Search results for: human factors engineering.

Authors: Juliana A. Galhardi, Daniel M. Bonotto

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Coal is an important non-renewable energy source of and can be associated with radioactive elements. In Figueira city, Paraná state, Brazil, it was recorded high uranium activity near the coal mine that supplies a local thermoelectric power plant. In this context, the radon activity (Rn-222, produced by the Ra-226 decay in the U-238 natural series) was evaluated in groundwater, river water and effluents produced from the acid mine drainage in the coal reject dumps. The samples were collected in August 2013 and in February 2014 and analyzed at LABIDRO (Laboratory of Isotope and Hydrochemistry), UNESP, Rio Claro city, Brazil, using an alpha spectrometer (AlphaGuard) adjusted to evaluate the mean radon activity concentration in five cycles of 10 minutes. No radon activity concentration above 100 Bq.L-1, which was a previous critic value established by the World Health Organization. The average radon activity concentration in groundwater was higher than in surface water and in effluent samples, possibly due to the accumulation of uranium and radium in the aquifer layers that favors the radon trapping. The lower value in the river waters can indicate dilution and the intermediate value in the effluents may indicate radon absorption in the coal particles of the reject dumps. The results also indicate that the radon activities in the effluents increase with the sample acidification, possibly due to the higher radium leaching and the subsequent radon transport to the drainage flow. The water samples of Laranjinha River and Ribeirão das Pedras stream, which, respectively, supply Figueira city and receive the mining effluent, exhibited higher pH values upstream the mine, reflecting the acid mine drainage discharge. The radionuclides transport indicates the importance of monitoring their activity concentration in natural waters due to the risks that the radioactivity can represent to human health.

Keywords: Radon, radium, acid mine drainage, coal

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Authors: Cholpassorn Sitthiwarongchai, Chutikarn Sriviboon

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The two primary objectives of this research were (1)  to examine the current knowledge and actual circumstance of  agricultural workers about mangosteen product processing; and (2) to  analyze and evaluate ways to develop capacity of mangosteen  product processing. The population of this study was 15,125 people  who work in the agricultural sector, in this context, mangosteen  production, in the eastern part of Thailand that included Chantaburi  Province, Rayong Province, Trad Province and Pracheenburi  Province. The sample size based on Yamane’s calculation with 95%  reliability was therefore 392 samples. Mixed method was employed  included questionnaire and focus group discussion with  Connoisseurship Model used in order to collect quantitative and  qualitative data. Key informants were used in the focus group  including agricultural business owners, academic people in agro food  processing, local academics, local community development staff,  OTOP subcommittee, and representatives of agro processing  industry professional organizations. The study found that the  majority of the respondents agreed with a high level (in five- rating  scale) towards most of variables of knowledge management in agro  food processing. The result of the current knowledge and actual  circumstance of agricultural human resource in an arena of  mangosteen product processing revealed that mostly, the respondents  agreed at a high level to establish 7 variables. The guideline to  developing the body of knowledge in order to enhance the capacity  of the agricultural workers in mangosteen product processing was  delivered in the focus group discussion. The discussion finally  contributed to an idea to produce manuals for mangosteen product  processing methods, with 4 products chosen: (1) mangosteen soap;  (2) mangosteen juice; (3) mangosteen toffee; and (4) mangosteen  preserves or jam.

Keywords: Capacity Enhancement, Agricultural Workers, Mangosteen Product Processing.

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Authors: Deepak K. Semwal, Ruchi B. Semwal, Aijaz Ahmad, Guy P. Kamatou, Alvaro M. Viljoen

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Kigelia africana (Lam.) Benth. (Bignoniaceae) is a reputed traditional remedy for various human ailments such as skin diseases, microbial infections, melanoma, stomach troubles, metabolic disorders, malaria and general pains. In spite of the fruit being widely used for purposes related to its antibacterial and antifungal properties, the chemical constituents associated with the activity have not been fully identified. To elucidate the active principles, we evaluated the antimicrobial activity of fruit extracts and purified fractions against Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecalis, Moraxella catarrhalis, Escherichia coli, Candida albicans and Candida tropicalis. Shade-dried fruits were powdered and extracted with hydroalcoholic (1:1) mixture by soaking at room temperature for 72 h. The crude extract was further fractionated by column chromatography, with successive elution using hexane, dichloromethane, ethyl acetate, acetone and methanol. The dichloromethane and ethyl acetate fractions were combined and subjected to column chromatography to furnish a wax and oil from the eluates of 20% and 40% ethyl acetate in hexane, respectively. The GC-MS and GC×GC-MS results revealed that linoleic acid, linolenic acid, palmitic acid, arachidic acid and stearic acid were the major constituents in both oil and wax. The crude hydroalcoholic extract exhibited the strongest activity with MICs of 0.125-0.5 mg/mL, followed by the ethyl acetate (MICs = 0.125-1.0 mg/mL), dichloromethane (MICs = 0.250-2.0 mg/mL), hexane (MICs = 0.25- 2.0 mg/mL), acetone (MICs = 0.5-2.0 mg/mL) and methanol (MICs = 1.0-2.0 mg/mL), whereas the wax (MICs = 2.0-4.0 mg/mL) and oil (MICs = 4.0-8.0 mg/mL) showed poor activity. The study concludes that synergistic interactions of chemical constituents could be responsible for the antimicrobial activity of K. africana fruits, which needs a more holistic approach to understand the mechanism of its antimicrobial activity.

Keywords: Kigelia Africana, traditional medicine, antimicrobial activity, Candida albicans, palmitic acid, synergistic interaction.

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Authors: Lubis A., Widayanti R., Hikmah Z., Endaryanto A., Harsono A., Harianto A., Etika R., Handayani D. K., Sampurna M.

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Neonatal lupus erythematous (NLE) is a rare disease marked by clinical characteristic and specific maternal autoantibody. Many cutaneous, cardiac, liver, and hematological manifestations could happen with affect of one organ or multiple. In this case, both babies were premature, low birth weight (LBW), small for gestational age (SGA) and born through caesarean section from a systemic lupus erythematous (SLE) mother. In the first case, we found a baby girl with dyspnea and grunting. Chest X ray showed respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) great I and echocardiography showed small atrial septal defect (ASD) and ventricular septal defect (VSD). She also developed anemia, thrombocytopenia, elevated C-reactive protein, hypoalbuminemia, increasing coagulation factors, hyperbilirubinemia, and positive blood culture of Klebsiella pneumonia. Anti-Ro/SSA and Anti-nRNP/sm were positive. Intravenous fluid, antibiotic, transfusion of blood, thrombocyte concentrate, and fresh frozen plasma were given. The second baby, male presented with necrotic tissue on the left ear and skin rashes, erythematous macula, athropic scarring, hyperpigmentation on all of his body with various size and facial haemorrhage. He also suffered from thrombocytopenia, mild elevated transaminase enzyme, hyperbilirubinemia, anti-Ro/SSA was positive. Intravenous fluid, methyprednisolone, intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG), blood, and thrombocyte concentrate transfution were given. Two cases of neonatal lupus erythematous had been presented. Diagnosis based on clinical presentation and maternal auto antibody on neonate. Organ involvement in NLE can occur as single or multiple manifestations.

Keywords: Neonatus lupus erythematous, maternal autoantibody, clinical characteristic.

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Authors: M. Inmaculada Alvarez-Fernández, Celestino González-Nicieza, M. Belén Prendes-Gero, Fernando López-Gayarre

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Among many factors affecting the stability of mining excavations, rock-bursts and tremors play a special role. These dynamic loads occur practically always and have different sources of generation. The most important of them is the commonly used mining technique, which disintegrates a certain area of the rock mass not only in the area of the planned mining, but also creates waves that significantly exceed this area affecting the structural elements. In this work it is analysed the consequences of dynamic loads over the structural elements in an underground room and pillar mine to avoid roof instabilities. With this end, dynamic loads were evaluated through in situ and laboratory tests and simulated with numerical modelling. Initially, the geotechnical characterization of all materials was carried out by mean of large-scale tests. Then, drill holes were done on the roof of the mine and were monitored to determine possible discontinuities in it. Three seismic stations and a triaxial accelerometer were employed to measure the vibrations from blasting tests, establish the dynamic behaviour of roof and pillars and develop the transmission laws. At last, computer simulations by FLAC3D software were done to check the effect of vibrations on the stability of the roofs. The study shows that in-situ tests have a greater reliability than laboratory samples because of eliminating the effect of heterogeneities, that the pillars work decreasing the amplitude of the vibration around them, and that the tensile strength of a beam and depending on its span is overcome with waves in phase and delayed. The obtained transmission law allows designing a blasting which guarantees safety and prevents the risk of future failures.

Keywords: Dynamic modelling, long term instability risks, room and pillar, seismic collapse.

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Authors: Manssour A. Abdulsalam Bin Miskeen, Ahmed Mohamed Alhodairi, Riza Atiq Abdullah Bin O. K. Rahmat

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In the planning point of view, it is essential to have mode choice, due to the massive amount of incurred in transportation systems. The intercity travellers in Libya have distinct features, as against travellers from other countries, which includes cultural and socioeconomic factors. Consequently, the goal of this study is to recognize the behavior of intercity travel using disaggregate models, for projecting the demand of nation-level intercity travel in Libya. Multinomial Logit Model for all the intercity trips has been formulated to examine the national-level intercity transportation in Libya. The Multinomial logit model was calibrated using nationwide revealed preferences (RP) and stated preferences (SP) survey. The model was developed for deference purpose of intercity trips (work, social and recreational). The variables of the model have been predicted based on maximum likelihood method. The data needed for model development were obtained from all major intercity corridors in Libya. The final sample size consisted of 1300 interviews. About two-thirds of these data were used for model calibration, and the remaining parts were used for model validation. This study, which is the first of its kind in Libya, investigates the intercity traveler’s mode-choice behavior. The intercity travel mode-choice model was successfully calibrated and validated. The outcomes indicate that, the overall model is effective and yields higher precision of estimation. The proposed model is beneficial, due to the fact that, it is receptive to a lot of variables, and can be employed to determine the impact of modifications in the numerous characteristics on the need for various travel modes. Estimations of the model might also be of valuable to planners, who can estimate possibilities for various modes and determine the impact of unique policy modifications on the need for intercity travel.

Keywords: Multinomial logit model, improved intercity transport, intercity mode-choice behavior, disaggregate analysis.

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Authors: Suttijit Sriwatcharakul

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The bioactivity studies from the weed ethanolic crude extracts from leaf, stem, pod and root of wild spider flower; Cleoma viscosa Linn. were analyzed for the growth inhibition of 6 bacterial species; Salmonella typhimurium TISTR 5562, Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853, Staphylococcus aureus TISTR 1466, Streptococcus epidermidis ATCC 1228, Escherichia coli DMST 4212 and Bacillus subtilis ATCC 6633 with initial concentration crude extract of 50 mg/ml. The agar well diffusion results found that the extracts inhibit only gram positive bacteria species; S. aureus, S. epidermidis and B. subtilis. The minimum inhibition concentration study with gram positive strains revealed that leaf crude extract give the best result of the lowest concentration compared with other plant parts to inhibit the growth of S. aureus, S. epidermidis and B. subtilis at 0.78, 0.39 and lower than 0.39 mg/ml, respectively. The determination of total phenolic compounds in the crude extracts exhibited the highest phenolic content was 10.41 mg GAE/g dry weight in leaf crude extract. Analyzed the efficacy of free radical scavenging by using DPPH radical scavenging assay with all crude extracts showed value of IC50 of leaf, stem, pod and root crude extracts were 8.32, 12.26, 21.62 and 35.99 mg/ml, respectively. Studied cytotoxicity of crude extracts on human breast adenocarcinoma cell line by MTT assay found that pod extract had the most cytotoxicity CC50 value, 32.41 µg/ml. Antioxidant activity and cytotoxicity of crude extracts exhibited that the more increase of extract concentration, the more activities indicated. According to the bioactivities results, the leaf crude extract of Cleoma viscosa Linn. is the most interesting plant part for further work to search the beneficial of this weed.

Keywords: Antimicrobial, antioxidant activity, Cleoma viscosa Linn., cytotoxicity test, total phenolic compound.

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Authors: Lan Luo

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In China’s construction industry, it is a normal practice to separately subcontract the decoration engineering part from construction engineering, and Building Information Modeling (BIM) is also done separately. Application of BIM in decoration engineering should be integrated with other disciplines, but Chinese current practice makes this very difficult and complicated. Currently, there are three barriers in the auditing of BIM application in decoration engineering in China: heavy workload; scarcity of qualified professionals; and lack of literature concerning audit contents, standards, and methods. Therefore, it is significant to perform research on what (contents) should be evaluated, in which phase, and by whom (professional qualifications) in BIM application in decoration construction so that the application of BIM can be promoted in a better manner. Based on this consideration, four principles of BIM auditing are proposed: Comprehensiveness of information, accuracy of data, aesthetic attractiveness of appearance, and scheme optimization. In the model audit, three methods should be used: Collision, observation, and contrast. In addition, BIM auditing at six stages is discussed and a checklist for work items and results to be submitted is proposed. This checklist can be used for reference by decoration project participants.

Keywords: Audit, evaluation, dimensions, methods, standards, building information modeling application, decoration engineering projects.

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Authors: Chowdhury Dilruba Shoma

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Gender is about equal rights that both males and females having access to responsibilities and opportunities in decision making is a fundamental human right. It is also a precondition for, and a mark of, sustainable people-oriented development. In Bangladesh, women have fewer opportunities than men do to access credit from banks and financial institutions. Entrenched patriarchal attitudes, unequal inheritance rights, and male-dominated hierarchies in the financial system, plus high interest rates and a lack of security/collateral, make it harder for women to obtain bank loans. Limited access to institutional credit is a serious restraint on the productivity and income of women entrepreneurs, (and the wider economy). These gender-biased and structural barriers inhibit women’s access to fundamental economic rights. Using a liberal feminist theoretical lens, this study provides some useful insights into the relationship between gender inequality and entrepreneurship, leading to a better understanding of women’s entrepreneurship development in Bangladesh. Recently, the Bangladesh Government, the United Nations Capital Development Fund, and Bangladesh Bank opened up the Women Entrepreneur Support Fund (WESF) ‒ Credit Guarantee Scheme (CGS) pilot project to cover collateral shortfalls for women entrepreneurs in the small and medium enterprise sector. The aim is to improve gender equality and advance women’s rights in relation to receiving credit. This article examines the challenges and prospects of the WESF-CGS, and suggests that implementation of measures in WESF-CGS policymaking, coupled with a combination of legislatory and regulatory reforms that implement the fundamental tenets of liberal feminism, can lead to a comprehensive and effective credit policy to boost women’s agency and economic empowerment. This may ultimately lead to more sustainable development in Bangladesh.

Keywords: Bangladesh, CGS, liberal feminist theory, women entrepreneur support fund.

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Authors: Pedro Llanos, Diego García

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This paper is addressed to expanding our understanding of the effects of hypoxia training on our bodies to better model its dynamics and leverage some of its implications and effects on human health. Hypoxia training is a recommended practice for military and civilian pilots that allow them to recognize their early hypoxia signs and symptoms, and Scientist Astronaut Candidates (SACs) who underwent hypobaric hypoxia (HH) exposure as part of a training activity for prospective suborbital flight applications. This observational-analytical study describes physiologic responses and symptoms experienced by a SAC group before, during and after HH exposure and proposes a model for assessing predicted versus observed physiological responses. A group of individuals with diverse Science Technology Engineering Mathematics (STEM) backgrounds conducted a hypobaric training session to an altitude up to 22,000 ft (FL220) or 6,705 meters, where heart rate (HR), breathing rate (BR) and core temperature (Tc) were monitored with the use of a chest strap sensor pre and post HH exposure. A pulse oximeter registered levels of saturation of oxygen (SpO₂), number and duration of desaturations during the HH chamber flight. Hypoxia symptoms as described by the SACs during the HH training session were also registered. This data allowed to generate a preliminary predictive model of the oxygen desaturation and O₂ pressure curve for each subject, which consists of a sixth-order polynomial fit during exposure, and a fifth or fourth-order polynomial fit during recovery. Data analysis showed that HR and BR showed no significant differences between pre and post HH exposure in most of the SACs, while Tc measures showed slight but consistent decrement changes. All subjects registered SpO₂ greater than 94% for the majority of their individual HH exposures, but all of them presented at least one clinically significant desaturation (SpO₂ < 85% for more than 5 seconds) and half of the individuals showed SpO₂ below 87% for at least 30% of their HH exposure time. Finally, real time collection of HH symptoms presented temperature somatosensory perceptions (SP) for 65% of individuals, and task-focus issues for 52.5% of individuals as the most common HH indications. 95% of the subjects experienced HH onset symptoms below FL180; all participants achieved full recovery of HH symptoms within 1 minute of donning their O₂ mask. The current HH study performed on this group of individuals suggests a rapid and fully reversible physiologic response after HH exposure as expected and obtained in previous studies. Our data showed consistent results between predicted versus observed SpO₂ curves during HH suggesting a mathematical function that may be used to model HH performance deficiencies. During the HH study, real-time HH symptoms were registered providing evidenced SP and task focusing as the earliest and most common indicators. Finally, an assessment of HH signs of symptoms in a group of heterogeneous, non-pilot individuals showed similar results to previous studies in homogeneous populations of pilots.

Keywords: Altitude sickness, cabin pressure, hypobaric chamber training, symptoms and altitude, slow onset hypoxia.

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Authors: Maysam Mard-Soltani, Mohamad Javad Rasaee, Saeed Khalili, Abdol Karim Sheikhi, Mehdi Hedayati

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Production of specific antibody responses against hTSH is a cumbersome process due to the high identity between the hTSH and the other members of the glycoprotein hormone family (FSH, LH and HCG) and the high identity between the human hTSH and host animals for antibody production. Therefore, two polyclonal antibodies were purified against two recombinant proteins. Four possible ELISA tests were designed based on these antibodies. These ELISA tests were checked against hTSH and other glycoprotein hormones, and their sensitivity and specificity were assessed. Bioinformatics tools were used to analyze the immunological properties. After the immunogen region selection from hTSH protein, c terminal of B hTSH was selected and applied. Two recombinant genes, with these cut pieces (first: two repeats of C terminal of B hTSH, second: tetanous toxin+B hTSH C terminal), were designed and sub-cloned into the pET32a expression vector. Standard methods were used for protein expression, purification, and verification. Thereafter, immunizations of the white New Zealand rabbits were performed and the serums of them were used for antibody titration, purification and characterization. Then, four ELISA tests based on two antibodies were employed to assess the hTSH and other glycoprotein hormones. The results of these assessments were compared with standard amounts. The obtained results indicated that the desired antigens were successfully designed, sub-cloned, expressed, confirmed and used for in vivo immunization. The raised antibodies were capable of specific and sensitive hTSH detection, while the cross reactivity with the other members of the glycoprotein hormone family was minimum. Among the four designed tests, the test in which the antibody against first protein was used as capture antibody, and the antibody against second protein was used as detector antibody did not show any hook effect up to 50 miu/l. Both proteins have the ability to induce highly sensitive and specific antibody responses against the hTSH. One of the antibody combinations of these antibodies has the highest sensitivity and specificity in hTSH detection.

Keywords: hTSH, bioinformatics, protein expression, cross reactivity.

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Authors: Walsh Joe, Climstein Mike, Heazlewood Ian Timothy, Burke Stephen, Kettunen Jyrki, Adams Kent, DeBeliso Mark

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Whilst there is growing evidence that activity across the lifespan is beneficial for improved health, there are also many changes involved with the aging process and subsequently the potential for reduced indices of health. The nexus between health, physical activity and aging is complex and has raised much interest in recent times due to the realization that a multifaceted approached is necessary in order to counteract a growing obesity epidemic. By investigating age based trends within a population adhering to competitive sport at older ages, further insight might be gleaned to assist in understanding one of many factors influencing this relationship. BMI was derived using data gathered on a total of 6,071 masters athletes (51.9% male, 48.1% female) aged 25 to 91 years ( =51.5, s =±9.7), competing at the Sydney World Masters Games (2009). Using linear and loess regression it was demonstrated that the usual tendency for prevalence of higher BMI increasing with age was reversed in the sample. This trend in reversal was repeated for both male and female only sub-sets of the sample participants, indicating the possibility of improved prevalence of BMI with increasing age for both the sample as a whole and these individual subgroups. This evidence of improved classification in one index of health (reduced BMI) for masters athletes (when compared to the general population) implies there are either improved levels of this index of health with aging due to adherence to sport or possibly the reduced BMI is advantageous and contributes to this cohort adhering (or being attracted) to masters sport at older ages. Demonstration of this proportionately under-investigated World Masters Games population having an improved relationship between BMI and increasing age over the general population is of particular interest in the context of the measures being taken globally to curb an obesity epidemic.

Keywords: Aging, masters athlete, Quetelet Index, sport.

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Authors: Sajjad Shojaeidoust, Mohsen Ghanbarzadeh, Abdolhamid Habibi

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Exercise-induced bronchospasm (EIB) is a transitory condition of airflow obstruction that is associated with physical activities. It is noted that high ventilation can lead to an increase in the heat and reduce in the moisture in airways resistance of trachea. Also causes of pathophysiological mechanism are EIB. Accordingly, studying some parameters of pulmonary function (FVC, FEV1) among active people seems quintessential. The aim of this study was to analyze bronchospasm following the implementation of a program of maximum aerobic exercise in active men at Chamran University of Ahwaz. Method: In this quasi-experimental study, the population consisted of all students at Chamran University. Among from 55 participants, of which, 15 were randomly selected as the experimental group. In this study, the size of the maximum oxygen consumption was initially measured, and then, based on the maximum oxygen consumed, the active individuals were identified. After five minutes’ warm-up, Strand treadmill exercise test was taken (one session) and pulmonary parameters were measured at both pre- and post-tests (spirometer). After data normalization using KS and non-normality of the data, the Wilcoxon test was used to analyze the data. The significance level for all statistical surveys was considered p≤0/05. Results: The results showed that the ventilation factors and bronchospasm (FVC, FEV1) in the pre-test and post-test resulted in no significant difference among the active people (p≥0/05). Discussion and conclusion: Based on the results observed in this study, it appears that pulmonary indices in active individuals increased after aerobic test. The increase in this indicator in active people is due to increased volume and elasticity of the lungs as well. In other words, pulmonary index is affected by rib muscles. It is considered that progress over respiratory muscle strength and endurance has raised FEV1 in the active cases.

Keywords: Bronchospasm, aerobic active maximum, pulmonary function, spirometer.

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Authors: Enrique Claver Cortés, Bartolomé Marco Lajara, Eduardo Sánchez García, Pedro Seva Larrosa, Encarnación Manresa Marhuenda, Lorena Ruiz Fernández, Esther Poveda Pareja

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In recent decades, the analysis of the effects of clustering as an essential factor for the development of innovations and the competitiveness of enterprises has raised great interest in different areas. Nowadays, companies have access to almost all tangible and intangible resources located and/or developed in any country in the world. However, despite the obvious advantages that this situation entails for companies, their geographical location has shown itself, increasingly clearly, to be a fundamental factor that positively influences their innovative performance and competitiveness. Industrial clusters could represent a unique level of analysis, positioned between the individual company and the industry, which makes them an ideal unit of analysis to determine the effects derived from company membership of a cluster. Also, the absorptive capacity (hereinafter 'AC') can mediate the process of innovation development by companies located in a cluster. The transformation and exploitation of knowledge could have a mediating effect between knowledge acquisition and innovative performance. The main objective of this work is to determine the key factors that affect the degree of generation and use of knowledge from the environment by companies and, consequently, their innovative performance and competitiveness. The elements analyzed are the companies' membership of a cluster and the AC. To this end, 30 most relevant papers published on this subject in the "Web of Science" database have been reviewed. Our findings show that, within a cluster, the knowledge coming from the companies' environment can significantly influence their innovative performance and competitiveness, although in this relationship, the degree of access and exploitation of the companies to this knowledge plays a fundamental role, which depends on a series of elements both internal and external to the company.

Keywords: Absorptive capacity, clusters, innovation, knowledge.

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Authors: Mahdiyeh Zafaranchi

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With rapid development of urbanization and improvement of living standards in the world, energy consumption and carbon emissions of the building sector are expected to increase in the near future; because of that, energy-saving issues have become more important among the engineers. Besides, the building sector is a major contributor to energy consumption and carbon emissions. The concept of efficient building appeared as a response to the need for reducing energy demand in this sector which has the main purpose of shifting from standard buildings to low-energy buildings. Although energy-saving should happen in all steps of a building during the life cycle (material production, construction, demolition), the main concept of efficient energy building is saving energy during the life expectancy of a building by using passive and active systems, and should not sacrifice comfort and quality to reach these goals. The main aim of this study is to investigate passive strategies (do not need energy consumption or use renewable energy) to achieve energy-efficient buildings. Energy retrofit measures were explored by eQuest software using a case study as a base model. The study investigates predictive accuracy for the major factors like thermal transmittance (U-value) of the material, windows, shading devices, thermal insulation, rate of the exposed envelope, window/wall ration, lighting system in the energy consumption of the building. The base model was located in Istanbul, Turkey. The impact of eight passive parameters on energy consumption had been indicated. After analyzing the base model by eQuest, a final scenario was suggested which had a good energy performance. The results showed a decrease in the U-values of materials, the rate of exposing buildings, and windows had a significant effect on energy consumption. Finally, savings in electric consumption of about 10.5%, and gas consumption by about 8.37% in the suggested model were achieved annually.

Keywords: Efficient building, electric and gas consumption, eQuest, passive parameters.

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Authors: Nattapol Pourprasert

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This study has an objective to analyze foreign policy of member states in globalization current, aiming to answer that the foreign policy of member states have been changed or remained the same and there are any factors affecting changing of foreign policy of the member states. From the study results, it is found that the foreign policy of Thailand is a friendly foreign policy with all states. The policy of Indonesia is more opened because of a change in leader, allowing more democratic development in the country; the government has proceeded with friendly foreign policy with the states in order to bring funds into the state. The foreign policy of Malaysia is not much changed as there is no changing in the leader; the policy of Malaysia has reconciled relations with main city of Indian and Chinese residing in the country in order to bring investments into the country and to relieve tensions in the country. The foreign policy of the Philippines has proceeded with policy under the ASEAN framework and emphasized on international Islam communities. The foreign policy of Singapore has the least changed as the Singapore's policy focuses on internal trade since the state was found. As for the foreign policy of Brunei Darussalam, Brunei has a little role in the international stage; the state having closest relationship as from the view of history is Singapore as the Singaporean has invested in retailing business in Brunei. The foreign policy of Vietnam has emphasized on an omnidirectional foreign policy in order to compete with several states in global stage. The foreign policy of Myanmar has proceeded with a friendly foreign policy with all ASEAN member states, the East-west Corridor transportation line from Myanmar through Thailand and Lao to Vietnam has been developed. As for the foreign policy of Lao, In 2001, the Thai government and Lao government held a discussion which Thailand reaffirmed the position not to support the anti-Lao group. The foreign policy of Cambodia has proceeded with more openness, having good relation with China, Russia and USA as these states has invested in the state, especially the US company.

Keywords: Globalization, Public Policy Analysis, Foreign Policy, ASEAN Member States.

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Authors: Fawaz A. Masoud, Heba_tallah Khattab, Mahmoud Al-Karazoon

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The database reverse engineering problems and solving processes are getting mature, even though, the academic community is facing the complex problem of knowledge transfer, both in university and industrial contexts. This paper presents a new CASE tool developed at the University of Jordan which addresses an efficient support of this transfer, namely UJ-CASE-TOOL. It is a small and self-contained application exhibiting representative problems and appropriate solutions that can be understood in a limited time. It presents an algorithm that describes the developed academic CASE tool which has been used for several years both as an illustration of the principles of database reverse engineering and as an exercise aimed at academic and industrial students.

Keywords: Reverse engineering, ERD, DBRE, case tools.

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Authors: A. Gandomkar, K. Fouladi

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One of the efficient factors in comprehensive development of an area is to provide water sources and on the other hand the appropriate management of them. Population growth and nourishment security for such a population necessitate the achievement of constant development besides the reforming of traditional management in order to increase the profit of sources; In this case, the constant exploitation of sources for the next generations will be considered in this program. The achievement of this development without the consideration and possibility of water development will be too difficult. Zayanderood basin with 41500 areas in square kilometers contains 7 sub-basins and 20 units of hydrologic. In this basin area, from the entire environment descending, just a small part will enter into the river currents and the rest will be out of efficient usage by various ways. The most important surface current of this basin is Zayanderood River with 403 kilometers length which is originated from east slopes of Zagros mount and after draining of this basin area it will enter into Gaavkhooni pond. The existence of various sources and consumptions of water in Zayanderood basin, water transfer of the other basin areas into this basin, of course the contradiction between the upper and lower beneficiaries, the existence of worthwhile natural ecosystems such as Gaavkhooni swamp in this basin area and finally, the drought condition and lack of water in this area all necessitate the existence of comprehensive management of water sources in this central basin area of Iran as this method is a kind of management which considers the development and the management of water sources as an equilibrant way to increase the economical and social benefits. In this study, it is tried to survey the network of surface water sources of basin in upper and lower sections; at the most, according to the difficulties and deficiencies of an efficient management of water sources in this basin area, besides the difficulties of water draining and the destructive phenomenon of flood-water, the appropriate guidelines according to the region conditions are presented in order to prevent the deviation of water in upper sections and development of regions in lower sections of Zayanderood dam.

Keywords: Zayanderood Basin, Efficient Management, Hydrology Climate.

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Authors: M. Ntšolo, D. Kalumba, N. Lefu, G. Letlatsa

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Rock mass damage due to shear tectonic activity has been investigated largely in geoscience where fluid transport is of major interest. However, little has been studied on the effect of shear zones on rock mass behavior and its impact on stability of rock slopes. At Letšeng Diamonds open pit mine in Lesotho, the shear zone composed of sheared kimberlite material, calcite and altered basalt is forming part of the haul ramp into the main pit cut 3. The alarming rate at which the shear zone is deteriorating has triggered concerns about both local and global stability of pit the walls. This study presents the numerical modelling of the open pit slope affected by shear zone at Letšeng Diamond Mine (LDM). Analysis of the slope involved development of the slope model by using a two-dimensional finite element code RS2. Interfaces between shear zone and host rock were represented by special joint elements incorporated in the finite element code. The analysis of structural geological mapping data provided a good platform to understand the joint network. Major joints including shear zone were incorporated into the model for simulation. This approach proved successful by demonstrating that continuum modelling can be used to evaluate evolution of stresses, strain, plastic yielding and failure mechanisms that are consistent with field observations. Structural control due to geological shear zone structure proved to be important in its location, size and orientation. Furthermore, the model analyzed slope deformation and sliding possibility along shear zone interfaces. This type of approach can predict shear zone deformation and failure mechanism, hence mitigation strategies can be deployed for safety of human lives and property within mine pits.

Keywords: Numerical modeling, open pit mine, shear zone, slope stability.

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Authors: M. Gomaa Abdoelatef, Robert M. Field, Lee, Yong-Kwan

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Growing human population has placed increased demands on water supplies and spurred a heightened interest in desalination infrastructure. Key elements of the economics of desalination projects are thermal and electrical inputs. With growing concerns over use of fossil fuels to (indirectly) supply these inputs, coupling of desalination with nuclear power production represents a significant opportunity. Individually, nuclear and desalination technologies have a long history and are relatively mature. For desalination, Reverse Osmosis (RO) has the lowest energy inputs. However, the economically driven output quality of the water produced using RO, which uses only electrical inputs, is lower than the output water quality from thermal desalination plants. Therefore, modern desalination projects consider that RO should be coupled with thermal desalination technologies (MSF, MED, or MED-TVC) with attendant steam inputs to permit blending to produce various qualities of water. A large nuclear facility is well positioned to dispatch large quantities of both electrical and thermal power. This paper considers the supply of thermal energy to a large desalination facility to examine heat balance impact on the nuclear steam cycle. The APR1400 nuclear plant is selected as prototypical from both a capacity and turbine cycle heat balance perspective to examine steam supply and the impact on electrical output. Extraction points and quantities of steam are considered parametrically along with various types of thermal desalination technologies to form the basis for further evaluations of economically optimal approaches to the interface of nuclear power production with desalination projects. In our study, the thermodynamic evaluation will be executed by DE-TOP, an IAEA sponsored program. DE-TOP has capabilities to analyze power generation systems coupled to desalination plants through various steam extraction positions, taking into consideration the isolation loop between the nuclear and the thermal desalination facilities (i.e., for radiological isolation).

Keywords: APR1400, Cogeneration, Desalination, DE-TOP, IAEA, MED, MED-TVC, MSF, RO.

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Authors: Patricia M. Boechler, Heather M. Gautreau

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In this research study, postsecondary students completed an information learning task in an avatar-based 3D virtual learning environment. Three factors were of interest in relation to learning; 1) the influence of collaborative vs. independent conditions, 2) the influence of the spatial arrangement of the virtual environment (linear, random and clustered), and 3) the relationship of individual differences such as spatial skill, general computer experience and video game experience to learning. Students completed pretest measures of prior computer experience and prior spatial skill. Following the premeasure administration, students were given instruction to move through the virtual environment and study all the material within 10 information stations. In the collaborative condition, students proceeded in randomly assigned pairs, while in the independent condition they proceeded alone. After this learning phase, all students individually completed a multiple choice test to determine information retention. The overall results indicated that students in pairs did not perform any better or worse than independent students. As far as individual differences, only spatial ability predicted the performance of students. General computer experience and video game experience did not. Taking a closer look at the pairs and spatial ability, comparisons were made on pairs high/matched spatial ability, pairs low/matched spatial ability and pairs that were mismatched on spatial ability. The results showed that both high/matched pairs and mismatched pairs outperformed low/matched pairs. That is, if a pair had even one individual with strong spatial ability they would perform better than pairs with only low spatial ability individuals. This suggests that, in virtual environments, the specific individuals that are paired together are important for performance outcomes. The paper also includes a discussion of trends within the data that have implications for virtual environment education.

Keywords: Avatar-based, virtual environment, paired learning, individual differences.

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Authors: Lena Shulyakovskaya

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Every year, schools aim to develop and adopt new technology and pedagogy as a way to equip today's students with the needed 21st Century skills. However, the field of primary and secondary education may not be as open to embracing change in reality. Despite the drive to reform and innovation, the field of education in Canada is still very much steeped in tradition and uses many of the practices that came into effect over 50 years ago. Among those are employment and retention practices. Millennials are the youngest generation of professionals entering the workplace at this time and the ones leaving their jobs within just a few years. Almost half of new teachers leave Canadian schools within their first five years on the job. This paper discusses one of the contributing factors that lead Canadian millennial teachers to either leave or stay in the profession - standardized education system. Using an exploratory case study approach, in-depth interviews with former and current millennial teachers were conducted to learn about their experiences within the K-12 system. Among the findings were the young teachers' concerns about the constant changes to teaching practices and technological implementations that claimed to advance teaching and learning, and yet in reality only disguised and reiterated the same traditional, outdated, and standardized practices that already existed. Furthermore, while many millennial teachers aspired to be innovative with their curriculum and teaching practices, they felt trapped and helpless in the hands of school leaders who were very reluctant to change. While many new program ideas and technological advancements are being made openly available to teachers on a regular basis, it is important to consider the education field as a whole and how it plays into the teachers' ability to realistically implement changes. By the year 2025, millennials will make up approximately 75% of the North American workforce. It is important to examine generational differences among teachers and understand how millennial teachers may be shaping the future of primary and secondary schools, either by staying or leaving the profession.

Keywords: 21st century skills, millennials, teacher attrition, tradition.

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Authors: B. Gechbaia, K. Goletiani, G. Gabedava, N. Mikeltadze

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At this stage, Georgia is a country which is actively involved in the European integration process, for which the primary priority is effective integration in the European education system. The modern Georgian higher education system is the process of establishing a new sociocultural reality, whose main priorities are determined by the Quality System as a continuous cycle of planning, implementation, checking and acting. Obviously, in this situation, the issue of management of education institutions comes out in the foreground, since the proper planning and implementation of personnel management processes is one of the main determinants of the company's performance. At the same time, one of the most important factors is the psychological comfort of the personnel, ensuring their protection and efficiency of stress management policy.

The purpose of this research is to determine how intensely the relationship is between the psychological comfort of the personnel and the efficiency of the quality system in the institution as the quality assurance mechanisms of educational institutions affect the stability of personnel, prevention and management of the stressful situation. The research was carried out within the framework of the Internal Grant Project «The Role of Organizational Culture in the Process of Settlement of Management of Stress and Conflict, Georgian Reality and European Experience » of the Batumi Navigation Teaching University, based on the analysis of the survey results of target groups. The small-scale research conducted by us has revealed that the introduction of quality assurance system and its active implementation increased the quality of management of Georgian educational institutions, increased the level of universal engagement in internal and external processes and as a result, it has improved the quality of education as well as social and psychological comfort indicators of the society.

Keywords: Quality assurance, effective management, stability of personnel, psychological comfort, stress management.

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Authors: Avita K. Marihal, K.S. Jagadeesh, Sarita Sinha

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Pentachlorophenol (PCP) is a polychlorinated aromatic compound that is widespread in industrial effluents and is considered to be a serious pollutant. Among the variety of industrial effluents encountered, effluents from tanning industry are very important and have a serious pollution potential. PCP is also formed unintentionally in effluents of paper and pulp industries. It is highly persistent in soils and is lethal to a wide variety of beneficial microorganisms and insects, human beings and animals. The natural processes that breakdown toxic chemicals in the environment have become the focus of much attention to develop safe and environmentfriendly deactivation technologies. Microbes and plants are among the most important biological agents that remove and degrade waste materials to enable their recycling in the environment. The present investigation was carried out with the aim of developing a microbial system for bioremediation of PCP polluted soils. A number of plant species were evaluated for their ability to tolerate different concentrations of pentachlorophenol (PCP) in the soil. The experiment was conducted for 30 days under pot culture conditions. The toxic effect of PCP on plants was studied by monitoring seed germination, plant growth and biomass. As the concentration of PCP was increased to 50 ppm, the inhibition of seed germination, plant growth and biomass was also increased. Although PCP had a negative effect on all plant species tested, maize and groundnut showed the maximum tolerance to PCP. Other tolerating crops included wheat, safflower, sunflower, and soybean. From the rhizosphere soil of the tolerant seedlings, as many as twenty seven PCP tolerant bacteria were isolated. From soybean, 8; sunflower, 3; safflower 8; maize 2; groundnut and wheat, 3 each isolates were made. They were screened for their PCP degradation potentials. HPLC analyses of PCP degradation revealed that the isolate MAZ-2 degraded PCP completely. The isolate MAZ-1 was the next best isolate with 90 per cent PCP degradation. These strains hold promise to be used in the bioremediation of PCP polluted soils.

Keywords: Biodegradation, pentachlorophenol, rhizobacteria.

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Authors: C. Ardil

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In this paper, the comparison of composite programming and compromise programming for the aircraft selection problem is discussed using the multiple criteria decision analysis method. The decision making process requires the prior definition and fulfillment of certain factors, especially when it comes to complex areas such as aircraft selection problems. The proposed technique gives more efficient results by extending the composite programming and compromise programming, which are widely used in modeling multiple criteria decisions. The proposed model is applied to a practical decision problem for evaluating and selecting aircraft problems.A selection of aircraft was made based on the proposed approach developed in the field of multiple criteria decision making. The model presented is solved by using the following methods: composite programming, and compromise programming. The importance values of the weight coefficients of the criteria are calculated using the mean weight method. The evaluation and ranking of aircraft are carried out using the composite programming and compromise programming methods. In order to determine the stability of the model and the ability to apply the developed composite programming and compromise programming approach, the paper analyzes its sensitivity, which involves changing the value of the coefficient λ and q in the first part. The second part of the sensitivity analysis relates to the application of different multiple criteria decision making methods, composite programming and compromise programming. In addition, in the third part of the sensitivity analysis, the Spearman correlation coefficient of the ranks obtained was calculated which confirms the applicability of all the proposed approaches.

Keywords: composite programming, compromise programming, additive weighted model, multiplicative weighted model, multiple criteria decision making analysis, MCDMA, aircraft selection

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Authors: Ganesh D. Kale, Sheela N. Vadsola

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Soil erosion is the most serious problem faced at global and local level. So planning of soil conservation measures has become prominent agenda in the view of water basin managers. To plan for the soil conservation measures, the information on soil erosion is essential. Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE), Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation 1 (RUSLE1or RUSLE) and Modified Universal Soil Loss Equation (MUSLE), RUSLE 1.06, RUSLE1.06c, RUSLE2 are most widely used conventional erosion estimation methods. The essential drawbacks of USLE, RUSLE1 equations are that they are based on average annual values of its parameters and so their applicability to small temporal scale is questionable. Also these equations do not estimate runoff generated soil erosion. So applicability of these equations to estimate runoff generated soil erosion is questionable. Data used in formation of USLE, RUSLE1 equations was plot data so its applicability at greater spatial scale needs some scale correction factors to be induced. On the other hand MUSLE is unsuitable for predicting sediment yield of small and large events. Although the new revised forms of USLE like RUSLE 1.06, RUSLE1.06c and RUSLE2 were land use independent and they have almost cleared all the drawbacks in earlier versions like USLE and RUSLE1, they are based on the regional data of specific area and their applicability to other areas having different climate, soil, land use is questionable. These conventional equations are applicable for sheet and rill erosion and unable to predict gully erosion and spatial pattern of rills. So the research was focused on development of nonconventional (other than conventional) methods of soil erosion estimation. When these non-conventional methods are combined with GIS and RS, gives spatial distribution of soil erosion. In the present paper the review of literature on non- conventional methods of soil erosion estimation supported by GIS and RS is presented.

Keywords: Conventional methods, GIS, non-conventionalmethods, remote sensing, soil erosion modeling

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Authors: Kulaya Wimolwat, Panlop Chakravitthamrong, Neti Waranuch

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Background: Seborrheic dermatitis is a common chronic skin condition affecting the face, scalp, chest, and trunk. The cause of seborrheic dermatitis is still unknown. Sebum production, lipid composition, hormone levels, and Malassezia species have been suggested as important factors in the development of seborrheic dermatitis. Curcuma aeruginosa Roxb. extract-containing cream with anti-inflammatory and anti-androgenic properties may be beneficial for treating mild to moderate facial seborrheic dermatitis. Objectives: We evaluated the efficacy and safety of 2% C. aeruginosa Roxb. extract-containing cream in the treatment of mild to moderate seborrheic dermatitis. Methods: This was a prospective, open-label, and non-comparative study. Ten adult patients clinically diagnosed with mild to moderate seborrheic dermatitis were enrolled in a four-week study. The 2% C. aeruginosa Roxb. cream was applied twice daily to a lesional area on the face for four weeks. The Scoring Index (SI) ranking system on days 14 and 28 was compared with that at baseline to determine the efficacy of treatment. The adverse events (burning sensation and erythema) were evaluated on days 14 and 28 to determine the safety of the treatment. Results: Significant improvement was observed in the reduction of the mean SI at day 14 (2.9) and 28 (1.4) compared to that at baseline (4.9). An adverse reaction was observed on day 14 (mild erythema 20% and mild burning sensation 10%) and was resolved by the end of the study. Conclusion: This open-label pilot study has shown that there was a significant improvement in the severity in these seborrheic patients and most reported they were satisfied with it. Reported adverse events were all mild.

Keywords: Anti-androgenic, antifungals, anti-inflammatory, Curcuma aeruginosa, seborrheic dermatitis, efficacy, safety.

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Authors: Miriam Sosa-Díaz, Faustino Sánchez-Garduño

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In population dynamics the study of both, the abundance and the spatial distribution of the populations in a given habitat, is a fundamental issue a From ecological point of view, the determination of the factors influencing such changes involves important problems. In this paper a mathematical model to describe the temporal dynamic and the spatiotemporal dynamic of the interaction of three populations (pollinators, plants and herbivores) is presented. The study we present is carried out by stages: 1. The temporal dynamics and 2. The spatio-temporal dynamics. In turn, each of these stages is developed by considering three cases which correspond to the dynamics of each type of interaction. For instance, for stage 1, we consider three ODE nonlinear systems describing the pollinator-plant, plant-herbivore and plant-pollinator-herbivore, interactions, respectively. In each of these systems different types of dynamical behaviors are reported. Namely, transcritical and pitchfork bifurcations, existence of a limit cycle, existence of a heteroclinic orbit, etc. For the spatiotemporal dynamics of the two mathematical models a novel factor are introduced. This consists in considering that both, the pollinators and the herbivores, move towards those places of the habitat where the plant population density is high. In mathematical terms, this means that the diffusive part of the pollinators and herbivores equations depend on the plant population density. The analysis of this part is presented by considering pairs of populations, i. e., the pollinator-plant and plant-herbivore interactions and at the end the two mathematical model is presented, these models consist of two coupled nonlinear partial differential equations of reaction-diffusion type. These are defined on a rectangular domain with the homogeneous Neumann boundary conditions. We focused in the role played by the density dependent diffusion term into the coexistence of the populations. For both, the temporal and spatio-temporal dynamics, a several of numerical simulations are included.

Keywords: Bifurcation, heteroclinic orbits, steady state, traveling wave.

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Authors: Suprijanto, Linda Sari, Vebi Nadhira , IGN. Merthayasa. Farida I.M

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Detection of human emotions has many potential applications. One of application is to quantify attentiveness audience in order evaluate acoustic quality in concern hall. The subjective audio preference that based on from audience is used. To obtain fairness evaluation of acoustic quality, the research proposed system for multimodal emotion detection; one modality based on brain signals that measured using electroencephalogram (EEG) and the second modality is sequences of facial images. In the experiment, an audio signal was customized which consist of normal and disorder sounds. Furthermore, an audio signal was played in order to stimulate positive/negative emotion feedback of volunteers. EEG signal from temporal lobes, i.e. T3 and T4 was used to measured brain response and sequence of facial image was used to monitoring facial expression during volunteer hearing audio signal. On EEG signal, feature was extracted from change information in brain wave, particularly in alpha and beta wave. Feature of facial expression was extracted based on analysis of motion images. We implement an advance optical flow method to detect the most active facial muscle form normal to other emotion expression that represented in vector flow maps. The reduce problem on detection of emotion state, vector flow maps are transformed into compass mapping that represents major directions and velocities of facial movement. The results showed that the power of beta wave is increasing when disorder sound stimulation was given, however for each volunteer was giving different emotion feedback. Based on features derived from facial face images, an optical flow compass mapping was promising to use as additional information to make decision about emotion feedback.

Keywords: Multimodal Emotion Detection, EEG, Facial Image, Optical Flow, compass mapping, Brain Wave

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Authors: Pradeep Kulshrestha, Maulana Ayoub Ali

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The level of penetration of Islamic banking products and services has recorded a reasonable growth at an exponential rate in many parts of the world. There are many factors which have contributed to this growth including, but not limited to the rapid growth of number of Muslims who are uncomfortable with the conventional ways of banking, interest and higher interest rates scheduled by conventional banks and financial institutions as well as the financial inclusion campaign conducted in many countries. The system is facing legal challenges which open the research fdoor for practitioners and academicians for the sake of finding out solutions to those challenges. This paper tries to investigate the development of the Islamic banking system in the United Kingdom (UK), Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Iran, Kenya, Nigeria and Uganda in order to understand the modalities which have been employed to run an Islamic banking system in the aforementioned countries. The methodology which has been employed in doing this research paper is Doctrinal, of which legislations, policies and other legal tools have been carefully studied and analysed. Again, papers from academic journals, books and financial reports have been deeply analysed for the purpose of enriching the paper and come up with a tangible results. The paper found that in Asia, Malaysia has created the smoothest legal platform for Islamic banking system to work properly in the country. The United Kingdom has tried harder to smooth the banking system without affecting the conventional banking methods and without favouring the operations of Islamic banks. It also tries harder to make UK as an Islamic banking and finance hub in Europe. The entire banking system in Iran is Islamic, while Nigeria has undergone several legal reforms to suit Islamic banking system in the country. Kenya and Uganda are at a different pace in making Islamic Banking system work alongside the conventional banking system.  

Keywords: Shariah, Islamic banking, law, alternative banking.

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