groups' Usage of Populism in Social Media to Radicalize Muslim Migrants in Europe

Authors: Muhammad Irfan

Abstract:

The rise of radicalization within Islam has spawned a new era of global terror. The battlefield Successes of ISIS and the Taliban are fuelled by an ideological war waged, largely and successfully, in the media arena. This research will examine how Islamic extremist groups are using media modalities and populist narratives to influence migrant Muslim populations in Europe towards extremism. In 2014, ISIS shocked the world in exporting horrifically graphic forms of violence on social media. Their Muslim support base was largely disgusted and reviled. In response, they reconfigured their narrative by introducing populist 'hooks', astutely portraying the Muslim populous as oppressed and exploited by unjust, corrupt autocratic regimes and Western power structures. Within this crucible of real and perceived oppression, hundreds of thousands of the most desperate, vulnerable and abused migrants left their homelands, risking their lives in the hope of finding peace, justice, and prosperity in Europe. Instead, many encountered social stigmatization, detention and/or discrimination for being illegal migrants, for lacking resources and for simply being Muslim. This research will examine how Islamic extremist groups are exploiting the disenfranchisement of these migrant populations and using populist messaging on social media to influence them towards violent extremism. ISIS, in particular, formulates specific encoded messages for newly-arriving Muslims in Europe, preying upon their vulnerability. Violence is posited, as a populist response, to the tyranny of European oppression. This research will analyze the factors and indicators which propel Muslim migrants along the spectrum from resilience to violence extremism. Expected outcomes are identification of factors which influence vulnerability towards violent extremism; an early-warning detection framework; predictive analysis models; and de-radicalization frameworks. This research will provide valuable tools (practical and policy level) for European governments, security stakeholders, communities, policy-makers, and educators; it is anticipated to contribute to a de-escalation of Islamic extremism globally.

Keywords: populism, radicalization, de-radicalization, social media, ISIS, Taliban, shariah, jihad, Islam, Europe, political communication, terrorism, migrants, refugees, extremism, global terror, predictive analysis, early warning detection, models, strategic communication, populist narratives, Islamic extremism

Procedia PDF Downloads 90
1574 Multilayer Perceptron Neural Network for Rainfall-Water Level Modeling

Authors: Thohidul Islam, Md. Hamidul Haque, Robin Kumar Biswas

Abstract:

Floods are one of the deadliest natural disasters which are very complex to model; however, machine learning is opening the door for more reliable and accurate flood prediction. In this research, a multilayer perceptron neural network (MLP) is developed to model the rainfall-water level relation, in a subtropical monsoon climatic region of the Bangladesh-India border. Our experiments show promising empirical results to forecast the water level for 1 day lead time. Our best performing MLP model achieves 98.7% coefficient of determination with lower model complexity which surpasses previously reported results on similar forecasting problems.

Keywords: flood forecasting, machine learning, multilayer perceptron network, regression

Procedia PDF Downloads 133
1573 Between AACR2 and RDA What Changes Occurs in Them

Authors: Ibrahim Abdullahi Mohammad

Abstract:

A library catalogue exists not only as an inventory of the collections of the particular library, but also as a retrieval device. It is provided to assist the library user in finding whatever information or information resources they may be looking for. The paper proposes that this location objective of the library catalogue can only be fulfilled, if the library catalogue is constructed, bearing in mind the information needs and searching behavior of the library user. Comparing AACR2 and RDA viz-a-viz the changes RDA has introduced into bibliographic standards, the paper tries to establish the level of viability of RDA in relation to AACR2.

Keywords: library catalogue, information retrieval, AACR2, RDA

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1572 Finite Volume Method in Loop Network in Hydraulic Transient

Authors: Hossain Samani, Mohammad Ehteram

Abstract:

In this paper, we consider finite volume method (FVM) in water hammer. We will simulate these techniques on a looped network with complex boundary conditions. After comparing methods, we see the FVM method as the best method. We compare the results of FVM with experimental data. Finite volume using staggered grid is applied for solving water hammer equations.

Keywords: hydraulic transient, water hammer, interpolation, non-liner interpolation

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1571 Stability of Pump Station Cavern in Chagrin Shale with Time

Authors: Mohammad Moridzadeh, Mohammad Djavid, Barry Doyle

Abstract:

An assessment of the long-term stability of a cavern in Chagrin shale excavated by the sequential excavation method was performed during and after construction. During the excavation of the cavern, deformations of rock mass were measured at the surface of excavation and within the rock mass by surface and deep measurement instruments. Rock deformations were measured during construction which appeared to result from the as-built excavation sequence that had potentially disturbed the rock and its behavior. Also some additional time dependent rock deformations were observed during and post excavation. Several opinions have been expressed to explain this time dependent deformation including stress changes induced by excavation, strain softening (or creep) in the beddings with and without clay and creep of the shaley rock under compressive stresses. In order to analyze and replicate rock behavior observed during excavation, including current and post excavation elastic, plastic, and time dependent deformation, Finite Element Analysis (FEA) was performed. The analysis was also intended to estimate long term deformation of the rock mass around the excavation. Rock mass behavior including time dependent deformation was measured by means of rock surface convergence points, MPBXs, extended creep testing on the long anchors, and load history data from load cells attached to several long anchors. Direct creep testing of Chagrin Shale was performed on core samples from the wall of the Pump Room. Results of these measurements were used to calibrate the FEA of the excavation. These analyses incorporate time dependent constitutive modeling for the rock to evaluate the potential long term movement in the roof, walls, and invert of the cavern. The modeling was performed due to the concerns regarding the unanticipated behavior of the rock mass as well as the forecast of long term deformation and stability of rock around the excavation.

Keywords: Cavern, Chagrin shale, creep, finite element.

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1570 High Rate Bio-Methane Generation from Petrochemical Wastewater Using Improved CSTR

Authors: Md. Nurul Islam Siddique, A. W. Zularisam

Abstract:

The effect of gradual increase in organic loading rate (OLR) and temperature on biomethanation from petrochemical wastewater treatment was investigated using CSTR. The digester performance was measured at hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 4 to 2d, and start up procedure of the reactor was monitored for 60 days via chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal, biogas and methane production. By enhancing the temperature from 30 to 55 ˚C Thermophilic condition was attained, and pH was adjusted at 7 ± 0.5 during the experiment. Supreme COD removal competence was 98±0.5% (r = 0.84) at an OLR of 7.5 g-COD/Ld and 4d HRT. Biogas and methane yield were logged to an extreme of 0.80 L/g-CODremoved d (r = 0.81), 0.60 L/g-CODremoved d (r = 0.83), and mean methane content of biogas was 65.49%. The full acclimatization was established at 55 ˚C with high COD removal efficiency and biogas production. An OLR of 7.5 g-COD/L d and HRT of 4 days were apposite for petrochemical wastewater treatment.

Keywords: anaerobic digestion, petrochemical wastewater, CSTR, methane

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1569 Cultural Invasion to Submerge Kalasha Culture: An Ethnomethodological Study

Authors: Fariyal Mir

Abstract:

The largest minority group over Pakistan lives in the farthest region of KPK, Chitral, which enclosed all its people in one closet despite their diversity. Chitral is considered a tourist hub and piece of paradise on earth. The major attraction of Chitral is the Kalash valley, which is also known as the homeland of kafir or 'weavers of the black robes'. Kalash people are counted as the primitive pagan tribe who practice culture, beliefs, and a lifestyle which dated beyond and distinct from the rest of the region. Their religious belief is known to be as 'animism', which means that objects, places, and creatures all possess a distinct spiritual essence. They also believe that nature plays a highly significant and spiritual role in their daily life. As they have their different festivals like (a) Chilam Josh: celebrated in May to welcome spring, (b) Uchaw: which is observed in late August to ensure good crops of wheat, (c) Chanmos: which is being observed in December for more than two weeks, grand festival and is celebrated to welcome New Year. Their concept of purity and impurity is also very traditional and part of their religious belief as well. They used to call the man as pure 'Oshniru' (pure, holy) and woman as impure 'Chetu' (dirty, polluted, or contaminated). This study is based on ethnomethodology, which focuses on the way people make sense of their daily life. Their unique belief system connects them with the descendants of the armies of Alexander the Great, who called the Hindu Kush 'Parapamisus', meaning mountains over which eagles can fly. With time, their cultural system was molded into many ways, and the same is going on with the true beauty of Chitral in the form of conversion to Islam and adaptation of modern lifestyle. Ethnomethodology also supports this, that people are always good in their original form so they can be called the true representatives of their origin and cultural identity. It also argues that human society is based on the method of achieving and displaying not on the imposition of others' order and laws. So, everybody is obliged to respect and not to harm the beliefs and culture of all other human fellows. Some historians believe that these Kalash people are from Afghanistan and their origin is Saim which is known as Thailand, but those Kalash tribe from Afghanistan were forced to embrace Islam and only Pakistan keeps these people who own unique cultural values, ornaments and entire culture. Kalasha culture has been listed by UNESCO for consideration as World Heritage. It is necessary to save these people from the cultural invasion caused by modernity, forced religious conversion to maintain the pluralistic diversity of our country.

Keywords: Chitral, cultural identity, ethnomethodology, Kalasha culture

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1568 Importance-Implementation of Disability Management Practices in Hotels: The Moderating Effect of Team Orientation

Authors: Zakaria Elkhwesky, Islam E. Salem, Mona Barakat

Abstract:

The purpose of this study is to analyze the importance of disability management practices (DMPs) and the level of implementation from viewpoints of food and beverage (F & B) managers, F and B entry-level employees, working in F & B departments, and human resources (HRs) managers in five-star hotels in Egypt. It also examined the moderating effect of team orientation (TO) between the importance and the implementation. Data were collected from 400 participants. The correlation proved to be significant, moderate, and positive between the importance and the implementation of DMPs. More, the findings revealed that the relationship between the importance and the implementation is significantly more positive under the condition of a high encouragement of TO.

Keywords: disability management practices, diversity management, team orientation, HR management, hospitality, and tourism operations

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1567 Ontology-Based Representation of Islamic Rules to Perform Salah

Authors: Hamza Zafar, Quratulain Rajput

Abstract:

Salah (نماز ) is one of five pillars of Islam and obligatory for every Muslims. However, due to the lack of Islamic knowledge it might be very difficult for a layperson to perform it correctly. This paper presents an ontology based representation of Islamic rules to perform Salah. The Salah ontology has been built under the guidance of domain expert in light of Quran and Hadith. The ontology consists of basic concepts as well as relationship among concepts and constraints on them. The basic concepts include cleanness, body cover, Salah timing and steps to perform Salah. The SWRL rule language has been used to represent rule to determine whether the Salah performed correctly or it should be repeated. Finally, we evaluate the use of the Salat ontology through user’s example queries using SPARQL queries.

Keywords: prayer, salah, ontology, SPARQL queries, reasoning

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1566 Numerical Modeling of Turbulent Natural Convection in a Square Cavity

Authors: Mohammadreza Sedighi, Mohammad Said Saidi, Hesamoddin Salarian

Abstract:

A numerical study has been performed to investigate the effect of using different turbulent models on natural convection flow field and temperature distributions in partially heated square cavity compare to benchmark. The temperature of the right vertical wall is lower than that of heater while other walls are insulated. The commercial CFD codes are used to model. Standard k-w model provided good agreement with the experimental data.

Keywords: Buoyancy, Cavity, CFD, Heat Transfer, Natural Convection, Turbulence

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1565 A Double PWM Source Inverter Technique with Reduced Leakage Current for Application on Standalone Systems

Authors: Md.Noman Habib Khan, M. S. Tajul Islam, T. S. Gunawan, M. Hasanuzzaman

Abstract:

The photovoltaic (PV) panel with no galvanic isolation system is well-known technique in the world which is effective and deliver power with enhanced efficiency. The PV generation presented here is for stand-alone system installed in remote areas when as the resulting power gets connected to electronic load installation instead of being tied to the grid. Though very small, even then transformer-less topology is shown to be with leakage in pico-ampere range. By using PWM technique PWM, leakage current in different situations is shown. The results that are demonstrated in this paper show how the pico-ampere current is reduced to femto-ampere through use of inductors and capacitors of suitable values of inductor and capacitors with the load.

Keywords: photovoltaic (PV) panel, duty cycle, pulse duration modulation (PDM), leakage current

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1564 The Effects of Arginine, Glutamine and Threonine Supplementation in the Starting Phase on Subsequent Performance of Male Broile

Authors: Jalal Fazli Amiri, Mohammad Hossein Shahir, Mohammad Hossein Nemati, Afshin Heidarinia

Abstract:

The current study was performed to investigate the effects of arginine, threonine, and glutamine supplementation in excess of requirements in the starter period (17 days) on performance, intestinal morphology, and immune response of broilers. Four hundred and sixteen male day-old chicks were assigned in a 2×2×2 factorial arrangement to a completely randomized design with four replicates (13 birds per replicate ). Treatments were: a control group that received the basal diet, basal diet plus 1% glutamine, basal diet plus 0.2% threonine, basal diet plus 0.75 % arginine, and combination of these three amino acids (glutamine+arginine, glutamine+threonine, arginine+threonine and arginine+ glutamine+threonine). The effect of glutamine supplementation on feed intake was significant in week 4 (p < 0.05), week 6 (p < 0.001), and total feed intake (p < 0.05) and caused declined feed intake. No significant differences of glutamine addition were observed on intestinal morphology (villi height, crypt depth, villi height to crypt depth ratio, villi width). Threonine supplementation caused increased weight gain in week 2 (p < 0.001) and 3 and a decrease of total feed intake (p < 0.05). Duodenum and jejunum villi height, crypt depth, villi height to crypt depth ratio, villi width were not affected. The effect of arginine supplementation was the increase of breast percentage (p < 0.05) and a decrease of jejunum villi high (p < 0.05) and Jejunum crypt depth (p < 0.05). Supplementation of arginine, threonine, and glutamine had no significant effects on blood titer of antibodies against Newcastle disease, infectious bronchitis, avian influenza. Overall, it seems that the supplementation of arginine, threonine, and glutamine in excess of requirements in the starter period had no effect on performance in subsequent periods and intestinal morphology.

Keywords: intestinal morphology, immunity, broiler chickens, glutamine, arginine, threonine

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1563 Moisture Variations in Unbound Layers in an Instrumented Pavement Section

Authors: R. Islam, Rafiqul A. Tarefder

Abstract:

This study presents the moisture variations of unbound layers from April 2012 to January 2014 in the Interstate 40 (I-40) pavement section in New Mexico. Three moisture probes were installed at different layers inside the pavement which measure the continuous moisture variations of the pavement. Data show that the moisture contents of unbound layers are typically constant throughout the day and month unless there is rainfall. Moisture contents of all unbound layers change with rainfall. Change in ground water table may affect the moisture content of unbound layers which has not investigated in this study. In addition, the Level 3 predictions of moisture contents using the Pavement Mechanistic-Empirical (ME) Design software are compared and found quite reasonable. However, results presented in the current study may not be applicable for pavement in other regions.

Keywords: asphalt pavement, moisture probes, resilient modulus, climate model

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1562 The Rise in Popularity of Online Islamic Fashion In Indonesia: An Economic, Political, and Socio-Anthropological Perspective

Authors: Cazadira Fediva Tamzil, Agung Sulthonaulia Utama

Abstract:

The rise in popularity of Indonesian Islamic fashion displayed and sold through social networking sites, especially Instagram, might seem at first glance like a commonplace and localized phenomenon. However, when analyzed critically, it actually reveals the relations between the global and local Indonesian economy, as well as a deep socio-anthropological dimension relating to religion, culture, class, work, identity. Conducted using a qualitative methodology, data collection technique of literature review, and observation of various social networking sites, this research finds four things that lead to the aforementioned conclusion. First, the rise of online Islamic fashion retailers was triggered by the shift in the structure of global and national Indonesian economy as well as the free access of information made possible by democratization in Indonesia and worldwide advances in terms of technology. All of those factors combined together gave birth to a large amount of middle-class Indonesians with high consumer culture and entrepreneurial flair. Second, online Islamic fashion retailers are the new cultural trendsetters in society. All these show how Indonesians are becoming increasingly pious, no longer only adhere to Western conception of luxury and that many are increasingly exploiting Islam commercial and status-acquiring purposes. Third, the online Islamic fashion retailers actually reveal a shift in the conception of ‘work’ – social media has made work no longer only confined to the toiling activities inside factories, but instead something that can be done from any location only through posting online words or pictures that can increase a fashion product’s capital value. Without realizing it, many celebrities and online retailers who promote Islamic fashion through social media on a daily basis are now also ‘semi-free immaterial labors’ – a slight reconceptualization to Tiziana Terranova’s concept of ‘free labor’ and Maurizio Lazzarato’s ‘immaterial labor’, which basically refer to people who create economic value and thus help out capitals from producing immaterial things with only little compensation in return. Fourth, this research also shows that the diversity of Islamic fashion styles being sold on Instagram reflects the polarized identity of Islam in Indonesia. In stark contrast with the theory which states that globalization always leads to the strengthening and unification of identity, this research shows how polarized the Islamic identity in Indonesia really is – even in the face of globalization.

Keywords: global economy, Indonesian online Islamic fashion, political relations, socio-anthropology

Procedia PDF Downloads 317