Search results for: Net positive suction head NPSHA

Authors: Li Xiguang

Abstract:

In this paper, by constructing a special operator and using fixed point index theorem of cone, we get the sufficient conditions for symmetric positive solution of a class of nonlinear singular boundary value problems with p-Laplace operator, which improved and generalized the result of related paper.

Keywords: Banach space, cone, fixed point index, singular differential equation, p-Laplace operator, symmetric solutions.

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Authors: Terna T. Paul, Iloechuba P. Ngozika

Abstract:

A study was carried out to evaluate the growth and yield performance of Pleurotus ostreatus spawn on different organic substrates in Lafia, Nasarawa State, Nigeria. 50 g each of four different substrates namely; corncobs, rice straw, sugarcane bagasse and sawdust sourced locally from farmlands and processing sites, were amended with 2% calcium carbonate and calcium sulphide and sterilized using three sterilization methods namely; hot water, steam, and lime. Five grams of P. ostreatus spawn were inoculated unto treated substrates, incubated in the dark for 16 days and in light for 19 days at 25 ⁰C for the commencement of pinhead and fruit body formations respectively. Growth and yield parameters such as days to full colonization, days to pinhead formation and days to fruit body formation were recorded. Cap diameter and fresh weight of mature mushrooms were also measured for a total count of four flushes. P. ostreatus spawn grown on sugarcane bagasse recorded the highest mean cap diameter (4.69 cm), highest mean fresh weight (34.68 g), highest biological efficiency (69.37%) and highest production rate (2.83 g per day). Spawn grown on rice straw recorded the least number of days to full substrate colonization (11.00). Spawn grown on corn cobs recorded the least mean number of days to pin head (18.75) and fruiting body formations (20.25). There were no significant differences (P ≤ 0.05) among the evaluated substrates with respect to growth and yield performance of P. ostreatus. Substrates sterilized with hot water supported the highest mean cap diameter (5.64 cm), highest biological efficiency (87.04%) and highest production rate (3.43 g per day) of P. ostreatus. Significant differences (P ≤ 0.05) were observed in cap diameter, fresh weight, biological efficiency and production rates among the evaluated sterilization methods. Hot water sterilization of sugarcane bagasse could be adopted for enhanced yield of oyster mushrooms, especially among indigent farming communities in Nigeria and beyond.

Keywords: Agro wastes, growth, Pleurotus ostreatus, sterilization methods, yield.

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Authors: Fahad Alsharari, Mohd Salmi Md Noorani

Abstract:

A Motzkin shift is a mathematical model for constraints on genetic sequences. In terms of the theory of symbolic dynamics, the Motzkin shift is nonsofic, and therefore, we cannot use the Perron- Frobenius theory to calculate its topological entropy. The Motzkin shift M(M,N) which comes from language theory, is defined to be the shift system over an alphabet A that consists of N negative symbols, N positive symbols and M neutral symbols. For an x in the full shift, x will be in the Motzkin subshift M(M,N) if and only if every finite block appearing in x has a non-zero reduced form. Therefore, the constraint for x cannot be bounded in length. K. Inoue has shown that the entropy of the Motzkin shift M(M,N) is log(M + N + 1). In this paper, a new direct method of calculating the topological entropy of the Motzkin shift is given without any measure theoretical discussion.

Keywords: Motzkin shift, topological entropy.

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Authors: Yi-Chun Kuo, Jo-Chieh Lin

Abstract:

The objective of a supply chain strategy is to reduce waste and increase efficiency to attain cost benefits, and to guarantee supply chain flexibility when facing the ever-changing market environment in order to meet customer requirements. Strategy implementation aims to fulfill common goals and attain benefits by integrating upstream and downstream enterprises, sharing information, conducting common planning, and taking part in decision making, so as to enhance the overall performance of the supply chain. With the rise of outsourcing and globalization, the increasing dependence on suppliers and customers and the rapid development of information technology, the complexity and uncertainty of the supply chain have intensified, and supply chain vulnerability has surged, resulting in adverse effects on supply chain performance. Thus, this study aims to use supply chain vulnerability as a moderating variable and apply structural equation modeling (SEM) to determine the relationships among supply chain strategy, supply chain integration, and supply chain performance, as well as the moderating effect of supply chain vulnerability on supply chain performance. The data investigation of this study was questionnaires which were collected from the management level of enterprises in Taiwan and China, 149 questionnaires were received. The result of confirmatory factor analysis shows that the path coefficients of supply chain strategy on supply chain integration and supply chain performance are positive (0.497, t= 4.914; 0.748, t= 5.919), having a significantly positive effect. Supply chain integration is also significantly positively correlated to supply chain performance (0.192, t = 2.273). The moderating effects of supply chain vulnerability on supply chain strategy and supply chain integration to supply chain performance are significant (7.407; 4.687). In Taiwan, 97.73% of enterprises are small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) focusing on receiving original equipment manufacturer (OEM) and original design manufacturer (ODM) orders. In order to meet the needs of customers and to respond to market changes, these enterprises especially focus on supply chain flexibility and their integration with the upstream and downstream enterprises. According to the observation of this research, the effect of supply chain vulnerability on supply chain performance is significant, and so enterprises need to attach great importance to the management of supply chain risk and conduct risk analysis on their suppliers in order to formulate response strategies when facing emergency situations. At the same time, risk management is incorporated into the supply chain so as to reduce the effect of supply chain vulnerability on the overall supply chain performance.

Keywords: Supply chain integration, supply chain performance, supply chain vulnerability, structural equation modeling.

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Authors: Mustafa M. Donma, Orkide Donma

Abstract:

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a disease associated with obesity. It is a complicated clinical problem possibly affecting body composition as well as macrominerals. These parameters gain further attention particularly in pediatric population. The aim of this study is to investigate the amount of discrete body composition fractions in groups that differ in the severity of obesity. Also, the possible associations with calcium (Ca), phosphorus (P), magnesium (Mg) will be examined. The study population was divided into four groups. 28, 29, 34 and 34 children were involved in Group 1 (healthy), Group 2 (obese), Group 3 (morbid obese) and Group 4 (MetS), respectively. Institutional Ethical Committee approved the study protocol. Informed consent forms were obtained from the parents of the participants. The classification of obese groups was performed based upon the recommendations of World Health Organization. MetS components were defined. Serum Ca, P, Mg concentrations were measured. Within the scope of body composition, fat mass, fat-free mass, protein mass, mineral mass were determined by body composition monitor using bioelectrical impedance analysis technology. Weight, height, waist circumference, hip circumference, head circumference and neck circumference values were recorded. Body mass index, diagnostic obesity notation model assessment index, fat mass index and fat-free mass index values were calculated. Data were statistically evaluated and interpreted. There was no statistically significant difference among the groups in terms of Ca and P concentrations. Magnesium concentrations differed between Group 1 and Group 4. Strong negative correlations were detected between P as well as Mg and fat mass index as well as diagnostic obesity notation model assessment index in Group 4, which comprised morbid obese children with MetS. This study emphasized unique associations of P and Mg minerals with diagnostic obesity notation model assessment index and fat mass index during the evaluation of morbid obese children with MetS. It was also concluded that diagnostic obesity notation model assessment index and fat mass index were more proper indices in comparison with body mass index and fat-free mass index for the purpose of defining body composition in children.

Keywords: Children, fat mass, fat-free mass, macrominerals, obesity.

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Authors: M. Antonelli, G. Frosini, B. Lazzerini, F. Marcelloni

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In this paper we describe a computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) system for automated detection of pulmonary nodules in computed-tomography (CT) images. After extracting the pulmonary parenchyma using a combination of image processing techniques, a region growing method is applied to detect nodules based on 3D geometric features. We applied the CAD system to CT scans collected in a screening program for lung cancer detection. Each scan consists of a sequence of about 300 slices stored in DICOM (Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine) format. All malignant nodules were detected and a low false-positive detection rate was achieved.

Keywords: computer assisted diagnosis, medical imagesegmentation, shape recognition.

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Authors: Sanjay Kumar Srivastava, Anu Rani Sharma, Kamna Sachdeva

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Every year, fog formation over the Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGPs) of Indian region during the winter months of December and January is believed to create numerous hazards, inconvenience, and economic loss to the inhabitants of this densely populated region of Indian subcontinent. The aim of the paper is to analyze the spatial and temporal variability of winter fog over IGPs. Long term ground observations of visibility and other meteorological parameters (1971-2010) have been analyzed to understand the formation of fog phenomena and its relevance during the peak winter months of January and December over IGP of India. In order to examine the temporal variability, time series and trend analysis were carried out by using the Mann-Kendall Statistical test. Trend analysis performed by using the Mann-Kendall test, accepts the alternate hypothesis with 95% confidence level indicating that there exists a trend. Kendall tau’s statistics showed that there exists a positive correlation between time series and fog frequency. Further, the Theil and Sen’s median slope estimate showed that the magnitude of trend is positive. Magnitude is higher during January compared to December for the entire IGP except in December when it is high over the western IGP. Decade wise time series analysis revealed that there has been continuous increase in fog days. The net overall increase of 99 % was observed over IGP in last four decades. Diurnal variability and average daily persistence were computed by using descriptive statistical techniques. Geo-statistical analysis of fog was carried out to understand the spatial variability of fog. Geo-statistical analysis of fog revealed that IGP is a high fog prone zone with fog occurrence frequency of more than 66% days during the study period. Diurnal variability indicates the peak occurrence of fog is between 06:00 and 10:00 local time and average daily fog persistence extends to 5 to 7 hours during the peak winter season. The results would offer a new perspective to take proactive measures in reducing the irreparable damage that could be caused due to changing trends of fog.

Keywords: Fog, climatology, Mann-Kendall test, trend analysis, spatial variability, temporal variability, visibility.

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Authors: Mohd Hazwan bin Yusof, Hiroshi Katanoda

Abstract:

In order to clarify the structure of the cold flow discharged from the vortex tube (VT), the pressure of the cold flow was measured, and a simple flow visualization technique using a 0.75mm-diameter needle and an oily paint is made to study the reverse flow at the cold exit. It is clear that a negative pressure and positive pressure region exist at a certain pressure and cold fraction area, and that a reverse flow is observed in the negative pressure region.

Keywords: Flow visualization, Pressure measurement, Reverse flow, Vortex tube.

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Authors: Li Xiguang

Abstract:

In this paper, by constructing a special operator and using fixed point index theorem of cone, we get the sufficient conditions for symmetric positive solution of a class of nonlinear singular boundary value problems with p-Laplace operator, which improved and generalized the result of related paper.

Keywords: Banach space, cone, fixed point index, singular differential equation, p-Laplace operator, symmetric solutions.

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Authors: Ntokozo Mthembu

Abstract:

Access to relevant health indicates people’s likelihood of survival, including craft of indigenous healing and its related practitioners- izinyanga. However, the emergence of a dreaded novel corona virus - COVID-19 that has engulfed almost the whole world has necessitated the need to revisit the state of traditional healers in South Africa. This circumstance tended to expose the reality of social settings in various social structures and related policies including the manner coloniality reveal its ugly head when it comes treatment between western and African based therapeutic practices in this country. In attempting to gain a better understanding of such experiences, primary and secondary sources were consulted when collecting data that perusal of various literature in this instance including face-to-face interviews with traditional healers working on the street of Tshwane Municipality in South Africa. Preliminary findings revealed that the emergence of this deadly virus coincided with the moment when the government agenda was focussed on fulfilment of its promise of addressing the past inequity practices, including the transformation of medical sector. This scenario can be witnessed by the manner in which government and related agencies such as health department keeps on undermining indigenous healing practice irrespective of its historical record in terms of healing profession and fighting various diseases before times of father of medicine, Imhotep. Based on these preliminary findings, it is recommended that the government should hasten the incorporation of African knowledge systems especially medicine to offer alternatives and diverse to assess the underutilised indigenous African therapeutic approach and relevant skills that could be useful in combating ailments such as COVID 19. Perhaps, the plural medical systems should be recognized and related policies are formulated to guarantee mutual respect among citizens and the incorporation of healing practices in South African health sector, Africa and in the broader global community.

Keywords: Indigenous healing practice, inyanga, COVID-19, therapeutic, urban, experience.

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Authors: Masimuddin Mohd Khaled

Abstract:

This paper subsidizes to the discussion of Six Sigma in the Aerospace Industry. The main aim of this report is to study the literature review of Six Sigma emphasizing on the aerospace industry. The implementation of Six Sigma stages are studied and how the improvement cycle ‘Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control cycle’ (DMAIC) and the design process is ‘Define, Measure, Analyze, Design and Verify cycle’ (DMADV) is used. The focus is also done by studying how the implementation of Six Sigma on an aerospace company has brought a positive effect to the company.

Keywords: Six Sigma, DMAIC, DMADV, aerospace.

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Authors: B. B. M. Moasheri, S. Azadinia

Abstract:

Wavelets have provided the researchers with significant positive results, by entering the texture defect detection domain. The weak point of wavelets is that they are one-dimensional by nature so they are not efficient enough to describe and analyze two-dimensional functions. In this paper we present a new method to detect the defect of texture images by using curvelet transform. Simulation results of the proposed method on a set of standard texture images confirm its correctness. Comparing the obtained results indicates the ability of curvelet transform in describing discontinuity in two-dimensional functions compared to wavelet transform

Keywords: Curvelet, Defect detection, Wavelet.

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Authors: K. Eryesil, O. Esmen, A. Beduk

Abstract:

In this study, it has been studied to determine the relationship between business performance and strategic flexibility, which is defined to be the strategic choice that provides the ability of rapidly responding the changes of the dynamic environment of the companies, for having competitive advantages. In this context a field study has been conducted over 56 companies, which are active in informatics and electronics sectors in TEKNOKENT. As a result of the study it has been determined that; strategic flexibility has an effect on business performance and there is a positive and statistically significant relationship between strategic flexibility and business performance.

Keywords: Sustainable Competition Advantage, Strategic Flexibility, Firm Performance, TEKNOKENT.

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Authors: E. Happ, A. Albert Tóth

Abstract:

The aim of the research is to investigate the forms of the demands of leisure tourism in a West-Hungarian industrial city, Győr. Today, Győr is still a traditional industrial city, its industry is mainly based on vehicle industry, but the role of tourism is increasing in the life of the city as well. Because of the industrial nature and the strong economy of the city, the ratio of business tourists is high. It can be stated that MICE tourism is dominating in Győr. Developments of the last decade can help the city with new tourism products to increase the leisure tourism. The new types of tourism – besides business tourism – can help the providers to increase the occupancy rates and the demand at the weekends. The research demonstrates the theoretical background of the topic, and it shows the present situation of the tourism in Győr with secondary data. The secondary research contains statistical data from the Hungarian Statistical Office and the city council, and it is based on the providers’ data. The next part of the paper shows the potential types of leisure tourism with the help of primary research. The primary research contains the results of an online questionnaire with a sample of 1000 potential customers. It is completed with 10 in-depth interviews with tourism experts, who explained their opinions about the opportunities of leisure tourism in Győr from the providers’ side. The online questionnaire was filled out in spring 2017 by customers, who have already stayed in Győr or plan to visit the city. At the same time in-depth interviews were made with hotel managers, head of touristic institutions and employees at the council. Based on the research it can be stated that the touristic supply of Győr allows the increase of the leisure tourism ratio in the city. Primarily, the cultural and health tourism show potential development, but the supply side of touristic services can be developed in order to increase the number of guest nights. The tourism marketing needs to be strengthened in the city, and a distinctive marketing activity - from other cities - is needed as well. To conclude, although Győr is an industrial city, it has a transforming industrial part, and tourism is also strongly present in its economy. Besides the leading role of business tourism, different types of leisure tourism have the opportunity to take place in the city.

Keywords: Business Tourism, Győr, industrial city, leisure tourism, touristic demand.

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Authors: Yiming Jin, Yuanhao Gao

Abstract:

In this paper, using the method of multiple scales, the second sub-harmonic resonance in vortex-induced vibrations (VIV) of a marine pipeline close to the seabed is investigated based on a developed wake oscillator model. The amplitude-frequency equations are also derived. It is found that the oscillation will increase all the time when both discriminants of the amplitude-frequency equations are positive while the oscillation will decay when the discriminants are negative.

Keywords: Vortex-induced vibrations, marine pipeline, seabed, sub-harmonic resonance.

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Authors: Ali Eryılmaz

Abstract:

In this research it is aimed that the effect of some demographic factors on Turkish Adolescents' subjective well being is investigated. 432 adolescents who are 247 girls and 185 boys are participated in this study. They are ages 15-17, and also are high school students. The Positive and Negative Affect Scale and Life Satisfaction Scale are used for measuring adolescents' subjective well being. The ANOVA method is used in order to examine the effect of ages. For gender differences, independent t-test method is used, and finally the Pearson Correlation method is used so as to examine the effect of socio economic statues of adolescents' parents. According to results, there is no gender difference on adolescents' subjective well being. On the other hand, SES and age are effect significantly lover level on adolescents' subjective well being.

Keywords: Subjective wellbeing, adolescents, and age, gender, SES.

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Authors: Shu-Hsien. Liao, Chi-Chuan. Wu, Da-Chian. Hu, Guang An. Tsuei

Abstract:

This study investigates the roles of knowledge acquisition, absorptive capacity, and innovation capability in finance and manufacturing industries. With 362 valid questionnaires from manufactures and financial industries in Taiwan, we examine the relationships between absorptive capacity, knowledge acquisition and innovation capability using a structural equation model. The results indicate that absorptive capacity is the mediator between knowledge acquisition and innovation capability, and that knowledge acquisition has a positive effect on absorptive capacity.

Keywords: Absorptive capacity, knowledge acquisition, innovation capability.

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Authors: Abhijit Mitra, Bhargav Kumar Mitra, Biswajoy Chatterjee

Abstract:

We present a novel scheme to recognize isolated speech signals using certain statistical parameters derived from those signals. The determination of the statistical estimates is based on extracted signal information rather than the original signal information in order to reduce the computational complexity. Subtle details of these estimates, after extracting the speech signal from ambience noise, are first exploited to segregate the polysyllabic words from the monosyllabic ones. Precise recognition of each distinct word is then carried out by analyzing the histogram, obtained from these information.

Keywords: Isolated speech signals, Block overlapping technique, Positive peaks, Histogram analysis.

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Authors: Sharan Badiger, Prema T. Akkasaligar, Patil LS, Manish Patel, Biradar MS

Abstract:

Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a global pandemic with cases reporting from virtually every country and continues to be a common infection in developing country like India. Microalbuminuria is a manifestation of human immunodeficiency virus associated nephropathy. Therefore, microalbuminuria may be an early marker of human immunodeficiency virus associated nephropathy, and screening for its presence may be beneficial. A strikingly high prevalence of microalbuminuria among human immunodeficiency virus infected patients has been described in various studies. Risk factors for clinically significant proteinuria include African - American race, higher human immunodeficiency virus ribonucleic acid level and lower CD4 lymphocyte count. The cardiovascular risk factors of increased systolic blood pressure and increase fasting blood sugar level are strongly associated with microalbuminuria in human immunodeficiency virus patient. These results suggest that microalbuminuria may be a sign of current endothelial dysfunction and micro-vascular disease and there is substantial risk of future cardiovascular disease events. Positive contributing factors include early kidney disease such as human immunodeficiency virus associated nephropathy, a marker of end organ damage related to co morbidities of diabetes or hypertension, or more diffuse endothelial cells dysfunction. Nevertheless after adjustment for non human immunodeficiency virus factors, human immunodeficiency virus itself is a major risk factor. The presence of human immunodeficiency virus infection is independent risk to develop microalbuminuria in human immunodeficiency virus patient. Cardiovascular risk factors appeared to be stronger predictors of microalbuminuria than markers of human immunodeficiency virus severity person with human immunodeficiency virus infection and microalbuminuria therefore appear to potentially bear the burden of two separate damage related to known vascular end organ damage related to know vascular risk factors, and human immunodeficiency virus specific processes such as the direct viral infection of kidney cells.The higher prevalence of microalbuminuria among the human immunodeficiency virus infected could be harbinger of future increased risks of both kidney and cardiovascular disease. Further study defining the prognostic significance of microalbuminuria among human immunodeficiency virus infected persons will be essential. Microalbuminuria seems to be a predictor of cardiovascular disease in diabetic and non diabetic subjects, hence it can also be used for early detection of micro vascular disease in human immunodeficiency virus positive patients, thus can help to diagnose the disease at the earliest.

Keywords: Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, Human immunodeficiency virus, Microalbuminuria.

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Authors: Yuji Mizuno, Hiroshi Mabuchi

Abstract:

Initial values of reference vectors have significant influence on recognition accuracy in LVQ. There are several existing techniques, such as SOM and k-means, for setting initial values of reference vectors, each of which has provided some positive results. However, those results are not sufficient for the improvement of recognition accuracy. This study proposes an ACO-used method for initializing reference vectors with an aim to achieve recognition accuracy higher than those obtained through conventional methods. Moreover, we will demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method by applying it to the wine data and English vowel data and comparing its results with those of conventional methods.

Keywords: Clustering, LVQ, ACO, SOM, k-means.

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Authors: A. G. Silva Sobrinho, G. M. Manzi, N. L. L. Lima, F. A. Almeida, V. Endo, N. M. B. L. Zeola

Abstract:

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the tissue composition and carcass muscularity of 32 legs of Ile de France lambs fed with diets containing sunflower seeds and vitamin E, with mean body weight of 15 kg, lodged in individual pens at 15 kg and slaughtered at 32 kg of body weight. The treatments influenced (P<0,05) leg weight, femur length and muscle:bone ratio, being the highest values (2,13 kg, 16,19 cm and 7,38, respectively) in lambs that received diet without sunflower seeds and vitamin E. The other variables were not affected (P>0,05) by the treatments. The interaction of the sunflower and vitamin E was positive for bone total weights and intermuscular fat.

Keywords: sheep, conformation, feedlot, nutrition, sugar-cane

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Authors: Entela Haloci, Stefano Manfredini, Vilma Toska, Silvia Vertuani, Paola Ziosi, Irma Topi, Henri Kolani

Abstract:

Antifungal activities of ether and methanolic extracts of volatiles oils of Nigella Sativa seeds were tested against pathogenic bacterias and fungies strains.The volatile oil were found to have significant antifungal and antibacterial activities compare to tetracycline, cefuroxime and ciprofloxacin positive controls.The ether and methanolic esxtracts were compared to each other for antifungal and antibacterial activities and ether extracts showed stonger activity than methanolic one.

Keywords: Antifungal, antibacterial, essential oils, extraction, Nigella Sativa.

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Authors: Juan Sepúlveda

Abstract:

Energy is a fundamental component in sustainability, the access and use of this resource is related with economic growth, social improvements, and environmental impacts. In this sense, energy efficiency has been studied as a factor that enhances the positive impacts of energy in communities; however, the implementation of efficiency requires strong policy and strategies that usually rely on individual measures focused in independent dimensions. In this paper, the problem of energy efficiency as a multi-objective problem is studied, using scientometric analysis to discover trends and patterns that allow to identify the main variables and study approximations related with a further development of models to integrate energy efficiency and MCA into policy making for small communities.

Keywords: Energy efficiency, MCA, Scientometrics, trends.

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Authors: Amalia Triantafillidou, Georgios Lappas, Prodromos Yannas, Alexandros Kleftodimos

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In this paper, an experiment was conducted to assess the impact of online deliberation on citizens’ attitudes. Specifically, this research compared pre and post deliberation opinions of participants who deliberated online via an asynchronous platform regarding the issue of political opinion polls. Results indicate that online deliberation had a positive effect on citizens’ attitudes since it was found that following deliberation participants changed their views regarding public opinion polls. Specifically, online deliberation improved discussants perceptions regarding the reliability of polls, while suppressing their negative views about the misuse of polls by media, polling organizations and politicians.

Keywords: Online deliberation, attitudes change, opinion polls, e-democracy.

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Authors: Elragig Aiman, Dreiwi Hanan, Townley Stuart, Elmabrook Idriss

Abstract:

In this paper, we reconsider the analysis of the Oregonator model. We highlight an error in this analysis which leads to an incorrect depiction of the parameter region in which diffusion driven instability is possible. We believe that the cause of the oversight is the complexity of stability analyses based on eigenvalues and the dependence on parameters of matrix minors appearing in stability calculations. We regenerate the parameter space where Turing patterns can be seen, and we use the common Lyapunov function (CLF) approach, which is numerically reliable, to further confirm the dependence of the results on diffusion coefficients intensities.

Keywords: Diffusion driven instability, common Lyapunov function (CLF), turing pattern, positive-definite matrix.

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Authors: Tahereh Naji, Mahsa Jassemi

Abstract:

In this investigation, the antibacterial effects of ethanolic and 7:3 isopropyl –hexane mixture extracts of Zingiber officinale were evaluated against three Gram positive bacteria, B. cereus, S.epidermidis, S. aureus and three Gram negative bacteria, E. coli, K.pneumonia and P.areuginosa. Utilizing paper disk diffusion and well methods in-vitro, MIC and MBC were determined by macrodilution. The results showed that ethanolic rhizome extract of ginger had significantly active than Isopropyl –hexan extract. Further work needs to be done in these extracts including fractionation to isolate active constituents and subsequent pharmacological evaluation.

Keywords: Antibacterial, Medicinal plant extract, Zingiberofficinale.

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Authors: Glenn M. Calaguas

Abstract:

To investigate the possible correlation between peer aggression and peer victimization, 148 sixth-graders were asked to respond to the Reduced Aggression and Victimization Scales (RAVS). RAVS measures the frequency of reporting aggressive behaviors or of being victimized during the previous week prior to the survey. The scales are composed of six items each. Each point represents one instance of aggression or victimization. Specifically, the Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Coefficient (PMCC) was used to determine the correlations between the scores of the sixthgraders in the two scales, both in individual items and total scores. Positive correlations were established and correlations were significant at the 0.01 levels.

Keywords: correlation, peer aggression, peer victimization, sixth-graders.

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Authors: Ahmet Ay, Hakan Acet, Ceyhun Can Özcan

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Economic freedoms, most emphasized issue in the recent years, are considered to affect economic growth and performance via institutional structure. In this context, a model that includes Turkey and Middle East Countries, and where the effects of economic freedom on growth are examined, was formed. For the groups of countries determined, in the study carried out by using the dataset belonging the period of 2004 - 2009, between economic freedoms and growth, a negative relationship was observed as group. In the sense of individual effects, it was identified that there was a positive relationship in terms of some Middle East Countries and Turkey.

Keywords: Economic Freedoms, Economic Growth, Freedoms.

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Authors: Jafreezal Jaafar, Hasiah Mohamed, Hazida Razali

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This paper focuses on the 3D reconstruction of the architectural design of Darul Ridzuan Museum. It has concentrated on designing exterior part of the building according to colored digital photo of the real museum. Besides viewing the architecture, walkthroughs are generated for the user to control it in an easier way. User can travel through the museum to get the feel of the environment and to explore the design of the museum as a whole; both exterior and interior. The result has shown positive result in terms of realism, navigation, collision detection, suitability, usability and user-s acceptance. In brief, the 3D virtual museum has provided an alternative to present a real museum.

Keywords: Virtual Heritage, 3D Modelling, Virtual Museum, Usability Evaluation

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Authors: Hoa Pham

Abstract:

The literature on language teaching and second language acquisition has been largely driven by monolingual ideology with a common assumption that a second language (L2) is best taught and learned in the L2 only. The current study challenges this assumption by reporting learners' positive perceptions of tertiary level teachers' code switching practices in Vietnam. The findings of this study contribute to our understanding of code switching practices in language classrooms from a learners' perspective. Data were collected from student participants who were working towards a Bachelor degree in English within the English for Business Communication stream through the use of focus group interviews. The literature has documented that this method of interviewing has a number of distinct advantages over individual student interviews. For instance, group interactions generated by focus groups create a more natural environment than that of an individual interview because they include a range of communicative processes in which each individual may influence or be influenced by others - as they are in their real life. The process of interaction provides the opportunity to obtain the meanings and answers to a problem that are "socially constructed rather than individually created" leading to the capture of real-life data. The distinct feature of group interaction offered by this technique makes it a powerful means of obtaining deeper and richer data than those from individual interviews. The data generated through this study were analysed using a constant comparative approach. Overall, the students expressed positive views of this practice indicating that it is a useful teaching strategy. Teacher code switching was seen as a learning resource and a source supporting language output. This practice was perceived to promote student comprehension and to aid the learning of content and target language knowledge. This practice was also believed to scaffold the students' language production in different contexts. However, the students indicated their preference for teacher code switching to be constrained, as extensive use was believed to negatively impact on their L2 learning and trigger cognitive reliance on the L1 for L2 learning. The students also perceived that when the L1 was used to a great extent, their ability to develop as autonomous learners was negatively impacted. This study found that teacher code switching was supported in certain contexts by learners, thus suggesting that there is a need for the widespread assumption about the monolingual teaching approach to be re-considered.

Keywords: Code switching, L1 use, L2 teaching, Learners’ perception.

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