Search results for: test case evolution.

Authors: Shivakumar Krishnamurti, Ruchi Agarwal

Abstract:

The study examines the influence of marital status on consumers of products and services using blogs as a source of information. A pre-designed questionnaire was used to collect the primary data from the respondents (experiences). Data were collected from one hundred and eighty seven respondents residing in and around the Emirates of Sharjah and Dubai of the United Arab Emirates. The collected data was analyzed with the help of statistical tools such as averages, percentages, factor analysis, Student’s t-test and Structural Equation Modelling Technique. Objectives of the study are to know the reasons how married and unmarried or single consumers of products and services are motivated to use blogs as a source of information, to know whether the consumers of products and services irrespective of their marital status share their views and experiences with other bloggers and to know the respondents’ future intentions towards blogging. The study revealed the following: Majority of the respondents have the motivation to blog because they are willing to receive comments on what they post about services, convenience of blogs to search for information about services and products, by blogging respondents share information on the symptoms of a disease/ disorder that may be experienced by someone, helps to share information about ready to cook mix products and are keen to spend more time blogging in the future.

Keywords: Blog, consumer, information, marital status.

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Authors: D. Bhaskar, N. R. Wadehra, M. Gulati, A. Narula, R. Vishnu, G. Katyal

Abstract:

With drug resistance becoming widespread in Plasmodium falciparum infections, the development of the alternative drugs is the desired strategy for prevention and cure of malaria. Three drug targets were selected to screen promising drug molecules from the GSK library of 13469 molecules. Using an in silico structure-based drug designing approach, the differences in binding energies of the substrate and inhibitor were exploited between target sites of parasite and human to design a drug molecule against Plasmodium. The docking studies have shown several promising molecules from GSK library with more effective binding as compared to the already known inhibitors for the drug targets. Though stronger interaction has been shown by several molecules as compared to the reference, few molecules have shown the potential as drug candidates though in vitro studies are required to validate the results. In case of thymidylate synthase-dihydrofolatereductase (TS-DHFR), three compounds have shown promise for future studies as potential drugs.

Keywords: Drug resistance, Drug targets, In silico studies, Plasmodium falciparum.

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Authors: Rana AlHajri, Salah Al-Sharhan, Ahmed Al-Hunaiyyan

Abstract:

Mobile learning is a new learning landscape that offers opportunity for collaborative, personal, informal, and students’ centered learning environment. In implementing any learning system such as a mobile learning environment, learners’ expectations should be taken into consideration. However, there is a lack of studies on this aspect, particularly in the context of Kuwait higher education (HE) institutions. This study focused on how students perceive the use of mobile devices in learning. Although m-learning is considered as an effective educational tool in developed countries, it is not yet fully utilized in Kuwait. The study reports on the results of a survey conducted on 623 HE students in Kuwait to a better understand students' perceptions and opinions about the effectiveness of using mobile learning systems. An analysis of quantitative survey data is presented. The findings indicated that Kuwait HE students are very familiar with mobile devices and its applications. The results also reveal that students have positive perceptions of m-learning, and believe that video-based social media applications enhance the teaching and learning process.

Keywords: Higher education, mobile learning, social media, students’ perceptions.

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Authors: Min Sang Lee, Hee Jae Shin, In Pyo Cha, Hyun Kyung Yoon, Seong Woo Hong, Min Jae Yu, Hong Gun Kim, Lee Ku Kwac

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In this paper, the electromagnetic shielding characteristics of an up-to-date typical carbon filler material, carbon fiber used with a metal mesh were investigated. Carbon fiber 12k-prepregs, where carbon fibers were impregnated with epoxy, were laminated with wire meshes, vacuum bag-molded and hardened to manufacture hybrid-type specimens, with which an electromagnetic shield test was performed in accordance with ASTM D4935-10, through which was known as the most excellent reproducibility is obtainable among electromagnetic shield tests. In addition, glass fiber prepregs whose electromagnetic shielding effect were known as insignificant were laminated and formed with wire meshes to verify the validity of the electromagnetic shield effect of wire meshes in order to confirm the electromagnetic shielding effect of metal meshes corresponding existing carbon fiber 12k-prepregs. By grafting carbon fibers, on which studies are being actively underway in the environmental aspects and electromagnetic shielding effect, with hybrid-type wire meshes that were analysed through the tests, in this study, the applicability and possibility are proposed.

Keywords: Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic (CFRP), Glass Fiber Reinforced Plastic (GFRP), Stainless Wire Mesh, Electromagnetic Shielding.

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Authors: Anusua Ghosh, Andrew Nafalski, Jeffery Tweedale, Maureen Dollard

Abstract:

This paper presents anapproach of hybridizing two or more artificial intelligence (AI) techniques which arebeing used to fuzzify the workstress level ranking and categorize the rating accordingly. The use of two or more techniques (hybrid approach) has been considered in this case, as combining different techniques may lead to neutralizing each other-s weaknesses generating a superior hybrid solution. Recent researches have shown that there is a need for a more valid and reliable tools, for assessing work stress. Thus artificial intelligence techniques have been applied in this instance to provide a solution to a psychological application. An overview about the novel and autonomous interactive model for analysing work-stress that has been developedusing multi-agent systems is also presented in this paper. The establishment of the intelligent multi-agent decision analyser (IMADA) using hybridized technique of neural networks and fuzzy logic within the multi-agent based framework is also described.

Keywords: Fuzzy logic, intelligent agent, multi-agent systems, neural network, workplace stress.

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Authors: Grace Sahaya Sheba, P. Omegala Priyakumari, M. Gunasekaran

Abstract:

L-asparagine admixture Paranitrophenol (LAPNP) single crystals were grown successfully by solution method with slow evaporation technique at room temperature. Crystals of size 12mm×5 mm×3mm have been obtained in 15 days. The grown crystals were Brown color and transparent. The solubility of the grown samples has been found out at various temperatures. The lattice parameters of the grown crystals were determined by X-ray diffraction technique. The reflection planes of the sample were confirmed by the powder X-ray diffraction study and diffraction peaks were indexed. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) studies were used to confirm the presence of various functional groups in the crystals. UV–visible absorption spectrum was recorded to study the optical transparency of grown crystal. The nonlinear optical (NLO) property of the grown crystal was confirmed by Kurtz–Perry powder technique and a study of its second harmonic generation efficiency in comparison with potassium dihydrogen phosphate (KDP) has been made. The mechanical strength of the crystal was estimated by Vickers hardness test. The grown crystals were subjected to thermo gravimetric and differential thermal analysis (TG/DTA). The dielectric behavior of the sample was also studied

Keywords: Characterization, Microhardnes, Non-linear optical materials, Solution growth, Spectroscopy, XRD.

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Authors: M. Karimpour, N. Elkhoury, L. Hitihamillage, S. Moridpour, R. Hesami

Abstract:

There is a necessity among rail transportation authorities for a superior understanding of the rail track degradation overtime and the factors influencing rail degradation. They need an accurate technique to identify the time when rail tracks fail or need maintenance. In turn, this will help to increase the level of safety and comfort of the passengers and the vehicles as well as improve the cost effectiveness of maintenance activities. An accurate model can play a key role in prediction of the long-term behaviour of railroad tracks. An accurate model can decrease the cost of maintenance. In this research, the rail track degradation is predicted using an autoregressive moving average with exogenous input (ARMAX). An ARMAX has been implemented on Melbourne tram data to estimate the values for the tram track degradation. Gauge values and rail usage in Million Gross Tone (MGT) are the main parameters used in the model. The developed model can accurately predict the future status of the tram tracks.

Keywords: ARMAX, Dynamic systems, MGT, Prediction, Rail degradation.

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Authors: Phalaunnaphat Siriwongs

Abstract:

The classroom of the 21st century is an ever changing forum for new and innovative thoughts and ideas. With increasing technology and opportunity, students have rapid access to information that only decades ago would have taken weeks to obtain. Unfortunately, new techniques and technology are not the cure for the fundamental problems that have plagued the classroom ever since education was established. Class size has been an issue long debated in academia. While it is difficult to pin point an exact number, it is clear that in this case more does not mean better. By looking into the success and pitfalls of classroom size the true advantages of smaller classes will become clear. Previously, one class was comprised of 50 students. Being seventeen and eighteen- year- old students, sometimes it was quite difficult for them to stay focused. To help them understand and gain much knowledge, a researcher introduced “The Theory of Multiple Intelligence” and this, in fact, enabled students to learn according to their own learning preferences no matter how they were being taught. In this lesson, the researcher designed a cycle of learning activities involving all intelligences so that everyone had equal opportunities to learn.

Keywords: Multiple intelligences, role play, performance assessment, formative assessment.

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Authors: John Kabuba, Antoine Mulaba-Bafubiandi, Kim Battle

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This paper presents a critical study about the application of Neural Networks to ion-exchange process. Ionexchange is a complex non-linear process involving many factors influencing the ions uptake mechanisms from the pregnant solution. The following step includes the elution. Published data presents empirical isotherm equations with definite shortcomings resulting in unreliable predictions. Although Neural Network simulation technique encounters a number of disadvantages including its “black box", and a limited ability to explicitly identify possible causal relationships, it has the advantage to implicitly handle complex nonlinear relationships between dependent and independent variables. In the present paper, the Neural Network model based on the back-propagation algorithm Levenberg-Marquardt was developed using a three layer approach with a tangent sigmoid transfer function (tansig) at hidden layer with 11 neurons and linear transfer function (purelin) at out layer. The above mentioned approach has been used to test the effectiveness in simulating ion exchange processes. The modeling results showed that there is an excellent agreement between the experimental data and the predicted values of copper ions removed from aqueous solutions.

Keywords: Copper, ion-exchange process, neural networks, simulation

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Authors: Annabelle Ogochukwu Onyefulu-Kingston

Abstract:

One of the major purposes of artificial intelligence (AI) today is to evaluate and analyse millions of micro and macro data in order to determine what is relevant in a particular case and proffer it in an adequate manner. Microdata, as far as it relates to AI in international arbitration, is the millions of key issues specifically mentioned by either one or both parties or by their counsels, arbitrators, or arbitral tribunals in arbitral proceedings. This can be qualifications of expert witness and admissibility of evidence, amongst others. Macro data, on the other hand, refer to data derived from the resolution of the dispute and, consequently, the final and binding award. A notable example of this includes the rationale of the award and specific and general damages awarded, amongst others. This paper aims to critically evaluate and analyses the possibility of technological inclusion in international arbitration. This research will be imploring the qualitative method by evaluating existing literature on the consequence of applying AI to both micro and macro data in international arbitration, and how this can be of assistance to parties, counsels, and arbitrators.

Keywords: AI-based technologies, algorithms, arbitrators, international arbitration.

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Authors: Tiantian Gu, Dezhi Li, Mian Zhang, Ying Jiang

Abstract:

Considering the characteristics of residents’ participation in the governance of old community renewal (OCR), a theoretical model of the determinant of residents’ intention to participate in the governance of OCR has been built based on the theory of planned behavior. Seven old communities in Nanjing have been chosen as cases to conduct empirical analysis. The result indicates that participation attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioral control have significant positive effects on residents’ intention to participate in the governance of the OCR. Recognition of the community, cognition of the OCR and perceived behavioral control have indirect positive effects on residents’ intention to participate in the OCR. In addition, the education level and the length of residence have positive effects on their participation intention, while the gender, age, and monthly income have little effect on it. The research result provides suggestions for the improvement of residents’ participation in the OCR.

Keywords: Old community renewal, residents’ participation in governance, intention, theory of planned behavior.

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Authors: Somdech Rungsrisawas

Abstract:

The objectives of this study are to examine the relationship between the competitive advantage of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and their overall performance. A mixed method has been applied to identify the effect of determinants toward competitive advantage. The sample is composed of SMEs in product and service businesses. The study has been tested at an organizational level with samples of SME entrepreneurs, business successors, and board of directors or management team. Quantitative analysis has been conducted through multiple regression analysis with 400 samples. The findings illustrate that each aspect of competitive advantage needs a different set of driving factors to explain either the direct or the indirect effect on firm performance. Interestingly, technological capability is a perfect mediator and interorganizational cooperation toward competitive advantage. In addition, differentiation is difficult to be perceived by customers, as well as difficult to manage; however, it is considered important to develop an SMEs product or service for firm sustainably.

Keywords: Competitive advantage, firm performance, technological capability, small and medium enterprise, SMEs.

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Authors: K. Mushtaq, M. Umar

Abstract:

The research aims to study the association between job satisfaction, motivation and the five factors of organizational citizenship behavior (i.e. Altruism, Conscientiousness, Sportsmanship, Courtesy and Civic virtue) among Public Sector Employees in Pakistan. In this research Structure Equation Modeling with confirmatory factor analysis was used to test the relationship between two independent and five dependent variables. Data was collected through questionnaire survey from 152 Public Servants Working in Gujrat District-Pakistan in different capacities. Stratified Random Sampling Technique was used to conduct this survey. The results of the study indicate that five factors of OCB have positive significant relation with both motivation and job satisfaction except the relationship of Civic Virtue with Motivation. The research findings implicate that factors other than motivation and job satisfaction may also affect OCB. Likewise, all the five factors of OCB may not be present in all populations. Thus, Managers must concentrate on increasing motivation and job satisfaction to increase OCB. Furthermore, the present research gives a direction to future researchers to use more independent variables (e.g. Culture, leadership, workplace environment, various job attitudes, types of motivation, etc.) on different types of populations with larger sample size in order to find the reasons behind insignificant relationship of civic virtue with Motivation in the research in hand and to generalize the tested model.

Keywords: Five Factors of Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB), Motivation, Job Satisfaction, Public Sector Employees in Pakistan.

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Authors: T.C. Manjunath, Student Member, B. Bandyopadhyay

Abstract:

This paper features the mathematical modeling of a single input single output based Timoshenko smart beam. Further, this mathematical model is used to design a multirate output feedback based discrete sliding mode controller using Bartoszewicz law to suppress the flexural vibrations. The first 2 dominant vibratory modes is retained. Here, an application of the discrete sliding mode control in smart systems is presented. The algorithm uses a fast output sampling based sliding mode control strategy that would avoid the use of switching in the control input and hence avoids chattering. This method does not need the measurement of the system states for feedback as it makes use of only the output samples for designing the controller. Thus, this methodology is more practical and easy to implement.

Keywords: Smart structure, Timoshenko beam theory, Discretesliding mode control, Bartoszewicz law, Finite Element Method, State space model, Vibration control, Mathematical model, SISO.

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Authors: Q. Han, W. Schaefer, R. van den Berg

Abstract:

This paper deals with stakeholders’ decisions within energy neutral urban redevelopment processes. The decisions of these stakeholders during the process will make or break energy neutral ambitions. An extensive form of game theory model gave insight in the behavioral differences of stakeholders regarding energy neutral ambitions and the effects of the changing legislation. The results show that new legislation regarding spatial planning slightly influences the behavior of stakeholders. An active behavior of the municipality will still result in the best outcome. Nevertheless, the municipality becomes more powerful when acting passively and can make the use of planning tools to provide governance towards energy neutral urban redevelopment. Moreover, organizational support, recognizing the necessity for energy neutrality, keeping focused and collaboration among stakeholders are crucial elements to achieve the objective of an energy neutral urban (re)development.

Keywords: Energy neutrality urban (re)development, stakeholder behavior, legislation, game theory.

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Authors: X. L. Zhang, K. L. Li, R. M. Skitmore

Abstract:

Hong Kong is a densely populated city suffering badly from the urban heat island effect. Green wall offers a means of ameliorating the situation but there are doubts over its suitability in Hong Kong’s unique environment. In this paper, we look at the potential for green walls in Hong Kong first by summarizing some of the Chinese green walling systems and associated vegetation in use, then by an introduction to three existing green walls in Hong Kong, and finally through a small experiment aimed at identifying the likely main effects of green walled housing.

The results indicate that green walling in Hong Kong is likely to provide enhanced internal house environment in terms of warm weather temperature reduction, stabilization and damping, with direct energy savings in air-conditioning and indirect district benefits of reduced heat island effect and carbon emissions. The green walling insulation properties also suggest the possibility of warmer homes in winter and/or energy savings in mechanical heating provision.

Keywords: Case studies, experiment, green wall, Hong Kong.

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Authors: Hu Haibo, Tu Chunmei, Fu Chunlei, Fu Li, Mao Fan, Ma Yuan

Abstract:

Chinese Idioms are a type of traditional Chinese idiomatic expressions with specific meanings and stereotypes structure which are widely used in classical Chinese and are still common in vernacular written and spoken Chinese today. Currently, Chinese Idioms are retrieved in glossary with key character or key word in morphology or pronunciation index that can not meet the need of searching semantically. OCIRS is proposed to search the desired idiom in the case of users only knowing its meaning without any key character or key word. The user-s request in a sentence or phrase will be grammatically analyzed in advance by word segmentation, key word extraction and semantic similarity computation, thus can be mapped to the idiom domain ontology which is constructed to provide ample semantic relations and to facilitate description logics-based reasoning for idiom retrieval. The experimental evaluation shows that OCIRS realizes the function of searching idioms via semantics, obtaining preliminary achievement as requested by the users.

Keywords: Chinese idiom, idiom retrieval, semantic searching, ontology, semantics similarity.

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Authors: Abdel-Rahman M. Jaradat, , Mansour I. Irshid, Talha T. Nassar

Abstract:

A novel file splitting technique for the reduction of the nth-order entropy of text files is proposed. The technique is based on mapping the original text file into a non-ASCII binary file using a new codeword assignment method and then the resulting binary file is split into several subfiles each contains one or more bits from each codeword of the mapped binary file. The statistical properties of the subfiles are studied and it is found that they reflect the statistical properties of the original text file which is not the case when the ASCII code is used as a mapper. The nth-order entropy of these subfiles are determined and it is found that the sum of their entropies is less than that of the original text file for the same values of extensions. These interesting statistical properties of the resulting subfiles can be used to achieve better compression ratios when conventional compression techniques are applied to these subfiles individually and on a bit-wise basis rather than on character-wise basis.

Keywords: Bit-wise compression, entropy, file splitting, source mapping.

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Authors: S. Fallah, M. Seifi, M. Firoozrai, T. Godarzi, M. Jafarzadeh, L. H. Ghohari

Abstract:

The ε4 allele of the ε2, ε3 and ε4 protein isoform polymorphism in the gene encoding apolipoprotein E (Apo E) has previously been associated with increased cardiac artery disease (CAD); therefore to investigate the significance of this polymorphism in pathogenesis of CAD in Iranian patients with stenosis and control subjects. To investigate the association between  Apo E polymorphism and coronary artery disease we performed a comparative case control study of the frequency of Apo E  polymorphism in One hundred CAD patients with stenosis who underwent coronary angiography (>50% stenosis) and 100 control subjects (<10% stenosis). The Apo E alleles and genotypes were determined by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP). We observed an association between the Apo E polymorphism and CAD in this study. These data suggest that the Apo ε4 and ε2 alleles increase the risk for CAD in Iranian population (χ2 =4.26, p= 0.05, OR=2 and χ2 =0.38, p=0.53, OR=1.2). These results suggest that ε4 and ε2 alleles are risk factors for stenosis.

Keywords: Arterial blood vessels, atherosclerosis, cholesterol.

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Authors: Basit Shahzad, Muhammad Tanvir Afzal

Abstract:

Many algorithms are available for sorting the unordered elements. Most important of them are Bubble sort, Heap sort, Insertion sort and Shell sort. These algorithms have their own pros and cons. Shell Sort which is an enhanced version of insertion sort, reduces the number of swaps of the elements being sorted to minimize the complexity and time as compared to insertion sort. Shell sort improves the efficiency of insertion sort by quickly shifting values to their destination. Average sort time is O(n1.25), while worst-case time is O(n1.5). It performs certain iterations. In each iteration it swaps some elements of the array in such a way that in last iteration when the value of h is one, the number of swaps will be reduced. Donald L. Shell invented a formula to calculate the value of ?h?. this work focuses to identify some improvement in the conventional Shell sort algorithm. ''Enhanced Shell Sort algorithm'' is an improvement in the algorithm to calculate the value of 'h'. It has been observed that by applying this algorithm, number of swaps can be reduced up to 60 percent as compared to the existing algorithm. In some other cases this enhancement was found faster than the existing algorithms available.

Keywords: Algorithm, Computation, Shell, Sorting.

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Authors: S. R. De Oliveira, A. De Almeida, I. M. Dal Fabbro

Abstract:

Residues are produced in all stages of human activities in terms of composition and volume which vary according to consumption practices and to production methods. Forms of significant harm to the environment are associated to volume of generated material as well as to improper disposal of solid wastes, whose negative effects are noticed more frequently in the long term. The solution to this problem constitutes a challenge to the government, industry and society, because they involve economic, social, environmental and, especially, awareness of the population in general. The main concerns are focused on the impact it can have on human health and on the environment (soil, water, air and sights). The hazardous waste produced mainly by industry, are particularly worrisome because, when improperly managed, they become a serious threat to the environment. In view of this issue, this study aimed to evaluate the management system of solid waste of a coprocessing industrial waste company, to propose improvements to the rejects generation management in a specific step of the Blending production process.

Keywords: Blending, environment, industrial residues.

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Authors: Ali Keshavarzi, Fereydoon Sarmadian

Abstract:

Investigation of soil properties like Cation Exchange Capacity (CEC) plays important roles in study of environmental reaserches as the spatial and temporal variability of this property have been led to development of indirect methods in estimation of this soil characteristic. Pedotransfer functions (PTFs) provide an alternative by estimating soil parameters from more readily available soil data. 70 soil samples were collected from different horizons of 15 soil profiles located in the Ziaran region, Qazvin province, Iran. Then, multivariate regression and neural network model (feedforward back propagation network) were employed to develop a pedotransfer function for predicting soil parameter using easily measurable characteristics of clay and organic carbon. The performance of the multivariate regression and neural network model was evaluated using a test data set. In order to evaluate the models, root mean square error (RMSE) was used. The value of RMSE and R2 derived by ANN model for CEC were 0.47 and 0.94 respectively, while these parameters for multivariate regression model were 0.65 and 0.88 respectively. Results showed that artificial neural network with seven neurons in hidden layer had better performance in predicting soil cation exchange capacity than multivariate regression.

Keywords: Easily measurable characteristics, Feed-forwardback propagation, Pedotransfer functions, CEC.

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Authors: Aussadavut Dumrongsiri

Abstract:

Web-based technologies have created numerous opportunities for electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) communication. There are many factors that affect customer adoption and decisionmaking process. However, only a few researches focus on some factors such as the membership time of forum and propensity to trust. Using a discrete-time event simulation to simulate a diffusion model along with a consumer decision model, the study shows the effect of each factor on adoption of opinions on on-line discussion forum. The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of factor affecting information adoption and decision making process. The model is constructed to test quantitative aspects of each factor. The simulation study shows the membership time and the propensity to trust has an effect on information adoption and purchasing decision. The result of simulation shows that the longer the membership time in the communities and the higher propensity to trust could lead to the higher demand rates because consumers find it easier and faster to trust the person in the community and then adopt the eWOM. Other implications for both researchers and practitioners are provided.

Keywords: word of mouth, simulation, consumer behavior, ebusiness, marketing, diffusion process.

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Authors: Manal Sultan Alhussein, Xiang Michelle Liu

Abstract:

Telehealth is an advanced technology using digital information and telecommunication facilities that provide access to health services from a distance. It slows the transmission factor of COVID-19, especially for elderly patients and patients with chronic diseases during the pandemic. Therefore, understanding patient perspectives on telehealth services and the factors impacting their option of telehealth service will shed light on the measures that healthcare providers can take to improve the quality of telehealth services. This study aimed to evaluate perceptions of telehealth services among different patient groups and explore various aspects of telehealth utilization in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic. An online survey distributed via social media platforms was used to collect research data. In addition to the descriptive statistics, both correlation and regression analyses were conducted to test research hypotheses. The empirical results highlighted that the factors such as accessibility to telehealth services and the type of specialty clinics that the patients required play important roles in the effectiveness of telehealth services they received. However, the results found that patients’ waiting time to receive telehealth services and their annual income did not significantly influence their desire to select receiving healthcare services via telehealth. The limitations of the study and future research directions are discussed.

Keywords: Telehealth, patient satisfaction, pandemic, healthcare, remote patient monitor.

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Authors: M. O. Bayram, H. B. Gencdal, N. O. Fercan, B. Basbug

Abstract:

Liquid limit, which is used as a measure of soil strength, can be detected by Casagrande and fall-cone testing methods. The two methods majorly diverge from each other in terms of operator dependency. The Casagrande method that is applied according to ASTM D4318-17 standards may give misleading results, especially if the calibration process is not performed well. In this study, to reveal the effect of calibration for drop height and amount of soil paste placement in the Casagrande cup, a series of tests were carried out by multipoint method as it is specified in the ASTM standards. The tests include the combination of 6 mm, 8 mm, 10 mm, and 12 mm drop heights and under-filled, half-filled, and full-filled Casagrande cups by kaolin samples. It was observed that during successive tests, the drop height of the cup deteriorated; hence the device was recalibrated before and after each test to provide the accuracy of the results. Besides, the tests by under-filled and full-filled samples for higher drop heights revealed lower liquid limit values than the lower drop heights revealed. For the half-filled samples, it was clearly seen that the liquid limit values did not change at all as the drop height increased, and this explains the function of standard specifications.

Keywords: Calibration, Casagrande cup method, drop height, kaolin, liquid limit, placing form.

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Authors: H. Shayeghi, H.A. Shayanfar, A. Jalili

Abstract:

In the LFC problem, the interconnections among some areas are the input of disturbances, and therefore, it is important to suppress the disturbances by the coordination of governor systems. In contrast, tie-line power flow control by TCPS located between two areas makes it possible to stabilize the system frequency oscillations positively through interconnection, which is also expected to provide a new ancillary service for the further power systems. Thus, a control strategy using controlling the phase angle of TCPS is proposed for provide active control facility of system frequency in this paper. Also, the optimum adjustment of PID controller's parameters in a robust way under bilateral contracted scenario following the large step load demands and disturbances with and without TCPS are investigated by Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), that has a strong ability to find the most optimistic results. This newly developed control strategy combines the advantage of PSO and TCPS and has simple stricture that is easy to implement and tune. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed control strategy a three-area restructured power system is considered as a test system under different operating conditions and system nonlinearities. Analysis reveals that the TCPS is quite capable of suppressing the frequency and tie-line power oscillations effectively as compared to that obtained without TCPS for a wide range of plant parameter changes, area load demands and disturbances even in the presence of system nonlinearities.

Keywords: LFC, TCPS, Dregulated Power System, PowerSystem Control, PSO.

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Authors: G.H. Montazeri, Z. Dastkhan, H. Aliabadi

Abstract:

Gas condensate Reservoirs show complicated thermodynamic behavior when their pressure reduces to under dew point pressure. Condensate blockage around the producing well cause significant reduction of production rate as well bottom-hole pressure drops below saturation pressure. The main objective of this work was to examine the well test analysis of naturally fractured lean gas condensate reservoir and investigate the effect of condensate formed around the well-bore on behavior of single phase pseudo pressure and its derivative curves. In this work a naturally fractured lean gas condensate reservoir is simulated with compositional simulator. Different sensitivity analysis done on Corry parameters and result of simulator is feed to analytical well testing software. For consideration of these phenomena eighteen compositional models with Capillary number effect are constructed. Matrix relative permeability obeys Corry relative permeability and relative permeability in fracture is linear. Well testing behavior of these models are studied and interpreted. Results show different sensitivity analysis on relative permeability of matrix does not have strong effect on well testing behavior even most part of the matrix around the well is occupied with condensate.

Keywords: Lean gas, fractured condensate reservoir, capillary number, well testing analysis, relative permeability.

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Authors: Mehani M., Segni L.

Abstract:

Humans use plants for thousands of years to treat various ailments, in many developing countries; much of the population relies on traditional doctors and their collections of medicinal plants to cure them.

Essential oils have many therapeutic properties. In herbal medicine, they are used for their antiseptic properties against infectious diseases of fungal origin, against dermatophytes, those of bacterial origin.

The aim of our study is to determine the antimicrobial effect of essential oils of the plant Schinus molle on some pathogenic bacteria. It is a medicinal plant used in traditional therapy. Essential oils have many therapeutic properties. In herbal medicine, they are used for their antiseptic properties against infectious diseases of fungal origin, against dermatophytes, those of bacterial origin.

The test adopted, is based on the diffusion method on solid medium (Antibiogram), this method allows to determine the susceptibility or resistance of an organism according to the sample studied.

Our study reveals that the essential oil of the plant Schinus molle has a different effect on the resistance of germs: for Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain is a moderately sensitive with an inhibition zone of 10mm, further Enterobacter, Escherichia coli and Proteus are strains that represent a high sensitivity, a zone of inhibition equal to 14.66 mm.

Keywords: Essential oil, microorganism, antibiogram, Shinus molle.

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Authors: Samina Elyas Mubeen, R. K. Nema, Gayatri Agnihotri

Abstract:

In this paper the performance of unified power flow controller is investigated in controlling the flow of po wer over the transmission line. Voltage sources model is utilized to study the behaviour of the UPFC in regulating the active, reactive power and voltage profile. This model is incorporated in Newton Raphson algorithm for load flow studies. Simultaneous method is employed in which equations of UPFC and the power balance equations of network are combined in to one set of non-linear algebraic equations. It is solved according to the Newton raphson algorithm. Case studies are carried on standard 5 bus network. Simulation is done in Matlab. The result of network with and without using UPFC are compared in terms of active and reactive power flows in the line and active and reactive power flows at the bus to analyze the performance of UPFC.

Keywords: Newton-Raphson algorithm, Load flow, Unified power flow controller, Voltage source model.

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Authors: D. Koutny, D. Palousek, P. Stoklasek, J. Rosicky, L. Tepla, M. Prochazkova, Z. Svoboda, P. Krejci

Abstract:

The article deals with biomechanics of cyclist with unilateral transtibial amputation. Transtibial amputation completely removes ankle and part of muscles of a lower leg which are responsible for production of force during pedaling and causes significant geometric and power asymmetry between the limbs during cycling movement. The primary goal of this work is to assess the effects of length adjustment of the crank on the kinematics and muscle activity of cyclist. The paper presents experimental work, which aims to find a suitable ratio of the length of kinematic components to improve overall athletic performance. The study presents the results of the kinematic analysis of the cycling movement with different crank length realized by tracking camera system together with the results of muscle activity measurements captured by electromyography and measurement of forces in the cranks by strain gauges.

Keywords: Amputation, electromyography, kinematics of cycling, leg asymmetry, motion capture, transtibial prosthesis.

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