Search results for: Data envelopment analysis

Authors: Juhee Lee, Yongjun Lee

Abstract:

In designing a low-energy-consuming buildings, the heat transfer through a large glass or wall becomes critical. Multiple layers of the window glasses and walls are employed for the high insulation. The gravity driven air flow between window glasses or wall layers is a natural heat convection phenomenon being a key of the heat transfer. For the first step of the natural heat transfer analysis, in this study the development and application of a finite volume method for the numerical computation of viscous incompressible flows is presented. It will become a part of the natural convection analysis with high-order scheme, multi-grid method, and dual-time step in the future. A finite volume method based on a fully-implicit second-order is used to discretize and solve the fluid flow on unstructured grids composed of arbitrary-shaped cells. The integrations of the governing equation are discretised in the finite volume manner using a collocated arrangement of variables. The convergence of the SIMPLE segregated algorithm for the solution of the coupled nonlinear algebraic equations is accelerated by using a sparse matrix solver such as BiCGSTAB. The method used in the present study is verified by applying it to some flows for which either the numerical solution is known or the solution can be obtained using another numerical technique available in the other researches. The accuracy of the method is assessed through the grid refinement.

Keywords: Finite volume method, fluid flow, laminar flow, unstructured grid.

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Authors: Sara D. Garduño-Diaz, Philippe Y. Garduño-Diaz

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To date, one of the few comprehensive indicators for the measurement of food security is the Global Food Security Index (GFSI). This index is a dynamic quantitative and qualitative benchmarking model, constructed from 28 unique indicators, that measures drivers of food security across both developing and developed countries. Whereas the GFSI has been calculated across a set of 109 countries, in this paper we aim to present and compare, for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), 1) the Food Security Index scores achieved and 2) the data available on affordability, availability, and quality of food. The data for this work was taken from the latest available report published by the creators of the GFSI, which in turn used information from national and international statistical sources. MENA countries rank from place 17/109 (Israel, although with resent political turmoil this is likely to have changed) to place 91/109 (Yemen) with household expenditure spent in food ranging from 15.5% (Israel) to 60% (Egypt). Lower spending on food as a share of household consumption in most countries and better food safety net programs in the MENA have contributed to a notable increase in food affordability. The region has also, however, experienced a decline in food availability, owing to more limited food supplies and higher volatility of agricultural production. In terms of food quality and safety the MENA has the top ranking country (Israel). The most frequent challenges faced by the countries of the MENA include public expenditure on agricultural research and development as well as volatility of agricultural production. Food security is a complex phenomenon that interacts with many other indicators of a country’s wellbeing; in the MENA it is slowly but markedly improving.

Keywords: Diet, food insecurity, global food security index, nutrition, sustainability.

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Authors: Yi-Hsiang Pan

Abstract:

The purpose of this study was to develop a “teachers’ self-efficacy scale for high school physical education teachers (TSES-HSPET)” in Taiwan. This scale is based on the self-efficacy theory of Bandura [1], [2]. This study used exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses to test the reliability and validity. The participants were high school physical education teachers in Taiwan. Both stratified random sampling and cluster sampling were used to sample participants for the study. 350 teachers were sampled in the first stage and 234 valid scales (male 133, female 101) returned. During the second stage, 350 teachers were sampled and 257 valid scales (male 143, female 110, 4 did not indicate gender) returned. The exploratory factor analysis was used in the first stage, and it got 60.77% of total variance for construct validity. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of internal consistency was 0.91 for sumscale, and subscales were 0.84 and 0.90. In the second stage, confirmatory factor analysis was used to test construct validity. The result showed that the fit index could be accepted (χ2 (75) =167.94, p <.05, RMSEA =0.07, SRMR=0.05, GFI=0.92, NNFI=0.97, CFI=0.98, PNFI=0.79). Average variance extracted of latent variables were 0.43 and 0.53, which composite reliability are 0.78 and 0.90. It is concluded that the TSES-HSPET is a well-considered measurement instrument with acceptable validity and reliability. It may be used to estimate teachers’ self-efficacy for high school physical education teachers.

Keywords: teaching in physical education, teacher's self-efficacy, teacher's belief

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Authors: Leila Mohammadi

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This paper presents the impact of persuasive communication implemented by fertility clinics websites, and how this information influences women at their decision-making for undertaking this procedure. The influential factors for women decisions to do social egg freezing (SEF) are analyzed from a framing theory perspective, with a specific focus on the impact of persuasive information on women’s decision making. This study follows a quantitative approach. A two-phase survey has been conducted to examine the interest rate to undertake SEF. In the first phase, a questionnaire was available during a month (May 2015) to women to answer whether or not they knew enough information of this process, with a total of 230 answers. The second phase took place in the two last weeks of July 2015. All the respondents were invited to a seminars called ‘All about egg freezing’ and afretwards they were requested to answer the second questionnaire. After the seminar, in which they were given an extensive amount of information about egg freezing, a total of 115 women replied the questionnaire. The collected data during this process were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Most of the respondents changed their opinion in the second questionaire which was after receiving information. Although in the first questionnaire their self-evaluation of having knowledge about this process and the implemented technologies was very high, they realized that they still need to access more information from different sources in order to be able to make a decision. The study reached the conclusion that persuasive and framed information by clinics would affect the decisions of these women. Despite the reasons women have to do egg freezing and their motivations behind it, providing people necessary information and unprejudiced data about this process (such as its positive and negative aspects, requirements, suppositions, possibilities and consequences) would help them to make a more precise and reasonable decision about what they are buying.

Keywords: Decision making, fertility clinics, framing theory, persuasive information, social egg freezing.

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Authors: F. Laaouad, M. Bouguerra, A. Hafaifa, A. Iratni

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In this work, we treat the problems related to chemical and petrochemical plants of a certain complex process taking the centrifugal compressor as an example, a system being very complex by its physical structure as well as its behaviour (surge phenomenon). We propose to study the application possibilities of the recent control approaches to the compressor behaviour, and consequently evaluate their contribution in the practical and theoretical fields. Facing the studied industrial process complexity, we choose to make recourse to fuzzy logic for analysis and treatment of its control problem owing to the fact that these techniques constitute the only framework in which the types of imperfect knowledge can jointly be treated (uncertainties, inaccuracies, etc..) offering suitable tools to characterise them. In the particular case of the centrifugal compressor, these imperfections are interpreted by modelling errors, the neglected dynamics, no modelisable dynamics and the parametric variations. The purpose of this paper is to produce a total robust nonlinear controller design method to stabilize the compression process at its optimum steady state by manipulating the gas rate flow. In order to cope with both the parameter uncertainty and the structured non linearity of the plant, the proposed method consists of a linear steady state regulation that ensures robust optimal control and of a nonlinear compensation that achieves the exact input/output linearization.

Keywords: Compressor, Fuzzy logic, Surge control, Bilinearcontroller, Stability analysis, Nonlinear plant.

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Authors: Eman Mayah, Raid Hanna

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This study presents the use of daylight in the case study of the Reid building at the Glasgow School of Art in the city of Glasgow, UK. In Nordic countries, daylight is one of the main considerations within building design, especially in the face of long, lightless winters. A shortage of daylight, contributing to dark and gloomy conditions, necessitates that designs incorporate strong daylight performance. As such, the building in question is designed to capture natural light for varying needs, where studios are located on the North and South façades. The study’s approach presents an analysis of different façade scenarios, where daylight from the North is observed, analyzed and compared with the daylight from the South façade for various design studios in the building. The findings then are correlated with the results of daylight levels from the daylight simulation program (Autodesk Ecotect Analysis) for the investigated studios. The study finds there to be a dramatic difference in daylight nature and levels between the North and South façades, where orientation, obstructions and designed façade fenestrations have major effects on the findings. The study concludes that some of the studios positioned on the North façade do not have a desirable quality of diffused northern light, due to the outside building’s obstructions, area and volume of the studio and the shadow effect of the designed mezzanine floor in the studios.

Keywords: Daylight levels, educational building, façade fenestration, overcast weather.

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Authors: Pibool Waijittragum

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The purpose of this research is to analyze the marketing strategies of Thai Halal products which related to the way of life for Thai Muslims. The expected benefit is the marketing strategy for brand building process for Halal products in Thailand. 4 elements of marketing strategies which necessary for the brand identity creation is the research framework: consists of Attributes, Benefits, Values and Personality. The research methodology was applied using qualitative and quantitative; 19 marketing experts with dynamic roles in Thai consumer products were interviewed. In addition, a field survey of 122 Thai Muslims selected from 175 Muslim communities in Bangkok was studied. Data analysis will be according to 5 categories of Thai Halal product: 1) Meat 2) Vegetable and Fruits 3) Instant foods and Garnishing ingredient 4) Beverages, Desserts and Snacks 5) Hygienic daily products; such as soap, shampoo and body lotion. The results will explain some suitable representation in the marketing strategies of Thai Halal products as are: 1) Benefit; the characteristics of the product with its benefit. Consumers will purchase this product with the reason of; it is beneficial nutrients product, there are no toxic or chemical residues. Fresh and clean materials 2) Attribute; the exterior images that attract to consumer. Consumers will purchase this product with the reason of; there is a standard proof mark, food and drug secure proof mark and Halal products mark. Packaging and its materials should be draw attention. Use an attractive graphic. Use outstanding images of product, material or ingredients. 3) Value; the value of products that affect to consumers perception; it is healthy products. Accumulate quality of life. It is a product of expertise, manufacturing of research result. Consumers are important. It’s sincere, honest and reliable to all. 4) Personality; reflection of consumers thought. The Personality feedback to them after they were consumes this product; they are health care persons. They are the rational person, moral person, justice person and thoughtful person like a progressive thinking.

Keywords: Marketing strategies, Product identity, Branding, Thai Halal products.

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Authors: Jong-Moon Chung, Hyung-Weon Cho, Ki-Yong Jin, Min-Hee Cho

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In this paper, we present an analytical framework for the evaluation of the uplink performance of multihop cellular networks based on dynamic time division duplex (TDD). New wireless broadband protocols, such as WiMAX, WiBro, and 3G-LTE apply TDD, and mobile communication protocols under standardization (e.g., IEEE802.16j) are investigating mobile multihop relay (MMR) as a future technology. In this paper a novel MMR TDD scheme is presented, where the dynamic range of the frame is shared to traffic resources of asymmetric nature and multihop relaying. The mobile communication channel interference model comprises of inner and co-channel interference (CCI). The performance analysis focuses on the uplink due to the fact that the effects of dynamic resource allocation show significant performance degradation only in the uplink compared to time division multiple access (TDMA) schemes due to CCI [1-3], where the downlink results to be the same or better.The analysis was based on the signal to interference power ratio (SIR) outage probability of dynamic TDD (D-TDD) and TDMA systems,which are the most widespread mobile communication multi-user control techniques. This paper presents the uplink SIR outage probability with multihop results and shows that the dynamic TDD scheme applying MMR can provide a performance improvement compared to single hop applications if executed properly.

Keywords: Co-Channel Interference, Dynamic TDD, MobileMultihop Reply, Cellular Network, Time Division Multiple Access.

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Authors: Revaz Chigladze

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The purpose of the research is to investigate the surfaces of Jupiter's Galilean moons (satellites), namely to identify which moon has the most uniform surface among them, what is the difference between the front (in the direction of motion) and the back sides of each moon's surface, as well as the temporal variations of the moons. Since 1981, the E. Kharadze Georgian National Astrophysical Observatory has been conducting polarimetric (P) and photometric (M) observations of Jupiter's Galilean moons with telescopes of different diameters (40-cm and 125-cm), as well as polarimeter Automatic Scanning Electron Polarimeter (ASEP)-78, the latest generation photometer with polarimeter and modern light receiver Santana Barbara Instrument Group (SBIG). As it turns out from the analysis of the observed material, parameters P and M depend on: α, the phase angle of the moon (satellite); L, the orbital latitude of the moon (satellite); λ, the wavelength, and t, the period of observation, i.e., P = P (α, L, λ, t), and similarly: M = M (α, L, λ, t). Based on the analysis of the obtained results, we get: The magnitude of the degree of polarization of Jupiter's Galilean moons near the opposition significantly differs from zero. Europa appears to have the most uniform surface, and Callisto has the least. Time variations are most characteristic of Io, which confirms the presence of volcanic activity on its surface. Based on the observed materials, it can be seen that the intensity of light reflected from the front hemisphere of the first three moons: Io, Europa, and Ganymede, is less than the intensity of light reflected from the rear hemisphere, while the picture with Callisto is opposite. The paper provides an explanation of this fact.

Keywords: Galilean moons, polarization, degree of polarization, photometry, front and rear hemispheres.

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Authors: Shahana T. K., Babita R. Jose, K. Poulose Jacob, Sreela Sasi

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The modern telecommunication industry demands higher capacity networks with high data rate. Orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) is a promising technique for high data rate wireless communications at reasonable complexity in wireless channels. OFDM has been adopted for many types of wireless systems like wireless local area networks such as IEEE 802.11a, and digital audio/video broadcasting (DAB/DVB). The proposed research focuses on a concatenated coding scheme that improve the performance of OFDM based wireless communications. It uses a Redundant Residue Number System (RRNS) code as the outer code and a convolutional code as the inner code. Here, a direct conversion of analog signal to residue domain is done to reduce the conversion complexity using sigma-delta based parallel analog-to-residue converter. The bit error rate (BER) performances of the proposed system under different channel conditions are investigated. These include the effect of additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN), multipath delay spread, peak power clipping and frame start synchronization error. The simulation results show that the proposed RRNS-Convolutional concatenated coding (RCCC) scheme provides significant improvement in the system performance by exploiting the inherent properties of RRNS.

Keywords: Analog-to-residue converter, Concatenated codes, OFDM, Redundant Residue Number System, Sigma-delta modulator, Wireless communication

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Authors: Muhammad Aqil, Ichiro Kita, Moses Macalinao

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Reliable water level forecasts are particularly important for warning against dangerous flood and inundation. The current study aims at investigating the suitability of the adaptive network based fuzzy inference system for continuous water level modeling. A hybrid learning algorithm, which combines the least square method and the back propagation algorithm, is used to identify the parameters of the network. For this study, water levels data are available for a hydrological year of 2002 with a sampling interval of 1-hour. The number of antecedent water level that should be included in the input variables is determined by two statistical methods, i.e. autocorrelation function and partial autocorrelation function between the variables. Forecasting was done for 1-hour until 12-hour ahead in order to compare the models generalization at higher horizons. The results demonstrate that the adaptive networkbased fuzzy inference system model can be applied successfully and provide high accuracy and reliability for river water level estimation. In general, the adaptive network-based fuzzy inference system provides accurate and reliable water level prediction for 1-hour ahead where the MAPE=1.15% and correlation=0.98 was achieved. Up to 12-hour ahead prediction, the model still shows relatively good performance where the error of prediction resulted was less than 9.65%. The information gathered from the preliminary results provide a useful guidance or reference for flood early warning system design in which the magnitude and the timing of a potential extreme flood are indicated.

Keywords: Neural Network, Fuzzy, River, Forecasting

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Authors: Sheng Teng Huang, Shigeru Yoshida

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Strategic alliances generally mean the cooperation or collaboration between firms which pursue for a synergy that each member hopes the benefits from the alliances would be much more than those from individual efforts. Past researches provide us sufficient theories and considerations for alliance forming in liner shipping market. This research reviews important academic journals for the past decade regarding to the most important reasons to form the alliances. We would explain the motive of alliances and details of shipping cooperation in literature review. The paper also empirically investigates the key service quality requirements improved through alliances by using quality function deployment (QFD). Moreover, the research investigates famous shipping reports, shipping consultant websites and most recent shipping publications to find out the executive-s viewpoint of several leading carriers among top 20 to assess current shipping strategic alliance on Asia/Europe route. These comments provide meaningful managerial reasons to consider alliance formations and search if there is any gap between the theories and industrial practice. Analysis of the empirical investigation and top management-s perspective on current market situation will contribute us some meaningful managerial suggestions to evaluate these theories applied to current strategic alliances.

Keywords: Liner shipping, Strategic alliances, quality function deployment, service quality.

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Authors: Omneya Messallam, Sara S. Fouad

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The Modernist Movement initially flourished in France, Holland, Germany and the Soviet Union. Many architects and designers were inspired and followed its principles. Two of its most important architects (Gerrit Rietveld and Ludwig Mies van de Rohe) were introduced in this paper. Each did not follow the other’s principles and had their own particular rules; however, they shared the same features of the Modernist International Style, such as Anti-historicism, Abstraction, Technology, Function and Internationalism/ Universality. Key Modernist principles translated into high expectations, which sometimes did not meet the inhabitants’ aspirations of living comfortably; consequently, leading to a conflict and misunderstanding between the designer and their clients’ needs. Therefore, historical case studies (the Schroder and the Farnsworth houses) involving two Modernist pioneer architects have been chosen. This paper is an attempt to explore some of the influential factors affecting buildings design such as: needs, gender, and question concerning commonalities between both designers and their clients. The three aspects and two designers explored here have been chosen because they have been influenced the researchers to understand the impact of those factors on the design process, building’s performance, and the dweller’s satisfaction. This is a descriptive/ analytical research based on two historical comparative case studies that involve several steps such as: key evaluation questions (KEQs), observations, document analysis, etc. The methodology is based on data collation and finding validations. The research aims to state a manifest to regulate the relation between architects and their clients to reach the optimum building performance and functional interior design that suits their clients’ needs, reflects the architects’ character, and the school they belong to. At the end, through the investigation in this paper, the different needs between both the designers and the clients have been seen not only in the building itself but also it could convert the inhabitant’s life in various ways. Moreover, a successful relationship between the architect and their clients could play a significant role in the success of projects. In contrast, not every good design or celebrated building could end up with a successful relationship between the designer and their client or full-fill the inhabitant’s aspirations.

Keywords: Architect’s character, Building’s performance, commonalities, client’s character, gender, modernist movement, needs.

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Authors: Aleksandra Mišan, Bojana Šarić, Nataša Nedeljković, Mladenka Pestorić, Pavle Jovanov, Milica Pojić, Jelena Tomić, Bojana Filipčev, Miroslav Hadnađev, Anamarija Mandić

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With the aim of improving nutritional profile and antioxidant capacity of gluten-free cookies, blueberry pomace, by-product of juice production, was processed into a new food ingredient by drying and grinding and used for a gluten-free cookie formulation. Since the quality of a baked product is highly influenced by the baking conditions, the objective of this work was to optimize the baking time and thickness of dough pieces, by applying Response Surface Methodology (RSM) in order to obtain the best technological quality of the cookies. The experiments were carried out according to a Central Composite Design (CCD) by selecting the dough thickness and baking time as independent variables, while hardness, color parameters (L*, a* and b* values), water activity, diameter and short/long ratio were response variables. According to the results of RSM analysis, the baking time of 13.74min and dough thickness of 4.08mm was found to be the optimal for the baking temperature of 170°C. As similar optimal parameters were obtained by previously conducted experiment based on sensory analysis, response surface methodology (RSM) can be considered as a suitable approach to optimize the baking process.

Keywords: Baking process, blueberry pomace, gluten-free cookies, Response Surface Methodology.

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

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Rail transport authorities around the world have been facing a significant challenge when predicting rail infrastructure maintenance work for a long period of time. Generally, maintenance monitoring and prediction is conducted manually. With the restrictions in economy, the rail transport authorities are in pursuit of improved modern methods, which can provide precise prediction of rail maintenance time and location. The expectation from such a method is to develop models to minimize the human error that is strongly related to manual prediction. Such models will help them in understanding how the track degradation occurs overtime under the change in different conditions (e.g. rail load, rail type, rail profile). They need a well-structured technique to identify the precise time that rail tracks fail in order to minimize the maintenance cost/time and secure the vehicles. The rail track characteristics that have been collected over the years will be used in developing rail track degradation prediction models. Since these data have been collected in large volumes and the data collection is done both electronically and manually, it is possible to have some errors. Sometimes these errors make it impossible to use them in prediction model development. This is one of the major drawbacks in rail track degradation prediction. An accurate model can play a key role in the estimation of the long-term behavior of rail tracks. Accurate models increase the track safety and decrease the cost of maintenance in long term. In this research, a short review of rail track degradation prediction models has been discussed before estimating rail track degradation for the curve sections of Melbourne tram track system using Adaptive Network-based Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS) model.

Keywords: ANFIS, MGT, Prediction modeling, rail track degradation.

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Authors: Rudainah Alkhazam, Özlem Yaşar Uğurlu

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Immigrant entrepreneurship arises from the start of entrepreneurial activity by immigrants in the country they relocate to. The future prosperity and stability of the refugee-hosting countries depends on the mutual social and economic benefits between the residents and the refugees. Syrian refugees and workers in host countries necessitate efforts to assist their residents and refugees in meeting their daily needs, contributing lawfully to local and possibly regional economies through trade, and instilling hope in their future. This study investigates the effects of Syrian refugee entrepreneurs on host communities' business sectors, focusing on Turkey. Specifically, we examine entrepreneurship in general and its role in the country's economy. Because Turkey is the most popular resettlement destination for Syrian refugees, this study will shed light on the challenges of successful migrant entrepreneurship in Turkey and their role in the business sector. The research relies on a mixed-method approach which helps identify recurring themes, favorable results, and conflicting results across methods, allowing us to draw accurate conclusions. The study will adopt a quantitative method in collecting numerical data from Syrian refugees in Turkey. The self-administered survey would be translated into Arabic to ensure that the respondents understood the questions and possible replies. The research will use survey questionnaires to gather the majority of the data. These surveys would have closed-ended questions with nominal ratio and Likert scales. The data will be analyzed using linear regression and the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) to ascertain the role of Syrian entrepreneurs in the business sectors of Turkey. The research will use the findings to make future recommendations. Syrian entrepreneurs, among the migrant entrepreneurs, contribute to the labor market, the majority of whom are young people. This research noted the significant participation of Syrian immigrant women in the entrepreneurship sector. The previous experience of Syrians in the field of trade and running their own business plays a vital role in the success of their business in the host countries. The study shows that Syrian entrepreneurs could integrate effectively into the various Turkish business sectors and could rely on themselves, open and manage their projects, and market them in the Turkish market. Syrian entrepreneurs consider that the investment and labor laws, commercial arrangements, and facilities for obtaining financial resources in Turkey need to be more flexible and available to immigrant entrepreneurs.

Keywords: Entrepreneurship, immigration, Syrian, Turkey, refugees, investors, socio-economic benefits, unemployment.

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Authors: Krasimir I. Ivanov, Elitsa N. Kolentsova, Dimitar Y. Dimitrov, Petya Ts. Petrova, Tatyana T. Tabakova

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This work studies the effect of chemical composition on the activity and selectivity of γ–alumina supported CuO/ MnO2/Cr2O3 catalysts toward deep oxidation of CO, dimethyl ether (DME) and methanol. The catalysts were prepared by impregnation of the support with an aqueous solution of copper nitrate, manganese nitrate and CrO3 under different conditions. Thermal, XRD and TPR analysis were performed. The catalytic measurements of single compounds oxidation were carried out on continuous flow equipment with a four-channel isothermal stainless steel reactor. Flow-line equipment with an adiabatic reactor for simultaneous oxidation of all compounds under the conditions that mimic closely the industrial ones was used. The reactant and product gases were analyzed by means of on-line gas chromatographs. On the basis of XRD analysis it can be concluded that the active component of the mixed Cu-Mn-Cr/γ–alumina catalysts consists of at least six compounds – CuO, Cr2O3, MnO2, Cu1.5Mn1.5O4, Cu1.5Cr1.5O4 and CuCr2O4, depending on the Cu/Mn/Cr molar ratio. Chemical composition strongly influences catalytic properties, this influence being quite variable with regards to the different processes. The rate of CO oxidation rapidly decrease with increasing of chromium content in the active component while for the DME was observed the reverse trend. It was concluded that the best compromise are the catalysts with Cu/(Mn + Cr) molar ratio 1:5 and Mn/Cr molar ratio from 1:3 to 1:4.

Keywords: Copper-manganese-chromium oxide catalysts, CO, deep oxidation, volatile organic compounds.

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Authors: Tahsin Toma Sabbagh, Ihsan Al-Abboodi, Ali Al-Jazaairry

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Allowable-bearing capacity is the competency of soil to safely carries the pressure from the superstructure without experiencing a shear failure with accompanying excessive settlements. Ensuring a safe bearing pressure with respect to failure does not tolerate settlement of the foundation will be within acceptable limits. Therefore, settlement analysis should always be performed since most structures are settlement sensitive. When visualising the movement of a soil wedge in the bearing capacity criterion, both vertically and horizontally, it becomes clear that by confining the soil surrounding the foundation, both the bearing capacity and settlement values improve. In this study, two sizes of spread foundation were considered; (2×4) m and (3×5) m. These represent two real problem case studies of an existing building. The foundations were analysed in terms of dimension as well as position with respect to a confining wall (i.e., sheet piles on both sides). Assuming B is the least foundation dimension, the study comprised the analyses of three distances; (0.1 B), (0.5 B), and (0.75 B) between the sheet piles and foundations alongside three depths of confinement (0.5 B), (1 B), and (1.5 B). Nonlinear three-dimensional finite element analysis (ANSYS) was adopted to perform an analytical investigation on the behaviour of the two foundations contained by the case study. Results showed that confinement of foundations reduced the overall stresses near the foundation by 65% and reduced the vertical displacement by 90%. Moreover, the most effective distance between the confinement wall and the foundation was found to be 0.5 B.

Keywords: Bearing capacity, cohesionless soils, spread footings, soil confinement, soil modelling.

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Authors: Kaniknun Photchong, Phusit Phukamchanoad

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The objective of this research is to study the people’s level of participation in activities of the community, their satisfaction towards the community, the attachment they have to the community, factors that influence the attachment, as well as the characteristics of the relationships of military families’ of the Royal Guards community of Dusit District. The method used was non-probability sampling by quota sampling according to people’s age. The determined age group was 18 years or older.

One set of a sample group was done per family. The questionnaires were conducted by 287 people. Snowball sampling was also used by interviewing people of the community, starting from the Royal Guards Community’s leader, then by 20 of the community’s well-respected persons. The data was analyzed by using descriptive statistics, such as arithmetic mean and standard deviation, as well as by inferential statistics, such as Independent - Samples T test (T-test), One-Way ANOVA (F-test), Chi-Square. Descriptive analysis according to the structure of the interview content was also used. The results of the research is that the participation of the population in the Royal Guards Community in various activities is at a medium level, with the average participation level during Mother’s and Father’s Days. The people’s general level of satisfaction towards the premises of the Royal Guards Community is at the highest level.

The people were most satisfied with the transportation within the community and in contacting with people from outside the premises. The access to the community is convenient and there are various entrances. The attachment of the people to the Royal Guards Community in general and by each category is at a high level. The feeling that the community is their home rated the highest average. Factors that influence the attachment of the people of the Royal Guards Community are age, status, profession, income, length of stay in the community, membership of social groups, having neighbors they feel close and familiar with, and as well as the benefits they receive from the community. In addition, it was found that people that participate in activities have a high level of positive relationship towards the attachment of the people to the Royal Guards Community. The satisfaction of the community has a very high level of positive relationship with the attachment of the people to the Royal Guards Community.

The characteristics of the attachment of military families’ is that they live in big houses that everyone has to protect and care for, starting from the leader of the family as well as all members. Therefore, they all love the community they live in. The characteristics that show the participation of activities within the community and the high level of satisfaction towards the premises of the community will enable the people to be more attached to the community. The people feel that everyone is close neighbors within the community, as if they are one big family.

Keywords: Activities, Attachment, Community, Royal Guards, Satisfaction.

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Authors: M. O’Driscoll, M. Anwar, M. G. Rasul

Abstract:

The benefits of eco-roofs is quite well known, however there remains very little research conducted for the implementation of eco-roofs in subtropical climates such as Australia. There are many challenges facing Australia as it moves into the future, climate change is proving to be one of the leading challenges. In order to move forward with the mitigation of climate change, the impacts of rapid urbanization need to be offset. Eco-roofs are one way to achieve this; this study presents the energy savings and environmental benefits of the implementation of eco-roofs in subtropical climates. An experimental set-up was installed at Rockhampton campus of Central Queensland University, where two shipping containers were converted into small offices, one with an eco-roof and one without. These were used for temperature, humidity and energy consumption data collection. In addition, a computational model was developed using Design Builder software (state-of-the-art building energy simulation software) for simulating energy consumption of shipping containers and environmental parameters, this was done to allow comparison between simulated and real world data. This study found that eco-roofs are very effective in subtropical climates and provide energy saving of about 13% which agrees well with simulated results. 

Keywords: Climate Change, Eco/Green roof, Energy savings, Subtropical climate.

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Authors: M. Ashaque Meah, Md. Fazlul Karim, M. Shah Noor, Nazmun Nahar Papri, M. Khalid Hossen, M. Ismoen

Abstract:

Tsunami and inundation modelling due to far field tsunami propagation in a limited area is a very challenging numerical task because it involves many aspects such as the formation of various types of waves and the irregularities of coastal boundaries. To compute the effect of far field tsunami and extent of inland inundation due to far field tsunami along the coastal belts of west coast of Malaysia and Southern Thailand, a formulated boundary condition and a moving boundary condition are simultaneously used. In this study, a boundary fitted curvilinear grid system is used in order to incorporate the coastal and island boundaries accurately as the boundaries of the model domain are curvilinear in nature and the bending is high. The tsunami response of the event 26 December 2004 along the west open boundary of the model domain is computed to simulate the effect of far field tsunami. Based on the data of the tsunami source at the west open boundary of the model domain, a boundary condition is formulated and applied to simulate the tsunami response along the coastal and island boundaries. During the simulation process, a moving boundary condition is initiated instead of fixed vertical seaside wall. The extent of inland inundation and tsunami propagation pattern are computed. Some comparisons are carried out to test the validation of the simultaneous use of the two boundary conditions. All simulations show excellent agreement with the data of observation.

Keywords: Open boundary condition, moving boundary condition, boundary-fitted curvilinear grids, far field tsunami, Shallow Water Equations, tsunami source, Indonesian tsunami of 2004.

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Authors: Vaso K. Kapnopoulou, Piero Caridis

Abstract:

The fatigue of ship structural details is of major concern in the maritime industry as it can generate fracture issues that may compromise structural integrity. In the present study, a fatigue analysis of the lower hopper knuckle connection of a bulk carrier was conducted using the Finite Element Method by means of ABAQUS/CAE software. The fatigue life was calculated using Miner’s Rule and the long-term distribution of stress range by the use of the two-parameter Weibull distribution. The cumulative damage ratio was estimated using the fatigue damage resulting from the stress range occurring at each load condition. For this purpose, a cargo hold model was first generated, which extends over the length of two holds (the mid-hold and half of each of the adjacent holds) and transversely over the full breadth of the hull girder. Following that, a submodel of the area of interest was extracted in order to calculate the hot spot stress of the connection and to estimate the fatigue life of the structural detail. Two hot spot locations were identified; one at the top layer of the inner bottom plate and one at the top layer of the hopper plate. The IACS Common Structural Rules (CSR) require that specific dynamic load cases for each loading condition are assessed. Following this, the dynamic load case that causes the highest stress range at each loading condition should be used in the fatigue analysis for the calculation of the cumulative fatigue damage ratio. Each load case has a different effect on ship hull response. Of main concern, when assessing the fatigue strength of the lower hopper knuckle connection, was the determination of the maximum, i.e. the critical value of the stress range, which acts in a direction normal to the weld toe line. This acts in the transverse direction, that is, perpendicularly to the ship's centerline axis. The load cases were explored both theoretically and numerically in order to establish the one that causes the highest damage to the location examined. The most severe one was identified to be the load case induced by beam sea condition where the encountered wave comes from the starboard. At the level of the cargo hold model, the model was assumed to be simply supported at its ends. A coarse mesh was generated in order to represent the overall stiffness of the structure. The elements employed were quadrilateral shell elements, each having four integration points. A linear elastic analysis was performed because linear elastic material behavior can be presumed, since only localized yielding is allowed by most design codes. At the submodel level, the displacements of the analysis of the cargo hold model to the outer region nodes of the submodel acted as boundary conditions and applied loading for the submodel. In order to calculate the hot spot stress at the hot spot locations, a very fine mesh zone was generated and used. The fatigue life of the detail was found to be 16.4 years which is lower than the design fatigue life of the structure (25 years), making this location vulnerable to fatigue fracture issues. Moreover, the loading conditions that induce the most damage to the location were found to be the various ballasting conditions.

Keywords: Lower hopper knuckle, high cycle fatigue, finite element method, dynamic load cases.

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Authors: C. Ardil

Abstract:

This paper introduces the concept of neutral sets (NSs) and explores various operations on NSs, along with their associated properties. The foundation of the Neutral Set framework lies in ontological neutrality and the principles of logic, including the Law of Non-Contradiction. By encompassing components for possibility, indeterminacy, and necessity, the NS framework provides a flexible representation of truth, uncertainty, and necessity, accommodating diverse ontological perspectives without presupposing specific existential commitments. The inclusion of Possibility acknowledges the spectrum of potential states or propositions, promoting neutrality by accommodating various viewpoints. Indeterminacy reflects the inherent uncertainty in understanding reality, refraining from making definitive ontological commitments in uncertain situations. Necessity captures propositions that must hold true under all circumstances, aligning with the principle of logical consistency and implicitly supporting the Law of Non-Contradiction. Subsequently, a neutral set-TOPSIS approach is applied in the maintenance strategy selection problem, demonstrating the practical applicability of the NS framework. The paper further explores uncertainty relations and presents the fundamental preliminaries of NS theory, emphasizing its role in fostering ontological neutrality and logical coherence in reasoning.

Keywords: Uncertainty sets, neutral sets, maintenance strategy selection multiple criteria decision-making analysis, MCDM, uncertainty decision analysis, distance function, multiple attribute, decision making, selection method, uncertainty, TOPSIS

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Authors: Marcin Ciura, Damian Grund, S

Abstract:

This paper describes a system, in which various methods of text summarizing can be adapted to Polish. A structure of the system is presented. A modular construction of the system and access to the system via the Internet are signaled.

Keywords: Automatic summary generation, linguistic analysis, text generation.

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Authors: Raissa A. Muzychkina, Irina M. Korulkina, Dmitriy Yu. Korulkin

Abstract:

In article the data of acute toxicity for pre-clinical researches of Ramon preparation is described. Ramon effects to clinical characteristics of blood, cardio-vascular system, hepatotoxic and diuretic effects were studied.

Keywords: Cancer, toxicity, antitumor activity, pre-clinical testing, anthraquinones, phytopreparation, Ramon.

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Authors: Yu-Wei Chang, Chiao-Hung Cheng, Wen-Fang Wu, Sih-Li Chen

Abstract:

This article experimentally investigates the thermal performance of thermoelectric air-cooling module which comprises a thermoelectric cooler (TEC) and an air-cooling heat sink. The influences of input current and heat load are determined. And performances under each situation are quantified by thermal resistance analysis. Since TEC generates Joule heat, this nature makes construction of thermal resistance network difficult. To simplify the analysis, this article emphasizes on the resistance heat load might meet when passing through the device. Therefore, the thermal resistances in this paper are to divide temperature differences by heat load. According to the result, there exists an optimum input current under every heating power. In this case, the optimum input current is around 6A or 7A. The performance of the heat sink would be improved with TEC under certain heating power and input current, especially at a low heat load. According to the result, the device can even make the heat source cooler than the ambient. However, TEC is not always effective at every heat load and input current. In some situation, the device works worse than the heat sink without TEC. To determine the availability of TEC, this study figures out the effective operating region in which the TEC air-cooling module works better than the heat sink without TEC. The result shows that TEC is more effective at a lower heat load. If heat load is too high, heat sink with TEC will perform worse than without TEC. The limit of this device is 57W. Besides, TEC is not helpful if input current is too high or too low. There is an effective range of input current, and the range becomes narrower when the heat load grows.

Keywords: Thermoelectric cooler, TEC, electronic cooling, heat sink.

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Authors: R. Chithra, B. Kalavathi, J. Christy Lavanya

Abstract:

WiMAX is a telecommunications technology and it is specified by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc., as the IEEE 802.16 standard. The goal of this technology is to provide a wireless data over long distances in a variety of ways. IEEE 802.16 is a recent standard for mobile communication. In this paper, we provide an overview of various key management algorithms to provide security for WiMAX.

Keywords: Broadcast, Rekeying, Scalability, Secrecy, Unicast, WiMAX.

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Authors: S. M. M. Syairah, M. H. Rajikin, A-R. Sharaniza

Abstract:

Several embryonic cellular mechanism including cell cycle, growth and apoptosis are regulated by phosphatidylinositol-3- kinase (PI3K)/Akt signaling pathway. The goal of present study is to determine the effects of annatto (Bixa orellana)-derived δ-tocotrienol (δ-TCT) on the regulations of PI3K/Akt genes in murine morula. Twenty four 6-8 week old (23-25g) female balb/c mice were randomly divided into four groups (G1-G4; n=6). Those groups were subjected to the following treatments for 7 consecutive days: G1 (control) received tocopherol stripped corn oil, G2 was given 60 mg/kg/day of δ-TCT mixture (contains 90% delta & 10% gamma isomers), G3 was given 60 mg/kg/day of pure δ-TCT (>98% purity) and G4 received 60 mg/kg/day α-TOC. On Day 8, females were superovulated with 5 IU Pregnant Mare’s Serum Gonadotropin (PMSG) for 48 hours followed with 5 IU human Chorionic Gonadotropin (hCG) before mated with males at the ratio of 1:1. Females were sacrificed by cervical dislocation for embryo collection 48 hours post-coitum. About fifty morulas from each group were used in the gene expression analyses using Affymetrix QuantiGene Plex 2.0 Assay. Present data showed a significant increase (p<0.05) in the average number (mean + SEM) of morula produced in G2 (27.32 + 0.23), G3 (25.42 + 0.21) and G4 (27.21 + 0.34) compared to control group (G1 – 14.61 + 0.25). This is parallel with the high expression of PDK1 gene with increase of 2.75-fold (G2), 3.07-fold (G3) and 3.59-fold (G4) compared to G1. From the present data, it can be concluded that supplementation with δ-TCT(s) and α-TOC induced high expression of PDK1 in G2-G4 which enhanced the PI3K/Akt signaling activity, resulting in the increased number of morula.

Keywords: Embryonic development, morula, nicotine, vitamin E.

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Authors: Amin Chegenizadeh, Hamid Nikraz

Abstract:

The use of computer hardware and software in education and training dates to the early 1940s, when American researchers developed flight simulators which used analog computers to generate simulated onboard instrument data.Computer software is widely used to help engineers and undergraduate student solve their problems quickly and more accurately. This paper presents the list of computer software in geotechnical engineering.

Keywords: Geotechnical, Teaching, Courseware

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Authors: G. Aouf, D. Tabbal, A. Sabsabi, R. Aouf

Abstract:

The aim of this study is to assess the viability of utilizing Municipal Solid Waste Incineration Fly Ash (MSWIFA) with Ordinary Portland cement as soil reinforcement materials for geotechnical engineering applications. A detailed experimental program is carried out followed by analysis of results. Soil samples were prepared by adding cement to MSWIFA-soil mix at different percentages. Then, a series of laboratory tests were performed namely: Sieve analysis, Atterberg limits tests, Unconfined compression test, and Proctor tests. A parametric study is conducted to investigate the effect of adding the cement at different percentages on the unconfined compression strength, maximum dry density (MDD), and optimum moisture content (OMC) of clayey soil-MSWIFA. The variations of admixtures’ contents were 10%, 20%, and 30% for MSWIFA by dry total weight of soil and 10%, 15%, and 20% for Portland cement by dry total weight of the mix. The test results reveal that adding MSWIFA to the soil up to 20% increased the MDD of the mixture and decreased the OMC, then an opposite trend for results were found when the percentage of MSWIFA exceeds 20%. This is due to the low specific gravity of MSWIFA and to the greater water absorption of MSWIFA. The laboratory tests also indicate that the Unconfined Compression Test values were found to be increased for all the mixtures with curing periods of 7, 14, and 28 days. It is also observed that the cement increased the strength of the finished product of the mix of soil and MSWIFA.

Keywords: Clayey soil, cement, Municipal Solid Waste Incineration Fly Ash, MSWIFA, unconfined compression strength.

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