Search results for: artificial potential field.

Authors: Helen S. Ghali, Engy Serag, A. Samer Ezeldin

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In many countries, the construction industry relies heavily on outsourcing models in executing their projects and expanding their businesses to fit in the diverse market. Such extensive integration of subcontractors is becoming an influential factor in contractor’s cash flow management. Accordingly, subcontractors’ financial terms are important phenomena and pivotal components for the well-being of the contractor’s cash flow. The aim of this research is to study the contractor’s cash flow with respect to the owner and subcontractor’s payment management plans, considering variable advance payment, payment frequency, and lag and retention policies. The model is developed to provide contractors with a decision support tool that can assist in selecting the optimum subcontracting plan to minimize the contractor’s financing limits and optimize the profit values. The model is built using Microsoft Excel VBA coding, and the genetic algorithm is utilized as the optimization tool. Three objective functions are investigated, which are minimizing the highest negative overdraft value, minimizing the net present worth of overdraft, and maximizing the project net profit. The model is validated on a full-scale project which includes both self-performed and subcontracted work packages. The results show potential outputs in optimizing the contractor’s negative cash flow values and, in the meantime, assisting contractors in selecting suitable subcontractors to achieve the objective function.

Keywords: Cash flow optimization, payment plan, procurement management, subcontracting plan.

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Authors: R. Ziaie Moayed, S. P. Emadoleslami Oskoei, S. D. Beladi Mousavi, A. Taleb Beydokhti

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There have been many reports of the destructive effects of cement on the environment in recent years. In the present research, it has been attempted to reduce the destructive effects of cement by replacing silica fume as adhesive materials instead of cement. The present study has attempted to improve the mechanical properties of cement slurry by using waste material from a glass production factory, located in Qazvin city of Iran, in which accumulation volume has become an environmental threat. The chemical analysis of the waste material indicates that this material contains about 94% of SiO₂ and AL₂O₃ and has a close structure to silica fume. Also, the particle grain size test was performed on the mentioned waste. Then, the unconfined compressive strength test of the slurry was performed by preparing a mixture of water and adhesives with different percentages of cement and silica fume. The water to an adhesive ratio of this mixture is 1:3, and the curing process last 28 days. It was found that the sample had an unconfined compressive strength of about 300 kg/cm² in a mixture with equal proportions of cement and silica fume. Besides, the sample had a brittle fracture in the slurry sample made of pure cement, however, the fracture in cement-silica fume slurry mixture is flexible and the structure of the specimen remains coherent after fracture. Therefore, considering the flexibility that is achieved by replacing this waste, it can be used to stabilize soils with cracking potential.

Keywords: Cement replacement, cement slurry, environmental threat, natural pozzolan, silica fume, waste material.

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Authors: Wei-Hsin Sun, Jr-Ming Miao, Chang-Hsien Tai, Chien-Chun Hung

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The development of biomimetic micro-aerial-vehicles (MAVs) with flapping wings is the future trend in military/domestic field. The successful flight of MAVs is strongly related to the understanding of unsteady aerodynamic performance of low Reynolds number airfoils under dynamic flapping motion. This study explored the effects of flapping frequency, stroke amplitude, and the inclined angle of stroke plane on lift force and thrust force of a bio-inspiration corrugated airfoil with 33 full factorial design of experiment and ANOVA analysis. Unsteady vorticity flows over a corrugated thin airfoil executing flapping motion are computed with time-dependent two-dimensional laminar incompressible Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations with the conformal hybrid mesh. The tested freestream Reynolds number based on the chord length of airfoil as characteristic length is fixed of 103. The dynamic mesh technique is applied to model the flapping motion of a corrugated airfoil. Instant vorticity contours over a complete flapping cycle clearly reveals the flow mechanisms for lift force generation are dynamic stall, rotational circulation, and wake capture. The thrust force is produced as the leading edge vortex shedding from the trailing edge of airfoil to form a reverse von Karman vortex. Results also indicated that the inclined angle is the most significant factor on both the lift force and thrust force. There are strong interactions between tested factors which mean an optimization study on parameters should be conducted in further runs.

Keywords: biomimetic, MAVs, aerodynamic, ANOVA analysis.

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Authors: Senem Suna, Canan Ece Tamer, Ömer Utku Çopur

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In this research, dried linden (Tilia argentea) leaves and blossoms were used as a raw material for mineral enriched herbal tea beverage production. For this aim, %1 dried linden was infused with boiling water (100 °C) for 5 minutes. After cooling, sucrose, citric acid, ascorbic acid, natural lemon flavor and natural mineral water were added. Beverage samples were plate filtered, filled into 200-mL glass bottles, capped then pasteurized at 98 °C for 15 minutes. Water soluble dry matter, titratable acidity, ascorbic acid, pH, minerals (Fe, Ca, Mg, K, Na), color (L*, a*, b*), turbidity, bioaccessible phenolics and antioxidant capacity were analyzed. Water soluble dry matter, titratable acidity, and ascorbic were determined as 7.66±0.28 g/100 g, 0.13±0.00 g/100 mL, and 19.42±0.62 mg/100 mL, respectively. pH was measured as 3.69. Fe, Ca, Mg, K and Na contents of the beverage were determined as 0.12±0.00, 115.48±0.05, 34.72±0.14, 48.67±0.43 and 85.72±1.01 mg/L, respectively. Color was measured as 13.63±0.05, -4.33±0.05, and 3.06±0.05 for L*, a*, and b* values. Turbidity was determined as 0.69±0.07 NTU. Bioaccessible phenolics were determined as 312.82±5.91 mg GAE/100 mL. Antioxidant capacities of chemical (MetOH:H₂O:HCl) and physiological extracts (in vitro digestive enzymatic extraction) with DPPH (27.59±0.53 and 0.17±0.02 μmol trolox/mL), FRAP (21.01±0.97 and 13.27±0.19 μmol trolox/mL) and CUPRAC (44.71±9.42 and 2.80±0.64 μmol trolox/mL) methods were also evaluated. As a result, enrichment with natural mineral water was proposed for the development of functional and nutritional values together with a good potential for commercialization.

Keywords: Antioxidant capacity, bioaccessibility, herbal tea beverage, linden.

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Authors: L. Grinis, N. Lubashevsky, Y. Ostrovski

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A jet pump is a type of pump that accelerates the flow of a secondary fluid (driven fluid) by introducing a motive fluid with high velocity into a converging-diverging nozzle. Jet pumps are also known as adductors or ejectors depending on the motivator phase. The ejector's motivator is of a gaseous nature, usually steam or air, while the educator's motivator is a liquid, usually water. Jet pumps are devices that use air bubbles and are widely used in wastewater treatment processes. In this work, we will discuss about the characteristics of the jet pump and the computational simulation of this device. To find the optimal angle and depth for the air pipe, so as to achieve the maximal air volumetric flow rate, an experimental apparatus was constructed to ascertain the best geometrical configuration for this new type of jet pump. By using 3D printing technology, a series of jet pumps was printed and tested whilst aspiring to maximize air flow rate dependent on angle and depth of the air pipe insertion. The experimental results show a major difference of up to 300% in performance between the different pumps (ratio of air flow rate to supplied power) where the optimal geometric model has an insertion angle of 60⁰ and air pipe insertion depth ending at the center of the mixing chamber. The differences between the pumps were further explained by using CFD for better understanding the reasons that affect the airflow rate. The validity of the computational simulation and the corresponding assumptions have been proved experimentally. The present research showed high degree of congruence with the results of the laboratory tests. This study demonstrates the potential of using of the jet pump in many practical applications.

Keywords: Air bubbles, CFD simulation, jet pump, practical applications.

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Authors: Sawarni Hasibuan, Juliza Hidayati

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Competitiveness and sustainability issues not only put pressure on big companies, but also small and medium enterprises (SMEs). SMEs Batik Bogor is one of the local culture-based creative industries in Bogor city which is also dealing with the issue of sustainability. The purpose of this research is to develop framework of sustainability at SMEs Batik Indonesia case of SMEs Batik Bogor by integrating innovation of cleaner production in its supply chain. The approach used is desk study, field survey, in-depth interviews, and benchmarking best practices of SMEs sustainability. In-depth interviews involve stakeholders to identify the needs and standards of sustainability of SMEs Batik. Data analysis was done by benchmarking method, Multi Dimension Scaling (MDS) method, and Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, Threat (SWOT) analysis. The results recommend the framework of sustainability for SMEs Batik in Indonesia. The sustainability status of SMEs Batik Bogor is classified as Moderate Sustainable. Factors that support the sustainability of SMEs Batik Bogor such is a strong commitment of top management in adopting cleaner production innovation and creativity approach. Successful cleaner production innovations are implemented primarily in the substitution of dye materials from toxic to non-toxic, reducing the intensity of non-renewable energy use, as well as the reuse and recycle of solid waste. “Mosaic Batik” is one of the innovations of solid waste utilization of batik waste produced by company R&D center that gives benefit to three pillars of sustainability, that is financial benefit, environmental benefit, and social benefit. The sustainability of SMEs Batik Bogor cannot be separated from the support of Bogor City Government which proactively facilitates the promotion of sustainable innovation produced by SMEs Batik Bogor.

Keywords: Cleaner production innovation, creativity, SMEs Batik, sustainability supply chain.

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Authors: M. A. Gad, A. Z. Al-Herrawy

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Microsporidia comprises various pathogenic species can infect humans by means of water. Moreover, chlorine disinfection of drinking-water has limitations against this protozoan pathogen. A total of 48 water samples were collected from two drinking water treatment plants having two different filtration systems (slow sand filter and rapid sand filter) during one year period. Samples were collected from inlet and outlet of each plant. Samples were separately filtrated through nitrocellulose membrane (142 mm, 0.45 µm), then eluted and centrifuged. The obtained pellet from each sample was subjected to DNA extraction, then, amplification using genus-specific primer for microsporidia. Each microsporidia-PCR positive sample was performed by two species specific primers for Enterocytozoon bieneusi and Encephalitozoon intestinalis. The results of the present study showed that the percentage of removal for microsporidia through different treatment processes reached its highest rate in the station using slow sand filters (100%), while the removal by rapid sand filter system was 81.8%. Statistically, the two different drinking water treatment plants (slow and rapid) had significant effect for removal of microsporidia. Molecular identification of microsporidia-PCR positive samples using two different primers for Enterocytozoon bieneusi and Encephalitozoon intestinalis showed the presence of the two pervious species in the inlet water of the two stations, while Encephalitozoon intestinalis was detected in the outlet water only. In conclusion, the appearance of virulent microsporidia in treated drinking water may cause potential health threat.

Keywords: Removal, efficacy, microsporidia, drinking water treatment plants, PCR.

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Authors: D. Hephzibah, P. Kumaran, N. M. Saifuddin

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Anaerobic digestion is a well-known technique for sustainable energy recovery from sewage sludge. However, sewage sludge digestion is restricted due to certain factors. Pre-treatment methods have been established in various publications as a promising technique to improve the digestibility of the sewage sludge and to enhance the biogas generated which can be used for energy recovery. In this study, continuous flow microwave (MW) pre-treatment with different intensities were compared by using 5 L semi-continuous digesters at a hydraulic retention time of 27 days. We focused on the effects of MW at different intensities on the sludge solubilization, sludge digestibility, and biogas production of the untreated and MW pre-treated sludge. The MW pre-treatment demonstrated an increase in the ratio of soluble chemical oxygen demand to total chemical oxygen demand (sCOD/tCOD) and volatile fatty acid (VFA) concentration. Besides that, the total volatile solid (TVS) removal efficiency and tCOD removal efficiency also increased during the digestion of the MW pre-treated sewage sludge compared to the untreated sewage sludge. Furthermore, the biogas yield also subsequently increases due to the pre-treatment effect. A higher MW power level and irradiation time generally enhanced the biogas generation which has potential for sustainable energy recovery from sewage treatment plant. However, the net energy balance tabulation shows that the MW pre-treatment leads to negative net energy production.

Keywords: Anaerobic digestion, biogas, microwave pre-treatment, sewage sludge.

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Authors: S.H. Mirtalaie, M.A. Hajabasi

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In this paper, an analytical approach is used to study the coupled lateral-torsional vibrations of laminated composite beam. It is known that in such structures due to the fibers orientation in various layers, any lateral displacement will produce a twisting moment. This phenomenon is modeled by the bending-twisting material coupling rigidity and its main feature is the coupling of lateral and torsional vibrations. In addition to the material coupling, the effects of shear deformation and rotary inertia are taken into account in the definition of the potential and kinetic energies. Then, the governing differential equations are derived using the Hamilton-s principle and the mathematical model matches the Timoshenko beam model when neglecting the effect of bending-twisting rigidity. The equations of motion which form a system of three coupled PDEs are solved analytically to study the free vibrations of the beam in lateral and rotational modes due to the bending, as well as the torsional mode caused by twisting. The analytic solution is carried out in three steps: 1) assuming synchronous motion for the kinematic variables which are the lateral, rotational and torsional displacements, 2) solving the ensuing eigenvalue problem which contains three coupled second order ODEs and 3) imposing different boundary conditions related to combinations of simply, clamped and free end conditions. The resulting natural frequencies and mode shapes are compared with similar results in the literature and good agreement is achieved.

Keywords: Free vibration, laminated composite beam, material coupling, state space.

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Authors: Ghulam Murshid

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Carbon dioxide is one of the major greenhouse gas (GHG) contributors. It is an obligation of the industry to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide emission to the acceptable limits. Tremendous research and studies are reported in the past and still the quest to find the suitable and economical solution of this problem needed to be explored in order to develop the most plausible absorber for carbon dioxide removal. Amino acids can be potential alternate solvents for carbon dioxide capture from gaseous streams. This is due to its ability to resist oxidative degradation, low volatility and its ionic structure. In addition, the introduction of promoter-like piperazine to amino acid helps to further enhance the solubility. In this work, the effect of piperazine on thermo physical properties and solubility of β-Alanine aqueous solutions were studied for various concentrations. The measured physicochemical properties data was correlated as a function of temperature using least-squares method and the correlation parameters are reported together with it respective standard deviations. The effect of activator piperazine on the CO2 loading performance of selected amino acid under high-pressure conditions (1bar to 10bar) at temperature range of (30 to 60)oC was also studied. Solubility of CO2 decreases with increasing temperature and increases with increasing pressure. Quadratic representation of solubility using Response Surface Methodology (RSM) shows that the most important parameter to optimize solubility is system pressure. The addition of promoter increases the solubility effect of the solvent.

Keywords: Amino acids, CO2, Global warming, Solubility.

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Authors: Arie Pujiwati, Kengo Nakamura, Noriaki Watanabe, Takeshi Komai

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Coal mining is well known to cause considerable environmental impacts, including trace element contamination of soil. This study aimed to assess the trace element (As, Cd, Co, Cu, Ni, Pb, Sb, and Zn) contamination of soil in the vicinity of coal mining activities, using the case study of Asam-asam River basin, South Kalimantan, Indonesia, and to assess the human health risk, incorporating total and bioavailable (water-leachable and acid-leachable) concentrations. The results show the enrichment of As and Co in soil, surpassing the background soil value. Contamination was evaluated based on the index of geo-accumulation, I_geo and the pollution index, PI. I_geo values showed that the soil was generally uncontaminated (I_geo ≤ 0), except for elevated As and Co. Mean PI for Ni and Cu indicated slight contamination. Regarding the assessment of health risks, the Hazard Index, HI showed adverse risks (HI > 1) for Ni, Co, and As. Further, Ni and As were found to pose unacceptable carcinogenic risk (risk > 1.10^-5). Farming, settlement, and plantation were found to present greater risk than coal mines. These results show that coal mining activity in the study area contaminates the soils by particular elements and may pose potential human health risk in its surrounding area. This study is important for setting appropriate countermeasure actions and improving basic coal mining management in Indonesia.

Keywords: Coal mine, risk, soil, trace elements.

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Authors: H. D. Lim, Jie Wu, T. H. New, Shengxian Shi

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This paper outlines the development of an experimental technique in quantifying supersonic jet flows, in an attempt to avoid seeding particle problems frequently associated with particle-image velocimetry (PIV) techniques at high Mach numbers. Based on optical flow algorithms, the idea behind the technique involves using high speed cameras to capture Schlieren images of the supersonic jet shear layers, before they are subjected to an adapted optical flow algorithm based on the Horn-Schnuck method to determine the associated flow fields. The proposed method is capable of offering full-field unsteady flow information with potentially higher accuracy and resolution than existing point-measurements or PIV techniques. Preliminary study via numerical simulations of a circular de Laval jet nozzle successfully reveals flow and shock structures typically associated with supersonic jet flows, which serve as useful data for subsequent validation of the optical flow based experimental results. For experimental technique, a Z-type Schlieren setup is proposed with supersonic jet operated in cold mode, stagnation pressure of 4 bar and exit Mach of 1.5. High-speed singleframe or double-frame cameras are used to capture successive Schlieren images. As implementation of optical flow technique to supersonic flows remains rare, the current focus revolves around methodology validation through synthetic images. The results of validation test offers valuable insight into how the optical flow algorithm can be further improved to improve robustness and accuracy. Despite these challenges however, this supersonic flow measurement technique may potentially offer a simpler way to identify and quantify the fine spatial structures within the shock shear layer.

Keywords: Schlieren, optical flow, supersonic jets, shock shear layer.

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Authors: Kai Qian, Ming Yang, Minzhe Guo, Prabir Bhattacharya, Lixin Tao

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Computer network courses are essential parts of college computer science curriculum and hands-on networking experience is well recognized as an effective approach to help students understand better about the network concepts, the layered architecture of network protocols, and the dynamics of the networks. However, existing networking labs are usually server-based and relatively cumbersome, which require a certain level of specialty and resource to set up and maintain the lab environment. Many universities/colleges lack the resources and build-ups in this field and have difficulty to provide students with hands-on practice labs. A new affordable and easily-adoptable approach to networking labs is desirable to enhance network teaching and learning. In addition, current network labs are short on providing hands-on practice for modern wireless and mobile network learning. With the prevalence of smart mobile devices, wireless and mobile network are permeating into various aspects of our information society. The emerging and modern mobile technology provides computer science students with more authentic learning experience opportunities especially in network learning. A mobile device based hands-on labware can provide an excellent ‘real world’ authentic learning environment for computer network especially for wireless network study. In this paper, we present our mobile device-based hands-on labware (series of lab module) for computer network learning which is guided by authentic learning principles to immerse students in a real world relevant learning environment. We have been using this labware in teaching computer network, mobile security, and wireless network classes. The student feedback shows that students can learn more when they have hands-on authentic learning experience. 

Keywords: Mobile computing, android, network, labware.

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Authors: Eraricar Salleh, Ida Idayu Muhamad, Nozieanna Khairuddin

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Antimicrobial (AM) starch-based films were developed by incorporating chitosan and lauric acid as antimicrobial agent into starch-based film. Chitosan has wide range of applications as a biomaterial, but barriers still exist to its broader use due to its physical and chemical limitations. In this work, a series of starch/chitosan (SC) blend films containing 8% of lauric acid was prepared by casting method. The structure of the film was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Xray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results indicated that there were strong interactions were present between the hydroxyl groups of starch and the amino groups of chitosan resulting in a good miscibility between starch and chitosan in the blend films. Physical properties and optical properties of the AM starch-based film were evaluated. The AM starch-based films incorporated with chitosan and lauric acid showed an improvement in water vapour transmission rate (WVTR) and addition of starch content provided more transparent films while the yellowness of the film attributed to the higher chitosan content. The improvement in water barrier properties was mainly attributed to the hydrophobicity of lauric acid and optimum chitosan or starch content. AM starch based film also showed excellent oxygen barrier. Obtaining films with good oxygen permeability would be an indication of the potential use of these antimicrobial packaging as a natural packaging and an alternative packaging to the synthetic polymer to protect food from oxidation reactions

Keywords: Antimicrobial starch-based films, chitosan, lauric acid, starch.

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Authors: S. J. Higgs, E. Van Eck, K. Heynis, S. H. Broadberry

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Engagement with non-human animals is a rapidly-growing field of study within the animal science and social science sectors, with human-interactions occurring in many forms; interactions, encounters and animal-assisted therapy. To our knowledge, there has been a wide array of research published on domestic and livestock human-animal interactions, however, there appear to be fewer publications relating to zoo animals and the effect these interactions have on the animal, human and establishment. The aim of this study was to identify if there were any perceivable benefits from the human-animal interaction for the cheetah, the human and the establishment. Behaviour data were collected before, during and after the interaction on the behaviour of the cheetah and the human participants to highlight any trends with nine interactions conducted. All 35 participants were asked to fill in a questionnaire prior to the interaction and immediately after to ascertain if their perceptions changed following an interaction with the cheetah. An online questionnaire was also distributed for three months to gain an understanding of the perceptions of human-animal interactions from members of the public, gaining 229 responses. Both questionnaires contained qualitative and quantitative questions to allow for specific definitive answers to be analysed, but also expansion on the participants perceived perception of human-animal interactions. In conclusion, it was found that participants’ perceptions of human-animal interactions saw a positive change, with 64% of participants altering their opinion and viewing the interaction as beneficial for the cheetah (reduction in stress assumed behaviours) following participation in a 15-minute interaction. However, it was noted that many participants felt the interaction lacked educational values and therefore this is an area in which zoological establishments can work to further improve upon. The results highlighted many positive benefits for the human, animal and establishment, however, the study does indicate further areas for research in order to promote positive perceptions of human-animal interactions and to further increase the welfare of the animal during these interactions, with recommendations to create and regulate legislation.

Keywords: Acinonyx jubatus, encounters, human-animal interactions, perceptions, zoological establishments.

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Authors: Hai Ming Wong, Kuen Wai Ma, Lavender Yu Xin Yang, Yanqi Yang

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Objectives: In recent years, the Faculty of Dentistry of the University of Hong Kong have extended the implementation of 3D electronic models (e-models) into problem-based learning (PBL) of the Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) curriculum, aiming at mutual enhancement of PBL teaching quality and the students’ skills in using e-models. This study focuses on the effectiveness of e-models serving as a tool to enhance the students’ skills and competences in PBL. Methods: The questionnaire surveys are conducted to measure 50 fourth-year BDS students’ attitude change between beginning and end of blended PBL tutorials. The response rate of this survey is 100%. Results: The results of this study show the students’ agreement on enhancement of their learning experience after e-model implementation and their expectation to have more blended PBL courses in the future. The potential of e-models in cultivating students’ self-learning skills reduces their dependence on others, while improving their communication skills to argue about pros and cons of different treatment options. The students’ independent thinking ability and problem solving skills are promoted by e-model implementation, resulting in better decision making in treatment planning. Conclusion: It is important for future dental education curriculum planning to cope with the students’ needs, and offer support in the form of software, hardware and facilitators’ assistance for better e-model implementation.

Keywords: Problem-Based learning, curriculum, dental education, 3-D electronic models.

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Authors: Abu Salim Mustafa

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Water plays a major role in maintaining life on earth, but it can also serve as a matrix for pathogenic organisms, posing substantial health threats to humans. Although, outbreaks of diseases attributable to drinking water may not be common in industrialized countries, they still occur and can lead to serious acute, chronic, or sometimes fatal health consequences. The analysis of drinking water samples from different regions of Kuwait was performed in this study for bacterial and viral contaminations. Drinking tap water samples were collected from 15 different locations of the six Kuwait governorates. All samples were analyzed by confocal microscopy for the presence of bacteria. The samples were cultured in vitro to detect cultivable organisms. DNA was isolated from the cultured organisms and the identity of the bacteria was determined by sequencing the bacterial 16S rRNA genes, followed by BLAST analysis in the database of NCBI, USA. RNA was extracted from water samples and analyzed by real-time PCR for the detection of viruses with potential health risks, i.e. Astrovirus, Enterovirus, Norovirus, Rotavirus, and Hepatitis A. Confocal microscopy showed the presence of bacteria in some water samples. The 16S rRNA gene sequencing of culture grown organisms, followed by BLAST analysis, identified the presence of several non-pathogenic bacterial species. However, one sample had Acinetobacter baumannii, which often causes opportunistic infections in immunocompromised people, but none of the studied viruses could be detected in the drinking water samples analyzed. The results indicate that drinking water samples analyzed from various locations in Kuwait are relatively safe for drinking and do not contain many harmful pathogens.

Keywords: Drinking water, 16S rRNA, microbial diversity, viruses, Kuwait.

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Authors: Chia-Jou Hsieh, Feng-Chuan Pan

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Oral health is particular important to the hospitalized patients with chronic schizophrenia for an extreme high potential of the respiratory infections. Due to the degeneration of physical capability, patients of this kind typically fall dependent in the activity of daily living (ADL). A very high percentage of patients had dental problems of which mostly could be easily avoid by easy regular tooth brushing. Purpose of the project is to develop a mechanism in helping the schizophrenia patients in rebuilding a tooth-cleaning habit. The project observed and evaluated the tooth-cleaning behavior of 100 male patients in a psychiatric hospital, and found the majority of them ignored such an activity in a three-month period of time. In the meantime, the primary care-givers were not aware or not convinced the importance of such a need of dental hygiene, and thus few if any tooth cleaning training or knowledge on dental hygiene were given to the patients. The project then developed a program based on the numerous observations and discussions. The improvement program included patients- group education, care-givers- training, and a tool-kit for tooth-brush holding was erected. The project launched with some incentive package. The outcomes were encouraging with 87% of the patients had rebuilt their tooth-brushing habits against previous 22%, and the tooth cleaning kits were 100% kept against 22% in the past. This project had significantly improved the oral health of the patients. The project, included the procedure and the tool-kit holder specific for this purpose, was a good examples for psychiatric hospitals.

Keywords: Schizophrenia, dental hygiene, tool-kit holder, health education

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Authors: Haitao Yang, Jianming Lv, Fei Xu, Xintong Wang, Yilin Huang, Lanting Xia, Xuewu Zhu

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Given a fixed fund, purchasing fewer hosts of higher capability or inversely more of lower capability is a must-be-made trade-off in practices for building a Hadoop big data platform. An exploratory study is presented for a Housing Big Data Platform project (HBDP), where typical big data computing is with SQL queries of aggregate, join, and space-time condition selections executed upon massive data from more than 10 million housing units. In HBDP, an empirical formula was introduced to predict the performance of host clusters potential for the intended typical big data computing, and it was shaped via a regression approach. With this empirical formula, it is easy to suggest an optimal cluster configuration. The investigation was based on a typical Hadoop computing ecosystem HDFS+Hive+Spark. A proper metric was raised to measure the performance of Hadoop clusters in HBDP, which was tested and compared with its predicted counterpart, on executing three kinds of typical SQL query tasks. Tests were conducted with respect to factors of CPU benchmark, memory size, virtual host division, and the number of element physical host in cluster. The research has been applied to practical cluster procurement for housing big data computing.

Keywords: Hadoop platform planning, optimal cluster scheme at fixed-fund, performance empirical formula, typical SQL query tasks.

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Authors: Oriyomi M. Okeyinka, David A. Oloke, Jamal M. Khatib

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Large quantities of solid wastes being generated worldwide from sources such as household, domestic, industrial, commercial and construction demolition activities, leads to environmental concerns. Utilization of these wastes in making building construction materials can reduce the magnitude of the associated problems. When these waste products are used in place of other conventional materials, natural resources and energy are preserved and expensive and/or potentially harmful waste disposal is avoided. Recycling which is regarded as the third most preferred waste disposal option, with its numerous environmental benefits, stand as a viable option to offset the environmental impact associated with the construction industry. This paper reviews the results of laboratory tests and important research findings, and the potential of using these wastes in building construction materials with focus on sustainable development. Research gaps, which includes; the need to develop standard mix design for solid waste based building materials; the need to develop energy efficient method of processing solid waste use in concrete; the need to study the actual behavior or performance of such building materials in practical application and the limited real life application of such building materials have also been identified. A research is being proposed to develop an environmentally friendly, lightweight building block from recycled waste paper, without the use of cement, and with properties suitable for use as walling unit. This proposed research intends to incorporate, laboratory experimentation and modeling to address the identified research gaps.

Keywords: Recycling, solid waste, construction, building materials.

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Authors: Cleto J. Sauer Jr

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Introduction: Brazil’s new national curriculum guidelines (NCG) for medical education were published in 2014, presenting active learning methodologies as a cornerstone. Simulation was initially applied for aviation pilots’ training and is currently applied in health sciences. The high-fidelity simulator replicates human body anatomy in detail, also reproducing physiological functions and its use is increasing in medical schools. Realistic Simulation (RS) has pedagogical aspects that are aligned with Brazil’s NCG teaching concepts. The main objective of this study is to carry on a narrative review on RS’s aspects that are aligned with Brazil’s new NCG teaching concepts. Methodology: A narrative review was conducted, with search in three databases (PubMed, Embase and BVS) of studies published between 2010 and 2020. Results: After systematized search, 49 studies were selected and divided into four thematic groups. RS is aligned with new Brazilian medical curriculum as it is an active learning methodology, providing greater patient safety, uniform teaching, and student's emotional skills enhancement. RS is based on reflective learning, a teaching concept developed for adult’s education. Conclusion: RS is a methodology aligned with NCG teaching concepts and has potential to assist in the implementation of new Brazilian medical school’s curriculum. It is an immersive and interactive methodology, which provides reflective learning in a safe environment for students and patients.

Keywords: Curriculum, high-fidelity simulator, medical education, realistic simulation.

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Authors: Huei-Wen Lin, Huei-Fu Lu

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Event sport tourism (EST) has become an especially important economic sector around the world. As the magnitude continues to grow, attracting more tourists, media, and investment for the host community, and many local areas/regions and states have identified the expenditures by visitors as a potential source of economic or employment growth. The main purposes of this study are to investigate stakeholders’ insights into the feature of hosting EST and using them as a regional development strategy. Continuing the focus of previous literature on the regional development and economic benefits by hosting EST, a total of fıve semi-structured interview questions are designed and a thematic analysis is employed to conduct with eight key sport and tourism decision makers in Atlanta during July to August 2016. Through the depth interviews, the study will contribute to a better understanding of stakeholders’ decision-making, identifying benefits and constraints as well as leveraging the impacts of hosting EST. These findings have provided stakeholders’ perspectives of hosting EST and using them as a reference of regional development in emerging sport tourism markets in the US. Additionally, this study examines key considerations and issues that affect and are critical to reliable understanding of the economic impacts of hosting EST on the regional development, and it will be able to benefit future management authorities (i.e. governments and communities) in their sport tourism development endeavors in defining and hosting successful EST. Furthermore, the insights gained from the qualitative analysis could help other cities/regions analyzing the economic impacts of hosting EST and using it as an instrument of city development strategy.

Keywords: Event sport tourism, regional economic development, thematic analysis, stakeholder.

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Authors: Claudineia Brazil, Elison Eduardo Bierhals, Francisco Pereira, José Leandro Néris, Matheus Rippel, Luciane Salvi

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The global concern about climate change has been increasing, since the emission of gases from human activities contributes to the greenhouse effect in the atmosphere, indicating significant impacts to the planet in the coming years. The study of precipitation regime is fundamental for the development of research in several areas. Among them are hydrology, agriculture, and electric sector. Using the climatic projections of the models belonging to the CMIP5, the main objective of the paper was to present an analysis of the impacts of climate change without rainfall in the Uruguay River basin. After an analysis of the results, it can be observed that for the future climate, there is a tendency, in relation to the present climate, for larger numbers of dry events, mainly in the winter months, changing the pluviometric regime for wet summers and drier winters. Given this projected framework, it is important to note the importance of adequate management of the existing water sources in the river basin, since the value of rainfall is reduced for the next years, it may compromise the dynamics of the ecosystems in the region. Facing climate change is fundamental issue for regions and cities all around the world. Society must improve its resilience to phenomenon impacts, and spreading the knowledge among decision makers and citizens is also essential. So, these research results can be subsidies for the decision-making in planning and management of mitigation measures and/or adaptation in south Brazil.

Keywords: Climate change, hydrological potential, precipitation, mitigation.

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Authors: Chin-Yu Lee, Iau-Teh Wang

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The mountain road slope failures triggered by earthquake activities and torrential rain namely to create the disaster. Province Road No. 24 is a main route to the Wutai Township. The area of the study is located at the mileages between 46K and 47K along the road. However, the road has been suffered frequent damages as a result of landslide and slope failures during typhoon seasons. An understanding of the sliding behaviors in the area appears to be necessary. Slope failures triggered by earthquake activities and heavy rainfalls occur frequently. The study is to understand the mechanism of slope failures and to look for the way to deal with the situation. In order to achieve these objectives, this paper is based on theoretical and structural geology data interpretation program to assess the potential slope sliding behavior. The study showed an intimate relationship between the landslide behavior of the slopes and the stratum materials, based on structural geology analysis method to analysis slope stability and finds the slope safety coefficient to predict the sites of destroyed layer. According to the case study and parameter analyses results, the slope mainly slips direction compared to the site located in the southeast area. Find rainfall to result in the rise of groundwater level is main reason of the landslide mechanism. Future need to set up effective horizontal drain at corrective location, that can effective restrain mountain road slope failures and increase stability of slope.

Keywords: slope stability analysis, Stereographic Projection, wedge Failure.

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Authors: Murtaza Adil, Sen Yang, Zhou Chao, Song Xiaoping

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The morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) recently has attracted constant interest in ferromagnetic systems for obtaining enhanced large magnetoelastic response. In the present study, structural and magnetoelastic properties of MPB involved ferromagnetic Tb_1-xGd_xFe₂ (0≤x≤1) system has been investigated. The change of easy magnetic direction from <111> to <100> with increasing x up MPB composition of x=0.9 is detected by step-scanned [440] synchrotron X-ray diffraction reflections. The Gd substitution for Tb changes the composition for the anisotropy compensation near MPB composition of x=0.9, which was confirmed by the analysis of detailed scanned XRD, magnetization curves and the calculation of the first anisotropy constant K₁. The spin configuration diagram accompanied with different crystal structures for Tb_1-xGd_xFe₂ was designed. The calculated first anisotropy constant K₁ shows a minimum value at MPB composition of x=0.9. In addition, the large ratio between magnetostriction, and the absolute values of the first anisotropy constant │λ_S∕K₁│ appears at MPB composition, which makes it a potential material for magnetostrictive application. Based on experimental results, a theoretically approach was also proposed to signify that the facilitated magnetization rotation and enhanced magnetoelastic effect near MPB composition are a consequence of the anisotropic flattening of free energy of ferromagnetic crystal. Our work specifies the universal existence of MPB in ferromagnetic materials which is important for substantial improvement of magnetic and magnetostrictive properties and may provide a new route to develop advanced functional materials.

Keywords: Free energy, lattice distortion, magnetic anisotropy, magnetostriction, morphotropic phase boundary.

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Authors: J. B. Qin, X. H. Jiang, Y. T. Ge

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The growing awareness of global warming potential has internationally aroused interest and demand in reducing greenhouse gas emissions produced by human activity. Much national energy in the UK had been consumed in the residential sector mainly for space heating and domestic hot water production. Currently, gas boilers are mostly applied in the domestic water heating which contribute significantly to excessive CO₂ emissions and consumption of primary energy resources. The issues can be solved by popularizing heat pump systems that are attributable to higher performance efficiency than those of traditional gas boilers. Even so, the heat pump system performance can be further enhanced if the dissolved gases in its hot water circuit can be efficiently discharged.  To achieve this target, the bubble behaviors in the heat pump water heating system need to be extensively investigated. In this paper, by varying different experimental conditions, the effects of various heat pump hot water side parameters on gas microbubble diameters were measured and analyzed. Correspondingly, the effect of each parameter has been investigated. These include varied system pressures, water flow rates, saturation ratios and heat outputs. The results measurement showed that the water flow rate is the most significant parameter to influence on gas microbubble productions. The research outcomes can significantly contribute to the understanding of gas bubble behaviors at domestic heat pump water heating systems and thus the efficient way for the discharging of the associated dissolved gases.  

Keywords: Dissolved gases in water, heat pump, domestic water heating system, microbubble formation.

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Authors: Chi Kyu Ahn, Young Mi Kim, Seung Han Woo, Jong Moon Park

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Soil washing process with a surfactant solution is a potential technology for the rapid removal of hydrophobic organic compound (HOC) from soil. However, large amount of washed water would be produced during operation and this should be treated effectively by proper methods. The soil washed water for complex contaminated site with HOC and heavy metals might contain high amount of pollutants such as HOC and heavy metals as well as used surfactant. The heavy metals in the soil washed water have toxic effects on microbial activities thus these should be removed from the washed water before proceeding to a biological waste-water treatment system. Moreover, the used surfactant solutions are necessary to be recovered for reducing the soil washing operation cost. In order to simultaneously remove the heavy metals and HOC from soil-washed water, activated carbon (AC) was used in the present study. In an anionic-nonionic surfactant mixed solution, the Cd(II) and phenanthrene (PHE) were effectively removed by adsorption on activated carbon. The removal efficiency for Cd(II) was increased from 0.027 mmol-Cd/g-AC to 0.142 mmol-Cd/g-AC as the mole ratio of SDS increased in the presence of PHE. The adsorptive capacity of PHE was also increased according to the SDS mole ratio due to the decrement of molar solubilization ratios (MSR) for PHE in an anionic-nonionic surfactant mixture. The simultaneous adsorption of HOC and cationic heavy metals using activated carbon could be a useful method for surfactant recovery and the reduction of heavy metal toxicity in a surfactant-enhanced soil washing process.

Keywords: Activated carbon, Anionic-nonionic surfactant mixture, Cationic heavy metal, HOC, Soil washing

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Authors: Seyed Erfan Hosseini, Mohammad K. Alizadeh, Amir Mesbah

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Non-saturated soils that while saturation greatly decrease their volume, have sudden settlement due to increasing humidity, fracture and structural crack are called loess soils. Whereas importance of civil projects including: dams, canals and constructions bearing this type of soil and thereof problems, it is required for carrying out more research and study in relation to loess soils. This research studies shear strength parameters by using grading test, Atterberg limit, compression, direct shear and consolidation and then effect of using cement and lime additives on stability of loess soils is studied. In related tests, lime and cement are separately added to mixed ratios under different percentages of soil and for different times the stabilized samples are processed and effect of aforesaid additives on shear strength parameters of soil is studied. Results show that upon passing time the effect of additives and collapsible potential is greatly decreased and upon increasing percentage of cement and lime the maximum dry density is decreased; however, optimum humidity is increased. In addition, liquid limit and plastic index is decreased; however, plastic index limit is increased. It is to be noted that results of direct shear test reveal increasing shear strength of soil due to increasing cohesion parameter and soil friction angle.

Keywords: Loess Soils, Shear Strength, Cement, Lime.

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Authors: Soukaina Motia, Nadia El Alami El Hassani, Alassane Diouf, Benachir Bouchikhi, Nezha El Bari

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Parabens are the antimicrobial molecules largely used in cosmetic products as a preservative agent. Among them, the methylparaben (MP) is the most frequently used ingredient in cosmetic preparations. Nevertheless, their potential dangers led to the development of sensible and reliable methods for their determination in environmental samples. Firstly, a sensitive and selective molecular imprinted polymer (MIP) based on screen-printed gold electrode (Au-SPE), assembled on a polymeric layer of carboxylated poly(vinyl-chloride) (PVC-COOH), was developed. After the template removal, the obtained material was able to rebind MP and discriminate it among other interfering species such as glucose, sucrose, and citric acid. The behavior of molecular imprinted sensor was characterized by Cyclic Voltammetry (CV), Differential Pulse Voltammetry (DPV) and Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) techniques. Then, the biosensor was found to have a linear detection range from 0.1 pg.mL^-1 to 1 ng.mL^-1 and a low limit of detection of 0.12 fg.mL^-1 and 5.18 pg.mL^-1 by DPV and EIS, respectively. For applications, this biosensor was employed to determine MP content in four wastewaters in Meknes city and two cosmetic products (shower gel and shampoo). The operational reproducibility and stability of this biosensor were also studied. Secondly, another MIP biosensor based on tungsten trioxide (WO₃) functionalized by gold nanoparticles (Au-NPs) assembled on a polymeric layer of PVC-COOH was developed. The main goal was to increase the sensitivity of the biosensor. The developed MIP biosensor was successfully applied for the MP determination in wastewater samples and cosmetic products.

Keywords: Cosmetic products, methylparaben, molecularly imprinted polymer, wastewater.

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Authors: S. Doyle, G. A. Aggidis

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Wave energy converter technologies continue to show good progress in worldwide research. One of the most researched technologies, the Oscillating Water Column (OWC), is arguably one of the most popular categories within the converter technologies due to its robustness, simplicity and versatility. However, the versatility of the OWC is still largely untapped with most deployments following similar trends with respect to applications and operating systems. As the competitiveness of the energy market continues to increase, the demand for wave energy technologies to be innovative also increases. For existing wave energy technologies, this requires identifying areas to diversify for lower costs of energy with respect to applications and synergies or integrated systems. This paper provides a review of all OWCs systems integrated into alternative applications in the past and present. The aspects and variation in their design, deployment and system operation are discussed. Particular focus is given to the Multi-OWCs (M-OWCs) and their great potential to increase capture on a larger scale, especially in synergy applications. It is made clear that these steps need to be taken in order to make wave energy a competitive and viable option in the renewable energy mix as progression to date shows that stand alone single function devices are not economical. Findings reveal that the trend of development is moving toward these integrated applications in order to reduce the Levelised Cost of Energy (LCOE) and will ultimately continue in this direction in efforts to make wave energy a competitive option in the renewable energy mix.

Keywords: Ocean energy, wave energy, oscillating water column, renewable energy, review.

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