Search results for: patient related elbow evaluation scale
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 5690

Search results for: patient related elbow evaluation scale

2150 Error Estimates for Calculated Glomerular Filtration Rates

Authors: Simon Brown

Abstract:

Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) is a measure of kidney function. It is usually estimated from serum concentrations of cystatin C or creatinine although there has been considerable debate in the literature about (i) the best equation to use and (ii) the variability in the correlation between the concentrations of creatinine and cystatin C. The equations for GFR can be written in a general form and from these I calculate the error of the GFR estimates associated with analyte measurement error. These show that the error of the GFR estimates is such that it is not possible to distinguish between the equations over much of the concentration range of either analyte. The general forms of the equations are also used to derive an expression for the concentration of cystatin C as a function of the concentration of creatinine. This equation shows that these analyte concentrations are not linearly related. Clinical reports of cystatin C and creatinine concentration are consistent with the expression derived.

Keywords: creatinine, cystatin C, error analysis, glomerularfiltration rate, measurement error.

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2149 Buckling Analysis of Rectangular Plates under the Combined Action of Shear and Uniaxial Stresses

Authors: V. Piscopo

Abstract:

In the classical buckling analysis of rectangular plates subjected to the concurrent action of shear and uniaxial forces, the Euler shear buckling stress is generally evaluated separately, so that no influence on the shear buckling coefficient, due to the in-plane tensile or compressive forces, is taken into account. In this paper the buckling problem of simply supported rectangular plates, under the combined action of shear and uniaxial forces, is discussed from the beginning, in order to obtain new project formulas for the shear buckling coefficient that take into account the presence of uniaxial forces. Furthermore, as the classical expression of the shear buckling coefficient for simply supported rectangular plates is considered only a “rough" approximation, as the exact one is defined by a system of intersecting curves, the convergence and the goodness of the classical solution are analyzed, too. Finally, as the problem of the Euler shear buckling stress evaluation is a very important topic for a variety of structures, (e.g. ship ones), two numerical applications are carried out, in order to highlight the role of the uniaxial stresses on the plating scantling procedures and the goodness of the proposed formulas.

Keywords: Buckling analysis, Shear, Uniaxial Stresses.

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2148 IRIS: An Interactive Video Game for Children with Long-Term Illness in Hospitals

Authors: Ganetsou Evanthia, Koutsikos Emmanouil, Austin Anna Maria

Abstract:

Information technology has long served the needs of individuals for learning and entertainment, but much less for children in sickness. The aim of the proposed online video game is to provide immersive learning opportunities as well as essential social and emotional scenarios for hospital-bound children with long-term illness. Online self-paced courses on chosen school subjects, including specialized software and multisensory assessments, aim at enhancing children’s academic achievement and sense of inclusion, while doctor minigames familiarize and educate young patients on their medical conditions. Online ethical dilemmas will offer children opportunities to contemplate on the importance of medical procedures and following assigned medication, often challenging for young patients; they will therefore reflect on their condition, re-evaluate their perceptions about hospitalization, and assume greater personal responsibility for their progress. Children’s emotional and psychosocial needs are addressed by engaging in social conventions, such as interactive, daily, collaborative mini games with other hospitalized peers, like virtual competitive sports games, weekly group psychodrama sessions, and online birthday parties or sleepovers. Social bonding is also fostered by having a virtual pet to interact with and take care of, as well as a virtual nurse to discuss and reflect on the mood of the day, engage in constructive dialogue and perspective-taking, and offer reminders. Access to the platform will be available throughout the day depending on the patient’s health status. The program is designed to minimize escapism and feelings of exclusion and can flexibly be adapted to offer post-treatment and a support online system at home.

Keywords: Hospitalized children, interactive games, long-term illness, cognitive enhancement, socioemotional development.

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2147 Integrating Computer Games with Mathematics Instruction in Elementary School- An Analysis of Motivation, Achievement, and Pupil-Teacher Interactions

Authors: Kuo Hung Huang, Chong-Ji Ke

Abstract:

The purpose of this study is to explore the impacts of computer games on the mathematics instruction. First, the research designed and implemented the web-based games according to the content of existing textbook. And the researcher collected and analyzed the information related to the mathematics instruction integrating the computer games. In this study, the researcher focused on the learning motivation of mathematics, mathematics achievement, and pupil-teacher interactions in classroom. The results showed that students under instruction integrating computer games significantly improved in motivation and achievement. The teacher tended to use less direct teaching and provide more time for student-s active learning.

Keywords: computer games, mathematics instruction, pupil-teacher interaction, technology-enhanced learning

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2146 Performance Evaluation of a Minimum Mean Square Error-Based Physical Sidelink Share Channel Receiver under Fading Channel

Authors: Yang Fu, Jaime Rodrigo Navarro, Jose F. Monserrat, Faiza Bouchmal, Oscar Carrasco Quilis

Abstract:

Cellular Vehicle to Everything (C-V2X) is considered a promising solution for future autonomous driving. From Release 16 to Release 17, the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) has introduced the definitions and services for 5G New Radio (NR) V2X. Since establishing a simulator for C-V2X communications is an essential preliminary step to achieve reliable and stable communication links, this paper proposes a complete framework of a link-level simulator based on the 3GPP specifications for the Physical Sidelink Share Channel (PSSCH) of the 5G NR Physical Layer (PHY). In this framework, several algorithms in the receiver part, i.e., sliding window in channel estimation and Minimum Mean Square Error (MMSE)-based equalization, are developed. Finally, the performance of the developed PSSCH receiver is validated through extensive simulations under different assumptions.

Keywords: Yang Fu, Jaime Rodrigo Navarro, Jose F. Monserrat, Faiza Bouchmal, Oscar Carrasco Quilis

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2145 Thermosensitive Hydrogel Development for Its Possible Application in Cardiac Cell Therapy

Authors: Lina Paola Orozco-Marín, Yuliet Montoya, John Bustamante

Abstract:

Ischemic events can culminate in acute myocardial infarction with irreversible cardiac lesions that cannot be restored due to the limited regenerative capacity of the heart. Tissue engineering proposes therapeutic alternatives by using biomaterials to resemble the native extracellular medium combined with healthy and functional cells. This research focused on developing a natural thermosensitive hydrogel, its physical-chemical characterization and in vitro biocompatibility determination. Hydrogels’ morphological characterization was carried out through scanning electron microscopy and its chemical characterization by employing Infrared Spectroscopy technic. In addition, the biocompatibility was determined using fetal human ventricular cardiomyocytes cell line RL-14 and the MTT cytotoxicity test according to the ISO 10993-5 standard. Four biocompatible and thermosensitive hydrogels were obtained with a three-dimensional internal structure and two gelation times. The results show the potential of the hydrogel to increase the cell survival rate to the cardiac cell therapies under investigation and lay the foundations to continue with its characterization and biological evaluation both in vitro and in vivo models.

Keywords: cardiac cell therapy, cardiac ischemia, natural polymers, thermosensitive hydrogel

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2144 On Simulation based WSN Multi-Parametric Performance Analysis

Authors: Ch. Antonopoulos, Th. Kapourniotis, V. Triantafillou

Abstract:

Optimum communication and performance in Wireless Sensor Networks, constitute multi-facet challenges due to the specific networking characteristics as well as the scarce resource availability. Furthermore, it is becoming increasingly apparent that isolated layer based approaches often do not meet the demands posed by WSNs applications due to omission of critical inter-layer interactions and dependencies. As a counterpart, cross-layer is receiving high interest aiming to exploit these interactions and increase network performance. However, in order to clearly identify existing dependencies, comprehensive performance studies are required evaluating the effect of different critical network parameters on system level performance and behavior.This paper-s main objective is to address the need for multi-parametric performance evaluations considering critical network parameters using a well known network simulator, offering useful and practical conclusions and guidelines. The results reveal strong dependencies among considered parameters which can be utilized by and drive future research efforts, towards designing and implementing highly efficient protocols and architectures.

Keywords: Wireless sensor network, Communication Systems, cross-layer architectures, simulation based performance evaluation

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2143 Control Chart Pattern Recognition Using Wavelet Based Neural Networks

Authors: Jun Seok Kim, Cheong-Sool Park, Jun-Geol Baek, Sung-Shick Kim

Abstract:

Control chart pattern recognition is one of the most important tools to identify the process state in statistical process control. The abnormal process state could be classified by the recognition of unnatural patterns that arise from assignable causes. In this study, a wavelet based neural network approach is proposed for the recognition of control chart patterns that have various characteristics. The procedure of proposed control chart pattern recognizer comprises three stages. First, multi-resolution wavelet analysis is used to generate time-shape and time-frequency coefficients that have detail information about the patterns. Second, distance based features are extracted by a bi-directional Kohonen network to make reduced and robust information. Third, a back-propagation network classifier is trained by these features. The accuracy of the proposed method is shown by the performance evaluation with numerical results.

Keywords: Control chart pattern recognition, Multi-resolution wavelet analysis, Bi-directional Kohonen network, Back-propagation network, Feature extraction.

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2142 Renewable Energy Potential of Diluted Poultry Manure during Ambient Anaerobic Stabilisation

Authors: Cigdem Yangin-Gomec, Aigerim Jaxybayeva, Orhan Ince

Abstract:

In this study, the anaerobic treatability of chicken manure diluted with tap water (with an influent feed ratio of 1 kg of fresh chicken manure to 6 liter of tap water) was investigated in a lab-scale anaerobic sludge bed (ASB) reactor inoculated with the granular sludge already adapted to chicken manure. The raw waste digested in this study was the manure from laying-hens having average total solids (TS) of about 30% with ca. 60% volatile content. The ASB reactor was fed semi-continuously at ambient operating temperature range (17-23C) at a HRT of 13 and 26 days for about 6 months, respectively. The respective average total and soluble chemical oxygen demand (COD) removals were ca. 90% and 75%, whereas average biomethane production rate was calculated ca. 180 lt per kg of CODremoved from the ASB reactor at an average HRT of 13 days. Moreover, total suspended solids (TSS) and volatile suspended solids (VSS) in the influent were reduced more than 97%. Hence, high removals of the organic compounds with respective biogas production made anaerobic stabilization of the diluted chicken manure by ASB reactor at ambient operating temperatures viable. By this way, external heating up to 35C (i.e. anaerobic processes have been traditionally operated at mesophilic conditions) could be avoided in the scope of this study.

Keywords: Ambient anaerobic digestion, biogas recovery, poultry manure.

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2141 Properties and Approximation Distribution Reductions in Multigranulation Rough Set Model

Authors: Properties, Approximation Distribution Reductions in Multigranulation Rough Set Model

Abstract:

Some properties of approximation sets are studied in multi-granulation optimist model in rough set theory using maximal compatible classes. The relationships between or among lower and upper approximations in single and multiple granulation are compared and discussed. Through designing Boolean functions and discernibility matrices in incomplete information systems, the lower and upper approximation sets and reduction in multi-granulation environments can be found. By using examples, the correctness of computation approach is consolidated. The related conclusions obtained are suitable for further investigating in multiple granulation RSM.

Keywords: Incomplete information system, maximal compatible class, multi-granulation rough set model, reduction.

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2140 Performance Improvement of Information System of a Banking System Based on Integrated Resilience Engineering Design

Authors: S. H. Iranmanesh, L. Aliabadi, A. Mollajan

Abstract:

Integrated resilience engineering (IRE) is capable of returning banking systems to the normal state in extensive economic circumstances. In this study, information system of a large bank (with several branches) is assessed and optimized under severe economic conditions. Data envelopment analysis (DEA) models are employed to achieve the objective of this study. Nine IRE factors are considered to be the outputs, and a dummy variable is defined as the input of the DEA models. A standard questionnaire is designed and distributed among executive managers to be considered as the decision-making units (DMUs). Reliability and validity of the questionnaire is examined based on Cronbach's alpha and t-test. The most appropriate DEA model is determined based on average efficiency and normality test. It is shown that the proposed integrated design provides higher efficiency than the conventional RE design. Results of sensitivity and perturbation analysis indicate that self-organization, fault tolerance, and reporting culture respectively compose about 50 percent of total weight.

Keywords: Banking system, data envelopment analysis, DEA, integrated resilience engineering, IRE, performance evaluation, perturbation analysis.

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2139 Nanotechnology Innovations for the Sustainable Buildings of the Future

Authors: Aysin Sev, Meltem Ezel

Abstract:

Sustainability, being the urgent issue of our time, is closely related with the innovations in technology. Nanotechnology (NT), although not a new science, can be regarded relatively a new science for buildings with brand new materials and applications. This paper tends to give a research review of current and near future applications of nanotechnology (NT) for achieving high-performance and healthy buildings for a sustainable future. In the introduction, the driving forces for the sustainability of construction industry are explained. Then, the term NT is defined, and significance of innovations in NT for a sustainable construction industry is revealed. After presenting the application areas of NT and nanomaterials for buildings with a number of cases, challenges in the adoption of this technology are put forward, and finally the impacts of nanoparticles and nanomaterials on human health and environment are discussed.

Keywords: Nanomaterial, self-healing concrete, self-cleaning sensor, nano sensor, steel, wood, aerogel, flexible solar panel.

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2138 Effect of Subsequent Drying and Wetting on the Small Strain Shear Modulus of Unsaturated Soils

Authors: A. Khosravi, S. Ghadirian, J. S. McCartney

Abstract:

Evaluation of the seismic-induced settlement of an unsaturated soil layer depends on several variables, among which the small strain shear modulus, Gmax, and soil’s state of stress have been demonstrated to be of particular significance. Recent interpretation of trends in Gmax revealed considerable effects of the degree of saturation and hydraulic hysteresis on the shear stiffness of soils in unsaturated states. Accordingly, the soil layer is expected to experience different settlement behaviors depending on the soil saturation and seasonal weathering conditions. In this study, a semi-empirical formulation was adapted to extend an existing Gmax model to infer hysteretic effects along different paths of the SWRC including scanning curves. The suitability of the proposed approach is validated against experimental results from a suction-controlled resonant column test and from data reported in literature. The model was observed to follow the experimental data along different paths of the SWRC, and showed a slight hysteresis in shear modulus along the scanning curves.

Keywords: Hydraulic hysteresis, Scanning path, Small strain shear modulus, Unsaturated soil.

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2137 Hazardous Waste Generated in the Peruvian Textile Industry: Haute Couture, Alpaca Fiber and Tannery

Authors: Huiman C. Alberto

Abstract:

The research cites the various hazardous waste generated in the textile industry. The method used is descriptive and comparative, the process consisted of the search and evaluation of information, both nationally and internationally. The results indicate: (1) Waste is generated from the alpaca fiber industry in the various stages of camelid rearing, they stand out for their dangerousness: excreta, residual fiber and yarn scraps. (2) The main hazardous waste generated by the tannery industry are grease, hides, hair, plastic containers with traces of toxic substances, chips and pieces of leather with chrome. (3) Three companies' Solid Waste Management Plans were analyzed, randomly selected, and none of them detail waste treatment processes and warn of the lack of supervision by the authorities. It is concluded that the hazardous waste generated can affect human and environmental health. There is the possibility of taking advantage of certain hazardous waste such as manure and alpaca fiber, after treatment; while non-hazardous waste from the tannery such as yarn, panel weaving, cloth, scraps, and thread, can be used to produce new products, generating a production chain in favor of the entrepreneur himself.

Keywords: Alpaca fiber, excreta, Haute couture, hazardous waste tannery, hazardous waste treatment, textile waste,

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2136 The Studying of The “Бақыт”(“Happiness”) Concept In The Kazakh Language

Authors: Biyazdykova Aliya Alimbekgyzy, Biyazdykova, Kenzhegul Alimbekgyzy

Abstract:

The given article deals with the usage of the concept in many spheres of science, including its place in the Kazakh linguistics One of such concepts is the role of the “бақыт” (“happiness”) concept in the Kazakh outlook. The work tells us about its studying. The data about studying of the “happiness” concept in the sphere of philosophy, psychology, cognitive linguistics, lingo cultural study, logics, psycho-linguistic are given in this work. Particularly dwelling at length on the studying level of the concept in the sphere of cognitive linguistics, analysis have been made pertaining linguist point of views. It was pointed out that the concept of “happiness” hasn’t been studied yet in the Kazakh linguistics and it is necessary to find out the meaning of the language units related to this concept, i.e. blessings, proverbs, sayings and phrasiological units.

Keywords: Concept, cognitive linguistics, the concept of “happiness”, the Kazakh outlook.

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2135 An Agent Based Dynamic Resource Scheduling Model with FCFS-Job Grouping Strategy in Grid Computing

Authors: Raksha Sharma, Vishnu Kant Soni, Manoj Kumar Mishra, Prachet Bhuyan, Utpal Chandra Dey

Abstract:

Grid computing is a group of clusters connected over high-speed networks that involves coordinating and sharing computational power, data storage and network resources operating across dynamic and geographically dispersed locations. Resource management and job scheduling are critical tasks in grid computing. Resource selection becomes challenging due to heterogeneity and dynamic availability of resources. Job scheduling is a NP-complete problem and different heuristics may be used to reach an optimal or near optimal solution. This paper proposes a model for resource and job scheduling in dynamic grid environment. The main focus is to maximize the resource utilization and minimize processing time of jobs. Grid resource selection strategy is based on Max Heap Tree (MHT) that best suits for large scale application and root node of MHT is selected for job submission. Job grouping concept is used to maximize resource utilization for scheduling of jobs in grid computing. Proposed resource selection model and job grouping concept are used to enhance scalability, robustness, efficiency and load balancing ability of the grid.

Keywords: Agent, Grid Computing, Job Grouping, Max Heap Tree (MHT), Resource Scheduling.

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2134 Effectiveness of the Flavonoids Isolated from Thymus inodorus by Different Solvents against Some Pathogenis Microorganisms

Authors: N. Behidj, K. Benyounes, T. Dahmane, A. Allem

Abstract:

The aim of this study was to investigate the antimicrobial activity of flavonoids isolated from the aerial part of a medicinal plant which is Thymus inodorusby the middle agar diffusion method on following microorganisms. We have Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas fluorescens, AspergillusNiger, Aspergillus fumigatus and Candida albicans. During this study, flavonoids extracted by stripping with steam are performed. The yields of flavonoids is 7.242% for the aqueous extract and 28.86% for butanol extract, 29.875% for the extract of ethyl acetate and 22.9% for the extract of di - ethyl. The evaluation of the antibacterial effect shows that the diameter of the zone of inhibition varies from one microorganism to another. The operation values obtained show that the bacterial strain P fluoresces, and 3 yeasts and molds; A. Niger, A. fumigatus and C. albicansare the most resistant. But it is noted that, S. aureus is shown more sensitive to crude extracts, the stock solution and the various dilutions. Finally for the minimum inhibitory concentration is estimated only with the crude extract of Thymus inodorus flavonoid.Indeed, these extracts inhibit the growth of Gram + bacteria at a concentration varying between 0.5% and 1%. While for bacteria to Gram -, it is limited to a concentration of 0.5%.

Keywords: Antimicrobial activity, flavonoids, strains, Thymus inodorus.

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2133 Evaluation of Negative Air Ions in Bioaerosol Removal: Indoor Concentration of Airborne Bacterial and Fungal in Residential Building in Qom City, Iran

Authors: Z. Asadgol, A. Nadali, H. Arfaeinia, M. Khalifeh Gholi, R. Fateh, M. Fahiminia

Abstract:

The present investigation was conducted to detect the type and concentrations of bacterial and fungal bioaerosols in one room (bedroom) of each selected residential building located in different regions of Qom during February 2015 (n=9) to July 2016 (n=11). Moreover, we evaluated the efficiency of negative air ions (NAIs) in bioaerosol reduction in indoor air in residential buildings. In the first step, the mean concentrations of bacterial and fungal in nine sampling sites evaluated in winter were 744 and 579 colony forming units (CFU)/m3, while these values were 1628.6 and 231 CFU/m3 in the 11 sampling sites evaluated in summer, respectively. The most predominant genera between bacterial and fungal in all sampling sites were detected as Micrococcus spp. and Staphylococcus spp. and also, Aspergillus spp. and Penicillium spp., respectively. The 95% and 45% of sampling sites have bacterial and fungal concentrations over the recommended levels, respectively. In the removal step, we achieved a reduction with a range of 38% to 93% for bacterial genera and 25% to 100% for fungal genera by using NAIs. The results suggested that NAI is a highly effective, simple and efficient technique in reducing the bacterial and fungal concentration in the indoor air of residential buildings.

Keywords: Bacterial, fungal, negative air ions, indoor air, Iran.

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2132 Review and Classification of the Indicators and Trends Used in Bridge Performance Modeling

Authors: S. Rezaei, Z. Mirzaei, M. Khalighi, J. Bahrami

Abstract:

Bridges, as an essential part of road infrastructures, are affected by various deterioration mechanisms over time due to the changes in their performance. As changes in performance can have many negative impacts on society, it is essential to be able to evaluate and measure the performance of bridges throughout their life. This evaluation includes the development or the choice of the appropriate performance indicators, which, in turn, are measured based on the selection of appropriate models for the existing deterioration mechanism. The purpose of this article is a statistical study of indicators and deterioration mechanisms of bridges in order to discover further research capacities in bridges performance assessment. For this purpose, some of the most common indicators of bridge performance, including reliability, risk, vulnerability, robustness, and resilience, were selected. The researches performed on each index based on the desired deterioration mechanisms and hazards were comprehensively reviewed. In addition, the formulation of the indicators and their relationship with each other were studied. The research conducted on the mentioned indicators were classified from the point of view of deterministic or probabilistic method, the level of study (element level, object level, etc.), and the type of hazard and the deterioration mechanism of interest. For each of the indicators, a number of challenges and recommendations were presented according to the review of previous studies.

Keywords: Bridge, deterioration mechanism, lifecycle, performance indicator.

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2131 Pollution Control and Sustainable Urban Transport System - Electric Vehicle

Authors: M.M. Al Emran Hasan, M.Ektesabi, A.Kapoor

Abstract:

Recently electric vehicles are becoming popular as an alternative of conventional fossil fuel vehicles. Conventional Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) vehicle uses fossil fuel which contributing a major part of overall carbon emission in the environment. Carbon and other green house gas emission are responsible for global warming and resulting climate change. It becomes vital to evaluate performance of vehicle based on emission. In this paper an effort has been made to depict the picture of emission caused by vehicle and scenario of Australia has taken into account. Effort has been made to compare the fossil based vehicle with electric vehicle in phases. The study also evaluates advancement in electric vehicle technology, required infrastructure for sustainability and future scope of developments. This paper also includes the evaluation of electric vehicle concept for pollution control and sustainable transport systems in future. This study can be a benchmark for development of electric vehicle as low carbon emission alternative for the cities of tomorrow.

Keywords: Electric Vehicle, Fossil Fuel, Internal CombustionEngine, Green House Gas, In wheel motor, Smart grid

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2130 Bureau Management Technologies and Information Systems in Developing Countries

Authors: Mehmet Altınöz

Abstract:

This study focuses on bureau management technologies and information systems in developing countries. Developing countries use such systems which facilitate executive and organizational functions through the utilization of bureau management technologies and provide the executive staff with necessary information. The concepts of data and information differ from each other in developing countries, and thus the concepts of data processing and information processing are different. Symbols represent ideas, objects, figures, letters and numbers. Data processing system is an integrated system which deals with the processing of the data related to the internal and external environment of the organization in order to make decisions, create plans and develop strategies; it goes without saying that this system is composed of both human beings and machines. Information is obtained through the acquisition and the processing of data. On the other hand, data are raw communicative messages. Within this framework, data processing equals to producing plausible information out of raw data. Organizations in developing countries need to obtain information relevant to them because rapid changes in the organizational arena require rapid access to accurate information. The most significant role of the directors and managers who work in the organizational arena is to make decisions. Making a correct decision is possible only when the directors and managers are equipped with sound ideas and appropriate information. Therefore, acquisition, organization and distribution of information gain significance. Today-s organizations make use of computer-assisted “Management Information Systems" in order to obtain and distribute information. Decision Support System which is closely related to practice is an information system that facilitates the director-s task of making decisions. Decision Support System integrates human intelligence, information technology and software in order to solve the complex problems. With the support of the computer technology and software systems, Decision Support System produces information relevant to the decision to be made by the director and provides the executive staff with supportive ideas about the decision. Artificial Intelligence programs which transfer the studies and experiences of the people to the computer are called expert systems. An expert system stores expert information in a limited area and can solve problems by deriving rational consequences. Bureau management technologies and information systems in developing countries create a kind of information society and information economy which make those countries have their places in the global socio-economic structure and which enable them to play a reasonable and fruitful role; therefore it is of crucial importance to make use of information and management technologies in order to work together with innovative and enterprising individuals and it is also significant to create “scientific policies" based on information and technology in the fields of economy, politics, law and culture.

Keywords: Bureau Management, Information Systems.

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2129 Water End-Use Classification with Contemporaneous Water-Energy Data and Deep Learning Network

Authors: Khoi A. Nguyen, Rodney A. Stewart, Hong Zhang

Abstract:

‘Water-related energy’ is energy use which is directly or indirectly influenced by changes to water use. Informatics applying a range of mathematical, statistical and rule-based approaches can be used to reveal important information on demand from the available data provided at second, minute or hourly intervals. This study aims to combine these two concepts to improve the current water end use disaggregation problem through applying a wide range of most advanced pattern recognition techniques to analyse the concurrent high-resolution water-energy consumption data. The obtained results have shown that recognition accuracies of all end-uses have significantly increased, especially for mechanised categories, including clothes washer, dishwasher and evaporative air cooler where over 95% of events were correctly classified.

Keywords: Deep learning network, smart metering, water end use, water-energy data.

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2128 On Some Signs of a Recurrent Climate Scenario Advent

Authors: Vladimir I. Byshev, Victor G. Neiman, Yuri A. Romanov, Ilya V. Serykh

Abstract:

Since atmosphere pressure field is an actual envoy of climatic signal the atmospheric Highs and Lows should be attributed to the key active focal points within the ocean-atmosphere interplay system. Here we were set a task to determine how the dynamics of those centres of action relates to the climate change both on regional and global scales. For this target the near-surface temperature and atmospheric pressure differences between the Icelandic Low and the Azores High were considered. The secular term of phase states of the system under consideration was found divided into three nonintersecting subsets. Each of that was put in consequence with one of three climatic scenarios related to the periods of 1905-1935 (relatively warm phase), 1940-1970 (cold phase) and 1980-2000 (warm phase).

Keywords: Climate change, climatic scenario, fields of environmental characteristics, North Atlantic region.

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2127 Student Records Management System Using Smart Cards and Biometric Technology for Educational Institutions

Authors: Patrick O. Bobbie, Prince S. Attrams

Abstract:

In recent times, the rapid change in new technologies has spurred up the way and manner records are handled in educational institutions. Also, there is a need for reliable access and ease-of use to these records, resulting in increased productivity in organizations. In academic institutions, such benefits help in quality assessments, institutional performance, and assessments of teaching and evaluation methods. Students in educational institutions benefit the most when advanced technologies are deployed in accessing records. This research paper discusses the use of biometric technologies coupled with smartcard technologies to provide a unique way of identifying students and matching their data to financial records to grant them access to restricted areas such as examination halls. The system developed in this paper, has an identity verification component as part of its main functionalities. A systematic software development cycle of analysis, design, coding, testing and support was used. The system provides a secured way of verifying student’s identity and real time verification of financial records. An advanced prototype version of the system has been developed for testing purposes.

Keywords: Biometrics, fingerprints, identity-verification, smartcards.

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2126 Mechanical Investigation Approach to Optimize the High-Velocity Oxygen Fuel Fe-Based Amorphous Coatings Reinforced by B4C Nanoparticles

Authors: Behrooz Movahedi

Abstract:

Fe-based amorphous feedstock powders are used as the matrix into which various ratios of hard B4C nanoparticles (0, 5, 10, 15, 20 vol.%) as reinforcing agents were prepared using a planetary high-energy mechanical milling. The ball-milled nanocomposite feedstock powders were also sprayed by means of high-velocity oxygen fuel (HVOF) technique. The characteristics of the powder particles and the prepared coating depending on their microstructures and nanohardness were examined in detail using nanoindentation tester. The results showed that the formation of the Fe-based amorphous phase was noticed over the course of high-energy ball milling. It is interesting to note that the nanocomposite coating is divided into two regions, namely, a full amorphous phase region and homogeneous dispersion of B4C nanoparticles with a scale of 10–50 nm in a residual amorphous matrix. As the B4C content increases, the nanohardness of the composite coatings increases, but the fracture toughness begins to decrease at the B4C content higher than 20 vol.%. The optimal mechanical properties are obtained with 15 vol.% B4C due to the suitable content and uniform distribution of nanoparticles. Consequently, the changes in mechanical properties of the coatings were attributed to the changes in the brittle to ductile transition by adding B4C nanoparticles.

Keywords: Fe-based amorphous, B4C nanoparticles, nanocomposite coating, HVOF.

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2125 Sun, Salon, and Cosmetic Tanning: Predictors and Motives

Authors: Andrew Reilly, Nancy A. Rudd

Abstract:

The appearance management behavior of tanning by gay men is examined through the lens of Impression Formation. The study proposes that body image, self-esteem, and internalized homophobia are connected and affect the motives for engaging in sun, salon, and cosmetic tanning. Motives examined were: to look masculine, to look attractive to (potential) partners, to look attractive in general, to socialize, to meet a peer standard, and for personal satisfaction. Using regression analysis to examine data of 103 gay men who engage in at least one method of tanning, results reveal that components of body image and internalized homophobia–but not self-esteem–are linked to various motives and methods of tanning. These findings support and extend the literature of Impression Formation Theory and provide practitioners in the health and healthrelated fields new avenues to pursue when dealing with diseases related to tanning.

Keywords: Body image, gay men, tanning.

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2124 Assessment of Water Pollution of Kowsar Dam Reservoir

Authors: Mohammad Mahdi Jabbari, Fardin Boustani

Abstract:

The reservoir of Kowsar dam supply water for different usages such as aquaculture farms , drinking, agricultural and industrial usages for some provinces in south of Iran. The Kowsar dam is located next to the city of Dehdashat in Kohgiluye and Boyerahmad province in southern Iran. There are some towns and villages on the Kowsar dam watersheds, which Dehdasht and Choram are the most important and populated twons in this area, which can to be sources of pollution for water reservoir of the Kowsar dam . This study was done to determine of water pollution of the Kowsar dam reservoir which is one of the most important water resources of Kohkiloye and Boyerahmad and Bushehr provinces in south-west Iran. In this study , water samples during 12 months were collected to examine Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) and Dissolved Oxygen(DO) as a criterion for evaluation of water pollution of the reservoir. In summary ,the study has shown Maximum, average and minimum levels of BOD have observed 25.9 ,9.15 and 2.3 mg/L respectively and statistical parameters of data such as standard deviation , variance and skewness have calculated 7.88, 62 and 1.54 respectively. Finally the results were compared with Iranian national standards. Among the analyzed samples, as the maximum value of BOD (25.9 mg/L) was observed at the May 2010 , was within the maximum admissible limits by the Iranian standards.

Keywords: Kowsar dam, Biochemical Oxygen Demand, water pollution

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2123 Patterned Growth of ZnO Nanowire Arrays on Zinc Foil by Thermal Oxidation

Authors: Farid Jamali Sheini, Dilip S. Joag, Mahendra A. More

Abstract:

A simple approach is demonstrated for growing large scale, nearly vertically aligned ZnO nanowire arrays by thermal oxidation method. To reveal effect of temperature on growth and physical properties of the ZnO nanowires, gold coated zinc substrates were annealed at 300 °C and 400 °C for 4 hours duration in air. Xray diffraction patterns of annealed samples indicated a set of well defined diffraction peaks, indexed to the wurtzite hexagonal phase of ZnO. The scanning electron microscopy studies show formation of ZnO nanowires having length of several microns and average of diameter less than 500 nm. It is found that the areal density of wires is relatively higher, when the annealing is carried out at higher temperature i.e. at 400°C. From the field emission studies, the values of the turn-on and threshold field, required to draw emission current density of 10 μA/cm2 and 100 μA/cm2 are observed to be 1.2 V/μm and 1.7 V/μm for the samples annealed at 300 °C and 2.9 V/μm and 3.7 V/μm for that annealed at 400 °C, respectively. The field emission current stability, investigated over duration of more than 2 hours at the preset value of 1 μA, is found to be fairly good in both cases. The simplicity of the synthesis route coupled with the promising field emission properties offer unprecedented advantage for the use of ZnO field emitters for high current density applications.

Keywords: ZnO, Nanowires, Thermal oxidation, FieldEmission.

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2122 The Effectiveness of University’s Strategic Plan for Sustainability through Collaborative Platform’s Deliberation Matrix

Authors: Ashiquer Rahman

Abstract:

The paper focuses on the significance of the university's sustainability strategic plan and emphasizes the usefulness of the collaborative platform-based deliberation matrix. It will equip the university's leadership to handle impending tactics and challenges with the sustainability of the university’s strategic plan. The study addresses the significance of a set of reference points that will precede operational activities for multi-stakeholder multi-criteria evaluation on the optimal standards of Sustainable University, as well as potential action for the strategic blueprint of Sustainable University. It makes reference to the university’s sustainability strategy plan’s effectiveness through a collaborative platform and deliberation matrix. The paper outlines the conceptual framing of a sustainable university by implementing a strategic plan over the collaborative platform and deliberation matrix. Optimistically, these will be a milestone in higher education; a pathway to prepare for the University’s upcoming implementation of its sustainability strategy. In fact, the collaborative platform and deliberation matrix both are enhancement needles for institutional cooperation to the completive world.

Keywords: Sustainable strategies, institutional cooperation, multi-stakeholder multi-criteria assessment, collaborative platform, innovative method and tools.

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2121 Hydrologic Balance and Surface Water Resources of the Cheliff-Zahrez Basin

Authors: Mehaiguene Madjid, Touhari Fadhila, Meddi Mohamed

Abstract:

The Cheliff basin offers a good hydrological example for the possibility of studying the problem which elucidated in the future, because of the unclearity in several aspects and hydraulic installation. Thus, our study of the Cheliff basin is divided into two principal parts: The spatial evaluation of the precipitation: also, the understanding of the modes of the reconstitution of the resource in water supposes a good knowledge of the structuring of the precipitation fields in the studied space. In the goal of a good knowledge of revitalizes them in water and their management integrated one judged necessary to establish a precipitation card of the Cheliff basin for a good understanding of the evolution of the resource in water in the basin and that goes will serve as basis for all study of hydraulic planning in the Cheliff basin. Then, the establishment of the precipitation card of the Cheliff basin answered a direct need of setting to the disposition of the researchers for the region and a document of reference that will be completed therefore and actualized. The hydrological study, based on the statistical hydrometric data processing will lead us to specify the hydrological terms of the assessment hydrological and to clarify the fundamental aspects of the annual flow, seasonal, extreme and thus of their variability and resources surface water.

Keywords: Hydrological assessment, surface water resources, Cheliff, Algeria.

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