Search results for: Physical health

Authors: L. Krpalkova, N. O' Mahony, A. Carvalho, S. Campbell, S. Harapanahalli, J. Walsh

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The objective of this study was to determine the effects of environmental stressors on the performance of lactating dairy cows and discuss some future trends. There exists a relationship between the meteorological data and milk yield prediction accuracy in pasture-based dairy systems. New precision technologies are available and are being developed to improve the sustainability of the dairy industry. Some of these technologies focus on welfare of individual animals on dairy farms. These technologies allow the automatic identification of animal behaviour and health events, greatly increasing overall herd health and yield while reducing animal health inspection demands and long-term animal healthcare costs. The data set consisted of records from 489 dairy cows at two dairy farms and temperature measured from the nearest meteorological weather station in 2018. The effects of temperature on milk production and behaviour of animals were analyzed. The statistical results indicate different effects of temperature on milk yield and behaviour. The “comfort zone” for animals is in the range 10 °C to 20 °C. Dairy cows out of this zone had to decrease or increase their metabolic heat production, and it affected their milk production and behaviour.

Keywords: Behaviour, milk yield, temperature, precision technologies.

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Authors: Guarry Montrose, Ted Soubdhan

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In the context of sustainable development and climate change, the adaptation of buildings to the climatic context in hot climates is a necessity if we want to improve living conditions in housing and reduce the risks to the health and productivity of occupants due to thermal discomfort in buildings. One can find a wide variety of efficient solutions but with high costs. In developing countries, especially tropical countries, we need to appreciate a technology with a very limited cost that is affordable for everyone, energy efficient and protects the environment. Biosourced insulation is a product based on plant fibers, animal products or products from recyclable paper or clothing. Their development meets the objectives of maintaining biodiversity, reducing waste and protecting the environment. In tropical or hot countries, the aim is to protect the building from solar thermal radiation, a source of discomfort. The aim of this work is in line with the logic of energy control and environmental protection, the approach is to make the occupants of buildings comfortable, reduce their carbon dioxide emissions (CO₂) and decrease their energy consumption (energy efficiency). We have chosen to study the thermo-physical properties of banana leaves and sawdust, especially their thermal conductivities, direct measurements were made using the flash method and the hot plate method. We also measured the heat flow on both sides of each sample by the hot box method. The results from these different experiences show that these materials are very efficient used as insulation. We have also conducted a building thermal simulation using banana leaves as one of the materials under Design Builder software. Air-conditioning load as well as CO₂ release was used as performance indicator. When the air-conditioned building cell is protected on the roof by banana leaves and integrated into the walls with solar protection of the glazing, it saves up to 64.3% of energy and avoids 57% of CO₂ emissions.

Keywords: Plant fibers, tropical climates, sustainable development, waste reduction.

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Authors: A. A Velásquez, J.Baena

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This article presents the simulation, parameterization and optimization of an electromagnet with the C–shaped configuration, intended for the study of magnetic properties of materials. The electromagnet studied consists of a C-shaped yoke, which provides self–shielding for minimizing losses of magnetic flux density, two poles of high magnetic permeability and power coils wound on the poles. The main physical variable studied was the static magnetic flux density in a column within the gap between the poles, with 4cm2 of square cross section and a length of 5cm, seeking a suitable set of parameters that allow us to achieve a uniform magnetic flux density of 1x104 Gaussor values above this in the column, when the system operates at room temperature and with a current consumption not exceeding 5A. By means of a magnetostatic analysis by the finite element method, the magnetic flux density and the distribution of the magnetic field lines were visualized and quantified. From the results obtained by simulating an initial configuration of electromagnet, a structural optimization of the geometry of the adjustable caps for the ends of the poles was performed. The magnetic permeability effect of the soft magnetic materials used in the poles system, such as low– carbon steel (0.08% C), Permalloy (45% Ni, 54.7% Fe) and Mumetal (21.2% Fe, 78.5% Ni), was also evaluated. The intensity and uniformity of the magnetic field in the gap showed a high dependence with the factors described above. The magnetic field achieved in the column was uniform and its magnitude ranged between 1.5x104 Gauss and 1.9x104 Gauss according to the material of the pole used, with the possibility of increasing the magnetic field by choosing a suitable geometry of the cap, introducing a cooling system for the coils and adjusting the spacing between the poles. This makes the device a versatile and scalable tool to generate the magnetic field necessary to perform magnetic characterization of materials by techniques such as vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM), Hall-effect, Kerr-effect magnetometry, among others. Additionally, a CAD design of the modules of the electromagnet is presented in order to facilitate the construction and scaling of the physical device.

Keywords: Electromagnet, Finite Elements Method, Magnetostatic, Magnetometry, Modeling.

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Authors: S. Bajalan, A. Shadaram, N. Hedayat, A. Shams Taleghani

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The interaction between wakes of bluff body and airfoil have profound influences on system performance in many industrial applications, e.g., turbo-machinery and cooling fan. The present work investigates the effect of configuration include; airfoil-s angle of attack, transverse and inline spacing of the models, on frequency behavior of the cylinder-s near-wake. The experiments carried on under subcritical flow regime, using the hot-wire anemometry (HWA). The relationship between the Strouhal numbers and arrangements provide an insight into the global physical processes of wake interaction and vortex shedding.

Keywords: Airfoil, Cylinder, Strouhal, Wake interaction

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Authors: Xiaowei Zhang, Min Xu, Saeid Habibi, Fengjun Yan, Ryan Ahmed

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Recently, Electric Vehicles (EVs) have received extensive consideration since they offer a more sustainable and greener transportation alternative compared to fossil-fuel propelled vehicles. Lithium-Ion (Li-ion) batteries are increasingly being deployed in EVs because of their high energy density, high cell-level voltage, and low rate of self-discharge. Since Li-ion batteries represent the most expensive component in the EV powertrain, accurate monitoring and control strategies must be executed to ensure their prolonged lifespan. The Battery Management System (BMS) has to accurately estimate parameters such as the battery State-of-Charge (SOC), State-of-Health (SOH), and Remaining Useful Life (RUL). In order for the BMS to estimate these parameters, an accurate and control-oriented battery model has to work collaboratively with a robust state and parameter estimation strategy. Since battery physical parameters, such as the internal resistance and diffusion coefficient change depending on the battery state-of-life (SOL), the BMS has to be adaptive to accommodate for this change. In this paper, an extensive battery aging study has been conducted over 12-months period on 5.4 Ah, 3.7 V Lithium polymer cells. Instead of using fixed charging/discharging aging cycles at fixed C-rate, a set of real-world driving scenarios have been used to age the cells. The test has been interrupted every 5% capacity degradation by a set of reference performance tests to assess the battery degradation and track model parameters. As battery ages, the combined model parameters are optimized and tracked in an offline mode over the entire batteries lifespan. Based on the optimized model, a state and parameter estimation strategy based on the Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) and the relatively new Smooth Variable Structure Filter (SVSF) have been applied to estimate the SOC at various states of life.

Keywords: Lithium-Ion batteries, genetic algorithm optimization, battery aging test, and parameter identification.

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Authors: S. O. Adeosun, L. O. Osoba, O. O. Taiwo

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Aluminum hybrid reinforcement technology is a response to the dynamic ever increasing service requirements of such industries as transportation, aerospace, automobile, marine, etc. It is unique in that it offers a platform of almost unending combinations of materials to produce various hybrid composites. This article reviews the studies carried out on various combinations of aluminum hybrid composite and the effects on mechanical, physical and chemical properties. It is observed that the extent of enhancement of these properties of hybrid composites is strongly dependent on the nature of the reinforcement, its hardness, particle size, volume fraction, uniformity of dispersion within the matrix and the method of hybrid production.

Keywords: Aluminum alloy, hybrid composites, properties, reinforcements.

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Authors: N. Ebrahimi-Tofighi, M. ArdebiliPour, M. Shahabadi

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In this paper, the effect of receive and/or transmit antenna spacing on the performance (BER vs. SNR) of multipleantenna systems is determined by using an RCS (Radar Cross Section) channel model. In this physical model, the scatterers existing in the propagation environment are modeled by their RCS so that the correlation of the receive signal complex amplitudes, i.e., both magnitude and phase, can be estimated. The proposed RCS channel model is then compared with classical models.

Keywords: MIMO system, Performance of system, Signalcorrelation, SIMO system, Wireless channel model.

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Authors: H. Silvestre

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The aim of this paper is to know the sociodemographic and operational-financial determinants of the services quality perceived by users of the national health services. Through the use of an inquiry conducted by the Ministry of Health, comprehending 16.936 interviews in 2006, we intend to find out if there is any characteristic that determines the 2006 inquiry results. With the revision of the literature we also want to know if the operational-financial results have implications in hospitals users- perception on the quality of the received services. In order to achieve our main goals we will make use of the regression analysis to find out the possible dimensions that determine those results.

Keywords: Management by Results, Quality Approach, Tableau de Bord, Total Quality Management, Services quality.

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Authors: M. Saba, A. Iaaly, E. Carlier, N. Georges

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This research focuses on assessing the ground water quality of Northern Lebanon affected by saline water intrusion. The chemical, physical and microbiological parameters were collected in various seasons spanning over the period of two years. Results were assessed using Geographic Information System (GIS) due to its visual capabilities in presenting the pollution extent in the studied region. Future projections of the excessive pumping were also simulated using GIS in order to assess the extent of the problem of saline intrusion in the near future.

Keywords: GIS, saline water, quality control, drinkable water quality standards, pumping.

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Authors: Sen-Yung Lee, Li-Kuo Chou, Chao-Kuang Chen

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In this study, the problem of temperature transient response of a spiral fin, with its end insulated, is analyzed with base end subjected to a variation of fluid temperature. The hybrid method of Laplace transforms/Adomian decomposed method-Padé, is applied to the temperature transient response of the fin, the result of the temperature distribution and the heat flux at the base of the spiral fin are obtained, show a good agreement in the physical phenomenon.

Keywords: Laplace transforms/Adomian decomposed method- Padé, transient response, heat transfer.

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Authors: Chrysoula Karathanasi, Senad Karavdic, Angela Odero, Michèle Baumann

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It is not only the economic determinants that impact on life conditions, but maintaining a good level of life satisfaction (LS) may also be an important challenge currently. In Luxembourg, university students receive financial aid from the government. They are then registered at the Centre for Documentation and Information on Higher Education (CEDIES). Luxembourg is built on migration with almost half its population consisting of foreigners. It is upon this basis that our research aims to analyze the associations with mental health factors (health satisfaction, psychological quality of life, worry), perceived financial situation, career attitudes (adaptability, optimism, knowledge, planning) and LS, for non-Luxembourgish and native postgraduate students. Between 2012 and 2013, postgraduates registered at CEDIES were contacted by post and asked to participate in an online survey with either the option of English or French. The study population comprised of 644 respondents. Our statistical analysis excluded: those born abroad who had Luxembourgish citizenship, or those born in Luxembourg who did not have citizenship. Two groups were formed one consisting 147 non-Luxembourgish and the other 284 natives. A single item measured LS (1=not at all satisfied to 10=very satisfied). Bivariate tests, correlations and multiple linear regression models were used in which only significant relationships (p<0.05) were integrated. Among the two groups no differences were found between LS indicators (7.8/10 non-Luxembourgish; 8.0/10 natives) as both were higher than the European indicator of 7.2/10 (for 25-34 years). In the case of non-Luxembourgish students, they were older than natives (29.3 years vs. 26.3 years) perceived their financial situation as more difficult, and a higher percentage of their parents had an education level higher than a Bachelor's degree (father 59.2% vs 44.6% for natives; mother 51.4% vs 33.7% for natives). In addition, the father’s education was related to the LS of postgraduates and the higher was the score, the greater was the contribution to LS. Whereas for native students, when their scores of health satisfaction and career optimism were higher, their LS’ score was higher. For both groups their LS was linked to mental health-related factors, perception of their financial situation, career optimism, adaptability and planning. The higher the psychological quality of life score was, the greater the LS of postgraduates’ was. Good health and positive attitudes related to the job market enhanced their LS indicator.

Keywords: Career attitudes, fathers’ education level, life satisfaction, mental health.

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Authors: E. Moroydor Derun, A. S. Kipcak, O. Dere Ozdemir, F. Demir, M. Karakoc, S. Piskin

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Tea is a widely consumed beverage that contains many components. Caffeine belongs to this group of components called alkaloids contain nitrogen. In this study caffeine contents of three types of Turkish teas are determined by using extraction method. After condensation process, residue of caffeine and oil are obtained with evaporation. The oil which is in the residue is removed by hot water. Extraction process performed by using chloroform and the crude caffeine is obtained. From the results of experiments, caffeine contents are found in black tea, green tea and earl grey tea as 3.57±0.43%, 3.11±0.02%, 4.29±0.27%, respectively. Caffeine contents which are found in 1, 5 and 10 cups of tea are calculated. Furthermore, the daily intake of caffeine from black teas that affects human health is investigated.

Keywords: Caffeine, extraction, tea, health.

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Authors: Marko Niinimaki

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Cryptocurrencies are getting increasingly popular, but very few of them can be conveniently used in daily mobile phone purchases. To solve this problem, we demonstrate how to build a functional prototype of a mobile cryptocurrency-based e-commerce application the communicates with Near-Field Communication (NFC) tags. Using the system, users are able to purchase physical items with an NFC tag that contains an e-commerce URL. The payment is done simply by touching the tag with a mobile device and accepting the payment. Our method is constructive: we describe the design and technologies used in the implementation and evaluate the security and performance of the solution. Our main finding is that the analysis and measurements show that our solution is feasible for e-commerce.

Keywords: Cryptocurrency, e-commerce, NFC, mobile devices.

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Authors: C. Clements, M. Hasenohr, A. Anvar

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A glider is in essence an unpowered vehicle and in this project we designed and built an oceanic glider, designed to operate underwater. This Glider was designed to collect ocean data such as temperature, pressure and (in future measures physical dimensions of the operating environment) and output this data to an external source. Development of the Oceanic Glider required research into various actuation systems that control buoyancy, pitch and yaw and the dynamics of these systems. It also involved the design and manufacture of the Glider and the design and implementation of a controller that enabled the Glider to navigate and move in an appropriate manner.

Keywords: Ocean Glider, Robot, Automation, Command, Control, Navigation.

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Authors: Viviane Nascimento, Dania Mehmod

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Introduction: The Coronavirus (COVID-19) disease was firstly reported in Asia at the end of 2019 and became a pandemic at the beginning of 2020. It resulted in a significant impact over the global economy and the health care systems around the world. The immediate measure adopted worldwide to contain the virus was mainly the lockdown and curfews. This certainly had an important impact on expats workers due to the financial insecurity, culture barrier and distance from the family. Saudi Arabia has one of the largest flows of foreign workers in the world and expats are the majority of the workforce. The aim of this essay was assessing the psychological impact of COVID-19 in non-health care expats living in Saudi Arabia. Methods: The study was conducted in a construction company in Riyadh with non-health care employees. The cross-sectional study protocol was approved by the company's executive management. Employees who verbally agreed to participate in the study were asked to anonymously answer a questionnaire validated for behavioral research (DASS-21). In addition, a second questionnaire was created to assess feelings and emotions. Results: More than a third of participants screened positive for one or more psychological symptoms (depression, anxiety and stress) on the DASS-21 scale. Moreover, it was observed an increase on negative feelings on the additional questionnaire. Conclusion: This study reveals an increase on negative feelings and psychological symptoms among non-health care migrant workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. In light of this, it is crucial to understand the emotional effects caused by the pandemic on migrant workers in order to create supportive and informative strategies minimizing the emotional impact on this vulnerable group.

Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic, Saudi Arabia, psychological effects, migrant workers.

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Authors: D. Pérez, M. M. E. Alemany

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In this work, a framework to model the Supply Chain (SC) Collaborative Planning (CP) process is proposed. The main contributions of this framework concern 1) the presentation of the decision view, the most important one due to the characteristics of the process, jointly within the physical, organisation and information views, and 2) the simultaneous consideration of the spatial and temporal integration among the different supply chain decision centres. This framework provides the basis for a realistic and integrated perspective of the supply chain collaborative planning process and also the analytical modeling of each of its decisional activities.

Keywords: Collaborative Planning, Decision View, Distributed Decision-Making, Framework.

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Authors: Ramesh K. Sunkaria

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The linear methods of heart rate variability analysis such as non-parametric (e.g. fast Fourier transform analysis) and parametric methods (e.g. autoregressive modeling) has become an established non-invasive tool for marking the cardiac health, but their sensitivity and specificity were found to be lower than expected with positive predictive value <30%. This may be due to considering the RR-interval series as stationary and re-sampling them prior to their use for analysis, whereas actually it is not. This paper reviews the non-linear methods of HRV analysis such as correlation dimension, largest Lyupnov exponent, power law slope, fractal analysis, detrended fluctuation analysis, complexity measure etc. which are currently becoming popular as these uses the actual RR-interval series. These methods are expected to highly accurate cardiac health prognosis.

Keywords: chaos, nonlinear dynamics, sample entropy, approximate entropy, detrended fluctuation analysis.

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Authors: Ali E. Abbas

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This paper summarizes some of the discussions that occurred in a workshop in West Virginia, U.S.A which was sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF) in February 2016. The goal of the workshop was to explore the opportunities and challenges for applying systems engineering in large enterprises, and some of the issues that still persist. The main topics of the discussion included challenges with elaboration and abstraction in large systems, interfacing physical and social systems, and the need for axiomatic frameworks for large enterprises. We summarize these main points of discussion drawing parallels with decision making in organizations to instigate research in these discussion areas.

Keywords: Decision analysis, systems engineering, framing, value creation.

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Authors: Lubis A., Setiawati L., Setyoningrum A. R., Suryawan A., Irwanto

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Asthma is a condition that causing chronic health problems in children. In addition to basic therapy against disease, we must try to reduce the impact of chronic health problems and also optimize their medical aspect of growth and development. A boy with mild asthma attack frequent episode did not showed any improvement with medical treatment and his asthma control test was 11. From radiologic examination he got hyperaerated lung and billateral sinusitis maxillaris; skin test results were house dust, food and pet allergy; an overweight body; bad school grades; psychological and environmental problem. We followed and evaluated this boy in 6 months, treated holistically. Even we could not do much on environmental but no more psychological and school problems, his on a good bodyweight and his asthma control test was 22. A case of a child with mild asthma attack frequent episode was reported. Asthma clinical course show no significant improvement when other predisposing factor is not well-controlled and a child’s growth and development may be affected. Improving condition of the patient can be created with the help of loving and caring way of nurturing from the parents and supportive peer group. Therefore, continuous and consistent monitoring is required because prognosis of asthma is generally good when regularly and properly controlled.

Keywords: Asthma, chronic health problems, growth and development.

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Authors: Mohammad Umar Azizi, Tetsuya Ando

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This study investigates the transformation of the traditional landscape of Kabul Old City through an examination of five case study areas. Based on physical observation, three types of houses are found: traditional, mixed and modern. Firstly, characteristics of the houses are described according to construction materials and the number of stories. Secondly, internal and external factors are considered in order to implement a conservation plan. Finally, an adaptive conservation plan is suggested to protect the traditional landscape of Kabul Old City.

Keywords: Conservation, District 1, Kabul Old City, landscape, transformation, traditional houses.

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Authors: Erwin F. Cadorna

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This study attempted to compare the sexual perceptions and behaviors of male and female married Ilocanos. Data were gathered from 1,374 married Ilocanos (687 husbands and 687 wives) from nine municipalities and one city of the First District of Ilocos Sur. Findings showed that the male and female married Ilocanos differ in their psychological and physical sexual perceptions, but they had common social and spiritual sexual perceptions. Moreover, they were consistent in their behaviors towards sex, except for their behaviour after sex without reaching orgasm, wherein the males feel bad after having sex without reaching orgasm, while the females simply sleep it off.

Keywords: Gender Differences, Ilocanos, Sexual Behavior andPerception.

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Authors: A. Ito, S. Okamoto

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We constructed an atomic structure model for a PAN-based carbon fiber containing amorphous structures using molecular dynamics methods. It was found that basic physical properties such as crystallinity, Young’s modulus, and thermal conductivity of our model were nearly identical to those of real carbon fibers. We then obtained the tensile strength of a carbon fiber, which has no macro defects. We finally determined that the limitation of the tensile strength was 19 GPa.

Keywords: Amorphous, carbon fiber, molecular dynamics, tensile strength.

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Authors: F. O Anugom

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The general functions of the university amongst other things include teaching, research and community service. Universities are recognized as the apex of learning, accumulating and imparting knowledge and skills of all kinds to students to enable them to be productive, earn their living and to make optimum contributions to national development. This is equivalent to the production of human capital in the form of high level manpower needed to administer the educational society, be useful to the society and manage the economy. Quality has become a matter of major importance for university education in Nigeria. Accreditation is the systematic review of educational programs to ensure that acceptable standards of education, scholarship and infrastructure are being maintained. Accreditation ensures that institution maintain quality. The process is designed to determine whether or not an institution has met or exceeded the published standards for accreditation, and whether it is achieving its mission and stated purposes. Ensuring quality assurance in accreditation process falls in the hands of university management which justified the need for this study. This study examined accreditation and quality assurance: the management imperative. Three research questions and three hypotheses guided the study. The design was a correlation survey with a population of 2,893 university administrators out of which 578 Heads of department and Dean of faculties were sampled. The instrument for data collection was titled Programme Accreditation Exercise scale with high levels of reliability. The research questions were answered with Pearson ‘r’ statistics. T-test statistics was used to test the hypotheses. It was found among others that the quality of accredited programme depends on the level of funding of universities in Nigeria. It was also indicated that quality of programme accreditation and physical facilities of universities in Nigeria have high relationship. But it was also revealed that programme accreditation is positively related to staffing in Nigerian universities. Based on the findings of the study, the researcher recommend that academic administrators should be included in the team of those who ensure quality programs in the universities. Private sector partnership should be encouraged to fund programs to ensure quality of programme in the universities. Independent agencies should be engaged to monitor the activities of accreditation teams to avoid bias.

Keywords: Accreditation, quality assurance, NUC, physical facilities, staffing.

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Authors: Osuagwu Justine Ugochukwu, Sazali Abd Wahab, Sunday Sunday Akpan

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Investigating the effects of transformational and transactional leadership styles on the performance of healthcare employees at the University Teaching Hospital (UNTH) in Enugu, Nigeria, was the goal of the research. The respondents were asked to fill out a structured questionnaire. The respondents were chosen using a straightforward random sampling technique and consisted of 370 health workers at the hospital. The result of the analysis revealed that transactional and transformational leadership style has a positive while ambidextrous leadership has a negative effect on healthcare workers' performance in UNTH, Enugu. Therefore, the management of public hospitals that have the capacity to change their top management approach to leadership styles will gain substantial support from their employees’ thereby increasing organizational commitment and performance among health workers. This will have remarkable social implications, one of which is a change in the work culture and attitude of medical personnel from the seemingly anti-community of patients to friendly engagement and treatment of patients leading to a harmonious coexistence among these individuals in society. Investigating ambidextrous leadership and the use of nonparametric analysis is unique and has brought knowledge to leadership literature.

Keywords: Workers’ performance, transformational leadership, transactional leadership, governance quality, ambidextrous leadership.

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Authors: Dhiflaoui Hafedh, Khlifi Kaouthar, Ben Cheikh Larbi Ahmed

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These Monolayer and multilayer coatings of CrN and AlCrN deposited on 100Cr6 (AISI 52100) substrate by PVD magnetron sputtering system. The microstructures of the coatings were characterized using atomic force microscopy (AFM). The AFM analysis revealed the presence of domes and craters that are uniformly distributed over all surfaces of the various layers. Nanoindentation measurement of CrN coating showed maximum hardness (H) and modulus (E) of 14 GPa and 190 GPa, respectively. The measured H and E values of AlCrN coatings were found to be 30 GPa and 382 GPa, respectively. The improved hardness in both the coatings was attributed mainly to a reduction in crystallite size and decrease in surface roughness. The incorporation of Al into the CrN coatings has improved both hardness and Young’s modulus.

Keywords: CrN/AlCrN, coatings, hardness, nano-indentation.

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Authors: Mohamed M. Ragab, Neveen A. Abdel Raoof, Reham H. Diab

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Background: Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) is the most common symptom when ordinary individuals and athletes are exposed to unaccustomed physical activity, especially eccentric contraction which impairs athletic performance, ordinary people work ability and physical functioning. Multitudes of methods have been investigated to reduce DOMS. One of the valuable methods to control DOMS is repeated bout effect (RBE) as a prophylactic method. Purpose: To compare the repeated bout effect of submaximal eccentric with maximal isometric contraction on induced DOMS. Methods: Sixty normal male volunteers were assigned randomly into three equal groups: Group A (first study group): 20 subjects received submaximal eccentric contraction on non-dominant elbow flexors as a prophylactic exercise. Group B (second study group): 20 subjects received maximal isometric contraction on nondominant elbow flexors as a prophylactic exercise. Group C (control group): 20 subjects did not receive any prophylactic exercises. Maximal isometric peak torque of elbow flexors and patient related elbow evaluation (PREE) scale were measured for each subject 3 times before, immediately after, and 48 hours after induction of DOMS. Results: Post-hoc test for maximal isometric peak torque and PREE scale immediately and 48 hours after induction of DOMS revealed that group (A) and group (B) resulted in significant decrease in maximal isometric strength loss and elbow pain and disability rather than control group (C), but submaximal eccentric group (A) was more effective than maximal isometric group (B) as it showed more rapid recovery of functional strength and less degrees of elbow pain and disability. Conclusion: Both submaximal eccentric contraction and maximal isometric contraction were effective in prevention of DOMS but submaximal eccentric contraction produced a greater protective effect against muscle damage induced by maximal eccentric exercise performed 2 days later.

Keywords: Delayed onset muscle soreness, maximal isometric peak torque, patient related elbow evaluation scale, repeated bout effect.

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Authors: Mikulas Patocka

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This paper presents an architecture of current filesystem implementations as well as our new filesystem SpadFS and operating system Spad with rewritten VFS layer targeted at high performance I/O applications. The paper presents microbenchmarks and real-world benchmarks of different filesystems on the same kernel as well as benchmarks of the same filesystem on different kernels – enabling the reader to make conclusion how much is the performance of various tasks affected by operating system and how much by physical layout of data on disk. The paper describes our novel features–most notably continuous allocation of directories and cross-file readahead – and shows their impact on performance.

Keywords: Filesystem, operating system, VFS, performance, readahead

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Authors: Gulgassyl Nugmanova, Zhanat Zhunussova, Kuralay Yesmakhanova, Galya Mamyrbekova, Ratbay Myrzakulov

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In this paper, we consider some integrable Heisenberg Ferromagnet Equations with self-consistent potentials. We study their Lax representations. In particular we derive their equivalent counterparts in the form of nonlinear Schr¨odinger type equations. We present the integrable reductions of the Heisenberg Ferromagnet Equations with self-consistent potentials. These integrable Heisenberg Ferromagnet Equations with self-consistent potentials describe nonlinear waves in ferromagnets with some additional physical fields.

Keywords: Spin systems, equivalent counterparts, integrable reductions, self-consistent potentials.

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Authors: Jonghoon Kim, Gilwon Yoon

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A wrist-band type biosignal measurement system and its data transfer through human body communication (HBC) were investigated. An HBC method based on pulses of ultra-wide band instead of using frequency or amplitude modulations was studied and implemented since the system became very compact and it was more suited for personal or mobile health monitoring. Our system measured photo-plethysmogram (PPG) and measured PPG signals were transmitted through a finger to a monitoring PC system. The device was compact and low-power consuming. HBC communication has very strongsecurity measures since it does not use wireless network.Furthermore, biosignal monitoring system becomes handy because it does not need to have wire connections.

Keywords: Biosignal, human body communication, mobile health, PPG, ultrawide band.

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Authors: M. C. Pardo-Ferreira, J. C. Rubio-Romero, M. Martínez-Rojas

Abstract:

Resilience Engineering is a new paradigm of safety management that proposes to change the way of managing the safety to focus on the things that go well instead of the things that go wrong. Many complex and high-risk sectors such as air traffic control, health care, nuclear power plants, railways or emergencies, have applied this new vision of safety and have obtained very positive results. In the construction sector, safety management continues to be a problem as indicated by the statistics of occupational injuries worldwide. Therefore, it is important to improve safety management in this sector. For this reason, it is proposed to apply Resilience Engineering to the construction sector. The Construction Phase Health and Safety Plan emerges as a key element for the planning of safety management. One of the key tools of Resilience Engineering is the Resilience Assessment Grid that allows measuring the four essential abilities (respond, monitor, learn and anticipate) for resilient performance. The purpose of this paper is to develop a questionnaire based on the Resilience Assessment Grid, specifically on the ability to learn, to assess whether a Construction Phase Health and Safety Plans helps companies in a construction site to implement this ability. The research process was divided into four stages: (i) initial design of a questionnaire, (ii) validation of the content of the questionnaire, (iii) redesign of the questionnaire and (iii) application of the Delphi method. The questionnaire obtained could be used as a tool to help construction companies to evolve from Safety-I to Safety-II. In this way, companies could begin to develop the ability to learn, which will serve as a basis for the development of the other abilities necessary for resilient performance. The following steps in this research are intended to develop other questions that allow evaluating the rest of abilities for resilient performance such as monitoring, learning and anticipating.

Keywords: Resilience engineering, construction sector, resilience assessment grid, construction phase health and safety plan.

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